Archive
Beelzebub 69
[scanlation by Keishou]
Shonen Jump references! Nice to see some appreciation for some other great series, especially Sket Dance, which (I am obligated to remind the internet) desperately needs translators to bring the series up to date. It is hilarious and well worth the time.
Kyle and Switch are too awesome for just one series each
Poor Alain Delon. Creepy mustached interdimensional vessels deserve maid cafe love, too.
Fun gag scenes involving Furuichi and the maids.
Eat up, Predator. It's getting cold.
The Horsemen are keeping things under control after all. They may be antagonists, but they still show loyalty towards their school. Good characterization.
Not at all on time, Oga is finally here. The “setup chapter” feel from all this is overwhelming.
Clearly, the long-haired character who was mixed in with all the thugs from Teimou has an upcoming important role to play. Could he even be the “demon lurking within the school” Hildegarde and Alain Delon spoke of chapters ago?
Not to be ignored
Final Flash: Some funny moments, but very much a preparatory chapter.
Psyren 127
[scanlation by QandA]
Finally, a major opponent for Frederica. She deserves someone strong enough to display her full power against.
Many large-scale attacks going on here. This would be fun to see animated.
Odd scenes of the Wise, particularly Misura. It’s unusual to see much (or any) face time for the Wise apart from general antagonism, given how little has been revealed about them personally.
It’s Kyle! The more these fights become intertwined, the more exciting the action should become.
Awesome has arrived
Absolutely fantastic panels on page 14.
Excellent fight design
Hey, it’s Hunter x Hunter!
Which one's Killua?
Shao and Kabuto should prove to have an interesting combination fighting style if they’re paired up similarly to Frederica and Kyle.
Final Flash: Good action chapter held back by some bizarre introspection from villains who usually stay quiet. Also, it must be said, the translation I used was vague and difficult to read.
Bakuman 94
[scanlation by Sleepy Fans]
Fantastic punchline delivered by both Mashiro and Takagi.
Insightful analysis
The order in which Hattori lists titles of popular series should serve as notice to anyone who has not yet read Slam Dunk: It’s important. Read it.
As always, excellent precision and detail in Obata’s art, as displayed here by the One Piece volume.
Very funny two-page interlude featuring Hiramaru’s editor contriving new methods to keep him working.
Master schemer
There’s the revelation: Mashiro’s art is inappropriate for the story and for Jump. It’s a good revelation, as it will capitalize on the recent character evolution Mashiro has displayed.
Iwase reveals a shocking blush upon Eiji’s surprising compliment. She couldn’t possibly fall for him, could she? More importantly, Eiji couldn’t possibly be involved in a romantic angle, right?
... right?
Poor Hiramaru. Maybe someday he’ll impress Aoki.
In fact, poor Shizuka, too. Unlike Hiramaru, though, Shizuka looks like he will benefit in the long run from this disastrous evening.
Everything seems to be coming together. Mashiro quitting school completely devotes him to improving his art, and with the story already on the right path, PCP should be ready to seriously contend with Natural and Crow.
5th place! Iwase’s reaction is consistent with her new role as the respectful rival. The change from irate to driven was a sudden turnaround in her character, but now that the shock has worn off, this new facet of hers is enjoyable, and can remain so as long as her relationship (both personal and professional) with Eiji continues to evolve.
Another bold statement from the manga genius lends credence to the thought that PCP is almost ready for success. Furthermore, it reinforces the thought that Bakuman could be a comparatively short series, as there aren’t too many overarching plot points left to resolve.
Final Flash: Good chapter. Funny humor, important plot progression, and a couple interesting new developments.
My favorite Bakuman character
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 298
[scanlation by I Eat Manga]
No matter how worryingly reminiscent Enma is of Future arc woes, this cover page is fantastic. Great color.
Enma is too cool and collected. I miss the lighthearted sense of early Reborn!, even when the series started to feature more serious arcs. There was always a pleasant sense of the ridiculous. Now, any ridiculous characters feel forced, amid their pseudo-bishonen surroundings.
Not only is he too suave, but Enma is strong enough to take out the entire Vongola group. Is it training arc time?
This chapter is incredibly heavy on speed lines.
Don't eat speed lines, Tsuna
Confirmation that this entire conflict is based on a silly misunderstanding. That’s disappointing. If the plot is intent on being overly dramatic, it should at least be consistent and set up its major plot points accordingly. Of course, a series with a boy who shoots himself into the future with a bazooka, and a girl who explodes when her forehead counts down, shouldn’t be overly dramatic in the first place.
Fanservice really has no place in Reborn!. It’s just not the right kind of series.
"Out of place," he said
Chrome is reduced to the generic damsel in distress. What a poor character. Her introduction was interesting, but every time plot gets serious, she fades out of the picture and Mukuro comes and saves the day.
Thorough defeat suffered by Vongola. Training arc forthcoming indeed.
Final Flash: The difference in power between Vongola and Shimon is unreasonable. The last non-Future training arc was actually decent, so let’s hope Amano keeps this interesting.
Naruto 502
[chapter link]
Is it wrong that I thought “I didn’t know Sasuke had a sister” before it clicked that that’s Itachi?
It’s fun to see all these other characters so many years ago.
Fantastic artwork of the entire village of Konoha under attack.
Nice scene of Minato standing on his own head
Incredible technique used by Minato. I hope we get to see more of his skills before the inevitable happens.
Showing techniques like he’s using to catch up to Minato is the only way for Kishimoto to legitimize Madara. Until now, we’ve only been told of his strength. We need to see it.
Interestingly, Madara neither confirms nor denies his identity. This supports the theory that “Madara” is not Uchiha Madara at all.
Excellent sequence of panels showing the kunai passing through Madara’s head. Kishimoto has drawn this chapter very well.
More great skill displayed by Minato. This is a good fight.
Final Flash: Strong chapter, especially considering it’s a flashback.
One Piece 592
[chapter link]
Hooray! Zoro and Perona are next.
Mihawk. Zoro was sent to Mihawk. Absolutely incredible.
It’s so good to see Zoro in action again. His presence has been sorely missed.
Great dialogue between Zoro and Mihawk. They’ve had very little time together, but that time has always been meaningful.
Zoro would have gotten lost on the way to the ocean anyway
The battle Mihawk mentions will surely someday have some kind of significance. Remember this moment.
Good old Nami. A perfect mix of deviousness and true emotion. These individual character scenes are excellent.
Franky’s side story is amazing as well. I like how we’re slowly learning about Vegapunk through small mentions here and there. This is how to appropriately build a future character’s importance.
Urkel was never cooler
How nice to read about the heroic deeds of … Satan-sama.
Pandaman!
Final Flash: Fantastic scenes of the crew, most notably Zoro and Franky. Wonderful chapter.
Bleach 412
[chapter link]
Go ahead, Kubo. Reveal that Matsumoto is evil. Have her confess her love for Gin. Something. Give us a reason she’s been important enough to show chasing after Aizen and Gin in every chapter.
More comedy in a showdown with Aizen. Unacceptable.
Gin picks up Matsumoto and whisks her away from Aizen. If Kubo was capable of planning long-term plot twists, I’d give him some credit for maintaining the possibility that Gin is secretly at odds with Aizen.
Background of the week
More Don Kanonji, and more comedy. There’s absolutely no consistency to anything. Kubo has no plan.
Twist of the week
All those weeks of Matsumoto hints, just for her to be left lying on the ground, without the audience even getting to see what happened. Pathetic.
Final Flash: Bleach has the uncanny ability to make me run out of negative adjectives.
Fairy Tail 192
[chapter link]
Happy and Charle are the only two cats remaining! Keep going, evil forces! You’re almost there.
There are plenty of attack names and flashy explosions, but it’s difficult to follow what’s actually happening between Erza and Erza.
No, please don’t take the focus away from the Erza fight. That needs to finish quickly.
King! What does the scouter say about how bad this is?
Gratuitous fanservice shot of Lucy collapsed, angled from behind. Totally unnecessary, not at all exciting.
The enemies are being attacked by trees? … It’s Ueki! Ueki came from a different (and far superior) manga to save the day!
Oh, it’s only Fairy Tail.
Final Flash: Finish the damn Erza fight already.
History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 390
[chapter link]
Fanservice on the cover aside, what’s wrong with her head? It looks like it isn’t centered properly on her neck. Or maybe it’s too big? Something’s wrong.
Speaking of fanservice, it’s a Ma fight. I guess I can’t complain too much.
Sure.
Ma neatly folding the stolen clothing is actually quite funny.
I take it back. I can complain too much. This isn’t an acceptable level of fanservice, even for a Ma fight. This is hentai. I have nothing against hentai, but there’s a time and place for it. Shonen Sunday is not the place.
As a direct result of this unabashed nudity, it’s impossible to take Ma’s impassioned speech seriously.
A dominating victory for Ma is what I originally wanted, but it’s been completely cheapened.
Final Flash: If I wanted to read hentai, I would. Don’t bring it into shonen.
Toriko 102
[chapter link]
[scanlation by Hi Wa Mata Noboru]
I’m not sure walking on water would suit Toriko very well.
Toriko can not only throw his knife, but has a 13-hit fork now, too. Excellent. …he’s still about to be crushed by Ichiryuu, though.
Leg fork and knife! Good stuff.
Like the Sistine Chapel... except someone is about to be pummeled
Great punchline for the “walking on water” subplot, with Toriko sent flying so hard that he skips across the surface of the sea.
A new job request for Toriko. This one should prove interesting, as it’s a different type of locale than anything previously explored in the series.
Final Flash: Like the best training arcs, short and sweet.
Beamcast – July 12
[download link – 115min, 47mb]
In this week’s show:
News
MangaToshokan removes manga
Kure-nai vol. 6, Major vol. 78 to include DVDs
Nabari no Ou ending in volume 14
Florida mother protests manga in public library
Weekly Oricon rankings (6/28 – 7/4)
New releases
[anime]
Black Cat – Complete Series – Viridian Collection (DVD) $39.98
Golgo 13 – Collection 1 (DVD; eps.1-13) $59.99
Naruto Shippuden (DVD 11; eps.44-48) $24.99
[manga]
Case Closed (vol. 35) $9.99
Hyde & Closer (vol. 1) $9.99
Inuyasha (vol. 50) $9.99
Nabari no Ou (vol. 4) $10.99
Yakitate!! Japan (vol. 23) $9.99
Current/Classic Reviews
Hayate no Gotoku!
YuYu Hakusho
The Great Shonen Tier List
Introduced this week:
Rock Lee (Naruto)
Abarai Renji (Bleach)
Usopp (One Piece)
Krillin (Dragon Ball)
Kuwabara Kazuma (YuYu Hakusho)
Niijima Haruo (History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi)
Sakurazaki Setsuna (Mahou Sensei Negima!)
Miroku (InuYasha)
Akuno Jiro (Hajimete no Aku)
Kurenai Shinkurou (Kure-nai)
Anime Discussion
Highschool of the Dead (ep. 1)
Nurarihyon no Mago (ep.1)
This Week in Manga
0:54:58 – Bleach 411
0:58:50 – One Piece 591
1:05:44 – Naruto 501
1:09:24 – Bakuman 93
1:12:38 – Beelzebub 68
1:17:36 – Fairy Tail 191
1:22:09 – Hayate no Gotoku! 279
1:24:04 – Kekkaishi 313
1:26:45 – History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 389
1:29:59 – The World God Only Knows 105
1:32:00 – Mahou Sensei Negima! 295
1:35:58 – Psyren 126
1:38:46 – Zettai Karen Children 223
1:40:25 – GE ~ Good Ending 41-42
1:44:35 – Metalica Metaluca 8
1:46:53 – SWOT 2
1:49:22 – Gintama 314-315
1:51:05 – Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 297
1:52:08 – Kimi no Iru Machi 96
1:52:41 – Nurarihyon no Mago 113
Chapters of the Week
Final Flash
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Credit: AnimeNewsNetwork
GE ~ Good Ending 42
[chapter link]
Seiji chickened out and said nothing. Classic “I don’t want to hurt anyone, so I end up hurting everyone” protagonist. Having a spine wouldn’t hurt.
He can’t even talk to Yuki properly. This is such a letdown.
This is looking better. Seiji is actually acting straightforwardly again, asking Yuki out as thanks. Good move.
… of course, it ends up being a trap, with Shou already there. Awful.
Highlight of the chapter
What a ridiculous flashback. Such a silly way for Yuki and Shou to have become friends.
Don’t tell me that Shou is going to realize Seiji’s love for Yuki because of an argument over banana or orange better complementing chocolate.
Just in time, an actual positive moment in the chapter. Yuki’s smile after hearing about Seiji’s decision is step forward.
Final Flash: Too silly of a chapter overall, but one good moment partially redeemed it.
Weekly Power Rankings – 6/27 – 7/3
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