Toriko 109
[scanlation by Hi Wa Mata Noboru]
Immediate confirmation that the GT Robo-lookalike is in fact a living thing.
The beast brings a sense of unease and curiosity to Vegetable Sky, and an overall sense that despite their progress, Toriko and Komatsu (Torikomatsu?) have far to go before being established in the Gourmet World.
Toriko’s observations on the beast are fascinating, as well. For the beast not only to be strong and quick enough to bite the Ozone Herb twice within a split-second, but also intelligent enough to study the actions of humans, is excellent foreshadowing for just how terrifying the beasts to come are.
The design of IGO Headquarters is brilliant. What a perfect piece of design for the Toriko world.
Toriko again impresses with its creativity
What a proud parent Ichiryuu must be, to approve of his surrogate son’s new long-term relationship like this.
Tons of great news all in a row: Several new ingredient requests for Toriko/Komatsu, Sani and Coco are presently training, and finally, another mention of Zebra (Zebura?)!
Ichiryuu, nonchalantly performing the same technique as the beast from Vegetable Sky, alludes to some serious future plot.
Final Flash: A hugely intriguing setup chapter. The future of Toriko looks extremely promising.
Weekly Power Rankings: 8/22 – 8/28
Kimi no Iru Machi 103
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Another fan-colored page. Disappointing.
Kiyomi is back! I’d be very happy if she helped form a new love triangle with Haruto and Mishima. Kiyomi is too interesting of a character to leave out of the picture. (I still wish Nagoshi was involved somehow, though.)
Kiyomi is even intervening on behalf of Mishima. What a great addition to the cast she’s been.
Amazing character evolution shown by Haruto. His serious and mature explanation of his feelings for Eba is an unexpected positive, and a huge one at that.
Fantastic growth
Two fan-colored pages in a row, for the same scene. Red Hawk, this is embarrassing. Leave this stuff in your forums.
Haruto invites Mishima back to his town… but had already asked Kiyomi. Good mix of emotion and comedy.
Final Flash: Superb chapter. This feels much more like the Kimi no Iru Machi of old, before the overwhelming drama.
Beelzebub 75
[scanlation by Keishou Scans]
In case the news article and the mention in Beamcast wasn’t enough: Very excited about the Beelzebub anime, coming this January.
Excellent color cover page. The poses and positioning are good, and the colors are expertly chosen.
Miki wants Oga to call him by his first name? That is creepy.
Even Beel is appropriately creeped out
I like that the girls have been stopped from interfering with the fight, because I want to see Oga (and to a lesser extent, Miki) in action, but I still feel awkward about the sudden civility between Ishiyama and the Horsemen.
Oga stopping the big guy’s “Death Trailer” attack with one hand and delivering a menacing look is great. Oga retaliating with a newly-renamed finishing attack (and taking out two people with it) is immensely gratifying. This, not volleyball, is why the series became so good.
Good to see Miki not being undervalued here. He gets a full page to show off his major attack, and yet another Teimou delinquent is out.
Even Furuichi is in form!
Furuichi reactions should be mandatory
Oga is using the full Zebub power! What a return to form this chapter is. No regard for consequences, no unnecessary drama, no deviation from the action. Just Oga being the evil delinquent that brought Beel to him in the first place.
Final Flash: Fantastic chapter. The relationship between the Horsemen and Ishiyama is still awkward, but Oga being Oga more than makes up for that.
Extra chapter mini-review:
[scanlation by Keishou Scans]
Refreshing to see everyone back home. It’s been a while since we’ve been in this kind of a relaxing setting.
Beel vs. cats! Unlike the Edolas arc in Fairy Tail, the cats here are being used exclusively for comedy, and only in a special extra chapter, so they’re acceptable.
The pinnacle of manliness
Excellent punchline at the very end. Poorly-cooked croquettes are disgusting.
Final Flash: Cute chapter, and an amusing diversion from the main story action.
History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 396
[scanlation by Keishou Scans]
Even more flashback. Granted, we haven’t had the requisite “heel turn” from Agaard yet, but this is taking forever.
Happy-go-lucky Apachai is still amusing, but I still can’t bring myself to enjoy any of this, knowing what I should be reading instead.
The friendliest Muay Thai killing machine
Agaard is back, and suddenly, he’s killing people. So, he’s evil now, but why?
Evidently, it’s because he found Yami. That’s disappointingly straightforward, to the point where this flashback is not only out of place, it’s also completely unnecessary.
Agaard invades the underground Muay Thai headquarters, and Apachai goes off to… be a good guy.
Finally, the flashback is over. Unfortunately, Apachai’s statement about Kenichi being his strength seems like it will need to be explained, which would mean even more time-wasting before the fight resumes.
Final Flash: Another wasted chapter, and one that cements my disdain for the last two.
GE ~ Good Ending 49
[scanlation by iMangaScans]
Actually, Seiji, “Please don’t meet with Touru” is exactly the worst possible thing you could say.
Eri’s crudely-drawn map would have been much funnier without her facial expression and self-deprecating gesture. Your audience isn’t stupid, Sasuga; we get that the map is bad.
The first people that Seiji finds who know Yuki immediately launch into a lengthy flashback about Touru. That’s both depressing and unrealistic. I understand cultural differences between societies, but is it at all realistic for complete strangers to go into lengthy detail about a common friend’s personal life?
Yuki’s mom is certainly excited to see her daughter’s friends. She seems not to have much contact with Yuki.
Were the speed lines necessary?
A heartwarming reunion between Seiji and Yuki (and friends) is overshadowed by the arrival of Touru. Worse still, his friend reveals that Touru attends school in the same city where everyone lives. So much for positive, uplifting progress; surely, drama is imminent.
Final Flash: The brevity of the trip to Yuki’s house is appreciated, but this chapter had both too much angst and too much setup for future angst.
Toriko 108
[scanlation by Hi Wa Mata Noboru]
The Ozone Herb looks unmistakably like a huge tongue.
Toriko and Komatsu, having had to eat a tongue simultaneously, embrace each other immediately afterward. For anyone wondering where the boys-love hints are in this series, look no further.
Those Gourmet Cells certainly needed the Ozone Herb. What an intense and sudden reaction.
Toriko popped the question! (Okay, sorry.) The top-half two-page spread is angled from a great perspective that captures the importance of the moment.
Komatsu’s reaction is a bit over the top. Quite a bit. Also, even more BL hints.
... if you can still call them "hints."
The suspected GT Robo arrives, and Toriko realizes it isn’t a GT Robo. Is it another type of robotic enemy, or could it perhaps be the creature that GT Robos are based on?
Final Flash: Important chapter, but the Toriko/Komatsu combo was already a given, so while the affirmation of that combo was important, it doesn’t carry as much as impact as it intends.
Bakuman 99
[scanlation by Binktopia]
What a great start to the chapter. It might have been necessary and expected for PCP to pass at least one series, but it’s still an exciting moment. They were only 2 votes away from Crow, no less.
Continuing that great start, direct acceptance from the editor-in-chief is a huge moment in the series.
Appropriate reaction
+Natural placing sixth elicits mixed feelings from me. It’s a creative touch not to have PCP outrank +Natural by one place, but it diminishes the impact of PCP’s success somewhat to have it achieve the goal through the poor performance of one of the two target series.
The couple pages spent looking at other series are well spent, particularly the peek at Fukuda panicking about Road Racer Giri.
Iwase crying alone at the restaurant booth is truly difficult to read. She’s been chasing after Takagi’s natural success for so long, and after only a short period of success, she’s once again been bested by him. Worse still, +Natural is underperforming as a direct result of her idea to include the character Crow. Tragic moment for her.
PCP is being adapted to a drama CD! Things are progressing very quickly. At this point, it feels like the series could end within a handful of chapters if Ohba and Obata wished it.
Mashiro could not be cuter as he frantically requests Azuki as the voice actress for Mai.
Slightly excitable
I’ve been very pleased with Binktopia scanlations to date. However, to the immature idiot who thought it would be hilarious to subtly write “Boobies \o/” over Kaya’s chest: You are ruining artistic integrity. There is no place in your scanlations for a 12 year old’s pitiful attempt at humor. No one reads manga because of you. Never alter someone else’s work.
That unnecessary idiocy aside, it’s nothing new for Kaya to react in a cute fashion to Mashiro and Azuki’s relationship, and this is no exception.
Azuki tearing up at the prospect of voicing Mai in the PCP drama CD is another fantastic moment. This chapter is really pulling out all the stops.
The editor-in-chief has offers for a PCP anime! Maybe we’re even closer to the end of the series than I’ve expected.
Final Flash: Hugely impactful chapter, with great moments on practically every page.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 304
[scanlation by Binktopia]
I’m reading a series with an armored kangaroo. Sometimes, this whole manga-reading business is embarrassing.
Ryohei donning Kangaryuu’s armor pieces makes him look a bit like a Saint Seiya character. I wonder if that’s at all an intentional homage.
Saint Seiya doesn't have kangaroos, though
The future arc was ridiculous enough, but the way its existence has been handled since is even more preposterous. How are more and more characters aware of what happened (happens?) in the future?
I have absolutely no idea what Aoba’s powerup is. Once again, Amano has tried to add too much detail, and has instead made her art completely illegible.
Jumbled and confused
Obviously, Ryohei has to wait a certain amount of time and/or take a certain amount of damage before revealing his full power. That works in video games, but it alone doesn’t generate interesting fights in manga.
Final Flash: In stark contrast to Naruto, the speed lines and detail of Reborn! just muddle and ruin the art.
Naruto 508
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Bizarrely noble cover page.
Typically, I am against speed lines, but Kishimoto has used them well within the first several pages of this chapter. Instead of making them the focal point (or the entirety of the background, in some cases), he has used them to complement the action without overpowering the detail in the art. Sometimes, they’re even used as a style of shading, actually embedded in the rest of the art. Very nicely done.
Itachi signals a major test: Is the recently-improved Naruto still tolerable with the presence of one of the Uchiha brothers?
Interesting conversation between Itachi and Kisame. There are a couple of odd moments, but overall, it’s a nice look at what was hinted at being a curious relationship.
Very good, Itachi
Kisame ends up killing himself with his own sharks, and the title of the chapter ends up completely suitable. What a great way for him to go.
It seems Killer Bee will get Samehada after all. The only worry there is the prospect of an increased role for Killer Bee, who has been enjoyable only as a support character.
Nice closing words from Guy, but in this shot he looks remarkably like Catherine from Gintama.
Unusually reminiscent
Kisame having one last trick up his sleeve is completely appropriate, given the recent emphasis placed on his control over information. This is an acceptable compromise between an outright Guy victory and a Kisame escape.
Stunning last page. Madara faces off with Konan, but calls her Nagato? I’d be very happy to see Konan in action, as she was one of the more interesting Akatsuki members, but I worry this may further cheapen Nagato and Konan by using them as fodder for the decidedly uninteresting Madara.
Final Flash: An appropriately strong end to Kisame’s active role in the series.
Bleach 418
[scanlation by Binktopia]
It’s not like I could take Ichigo seriously before, but his new hair gets me laughing every time I see it. Well, that, and his sad expression.
Cheer up, emo shonen protagonist
Aizen certainly is long-winded this week. As this is Bleach, I assume he will continue assuming things about Ichigo’s powerup until Ichigo makes his move, proving Aizen wrong.
... what?
Ichigo is able to stop Aizen’s sword. To be fair, Ichigo has yet to respond to Aizen’s theory that Ichigo used all his reiatsu to reinforce his strength, so Ichigo could still have some hidden capability that would make this less ridiculous. That said, if Ichigo is only using pure strength, this is unimaginably awful writing. With the Hougyoku, Aizen has the ability to rewrite the plot of his own series; there’s absolutely no excuse for him being overpowered.
Resorting to Kidou is the Bleach equivalent of raising the white flag… or triggering your own death flag.
Background of the week
All this Ichigo dominance bears no credibility whatsoever, but at least the protagonist is doing something for once.
Twist of the week
Final Flash: If it makes people this strong, maybe I should grow a mullet.
Shonen Shikku Canceled; Enigma to Debut
Issue #40 of Weekly Shonen Jump marks the 15th and final chapter of Shonen Shikku, the first major work by newcomer Tsukuda Yuuto. Since becoming eligible for fan ranking, Shonen Shikku has never managed to escape the bottom 5 of the table of contents, even placing dead last five times. Its early cancellation is yet another in a string of poor performances from new Shonen Jump series, as has been evidenced by the similarly early ends to Lock On! and Kiben Gakuha, Yotsuya-senpai no Kaidan, and as it seems will further be proven with another cancellation expected next week.
The space left by Shonen Shikku will be filled starting next week by Enigma, a new series by Sakaki Kenji, a former assistant to Amano Akira (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!). An early preview picture is available:
(Click for full size)
Source: News-Paradise
Beelzebub Anime in January 2011
Beelzebub is set to receive an anime adaptation this coming January. The first major work by Tamura Ryuuhei, it has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump since February 2009. Beelzebub is a fusion between fierce action and excellent comedy, along with notable supernatural elements, as the story follows Oga Tatsumi, a renowned delinquent who is saddled with the task of looking after Baby Beel, the son of the demon king. The series features a diverse cast of characters, including the loyal servants of Baby Beel, Oga’s rival delinquents, and one of the absolute best comedic straight men in all of manga.
The announcement of an upcoming anime for Beelzebub is both exciting and surprising. While the most recent manga arc has been a minor disappointment, the rest of the series has been a fantastic weekly read, and welcome diversity in the pages of Shonen Jump. However, as of this writing, the series only has 74 chapters, meaning this seems to be rather soon for an adaptation. Four months give more than enough time for the current manga arc to finish, but even with those extra chapters, the worry is that the anime studio would not have enough source material, leading either to questionable pacing or filler episodes. Another Shonen Jump series, Nurarihyon no Mago, had a similar number of chapters when its anime adaptation was announced, and that anime (which is currently airing) has yet to show signs of having insufficient source material; on the other hand, the Nurarihyon no Mago universe has more intricate detail that can be explored by its anime studio, meaning that the current quality of that adaptation may not equate to similar success for Beelzebub.
Regardless of speculation, news of a good manga series receiving an anime is always positive, and a Beelzebub anime should be well worth watching.
Source: News-Paradise
Fairy Tail 198
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Fanservice? On a Fairy Tail cover?
It’s a huge relief that everything so far seems back to normal, but the other shoe is poised to drop.
The miserable sound of tumbling shoes
The Exceed are being further glorified with a new convoluted explanation of their plan to send their children to the parallel (real) universe. In the end, Mashima is unable even to follow through in keeping the cats even minutely evil. It’s not insulting, because I have no remaining faith in the cats or in Mashima that is left to be insulted, but it’s the sure sign of a poor author, trying to make any ending as comprehensively happy as possible.
In fact, it’s a bit worse than that: Charle has the power of prediction, and all Exceed were just being manipulative and two-faced to her, “for her benefit.”
… and Charle is a princess. Why not have everyone get married, while you’re at it? I can’t stand any more saccharine.
Some things are better left unlearned, Natsu
Pantherlily is small and cute now. Great. He was fine just as he was, thanks, particularly considering whose cat he is.
Lisanna. That actually is interesting, given how serious Natsu has become every time she’s been brought up in conversation. That said, I refuse to get my hopes up, considering how promising the disappearance of Fairy Tail was, compared to how hugely awful the Edolas arc has been.
Final Flash
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