Beamcast – August 30
[download link – 136min, 58mb]
In this week’s show:
News
Director Satoshi Kon passes away
Arata Kangatari to receive anime adaptation in 2011
One Piece sells over 20 million volumes in 2010
Shueisha reports first ever annual loss
Gintama movie DVD to bundle bonus new animation
Weekly Oricon rankings (8/16 – 8/22)
New releases
[last week]
Naruto Season 3 Box Set 2 (DVD) $49.99
One Piece Season 3 Part 2 (DVD) $49.98
[this week]
Bleach (vol. 32) $9.99
Elemental Gelade (vol. 12) $10.99
Suzuka (omnibus, vols. 13-15) $21.99
Discussion / Weekly Poll
What underlying power system concept is the most interesting?
(Alchemy, Changing A to B, Devil Fruits, Gourmet Cells, Nen, Stands)
The Great Shonen Tier List
Re-tiered this week:
Allen Walker (D.Gray-man)
Introduced this week:
Might Guy (Naruto)
Ishida Uryuu (Bleach)
Enel (One Piece)
Sani (Toriko)
Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)
Kurama (YuYu Hakusho)
Anime Discussion
Highschool of the Dead (ep. 8)
Seitokai Yakuindomo (ep. 8-9)
Legend of the Legendary Heroes (ep. 9)
Nurarihyon no Mago (ep. 8)
This Week in Manga
0:42:23 – Bleach 417
0:47:21 – One Piece 597
0:58:36 – Naruto 507
1:04:54 – Bakuman 98
1:11:55 – Beelzebub 74
1:15:48 – Fairy Tail 197
1:18:55 – Hayate no Gotoku! 285
1:21:46 – Kekkaishi 317-318
1:25:08 – History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 395
1:28:09 – Toriko 107
1:33:26 – Gamaran 52-60
1:39:22 – The World God Only Knows 111
1:42:07 – Psyren 131
1:46:54 – Zettai Karen Children 228
1:50:12 – Hajime no Ippo 903-905
1:55:51 – AR∀GO 32
1:59:22 – GE ~ Good Ending 48
2:03:48 – SWOT 8
2:06:23 – Bloody Monday: Season 2 – 38 (new series!)
2:08:44 – Defense Devil 61-62 (new series!)
2:10:29 – Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 303
2:11:53 – Kimi no Iru Machi 102
2:13:08 – Nurarihyon no Mago 119
Chapters of the Week
Final Flash
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Credit: AnimeNewsNetwork
Weekly Power Rankings: 8/15 – 8/21
GE ~ Good Ending 48
[scanlation by Eat Manga]
What a forlorn look on Yuki’s face when she hears the news of a proposed trip back home. Let’s hope this doesn’t shift the focus away from her again.
Nice flashback scene of Seiji and Yuki having fun at the waterpark. We need to be shown scenes like this more often. There’s been too much drama lately.
Seiji is completely right about the agony of being apart from the one you love, but rolling around on the floor in front of your parent is not exactly a mature way of handling it.
Now Seiji is practically bragging on his way to morning practice? You’ve been a miserable, two- (or three-) timing scumbag for the past several chapters. One chapter of keeping your eyes on Yuki does not earn you enough glory to be able to boast.
Wipe that undeserved grin off your face
Well, at least Seiji is properly shaken up by news of Yuki going back home. That’s more dedicated than he’s been for a while.
The conversation between Shou and her friend begins awkwardly and a bit too direct, but eventually Shou is revealed to be handling what happened between herself and Seiji as maturely as could be hoped. She’s acting just like our protagonist should be, while Seiji is off panicking and fantasizing about anything and everything.
Seiji is following Yuki to her home. A similar storyline greatly reduced the overall quality of Kimi no Iru Machi; let’s hope that Good Ending can present such a storyline in a more interesting and less angst-ridden fashion.
Final Flash: One chapter after reestablishing Yuki as the “right” choice, she’s pushed further away, and the spotlight again shines on Shou. Make up your mind, Sasuga.
Toriko 107
[scanlation by Hi Wa Mata Noboru]
A little too matter-of-fact about it
The interaction with the Ozone Herb is a great sign for Komatsu’s development and growing importance, while Toriko’s reaction as an observer to Komatsu’s growth is unusually detached and almost melancholy. There’s pride in his internal monologue, but there seems to be a sense of comparative inadequacy, too. Strange.
They are going through Ozone Herbs pretty damn quickly.
Trial and error: The hidden environmental threat
Komatsu managed to figure out the method to open the Ozone Herb leaves. Great chapter for him. Toriko’s response, though, is again a little reclusive and dependent. Perhaps it’s a necessary part of his own character evolution to realize that he can’t face the gourmet world alone, but he’s being uncharacteristically reserved about it.
The footprint was a hint of ominous things to come, after all.
Final Flash: Good Komatsu progress, but a fairly straightforward chapter overall.
Beelzebub 74
[scanlation by Keishou Scans]
Kiriya’s plan is to get Oga expelled through violence. I suppose that’s fitting for this series and these characters.
It’s quite surprising that Oga hasn’t immediately disregarded the consequences and struck back at Kiriya.
Miki steps in to retaliate on behalf of Oga. It’s looking like the Oga/Miki conflict is behind us, and that Kiriya will force a reconciliation.
Well, you were a little slow in realizing what Oga did for you, Miki (… years slow, in fact), but at least you’ve finally come around.
Menacing Oga returns! Excellent panel and following page.
You've been missed, demon
Great way to end the chapter, with Oga recognizing Miki by name.
Final Flash: The first completely volleyball-free Beelzebub chapter since the sports festival began is a clear step back in the right direction.
History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 395
[scanlation by Keishou Scans]
More flashback. I might as well give up any excitement for the present-time fights that are happening. Evidently Matsuena doesn’t care about them.
If anything, this flashback is weakening Apachai’s character with relation to his fight against Agaard. Apachai has been shown at maximum intensity for so many chapters, and now suddenly we’re seeing him as an excited child. This flashback should have happened months ago.
Credibility-killing
Agaard is throwing the match for the sake of poor little Apachai. Terrible.
The new champ is dead on his feet. That’s not a bad moment, but the placement is all wrong. I almost care more about Agaard than Apachai now.
Final Flash: The potential positives aren’t enough to make up for the blatant negatives anymore. This arc is bad.
Kimi no Iru Machi 102
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Mishima is going to eat at Haruto’s place “again.” Is she now transitioning into a love interest? With Eba obviously out of the picture for a while, Nagoshi sadly relegated to comic relief, and Kiyomi too focused on Kazama, Mishima makes perfect sense. She’s always gotten along well with Haruto, and it wouldn’t be much of a romance series without any active love interests for the protagonist.
Completely undeserving of her secondary role
Mishima reading Magazine feels a little forced. Meta can be fun and cute if it feels natural in the midst of the story, but this just feels like a plug for A-Bout!.
Akari’s phone call makes me nostalgic for the days when this series was set in Haruto’s hometown, and was so much better than it presently is.
Excellent interaction between Haruto and Mishima. The deadpan comedy is funny, the talk about Eba is appropriately serious, and Mishima shifting the focus on the future is promising.
Fantastic two-page confession scene. I do have to express my disappointment in Red Hawk Scanlations for inserting a fan-colored version of the page in question, though. It’s shameful enough to do that at all, but to insert it before the original version destroys the impact of the scene as intended by the author. Fan-colored pages are fine for message boards and icons, but they have absolutely no place in an official chapter release. This is the first time I’ve seen Red Hawk do it, so they’re certainly not the worst offenders (iMangaScans practically have one per Good Ending chapter), but this is too important of a scene to cheapen. Very disappointing.
Final Flash: Really enjoyable chapter. Mishima is such a positive love interest, and all positivity is welcome after recent events.
Bakuman 98
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Good Jump cover, but an even better chapter color cover. Fantastic color spread.
Do want
Interesting timing for a Takagi/Iwase flashback. Also, as well as Iwase has been developed into a rival character, it’s still nice to see the old love-struck Iwase.
Refreshing
It’s always amusing to see Crow’s editor excited over its position, as though it should still be surprising. That said, what placed first? Unless I’ve missed a major plot point, it’s odd that some series can do so well and yet remain anonymous.
Those are pretty… specific bet conditions from Iwase.
Has she been giving this some prior thought?
A rival character, being written by a character with a rivalry, who is written by an author drawing from personal experience (and therefore, who likely has a rivalry). Takagi’s decision to turn Akechi into a rival character is yet another amusing exercise in meta.
Great PCP scene, good decision not to have Akechi turn around, and I love that we actually got full pages of PCP within the Bakuman chapter. That’s something I hope we see more often.
I will admit to thinking the chapter was over when I saw the usual Jump chapter-ending logo on the last PCP page.
What a cliffhanger. Next week can’t come quickly enough.
Final Flash: Diverse and engaging chapter, with a properly infuriating cliffhanger.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 303
[scanlation by I Eat Manga]
Even if Tsuna’s new Hot Topic-inspired, jewelry-laden gloves look tacky as hell, that’s still a pretty nice color cover page.
They’re fighting for pride. That’s as high as they’re aiming here. Pride. Let’s get this over with, then.
I have lost any respect I had left for Amano Akira thanks to Adelheid’s chest. How completely ridiculous.
I miss when Lambo was an important character. When he was one of the main focuses of the series, the series was so much more fun.
Horribly underutilized
Ryohei’s opponent can manipulate plants, and yet they’re going to have a boxing match. I mean, if you’re going to take the time to come up with new abilities for your characters, you might as well have the characters use them.
Final Flash: Dull, uninspired, aimless… and this is just the beginning of the fights in this arc. Oh boy.
Naruto 507
[scanlation by Binktopia]
“The long grudge match enters its final chapter!” It seems this will be the true conclusion of the Guy/Kisame rivalry. This will be good timing for it.
As with so many recent Naruto chapters, the grand scale of the artwork is excellently pulled off by Kishimoto.
Excellent massive attacks
It’s so completely satisfying to see Guy standing over Kisame like this, and it’s even better to see him taking absolutely no nonsense from Kisame, either.
What an amusingly direct visual metaphor for mind-reading.
Not exactly subtle
A Kisame flashback likely means that this truly is his last stand.
Morino Ibiki is in Kisame’s flashback. It’s a little puzzling that we haven’t had more exposition of Morino, since the more we learn about the inner workings of Naruto, the more relevant he seems to be.
While I still strongly dislike the Uchiha Madara character, it’s interesting to learn specifics about where he’s been behind the scenes. Seeing him in control of the Mizukage helps to develop his credibility.
If Kisame had the proper awareness and energy to bite his own tongue, why wouldn’t he have done so before leaking as much information as he already has? The flashback establishes him as a character whose priority is the protection of information, and yet he lets so much slip before dramatically cutting the link right as Madara is about to reveal himself. That’s a little too Hollywood to feel consistent with his character.
Final Flash: Good, interesting chapter, and a great fight in full.
One Piece 597
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Now that is a manly cover page.
Zoro is asking Mihawk to teach him? “Asking” might not be strong enough, even; Zoro is “begging” Mihawk, the man he intends to defeat, to teach him. I’m thoroughly disappointed. Yes, it shows that Zoro is mature enough to put aside his own ego for the sake of his crew, but what now of his fierce ambition to become the world’s greatest swordsman? Zoro has always shown maturity when necessary (such as his stance on Usopp as they arrived at Water 7), so this doesn’t introduce any new positive side of his personality, but instead waters down his character.
An unfortunate sight
As if the impending four-week break wasn’t enough, the revelation of Luffy’s tattoo confirms a timeskip, and it’s more major than anticipated: Two years. I trust Oda to exceed my expectations more than I trust any other mangaka, but I’ve also never seen a shonen timeskip that didn’t seem like the gratuitous and easy alternative to proper storytelling.
Jinbei provides yet another reminder that Fishman Island is coming up soon, just as it has been for years. I’ve long been excited to get there, but after this long of a wait, some of the novelty has worn off. Still, if it’s the next major arc, I’ll be pleased.
Hancock remains completely adorable. Switching from love-clouded to furious only accentuates how fun she is to read when she’s fawning over Luffy.
Too cute
Luffy will be training his Haki directly under the tutelage of Rayleigh. Not a bad teacher, the right-hand man of the Pirate King. That said, I hope Oda does justice to his own characters; as Rayleigh explains the Haki with the “color of observation,” I shudder at the prospect of Luffy knowing Mantra, as that just wouldn’t suit him. Obviously, Luffy must learn the “color of armaments” Haki, since it seems that the entire point of introducing Haki was to find a way for Luffy to be able to harm Logia users. Hopefully, Luffy learning Haki won’t terribly devalue past characters like CP9, since one of the major strengths of One Piece has always been a lack of clear, linear progression in enemy strength. If ultimately we’re able to explain away enemy strength differences based on increasing Haki ability, I’ll be disappointed.
Fortunately, Rayleigh suggests that Haki users gravitate towards one “color,” meaning that Luffy could still end up reasonable after all this training.
Final Flash: In four weeks, we’ll have spent two years. The interim will be both frustrating and exciting.
Bleach 417
[scanlation by Binktopia]
I am ready and willing to classify Ichigo’s new hairstyle as a mullet. His new transformation/powerup/whatever makes him a bit taller, rips off one of his sleeves, and gives him a mullet.
Cue uncontrollable laughter
A moment of uncharacteristic suaveness followed by another moment of completely out of place humor. Kubo has the uncanny ability not only to write drivel, but to write drivel that actively upsets the audience.
Ichigo’s new power hides all his reiatsu. Boring. That’s typically Bleach, too, in that it is a natural setup for a twist.
How expansive of you, Gin, to pass the torch to Ichigo like that. Lovely. Surely that cements you as a legitimate “good” character.
Twist of the week
Even more laughable than Ichigo’s new mullet is the fact that suddenly he’s able to manhandle Aizen. Ichigo has done absolutely nothing credible as a hero for at least 250 chapters (and that’s being generous), and now he can overpower someone who literally has the ability to write the plot? Pathetic. Kubo could stand to return to Shonen 101, because even linear power levels are more acceptable than this.
Background of the week
Final Flash: It’s been a while since the last laughably bad Bleach chapter. The recent terrible Bleach chapters (read: all of them) have been more of the draining or insulting variety.
Fairy Tail 197
[scanlation by Binktopia]
“Bye Bye Fairy Tail” is a misleading and cruel title.
In case it wasn't already obvious
Natsu combining the fight with the Fairy Tail farewell ceremony is a pretty good touch, but I have absolutely no emotional connection to the scene, because it involves Gérard. Why couldn’t Mystogan just have been a completely original character?
The Moria-lookalike cat is unnecessarily creepy.
Also, that hand gesture...
It seems Gazille will get Pantherlily as his cat after all. Unfortunately, it also seems like all the other cats are coming back to the real world.
Final Flash: This miserable arc is finally over.
Weekly Power Rankings: 8/8 – 8/14
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