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One Piece 591
[chapter link]
A Crocus and Rayleigh bath scene is one of the last things I expected to see.
Not content with a mere appearance on the cover page, Rayleigh is back, proving his immeasurable awesomeness by swimming the Calm Belt.
The attitude of all the women towards Luffy is excellent.
(ahem)
Equally excellent (or perhaps moreso) is Hancock’s misunderstanding regarding marriage.
Pity that Law is leaving, especially considering that he might have some unexpected knowledge regarding the Will of D. Of course, he’s a great character all around, too. He’ll be missed, but it’s better to leave the audience wanting more of him than giving us too much. This is probably the right amount of exposure for an individual Supernova, for now.
Ominous words
Interesting to discover that Rayleigh cared for the Boa sisters after their escape from servitude.
Confirmation that Kuma as we knew him was working for the Revolutionary Army. Who knows what condition he’s in now, but it’s good to finally have closure on part of his reasoning.
Shakky’s unreasonable accuracy makes Hancock joining the crew a tiny bit more possible.
Actual scenes of the crew! Their reactions are just right, as well.
Attention Toei: I would not mind filler if it focused on the adventures of Fat Usopp and Herculesn. Also, feel free to further investigate the fascinating biology of this island.
As always, when it is most called for, Usopp provides the true manliness of a sworn brotherhood. His impassioned words are perfect.
Chopper(man) has brought peace to the Torino Kingdom. Fantastic.
The last panel of the chapter is the best one. Predictions welcome on the new bounty.
Show us, Chopper!
Final Flash: Excellent chapter all around, and an exciting cliffhanger.
One Piece 590
[chapter link]
Good to see how much Dadan cares. Also, Makino is doing something.
Oda’s done a fantastic job designing the graves for both Whitebeard and Ace.
Appropriately lovely
Incredible speech from Jinbei. Absolutely magnificent. Those are exactly the words that needed to be said, and they needed to be said by someone strong enough that Luffy in his present state would respect them. Fantastic scene.
Luffy admitting to himself that he has his crew is such a powerful moment.
I’m hoping these scenes of Ace talking to Jinbei are among the last times we see Ace for a while, not because I’m tired of him, but because they’re too emotional to handle every week.
A haunting panel
Final Flash: Excellent to know that Luffy is focusing on finding the crew.
One Piece 589
[chapter link]
P5, bottom-right panel: Oh dear. As bittersweet and awkward as some previous flashback moments were, this is just outright heartbreaking.
Zoro cameo!
Finally, time is moving forward. Rather than jumping back directly to the present, though, the short timeskips are a nice touch.
P9: Difficult page. Ace and Luffy imagining that Sabo is watching them is quite sad.
Even if you can’t read kana, who painted which sign should be abundantly clear:
Cute craftsmanship
Makino! Nice to see her every once in a while, even if she’s never had much of a role defined for her.
Even Dadan succumbs to the traditional One Piece crying farewell.
I count three entire Woop Slap panels this chapter.
Crushing final page. Luffy’s sadness feels so much more defined after this flashback. Well done, Oda.
Final Flash: Great chapter. This was an unexpected but quality way to bring the focus back to the present. Overall, it was also a great flashback, but it’s time to move on.
Weekly Power Rankings – 6/6 – 6/12
Weekly Power Rankings – 5/30 – 6/5
One Piece 588
[chapter link]
Lovely color page!
Oh… no. Right away, too.
When the Tenryuubito, as an entire organization, finally get the revenge that is coming to them, it will be a glorious day for fans worldwide.
‘Ace just ate his Devil Fruit’ theory nullified. Both Ace and Luffy will get to see Sabo’s fate together.
Does anyone else doubt Sabo’s death? Everyone’s treating it as a certainty, but we never saw his corpse. I’m extremely hesitant to pronounce him dead.
Only discovering Ace’s similarities to Roger now is all the more difficult considering his eventual fate.
Regardless of what actually happened to Sabo, it’s sad to see Ace and Luffy like this.
One theory down, another fueled: The crossed-out ‘S’ on Sabo’s letter is the reason behind Ace’s tattoo. (Not my theory, mind you, but a good one.)
“Endless lamentation,” indeed. What a flashback.
Final Flash: With the break next week, it seems the flashback is done, but the angst may not quite be over yet. Luffy still needs to recover. I still believe Sabo has survived, and will soon meet with Luffy.
One Piece 587
[chapter link]
What a puzzling cover page. Den Den Mushi require watering, apparently.
Oda can draw such perfectly ugly people when the situation calls for it.
Bluejam is an interesting case within the world of One Piece. We’ve become used to treating pirates as de facto “good guys” and regarding the World Government as the true evil, but every once in a while, a pirate like Bluejam comes along that reminds us that the people of this world are rather sensible for considering pirates evil. Bluejam is hardly the first case of this happening, but it’s refreshing to see someone like him now and again.
Ace used Haki. Wow.
Dadan! I was wondering where she’d been all this time.
It’s such a weird feeling to see ‘death flags’ popping up left and right for characters we know survive this flashback.
An explosion and a path? Dragon, likely. 15 pages in, I was hoping to have seen more of him. Any of him, really.
There he is. It was Ivankov after all. Although… there has not yet been confirmation that Ivankov is not Luffy’s mom…
Kuma?! Whoa. Also, I guarantee at least one of those silhouettes is someone notable. Particularly, the silhouette with the sword in front of Kuma, or the other hulking mass beside him.
Sabo! I am unbelievably happy he lives. Surely, he will tie us back to the present. Expect a reunion between Sabo and Luffy soon. I anticipate brief commiseration of Ace’s death, followed by Sabo cheering up Luffy enough to continue his journey and meet up with the crew.
Final Flash: We’re almost done with this flashback, and it’s been well worth the time spent. Fantastic.
Weekly Power Rankings – 5/23 – 5/29
Hunter x Hiatus (Again)
News in Issue #26 of Weekly Shonen Jump indicates that Togashi Yoshihiro’s Hunter x Hunter will once again be going on indefinite hiatus beginning in the following issue. This news is not surprising to any longtime fans of the series, as Togashi has frequently taken breaks for unconfirmed reasons. Rumors abound as to the reasons for so much time off, ranging from a serious medical condition to personal issues regarding the merchandising of his works to an overwhelming, life-ruling love for the Dragon Quest series of video games. These rumors are all speculation (well, except for his love of DQ), so it’s difficult to formulate an opinion of Togashi as a mangaka. Is he lazy for taking so much time off? Is he brave for drawing as much as he can while his health allows him? Is he foolish for not expecting Shueisha to capitalize on the popularity of his series, given that he previously wrote the successful YuYu Hakusho?
Regardless of the reasons for his absences, Hunter x Hunter and its fans have suffered. This most recent run of HxH began this year, in Issue 5-6 (double issue), 2010, with chapter 291. Issue 26 contains chapter 310, the last chapter before the new hiatus. In that span of 20 chapters, we’ve seen two major, conclusive fights (Netero vs. the King, Gon vs. Pitou), two minor fights (Killua vs. Palm, Ikarugo vs. Werefin), one huge plot point (Kaito), some other minor / inconclusive action (various people vs. Pouf, King vs. Melereon & Knuckle, the “game”), and whatever the hell chapter 299 was.
This run for HxH has actually been one of the better ones. 20 chapters is enough for two volumes, an improvement from Togashi’s recent tendency to release one volume’s worth at a time. Also, the amount of action and plot advancement in those 20 chapters would be considered good for most shonen series, and is laudable when compared to other HxH runs, but this Chimera Ant arc began way back at the end of chapter 185. 125 chapters in WSJ without breaks would span over two and a half years, and would clearly be considered a long arc for any series. In terms of publishing schedule, though, Hunter x Hunter isn’t just any series; chapter 185 ran in Issue 28, 2003. Seven years ago. This arc has continued for seven years, but without the satisfaction of actually progressing through plot along the way. That, combined with the fact that some of the characters who helped the series reach its peak in popularity (Kurapica, Hisoka) aren’t even in this arc, makes for a frustrated audience.
Even when the series is running, it may not provide a fully enjoyable manga-reading experience. Since he began his frequent hiatuses, Togashi’s returns have sometimes been marred by poor artwork. Here is a comparison of an earlier chapter, when he was releasing at a reasonable rate, with a chapter in the hiatus-intense years. (Click images for full size.)
 Chapter 127, Page 2 |
 Chapter 252, Page 12 |
Clearly, at his best, Togashi is a talented artist, and to his credit, he cleans up his work and creates proper art for volume releases. That said, sketches like this, for which he has become infamous, are unacceptable for a series in a major shonen magazine, let alone one by an established mangaka.
Most glaring, though, are the hiatuses themselves. Here are the shocking statistics:
- From its debut (Issue 14, 1998) to present day (Issue 26, 2010), Hunter x Hunter has been absent from Weekly Shonen Jump 276 times.
- The longest hiatus was 79 straight missed issues (2006-2007).
- The series was absent the most in 2009, missing 46 of 48 issues that year.
- There have been 585 issues of Weekly Shonen Jump since HxH began; Togashi has missed over 47% of them.
- Given 48 issues of Jump in one calendar year, that’s 5.75 publishing years missed.
- By comparison, One Piece (debut: Issue 34, 1997) has missed 33 issues to date. Naruto (debut: Issue 43, 1999) has missed 19 issues to date. Amazingly, KochiKame, which began in Issue 42, 1976, has never missed a single week!
Of course, most of these figures will be obsolete beginning in a couple weeks, as yet another hiatus begins. The future of the series remains worrisome, not in terms of publication (Shueisha is unlikely to choose now to cancel the series, over any other opportunities it has had to do so) but in terms of the story. For all these shortcomings and legitimate issues, Togashi remains a creative and engaging author who devises fascinating stories, clever powers and fighting styles, and interesting characters. His biggest failing is an inability to see his ideas through to an acceptable conclusion, as was evidenced by the end of YuYu Hakusho, and as has been unfolding before us for years now with Hunter x Hunter. Feeling appropriately frustrated, some fans have called for the series to end with the climax of this arc, but that would be a disservice both to those who have stuck with the series through all the delays and scribble-art, and to Togashi’s own unresolved plot. Other fans clamor for Togashi to hand artistic duties over to another mangaka and concentrate on the writing, which Togashi surely is unwilling to do, or it would have happened years ago.
In any case, Hunter x Hunter deserves a proper finale beyond this arc. Will Gon ever find his dad? Will Kurapica ever achieve the full extent of his revenge? Will Leorio ever… matter? This series is too good to die without suitable resolution for its most important storylines, but whether said resolution is acceptable or otherwise, it seems we’ll be waiting quite some time before we get there.
Source: Jump Intelligence Agency
One Piece 586
[chapter link]
Smoker and Hina! And a camel taxi.
Poor Sabo. Also, it’s strange and somewhat unnerving to be in the midst of a Luffy flashback during scenes like this. Usually, for One Piece flashbacks, Luffy is in the present time, ready to act on the injustice he learns. Now, present-day Luffy is incapacitated and would have neither a fresh reason nor the immediate ability to take revenge for Sabo, and flashback Luffy is too weak. It’s an odd feeling, knowing that whatever happens to Luffy here is probably left that way for the rest of his character history.
Stelly looks… weird. He’s a mix of cute, ugly, and evil. Bizarre.
This is rough. I feel awful for the kids.
Unsurprisingly, the pirates were set up. Still, they had it coming.
Please tell me that’s Dragon.
… that’s Dragon and (presumably) his wife. Luffy’s mom. Whoa.
Final Flash: Sabo not only avoids death but is probably still with Dragon in present time, and we get the first glimpse of who we can only assume is Luffy’s mom. Amazing. Also, so much for there not being anyone available to deliver much-needed retribution.
Weekly Power Rankings – 5/16 – 5/22
One Piece 585
[chapter link]
I suppose Magellan and Hannyabal don’t have any other friends.
Despite not being a huge fan of flashbacks, and despite wanting to move forward with the present-time storyline, I’m enjoying this flashback now. It’s fun to see kid Luffy devising attacks but not yet being able to pull them off.
Oda seems to be having fun writing this, too. One Piece rarely features so many narrative boxes.
Sabo is the son of a noble, and he’s passionate about becoming a free pirate. Sorry, kid, but your fate is sealed.
Several pages of bittersweet scenes of three brothers. This would feel completely different if it had been before Ace’s death. Sorry for doubting you, Oda.
Sabo’s father in cahoots with Bluejam. Next chapter should be the climax of the flashback.
Final Flash: A very different kind of One Piece chapter. More narrative, extended stretches of allowing the art to speak without dialogue. Reminds me of some old Calvin & Hobbes Sunday strips. Very much a “feel” chapter, and a good one.
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