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The World God Only Knows 124
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
For all that fuss that was raised over the renovation of the library towards the climax of Shiori’s arc, it doesn’t seem to have changed too much. Her desk is a bit different, no longer cluttered with a giant stack of books.
Shiori’s still stuttering out some words, but she seems on the whole to be more stable and talkative than she was in the past. The way she belts out the location of every Osamu Kawabata (actual author, by the way) is a great reminder of her detail-oriented personality. Understandably, the male student she’s helping only wants the easiest to find books, the ones at their current location. What follows is a great scene, as Keima was hiding behind the bookshelf in question.
We meet again
Immediately after seeing Keima, Shiori reverts back to silent “…” mode. That reaction might just be a combination of her inherent shyness with her being a bit flustered, but it seems to be a bit more than that, given her subsequent efforts to specifically avoid Keima while helping other patrons. More importantly, it’s no coincidence that a magazine about Kanon is next to her desk. She’s definitely in the gray area at least.
Avoidance in no uncertain terms
Hmm, that’s a surprise. I didn’t expect Yui to show up here at all, and certainly not to pull what she pulled. Introducing herself to Keima makes it almost certain she doesn’t remember, but her getting him down on the couch makes it just as certain that she does. In the proud tradition of the Yui arc, Keima’s the one being seduced this time. Shiori watching makes it very clear that this is a pivotal moment for her as well.
Final Flash: Very cute first half, very dynamic second half. This series is splendidly playing its characters off one another.
The World God Only Knows 123
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Chihiro seems to be responding less favorably to Keima’s conquest plan than Ayumi did. At the very least, she’s putting in a fair bit of effort to shrug it off, to increasingly less polite degrees. Indeed, Keima appears to have done less well with her than with Ayumi, but he still seems to think he did well enough.
The Haqua/Keima partnership continues to be fraught with physical abuse. Haqua isn’t missing any chances to be violently tsundere. She really pulls no punches (or footstomps, in this case).
Whether or not the “corrected-misunderstanding” kiss is in fact the best way to finish off a dating-sim, a point which could be debated to no end, it is probably the best that could be made of the current scenario. Keima certainly seems to think it is; his impassioned speech-making on the subject is fun as usual, and opens the way for a fantastic bit of straight-manning by Haqua. Her snarky reactions to Keima’s lecture are an excellent example of a type of entertainment we miss out on with Elsee being Keima’s only partner. I really hope Haqua sticks around after this arc is over.
Buzzkilling for fun and profit
Now that Keima’s dealt with the two girls known to be in the gray area, he moves on to the real challenging ones, starting with Tsukiyo. For all the confidence he had with Ayumi and Chihiro, he’s immediately thrown off balance by Tsukiyo’s appearance and trademark distant personality, hesitating to start saying his lines. Seaking of good deadpan moments, Tsukiyo’s immediate response to said lines takes the cake.
Of course, Keima’s not immediately giving up on Tsukiyo. Instead, he follows her out to the roof, eventually cuing in on the fact that she’s putting the carpet back out again. That could be just another piece of evidence that she is one of those who forgot, but kudos to our hero for noticing.
Ayumi’s arrival on the rooptop triggers an amusing sequence of events. In his desperation to not turn his 4 love triangle conquest plan into a dodecagon plan, he ducks behind the couch and somehow manages to still peg Tsukiyo as in the gray area, before pulling off an ingenious escape from Ayumi… all while hiding under a blanket.
This guy regularly outdoes Solid Snake
Next up on the gauntlet of girls Keima has been running: Shiori, the library assistant. It really has been a while since we’ve seen her. I wonder if she’s learned to talk normally in the interim.
Final Flash: Happy to know that Shiori’s up next, but also sad that, with Elsee being absent, her scene will involve no fire trucks.
The World God Only Knows 122
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Excellent chemistry between Haqua and Keima continues to entertain, especially after that shower scene last chapter. Keima has to be one of the most single-minded harem protagonists of all time (TWGOK soon will be one if it isn’t already). He’s seriously so centered on the goddesses that he continues to miss the most obvious hints of tsundere coming from Haqua. I’m not complaining; it’s kind of hilarious.
Excellent use of bold text
Make no mistake about it, Keima’s focus right now is the goddesses, and he’s definitely done a good job of thinking ahead. Yes, they need the goddesses drawn out quickly, but the Vintage agent is still around, and bringing out a powerless goddess would just invite more stabbings.
Starting with Ayumi, the mass conquest plan begins. The apple on the desk is a pretty classy touch, and the rooftop confession scene is an extremely enjoyable one, all the way to the ending high-kick by Ayumi. For all the extra plot elements behind Keima’s actions now, Wakaki Tamiki never loses his touch in making romance cute. It’s also fun to see the school tabloids have not been idle.
Your source for all Idol x Geek related gossip
Keima’s plan is to power up the goddesses through copious doses of love, with the end objective of stealing first base. This plan is totally appropriate for this series. Frankly, it’s just a great excuse to see more quick romance.
A similar confession scene with Chihiro brings about a fantastic punchline: Keima not only has a script for each confession he’s going to do, but it’s the same script (albeit with a decision tree built in) for each one. That is so very like this manga. I’m loving this arc already, and we’ve still got a couple more interesting characters to go through. This series has been showing us nothing but its very best of late.
It always pays to plan ahead
Final Flash: Hilarious, fast-paced, and fun. There’s still no evidence as yet as to what part of Keima’s new plan is “demonic.”
The World God Only Knows 121
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
I love the job Haqua is doing filling in for Elsie. Her disguise is flawless, except for the fact that she gets questions right in math class.
Specially mentioning Akari now is a bit odd. It is true that Keima still doesn’t know her true identity, but she does feel a little out of place when talking about the other conquests. While her arc was an interesting one to read, it seems more out of place in hindsight.
Akari’s also eliminated from consideration by virtue of the now-defined borderline: only girls Keima could plausibly encounter in a regular school day could have goddesses. This category includes Chihiro and Ayumi, as well as Shiori (the library girl), Tsukiyo (the doll girl), and Yui (the body-swap rich girl). Chihiro and Ayumi are fairly obvious at this point, but as for which of the other three are going to be in there, I can’t be sure; all of them feel equally important at this juncture.
The montage of girls who have been systematically been eliminated from the plot disappointingly includes some very interesting ones, particularly Sumire and Nanaka. At least they earned a mention.
Seriously, the shop could have been a sweet hangout spot
Of course, knowing where the goddesses are is exactly half the problem. The key point of this search is that they have to be dragged out from hiding. I expect this necessity of the arc to shift Keima’s focus from analysis to action.
Haqua’s sleeping over? Excellent. The evolving chemistry between her and Keima as partners is becoming increasingly fun to watch as she gets more and more dragged along by him.
The mention of Kanon is being used a lot to prompt serious mood swings. I do get that Keima regrets what happened, but there’s a limit to how much that point needs to be hammered home. We could do with a little less of that at this point.
Haqua’s shower was a fairly obvious setup for what happened next: an oblivious Keima walking in on her. While this situation is as old as it comes, the author still gets props for avoiding the pitfalls Kimi no Iru Machi has encountered of late by not stuffing the shower scene with full frontal. He gets even more props, however, for this:
A sound effect to define the decade
Haqua provides a typical Tsundere reaction, prompting a peculiar statement from Keima. Now he’s going to be a demon? Does that mean he’s going to start acting like a Black Rainbow protagonist? The impact of this statement is only magnified by the fact that he delivers it buck naked. Gotta love this guy.
Final Flash: Serious development at the end aside, this chapter got good results out of deepening the chemistry between Keima and Haqua.
Beamcast – November 8
[download link – 140min, 60mb]
In this week’s show:
News
Viz sells downloadable manga via iPad app
Viz announces online Shonen Jump supplement
Viz confirms Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Psyren licenses
Leiji Matsumoto, Shigeru Mizuki earn government honors
New releases
[anime]
Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE – Season 2 Viridian Collection (DVD) $49.98
[manga]
Inuyasha (vol. 54) $9.99
Inuyasha – VIZBIG (vol. 5) $17.99
Maoh: Juvenile Remix (vol. 3) $9.99
Discussion / Weekly Poll
Last week’s results:
Which sport do you prefer seeing depicted in anime/manga?
1. Basketball (29%)
2. Boxing (24%)
3. Football / soccer (20%)
4. Baseball (16%)
5. Tennis (11%)
This week:
Which of these partially-scanlated series would you most like to see caught up?
(Cage of Eden, GTO: Shonan 14 Days, Hajimete no Aku, Kuroko no Basket, Onidere, Sket Dance, Yankee-kun to Megane-chan)
The Great Shonen Tier List
Characters added:
Perona (One Piece)
Kaguya Kimimaro (Naruto)
Lambo (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)
Sakuragi Hanamichi (Slam Dunk)
Nagase Kaede (Mahou Sensei Negima!)
Jonathan Joestar (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
This Week in Manga
0:25:38 – Sankarea 11
0:28:33 – Bleach 425
0:38:55 – One Piece 603
0:50:15 – Naruto 515
1:02:29 – Bakuman 108
1:06:30 – Beelzebub 83
1:12:58 – Fairy Tail 210
1:16:37 – Hayate no Gotoku! 295
1:20:40 – History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi 405
1:26:41 – AR∀GO 42
1:33:45 – The World God Only Knows 120
1:40:12 – Defense Devil 71
1:43:22 – Psyren 141-142
1:49:07 – Nurarihyon no Mago 129
1:53:37 – GE ~ Good Ending 57-58
1:57:56 – Kimi no Iru Machi 111
2:00:34 – SWOT 15
2:06:44 – Enigma 8
2:14:00 – Code:Breaker 110
2:16:04 – D.Gray-man 200
2:17:47 – Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 313
Chapters of the Week
Final Flash
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Credit: AnimeNewsNetwork
The World God Only Knows 120
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
The search for the goddesses continues, taking us all the way to a neighboring university town.
I never get tired of being reminded about just how awesome Keima has managed to be. 16 conquests is quite an achievement, though it does make the task at hand somewhat more difficult.
It's not him, it's that sex pistol of a PFP
Meeting up with the wrestling-obsessed teacher again brings back some fond memories of earlier, less-serious arcs. It’s a fun set of memories, and seeing Haqua forced into the role of fake girlfriend is a nice bonus dose of cute.
Keima’s mention of the boundary line and subsequent interaction with Jun does seem to disqualify most of the girls we haven’t seen since their conquest. It is somewhat intuitive that the ones we’ve seen nothing of are going to continue to be less relevant, as they’d be much harder to integrate into the main plot. Still, it’s too bad we won’t get to see the ramen shop girl again.
Another check with Minami, the underclassman in swimming club, confirms Keima’s theory that only girls close to him are possible goddess-holders. Also worth mentioning: Keima is acting like more of a bona fide playboy in this scene, matching his current public image. His confidence with normal girls seems to have increased significantly since he started doing conquests.
I would pour hot coffee on this face
Keima’s attitude on the rooftop is a jolting moment of character introspection. He still has the conflicting emotions over getting Kanon involved in things hanging over his head; add to that mix the realization that the conquests he put so much effort into were so easily erased, and it makes for one terrific effort by Wakaki Tamiki to put a dent in his confidence.
Final Flash: Nice to see girls from prior arcs, but I will miss the girls who were not (and will probably not be) shown.
The World God Only Knows 119
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Oh, it’s that one Gokult lady again. I would like to see more of Haqua’s partner. As an old-school dating-sim buff, the concept of a buddy who operates on the town-map system of the 90s is immensely promising. That said, Gokult lady will likely stay as a side character for a while yet.
Just as Elsee is taking Kanon’s place using a magic disguise, Haqua now is using magic to disguise herself as Elsee. Now all we need is Kanon to sub in for Haqua once this whole cursed dagger thing clears up, and the cycle will be complete.
Not that it would ever fool these eyes
Haqua wastes no time getting tsundere on Keima. That routine could do with a little more variety, but I think that them being partners for the duration of the arc is a good opportunity to take the chemistry beyond that of a standard tsundere relationship.
The logic behind deducing where the other goddesses are is vintage Keima. It still seems he has some deeper reason as well, but he continues to cite games as his number one precedent for pattern-recognition. Good to know that part of him is still as strong as ever.
Kanon’s public confession seems to have had wide-ranging consequences. Now the whole school knows, and the fans are raging. Fortunately, Keima seems to have integrated even this into his grand master plan.
Possibly the lamest protest group ever
We’ve been getting really mixed signals from Chihiro. She’s been ambiguous about remembering things whenever asked directly, but her actions, both passively and now actively taking an interest in Keima, suggest she does remember. I would not mind her being a significant cast member at all. That said, hopefully the ambiguous “Does she remember me or not?” teases will all be settled by the end of the dance festival.
Haqua is definitely a more interesting sounding board for Keima’s explanations than Elsee. The exposition of Keima’s plan was made way funnier by her deadpan comments afterward. This is the kind of chemistry I was hoping for.
The makings of a perfect partnership
Ayumi seems to be acting more aggressively towards Keima as well. She is another prominent and enjoyable character, but her and Chihiro both having goddesses would be a bit of a reach. It would be kind of lazy, just going with characters who have gotten the most post-conquest screen time, and would leave little room for potentially interesting but less prominent characters to play a role.
Keima’s final internal monologue of the chapter is yet another bold statement, but it differentiates itself from other similar statements made in the past in that it’s made with him lying upside down against the wall. Classic.
Final Flash: This chapter had some decently entertaining moments, and did its part to advance the arc forward.
The World God Only Knows 118
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
So the item the Vintage agent dropped was more than just an accessory. The goddess detector should make the whole festival arc go much quicker.
… unless the author introduces some other constraint, like the goddesses being warned off.
Six goddesses, leaving four more. That’s a bit more than I expected. I wonder if all of them are in girls we’ve already met. Also, if I remember my Roman mythology correctly, four of those names are of male goddesses. That probably doesn’t mean anything, though, seeing as Apollo is one of the aforementioned.
Slash Diana being a part of the festival arc. Just as well, she would probably be more of a hindrance in that case anyway, and she might as well be hiding while the other goddesses are. Anyway, Keima has much more important things in mind right now.
Perfectly executed mood transition
Elsee, of all people, is going to being playing the role of Kanon to make sure she’s not missed. Stellar comedy, and good use of the fact that Elsee is a fan of Kanon’s music. Firetruck-themed concerts, anyone?
All it takes to change Elsee into Kanon is a new haircut. I was expecting Wakaki to at least recolor her hair. Guess Kanon’s staffers are just going to overlook that somehow. That bugs me a bit.
Nevermind, Haqua cast an optical illusion spell invisible to the readers. That’s still kinda lame. Oh well, magic is magic.
Next in the line of characters being removed from the main plot: Keima’s mom. Fortunately, this one is both plot-independent and totally hilarious.
Lest mom wonder why a stabbed girl is on her couch
This leaves room for some quality time (read: shipteasing) between Haqua and Keima. This is exactly as much setup as the dance festival needs. Start the main arc now, please.
Final Flash: Very funny moments in this chapter, and the setup part of this arc should now be 100% done.
The World God Only Knows 117
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
I believe we already knew the story of old/new Hell. Doesn’t mean much to tell it again here.
The dark mass surrounding Kanon’s wound was indeed darkness from a curse rather than blood, meaning she’s alive, although in a coma for now.
This series is definitely dialing up the serious tone, what with Keima slumped behind the chair/computer setup in his bedroom, for once not playing galge. Regret for not noticing Kanon earlier evidently hit him pretty hard.
Maybe the floor is just more comfortable
Attempts to pull the cursed dagger out from Kanon’s body are met with predictable failure. They’ll need more magical power than one goddess can provide, evidently.
Vintage is confirmed as the organization in charge of being bad guys. I guess this series was going to get one for the sake of plot, and I’m less dubious about said plot after the whole 3-chapter stretch re-introducing Kanon, but villains for this type of series could stand to be a bit less overtly wicked.
So there is confirmed to be a double agent somewhere in the New Hell squad. Probably won’t be any of the three we’ve seen thus far, though.
Hey there, Keima. After sulking about for half a chapter, our main character has regained his calculating approach to problem-solving. He does still play the cool, logical type fairly well.
Because she hasn't been cleaved in two, and this isn't Bleach
So our time limit is one week, conveniently enough time to fit in the dance festival goddess-hunting Keima was going to do anyway. Maybe it’s just me, but Keima’s bold declaration just comes down to reaffirming what he was going to do anyway.
Final Flash: Okay chapter, but all we really got was a little bit of new information. Expect the dance festival to be a bit darker-toned with Kanon hanging over Keima’s head.
Beamcast – October 18
[download link – 124min, 55mb]
In this week’s show:
News
Level E to be adapted into anime by Studio Pierrot
Saijou no Meii live action adaptation
Weekly Oricon rankings (10/4 – 10/10)
New releases
[anime]
Hayate the Combat Butler (Sub.DVD 7) $39.98
Naruto Shippuden (DVD box 4) $49.98
Naruto Shippuden Special Edition (DVD box 4) $69.98
[manga]
Rin-ne (vol. 5) $9.99
[non-shonen]
20th Century Boys (vol. 11) $12.99
Vagabond (vol. 33) $9.95
Vagabond – VIZBIG Edition (vol. 9) $19.99
Discussion / Weekly Poll
Last week’s results:
Which of these Fall 2010 shonen anime are you watching?
1. Bakuman (50%)
2. The World God Only Knows (25%)
3. To Aru Majutsu no Index II (15%)
4. Shinryaku! Ika Musume (10%)
This week:
Which among the Jump “Super Legends” is your favorite author?
(Akimoto Osamu, Kishimoto Masashi, Konomi Takeshi, Sorachi Hideaki, Toriyama Akira, Usuta Kyousuke)
The Great Shonen Tier List
Characters re-tiered:
Kurosaki Ichigo (Bleach)
Yoshina Ageha (Psyren)
Characters added:
Magellan (One Piece)
Hyuuga Neji (Naruto)
Black Star & Tsubaki (Soul Eater)
Sannomiya Shiho (Zettai Karen Children)
Senji “Crow” Kiyomasa (Deadman Wonderland)
Yamamoto Takeshi (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)
Anime Discussion
Nurarihyon no Mago (ep. 15)
Shinryaku! Ika Musume (ep. 2)
To Aru Majutsu no Index II (ep. 2)
The World God Only Knows (ep. 2)
Bakuman (ep. 2)
This Week in Manga
0:41:20 – Soul Eater 79
0:46:30 – One Piece 600
0:57:27 – Naruto 513
1:03:44 – Bakuman 105
1:09:31 – Fairy Tail 205
1:13:41 – Hayate no Gotoku! 292
1:18:18 – Kekkaishi 325
1:20:45 – AR∀GO 39
1:24:11 – Toriko 114
1:27:33 – The World God Only Knows 117
1:30:36 – Defense Devil 69
1:32:29 – Mahou Sensei Negima! 304-305
1:37:32 – Psyren 139
1:40:51 – Nurarihyon no Mago 126-127
1:46:35 – Zettai Karen Children 234
1:49:30 – Kimi no Iru Machi 109
1:52:08 – SWOT 12
1:54:52 – Enigma 5
1:59:07 – Air Gear 291
2:00:41 – Bloody Monday: Season 2 – 43
2:01:18 – Gintama 326-327
2:02:27 – Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 310
Chapters of the Week
Final Flash
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Series Roundup: 10/3 – 10/9
Mini-reviews for all the series without full individual posts.
Code:Breaker 106-107
[scanlation by ShinraTensei]
(106) Finally, Yuuki is back to normal. He’s easily at his most enjoyable when he’s this straightforward. Even if he was acting pretty evilly in the last few chapters, he’s still the adorable kid we remember.
Maeda saving Yuuki from judgment is nice, but the follow-up speech is less desirable, and the Nyanmaru dialogue is ridiculous.
The Emperor’s appearance and insistence on sacrifice is a chance to make this character mean something significant, instead of simply keeping him as a mentor-type character.
(107) Rei having to lose senses for each level of power he gains is a completely appropriate “sacrifice” for him to endure.
The Emperor is taking Yuuki’s sound just after he gave it to Rei? That’s hugely disappointing. It’s not like I wanted to see Rei use a variety of powers — he’s not a power-collecting type of character — but this is far too immediate of a turn-around from Yuuki giving all his remaining power to Rei. Yuuki’s trust in Rei now seems cheapened.
Uesugi isn’t the Revenger, but a member of the Code:Names? I guess that’s fine, but it’s not much of a plot twist, considering he was only really developed in the last couple chapters. This does allow for the Revenger to be someone more interesting, though.
Defense Devil 68
[scanlation by I Eat Manga]
Fanservice. Jody taking pictures of the girls was decently funny, the waterslide-plant was amusing, and the punchline with Kucabara was pretty good. Otherwise, very forgettable chapter.
Enigma 4
[scanlation by CXC Scans]
Sumio’s cheerful attitude is clearly setting up for a rift in the group. It may be able to win over a few of them, but at least one of the guys in the group that split off are obviously put off by it.
It’s Hiina’s turn to be developed. Her personality is pleasingly strong, and her ability nicely complements her fierce sense of independence.
After some excellent, creepy scenes with black backgrounds and deformed text bubbles in the first few chapters, seeing the same setup for a joke about the girls showering is a great touch.
It would make sense for Hiina to have to solve this puzzle, given that her ability has just been introduced, but it seems unusual to rely on a fairly weak manipulative power to save three people from a room filling with water. I’m curious to see whether her ability is used in an unexpected fashion, or whether yet another character steps in and reveals their own power.
Gamaran 65
[scanlation by Overload Scans]
I know this is hot-blooded shonen manga, but lines like “I’ve trained hard… to kick your ass!!” are pretty tired at this point.
Zenmaru’s brother is creepy and imposing just through his facial expressions alone.
It’s strange that the author feels another explanation of Narukami is necessary. It hasn’t been all that long since we’ve seen it.
Ranmaru is absolutely demolishing Gama. It’s one thing to have the protagonist suffer a loss; it’s a humanizing process that refocuses the character and the plot. It’s another thing entirely to so completely overshadow the protagonist that the reader is left to wonder exactly how he can even begin to improve to reach the level of the opponent that defeated him.
Even worse, Zenmaru was defeated by the mere hilt of his brother’s sword. This is a complete humiliation of the Ogame school.
GE ~ Good Ending 54
[scanlation by iMangaScans]
Seiji must be the stupidest protagonist in all of manga right now. This is setting new lows for main character obliviousness.
Izumi is the saving grace of this series. It’s a pity the author doesn’t have the courage to simply have Izumi tell every character who loves him/her.
Seiji’s speech to Yuki is decent, and he even came out and alluded to his feelings for her. Plus, at least the fireworks had context in which to make sense this time.
Hayate no Gotoku! 291
[scanlation by [C]hán]
Nagi is depressed enough to go to school of her own volition? This is some intensely depressing plot for such a gag-oriented series.
The reactions from all her classmates and teachers are somewhat darkly humorous, but mostly help to further the sense of malaise.
Even the test score praise backfired completely. Again, there’s some humor to be found in the twisting of readers’ expectations, and in the reactions of the other characters around Nagi, but this is seriously depressing.
The mood of the chapter makes the punchline on the final page that much more unexpected and hilarious.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 309
[scanlation by Binktopia]
So, the message of the first several pages is that Katou Julie is a sexual predator? I’m not impressed.
Not only that, but he also acted violently towards Adelheid. Lovely.
The Vindice guarantee that this entire arc will continue to lead towards an increased awareness of Vongola Primo. Amano still hasn’t learned.
Gokudera’s readiness for Lambo’s complaints is both amusing and a rare glimpse into character development. It’s a pity characters don’t receive this kind of focus anymore.
This entire chapter was a setup for a Lambo fight? What a waste of a week. I love Lambo, but he doesn’t exactly require preparation.
Nurarihyon no Mago 125
[scanlation by reddevilshn]
Sadly, these Onmyouji don’t stand any chance against Hagoromo Gitsune. They’ve been interesting, but they’re nowhere near “main character” status enough to make a sizable difference in this fight.
The misdirection and hidden intent of the Onmyouji is well done, though.
Tsuchigumo’s return to save the Nue is an unusual choice. It makes sense with the will of the character, and the Nue is still defenseless at this stage, but it does little to help Hagorome Gitsune as a credible villain.
Finally, Nura and Hagoromo Gitsune face off. This may not be the climax of the arc, given that the Nue will surely be ready soon, but this is the fight we’ve wanted to see for months.
The World God Only Knows 116
[scanlation by Red Hawk Scanlations]
Kanon’s confession scene, in the middle of an exam, is a fantastic development with regard to every element of the plot.
It’s good that Apollo now has enough power to be able to switch places with Kanon, but her stubbornness in refusing to allow Keima to help is irritating, especially when Apollo doesn’t yet have all of her powers back.
The name “Vintage” for the group from old Hell is a great choice.
Some of these developments have been appreciated, but Fiore outright stabbing Kanon/Apollo through the stomach is absolutely too far. This is still supposed to be a fun, formulaic comedy series, and while long-term plot elements are necessary, they should not completely eschew the tone of the entire series. What a horrendously disappointing event.
Zettai Karen Children 233
[scanlation by JS Scans]
The exchange between Yuuri and Hyoubu might mean something more to me if I were at all invested in Hyoubu as a villain, or at this point, as a character whatsoever.
Perhaps the author has enjoyed Inception recently? Not that Nolan invented the concept, but this seems highly reminiscent so soon after the film.
The play is still completely uninteresting, but Minamoto being given a voiceover is pretty funny.
—
Feel that one or more of these series should be getting full-review treatment each week? Show your support by participating in chapter discussion in comments. Actively-discussed series will be considered for full reviews.
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