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Derek Bown

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: May 13, 2013

May 14, 2013 by Derek Bown 1 Comment

May 13 CoverThese past two weeks have been a bit strange for me. A few years ago Golden Week was like some kind of massive torture perpetrated against me by the Japanese people. How dare they take an entire week off and deprive me of my new manga chapters!?

Please keep in mind this is a comedically exaggerated representation of a much more immature me.

Jump forward to this year, and I found myself mostly unconcerned about there being no new manga chapters last week. I attribute it to being a lot busier than when I first started reading manga on a weekly basis. It almost felt like a bit of a relief not to have new chapters, though that I attribute mostly to the fact that I didn’t have to write up a recap. As much as I enjoy this, a break is nice every now and then. But, now we’re back and we won’t be off for the next several months. I’m pretty sure there’s a week or two during the summer that we don’t get new chapters, but the only extended break in Japan I’m aware of is closer towards Christmas and New Years.

Blue Exorcist Ch. 046
There was once a time when I would have raged at a chapter like this. I hated romantic drama, and to an extent I still do. In a way, I remind myself of a certain fictional manga artist, “But I don’t want to make it hard for my main character.” Thank goodness for perspective. There are certainly plenty of reasons to rage about this chapter, depending on one’s varying levels of shipping aptitude. But the main thing I took from this is that Shura is my perfect woman. Not because of her fashion sense, but because she just doesn’t give a crap. All this teenage romantic drama and the only thing she cares about is giving Yukio a hard time. Were she real I would ask her to marry me. Sadly, she is not, so I’ll just sit back and keep enjoying chapters like these.

Naruto Ch. 629
There are a few things I could go off on in this chapter. The first thing that really stuck out was the giant hole Obito now has in him. But I was able to remember that part of his body is actually made up of a Zetsu clone. So chances are, he can survive with a giant hole through his chest because that’s not actually part of his body.

What really got me going was the reveal of how Rin actually died. I’m going to go off on a slight tangent here, but one of the reasons I really like the series Fairy Tail is because it’s one of the only manga series that addresses the fact that “one can die for their loved ones and have said loved ones be okay with it” is a pretty arrogant conceit. The sacrifice is no less noble, but one should not approach it without the understanding that while your loved ones’ lives will be saved by your sacrifice, they will still be severely hurt by your death. Because they love you so much that they would rather they die and you live, and vice versa.

That being said, I don’t know what exactly was going through Rin’s mind when she decided to jump in front of Kakashi’s attack. Certainly she was sacrificing herself to prevent the Three Tails from going on a rampage in Konoha, but besides Obito’s word we have no proof that the higher ups in Konoha couldn’t have controlled the Three Tails somehow. In fact, the majority of this series is about how Jinchuriki can control their tailed beasts. Does Kirigakure have some special way of forcing her to go on a rampage? We don’t know, we’re never told that information. Perhaps she couldn’t control it because she wasn’t a Jinchuriki from birth? We don’t know. That crucial bit of information, upon which the validity of her sacrifice hinges, is never actually explained.

Naruto

We’re given the most bare bones explanation, and are expected to feel sad just because someone died for someone else. (Semi)Pro Tip for aspiring writers, if you’re considering a plot twist that will just make readers pause and ask, “Say wha?” and you don’t intend to explain it later, then perhaps you need to rethink what you are writing!

And if it wasn’t bad enough that the entire sacrifice is dubious at best—why in the world are we supposed to think that there is some kind of deep significance in Rin using Kakashi to commit suicide? “She decided to die at the hands of someone she loved in order to protect Konoha.” From that sentence alone her actions are portrayed as something meaningful. But instead all I can see is a poorly written character deciding that it was a good idea to force the person she loved to kill her!

Now we get to the relevance of my Fairy Tail tangent. If dying for others without understanding the pain the survivors go through is a bad enough sin, then forcing them to be the one to kill you—forcing them to live with that guilt—is the most selfish thing I can imagine. We barely know what Rin’s personality was like, besides her being a proto-Sakura, but already she’s probably the worst character in this entire series! I make no effort to hide that I think Naruto has some poorly written women. But it’s a testament to Kishimoto’s skill that he could take a character we’ve barely even met and make her the most despicable character in the entire series. And what’s worse, we’re supposed to like her for what she did. It doesn’t work like that! We’ve got an entire series worth of Kakashi feeling guilt over his comrades dying. This isn’t making Rin’s death seem noble or anything, rather it’s just compounding how awful she is.

And what gets me is that we’re supposed to think this is anything other than the most awful thing anyone could do to someone they love.That’s the impression I’m getting. Why can’t we have characters in this series that don’t make the worst decisions ever? Or at least don’t ask us to accept that their decisions are not the worst decisions ever. I still haven’t forgotten that Naruto told Sasuke they would die together! Why is nobody pointing out how stupid that plan is!?!

Mario One-Shot
Fortunately Mario was a lot more tolerable than Naruto was this week. It’s a fair shake at a more serious story, though it still has those little flaws in Kishimoto’s writing that always get to me. For one, why exactly does Mario apparently die at the end? I know he says he’s sick of the world or something, but that’s not exactly a good reason. And once again we’re supposed to accept the events of the manga without questioning it. The ending practically screams, “This is meaningful and touching, don’t you dare question it!” To which my only response is, “Now wait just one darn minute!”

Mario

I think, if nothing else, that is my biggest problem with Kishimoto’s writing—that he does things not supported by any kind of logic, and expects me to buy in unquestioningly. That may work for some authors but it doesn’t here, because I have far too many questions every time I read one of his pieces. He focuses far too much on the emotional aspect of the story without backing it up with logic. Considering I’m a fan of Doctor Who I can’t exactly complain about relying on emotion more than logic. However, there is a certain level of logic required for the emotion not to crumble under the weight of questions. Consider the logic the cake and the emotion the sweet, sweet frosting. Frosting tastes good on its own, but if you try and form it in the shape of a cake you better have a crap ton of frosting or it’s either going to collapse or be a much smaller cake. And ultimately it won’t be nearly as satisfying. A sweet little nothing, without the backing of more solid food.

One Piece Ch. 708
All this talk about cake has made me hungry, but sadly the next series is not Toriko, so that segue has been wasted this week. Still, One Piece was excellent again. By this chapter, Luffy’s attempts to hide his identity are pointless, though I will give him credit for not being the instigator of his unmasking. I expected him to be dumb enough to once again tell someone that he’s Luffy. But rather than pulling that joke for a second time, Oda gave him the benefit of the doubt and let him slip up only after someone else called him on his identity. I look forward to seeing how the C block fights turn out. By that point I imagine his identity will become general knowledge and everyone will be ganging up on him.

This chapter also featured the best segue from Luffy’s scene to the B block fight. It’s a simple thing, but it’s so well done in its simplicity that I can’t help but take a moment to appreciate it. The fight itself is moving into the final phase with some of the prominent fighters from last week being taken down, allowing us to focus on the true powerhouses for this fight. I imagine that we’ll have one more chapter before we’re down to the final two, which I’ll predict to be Bellamy and Bartolomeo.

Toriko Ch. 232
Toriko continues to prove that we really can’t know what will happen week to week. It defies my attempts to predict exactly what will happen. Characters dying that I didn’t expect, others turning out to be members of this mysterious third party… The fight seems pretty equal between the IGO and Gourmet Corp, but the only safe prediction I feel I can make is that both sides will be pretty much devastated after this war. And unless Toriko pulls himself together fast he’s going to lose this fight. And then Komatsu will become one of the rare male damsels in distress.

Toriko

Nisekoi Ch. 073
I really need to stop falling in love with manga characters. Rakku’s teacher is possibly the master troll, and supreme not-give-a-crap master. Once again I find that the only way I can review Nisekoi is by giving a detailed summary about what was funny in this chapter. Which would result in me recapping the entire chapter and just butchering the jokes. So instead, go read it if you haven’t. You’ll need to read the chapter from two weeks ago, since this is a direct continuation of that. In fact, Viz has the first three volumes as digital editions. Go pick those up.

Nisekoi

World Trigger Ch. 013
By this point my interest in World Trigger is null. I feel unfair writing a series off like that, but there really isn’t anything left for me to say. This is not a very engaging manga, and I can’t quite pinpoint why I’m not engaged by it. As a critic it’s been driving me mad. I should be able to point out why exactly something isn’t very good, but in this case I really can’t say anything but that this series is just dull. The premise was interesting at first, but the pacing has been atrocious (oh hey, that’s a specific right there!). It’s taken this long to come close to something even resembling a main focus, but by now it’s pointless. I’m already annoyed by this manga’s general lack of anything interesting to say. The fact that a missing piece has finally been inserted into the story doesn’t take away the fact that I’ve all ready seen how dull this story is.

Bleach Ch. 536
Well then, this chapter has an interesting panel in it. I won’t dwell on it, though it’s kind of hard not to, but am I the only one who noticed way more detail put into Masaki’s chest than I thought Shonen Jump allowed? Anyone else? Fine then, I guess I’m just a pervert, but I swear that’s way more detail in the nudity than I thought was allowed.

By now I think it’s pretty clear that Katagiri is Uryu’s mother, or if she isn’t then we’ve been pointlessly mislead. The rest of the chapter prefers to show rather than tell, but since the important part has been shown already I can let it pass. Now all we need to do is sit back and wait to see how much Masaki’s death will be retconned. My prediction, given the general tone of this arc, is that Masaki’s death will actually be because of the militant Quincy faction.

Cross Manage Ch. 032
This week was not quite as strong as the chapter two weeks ago, but it was still very strong. Sakurai and the rest of the team’s despair over how outmatched they are by Chihara is very well portrayed. Personally I would have loved if we’d gotten another twist at the end of the chapter with Komatsu stopping Chihara’s ball, but what we did get was still very solid. By this point I’m pretty certain the Fujioka team will be defeated. It’ll be another loss to mirror their first loss against Chouran. Except this time we actually get to see the game, and the loss comes after many chapters of training and character development. It’s actually a really clever move. Show the standard loss that every sports story needs early on, and then move forward as if still following the formula. By this point the tropes had been matched and I imagine more than a few were thinking Fujioka had a chance against Chouran. By having them actually lose this match, the first loss was a decoy to give the actual important loss that much more of an impact. I imagine next chapter Misora will rally her team together and they’ll fight back, but ultimately I expect them to lose.

Really it all depends on whether the series will continue or not. If it’s being cancelled this would be a good time to have them pull themselves together and win the game. It would be satisfying, after what we’ve gotten so far, but not nearly as good as what they could do if they lose this match and the series keeps going. Considering how good Cross Mangage has been the past few months I would be surprised if it was cancelled. There are worse series in Jump that need to go away well before this one disappears. So I hope we get the more satisfying, long term story, but either way what we’ve gotten so far has been amazing.

Cross Manage

One-Punch Man Ch. 016
One-Punch Man is always good, but sometimes it’s just a little less good than others. The past few weeks have been a bit iffy as far as this manga is concerned. Still good, but not amazing. This week was back to amazing. We go back to the same old joke, but at the same time we get an absolutely awesome color page at the end of the chapter. I had to zoom in real close to determine if the background was just a picture of a sunset, or if it was an actual painting. I’m pretty sure it was a painting, but I could be wrong.

The fact that Saitama barely passed the Hero exam was amusing, especially considering how his full score on the physical test barely represents his actual abilities. He could easily beat Genos, who got a full score on both the physical and the written portion of the exams. It really begs the question, what is more important to a hero? Strength? Or brains? Well, in this case I’d definitely say strength is the most important aspect. Since Saitama can take down any hero, he just needs to study a bit more for the written portion.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 014
Has it really been fourteen chapters? And here I was thinking not much had happened at all. I used to defend the Dragon Ball Z manga as being much faster paced than the anime, which it is, but I apparently gave it a tad more credit than it deserved. And still, somehow this manga manages to hit the butter zone for what I like in manga pacing. I can’t stand it when it’s too fast, I can’t stand it when it’s too slow, it has to be just right. And while Dragon Ball Z errs on the side of too slow, it’s still much better paced than a good chunk of the manga we’ve seen come and go since Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha started.

The one thing that always bugged me about Dragon Ball in general was how nonchalant the characters were about cutting off Saiyan tails. Sometimes they just popped right off, with no sharp implements needed. I can’t exactly speak for the characters, but I’m pretty sure that if I grew up with a tail I would be more than a little peeved when it got cut off. I probably wouldn’t even know how to properly balance. Because, as I’m sure we all know, animals with tails use them to help maintain their balance. We humans, and most apes, don’t need them thanks to our vestibular system. Though, when it comes to upright balance we’ve got the rest of the apes beaten. Any animal that has a tail generally has it in order to maintain their balance. And without said tail balance would become much more difficult. Unless of course the Saiyans have the same kind of internal balancing system we have, in which case them having tails would be an evolutionary goof.

Why, it’s almost like Toriyama was some kind of comic book artist, and not an expert in biology at all.

Still, I think the characters are cooler with their tails and I don’t get why Toriyama kept cutting them off. It would have been awesome to see them learn how to control their monkey forms. Probably would have taken the series in a completely different direction. Spiky blonde haired, blue eyed martial artists beating each other up, or giant monkeys doing the same thing? Hmmm…


Bit of a long one this week, sorry about that. But, considering we didn’t have anything to discuss last week I think I can get away with a double length review this week. So, anyone getting sick of my Naruto bashing? Or perhaps do you agree? Leave your feedback in the comment section.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last two episodes, Episode 046 – April 29, 2013 – Manga Endings | Medaka Box, and, Special 002 – May 6, 2013 – Where the $%#! Is My Manga!? – A Discussion of Golden Week | Toriko Vol. 4

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, REVIEWS, Weekly Features, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: April 29, 2013

April 30, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

April 29 CoverThis was an amazingly strong week for Weekly Shonen Jump. The majority of the chapters were all excellent, with two exceptions, and once again One Piece has somehow managed not to be the top chapter this week. In fact, in my personal rankings, it’s actually just number three. How did this happen? Keep reading and find out. And as always, let me know in the comments how wrong I am.

One Piece Ch. 707
One Piece was excellent this week. Don’t think that it was any weakness of Oda’s that made this week’s chapter fall in my own personal rankings. We actually get a really good look at the fights and all the different characters. I’ve been loving the design for the Fighting King Elizabello II. There’s just something about that goofy boxing pose of his that is charming. Though, the idea that his punch can take down a wall would be more impressive if it didn’t take him an hour to charge it up and there weren’t characters who could do the same without charging their punches.

I love how Oda manages to include new plot lines in an almost flippant kind of way. Former Gladiator Ricky clearly has an important story, but not more than a couple of pages is spent on him. My best guess would be that it’s somehow connected to Rebecca’s developing plot. Oda also uses this chapter to make Bellamy appear much more formidable than he was. Even his at first goofy power is actually kind of badass. His punch is like one of Luffy’s punches, only he doesn’t have to stretch his arm back first.

One Piece

Naruto Ch. 628
I could go on a long rant about this chapter. Not even because the chapter itself is bad, but because the last chapter was the final blow for me. This series has constantly moved from being good to bad to good to bad to decent to bad to boring to bad to screw-this-I’m-out. The bad moments on their own aren’t that terrible, but they keep getting worse, and after years of putting up with this pattern, the latest batch of stupidity was the last straw. I was almost ready to give this series up after the Kage summit. After the last chapter, and then realizing how much I don’t care about this series anymore, I would give it up. Except that I write a review for it every week, and I cover it on a podcast.

If you want to know the biggest problem I have with the series now, it’s that every time I see any of the characters I remember all the stupid, terrible writing decisions Kishimoto has made in the past. The worst part of it all is that from what I’ve seen of interviews of him, Kishimoto seems like a pretty humble kind of guy. So I feel bad ragging on his series so much. But the fact remains that Naruto should have ended years ago. And a good chunk of the cast should have been excised from the series well before then.

Like I said, I could go on a long rant. Instead I’ll keep it to a medium rant.

Mario One-Shot Prelude
After the intense bad feelings Naruto left with me this week, I actually found myself enjoying the few pages of this prelude we got. I really think Kishimoto would do quite well if he just started a new series. Drop all the baggage Naruto has accumulated and just try again. It’s outlived its welcome and I wouldn’t mind seeing a completely new series.

World Trigger Ch. 012
The best I can say about this series is that it’s boring. It doesn’t have any pizzaz and the characters aren’t exactly memorable. It didn’t bother me before, but Yuma’s default face is really getting on my nerves. Sadly I can’t even build up any kind of vitriol to make my commentary about this series entertaining. It’s just boring.

Bleach Ch. 535
Bleach manages to remain adequate once again. I do find it a bit annoying that there needed to be some kind of convoluted reason for Isshin to stay with Masaki. Is it too difficult to just have him fall in love with her and leave Soul Society for her? That would certainly be a better love story and is pretty much the story readers have been telling themselves for years. Is it really necessary to complicate that? It does provide a good explanation for where Ichigo’s hollow powers come from though. And I do appreciate that Isshin’s “Well duh” answer fits the overall attitude readers have had. Of course he’s going to stay, after all how else would he have three kids with her. But overall the story has been interesting enough that I don’t mind already knowing the ending.

Bleach

Nisekoi Ch. 072
You wanted to know what my number two was for this week? Nisekoi continues its strong streak with another comedy-heavy chapter. It dips in quality when things get too serious, something One Piece does not suffer from. But at its strongest Nisekoi can trump even One Piece, at least where I am concerned. And this is no mean feat. Nisekoi was just beyond funny this week, and the comedy stretches on to the next chapter. What more could I, as a comedy fan, possibly ask for?

Nisekoi

One-Punch Man Ch. 015
One-Punch Man is back in form after a few lackluster chapters. They were entertaining at the time, but it isn’t until now that I see how they were relatively duller than what this series can be at its strongest. And they did it with a punch to the balls joke. How does that happen?

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 013
I’m sorry, but I can’t think about this series without thinking of the corresponding episodes of Dragon Ball Z Abridged. This was definitely a step upwards from the first few chapters. Seeing the focus on the wilderness of Dragon Ball does make me regret that later on in the series it will become a lot more urbanized, which is a real shame since Toriyama is great at designing and drawing monsters. Fewer cities, more dinosaurs please.

Toriko Ch. 231
This. Chapter. Was. Amazing! And yet it was only my number four this week. In any other manga I’d call OP shenanigans on Zebra. But his presence and balls-out badness transcends literary criticism and touches the depths of my primal macho drive, bypassing any argument that isn’t expressed as a gutural roar of badassitude. I don’t need any kind of balance or logical progression of strength, I just need Zebra messing even the biggest baddie up.

And yet, Setsuno is even more awesome than that hulking pile of muscles. Toriko is a very unusual series.

Cross Manage Ch. 031
I’ll probably get calls of “Traitor!” from the One Piece fandom for this one. But Cross Manage was the best chapter this week. We actually get to see a proper lacrosse game for what feels like the first time since the series started. And the game isn’t finished in a single chapter—that’s completely unheard of in this series. And boy does it pay off. After not seeing any games in so long, spending all the time on character development, we finally get to see how good Kato actually is at drawing a suspenseful game. Sure the final twist was easily called, but it was so well portrayed that I didn’t mind. Having gotten to know all these characters really helps this first actual game stand out. I would have liked to see more of the other characters—that would have helped certain moments—but I think this was a strong enough showing that Cross Manage should survive the next wave of cancellations and allow us to spend even more time getting to know the underdeveloped characters. This series has been underperforming at first, but slowly it has risen in my estimation and if it gets canned I will be calling bloody murder.

Cross Manage


Did I explain my choices for this week’s rankings well enough? Or are you even more convinced that I’ve lost my mind? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to argue with you about it.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 045 – April 22, 2013 – The Naruto Conundrum: Why Do People Like Side Characters More? | Cooking Papa

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, Weekly Features, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, Cross Manage, Dragon Ball Z, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko, world trigger

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: April 22, 2013

April 23, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

April 22 Cover PageBit of a short issue this week, or at least it feels like that for me since I stopped trying to decipher Yugioh! Zexal. It may be lax of me as a reviewer to ignore that series, but the only way for me to give it a fair shake in any kind of review would be to actually do my research and read the series. But, let’s face it, I could already tell you from chapter one it wouldn’t be interesting—and I haven’t seen anything since then to change my mind.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 012
Dragon Ball Z (I refuse to call it Dragon Ball since saying “Dragon Ball Ch. 012″ would be inaccurate) really is at its best during chapters that would be nothing but talking heads, were Toriyama not so good at utilizing panel layout and camera angles to make even the talkiest of scenes dynamic. Again, it’s impossible to comment on these chapters without letting my prior knowledge of the series color my perspective, so I’ll limit it to saying that I’m amused by how Gohan actually goes through with his plans to become a scholar, despite everyone saying it’s such a waste. Follow your own dreams, not those others inflict on you. Even if you’re talented at something, it doesn’t mean you are required to pursue it. Sure people that want to do what you’re good at will think it a waste of talent, but that’s not what matters. It’s really a good lesson for all of us.

One Piece Ch. 706
There aren’t many creators who could take a character who was beaten down like a putz and have him come back as a legitimate threat. Not only did Bellamy come across as a threat, but he actually is one of the two characters I predict to win Block B. Oda set up the fights to take advantage of the fact that we all expect Luffy to win, and managed to introduce doubt in the other two blocks by focusing on four characters in the two blocks, either of which could win their respective blocks. So it’s certainly suspenseful when normally it would not be.

Also, Nami is going to be furious if she finds out Bellamy stole the golden pillar that was supposed to be theirs.

One Piece

One-Punch Man Ch. 014
Oh Hammerhead, I’m so glad you didn’t die. He makes a great final punch line because he is the opposite of the usual. Instead of someone dying, it’s someone living when they shouldn’t. Sonic’s expression is also the scariest thing I’ve seen all week. That is all.

One-Punch Man

Bleach Ch. 534
While this chapter was not as engaging as the past few chapters have been, I quite liked it compared to the chapters before this flashback. I think it’s because this is a story I’ve been waiting for a long time, but also because it eschews the baggage Bleach has accumulated in the past years. I think Kubo is capable of telling good stories, but he’s overburdened himself with years of continuity. Sometimes you just need a fresh start, and this story is as close to a fresh start as we’re going to be getting for a while.

Nisekoi Ch. 071
When I found myself rating One Piece as the best chapter this week, I realized that I was doing what I had sworn I would not. I was ranking it number one because I always rank it number one. But this week that honor goes to Nisekoi. The setups for the final punchline were all wonderful, and the punchline itself was just hilarious. Every chapter I think I have a new favorite character, and every time I find myself proven wrong yet again. That’s it—just give this series a harem ending, I won’t mind. I can’t pick which girl to root for anymore.

Nisekoi

Toriko Ch. 230
This chapter of Toriko was the embodiment of “But wait, there’s more!” in manga. There are so many unexpected reveals and awesome cliffhangers that I can’t focus on one. Nor do I want to give anything away. Let’s just say that an unimportant character from early on in the manga comes back in a big way, and another fairly important character who only showed up once changes sides. And then Zebra. Just Zebra. You think he’s peaked in awesomeness, but then you find out you are once again wrong.

Toriko

World Trigger Ch. 011
What could have been a pretty major threat, and has been the main threat for the series’ run, turns out to handled in a montage. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out there are more gates opening in strange places, because nobody functioning as a writer in any kind of professional capacity could ever possibly make such a basic writing blunder in such a high stakes game. Could they?

We’ll have to wait to see what happens. But hopes are not high. A shame, truly, considering how much I enjoyed the first chapter.

Cross Manage Ch. 030
How does this series keep getting better!? Last week I thought it would be disastrous if Kaito skipped the match. And either he has the most common sense of any writer, or he’s reading my mind. If the latter, please pay attention, Kaito-sensei, I have a few ideas for some omake material. This chapter really showed how good Cross Manage could be as a straight up sports manga. Which just doubles my enjoyment because I already was enjoying it as a character piece. Considering possible upcoming cancellations and series ending their runs I wouldn’t be surprised if Cross Manage lives to fight another day. It better, it’s survived this long and gotten this good that canceling it now would be an abject shame.

Cross Manage


Despite being a short issue, this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump was very strong. Perhaps the lack of Naruto skewed the overall quality. One more week, and then we’re off for Golden Week. I’ll be craving new manga chapters all week, but at least I get to take a break just like the manga authors do that week.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 044 – April 15, 2013 – The Naruto Conundrum: Why Do We Hate Sasuke? | Mutant Turtles Gaiden and Super Turtles.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, Weekly Features, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, Cross Manage, Dragon Ball Z, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko, world trigger

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: April 15, 2013

April 16, 2013 by Derek Bown 5 Comments

April 15 Title CardHey kids, you want to hear a nerd get irrationally angry over a fictional character? Head over to the Manga^3 Podcast Archives to hear the first time I get legitimately angry at a manga chapter. It should be up on Tuesday, but no guarantee, it’s a long one this week, so it might not be out until Wednesday.

But besides that, the rest of this week’s chapters were all either good or great.

Toriko Ch. 229
We start this week off strong with the return of Toriko. Surprisingly enough, Shimabukuro manages to continue making a fight between two characters we only just met entertaining. Writing and drawing interesting and dynamic fights is difficult enough, but to keep that up using characters that were only introduced to the series recently is impressive.

Not only that, but once again he explains powers in a way that makes sense. I don’t know how such outlandish powers could ever really make sense, but Shimabukuro pulls it off. He even manages to end the fight in a believable way—another thing that doesn’t break the established rules of this conflict. I’m all-around impressed. This chapter solidifies the idea that the enemies are getting slaughtered here. Granted, I hope a major character ends up losing to keep the fights from getting predictable.

Toriko

Naruto Ch. 627
Based on my previous statements about this series I imagine most of you figured out it would be Naruto that had me so riled up. And yes, yes it is. This is the big chapter, where Sasuke finally realizes how much of an idiot he’s been (he doesn’t actually) and decides to fight for the village instead of against it. Oh, like how he probably should have done when he found out his brother died to protect the village! I have many reasons I dislike Sasuke as a character, all of which are major. But his ridiculous decision making process certainly hasn’t endeared him to me. No, I still remember the two years worth of manga that focused entirely on him. I remember and I will never, ever forgive. Mostly this decision comes across as not being properly developed. He spent the entire manga stubbornly blaming his woes on everyone else, and just one meeting with his brother was enough to finally have him change his mind. I don’t even believe anything Hashirama said actually influenced him. Were it not for that meeting with Itachi he never would have changed his mind; and after multiple years of negative character development I don’t buy for one second that Sasuke suddenly is going to be one of the good guys.

And then, of course, Karin comes back into the story and we get another of the major reasons I despise Sasuke as a character. He negatively influences others’ character development. Remember how Ino got great character development? Nope, she hasn’t developed in the slightest throughout the series. Remember how Sakura became a much more enjoyable character after Sasuke left? Well, the moment he comes back into the equation all that character development is discarded. I will be furious if Sakura just forgives him after he tried to kill her. And she probably will, because here comes Karin, immediately forgiving him the moment he apologizes. Her decision to give up on him was the first time any of his fangirls finally had character development that makes sense. And of course that is thrown out the moment he comes back into the picture. I just loathe, beyond all reason or sanity, how this character influences the series. He wasn’t interesting in the first place, and ever since the time skip he has consistently negatively influenced Naruto. Tip for any aspiring writers, if you have a character who negatively influences other characters’ development, consider cutting that character or rewriting them. Because chances are your readers will hate him or her as much as I hate everything to do with Sasuke and the Uchiha in general.

Hopefully that will be the last time you get an kind of major rant from me. I hope Naruto doesn’t ever give me a reason to do it again.

One Piece Ch. 705
I liken this week to a sandwich made of the most delicious bread, with a slice of month old spam in the middle. One Piece doesn’t disappoint in terms of being entertaining. Rather than a single storyline being expanded, all the storylines of this arc are properly established. And it wasn’t until this week that I realized how many different stories we had to follow. This is going to be a long, long arc. And I don’t mind. I like long stories out of One Piece. While I don’t have much to say about this chapter itself, I can say that from the snippets we got I’m looking forward to the rest of the arc. Something big is going down and it will probably devolve into a massive battle as the marines move in to take on the criminals at the arena, and most likely Doflamingo himself.

One-Punch Man Ch. 013
One-Punch Man wasn’t at its greatest this week. While it still had funny moments, they were overshadowed by the surprisingly gory deaths of Hammerhead’s gang. Not to say One-Punch Man isn’t gory, but usually it’s monsters being killed. I’m surprised to see so many regular humans killed. And since most of the chapter was the fight against Sonic and Hammerhead, there wasn’t enough comedy for me to really enjoy the chapter like I have previous chapters. It was still good, just not as good as I’ve grown accustomed to with One-Punch Man.

One-Punch Man

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 011
I definitely enjoy Dragon Ball most when it lets itself just have some fun with the world it is set in. The fights are interesting and everything, but those chapters are always far too fast and make for bad week-to-week reading. As long as we get more chapters like this I’ll be satisfied—especially as the mythology of the Dragon Ball world is expanded. Though, as we creep up the power scale, I’ll be laughing at the idea of characters like Enma and King Kai being more powerful than the main characters.

World Trigger Ch. 010
Nothing like a bunch of new characters I don’t care about to solidify how uninspired World Trigger has turned out to be. I found myself complaining against all the board members acting like idiots and discussing Osamu’s relatively trivial rule breaking instead of spending all their time figuring out why gates are opening where they shouldn’t be. I’d been giving World Trigger more than a few chances, but this chapter solidified it as one of the less interesting manga to be published in the online edition of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Cross Manage Ch. 029
Cross Manage, on the other hand, has endeared itself to me so much that I will be enraged if it gets cancelled. I don’t even care about the fact that we never see the games (though we better at least see the game against Choran), it’s all about the characters and the small moments between them. And that’s what this chapter was, a bunch of excellent small moments. All the cumulative development in the series coming together to make an enjoyable chapter. I pray that Cross Manage makes the next cut and lets us see what Kaito can do with the other characters.

Cross Manage

Bleach Ch. 533
Besides the fact that I’m convinced Aizen and Urahara are conspiring to make Isshin and Masaki have a kid (hard to take the chapter seriously that way), I quite liked this chapter. This story has been a long time coming, and my general disappointment with Bleach over the last few years is being ignored in favor of finally figuring out what Isshin and Masaki’s story is. There are quite a few questions left to be answered, and a few this chapter has raised that I am interested to learn the answer to, rather than being annoyed that too many questions are muddling the story. I would like to get back to the characters I’m actually interested in, aka, the characters we started this series with (Orihime, Chad, Uryu, etc.) but since that’s probably not going to happen I can at least enjoy the series when it’s actually being good.

Nisekoi Ch. 070
This chapter was cuter than it should have been. Tsugumi is kind of the odd duck among Rakku’s love interests, being the only one not to have a childhood connection to him, but she’s also one of the more interesting characters. This chapter makes me root for her more, while at the same time employing some oddly out of place fanservice. It doesn’t happen that often in this series, and I’m impressed that Naoshi has avoided resorting to fanservice to help his ratings. I know harem endings are the worst endings for romantic harem comedies, but I can’t help but want that to happen for this series. All the girls are great, and I don’t want to see any of them disappointed!

Nisekoi


I apologize if I offended anyone with my rant earlier, but it had to be said. And I know I can’t be the only person thinking it. Though, from what I can tell I have the majority of Naruto fandom on my side on this one. Let me know if you disagree, or if you have comments about what I said for any of the other chapters. In fact I might prefer if you talk about those instead.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode,

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: April 8, 2013

April 9, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

April 8 CoverpageThis is another one of those weeks that is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we get two extra chapters of manga. And a curse because my workload has been increased by two. But you’re not here to listen to me whine, you’re hear to listen to me whine about manga specifically. So let’s get to it.

Blue Exorcist Ch. 045
Last month’s chapter of Blue Exorcist was weak, mostly because the chapter itself lacked any specific focus. It was developing background information that would be needed later, but the chapter itself—the story itself didn’t have a specific drive. This chapter, while perhaps not to some readers’ comedic tastes, worked much better because there was a specific goal to the chapter. It may have been a bit frivolous, but it was something to latch on to and follow through the chapter with the characters. Though, I think it’s safe to say that Shiemi will probably turn Rin down next chapter. Why else end on that kind of cliffhanger?

One Piece Ch. 704
Okay, I’m not even going to bother making excuses. One Piece was just flat out the best chapter this week. Bar none. I… just… it… My most coherent response to this chapter wasn’t coherent in the slightest. All the reveals, all the characters. All the everything. Especially the illogical scale maille bikini. Seriously, how is that thing staying on? I would go into more depth, but I don’t want to give anything away. This was just an incredible chapter. I’m a lot more optimistic for this tournament’s future.

One Piece

Bleach Ch. 532
Surprisingly, despite its simplicity, Bleach was excellent this week. Granted, there is not much to talk about because the entirety of the chapter was action. But when Kubo just lets himself go and gives in to the action he can pull off some wonderful chapters. Much less happened this week compared to other series, but in the context of what Bleach is, I loved this chapter. Mostly because it turns out Masaki was a badass. Who knew? This makes the fact that she was killed by a hollow a bit suspect though. Pretty sure this hollow is much more powerful than Grand Fisher. Still, on its own, great chapter.

Bleach

Naruto Ch. 626
At least the flashback is over. That’s all I’ll say. I had planned to go on a rant about how much I hate that the Uchiha are being shoved down my throat as victims of some kind. As if they aren’t all complete lunatics (as shown by just the past few weeks worth of chapters). But I think you get the idea.

So instead I’ll say that next week we get to finally move on with the main plot. My expectations are low, but we’ll see what happens.

World Trigger Ch. 009
Ultimately, World Trigger is just kind of boring. Perhaps things will pick up, but I haven’t really found a reason to root for this series. With all the series I fell in love with there was a reason I kept reading past the first chapter, and that reason is generally expounded upon in later chapters. World Trigger just hasn’t done that. So I really can’t say anything but that it’s forgettable and dropped the ball really early on in its run.

Nisekoi Ch. 069
And the award for best expressions once again goes to Nisekoi! While I am wary about Naoshi setting up for future ugliness later on, I trust him enough to pull this series off without leaving us all feeling depressed. As for this chapter, it was adorable, and hilarious. That’s all I’ve ever asked for from this series. The moment when Raku tries Onodera’s chocolate was probably my favorite overall moment for this week.

Nisekoi

One-Punch Man Ch. 012
One-Punch Man continues the trend of moving beyond single chapter stories, and builds up towards longer stories. Sure we all know that we’re moving towards that final joke. But the journey is as important as the destination, so I say this week’s chapter is a promising start for yet another entertaining story. I don’t even mind the standard serious-type character we get in Sonic, because we all know exactly what’s going to happen with him, and it will be glorious.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 010
Dragon Ball Z is one of those series where the action may be fun, but doesn’t leave much to discuss. I am amused by the blasé attitude already being shown towards death. But I am even more amused by the tragedy that is Raditz. Not only is he the weakest Saiyan, but the two people he thought were his friends could care less about him. No point bringing him back to life—just wish for immortality. Raditz is as forgotten by his friends as he is by his creator. Tragic.

Cross Manage Ch. 028
Cross Manage may have had a weak beginning, but I think by this point most readers are on board and praying that it gets to continue. We get a small glimpse at the characters who haven’t been explored yet, and it makes me wish that Kaito could just take his time and tell the story he wants without having to worry about cancellation. The downside is that we don’t actually get to see the game, but as I’ve said, the game is not really the point. The point is how the characters grow; their training is a metaphor for their personal growth. The fact that they won their first game doesn’t matter, what matters is who they have become thanks to their training and victories. I just hope we get more time to see who they actually are. Out of a large cast we’ve had development for a relatively small group. It sounds like the volumes are selling well, so here’s hoping that makes up for what seem to be low rankings.

Rurouni Kenshin Ch. 009
And finally, the series I have not been a fan of. This week I actually quite liked it. It helps that Megumi makes a cameo, though she is robbed of all the characterization that made her one of my favorite characters. And sure the action is well rendered but ultimately confusing, but this chapter really drives home that since it is a retelling, anything goes. I won’t give away the end, nor do I really think Watsuki will go through with it. But if he does, then he has serious guts. He’s taking advantage of this being a different continuity, and he now has my attention.

Rurouni Kenshin


And somehow I got through all those chapters in fewer words than normal. How odd. Let me know if I missed anything, or if there is anything from this week’s chapters you would like to discuss. The comment section is just at the bottom of this page.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 042 – April 1, 2013 – Abridged Series | My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Volume 1.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, Cross Manage, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko, world trigger

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: April 1, 2013

April 3, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

April 1 CoverpageIf I might, perhaps, offer a piece of well meaning criticism to the Weekly Shonen Jump team at Viz? This may not bother many other people, but it does bother me when it takes longer than it should to figure out which series comes in which order while putting this column together. The layout of the contents page is very nice, as far as just the looks are concerned. But functionally it has terrible flow. Meaning, I can’t tell which series comes next just by allowing my eyes to flow from one to the next. I actually have to take a second and check the page numbers. Part of the purpose of the table of contents is to actually let the reader know what order the chapters are in. And while many weeks you achieve some form of flow that makes sense, what you’ve given us this week, and a few other weeks as well, is harder to decipher than it should be. Just putting that out there, the design could use a bit of work.

Now, let’s talk about the manga itself.

One Piece Ch. 703
I absolutely love One Piece this week. Even though I (and probably everyone else) saw Luffy’s gag coming a mile away, it still managed to get a broadside in on us. Or at least that’s what it did for me. I was in hysterics by the end of the chapter. Not only was this chapter funny, but it also promises something we’ve never seen before, namely, Luffy fighting without using his powers. Since he has to keep a low profile, he won’t be able to use his powers. It’ll be worth the tournament arc just to see him fight normally. Of course he’ll end up giving himself away; the question is how long will it take? And the answer is, it will be unexpected when it does happen. Because somehow Oda can do that. What he’s going to do will be obvious, and yet the impact will be as strong as if it were a complete surprise.

One Piece

I’m looking forward to seeing what Oda does with the Hans Christian Andersen references this arc, and particularly what the role of the toy soldier will be. And whatever Sanji is getting into—whether he gets lucky or just gets stabbed—I’m looking forward to seeing how all these separate elements tie together.

Sakuran (Tentative) One-Shot
Random fanservice aside (and I mean really random), I quite liked this one-shot. I wonder what exactly the purpose was in putting it into our edition of WSJ. It’s either an experiment to see whether one-shots work well in this format, or it’s because there is a strong push for this to become a series, and the main Shonen Jump offices want as much exposure for the story as possible.

I find it interesting how many new series are all romance series. It’s as if aspiring manga artists are afraid of going against the big three (four if you count Toriko) action series. Does this mean we won’t get a new big shounen hit until after the big three have finished? I certainly hope not, I like shounen action series. And while I’m perfectly happy reading romance series, I would still like to see some more action series.

Toriko Ch. 228
Speaking of action series, nothing like an action-centric episode involving a character we only just met a few months ago, and an antagonist we never met. But somehow Shimabukuro makes it work. Brunch has been a great character ever since his introduction, and I love how his lightning powers are supposed to work in the natural world. That’s what’s great about Toriko; it takes abilities that occur in nature, and amps them up to the nth degree.

Though I am a bit miffed that Shimabukuro used the power I thought up years ago for my X-Men O.C. I’ll sue! (This is a joke, I won’t actually sue, Shueisha lawyers that may be reading).

Nonetheless, Brunch is fun, his opponent is OP as heck, and I look forward to seeing how this fight turns out.

Toriko

Naruto Ch. 625
That’s it! I’m getting those buttons made. “Tobirama was right,” is my new catchphrase. I really enjoyed Hashirama when he first was introduced. But literally every single decision he made was the wrong decision. He wanted to make Madara the Hokage. I’m sure that would have turned out swimmingly—it’s not like his entire family is emotionally unstable. And even in this chapter alone, we find out that he’s so emotionally unstable that he turns evil because Tobirama says the leader should be chosen democratically and that everyone would choose Hashirama. I’m so glad that the ultimate villain of the series turned evil because he lost a popularity contest!

Nisekoi Ch. 68
Somehow Naoshi manages to combine comedy with drama in the same chapter. The pattern that I’ve noticed is that he’ll go with comedy for a few chapters, and then he’ll end a chapter with a dramatic question. In this case the question in…question is in regards to who Chitoge likes. This is a big deal because it’s Onodera asking the question. While we all know that Chitoge is the main romantic interest, Naoshi manages to keep the stakes high for the other girls. Chitoge’s answer to Onodera’s question will most definitely set the course for the rest of the series. Hopefully Naoshi manages to find a way to keep it going without dragging the plot out unnecessarily. Which wouldn’t be too hard, since he could keep filling in the gaps with comedic chapters, but he seems to be moving the plot along much faster than I would have expected initially. Still, I’ve enjoyed this series greatly, so I will have faith in Naoshi for the rest of the series.

World Trigger Ch. 008
I enjoyed this chapter well enough. We finally get an explanation for how Osamu got his arm back. But by now I’d already figured the basic idea out. It seems like Ashihara is answering questions that most readers have already figured out. Which says some iffy things about the pacing of this series. I’d have to say, it’s been going far too slowly. Pacing in manga is a tricky beast. Even long serialized pros sometimes have a hard time getting it right. And while we had some good action this chapter, overall I’m still lukewarm. I really enjoyed the first chapter, but right now I can’t say I’m too excited. Action is all good and fine, and I want more action, but it needs something a little more for me to really get into it.

Cross Manage Ch. 027
Cross Manage continues to give us a lot more focus on the characters, in this case the current antagonist Chihara. Since Cross Manage is set in a version of the real world, Chihara is refreshingly not some kind of cookie cutter antagonist. She’s the kind you find in real life. She’s not there to ruin the protagonist’s life; she’s just there, doing her own thing, and just happens to be an opponent for the protagonist. She manages to be the opponent without actually being evil. While this is refreshing, it does leave little to the imagination as to what her fate will be. She’ll lose, she’ll learn something, then she’ll become a friend. But at least she’d be that type of character without going further than would be realistically forgivable.

Also, Toyoguchi makes some terrifying faces when she’s happy.

Cross Manage

Bleach Ch. 531
I grew up in Germany. I speak German, though it’s a bit rusty at the moment. So it drives me crazy seeing Kubo make some pretty basic grammatical errors (or just plain make up words). And I know that he likes Germany—his notes have been talking about the trip to Germany he took. But still, it’s one of those little things that is driving me up the wall.

Also, Ryuuken starts talking about “mixed breeds” and all that. Man, the Germans can’t catch a break even from their old allies. Overall, an enjoyable enough chapter, though I find the random soul reaper worried about jurisdictions while Isshin is fighting the unknown hollow to be absolutely laughable. I’m pretty sure jurisdictions aren’t that important in the middle of combat.

And then Aizen shows up and attacks Isshin. Can we please have an arc where he doesn’t come back as the villain? All goodwill from his reveal at the end of the Soul Society arc was wasted with the Fake Karakura Town arc.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 009
And thus, Goku begins his cycle of death and rebirth. I don’t find there’s much I can say about this chapter. Mostly because this isn’t a brand new chapter for me. I’ve watched the anime, and read the manga ages ago. So all I can really say is that this current arc is definitely one of my favorites of the Dragon Ball manga. I think as far as shonen action series go it flows the best. The transition from Goku’s death to his training will be a lot of fun to read, but the individual chapters are a bit difficult to comment on. While good, they tend to lack in substance.

One-Punch Man Ch. 011
Once again, the same basic joke, supplemented by a new twist. I just…I really just love this manga. It’s the funniest manga running in WSJ online, with Nisekoi being a close tie. And yet, we somehow still rely on the same basic premise and the same basic gag. Fortunately there was plenty to enjoy this chapter, beyond just the buildup for the final joke.

One-Punch Man


And that’s it for this week. Let me know in the comments which chapter you liked best. And what do you think of the table of contents layout? Am I just overreacting? (The correct answer is: No.)

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 041 – March 25, 2013 – Manga Art Styles | Toriko Vol. 3.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: March 25, 2013

March 28, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

March 25, 2013 Cover PageThe impossible has happened. Somehow a manga other than One Piece was my favorite manga of this week. I didn’t think it possible, but One Piece was just the right level of “Okay” and Nisekoi was just the right level of “really, really funny” that it managed to beat One Piece. Who knew? It really is possible.

Naruto Ch. 624
Oh those rascally Uchiha. And here I thought I was supposed to feel some kind of sympathy for one of them. Well, if that was the case then I have to confess it didn’t work. Madara’s turning against Hashirama was exactly what I’ve come to expect from practically every single Uchiha character. I will say, though, these past few chapters have endeared Tobirama to me more and more.

I think I’ll make some kind of pin or badge with the catchphrase “Tobirama was right” on it. Literally every single time he’s said someone should be killed, he has been completely right. Had he just killed Madara there? Everything bad that happened to Konoha never would have happened. Sure Hashirama makes his excuses, but if what Madara said is true, and the Uchiha clan was basically broken, then killing him would have been completely the right choice.

Naruto

World Trigger Ch. 007
Not a lot has really happened in these past seven chapters. The biggest problem with this chapter is that once again it’s nothing but talking, and talking, and talking about things that I as a reader barely understand. The learning curve is steep in this series, and while I don’t like being babied by a story, a bit more explanation as to what the deal is with the Neighbors and Border would be nice—except when the explanation is half a page with a diagram explaining that rank A is higher than rank C. I know that many Japanese are not quite proficient in English, but all it takes is a working knowledge that English is in fact a language that exists to grasp this very simple concept.

World Trigger

One Piece Ch. 702
While this week’s chapter of One Piece was good, it was just a level or so below that of the preceding chapters—not for any fault in the chapter, but mostly because nothing really stood out. We already knew about Ace’s fruit, so that wasn’t a big reveal. And I find it a bit worrisome that we seem to have the makings of a tournament arc—a staple of shounen manga that One Piece has avoided over the course of more than a decade. If Oda decides to do a tournament arc, I believe he will make it entertaining. Or he might make it very short, like Shimabukuro did with Toriko. Still, I would very much prefer if Oda stayed far, far away from the tournament arc cliché.

One Piece

Nisekoi Ch. 067
How can a chapter be so funny, and so gut wrenchingly heartbreaking at the same time. I was laughing throughout the entire chapter, up until Onodera trips. That last page is so heart wrenching specifically because it downplays the emotional impact. There are no streams of oddly globular tears, in fact there are barely even tears at all. For a series that gets most of its humor out of over-the-top expressions—many seen in this chapter alone—Onodera’s face on the very last page is one of the saddest things I’ve seen in manga for a while.

Toriko Ch. 227
Because Toriko employs the omniscient narrator so often I think it’s safe to say that Tommyrod is in fact bug food. I was right in that this was the last chapter dealing with that fight, but after most fights in Toriko ended without any lethal blows being landed, it comes as a shock to see a fairly major antagonist die. And with the introduction of Neo I think it’s safe to say that Shimabukuro intends to have the Gourmet Corp be dealt a heavy blow—one that will set them back quite some time. I was worried that this was far too soon for such a major confrontation, but the introduction of a second antagonistic organization, one that has flown under the radar but been well foreshadowed, shows promise. Shimabukuro most likely intends for the Gourmet Corp to be out of the picture for a while, and he has another antagonistic group ready to pick up where they left off.

Cross Manage Ch. 026
Once again it’s a bit of a shock to be reminded that this series is actually a sports manga. I liked the anecdote about the Celtic’s match, especially with how it tied into Sakurai’s plan to defeat a team significantly stronger than them. I do get the feeling that this match will be the final confrontation, and that Cross Manage is not much longer for this world. Which is a shame, I would have liked to see this series stretched out over a few more chapters. There was so much more character development I wanted to see for the other girls. Maybe we’ll get lucky, but we’ll have to just wait and see.

One-Punch Man Ch. 010
How can a character look both so blasé and horrifying at the same time. While I know Saitama will end this fight in one punch, I am glad that the story is being stretched beyond a single chapter. We’ve had the same joke a few times, now it’s time to show us how strong the actual story is. Is it possible to build a story around such a simple premise as a hero who cannot be beaten? I say yes. All it takes is playing around with the dynamics of the fight scenes. While Saitama is the hero, he’s also played up as the real monster in this confrontation—not because he is a bad person, but because he is in fact the most terrifying creature in the world. Next week we get to find out why he is so strong. Let’s hope the reveal is good. (Probable Spoiler: It will be.)

One Punch Man

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 008
Goku is an odd character. He’s the archetypal foolish protagonist, but there are times, such as in this chapter, when we see exactly how foolish he really is. Or perhaps it would be better to use the word gullible. Either way, whichever word you prefer, he shouldn’t have let go of Raditz’s tail. Surprising no one, turns out Raditz is lying scum who is perfectly willing to murder his own brother. Though, considering that they don’t actually know each other, I can assume that the bond of brotherly love hasn’t exactly had much time to be forged.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Confession time, again, I didn’t really read this chapter. Well, I did skim it, but I didn’t get much out of it. While the domestic scenes were fun enough to skim, I was distracted by how outlandish the art style is. Somehow it manages to be ludicrous while still being art of the most commercial grade. While I wasn’t invested in the conflict later on in the chapter, I was amused by how the big source of conflict was dealt with within a few pages.


And that wraps up this week. If you have any comments about this week’s chapters please leave them below. If you want to praise my insight, leave a comment below. If you want to call me out for the hack that I am, the button to close this tab is up on the top.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 040 – March 18, 2013 – How Batman Improves Any And All Manga | Toriko Vol. 2.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: March 18, 2013

March 22, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2013-03-23 at 3.25.33 PMWell, this is the week that One Piece is not the best manga chapter in the magazine. But not so much thanks to the merits of the other contenders, rather it’s because One Piece was on hiatus this week. It’s kind of amazing how the only way other manga seems to have a chance is when One Piece isn’t around to act as a comparison.

Toriko Ch. 226
It looks like Sunny and Tommyrod’s fight is about to come to a close. Considering how large this arc is and how many fights we have to get through, I’m not surprised that one of the main fights of this arc is going to be resolved in what will apparently be less than five chapters. It definitely helps that this week’s chapter explains where Sunny got his power up from. As long as they’re done with style, I don’t mind unexplained power ups, but the fact that we actually got an explanation helps a great deal. This arc has been a lot of fun, and while it may not be the best for non-action fans, anyone already enjoying Toriko is most definitely enjoying this along with me.

Bleach Ch. 530
I generally avoid places where manga fans congregate, but even my absence from tumblr wasn’t enough to keep me from feeling the waves of “shipping enthusiast” metaphorically breaking over me. There’s just a sense—a disturbance in the force I suppose you could say—whenever I see something that could be used as fuel for shipping debates. And while I try to avoid those debates with a passion, I can’t help but chuckle every time I find a nugget. I’ll leave you to find out what exactly I’m talking about here.

As for the chapter itself, I’m continuing to enjoy seeing the previous generation. Ryuuken was a lot more sympathetic than I thought he would be, after all the times we’ve seen him in the manga before. It’s the small pieces in the manga that make it all the more enjoyable. Ultimately though, I can’t wait to find out what the deal is with the apparent Vasto Lorde revealed at the end of the chapter. I think Bleach fans will recognize that particular design, hm?

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Cross Manage Ch. 025
After all the romance and relationship elements this manga has been throwing at us, I’ve started to refer to it as a shoujo manga in disguise. This was the first chapter in which a clear shounen element was introduced. Until this point, we’ve never really heard the characters flat out say how much they want to win. Seeing them confronted by an insurmountable opponent and having them decided to win no matter what is such a shounen element that I’m surprised it took so long to introduce into this series. Here’s hoping Cross Manage has a chance to keep moving forward.

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One-Punch Man Ch. 009
One-Punch Man‘s greatest charm is its refusal to play by the rules. When faced with the villain’s lair, do the heroes fight their way up from level one to the very top? Nope. They just blow the place away. Fortunately for the villains, the real complex is underground. Still, there is a sense of logic to the series. After all, if you have the power to demolish a building of bad guys, why not just do that, rather than bothering to fight your way through the complex? One-Punch Man is a satire not just of the superhero genre, but of shounen action adventure series in general. Granted it does make for shorter arcs, but we already know how each fight will end, so why not have some fun with the tropes of the genre?

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Dragon Ball Z Ch. 007
Quick question, was the Kamehameha ever shown in color in the original Dragon Ball manga? If yes, was it colored yellow? Did the anime get the color wrong by coloring it blue? It’s not like this would be the first time that an anime got the color scheme wrong. However, if it never was colored in the manga before, then why is it being colored yellow here? It may not seem like a big deal, but it’s such an arbitrary change, and I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t know what color the Kamehameha is meant to be. It’s only the most iconic attack of the series, and in every incarnation I’ve seen it in it’s been blue. And yet, somehow, they got the color of Picolo’s attack correct. Does anyone know who exactly has been coloring these chapters? Because either they made the silliest mistake in the world, or I’ve had it wrong this entire time. I’m going to stick with the colorist making a mistake until proven otherwise.

World Trigger Ch. 006
I liked this chapter. I can’t really put my finger on why exactly why I liked it more than other chapters (after the first one), but there’s just something about this week’s that works better. Perhaps it’s the interaction with the other Border characters. Perhaps it’s seeing Yuma lay the smack down on the pretentious Ai. Perhaps it’s Jun’s unexpected reaction. Perhaps it’s Yuma having to explain to Osamu that he, Osamu, was the one to save everyone (the only one who Yuma saved was Osamu, when the latter couldn’t protect himself). Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing whether this series continues to rise or starts the rapid descent into cancellation.

Nisekoi Ch. 066
Once again, Nisekoi manages to combine adorable and hilarious in the same neat package. The class finally have to switch seats, but because of the teacher’s relaxed attitude, they keep switching them over and over. Again, this is a chapter that needs to be read; it’s just too funny and adorable to explain without spoiling the experience. Just be warned, this chapter contains Shu’s crowning moment of the series.

Screen Shot 2013-03-23 at 3.27.00 PM


Which was your favorite chapter this week? Or are you holding out choosing until One Piece returns next week? Do you have any suggestions that would make this column better? We’ve been running this for a while, so I would love to get feedback for what I could be doing better.

If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 039 – March 11, 2013 – Women in Shonen Manga | Toriko Vol. 1

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: March 11, 2013

March 14, 2013 by Derek Bown 7 Comments

Title CardThe one downside of Weekly Shonen Jump Online is that not everyone wants to play along. Tumblr has become a cesspool of spoilers for me. Even deviant art is dangerous ground to tread. But where in the past I didn’t care, because I was reading scanlations when they came out, now I find myself caring very much. Has anyone else been having trouble with spoilers, now that you’ve been waiting for the chapters to be officially released?

Also, would anyone like me to give each chapter a grade? I know people like grades when reading reviews, so I’ve been wondering if that’s something I should adopt for this column, or if it wouldn’t work well. Leave your answers in the comments if you please.

Nisekoi Ch. 065
All I have to say about this week’s chapter is, what did they do to Raku!? Someone please tell me, otherwise it’s going to be left up to my imagination, and my imagination is a dark, scary place!

Either way, this was a great chapter. As I’ve said, I love me some comedy, so the more comedic Nisekoi gets the happier I get. And a chapter focusing on all the girls in the series getting drunk off liquor candies? All the better. Reviewing comedy is a bit tricky, because my gut instinct is to tell you all about the jokes, but I can’t possibly do them any justice, so please, if you haven’t yet, go read this chapter.

Nisekoi

One Piece Ch. 701
Once again, every week I think to myself, “I should really give the number one spot this week to a different series. I ALWAYS give it to One Piece, people are going to start thinking I have inflexible taste.” And every week I read the chapter, and my first reaction is, “Well sonnuva…” I really, really don’t want anyone thinking I rate One Piece as high as I do just because it’s my favorite series, not because of the merits of the individual chapter. But when the individual chapters are just so good, what else can I do?

This week’s chapter is so good partly because we get our first look at Dressrosa, and partly because we get introduced to a character who was most likely first mentioned last week. Creative world building, well written comedy, and great action—this week has all of that, as One Piece usually does. If you aren’t reading this series yet, then you need to take the plunge and invest the necessary time to get caught up. It really is that good.

One Piece

Naruto Ch. 623
I’ll say this about this week’s Naruto, it was better than last week. There was much less misplaced comedy and the confrontation begun at the end of this chapter looks like it will be a lot of fun, and was well set up. I’m finding myself enjoying this flashback a bit more, now that I’m a few weeks removed from remembering that it is awkwardly placed in the story as a whole. And I have to admit that I’ve been interested in this time period in Naruto history. So for now I’m looking forward to more.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 006
The big problem with Dragon Ball Z, for this column at least, is that because of how action-intense it is there will be weeks where I find myself with nothing to say but, “Well, there was punching.” Though I suppose that might be more than could be said for some episodes of the anime.

In this case I find that the action was of course well executed and, unlike the anime which more people are familiar with, the fights actually move at a good pace. Rather than ending the chapter at a stalemate, Goku and Picolo are both injured, with only one chance to take down Raditz. In my own opinion this version of the story is the superior version, and any fan of Dragon Ball Z who hasn’t read the manga yet should be using this chance to become familiar with where it all started.

Cross Manage Ch. 024
It’s strange how Cross Manage has been embedding itself in my heart. I can’t think of any clear, specific reason for why I like it so much, but with every new chapter I find myself thinking that I would hate to see it go. Perhaps it’s the absurd humor, it might even be the surprisingly frequent fanservice, but whatever it is, it’s an entertaining read even if it has little to do with the titular sport.

Really it’s all about the character humor. In this case, Namine Chihara, is such an odd duck that I can’t figure out what her personality is meant to be. Either way, it’s entertaining. Currently she’s the closest thing to an antagonist we have, but she doesn’t seem like she is actually evil. Which of course works much better for the real world setting Cross Manage is going for, where antagonism is generally less about all out evil and more about people with opposing goals coming into contact with each other. I really liked this chapter, and hope that we get many more in the future.

Cross Manage

World Trigger Ch. 005
World Trigger, for its strong start, has been a bit lackluster these last four chapters. This week, however, we did get some answers about how the triggers work. But rather than have a character explain it, we pick up nuggets of information from Yuma behaving the way a proper character is supposed to. He doesn’t explain anything, but his dialogue still reveals important information. I can appreciate this level of writing, after reading many, many series where any and all exposition is imparted to the reader through clunky dialogue. I’m still wary about whether this series will go anywhere, but there is some real skill behind this writing. So we shall see.

One-Punch Man Ch. 008
If you want a quick explanation to share with people about what exactly One-Punch Man is, you’re welcome:

One-Punch Man is the story of a world where everyone is trying to have regular superhero fights, but one man refuses to play by the rules.

I had this revelation after seeing Saitama interact with more than just the villain of the week. And with the story eight chapters in, I think it’s safe to say that the one punch joke somehow just isn’t getting stale. I’ll let you find out for yourself why exactly, but the last page of this chapter was the funniest thing I read this entire issue.

Bleach Ch. 529
Ah, sweet, sweet answers. It’s been a while since I’ve been invested in Bleach. And while I refuse to ever get involved in the fandom again—once burned twice shy after all—I am slowly getting interested in the series again. After all, we’re finally getting Isshin’s story, something fans have been wanting forever. And so far it isn’t terribly written, so I think I can get properly invested. This chapter was nothing but answers. For one, we finally find out why Ichigo and Kaien were practically identical, and unlike the reveal of Ichigo’s mother, while there was a theory that Ichigo and Kaien were related, the reveal was handled properly this chapter, in that it didn’t act like the reveal was bigger than it was. So, kudos to Kubo.

Toriko Ch. 225
Ah, nothing like powerups out of nowhere. It takes a certain kind of clout to properly pull that off. And where before only One Piece was able to do that without annoying me, Toriko seems to be aiming for similar heights, because Sunny’s powerup may be out of nowhere, but it’s far too cool for me to care.

Toriko

The majority of this chapter really was just Sunny and Tommyrod’s fight, but that was more than enough for me. I’m not sure exactly how using sensor attached to hair is meant to be culinarily themed, but I think I’ll give it a pass, just because it is unique from all the other methods of fighting this series provides. And the only way to keep multiple fights interesting is by having varied fighting styles. And Toriko never disappoints in that aspect.


If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 038 – March 4, 2013 – What is Josei Manga? | Nanatsu no Taizai.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: March 4, 2013

March 5, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

CoverThe bad part about an excellent week of chapters is that the following week has to work that much harder just to seem passable. And while this week’s chapters were not quite as excellent as last week’s, we still got a good bunch of manga this week. We also got a lot of it, since Rurouni Kenshin and Blue Exorcist returned to the lineup for their monthly appearances.

Rurouni Kenshin Ch. 008
I will say this for this month’s Rurouni Kenshin: It did not frustrate me quite as much as last month’s. Sure, Kanryu is an absolute joke of a villain, and the fact that he would even be remotely considered a threat for Yahiko—even an untrained Yahiko—stretches my suspension of disbelief to the maximum. Still, I did get a chuckle (and then a groan) out of the end of Sanosuke’s fight. Sure it was amusing, but at the same time I wasn’t really looking for comedy out of this series. As with every month, this project feels more and more like a tired attempt to cash in on the movie’s publicity rather than a labour of love or anything.

I guess one way of expressing my disappointment is that I was really hoping for a sequel. Oh well, it is what it is, and critiquing it based on what I want it to be rather than what it is isn’t fair. Unfortunately what it is isn’t very impressive in the first place.

Naruto Ch. 622
Speaking of misplaced comedy, Naruto is a series about Ninja and the impact war has on children, though one could be forgiven for missing that point, considering that this chapter started with an unfunny comedy segment. Kishimoto’s humor is very hit or miss—most often miss it seems like. I’ve only really laughed at one of his jokes in months. And even that was probably misplaced comedy. In this case, starting off an attempt at establishing pathos in your story with a goofy scene isn’t the best way to go.

And while I lauded him for connecting Naruto and Obito thematically, if he’s trying to do the same thing with Hashirama and Madara I will go on strike. It’s clever if done once. Done twice, it becomes the damning evidence that it’s the only tool in your box.

Naruto

Still, the point that war is bad and children dying in war is bad is always a good point to make. Too bad the execution left plenty to be desired.

One Piece Ch. 700
While I find it odd that Kinemon and Law seem to be getting along just fine, considering Law was responsible for holding up Kinemon’s search for Momonosuke, it’s a minor concern in an otherwise great chapter. There is so much material to go through that I feel more inclined to just say this was a great chapter and leave it at that. There are, however, a few points worth noting. For one, we get confirmation that Buggy is one of the seven warlords, and his inappropriate title amuses me to no end. Second, Luffy and Doflamingo interact for the first time, and it’s good to see that Luffy still can’t take anything seriously. Thirdly, Law is slowly, against his own will, becoming accustomed to the crew. And hilarity ensues. Fourthly, Nami finally put on a damn shirt. Far be it from me to complain if beautiful women want to wear skimpy. But it becomes very hard to sell the series to non-fans when one of the main characters wears nothing but bikini tops for two solid arcs.

One Piece

World Trigger Ch. 004
World Trigger continues to ask questions, but the answers seem to still be off in the distance—for the moment at least—but not in the way that frustrates me, more in the way that I am interested to know more. In execution, World Trigger is playing it a bit more standard shounen than I would necessarily want. Even as a shounen fan, I need a bit more to really grab my attention. For now I am willing to come back to see my questions answered, but I hope at least a few of those questions will be answered soon. Though, to be fair, I am willing to wait if it means the story is paced properly. The jury is out on World Trigger for the moment.

Nisekoi Ch. 064
As I’ve said before, if you want a manga that gives you romantic comedy that doesn’t get too drenched in melodrama, then Nisekoi is the manga for you. This chapter somehow manages to give all the girls their time in the spotlight, and it does so at Rakku’s constant expense. It’s a necessary element for a harem manga that the main character be the butt end of a few jokes. Otherwise the readers (the male readers at least) would start hating them for being so unreasonably lucky with girls. Somehow Rakku is one of the few who can escape that scorn, and still be a fitting candidate for a bit of punishment here and there. Also, once again, Chitoge wins the chapter for her facial expressions.

Nisekoi

Toriko Ch. 224
This chapter didn’t quite have as much material as in the past few weeks. We spent a lot more time focused on Coco, and a bit on Sunny, that we didn’t get to see much of the battle as a whole. Which works plenty fine, since now it is time to focus in on the individual battles now that the battle as a whole has been established. Still, the material provided seems a bit less bountiful than last week. At least we get an explanation for why cooks are so important. That and Sunny’s fight promises to be the absolute most entertaining part of this war.

Bleach Ch. 528
It’s cute how Kubo pulls out these big reveals, only to have his readers say, “Uh…yeah, we kinda figured it out when you dropped the first hint months ago.” That’s not to say the reveal of what exactly Ichigo’s mother was is bad, it’s just that literally everybody following this manga figured it out back when Ichigo first fought whatshisface the Quincy King.

The problem lies in the fact that Kubo drops hints, and those hints point at literally the only single explanation. And then when the only explanation is revealed, it comes across as underwhelming. This would be easily overcome if he broadened his strokes a little. Make the hints point at an obvious conclusion, and then have the reveal be something completely different but completely logical. But, considering that we are almost at the end of the series, I’ll take what I can get.

For a Bleach chapter, there was a surprising amount of content this week. Action scenes usually go by so fast that reading a completely plot centric chapter seems like suddenly reading War and Peace. And what I said last week is true, when Bleach is good, Naruto suffers. And this week Bleach was quite good.

One-Punch Man Ch. 007
As usual, One-Punch Man was excellent. The joke continues to be the same, but it continues to be funny. Rather than have the one punch be the punchline at the end of the chapter, the joke is carried through the whole chapter. The introduction of Genos, and an ongoing set of antagonists, helps give this series more body. Also, it’s just really funny every week.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 005
The fight starts, and this is the first time we are really introduced to the idea that power levels are unreliable. I can’t really think of much to say, beyond how ridiculous it is to see Raditz winning, in hindsight at least. Still, it’s a shame that Toriyama introduced him as Goku’s brother, and then never decided to do anything with him after this arc. It seems almost pointless to introduce him as Goku’s brother and then never use him again. Sure it may be unique to have what should be a major character in the hero’s life be relegated to a oneshot villain. But in that case, why bother establishing the relationship in the first place.

Cross Manage Ch. 023
Cross Manage continues to stay an enjoyable series for me. Sure the focus isn’t on the sport, which is a bit odd for a sports series. But I enjoy it for the characters. With the development they’ve gotten in the past few chapters, I’m finally looking forward to these chapters, and would be severely disappointed if this series ends. It’s that right balance of quirky characters with high school and sports drama that I can enjoy reading.

Cross Manage

Blue Exorcist Ch. 044
This series must be maddening for anyone invested in any kind of romantic relationship between the characters. First Shiemi appears to be a romantic interest for Rin, then chapters like this emphasize her feelings for Yuki, etc. Were I not an unfeeling Cyberman I would be frustrated by this series. Fortunately I was instead able to focus on the growing friendship between Rin and Godaiin, as well as the potential world building promised to us by Mephisto. This chapter focused more on the different characters, building up their relationships and inner turmoil with each other. It lacked a big climax, but I suppose that is not to the chapter’s detriment. I’m still waiting to see where this next arc will be headed exactly, so I hope next month’s chapter picks up the pace.


If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 Podcast Archives. Or go directly to last week’s episode, Episode 037 – February 25, 2013 – What is Seinen Manga? | Hyrule Historia.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: February 25, 2013

February 28, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

Title PageIt has been said, that while one lives the other must die, and so on throughout the ages while memory still exists. I’m talking, of course, of two of the big Shonen Jump three—Bleach and Naruto. While listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Weekly Manga Recap (you should check them out, they’re pretty good), the hosts mentioned they’d noticed that when Bleach was good Naruto was bad, and vice versa. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but after this week’s chapter it’s certainly a thought worth considering.

One Piece Ch. 699
Chapters like this one always remind me that as good as the action in One Piece is, the comedy is just as good. Perhaps this is part of its secret of success, but either way there are a variety of different types of chapters Oda can write that will all satisfy. In this case a good chunk of the enjoyment came from the comedic value of this chapter. All I really need to say for this week is, Momonosuke is a quite possibly the most evil character in this entire series. Never have I laughed at, and simultaneously hated, a little child so much.

The reveal of Doflamingo’s decision not only came much faster than expected, but his choice was not entirely what I was expecting either. I look forward to see what Oda does next chapter, as the big seven hundred finally arrives.

One Piece

Toriko Ch. 223
Toriko this week continues the series’ current creed by giving us nothing but action, action, and action. Oh, and also a certain character turns out to be a woman in disguise. I wonder if there is some kind of connection between how much of a sausage fest this manga usually is, and the fact that we’ve had two women disguised as men in this series.

For fans of brutality in shounen fighters, Toriko has you covered in spades. While most fighter series don’t shy away from depictions of extreme violence, Toriko is the only one that regularly shows characters getting brutally maimed and treats it like it’s absolutely nothing. Yet somehow, despite the fact that even the lower level combatants are tough enough to survive lethal blows, each time someone gets seriously injured I still have to wince a little.

Naruto Ch. 621
What can I say, there was way too much fighting, though the thousand-armed kanon was a cool technique, for very little payoff. I like fighting, don’t get me wrong, I like it a lot. Why else would my favorite series be shounen fighters. But there has to be a reason for it. And going from a fight in a flashback, to not-a-fight in an even deeper flashback bugs me just a little bit. I imagine it will take a while before we get some sense for what is supposed to be going on, but for now I can’t say I’m particularly enjoying the ride. Manga on a weekly serialization schedule needs to make each chapter count, rather than asking readers to be patient for the payoff. Perhaps it would make for a good read in the collected tankobon, but on a weekly basis Naruto has been leaving a bit to be desired.

Nisekoi Ch. 063
I never realized how well cute and hilarious go together. I will let the page speak for itself, with just a little bit of setting. This page takes place right after Onodera finds out Rakku and Chitoge did not in fact spend the night together at a luxury hotel.

Nisekoi

I think that speaks for itself. This was a great chapter, the reactions to the misunderstanding were great, and somehow the joke worked without getting stale. It’s not like this is the first time that characters have misunderstood each other. Perhaps what helps most is that Rakku immediately sets everyone right after finding out what everyone thinks happened.

Bleach Ch. 527
FINALLY!

Bleach

I have been waiting years, literally years, for this moment. And what’s even better is that it isn’t a disappointment. Kenpachi finally hears the voice of his zanpakuto. I’m still standing by my prediction that Kenpachi’s shikai isn’t meant for fighting at all, but that instead it will give him healing powers. Mostly because it would be a way to keep Unohana in the story, but also because it would be a fun bit of irony for Kenpachi.

I am amazed that Kubo actually addresses the fact that Ichigo never had an asauchi. It’s not a plot hole, he’s actually addressing it, and the fact that Ichigo created his zanpakuto without having the physical sword first is brought up as being unusual. I can’t wait to find out what the answers are, and hope that they will be satisfying.

World Trigger Ch. 003
Could we please stop with the bullies? They really aren’t that interesting, mostly they’re just cliche and the kind of villains I would rather wee disappear completely. I’ll admit that seeing Yuma intimidate them is amusing enough, but I just can’t stand seeing such an old cliche dragged out again. I will say, though, that I am intrigued by what Yume’s role in the story is. My current theory is that, as a neighbor, his presence is drawing the monsters to wherever he is. That would explain why both attacks happened so close to him.

Cross Manage Ch. 022
You wouldn’t think the fanservice chapter would be so good, but here we have it. This chapter was as good as I expected. Nacchi got the necessary character development she needed, and while the cheesecake in this chapter smelled of desperation to rise in the rankings, I enjoyed the rest of the chapter quite a bit. There were plenty of funny moments to go along with the character building at the end. I hope Cross Manage is able to survive the next set of cuts from the magazine.

Cross Manage

One-Punch Man Ch. 006
One-Punch Man continues to be great. Less time was spent focusing on Saitama, in favor of our new character Genos. I like where the series is going with him as the first proper supporting cast member. The joke of the chapter is of course the same as before, but somehow, despite being a straight rendition of the basic joke, it manages to still be funny every single time. Perhaps this week it’s because Saitama finally gets the catharsis of slapping a mosquito.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 004
This is where things get good. Goku and Picolo team up to battle Raditz, and the story feels like it is really starting now. It’s a bit harder to review these chapters, mostly because I’ve read them before and don’t really have my gut reaction to go off of. Still, I’ve been enjoying the current run of chapters, and look forward to more. Reading them again after so long I do notice a few things here and there. Mostly how fast the plot seems to be moving forward. I know Dragon Ball Z isn’t exactly known for its speedy plots, but this feels a lot faster than I remember. And not necessarily in a good way. Keep in mind, the status quo of the series changed just now, with the revelation that Goku is an alien. It’s a lot of information that we’re supposed to comprehend right away. Granted we’ve had a few years to internalize it all, and most fans knew about this part of the story before the original Dragon Ball. Still, I can only imagine what it must have felt like reading this all those years ago. I wonder how many people were decrying Toriyama for jumping the shark.


If you want more, check out my podcast at the Manga^3 Archives. And listen to last week’s episode at Episode 036 – February 18, 2013 – What is Shoujo Manga? | Fairy Tail Vol. 6.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: February 18, 2013

February 20, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

Title PageSometimes being too much of a fanboy can make life difficult. For example, the lack of One Piece this week has me less than excited about writing this column. Sure, the chapters that were in this issue of Shonen Jump were all either quite good or passable, but I can’t help but be far less excited than I would any other week. But, perhaps the lack of One Piece to fanboy over will give me a chance to judge the other chapters just a little bit more fairly.

One-Punch Man Ch. 005
Not only is this the first story in One-Punch Man that isn’t over in one chapter, it’s also the first time when the joke is the exact opposite of of the past four chapters. Saitama, despite all his strength, finds himself helpless against his sole mosquito tormentor. That’s the sign of good comedy, establishing the status quo, and then breaking said status quo for the sake of laughs.

We also get introduced to another hero, a cyborg. We’re past the introductory chapters here, and it’s time for the world to be expanded. I look forward to seeing how Saitama and this new character interact, since the expanded cast will be crucial to the manga. There’s only so much one can do with variations on the same joke, so hopefully we’ll get a more expanded world after this upcoming story.

Naruto Ch. 620
I’ve done some thinking about last week’s chapter, and while I enjoyed reading it, I’ve come across opinions that the reveal of the source of the sharingan completely undermines what Naruto is all about. It shows how barely invested I am in the story when my analysis doesn’t extend beyond, “Ha, that was funny.”

As for this chapter, I’m liking the second Hokage a lot. I would have been saved a lot of grief were he still the leader of Konoha. Just imagine it, five minutes after Sasuke leaves the village for the first time Tobirama would have dragged him back in a body bag. It’s a shame that didn’t happen, but one can dream, and after all, that is what fanfiction is for.

A lot of not much happens this chapter, mostly we get the Hokage talking about how they need to go take care of Madara, and then we go into a flashback of the first Hokage and Madara fighting. The amount of flashbacks in this series of late has been rivaling the anime for quantity. Hopefully the quality will be somewhat improved.

Naruto

World Trigger Ch. 002
Is anyone else tired of the old, “Oh hey, you bumped into me and broke something of mine, pay me for it”? Does this actually happen in Japan? Or has it happened maybe once or twice and manga artists can’t seem to let it go? Of course the scene where this happens makes me angry like it’s supposed to, but I’ve seen this kind of scene pulled dozens of times and by now it’s mostly just pissing me off because it keeps popping back up. Though I will say, I enjoyed how Yuma handled the situation. It’s probably what I’d do, though in my case I would be thinking something along the lines of, “Are you seriously trying to pull this old trope?”

Most of the chapter was focused around Yuma being the fish out of water, which may be an old trope, but if handled well it could be interesting enough. We do get to learn a little more about the Neighbors, I am moderately interested to see what the deal is with these two worlds, so for the moment World Trigger continues to have my interest.

Bleach Ch. 526
At least we got to see Unohana’s bankai (not that we know what exactly it does) before she apparently died. I’m of two minds about how this could go. On the one hand I would be disappointed if Unohana permanently dies so soon after becoming interesting. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kubo doesn’t go through with killing her. Perhaps Kenpachi’s shikai will be released next chapter and it has some kind of healing powers. Unlikely, but I would be amused by the idea of Kenpachi, whose entire being revolves around fighting, has a shikai that can’t cause any damage.

Bleach

Unohana’s motivations for learning how to heal work for her characterization, though I have to wonder, if she’s so enamored with fighting, why haven’t we seen her actually fight until now? She may have learned how to heal so that she can keep fighting people, but how does that fit in with her doing nothing but healing for the entire series?

Nisekoi Ch. 062
While I prefer Nisekoi when it’s being funny, and not serious, I really liked this chapter. Granted the issue between Chitoge and her mother was resolved much faster than I’m used to with manga, but at least it provided a satisfying ending to this story without overstaying it’s welcome. That and seeing Hana almost run them over with her plane was priceless. This chapter was mostly touching, with just enough humor that it makes for a great resolution to this plot line.

Nisekoi

Toriko Ch. 222
Setsuno vs Chiyo. Granted Chiyo hasn’t been around as long in this series, but when she made her entrance she made it in a big way. And to finally see her and Setsuno face off just goes to show how epic this story is going to be. Not only that but we finally get to see what Setsunos’ specific power is. Personally I could have done without the cooks having their own fighting powers, I thought the idea was that they were skilled in different ways than the Gourmet Hunters. BUt really I’m just amazed at how many creative powers can be built around cooking concepts. And Setsuno’s is possible one of the coolest, and overpowered ones that I’ve seen in a long while.

Toriko

Cross Manage Ch. 021
Not much to say about this chapter, except that I look forward to next week. While most of this chapter focuses on Sakurai and Toyoguchi finally talking about their “confession” from last chapter, I am pleased to note that next chapter will give us some more character development with at least two more of the girls from the team.

Most of the time Cross Manage feels like it doesn’t know what to do. Having a large cast means that the girls should all get their time in the spotlight, but it seems like what this series was supposed to be was a romance, with little interest in the sport or the characters playing it. Which is a shame, because I don’t know how well adapted the current Shounen Jump is to dealing with romances. There are always a few in the lineup, but they never seem to last very long. Still, for now I’ll enjoy what I can get of the cast, and hope that somehow Cross Manage survives the next round of cuts.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 003
Now we’re talking. Finally the big reveal that most likely caught readers of Dragon Ball in the day off guard. Not only is Goku an alien, but Raditz, the stranger confronting him, is his brother. I’ve always wondered what Dragon Ball would have been like, had Goku not lost his memory when he was a baby. It probably wouldn’t have been the hit that it is, and Goku probably would have been a lot smarter, but I would have loved to see some kind of “what if?” scenario. But, again, that’s what fanfiction is for.

Though, Raditz’s story has a bit of a flaw in it. Granted in general the earth population is weaker than even a Saiyan child. But Dragon Ball had plenty of strong characters that Goku had a hard time beating. Perhaps his transformation would have given him the strength to wreak havoc, but it isn’t like someone such as Master Roshi couldn’t handle it. Sure Goku was stronger in that form, but Roshi already knew what to do. Aka/ destroy the moon. So most likely Goku would have ultimately failed in his mission. Unless of course he was able to grow stronger with his memories intact, perhaps through some kind of Saiyan training. Or perhaps his viciousness as a child would have enhanced his strength. Either way, while this chapter may have been a shark jumping moment for some back in the day, by this point it holds up well enough and this was the first chapter so far that really caught my interest again.


If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 archives. For last week’s episode check out Episode 035 – February 11, 2013 – What is Shonen Manga? | Shinmai Fukei Kiruko-san.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: February 11, 2013

February 14, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

Cover PageThere will never be anything like a perfect issue of WSJ. But for what it’s worth, I think this week we got close to it. There was not a single chapter that I hated this week. There were a few I was less excited about, but none that incited any kind of rage. All in all, it was a good week.

World Trigger Ch. 001
I think I can honestly say that this might be the best first chapter in Weekly Shonen Jump Online. Sure we haven’t had all that many first chapters in this magazine, but the point still stands. While I am getting tired of the typical high school setting—I’ve come to realize that it’s a staple of the medium and something I’ll just have to live with—everything else about this first chapter was great. Even the stereotypical bullying, which from what I understand is a real problem in Japan so I can understand the need to bring more attention to it, was used effectively.

Ultimately what sold me on this new series were the two twists at the end. Manga-ka Daisuke Ashihara played with our expectations for an action series like this and was able to use that to turn the tables at the end of the chapter. If he can keep this up throughout the entire series, then I can see a bright future for this new manga.

World Trigger

One Piece Ch. 698
I’m sure anyone who isn’t as big into One Piece as I am must be getting tired of this section of the column. But can you really blame me this week? Sure, the majority of the chapter is just character interaction—no big action scenes here. But it’s that kind of writing that draws us closer to the characters and is ultimately one of the most entertaining aspects of One Piece.

One Piece

And lest we forget—though how could we forget—that cliffhanger. I guess now we know who that mysterious stranger sleeping in the middle of the ocean a few chapters ago was, but ending the chapter by pitting Doflamingo and Kuzan together (and doing so right before taking a week break), is nothing short of gloriously sadistic.

One-Punch Man Ch. 004
I would probably be talking out of my behind were I to say that One-Punch Man was a serious drama whose entire appeal revolves around the pathos of the main character (whose strength is his one true weakness). But I feel entirely justified in saying that this chapter emphasizes how well Saitama’s ennuie can be used for comedic purposes. It also allows us to see that even though Saitama killing people in one punch could become a tired gag, author One is skilled enough to stretch the humor of the situation further by switching up the formula here and there. Possibly the funniest chapter of the series to date.

Naruto Ch. 619
Finally, a chapter of Naruto where I can legitimately say something nice. I know that I start this section every week wishing I could find something nice to say. I feel bad for hating on Naruto so much when I know there is a richness of readers out there who love the series and who I am probably chasing off by hating on their series so much.

Fortunately, this week was my favorite chapter of Naruto in a long time. I do hate Kishimoto’s poorly timed comedy at times, particularly when it is used during what should be an emotional scene. But when Kishimoto manages to insert his comedy appropriately, it is still really funny. Getting to meet the first two Hokage for the first time (Orochimaru’s initial use of their corpses back before the time skip does not count since their personalities were sealed at that point) was a treat that made this a surprisingly funny chapter.

Even more surprising is that I was able to read this chapter without devolving into frothing rage anytime Sasuke was in the scene. Even more so, being able to learn a bit more about the Uchiha was a long overdue blessing. Granted, I don’t buy the idea that “they feel too much love, so they feel too much hate,” and the concept that the Sharingan is ultimately created by the power of love makes me laugh. (Not in a good way. More in a “let’s make fun of Ma-Ti from Captain Planet” kind of way.)

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 002
There’s really not much to say about this chapter, except that I’d forgotten how accurate and justified Krillin’s characterization in Dragon Ball Z Abridged is. I mean, really, he just waltzes up to someone Goku said is strong, who is skilled enough to be able to fly, and expects what to happen? Well he clearly does not expect to get owned, and I have to admit the temptation to keep a “Krillin Owned” count of my own is overwhelming.

The translation, which I assume is the same translation Viz has been using ever since they first started licensing Dragon Ball, could really use an update. If nothing else, we could use an updated spelling for Krillin’s name. I won’t admit to knowing exactly which spelling is correct, but I do know that nobody has spelled it Kuririn ever—at least nobody who has grown up reading and watching the series. There are some other aspects of the old translation that stick out, such as the typesetting and some of the diction. The color is all good and fine, but I would much rather see an update to the translation.

Cross Manage Ch. 020
While I really loved last week’s chapter, this week was a bit weak. The first half or so was fun, mostly because Komatsu featured prominently. But the fact that the game itself only got half a chapter tells me exactly where the focus of this series is. So fans of sports manga can probably give up on learning anything significant about lacrosse.

Cross Manage

The romance between Sakurai and Misora feels rushed, suggesting that the series is probably not going to survive the next round of cancellations. Perhaps it’s a curse for any romance series, but I find the side characters more interesting than our two leads. Sure Misora is quirky and entertaining, but she suffers from protagonist bias, meaning that because of how much time we spend around her she just doesn’t measure up against the other quirky characters that have less time spent on them. Not to mention that I find it hard to care about a romance for a series that hasn’t been around long enough for me to care about the characters. Perhaps that’s why series that don’t focus much on romance at all get all the rabid shippers. The more time you spend with the characters, the more you care about them. And it’s a lot easier to becoming attached to romantic relationships when they aren’t being forced on you in less than twenty five chapters.

Toriko Ch. 221
I don’t know why some series bore the snot out of me when they do nothing but show fight after fight, but for some reason Toriko just gets away with it. Perhaps it’s because of how imaginative the powers are. Or perhaps it’s because in this chapter we finally get to see some neglected characters match up for their own fights. Mansam and Rin have not had much time in the story, compared to others. For someone watching the anime at the same time, they may come across as one-note characters, which they very much are since they have not had any real development before this chapter. Thus, the anime has to go with what they’ve got, and what they’ve got is a collection of tired old jokes that weren’t really funny in the first place.

Toriko

Hopefully we get to see a bit more of those two, particularly Rin, whom I liked from the start for her non-traditional design. Unfortunately while she doesn’t look like your typical girl from a shounen manga, she sure does act like it. So with a bit of luck she will actually get to look like the badass I thought she was supposed to be.

I’m still a bit peeved that we didn’t get to see the rest of the cooking fest, but by this point I’m so excited by all the upcoming fights that I can’t really complain anymore.

Nisekoi Ch. 061
It’s amazing what a difference a single chapter can make. I wasn’t that big on the drama between Chitoge and Hana, but somehow this chapter managed to explain Hana’s neglect in a surprisingly satisfying way. The joke quota for this chapter was still somewhat low, but we seem to be rushing to a conclusion here so hopefully Nisekoi will be par for the course shortly.


If you want to hear more, check out the Manga^3 archives. For last week’s episode check out Episode 034 – February 4, 2013 – Overarching Goals and The Legend of Koizumi.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: February 4, 2013

February 8, 2013 by Derek Bown Leave a Comment

CoverNow in color! Well, a fraction in color. But some color is better than no color. Unless it’s poorly colored. But we should probably save this line of thought for the Dragon Ball Z section. Weekly Shonen Jump Online can be a bit hit or miss. Sometimes we get just the basic number of chapters, and sometimes we end up with an extra thick issue when the monthly titles start rearing their heads again. This is one of those good weeks.

Dragon Ball Z Ch. 001
What can I say about Dragon Ball Z that hasn’t already been said? Well, I can probably say that the addition of color makes the panelling stand out a lot more than it did the first time I read through this series. It’s important to remember that Dragon Ball is an old series, and its panel layout is very different from modern styles. Normally I wouldn’t even notice it, but the amount of white space I saw this chapter just made it stand out.

The translation is a bit weird, I assume it’s just the same old translation Viz has been selling, in which case I think it’s a shame not to take advantage to update some of the vernacular. Picollo in particular had some strange phrasology going on.

Otherwise I am somewhat reminded of Highlander 2, with the revelation that Goku is in fact an alien. I think we can all agree that it worked much better for the Dragon Ball franchise than it did for the Highlander franchise. Other than that, there isn’t much to say about this chapter. I usually think in terms of episodes of the anime, so I was surprised at how short this chapter was. Still, I look forward to another chance to read through Dragon Ball Z again. I’ve been meaning to do it, and this gives me a chance to do so without bothering to go looking for my copies of the series.

Dragon Ball

Naruto Ch. 618
I promised myself I would be nicer to Naruto. And I have to say, this chapter was the least offensive chapter Sasuke has ever been involved in.

I kid, I kid.

Actually, I quite liked this chapter. Seeing Orochimaru active again fills me with two emotions; joy that the original interesting villain of this series is back, and frustration that his demise feels a bit like a waste of time. I can’t help but wonder what exactly we are supposed to get out of the four hokages being resurrected. While they are no doubt formidable, we just witnessed an army of legendary ninja. I can’t see this as being all that big a threat. Granted, this would have been a good opportunity for Naruto to discover his heritage, but since that has already happened that idea is a no go. It feels like perhaps Kishimoto would have liked to do something like that, considering how he used the edotensei to give closure to several other characters.

Naruto

Ultimately, this was a good enough chapter, though it once again reminds me how far we’ve come from shuriken and traps. Makes me miss the good old days.

Rurouni Kenshin Ch. 008
I really, really liked Rurouni Kenshin when I was younger. Which is why it hurts to see this series dragged out again for a pointless retelling. What hurts even more is seeing why exactly Watsuki hasn’t had another hit. While the original Rurouni Kenshin could be ludicrous, Watsuki has only gotten sillier with age. Which is why the moment that soured me to this chapter involved a formerly minor villain turned arch villain beating Yahiko with a bag of money. Watsuki has brought up the evil of money before, but in the past he at least attempted to be somewhat subtle about it. Now he isn’t even trying. He’s almost literally beating a dead horse by this point. We understand, money is evil. Magic Samurai that don’t kill are good. This isn’t a concept that really needs to be brought up so often, and so clumsily. Even in bombastic shounen action series I appreciate a little subtlety here and there.

Long story short, I hated Kanryu as a villain before, now I hate him because he’s the symbol of everything that makes this retelling not only pointless, but even bad. In a way, I feel like we dodged a bullet by not getting a continuation to the series. Given what I’ve seen so far there is no way it could possibly have lived up to the original.

Rurouni Kenshin

One Piece Ch. 697
Take one half classic Oda shmalz, and one half gruesome horror imagery, and you get this chapter. The marines’ confession to actually liking the Strawhats was classic Oda corn, but enjoyable nonetheless. What really made this chapter was the end, where Law confronts Doflamingo, putting him in an impossible position. This chapter just emphasized my prediction that something massive is going to happen for the seven hundredth chapter. What it is I honestly cannot say, but whatever comes next will be amazing.

Toriko Ch. 220
Toriko is one of those rare manga that I don’t mind when the entire chapter is nothing but punches, or even the aftermath of a single punch. Sure there wasn’t much content this week, but what we did get was just so very, very cool. By this point I am completely accepting of the fact that the cooking fest won’t continue, and ready to just sit back and enjoy the insane action.

Cross Manage Ch. 019
This is more what I’ve been wanting from Cross Manage for a while. Back when Kato got a chapter focusing on herself I thought to myself that we needed more of that. Now that Komatsu has gotten her own chapter I think of it as a confirmation that we will be getting some much needed character development for these girls. In an ensemble cast all the characters need developing. As an added bonus, Komatsu is probably one of the more entertaining cast members in a cast of entertaining characters. This was possibly my favorite chapter of this series so far.

One-Punch Man Ch. 003
One-Punch man manages to be as poignant as it is funny. The entire premise is that being the strongest is a lonely summit. As shown by the monster that accidentally killed his own brother, and by Saitama himself and his hillariously boring one sided fights. This chapter gives us a chance to get a closer look at the world that One-Punch Man is set in, as well as setting the stage for what the next few chapters will be like.

One-Punch Man

Bleach Ch. 525
This was a really, really good chapter. I’ve always been a fan of Kenpachi, and I’ve been somewhat partial to Unohana, even though she hasn’t done much in the series. This was a great chapter for both of them, and it actually explains why Kubo is having the two fight like this rather than having her train Kenpachi. Ultimately I hope that she won’t have to die to unlock Kenpachi’s true strength. It seems like a waste of a talented fighter to have one really strong fighter rather than two really strong fighters, even if one of them is a bit weaker than the other.

Nisekoi Ch. 060
I’m not a huge fan of comedies that try to get serious. And while there is plenty to laugh at in this chapter, ultimately it ends on a downer. And while that may work for some, it does not for me. Kirisaki seems to be the main source of downers in this series, so it’s little surprise she is not my favorite character. This is mostly just because of personal preference, but for the next bit I imagine I’ll just be waiting for the series to get funny again.

Blue Exorcist Ch. 043
While I’m not entirely up to date on this series and I find myself a bit lost in the plot sometimes, I can still appreciate a good chapter on its own merits. I loved seeing Konekomaru take charge. It’s so rare that group dynamics are brought into question in shonen manga that seeing the characters reevaluate their positions was a lot of fun. We don’t have enough series that focus on the tactics of fighting as much as they should. Overall, a great chapter with an awesome fight scene and a few good funny moments.


If you want to hear more, go listen to the Manga^3 Archives. If you want last week’s episode of the podcast, go listen to Episode 033 – January 28, 2013 – What Does Simultaneous Actually Mean and Bood Lad.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps

Weekly Shonen Jump Recap: January 28, 2013

January 30, 2013 by Derek Bown 5 Comments

CoverThere’s a topic that I feel might need to be addressed, and while I do talk about it on this week’s episode of Manga^3, I think it wouldn’t be out of place to at least take a few lines to talk about it here. As you all know, Weekly Shonen Jump has started publishing chapters simultaneously with Japan. So, some may wonder why exactly scanlation sites seem to have the next set of chapters up just two days after WSJ is published. Some may think that we have been lied to—that in fact we are not actually simultaneous. After having to explain why this is not the case to a friend, I figured I should put this information out there where others can see it.

The fact of the matter is that scanlation sites get their hands on the chapters well before they are actually released in Japan. There is no way for VIZ, or anyone, to publish those chapters you see on the scanlation sites until next Monday because they have not been legally released.

I know the old excuse, “I read scanlations because how else am I going to get these chapters?” And I’m not about to pass a judgement call on whether one should or should not read scanlated manga. In my personal opinion the most important thing is that the creators get paid for their efforts.

Where this excuse stops working is when it morphs into, “I’m paying for WSJ, but those new chapters are right there, nobody will care if I read them now.” That becomes problematic because, well, people will care. Those chapters should not have been released yet. The paying Japanese audience has not even had a chance to read them yet. This goes beyond providing manga that has no other outlet, and goes straight into outright stealing intelectual property before it has been officially released.

I assume most of you would not watch a low quality leak of a movie before it has even hit theaters, so please, do the same for manga, and no matter how tempting it may be to read those scanlated chapters, please wait for the official release wherever such a release is possible. After all, the more success WSJ has in its digital format, the more likely other companies might be to attempt something similar. You want to read Fairy Tail day and date as it is released in Japan? Let the publishers know that you are willing to pay the money for an official digital magazine. And for those series that are being published in WSJ, please show your support by reading them only as they become officially available.

And that took a lot longer than I thought, but it’s an issue that needed to be addressed. There is literally no way for us to get chapters legally faster than they are being published in Japan. So please, have some patience, and enjoy your manga.

Toriko Ch. 219
While I would have preferred to see more of the cooking competition, after this chapter I find myself at least pleasantly resigned to seeing this war play out. The chapter sets up the standard one-on-one fights we’ve come to expect in shounen series, while managing to pull off several excellent scenes. I still question the motives behind this attack. While I can imagine that it’s the easiest place to kidnap cooks since they are all gathered in one place, it does seem like the hardest place to kidnap cooks since they are all gathered in one place and to a man they are all supreme badasses. I doubt this is the final battle, or even the lead in to said final battle, so I expect we can’t do much more than sit back and wait to see what the ultimate goal is here.

Toriko

One Piece Ch. 696
I sometimes feel bad for how much praise I lather on One Piece. But then I remember that One Piece has done everything it can to deserve said praise. It’s not One Piece‘s fault that the other manga can’t keep up. That being said, while I know this series isn’t for everyone, I still stand by the assertion that even a slow chapter like this, with little to no action, is the crown jewel of WSJ. Anyone who hasn’t put the time into reading this series is doing themselves a serious disfavor.

There are plenty of entertaining moments throughout the chapter, and they are executed in such a way that I even forgive Oda once again for not actually killing off any of the characters he apparently killed during the arc. We get a great pair of scenes for Sanji and for Nami, with Sanji actually reminding us that people wasting food is one of his berserk buttons. And Nami’s scene where she is talking about Tashigi and reminiscing about her own mother is a great character piece in a cast that at times does run the risk of stagnating.

While I do love this series, it does constantly run the risk of Luffy’s crew becoming irrelevant. Especially in recent arcs the focus has been on new characters, rather than developing those that we have become comfortable with. Everything past the Shabaody arc has demonstrated that Oda may be growing tired of using the same cast constantly, as I can easily see him removing the crew from the story as him using a chance to play around with some new characters. I hope this is not the case, and that we get some deeper scenes with the crew, and not just a constant barrage of “Look how powerful they are now”.

One Piece

See, I can be harsh even with my favorite series. And speaking of harsh…

Naruto Ch. 617
I’ve made no secret that Naruto is not exactly one of my favorite series. And it wasn’t until recently that I found out why this is. A friend and I were discussing overarching plots in manga, and whether it’s better for a series to just have them go on adventures, or if they need an overarching goal even if the resolution of said goal won’t happen for decades.

It was because of this discussion that I finally figured out why I haven’t been nearly as excited about Naruto as I once was. The simple matter of the fact is that when I started reading, Naruto had one goal, namely to become Hokage so that people would accept him. If you strip away the part about becoming Hokage, we are left with the desire for people to accept him. And the best parts of the series were Naruto fighting against the perception that he is a screwup. For me that was the driving force of the narrative.

Unfortunately that goal can’t be stretched out too long without becoming stale. And with the Invasion of Pein arc Naruto finally achieved his goal. He is not yet Hokage, but he has been accepted and admired by his entire village. For me that was the climax I had been waiting for.

And then the series kept going. Granted Naruto still needs to bring Sasuke back, but I neither care about that plot, nor do I think it would have been very out of place had it been addressed and concluded right after the Pein arc. The problem is that Kishimoto introduced many elements that need to be resolved. Without those elements the series could have been completed satisfactorily with the defeat of Pein. Since that point the series has felt like it has been meandering, and most of the events that I have not cared for have happened during the period after said arc. The last time I was really excited about Naruto was just before and during that arc. Since then the series has been lacking a clear goal that I’ve yet to care about, all because what I perceived as the ultimate goal has already been accomplished.

Oh yes, and why was Sakura missing from this chapter? I know a lot of people don’t like her, but I’ve actually liked her character arc through the series. If she’s been completely dropped from the series—and do remember that she used to be the female lead for the series—then I honestly can’t say that Naruto is still the series I once loved. I know a lot of people are enjoying the current arc, and while it is big and epic, it is still missing every single element that I ever loved about the series, leaving it feeling stale beyond belief and not nearly close to something that I would feel comfortable recommending to anyone with similar tastes to mine.

And here I started this part of the column, with the intention of being nicer this week. But I’m afraid that might not be possible until Naruto gives me a reason to start liking it again. And the chances of that are slim considering my complaints for the series.

Nisekoi Ch. 59
In the hands of a good writer, give me single chapter stories any day. And even when Nisekoi branches out into longer stories, there is still plenty for me to enjoy. I thought that when Chitoge realized her feelings for Rakku the series would start to go downhill, since my favorite part of the series was the uncertainty of who Rakku would be with. Even though Chitoge has almost certainly been decided as being the girl he will fall in love with, I still find myself entertained week by week.

Chitoge’s mother is the typical scary mother, but somehow Nisekoi manages to take common tropes in romantic comedies and make them feel fresh. While I do question Chitoge’s father, given how young his wife is, I find myself not thinking about potential squicky relationships by how terrified he is of her. Nisekoi always manages to put me in a good mood.

One Punch Man Ch. 2
I was a bit surprised that this series is going through from chapter one onward rather than skipping to the most recent. And I applaud the editorial staff for making this decision. One of the biggest weaknesses with publishing weekly series is that there is no feasible way to publish everything that has happened since the first chapter to the most recent. But since One Punch Man is a monthly series there is plenty of time to play catch up.

This was the chapter that had the biggest effect on me. If nothing else, the gruesome way in which Saitama dispatches the crustacean monster stands out as being both incredibly nasty and the most effective way to defeat a monster.

While we don’t get anything on Saitama’s training, I love the straightforward approach this manga is taking to telling its story. Rather than wasting time, everything important about his backstory is taken care of in a single chapter.

Bleach Ch. 524
Did anyone else get the image of Kenpachi pinning for Unohana throughout the rest of the series? I can’t help but imagine him thinking, “Please notice me, Senpai” and the image made me enjoy this chapter a lot more than I probably should have.

To be fair, this was a pretty good chapter. Bleach has always lacked a clear overarching goal, so I’ve grown used to the meandering feeling I get from series that don’t have a clear final goal. So it’s best to enjoy each arc on its own, and each chapter on its own. Which is why it’s a shame that not much happens chapter to chapter.

I enjoyed the fight, though I have to question how exactly just fighting is supposed to teach Kenpachi to use two hands. I suppose Unohana needs to beat it into him? Either way, Kenpachi and Unohana have been favorites of mine for a while, and even though I don’t quite like this development from Unohana I have to admit it is the most interesting thing she’s done in the entire manga.

Bleach

Cross Manage Ch. 18
I think this chapter solidifies the idea that it isn’t about the sport. Cross Manage is entirely a shoujo manga disguised as a shounen manga. And I quite like it for that. Sure I would love to see some hot-blooded shounen sports action, but there’s a place for manga like this. The question is how long that place will remain open.

Hayami manages to be an endearing, entertaining character, despite being the rival love interest. it feels more real that she is perfectly likable, and not an antagonist at all, compared to series where all love rivals are scheming shrews. It certainly makes for a much more entertaining manga.

Kintoki
I like Dragonball Z, I really do. The anime version may be infamous in its execution, but the manga really was something special. I won’t say it’s my favorite of all time, but it’s pretty high up there. That being said, getting a new Toriyama manga, even if it is just a one-shot is special. Unfortunately I can’t say that it was necessarily anything groundbreaking. It was essentially more Toriyama, which works perfectly well for anyone who wanted nothing but to wax nostalgic, but for anyone looking for something as groundbreaking as Dragonball was, chances are this one-shot will come off as a bit of a disappointment.

Its biggest downside is the fact that a lot of Toriyama’s weaknesses shine through. The villain of the story, for example, emphasizes that Toriyama was not exactly one for nuanced villains. He created great characters, but his villains never really got beyond the “I have power so I will mess things up” stage. In such a short format we get that essence distilled so far that it exposes flaws in prior villains Toriyama has written.

Despite that major flaw in the story, I have to say that I would have most definitely read this had it been turned into a series. While ending a one-shot or a failed manga run by saying “there were more adventures but I won’t tell them to you” is a trope I’m not entirely fond of, I have to say that I believe Toriyama would have spun an interesting web out of the premise. On its own it’s more of the same, but it’s overall a good same, so I can’t complain about anything else.


If you want to hear more, check out Manga^3 at Burning Lizard Studios for old podcast episodes. For last week’s episode check out, Episode 032 – Shounen Hero Asexuality.

Filed Under: FEATURES & REVIEWS, WSJA Recaps Tagged With: bleach, naruto, nisekoi, One Piece, one punch man, toriko

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