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By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

It has to be said, Oda is perfectly fine with repeating himself provided that it makes a good story. And as long as we’re still highly entertained, I think that’s fine. Certainly the Usopp sections of this volume were my favorite part, even if their basic shape felt a little familiar. We see Usopp in over his head, talking about how he’s a hero while having no idea what to do. We see him attempting to run away, only to return because of his guilty conscience. and we see his “victory”, as it’s a truly grotesque face that makes miniboss Sugar pass out and save the day – not unlike what happened with Perona in Thriller Bark. But of course this is how Usopp grows stronger, and I expect big things from him soon. He’s not allowed to start beating up bad guys or anything, due to Oda’s desire to always have that basic ‘type’ on the crew, so you need moments like this.

Meanwhile, you absolutely need Sugar to pass out, because the danger has been ramped up as Robin was turned into a toy. It actually happens so casually amidst the chaos that it’s a surprise when we see her Raggedy Anne body, and we see her desperation as she realizes that her fate is totally in Usopp’s hands now, even if he doesn’t remember her. The concept of the toys in general, and who they used to be, is a grotesque sort of horror even for Oda, and it’s almost a relief when we finally learn what we’ve suspected for some time now, which is that the Tin Soldier who’s tried to protect Rebecca is in fact her father. As I said, the beats may be similar to other storylines, but they’re good beats.

On the lighter side, Oda has occasionally done mild shout-outs to other Jump artists in the past – I’m thinking of the big giant ‘shock faces’ he’s used from Enel on down, which are a straight rip of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo – and so I have to think that the minor villain whose minions go on about him being too hardboiled is a reference to Gintama, which sadly I think most readers will miss given its cancellation here in North America. Other than that, though, there’s not a lot of room for humor in this volume. Things are turning even more deadly than before, and our mystery savior who’s helping Luffy by taking his place in the arena can’t even stop to reveal who he really is (we all know who he really is, but let me keep up the pretense.)

This is not a perfect volume – Scarlet’s backstory was rather sexist, something Oda’s at least made attempts to avoid in the past, even though he’s been backsliding a lot lately. And of course, being in the middle of 11 chapters that are just ‘a giant fight happens’, the plot moves forward only incrementally. Still, now that Usopp has scared the bejabbers out of Sugar, we should start to see things get cleared up. Unless of course it leads to even wider chaos. But this is One Piece, what are the chances of that happening?

By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press.

This was a good volume of Accel World, though I think I enjoyed it a bit less than the other two. It can be exhausting to read for extended periods. Kirito may rub people the wrong way, but at least in game he’s fairly matter of fact and confident in himself. Haruyuki’s issues – his self-hatred, the bullying he’s endured and can’t reveal, his desperation to keep his friends safe and keep their friendship, and his tortured love for Kuroyukihime, who he still holds up on a giant pedestal – permeate his narrative voice, and while that’s excellent in a realistic way – are visceral and explain the actions he takes, and you understand why he despairs or does seemingly stupid things. But as escapism, you’re left wanting a bit. Particularly as this book has a cliffhanger.

It doesn’t help that Kuroyukihime is conveniently absent from this volume, off to Okinawa and sending Haruyuki adorable videos of herself in a bikini. (I do like that her friends whipped off her hoodie to reveal the bikini, showing that they seem to be supporting the love between the two of them far more than the rest of the school – or indeed Haruyuki himself – might.) So the new threat is dealt with by our trio of childhood friends, one of whom is brand new to Brain Burst, and given this is volume one of a two-volume set (something that Kawahara is very fond of, as SAO fans are aware), they fail rather miserably. (The cliffhanger involves the seeming betrayal by one of said friends, but I suspect that absolutely no one is actually fooled by this. (checks TV Tropes page) No, wait they were. Sigh.)

As for the new characters, Nomi will hopefully gain more depth in the fourth book, as he’s very much the sneering, posturing villain here, determined to bully Haruyuki (who is very quick to accept this, as if nothing else it must feel familiar) and keep Chiyuri as a “pet” (more casual sexism, though given Nomi is about 11 years old at least there aren’t any rape threats like in SAO.) He’s there for readers to hate and root for our heroes to destroy, that’s about all. I liked Sky Raker a lot better, who gets to be the one who trains and inspires Haruyuki in Kuroyukihime’s absence, but who also seems to have an intense backstory involving trying to rise above a disability – and how it can fail despite all your best efforts. I’d like to see that scene someday.

Of course, much of her story is there to give inspiration to Haruyuki – he’s the hero, and that means that most of what goes on is for his benefit. This can be tragic, like with everything that happens with Nomi, but it can also be hilarious, as with the return of Ash Roller, who will not stand for this meek, uncool and despairing Silver Crow, and proceeds to take him on the bike ride from hell just to pep him up. I suspect I’ll enjoy this volume more, though, once the next one comes out and completes it.

(Also, can we get an embargo on any story involving a boy trapped in the girls’ shower? Even if it’s for dramatic reasons?)

By Natsumi Ando. Released in Japan as “Waltz no Ojikan” by Kodansha, serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Natsumi Ando’s back again, this time with a shorter series – this is only three volumes long, I believe. Which is good, as I felt the pacing was very rapid for a shoujo manga like this – it would only make sense if it was going to be wrapping up fairly quickly. I’m not sure if this was deliberate or not – her previous series, Kitchen Princess and Arisa, were both double digits. But short doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a failure, and there’s much to like about Let’s Dance a Waltz, with its grumpy hero held back by an incident in his past, and a self-deprecating heroine with an unfortunate first name.

First off, a word of warning: the moment I saw that our heroine, Hime, was overweight and a bit frumpy, I thought “she’s going to lose all the weight and be gorgeous by the end of this volume, isn’t she?” And sure enough, that’s exactly what happens. She too has a tragic backstory, as her mother, who was the one who named her (Hime means princess, something that gets hammered home quite a bit in this series) passed away from tragic backstory disease when she was just a little girl. (This is a common disease befalling young women in manga – young men tend to have dads disappear (the scum), not die off.) Still, the mother may have had good intentions, but it’s left Hime teased her entire life thanks to the wonderful world of Japanese schools, whose bullying is always important for character development.

Our hero, Tango (no, I’m not making these names up), is dealing with similar peer pressure problems, but from the opposite direction – he’s handsome and popular, and in accordance with his name actually is an amazing dancer. But he doesn’t dance competitively anymore due to a mistake he made in his childhood that haunts him, and prefers to be the class clown, breakdancing and avoiding any mention of the fact that his mother runs a dancing school (because dancing is not “cool”, and kids turn on cool kids who are now uncool faster than anyone except perhaps girls with the name ‘princess’. Tango can be quite the jerk through this volume, but we know he just needs his true love to make him straighten up.

Though there were a few times I was surprised through the first volume – secondary couple Yusei and Sumire, who have no issues whatsoever (possibly as they have standard Japanese first names) are dedicated to helping the two wannabe lovebirds rather than, say, getting jealous, which is what I was suspecting of Sumire when I first saw her – but for the most part this is a manga that runs on timeworn cliches. But this is fine – Ando is an expert at this sort of thing, and it’s nice to sit back and just let a skilled artist take you where she wants to go. At three volumes, this seems like exactly the right length for a sweet manga about a couple who can connect to each other though the wonders of ballroom dancing.