A thirteen hour workday on Saturday equals not good times, especially for Shonen Saturday, so this week is the unofficial debut of Shonen Sunday! Man, do I need to quit this part time job. Also, trying a different layout this week.
ONE PIECE (chapter 541) – The Likes of Vhich It Has Never Seen
The rampage continues in Impel Down, as Luffy and company continue their escape from the undersea prison to rescue Ace. With the added assistance of two of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the former member Crocodile and imprisoned member Jimbei, Luffy’s group increases in size as they continue to free other prisoners and cause further havoc. With Buggy and Mr. 3 doing the same thing in Level 2, Magellan and the other Impel Down guards have their work cut out for them.
I’ve constantly worried that this arc would run out of steam, but each chapter released keeps me hyped even more. With the return of Buggy and Mr. 3 along with the recovery of Mr. 2 and Mr. 1’s addition to help out Crocodile, it seems that all the key pirate players are finally assembled. Will Shiryuu be released from his cell to help out Magellan? And hopefully we’ll actually see Hannyabal’s fighting ability soon. Good chapter.
NARUTO (chapter 446) – I Just Wanted to Protect Them
Nagato’s flashback tells of how he, Konan, and Yahiko came to train under Jiraiya, and how Jiraiya helped shape his growth and beliefs. Yahiko forms a group of ninja that would eventually become Akatsuki, trying to achieve peace. However, they were betrayed by Hanzo of Amegakure and Danzo of Konoha, with Nagato forced to kill Yahiko.
The chapter ends with Yahiko’s death and Nagato’s “awakening” of his Rinnegan. I think there’ll still be at least one more flashback chapter before we get back to Naruto and Nagato finishing this arc. I still don’t really care for Nagato as a character though, and his backstory is still not helping me connect with him. I’m sure he has some fans though, so they’ll somehow be able to connect with this character. Decent chapter.
BLEACH (chapter 356) – Tyrant of Skulls
Hitsugaya survives Halibel’s attack using an ice clone, something he can only do once. Soifon still struggles against Barragan, Espada #2. Barragan explains how all 10 Espada represent an aspect of death for humans, with his being Old Age or Time. With Soifon unable to still harm Barragan, he releases his Resurreccion, Arrogante, giving him an appearance of a kingly robed skeleton with a crown.
Still jumping around from fight to fight in Karakura town without a real conclusion to one yet. Pacing needs to pick up. Kubo’s strength as a manga author is in his fight scenes, not exposition. Decent chapter.
HAJIME NO IPPO (chapter 851) – [no title given]
Itagaki continues to train for his upcoming match. Ippo, still hung up about what happened with him and Kumi, is unable to fully focus in his training, but is proud that he was able to take a step closer to telling his feelings. Kumi is also unable to work properly because of what happened. As Itagaki enters the ring, will he be able to maintain his focus to win the match?
Set-up chapter before the fight. Some funny running gags, and a little character development. Next chapter should be a return to boxing. Hopefully Itagaki can put up a good fight. His matches haven’t always been that great. Decent chapter.
FAIRY TAIL (chapter 133) – Twelve vs Six
Wendy reveals her powers as healing magic, and that she travels with a female cat companion, whom Happy is smitten by (as of now, the feeling is not mutual). The members of Blue Pegasus explain their strategy to go against Oracion Seis to the other members of this alliance, which they agree upon. After they set out however, Jura of Lamia Scale is ambushed by Angel of Oracion Seis using Ichiya as a disguise. With two members of this alliance down, how will the other ten fair against the other members of Oracion Seis.
I was not expecting the action to start this week, so I am pleasantly surprised. I wonder if Jura and Ichiya will eventually recover to get their revenge, but at the moment, I’m gonna count them out for most of the fighting until it gets closer to the end. Good chapter.
EYESHIELD 21 (chapter 328) – Tag Match
Gaou gets the upper-hand against Don for a split second, allowing Yamato to help finish him off with a Blue Sky (knocking down your opponent on his back, where all he can see is the blue sky)! However, that’s not the only reason this chapter is called “Tag Team.” Takami steps in as quarterback for the final play of the chapter to throw a touchdown Everest Pass for Sakuraba.
Dual tag team plays here, with Japan defeating two members of the Pentagram this week: Don and Tatanka. With Bud getting sacked earlier, only two more obstacles remain. But how will Sena hope to defeat the athletically superior Panther? Good chapter.
KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN (chapter 240) - Ticket
The Vongola family arrives at Namimori without Hibari and Yamamoto. Yet they find out that they’ll be transported somewhere else. In order to do so, they need to power up a device using five million Fiamma volts (what?) otherwise the town gets destroyed. As Hibari and Yamamoto arrive, the Vongola family unleashes their box weapons and meet the requirement easily.
Their respective box animal weapons look decent, but I still don’t really like the concept of box fighting. Hopefully this next set of box fighting can change my opinion. Decent chapter.
HISTORY’S STRONGEST DISCIPLE KENICHI (chapter 335) – Get Stronger!
With Kenichi’s opponent decided, the masters of the Ryouzanpaku decide that he must continue training to get stronger (duh), especially since Kenichi has no real desire to actually harm women, let alone Chikage whom he has tried to befriend. Before Chikage can issue a formal challenge to Kenichi, Miu interferes and takes the challenge away; however, Kenichi has a challenge of his own.
This week was a pretty slow and dull chapter until the very end. I don’t know if the fighting will actually begin next chapter or not, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Kenichi can overcome his “chivalry.” Decent chapter.
PSYREN (chapter 69) – The Day of Rebirth 2
Ageha and Amamiya continue hearing the story of “The Day of Rebirth.” An asteroid is about to collide with Earth but is destroyed by the missile defense. As the debris still rains down, an alien object that was hidden in the asteroid grew and covered the Earth. Asaga somehow survives his battle against WISE and is saved by none other than Tatsuo.
Another set-up chapter. While we wait for this plot to unravel, the exposition of the backstory to the “Day of Rebirth” still holds me very interested. Most of you probably wouldn’t like this chapter, but I’m so curious about how the events for Psyren came to be. I’m glad we have this break in the action while the others are recovering. Good chapter.
BAKUMAN (chapter 36) – Silence and a Party
Mashiro and Takagi make the uncomfortable transition to having assistants as they try to keep up with the demands for being successful Jump manga authors. As the New Year’s Party gets underway, the two high school authors are treated to a night of luxury with a chauffeur ride to the gala event. There, they run into some familiar faces, including Nizuma. Finally, they come face to face with another rival, Hiramaru.
With another genius introduced, I’m hoping that this series won’t just be about people on the “genius” level competing against those who are “hard workers” as is typical with a shonen series. Hopefully we’ll see more of Hiramura’s personality next week. Decent chapter.
