So Thanksgiving is this week. Lots of food and lots of fun to be had by all. Try not to get too stuff out there that you get a food coma. Sorry about not getting this out over the weekend. Busy getting costumes together for Anime Los Angeles. I had two costumes to prepare, with another as a back-up in case the first one fell through, but now my cosplay group decided to change it up to a group thing while still maintaining the original theme. What does that all mean? Gotta start from scratch this weekend. Which is also the start of holiday shopping. Make sure not to hurt yourself and others when going for those sales on Black Friday. Also, if you’re one of those people/families that spend their entire Thanksgiving Day camping out in front of a super-retail store just to be one of the first in line for a big ticket item, congratulations, you’re what’s wrong with America. Not going to get any further into that, since this is about manga. Perhaps that’ll be written concurrently this week. Anways, enjoy!
ONE PIECE (chapter 564) – The Man that Rocks the World
As Whitebeard makes his move, the rest of his allies remain at his side. Distraught at what he’s done, Squad is consoled by Marco and finds his resolve to continue to fight. The Marines start retreating to the plaza, to hold off Whitebeard and his army. Vice Admiral John Giant takes it upon himself to face Whitebeard and prevent him from advancing. Whitebeard blocks his attack and counters with a massive earthquake that tilts both the ice and the Marine Headquarters. After knocking John Giant down, Whitebeard delivers another blow, sending an earthquake to his chest. The quake continues, heading towards the execution platform, but the combined powers of the three admirals protect it and the town. As Luffy nearly reaches the plaza, the hidden steel siege walls are raised to give the Marines another added defense. The entire plaza is nearly blocked off, but Oars Jr.’s body is on top of one of the sections, not allowing it to raise up. However, even with just a small passage to pass, Whitebeard has some hope of reaching Ace. But just then, Akainu sends fists of magma raining down on the pirates, to break their icy foothold.
Normally, when One Piece comes back from break, the chapter is generally awesome. This week, not so much, but still good. Wasn’t expecting the siege wall back-up plan. Also, it was pretty cool seeing Whitebeard’s powers used in melee form. Earthquake to the chest has to hurt your internal organs. Surprised as well at Oars Jr.’s usefulness after his death. The big guy is certainly doing his part. Not much more of the actual war occurred, but now that all three admirals are back in the thick of things, I’m expecting next week to be pretty chaotic thanks to Akainu’s attack. Good chapter.
NARUTO (chapter 472) – A Deadly Battle in an Underwater Prison
Fusing with his sword to become a true sharkman monster, Kisame charges to attack. Killer Bee tries to flee to get Sabu and Ponta to safety, but Bee is having a tough time escaping the water. Turns out that Kisame is moving the water with him, thus keeping Bee trapped no matter how hard he swims. The 8-Tails informs Bee, and then comes up with the plan to leave Sabu and Ponta to let Kisame chase after him instead. But Kisame goes after the others, luring Bee into a trap. Bee has a trump card though, having a partial transformation to bring out only a few tentacles while still maintaining his non-transformed state. He manages to grab Kisame and hold him as he pushes the others out of the water. However, just by touching Kisame’s body, Bee is still losing chakra. He spits out ink to try to flee the water prison, but Kisame can still detect and catch him. Finally tiring his prey out, Kisame releases the water technique and unfuses with his sword. To prevent any further mishaps, he plans to cut of Bee’s feet; but something goes wrong with his sword. It bends and punctures the ground to prevent Kisame from cutting, and it also sprouts blades on the handle, making Kisame drop it. The sword has taken a liking to Bee, and tries to protect him. It manages to give Bee a little bit of chakra, just before Kisame kicks it away. It’s enough for be to start crawling away, but Kisame grabs one of Bee’s blades and goes to finish him off.
As if last week’s chapter wasn’t weird enough, this one is even weirder. So the sword does have its own consciousness, and apparently, he’s taken a liking to Bee. I don’t see why not, as he’s one of the better introduced new characters since the time skip. Anyway, I was wondering how Kisame could be defeated, since he seemed nearly unbeatable. But then again, some of the previous Akatsuki seemed unbeatable as well. His losing the use of his sword definitely knocks his strength down a peg. Can’t wait for the conclusion. Good chapter.
BLEACH (chapter 383)
No chapter this week, as the author is taking a break to collect more data.
HAJIME NO IPPO (chapter 874) – Impossible to Predict
Baffled at what’s going on, Ippo swings wildly at Woli who counters it easily. Woli continues to remain calm and collected, able to simply dodge Ippo. Charging forward, Woli jumps in the air to throw Ippo off. Ippo throws a punch, but somehow Woli dodges it in mid-air and connects with another punch. He uses the ropes to get around Ippo’s blind side, but he comes in at a low angle that Ippo is able to see. As he throws a punch, Woli is able to bend back at a super-low, limbo-like angle to dodge the attack and still throw a punch while that low. Being in complete control of the match, Woli continues to have his way with Ippo, and almost knocks him down. But instead, the ref calls Ippo’s fall a slip instead. Woli’s unexpected fighting style has thrown off Ippo, Kamogawa, and his other boxers as well, yet Takamura is able to tell that everything Woli is doing is within the rules of boxing. Just because it’s an unorthodox style doesn’t make it cheating. Getting back up, Ippo hears from Kamogawa to continue charging in and take the initiative.
Can someone actually box like that? I know it’s a manga and all, but I can’t help but wonder. Some of the angles of the punches seem practially impossible. But that’s what makes shonen manga entertaining. Wondering what Ippo will do to change the momentum of the fight? And will he be able to get his confidence back? Still a highly entertaining fight, but man, these chapters are going by at Bleach speeds sometimes, but definitely more entertaining. Good chapter.
FAIRY TAIL (chapter 160) – The Power of Feelings
With the Dragon Force surrounding Natsu, he feels similar to the time he ate the Etherion when he faced Gerard. Intrigued by his opponent’s new strength, Zero eagerly faces Natsu. At the third lachryma chamber, Lucy barely manages to get there and reveals to Happy that she has no more magic left; however, she still wants to help protect Cait Shelter. Still moved by her feelings to Stellar Spirits, Gemini appears and takes on her form, to help her break the lachryma crystal in five minutes. Zero uses his Dark Gravity attack, which almost sends Natsu through the bottom of Nirvana. Zero follows suit using a dual Dark Capriccio as a feint, and closes in with an energy blast. Natsu still stands and still faces Zero head-on. Erza and Gray are in place, with three minutes left. Zero notices that Natsu doesn’t really have full control over his Dragon Force yet and begins to get the upper hand. Ichiyama arrives at his lachryma crystal target. Zero continues to kick Natsu while he’s down (literally). Wendy “eats” the air around her to increase her Sky Dragon power. Zero taunts Natsu, saying that he can’t defeat him alone. But Natsu responds by saying that he isn’t alone, that everyone else’s feelings and support are keeping him standing to face Zero. His power once again causes the Dragon Force to erupt from within. With Nirvana almost done recharging, Zero decides to use his strongest technique, Genesis Zero. Natsu charges head-on with one of his strongest Dragon Slayer techniques.
Looks like the arc is winding down. Just going to make a guess, but somehow Natsu is able to defeat Zero and destroy the crystal in the next chapter. Just saying. Predictability aside, the fight has been pretty entertaining. Both the pacing and the setup for what should be the conclusion were done really well. Looking forward to the finale. Decent chapter.
HISTORY’S STRONGEST DISCIPLE KENICHI (chapter 361) – Setsunamaru and Akabanetou
Shigure is still preoccupied with the kukri wielder, and they’re nearly in a stalemate. After both use throwing weapons to no avail, their blades cross paths again. The kukri wielder recognizes that Shigure’s katana is made of superb quality, and that if she could find a kukri of similar make, she’ll make a kukri division for Yami. But, Shigure steps up her speed and is able to land a flurry of attacks that cuts away most of her opponent’s top and causes her to drop on kukri. She then tells her that until she can become one with her weapon, no matter the quality, she won’t defeat her. She also lets her pick up her fallen kukri. But just then, Sakaki and the armor guy crash through the wall. Kenichi looks on, not knowing what to do. It seems like a 4-on-1, but only the katana guy and armor guy are actually fighting. Kushinada asks how Kagerou likes his new sword. He uses it to destroy the fallen kukri with ease (boobies!), but he says that he can’t get along with the sword. He is about to hand the sword over to the katana user until he spots Shigure, who greets him as well. He rushes to her, Akabanetou in hand, and asks her about his sword Setsunamaru. She said she destroyed it, but was just joking. Wanting his old sword back badly, he discards the Akabanetou, which cause everyone else to make a grab for it. Preoccupied with either their respective or other opponents, it flies and stick to the wooden pole next to Kenichi. Sakaki tells him to take it and run, which he does, but the armor guy is right behind him and attacks, causing Kenichi to hand precariously on the edge of the roof. Shigure manages to convince Kagerou to help her: if he protects Kenichi and the sword along with promising to never kill anyone again, she’ll give him one of her father’s swords. Kagerou’s eyes light up with a new sense of determination.
Though not much happened to change the story, it was still a pretty fun and funny chapter. First and foremost, hurrah boobies! If you didn’t see, then you need your eyes checked. Kagerou’s antics with Shigure were pretty funny. Looks like she knows just how to treat him, more so than Kushinada. Speaking of, she hasn’t actually been involved with facing Sakaki. She and Chikage are merely just observing right now. Looking forward to next week. Decent chapter.
