ONE PIECE (chapter 566) – Fierce Attack!
The admirals are unphased by Luffy’s attacks. He uses Gear Second to try to pass them with his speed, but Kizaru cuts him off, saying he’s too slow. Sengoku tells the executioners that it’s time to kill Ace, but they’re stopped by Crocodile. Sengoku thought that he would be after Whitebeard instead due to his grudge, but because he thinks that Whitebeard has grown weaker, Crocodile will kill him later and instead would rather not let the Marines have their way. Doflamingo cuts off Crocodile’s head, and the two continue their fighting. Aokiji attacks Luffy with his ice sabre, which angers Hancock. Before she interferes, Marco charges in and attacks Aokiji. Meanwhile, the other pirates are swimming towards the only opening of the siege wall. Before the Marines are able to reload their cannons and attack them, another of Whitebeard’s ships emerges from the water, a similar to the Moby Dick. The pirates board the ship quickly and hold on, as Oars Jr. carries the ship through the opening onto the land. The pirates have now breached the wall and are within the plaza. Oars Jr. takes some more heavy cannon fire. Furious, Whitebeard imbues his weapon with his quake powers and takes out numerous Marines with one attack. He orders his men to charge the execution platform. At the same time, Sengoku and Garp get ready to join the fight.
Finally, something I’ve been waiting to happen for a long time will hopefully happen in the next chapter. I’m eagerly looking forward to what Sengoku’s abilities are. You can’t be the head of all the Marines without being somewhat powerful. Even Whitebeard acknowledged Sengoku’s strength and experience. Other noteworthy items. Marco against Aokiji. Fire versus Ice, although, a different fire user. Hopefully they’ll be able to finish their fighting, unlike Smoker versus Hancock, Jimbei versus Moria, and Ivankov versus Kuma. Also, finally Doflamingo and Crocodile properly face each other. Lots of setup this week. Hopefully the matchups will follow through next chapter. Good chapter.
NARUTO (chapter 474) – Hokage’s Resolution
Sai tells Naruto how Konoha has decided to treat Sasuke like the criminal he’s become, and that his peers are the ones who have decided to take it upon themselves to do it. Naruto is surprised and furious, saying that Sakura would never follow those orders because of her feelings. Sai says that she wanted to tell Naruto herself, and by confessing her feelings to him, she hoped to soften the blow. But because Naruto still wants to save Sasuke, she couldn’t. They question what Sakura is planning now, but Kakashi guesses that she’s going to kill Sasuke herself. Naruto is in disbelief, but Sai says that it’s because she cares for him that she can’t stand to see what he’s become. So she’s willing to kill the one she loves to stop him. Before they can decide what to do, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrive to meet with Kakashi. Meanwhile, Danzo and his group are confronted by Madara. The others inform the Konoha ninjas what happened at the Kage meeting, and that they’d like Kakashi to take over the title of Hokage. Before they head back, Gaara tries to console Naruto along with trying to re-ignite his desire to become a future Hokage. And one who will become a Kage, he tells Naruto that he should do what he must as Sasuke’s friend. Meanwhile, Danzo drives back Madara and tells Fu and Torune to cover him while he removes the seal on his right arm.
Complete opposite of last week. Interesting chapter ending doesn’t do much to lift up the rest of the chapter. Sai having to fill in to Naruto what we readers already know just seems like filler. Gaara’s pep talk was kind of weak, but I wasn’t really expecting much from someone who was first introduced as a blood-thirsty killer child. Strange to see Naruto getting the pep talk for once, but I dont’ know if I’d really call that a positive character growth. Here’s hoping that next chapter follows through with Madara versus Danzo. To think that these two would actually face each other now, when just a few months back, fans speculated that they were the same person. Decent chapter.
BLEACH (chapter 384) – Can’t Fear Your Own Sword
Tousen activates his own Hollow form, a much plainer mask compared to Ichigo’s and the Vizards. Hisagi questions why his former captain did this to himself, but Tousen slashes him in an instant. Komamura tries to get an attack in, but he’s blocked and kicked away. He questions Komamura why they accept Ichigo’s hollowfication but despise him because of it. It’s because Tousen already had enough strength as a captain and chose to go down this path, while Ichigo didn’t choose it for himself. Suddenly, Hisagi grabs Tousen with his chain, saying he was able to barely dodge the fatal blow. With Tousen pinned, he remembers some of the teachings he taught him before he turned on Soul Society. Mainly, having fear in battle and fear for his own sword helps give you both the strength to fight and to protect. He asks his former what he fears now that he threw away his beliefs for power, but Tousen suddenly stabs him. He tells Hisagi that he was afraid of dying as a Shinigami like him. Komamura activates his bankai to face Tousen.
Pretty much what I expected from this chapter. Tousen changes, and pretty much has his way with Komamura and Hisagi. His hollowfication is pretty plain though. No cool, evil design at all. It looks like a fencing mask. It’s actually a little disappointing. Maybe the mask reflects Tousen’s kind of bland personality? No Ichigo this week, and no Aizen interaction either. Slow pacing, and no really intense fight scenes either. Disappointing chapter.
HAJIME NO IPPO (chapter 876)
No chapter available at the time of this writing.
FAIRY TAIL (chapter 162) – I’m Here for You
Zero is defeated, and Nirvana is falling apart. Gerard is amazed at Natsu’s magic strength, but his calm expression changes to worry once Natsu collapses. The other members of the alliance try to escape. Wendy trips while trying to run, and before rubble falls on top of her, she is saved by a revived Jura. As Nirvana finally crumbles, everyone but Natsu and Gerard manages to make it out. Suddenly, Hoteye emerges from the ground with both of them in tow. Wendy is so glad that Natsu is safe and was able to save her guild that she gives him a big hug. As our heroes try to recover and gather themselves, Lucy and Gray are surprised to discover that it was Gerard who helped Natsu and Erza. With his memories now gone, Gerard is reluctant to recover them, knowing that he has done horrible things in the past, but Erza says that she’ll be there for him, even if they end up hating each other. Before things go any further, Ichiya runs into a strange barrier. Our heroes have fallen into a trap. Accompanied by a large number of armed forces, the new head of the Fourth Press Obligation Force of the New Council, Lahr, introduces himself to the group. He is there to apprehend the members of Oracion Seis, including the newly reformed Hoteye. His last request before being arrested was for them to find his brother, Wally Buchanan. Knowing and having recently met him again, Erza informs him that his brother is alive and well. Before they can undo the barrier magic, though, Lahr is also there to arrest Gerard for his past crimes. If he doesn’t surrender, they have permission to kill him.
Didn’t really expect the punishments to be doled out this quickly. Also, wasn’t expecting Hoteye’s brother to be someone we’ve already seen. I was assuming he’d be a person reserved for a future arc. Well, with one of the dark guilds finally defeated, I guess then it’s on to the next one, with probably a short break to recover wounds. I hope that there’ll be other guild members involved, because it’s always interesting to see new character designs and personalities from the author. And hopefully we’ll someday get an answer to where these faux-dragonslayers gain their powers from. Hopefully next week we’ll find out exactly what happens to Gerard and Hoteye, but we’ll probably be left in limbo until necessary. Pretty good arc. Decent chapter.
HISTORY’S STRONGEST DISCIPLE KENICHI (chapter 363) – Local Battle
At other locations, Ryouzanpaku faces off against Yami’s armed division. Hayato was able to take out one opponent early, and now faces a short sword user. Akisame faces a rapier user. He dodges all of his thrust attacks, and is able to later negate its power and finish him off with a series of grabs and throws. Facing bow using women, the pervert in Ma Kensei is able to subdue them by tying them up in their own clothes. Apachai was able to make quick work of his enemies. Only two places remain where the others have yet to check in.
Pretty short chapter this week. Most of it was taken up by Akisame and Ma Kensei’s fights, which seemed pretty easy to them. With most of these guys being fodder characters, I’m not surprised that no names have actually popped up. Or if they did, I didn’t really bother to remember them. Poor Apachai not really getting any challenge. Oh, and boobies. Man, the artist has been throwing in some more brief glimpses these past few chapters. Decent chapter.
