Weekly Shounen Sunday #39




Didya miss me? Actually, no don't answer that --if I wanted to know I'd open a personal blog about myself. What you're here for is the good book that isn't just read Sunday but is Sunday itself! It's felt like an eternity but we're back and negligibly better than ever! Let's go to Sunday #39!


On the cover is Yui Okada, and surrounding her are Mr. Shounen Sunday still partying over his 1,000th achievement, along with Be Blues 700 chapters lesser but still reaching a 300 chapter milestone. Although it's tucked away in the corner there, the biggest thing (mangawise) going on in this issue is the return of Takashi Shiina's "Zettai Karen Children", which I will be covering this week!

 

This issue's list of Sunday participants is as follows!

Be Blues! By Motoyuki Tanaka (Lead color)
Detective Conan by Gosho Aoyama
K.O.I. King of Idol by Tamaki Wakaki
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san by Aiko Koyama
Zettai Karen Children by Takashi Shiina (Color)
Hatsukoi Zombie by Ryou Minenami
Major 2nd by Mitsuya Takeda
Maou-jou de Oyasumi by Kagiji Kumanomata
Tenshi to Akuto by Aya Hirakawa (Color)
Shinobi no by Rokuro Ohgaki
Komi-san wa, Komyushou desu by Tomohito Oda
Dagashikashi by KOTOYAMA
Magi by Shinobu Ohtaka
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ by Midzuki Kuriyama
Souboutei Kowasubeshi by Kazuhiro Fujita
Amano Megumi wa Suki Darake! By Nekoguchi
Aozakura Bouei Daigakou Monogatari by Hikaru Nikaido
Metorgirl by Reach Ishiyama
Kyoukai no RINNE by Rumiko Takahashi
Saike Matashitemo by Tsubasa Fukuchi
Daiiku no Hatou by Michiteru Kusaba
Tenshou no Quadrable by Takahiro Arai
Hiiragi-sama wa Jibun wo Sagashiteru by Hiroyuki Nishimori
Jojuu Senjin Mushibugyo! by Hiroshi Fukuda
Sunday Higaku Kenkyujo by Yuji Yokoyama

Not in this issue are:

RYOKO
Youkai Giga 

Feels weird to finally see Zettai out of standby ---though honestly this entire TOC is weird outside Conan, really. I guess having slightly more color pages than usual might be the culprit, but Megumi and Evans took a mighty hit and are much lower than usual, and something I have noticed is that Tenshi and Akuto has been much higher as of late --even without color pages. Meanwhile K.O.I seems to be doing quite well for itself while Tenshou and Daiiku are...in trouble to say the least. Sales will be the ultimate deciding factor in the end, but yeah if you like those series you'd better support them. Also I guess another thing that makes this seem odd is Youkai Giga isn't bringing up the rear, but as I said in the last entry, Satsuki is busy preparing for it's first volume release and needed time off --and all indications seem to say it'll be back next week so it's just a temporary blip.



This week's pin up is Yui Okada who was born April 15th 2000 in Osaka. According to the blurb on the last page I linked, she seems to mostly star in TV shows, and has a regular appearance on one despite her young age. Her hobbies include music, watching movies, and apparently she's a big anime fan, so perhaps her appearance in this magazine is more fitting than one would think on first glance, huh?


Be blues celebrates it's 300th er, well, 301st chapter with a center color page and the protagonist stating his intent to aim for the top. A little less important is that there's an app for that --except this is a game based on the series. It baffles me that they still haven't announced an anime for this series that's selling pretty well and seems to be popular, but the ways of Shougakukan baffle me. 


The protag --Ryu is a fish in new waters as he tries to fit in with his new team. It wouldn't be much of a shounen manga if the terms of engagement weren't set up right away --the right page introduces the ruling class of this team, and Ryuu despite his newness is more than ready to take them on as stated in the bottom panel on the right. I've talked about Tanaka's art in action, but there's something about it even in places like this that gives it a sense of inner serenity that's contrasted by his sharp use of thicker lines and cross-haching. Ryuu's expression too is telling of his ambition to not only be the top, but surpass it. 


This is the team Ryuu will be playing on. Of course I can't won't? translate the whole thing, but it's an interesting way of doing exposition. We get a great action scene and an introduction to the characters at the same time which is very anime-like in it's execution. 


Some more action as Ryuu gets schooled by his upperclassmen. Tanaka's artwork guides right into the action as always, but I want to give special focus to the reaction panels on these pages and the ones before it. I put high emphasis on the value of getting an idea of the events from the artwork even if the words are beyond one's reach. --though here Ryuu is thinking about how his opponent is able to close the gap and apply pressure to him in one fell swoop. The top left shows that this guy is in no way shy of showing his skills while the bottom panel is great reaction and speed all at once. 


Though this isn't all about bullying, upperclassmen-san lets Ryuu know that if he wants to follow the team to Germany..!! He's going to need to aim for the top! The chapter ends with Ryuu reminding himself he chose this team and that's why he's here now. There's no do, or don't do --just "has to be done!" It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here, and with Tanaka's art it'll look great too!



Mr. Shounen Sunday continues with his 1,001th installment throwing his buddy Heiji in the mix along with some supernatural action in the vein of a Tengu. As one can see, Conan returns briefly as the antidote wears off, but thanks to an intervention by the aforementioned Heiji and a rule rundown by Haibara, Conan's able to resume being his true self right away --though more likely than not, there's going to be trouble afoot....it's just a question of whether it'll have long lasting results or  just be another run-of-the-mill romp for the super sleuths. 



Returning with a rundown of the series and a beach-ish color spread is Zettai Karen children! It's only been a few months, but I do appreciate the synopsis! The series itself is being regularily scanned so I don't need to go into a whole lot of detail, but I thought the return at least should be something I talk about! The color page makes it very clear that this is the opening of the final arc --which has been the buzzword from the preview last week, but as I've mentioned before "final arc" in shounen language really just means "the end is in sight and could be soon, maybe." That being said, I don't think the series has too long to go, which puts the magazine in the interesting position of losing yet another veteran...


Thrown in with the return is a handy-dandy card announcing the release of volume 49 as well as telling us which volumes the "High school arc" ran in --40~49. I'll probably have a better version of the cover soon for another "covering Sunday" segment, so please by all means look forward to it! 


The chapter begins with Touno and Hanai headed to school --Hanai (the girl) notes that there's something missing from their classroom which is heavily implied to be the leads --the Zettai karen children themselves. Hanai is a psychic which in this world has a stigma attached to it, while Touno is an ordinary guy with a seeming crush as his reaction to Hanai touching him seems to suggest. I'll be honest and say I haven't kept up with this series as regularly as I should have so I don't know much more than that, I'm afraid...




Not surprisingly this return chapter is mostly for us to get reacquainted with the characters. I know Mio on the left since she was in the anime (the first one which I did see all of!) Though since that anime took place during the elementary/middle school arcs (if my memory serves correctly..) it's interesting to see her again as an almost adult. Meanwhile on the right page is Momiji Kanou and Yoh Katsura --the former of which is chewing the others off for acting against orders and putting the kibosh on some psychics they run into. Mio's down for teaching lower level psychics the fear of God, while Momiji says some care is necessary. 


We move to Texas, where the children --though I guess it's weird to call them that now, hah. Make their first appearance at the end of the chapter. Their enemies at B.A.B.E.L have made a move outside of Japan, and the girls (with a guy in tow) are ready to take on their new mission of setting the world straight! As the side text reads, for the sake of the future the children are once again on the move! 


Next up is Maoujo where our sleepy princess has discovered that there are sleepy goods out there for her to purchase --something she can't do if she's stuck in the demon king's castle! What's kidnapped royalty to do? Why, head to the human world and go shopping! 


The Demon King is satisfied with letting the tricks and traps around his mighty fortress force the princess into giving up on her shopping excursion, but she's able to just blaze right through them with the weapons she stole from their storehouse. Not only that, it's only now when the King's followers find her hastily written note that he realizes where she's heading --right back to where they kidnapped her from! The King sends all his best men (and ladies) to put a stop to the princess, but come land, sea, and otherwise she's able to just coast on through. What is becoming apparent with this series is that if it weren't for the princess just being too lazy to leave, the monsters wouldn't be able to do anything to stop her hero or not. Like, she's equipped with a pair of huge scissors, and using wind power glides over a swamp of poison. Does it get any more badass than that? I think not. 


Ah, I might have spoken too soon. The king and his monsters manage to capture the princess, (I use that term loosely, since all they really did was put a bed in a cage, and she just sort of wanders into it to sleep...) and she explains why she's so determined to leave. The Demons are of course not down for this, but then the princess asks with all her cuteness and naivety --"Why don't we all just go to the Human world if you don't want me to go on my own?" 


Unable to say no, the monsters find themselves in a pretty precarious situation. I mean, if they simply deny her, she'll probably just escape again, and what is abundantly clear is she's quite strong, but on the other hand they're monsters planning to go into human --hostile territory. The only thing they can do to keep their captive is to acquiesce to her request, but with a huge amount of trepidation....in any case, we won't be able to see the continuation(?) of this story until the issue after the next as the series is off in issue #40. I'll try to cover it, but until I know what's actually in issue #41 I can't quite comit to that. 


Tenshi and Akuto open up the 129th chapter of voice acting adventures with a color page commemorating the "climax" of the Girls Platoon arc. This is a bit of a relief as the material for the series really seemed to imply that the whole shebang was going to end, but at least this specifies it's this arc, maybe? In any case, Tenshi and Akuto is getting a big climax sendoff with not only one color page for this issue, but another for the next too! This is really rare, and makes me wonder if the series has kicked up a second wind of sorts? It's higher on the TOC and getting color pages often, maybe the editorial staff wants to give it due attention, but why...?


It's the last battle for the anime Akuto is a part of, and tensions are at their max. Or well, Akuto's are at any rate. He stays up all night to figure out how to deliver the decisive line in a way that he'll be satisfied with which is easier said than done, especially when you have a high opinion of yourself like our protagonist. That being said, it's interesting to see Akuto actually kind of unsure of himself as he has been these last few weeks with Tamaki around. I haven't read much of the series before I started the blog, but this character development is nice to see --but what I really like that Hirakawa is doing is developing Akuto without sacrificing what makes him himself which is that arrogance. I want to see Akuto improve himself, but not change the basis of who he is. 


It's here that Akuto remembers the advice Nari gave him which is to just have confidence in himself --don't let thinks like technique lead him astray! I still really wonder where Nari is about now, but perhaps this will be revealed after this arc has come to a close. The manga briskly moves us to the next day where Akuto and Tamaki meet as rivals both on and off the page --the final recording is underway! 


Tamaki is one heck of a villain in her appearance as the Dark Queen who has tempted one of the sweets platoon to her side. I have to say, for an anime within a manga, Hirakawa sure goes out of her way to ensure that this isn't just a means to an end --she could very well make this a manga (or anime) on it's own without the voice acting elements, and that's what makes the immersion of this all that more impressive. 


There's only one chance to nail the line that will bring their friend back, and cinch Akuto's pride! However which does he go for first? Which do the sweets girl platoon go for first? Save their friend or attack the enemy? The next chapter marches proudly into the climax with a color page, and you can be sure I'll cover it! I have to say again I really like how far Hirakawa takes this parallel of what's going on on and off the script. 


It's not quite a showdown but Pops is on board a ship hunting down Commodore Perry in this week's chapter of Shinobi no. I'm kind of curious as to where this series is going to go, cause as Pops comments on the left, this is going to be the beginning of a very long night. Ohgaki is moving quickly --I wouldn't have expected the assassination to be well underway in the sixth chapter, but here we are, and the narration text states that this is Japan's fated day. There's a lot riding on Pops's shoulders and it's a wonder of how long it'll take before he literally sinks or swims. 


I'm pretty sure Big Macs didn't exist in this time period, unless Ohgaki is going for a sort of anachronism stew --or sandwich. In any case Pops doesn't understand English, so he decides to look around for the Japanese guy he saw earlier, and at the current moment the poor guy is stuck doing chores for the other Americans who have lovingly(?) nick named him Sam Pacchi --but his name is actually Sentarou, who Ohgaki gives us a brief history lesson on --seems he was the lone Japanese man who was on the Black ships from America in order to return to Japan --its commented that he's a man with a strange fate in the scheme of things. His name "Sam Pacchi" comes from the word "Shinpai" or "worry" which he'd often say around the Americans who misheard it and thought of it as his name. 


I droned on about Tanaka's reaction faces in Be Blues, but I think Ohgaki deserves mention for that beautiful one at the bottom of the left page. Sam --(I'm going to call him that cause I like it.) and his single tear as he freaks out upon the appearance of Pops is good stuff. Pops introduces himself, and proclaims they'll work together for the greater good. Sam on the other hand is just weirded out that shinobi still actually exist --which is a reaction I'm still quite fond of. As much as the west romanticizes ninjas and shinobi, it's kind of nice to read a work where they're seen as fairy tales of a past era. 


Meanwhile we're introduced to another character who...well, rather than lending an ear to other characters, takes them in an exceedingly gruesome way. He just wants to look up at the beautiful moonlight, and he can't do that with a bunch of sailors yammering on about nonsense, so he takes an ear while telling himself if the moon viewing has been wasted that he'll go hunting instead. The pages aren't pictured here, but it's very much implied that he's aware Pops is on the ship --or at least that they have intruders, and he's going to turn this ruined opportunity into one where he can have a little fun. That's one way to introduce a character and raise the stakes --hopefully Ohgaki can keep this pacing up! 


 This chapter of Evans has Pheebs bringing in a perp on her own accord, but this lady is doing her best to get into her head --alleging the bounty hunter has no sex appeal at all. Although Pheebs rightfully points out that she has no reason to listen to a perp, she ends up doing so anyway, cause maybe she can get a tip or two on getting Evans' attention? (She doesn't say that, but we all know it's what she's thinking.) 


So Pheebs heads over to Evans to collect her bounty, all while keeping the lady's lessons in mind, starting from the way she sits --which in turn summons Evans' Dad lecture mode. I have to say this whole "dueling lessons" storyline is extremely hilarious --though Evans does notice! Too bad it's mostly because he's weirded out by her sudden insistence in sitting weirdly? He thinks back to what his Dad said to do when a lady is hiding something, and the answer to this is nothing...nothing at all. 


In this cage match of dueling hearts, the first one to react loses. If Evans dad tells him not to give her any attention, and attention is exactly what Pheebs wants, then a clash is inevitable. Except in this case since neither person wants to outright admit what they want, we get this where Evans isn't sure what Pheebs is doing, and Pheebs gets depressed because he's not reacting in the way she was expecting. It's a back and forth without the words, but with all of the fallout, hah. 


The captive lady manufactured this chaos to make a break for it, and does so by taking Ted hostage! Pheebs is depressed that she really does lack sex appeal, but Evans surprises her by saying that sex appeal isn't what makes a woman, which is what gets Pheebs out of her slump and ready to fire upon the perp, and therefore saving Ted and forcing the lady to stand down. Of course (not pictured) Evans asks Pheebs what was with all the embarrassing posturing, and she has no answer for him. All's well that ends well though! 


Next up is the 67th chapter of Souboutei, where the origins of the house are made clear. It seems a long time ago the foundation of where the house would eventually be built was a place where shooting starts seemingly go to die. --What an auspicious opening for the chapter...


Here the legend of the house is explained --Sakamaki Teido (who we met recently) is the one who built the home in the center of this star graveyard. (My words, not theirs) and since he had a lot of money at the time, he was able to make a house of weird shape and location. Kurenai says she's not heard this of the Souboutei, but points out a fallacy. They entered from the outer gate of the Souboutei, but are immediately in the main hall! What gives? 




It seems the Souboutei has some space bending properties as where Kurenai was able to enter and the place where Kaerikuro entered is somewhat different. Though what really catches Kurenai's attention is Kuro's words -- "Perhaps if I were to have a taste I can understand what exactly is different." Kurenai is sure she misheard her, but...


Kuro really *does* taste the spiritual energy in the air, and through this she's able to not only get a sense of their current location, but where Rokuro is too. Kuro's embarrassed by her ability to gain knowledge by taste, while Kurenai is surprised that spiritual power comes in this form.  


She then urges Kurenai to get going, and the latter asks if it's okay for her to leave her comrades behind, to which she says that'll be fine as the commander is here. Meanwhile,  said commander awakens to find himself in the company of Seiichi, who he still has quite the beef with. 


When Seiichi tries to explain to the man he means no harm, he fails to believe this, and not only that , he insists that Seiichi come at him with the intent to kill.  Now it would be one thing if he simply wanted to fight the kid, but to be killed by him? That's....weird, to say the least. At any rate, Seiichi declines his courteous offer, stating that they're human and shouldn't do these things, especially since he's injured. Faced with this logic, he sheathes his sword and reveals that he has seen Seiichi's past and knows that he detests the Souboutei which is a shared loathing between the two, --the commander, Hotai detesting the house that killed all of his men. 



Hotai has been in the house before, and not only that --his old friend is the one who built it in the first place! That's right Sakamaki and Hotai grew up together, but now they stand on opposite sides with the souboutei between them. What happened to cause this split? Next issue..!!



Meteor Girl continues with Hane's fate hanging in the balance! Will she be saved, or come back as a Meteor Girl herself? Let's investigate. 


Tetto is beside himself with anger as the man in black taunts him --it doesn't matter if Hane dies since she'll just come back as a meteor girl anyway, right? So he should just give up on her! Why if Tetto hadn't sworn off violence because Ryoko asked him to, he'd teach him a lesson! Speaking of being beside something, there's the MG who's not quite dead yet beside this dude. 


They pull the whole "look behind you!" shtick from pretty much every cartoon ever, and man in black isn't falling for it. Except what Tetto should have told him is to look above as this shoujo jumped in a shounen manga to pierce him with with the remnants of it's body which is...actually pretty terrifying, to be honest. Tetto is able to save the guy, but rather than thanking him, he's actually...pretty psyched about the whole deal. Seems this guy truly is rotten to the core. 


Though at the very least he's able to use his ray-gun to blast the MG to pieces before it does he same to them. Tetto is also able to work out some of his festering aggression on the dude for all the stuff he's said up until this point. I'm not one to find violence therapeutic, but I gotta admit this was super nice to see. 


The guy apologizes, and we're able to shift our focus back to Hane, and Ryoko says the prognosis isn't good --all they can do at this point is pray that she'll pull through. It's always a favorite of mine when characters who aren't on the best of terms reveal that they do in fact care/worry about each other. If the flashback on the left (which I quite enjoy for how asymmetrical it is --it really does look like a set of filtered memories rather than a perfect set of images..) indicates anything it's that Tetto may find Hane weird and a little annoying, but she's still a friend, and in his own brash way he worries about her by yelling that she should wake up and stop acting like an idiot. Unfortunately, black suit is down but not out...at least for a moment....


But then they get a hand! I'm sorry.  Turns out that MG has one heck of an attachment to life, and as you can see above --Tetto's neck. With Ryoko busy trying to keep Hane alive, there's no one to help our protagonist, but...


Three girls are watching the scene below with mildly amused interest, and the one in the center with black hair is named --Chihiro?! Why, that's the name of Tetto's dead friend, and she confirms as much in the final panel of this week's chapter. Admittedly Meteor Girl has been keeping the twists and turns interesting to a point that I've been fooled(?) into following it each week despite not necessarily wanting to, but now I'm actually excited for future events, and the Shougakukan editorial committee seems to share my interest as the series will receive a color page with the next installment along with revelations to the story as Tetto totters on despair. I can't wait to get my hands on the next chapter!


Returning to the blog after a brief Hiatus is Rinne, and appearing for the first time ever is Masato! I don't believe he's appeared in a single chapter in the magazine since I started writing these entries, so let's give him a warm welcome! Of course since I have been slowly going through the anime I am aware of who he is, and his role in the story...but anyway, Rinne managed to get a bit of cash, and Masato deeming him an enemy out to do anything to separate him from his money.  Rinne dispatches of him easily, and he falls into the perview of Sakura who notes that he looks kind of...thin?


And it's not surprising, as Masato has been without food for three days, and he blames Rinne for this whole ordeal. I like that on the right page Masato recounts how three days ago he was so bored out of his mind that he casually suggests to himself that he go to curse Rinne with the spell of Mammon, which caused him to lose all of his money, but in exchange was supposed to curse Rinne, except he spelled Rinne's name wrong, which turned the curse right back upon it's caster. 


Masato resorts to dirty tricks to subdue Rinne --which comes in the form of a can filled with Hell's fire, (not pictured), but Rinne seemingly absorbs this with a rice cake --but then it turns into ash much to his surprise! Rokumon and Sakura find that the curse comes with instructions (how handy!) And it reads that in order to undo the curse, tears of blood are required. Rinne asks what'll happen if they don't undo the curse, and it turns out as long as the curse remains active anything they touch will be rended of it's financial relevance, in short leaving them poor for all eternity, hence Rinne's reaction on the right. 


What ensues after this is a battle over pocket change...with Masato and Rinne doing their darndest to get the change out of the other, with Masato resorting to a fan charged with magnetic energy to grab the coins which is confiscated by Rinne, and then taken by Masato and...yeah you get the picture. Masato wants to deal with his lack of food for the last three days, and Rinne wants to keep what little money he has. 




Masato realizes that without money he can no longer summon his tools of the trade and that he has nothing left, causing him to black out. When he awakens, Rinne is above him and apparently is willing to break bread and mend bridges....except he doesn't and eats the only food Masato has seen in the last three days...


Causing those bloody tears to flow. In the end the curse is lifted and Masato able to use an ATM again, but he takes one more cursed pot-shot at Rinne (this time spelling his name in hiragana), but he puts an end to that quickly. 


Saike on the PM with it's chapter, where Koutarou's little brother is taunted by the guards --his brother isn't coming because they've already taken care of him. Poor kid just isn't having a good re-day, (since Saike has done this a few times already.) Though there is good news, (not for little bro,  but Saike fans) Fukuchi has more or less revealed that there will indeed be a series after part 10 has completed, so the time redoing hero in training will be around after this arc, and if my math is correct, that *should* take us to chapter 100 which is a milestone for Fukuchi's post Ueki works! 


Back to the matters at hand, I won't stop praising Fukuchi by having Ana be the fighter for this round. Sure she does a fair amount of butt kicking when Hizu is around, but for her to be the lone bruiser in this arc is oddly satisfying. In any case, with the knowledge of how things will go down from past loops, Saike is able to get the drop on the guards, but unfortunately for he and Ana, they were anticipating trouble, and have used a thread oracle to hold little bro down!


What I constantly find fun about fights in shounen manga is how even the most innocuous of abilities can be used in a creatively deft way. The villian in this arc uses thread and needle to fight Saike and Ana, and to great effect, as Saike's face meeting the ceiling on the opposite page shows. 


Ana is also no slouch, finding creative ways to use her packing tape abilities so launch an offensive against their enemy. Although there's not much going on story wise in this chapter, Fukuchi's interesting takes on angles and perspective keep things engaging, not to mention this villain is pretty clever without being unfairly overpowered. In any case, Ana's about to be a haystack of needles until...


Koutarou appears and soaks up all of those hits!


Another shounen stable is the bumbling fool who makes up for his shortcomings with heart. The effectiveness of this character may vary for some, but I can't help but get swept up by Koutarou who does his best to save Saike and the others, because "that's just what an older brother does". 


Ana's expression on the right reminds us that she is in fact a danity flower, hah. Meanwhile Koutarou delivers a blow on the left that's pretty impressive both artwise and just plain "ouch" wise. Kotarou proclaims that an older brother can't be defeated with his little brother watching, and I'd be lying if this didn't pump me up. I'm still sort of mixed on this arc as it is, but it's entertaining, and honestly that's all we need for right now, I think. 


Daiiku no Hatou starts off with a letter from Minato to Nagiko asking how she's doing as he deals with his ongoing Mix up in Nagano. It's been a bit since I covered the series, so let me give a brief rundown --Minato met a girl and in hopes of having future meetings moved to Nagano and enrolled in an Aquatics school, just to find out that the girl --Nagiko has moved to Tokyo to attend the same sort of school there, leaving him in the lurch. The series so far is about him dealing with this mistake and coming to find that perhaps aquatics might be something he can come to enjoy....is what I'd like to say, but on the right we find out that he can't actually swim. 


While Minato regrets being alive, a little girl drops her favorite doll into the waters, and is having a fit over it. Minato's face when he realizes it's a doll and not a person is full of relief --I guess he thought maybe they'd toss him in to save "Mai-chan" the doll if she were actually human, the ingrate. Look at how cute she is! Why if I were a fictional character I'd totally....ah, wait, nevermind. 

Kusaba's artwork is on display as the upperclassmen show the juniors the ropes of proper rowing. It looks a little awkward on the page like this, though I do like Kusaba's use of paneling here. That being said, what has got the upperclassmen in the mood to head out all of a sudden? 


The left side --save for the "sooooreee!" panel is frameworthy, I feel. Meanwhile the right side is such a good moment of empathy from these characters --they took off not only to show the new guys the ropes, but to save Mai-chan the floating doll. Look how happy that little tyke is! 


Minato's expression on the bottom as another student comments on how cool their seniors are is one of agreement and understanding. Expressions seem to be the name of the game in this week's issue, and so far each mangaka who's attempted them has nailed it. Meanwhile on the right, one of the juniors speaks to a senior, and while it's not clear what exactly they're talking about --apparently the former wants to see something that the latter believes he won't be able to see on dinghy, it seems this is going to become an important plot point later as...


He comments that the things he's concerned over aren't major. The junior understands and says he'll do as his senior says, but only on one condition....if he can have Minato as a partner he'll take on the seas. I do wonder why him specifically? We'll have to find out in the next chapter it seems...


When we last left Jinbee in Mushibugyo, he was unarmed suddenly by the words of his foe, something that even he doesn't quite understand. He's more than happy to explain --in this world made by his thoughts, Jinbee's sword is nothing compared to his felings and faith in himself that has been forged over the one thousand years he's been alive. Despite this, the most insulting or infuriating thing he says is that he and Jinbee are exactly the same. 


Upon hearing this again, Jinbee's --you guessed it, expression freezes as he wonders just what is going on to him that mere words are able to keep his body in place --but more importantly, how on earth is he similar to his foe? He fights for everyone, the villain only fights for himself, he seeks to be a strong warrior like his father, while he only seeks power....so how could they be anything alike!? It turns out there are plenty of things they share --suffering, making mistakes, and writhing in pain in order to reach a singular goal. Maybe those goals are different, but the straight forward path they travel upon to reach them is the same, and poor Jinbee's body just cannot fathom this.


Now we move into Fukuda's specialty --perspective and angling. Jinbee tries to steel himself against this verbal beating, reminding himself what needs to be done, and what his opponent has caused. The panel on the right is great from the angle it portrays, showing Jinbee at the end of his rope and literally at the end of another blade. Yes, to get this far, his opponent has told many lies, but not a single thing he says to Jinbee now is untrue. 


Which is to say the strength Jinbee has always believed in was wrong, and through a terrible twist of words and intent --what he was desperately chasing wasn't his father's shadow but the back of the man he's currently fighting. The wispy hair, and smile on his face lends itself to a sort of twisted innocence which I'm really quite fond of, but the emotional build up comes to a head next...  


Jinbee's breaking point. He can no longer feel the strength in his extremities and he begins to doubt, to question... maybe he is right and he has been wrong this whole time. 



Jinbee has given up and is about to be finished, when the scarf given to him by Haru one of his close friends flutters off in the breeze. Even in his last conscious moments, Jinbee reflexively grabs the scarf, ready to meet his maker when...another arm sprouts forward and saves him? Though this is clearly not his own arm, and as the flashback indicates there's something about Haru that's special to him. Could this arm be her's perhaps? And if so, why is it here now? Next issue...!!




And that's it for issue #39! Next issue, For the first time in Weekly Shounen Sunday history (their words, not mine.) Shinichi and Ran will grace the cover of the magazine! Come to think of it, whenever there has been a cover starring Conan, it's always been with...well, Conan and Ran or Conan on his own, and not Shinichi. Poor guy probably hasn't been on a cover ever has he? (Don't quote me on that.) So this is a pretty big deal! Along with that, Tenshi and Akuto will recieve a lead color page, Meteor Girl gets a center color, and Madoka Yoshida will have a color spread as the pin up in this issue! Oh, last but not least, Birdmen will swoop in for a monthly visit! I'm not at all sure if my Sunday Schedule will go back to normal after this or not, but whenever I get it you can be sure I'll dish the deets! Until then, have a good Sunday! 

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