Weekly Shounen Sunday #50

A week without Sunday is like a week without you --unbearable. Luckily I get to have both as it's that time again! We're two issues (not including this one) away from resetting the clock and starting over with issue #01 of 2018 so let's enjoy the last bits of 2017 as long as possible!

On the cover this week is Erika Ikuta who's doing a pin-up piece for the first time, along with Komi, and the oneshots we'll be getting in this issue as well as the two series recieving color pages --Aozakura and K.O.I. Pretty standard stuff cover-wise, but this is only a prelude of what's to come, so lets head on in.

As customary for Sunday (or well, any book really) is the TOC!

K.O.I King of Idol by Wakaki Tamaki (Color page.)

Hoankan Evans no uso ~Dead or Love~ by Mizuki Kuriyama

Komi-san wa Komyushou desu by Tomohito Oda

Major 2nd by Mitsuya Takeda

Aozakura bouei daigakkou no monogatari by Hikaru Nikaido (Color page)

Maiko-san chi no Makanai san by Aiko Koyama

Tenshi & Akuto!! by Aya Hirakawa

Be Blues by Motoyuki Tanaka

Maoujo de oyasumi by Kagiji Kumanomata

Kanojo no umi mita de nama tamago by Chihiro Kurashi (One shot pt 1)

Shinobi no by Rokurou Ogaki

Amano Megumi wa Suki Darake! By Nekoguchi

Dagashikashi by KOTOYAMA

Sannin no Koroshiya by Kyousuke Tanabe (One shot)

Hiiragi-sama wa jibun wo sagashiteru by Hiroyuki Nishimori

Hatsukoi Zombie by Ryou Minenami

Kyoukai no RINNE by Rumiko Takahashi

Souboutei Kowasubeshi by Kazuhiro Fujita

Zettai Karen Children by Takashi Shiina

Meteor Girl by Reach Ishiyama (Extra pages)

Saike matashitemo by Tsubasa Fukuchi

Daiiku no Hatou by Michiteru Kusaba

Tenshou no Quadrable by Takahiro Arai.

Not in this issue are the following:

Detective Conan

RYOKO

Youkai Giga

Many pardons for missing it last week, but Youkai Giga is apparently on a scheduled break for this issue --though to be fair there wasn't any text indicating so --except for the customary "This will continue in this issue" message which is easy to roll right over without a second thought. Conan is still out, though after I wrote the last entry news and explanations always seem to pop up after I've slaved over this thing for hours. Conan will return in Issue #1 which will be out November 29th. There's no public explanation for the further delay unfortunately, though I'd think it'd have something to do with Aoyama since this long of a hiatus is rather unprecedented. Guess Conan fans will just have to wait a little longer to see what the pint-sized sleuth is up to, which is a real shame as the series had just started to get really interesting. An issue with Youkai Giga is like a cup without a bottom to me --and somehow manages to make Quadrable all the way at the bottom look even worse. My boy Saike is also back in the basement after floating along for a bit which means my fears for it have also returned, and the oneshot that I thought would be all in one issue --the one by Kurashi-sensei is in fact a short serial of three parts to seemingly run over three weeks. It's...interesting, to say the least, and since it is a oneshot I will talk about it so hang in there with me.

Thoough before we hit the mag proper, I'd like to show off a vid done by one of the loyal visitors to the blog, here! Yarrayora is a big fan of Arai, and made a brief introductory video to his works, referencing my work on Quadrable summaries, so by all means check it out! And big thanks for the shout out!

Meet Ms. Ikuta who's here and present for her very first set of pinups which look...rather tame, honestly. Not that any of the ones I've covered in the past have been especially racy, but this one comes off as well...ordinary for the lack of better words. I could see them being in a normal magazine to advertise products moreso than a photo-shoot for a pretty girl. Info on her is pretty sparse too --only that she's a part of Nogizaka 46 and her birth date --January 22nd 1997 are here. Guess we won't be finding out what her hobbies and more importantly --her favorite manga are huh.

With the first of two consecutive weeks of color pages is K.O.I! This seems to be a thing for Sunday lately --giving two weeks of color pages to popular series to celebrate a new volume being released. Not that this is a bad thing by any means since it's one of the rare times that we get color artwork for these series. Admittedly I haven't been reading K.O.I so I have little to no idea of what's going on so this is essentially lip service Sorry. Surprisingly enough there are guys who are actually guys in this series in regard to the third pic on the left, and from what I can tell the idols are preparing for their live shows. --Sorta like Tenshi and Akuto, this very not-shounen concept gets the shounen treatment since these performances are akin to battles in other manga of this demographic. Though what's got me most interested...

Is this the beginning of an arc for a side character? I do like that Wakaki gives this definitive English text, as if the curtains are rising on an entirely new story. Kisara Shibuya is the character in the fourth image on the right above this one --and interestingly enough she seemed to be the subject of this week's chapter. In any case I'll be covering the next chapter as it has a color page, so Kisara Shibuya's story --or at least the start of it will be on the blog.

Now for a series I am reading --Evans, who has not only reached his 30th chapter but his first two parter --implied by this chapter title having a "1" in it. The extra time might be warranted as the chapter this week is about a motley group planning Evans' execution! Mr. Horun is one of the guys who wants Evans in a casket, as pictured on the left though there's a unseen snag in their plan --Evans is actually disguised as part of this unholy planning party --somewhat badly I might add. I mean look at him on the right. It's basically his normal outfit with a garrish (but admittedly a little badass looking) vest. 

Flashback to a few days before where Pheebs catches a suspicious looking pair and apprehends them. After a bit of an investigation, she uncovers the plot and informs Evans of the problem headed his way. The two captured say that the plan is still on as long as their boss is free so Evans takes matters into his own hands and sneaks into their group. Although the atmosphere starts off pretty serious and all, but it soon degenerates into badmouthing Evans --which Pheebs who joined in gladly becomes a part of. It's gotta be awkward for Evans who's right there to listen into people talk crap about him, hah. 

After a bit of venting, the group asks themselves what they should do to rid themselves of their Evans issues, and it's here that a returning face --Mr. Ryuto (apparently from chapter 1, but I honestly don't remember him) and apparently Evans doesn't either, suggests they attack Evans in his house by surrounding it and giving him no means of escaping their net. Evans tries to passive aggressively (without dropping his cover), suggest they not attack his house since --y'know he lives there. Er, no I mean, "Who knows what kind of traps he has lying there" or so he says, but then Pheebs apparently hangs him out to dry by saying he's got no security whatsoever.  Though to her credit, Pheebs says she won't let the plan get as far as his house --but more importantly she wants into his house so she can see his bedroom. I admire those priorities, m'lady. 

Though she's not the only one with great priorities. Evans realizes there's something much more important than his house meeting with disaster, is the fact that he left some...naughty reading material out in his haste to head to his own execution meeting. "If only I hadn't bought those" he laments as the chapter comes to an end. For the first time Evans wasn't thinking of his Dad, though that's not surprising as I doubt Pops has any advice for dealing with assassins in his arsenal. I also wasn't expecting an actual threat to Evans's life either....though I feel like these guys will be more bark than bite. 

Komi's time in Kyoto continues with this chapter which was surprisingly short --to the point that while I was at first considering skipping this in favor of something else, the length convinced me to pick it up. Komi's normally two chapters adding up to the length of one, but this week it was more like one of the other short gag manga. In any case, Komi tries on a fancy kimono and finds herself attracting the attention of a ninja crew who's looking for a princess, but luckily for Komi, Sasak--er, someone in an oni mask shows up to save the day with some sick yo-yo tricks and then running off before Katou can thank her. 

Sasaki returns just as the mysterious hero exits --completely shocked despite uh, still wearing the very same finger-less gloves as the yo-yo hero. I do love how the editorial staff plays along with this with the side text asking if we'll find out the identity of the mysterious hero?! I know I hyped up the "something happening" that was talked about last week, but hey, even I didn't know it was going to be like this --guess that's why we really shouldn't trust the next volume previews. Still I'm glad rather than something really happening that we got a pretty funny and most importantly --harmless chapter. 

Aozakura is up next with a color page celebrating it's newest volume heading into stores soon. The written part of the tests for the entrants done, it's time for some practical training and the best place for that is good old fashioned camp right in time for fall. This chapter is mostly set up with the guys getting into their new place (up above on the right-bottom has a really nice foreshortening/perspective panel), so there's not a whole lot to speak on from a story POV. 

The first day is unpacking and the surprise that they're allowed snacks and the knowledge that the training doesn't seem to be that terrible. Sure they have to run 20 km, but that's something they're essentially used to, so what's doing it a little more? Perhaps this feared camp from hell is actually heaven in disguise? 

Except no. They're expected to wake up at 6am and run that 20km --rain or shine. Good luck guys, and do your best to not catch a cold in that weather. 

Next is Be Blues which is spamming those double spreads like no-one's business which means I have to do it to you --I mean link them, not make silly memes. Ryuu has made a rival on his new team, and he's not looking to give up his place to the upstart newcomer under any circumstances! The page above this paragraph is striking not for its excellent use of white space but for Ryuu's expression on the left --resolve with a bit of enjoyment. This is soccer to him --something he takes seriously while having a good time doing it --though his rival is of a different persuasion --this is dead serious business. Neither of them are wrong per se, so what makes this interesting is seeing how these ideals clash and seeing who comes out on top, as well as how confrontation changes these characters.  

Though it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Ryuu is down, breathing heavily, and bleeding from his mouth as his teammates gather around wondering what's going on. This reminiscent of Major 2nd some time back when one of the characters was hurt on the field leading to the main character almost giving up the sport in guilt of what he had done. Granted throughout the chapter, Ryuu had looked like he was forcing himself to play despite himself --so this might be character development for both the injured and the (perhaps?) one who inflicted it. Either way there's bound to be a shake up next week and some time off the field, which is admittedly my favorite part of sports series ironically. 

Next up is this...uh, strange three part mini-series by Chihiro Kurachi. Hey I'm not passing judgement on it or anything, the "strange" is part of the description given by the editorial staff. The title --"Kanojo no umi tate namatamago" literally means something like "The raw egg she was born from" which sounds...yeah, weird. The story begins with Ken headed to school where he meets up with Miwako, (who's name means something like "Beautiful Feather child" --fitting, no?) and that seems ordinary enough except this story of "strange love" again, their description, not mine takes place in a world that birds and people co-habituate. Not the strangest setting I've ever seen, of course --but it is a little out there for a romance story, I think. Ken's been trying to get Miwako to give him the time of day, but she always turns him down for reasons unknown, and unexplained. It's sort of implied they're dating but haven't actually been out on a date which is the issue he's having with their situation. 

I wasn't expecting an actual explanation for this setting, honestly but Kurachi felt generous enough to give it a swing, so I will graciously translate. The genes of birds are stronger than those of humans, and now humans are on the verge of extinction. The teacher explains above that while right now loving outside of species is strictly forbidden, there may be a day where nature looks fondly on interspecies fooling around. For now, the safe option is to stay within your lane, so to speak --the teacher even goes on to throw in that when he was a kid there were many more humans, while in the current classroom there are only five which probably includes Ken. This topic of discussion annoys Ken as he knows he loves Miwako despite being a somewhat different species from her, and doesn't care --his major issue being that she's avoiding him for whatever reason, so he goes to confront her asking if she hates him. 

Miwako is understandably worried about what people will think if they're seen together, and tearfully apologizes for today before running off. Ken pursues her and sees well, that on the right above. 

Ken's totally not sure what to make of what he just saw and decides to consult good ol' google. Or in this case Goolle. And what he finds is that this is a peacock's way of courting their lovers. So not only does Miwako feel the same way he does, but she's ready to..ahem return his feelings in a very physical way. It's an odd place for part one to end --especially since this was so short....why not just publish the whole one shot I wonder? Well, in any case I'll reserve my  judgement until I've seen the entire thing unfold, but this was pretty cute despite it's abject weirdness. 

A pleasant surprise for Shinobi no this week --due to the series being popular enough for the editoral staff, it got an increased page count! This wasn't announced last week (as far as I know?) though from time to time, the magazine will give extra pages to series without any prior notification, so it ends up being a happy surprise when it happens. This week's chapter begins with Toudou and Pops digging up the latrines. No, I did not misspeak or misstype they're really digging up crap, and not in the "metaphorical information finding" sense, but the literal sense. Toudou's none too fond of this but Pops has a method to his madness --apparently it's this old crap that'll get them back to the black ships!

I'm not sure how sound this science is mythbusters anyone? But a shinobi trick is to take excrement, refine it and use it as gunpowder --a process that occurs when it is buried underground long enough, which is exactly why Pops had Toudou digging around for the smelly stuff. He then tells Toudou to gather wood so they can make a raft, since they only have about two hours to get back on the ship before it reaches Edo. While he's working on getting the gunpowder ready, he orders Toudou to get the rafts together by belittling him and saying that a brat like him probably can't but if he can try at the very least that'd be fine, not that he expects much. This annoys Toudou into action --exactly what Pops was hoping for. 

Meanwhile Yoshida Shioin is quite pleased with himself --he's being put through trials and tribulations, but to him life itself is a trial, and this instance of the black ships is an opportunity to grow and experience life through all it's twists and turns. Why, we should be more happy that life puts us through so much --at least according to him. So he should be overjoyed that another monkey wrench has been thrown into his plans in the form of Miranda. The scene cuts to Pops and Toudou and to his surprise/delight, Toudou has gone over and beyond the call of duty...

Gathering all the best wood he could for their rafts. Heading back to Yoshida Shioin who states the facts to Miranda, that she's going to die very soon, all in "English" no less. Miranda is incredulous and asks how he intends to "kill" her. To her shock he replies he's not going to just kill her, but everyone on the ship. He goads her to shoot if she's willing to die for his dream --revealing that he's strapped to the skin with bombs of his own design. Yoshida Shioin is a daft and clever as a bomb strapped fox, and according to my history loving friend, this is kind of in character for him. 

Unfortunately for her, hesitating when in the presence of someone as crazed as Yoshida is a bad idea. One of his retainers has a gun of his own and shoots her where she stands, leaving Miranda for dead, and Yoshida's plans unchecked. This is the last we see of her this chapter, so I have to wonder if she'll survive? She's had lot of screentime, but Shinobi no's narrative is unforgiving and unpredictable so maybe this is where things end for Miranda? For now the chapter heads back to Pops and Toudou who have created a rocket propelled raft to head right back to the black ships in style. 

Pops uses his own Fundoushi (a type of undergarment) as a parachute as the raft flies up into the air giving him enough hangtime to fly back onboard, while hilariously leaving Toudou to fall back into the drink. (Hilarious because of the panel work on the right where the boy sloooowly falls down while curing the old man the whole way down.) Though, no need to fear Toudou fans --I'm sure we'll be seeing the boy wonder again. 

Meanwhile Pops arrives in grand style on the ship and runs into Yoshida about to enter the room of the man he needs to have a 'word' with --Perry. There's about  17 minutes left until the ship arrives at Edo, so time is of the essence, but I wouldn't want Ogaki to rush this climatic clash between titans! 

A short update on Megumi this week --Ma-kun and Megumi run into a middle school classmate of the later who's surprised to see them on a "date" though Ma-kun refuses to call it that. Masaki Suma. Ma-kun excuses himself in a huff after a bit of conversation leaving the two behind to talk, where Suma encourages Megumi to stay on Ma-kun, and look after him since he can take things like failure very hard and become easily discouraged. Megumi pledges to do just that and when Ma-kun returns the date continues with the customary wardrobe malfunction that I had to snip for sensitive eyes, sorry! I'm a little surprised by the tempo of this chapter --it seems so odd to have a friend show up and for there not to be any sort of romantic tension to come out of it, but maybe I'm relying too much on past tropes to guide me through the romance genre? Suma seems like a nice enough guy, and maybe this was just to encourage the two together a little more, but huh...can a romantic set up like this exist without the drama that I care little for? All things considered, I do think Megumi has the chops to pull it off --to be a love comedy that is a love comedy and not just a drama with laughs in it.

Like Komi before it, I wasn't going to cover Dagashikashi this week, but Yutaka --Hotaru's older brother's shenanigans pretty much demanded I throw it in, so here you go. KOTOYAMA's art is amazingly good in this chapter --and not just from a panel standpoint but from a sense of artistic direction too. I really like Yutaka's profile on the top, and that dramatic yell on the third image. He hasn't appeared frequently enough for me to get a handle on his character, but if these over the top images are what he's about then I think I might grow to like him.  I mean the entire chapter is his musings on why he dislikes (or likes?) "corn potage" (or Japanese corn soup) from the name being only decent, to it being part of his old "snack loving" identity. (He's a manager of a convenience store now.) It all ends with Hotaru finding her bro and giving him the corn potage he's been thinking of the whole chapter, and him breaking down into tears over how good it is, though we only get a really well drawn scene of the country side on the fourth picture on the bottom as he drives and Hotaru warns him to watch the road. I guess being candy crazy runs in the family. 

Kyousuke Tanabe's oneshot about assassins begins with pros watching a Hollywood version of their work providing some great meta from the very beginning. Welcome to "Sannin no Koroshiya" or "Three assassins". Which features three men of the underworld. 

Where do I start with this? We have three assassins living together under one roof, each with seemingly different approaches to the fine art of killing, and varying personalities to boot. We're not even given names for this trio, and don't let the text boxes on the left fool you --they all simply state that these three live together. I guess it makes sense that one wouldn't get a whole lot of information on assassins as it is a bit of a occupational hazard to have info just out there. Asassin "B" even uses a computer to speak, doubling down on the mysteriousness between the three. They then comment on the movie where two assassins have ended up in the ol' Mexican standoff and "A" asks his roommates what they'd do in such a situation? "C" replies he'd have taken care of things before that point, while B says it comes down to just shooting before being shot. It's here that Tanabe presents a "question" --In this story only one can come out alive, but who will it be? This is overlaid with the three receiving job requests that end up....

With the three of them in the cross-hairs. 

A's question to his roommates and the question presented by the narrative itself comes down to this. A says if it were a two man show one'd just put their hands up, but three? He lowers his hands and apparently gives up to the others, but they read his intentions completely wrong. --In a three way like this, one isn't aiming a gun at their opponent but themselves. So by leaving himself open, A has made the only play the one where you blast your opponent and then take a shot at the unarmed guy...

But with another armed guy there --well...."A" just laments that he'll have to pay rent on his own now. A surprising ending for a oneshot like this --though in spite of that it's one of my favorites I've seen while writing the blog. There was a lot of personality in these few pages, and the ending is surprising but not completely out of left field. I'm interested in what Tanabe could do with a few more pages or a serial at some point after seeing his work here. 

The apparently longest Rinne arc so far continues with this week's chapter. Sakura speaks with Tamako about the money she recieved from Rinne, and to her surprise his grandmo--uh, the young lady reveals it isn't cursed or anything, so he actually worked his butt off to get it to her which makes this whole thing even sadder if one thinks about it. This understanding is threatening to rip their friendship apart if something doesn't happen soon....but in reference to the chapter Tamako points out the gift Rinne gave her is basically garbage so while it's from the afterlife she can keep it. I guess it really is the thought that counts. Meanwhile, Rinne has a recollection of seeing all the stuff in the pawn shop, and for good reason --it's his. Only one person would have the gall to sell his stuff without his permission, and that's who he's going to see!

Even with his employees at the Damashigami company doing their hardest to throw him off the trail, Rinne arrives and slugs his dad one before demanding he return his stuff --he knows that he's the one who probably bought the bracelet. To his surprise however, Renge is there even after the last run-in he had with her where she had apparently stopped working for the company in order to save her relationship, or not relationship with Kain. I thought Renge wasn't the gullible type, but apparently all it took for her to stay on with Sabato was a promise of being paid at some point. Either Rinne's Dad is has some really high charisma points or everyone he associates with is an idiot. Either way Renge is another wall standing in Rinne's way as he tries to fix this fractured relationship. 

Apparently the stone on the bracelet is known as a "Boundary Stone" or "Kyoukai seki" which provides a barrier between our world and the one of the dead. As well as powering up souls headed to the afterlife. --Why something so precious is just in a pawn shop is beyond me, but we'll just roll with it. Sabato is clearly up to no good with it, and has a device to use the power unlocked in the stone. 

The power activates, and it's here that Renge reveals that the stone also has the ability to send those who follow the stream that comes of it toward the wheel of samsara --which is implied to essentially cut their ties to the world of the living. The very same stream that Sakura happens upon and decides to follow. Man, as much as I keep telling myself to cover other things, this arc has been pretty interesting so far --and I have a feeling things will accumulate into something major-ish as this is nearing the 400th chapter. I'm not sure what something will be, but I do wanna be there when it happens. 

Hard to believe Souboutei is still a bit away from it's second year anniversary due to just so much happening....I feel like we get two chapters of content in every 18 page dose! When we last left Kurenai and Kaerikuro, they were being attacked by Zanka's men who were made slaves by the souboutei. Kaerikuro fends them off and with a surprising amount of assertiveness commands Kurenai to forge on ahead to find her little brother. It's really at odds with the docile character we were introduced to, but I can't say I dislike this change. 

Kurenai promises to return immediately, and prays her brother is okay. Meanwhile Shino persists in her request to enter Rokurou and sample his "courage" in order to get what she needs to stand firm against Sakamaki. As he had said last week, it's strange to think an aqueous life form has any sort of feelings, but Shino explains she picked up "fear" from being inside Sakamaki, so it stands to reason that if she can enter the boy's body, she'll be able to gain "courage". After all he's managed to remain in the house despite being terrified. 

Rokurou consents to her request and the possession begins. I feel like a loud patron in a movie theater at this point, yelling at the monitor for Rokurou not to trust Shino, but ah it's to no avail. Meanwhile Seiichi long time no see! Seems to be wrecking his way through the house as well, but I'll admit to a bit of confusion here. The narrative text overlay seems to be of Shino reflecting on "humanity" and how earth as a mere satellite planet has stolen the nutrition from her home-world. She couldn't understand anything about humans upon coming to this world to invade it and take back what they feel is theirs, until she saw Rokurou and Seiichi for the first time and realized there's something "special" about them. So if she wants to understand this special nature, then...

What better way than to "invade" the body of Rokurou and "use" it? That expression...it's a big, big, mood and Rokurou has really, really, really screwed up in trusting her. Also it's great that we're right back at the status quo with regard to who the villain is in this story --it's both Sakamaki and Shino. 

Rokurou is completely possessed, and right after that Kurenai shows up and is overjoyed to find her brother apparently uninjured. Except...he's acting very strangely. I snipped out the chapter's ending, but it's unclear what Shino will do now that she has a solid body to command and what it means in regard to our heroes. They say things have to get worse before they get better, but they never tell you how long that downward spiral has to go...

Two 22 page chapters in one blogpost? That's good for you guys and Japan and negligible for me because it means so much more writing, hahah. That being said, this was probably one of the strongest chapters of MG that I've had the pleasure of reading so I guess it's a bit of a trade off. This longer chapter of Meteor Girl begins with Ikeyama pleading with Sakamoto's reanimated corpse to stop killing people --it's not like her, implying that Sakamoto is--or was the cool headed reason to Ikeyama's hot blooded action --something she appreciated even if she never really said it out loud. Although all we ever got to see between the two ladies is their arguments about each other's conduct, at least now it shows that this came from a good place. 

Sakamoto's body attacks Ikeyama as Chihiro cheers it on, and Tetto coming out of his fog --is this the Chihiro he knew or not? --comes to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. He begs her to stop Sakamoto from killing her friend, as this isn't what friends do to each other. 

Chihiro attacks Hane suddenly and reveals that she's jealous of the girl --probably because she's closer to Tetto than they were back when they were alive. I don't think Chihiro has revealed any sort of reasoning for her actions, though this is in character to what we've seen of her so far, I think. Before Hane was on the receiving end of Chihiro's fist, she tells Tetto to do what it is he think he should do. Knowing what to do, but being unable to bring himself to do it, the boy struggles for some time as the stars fall from the sky signaling the need to act as Chihiro returns to being the girl she once was --the one enamored by the stars and not the murderer she is now. 

In what's probably the saddest yet prettiest page in MG, Tetto tearfully comes to his conclusion --he'll have to kill the older sister figure he loves. Any hope of redemption is gone as is any hope that the girl he once knew remains inside the monster she is now. Ishiyama's art has always been pretty good, but the composition of this page --the light and dark juxtaposed between innocence, sadness, and realization is so very good here. The one who is innocent is in the dark --Tetto, and the one who is a monster, is illuminated by the lights of the shooting stars. Well played  Ishiyama. 

I say she's a "monster" but it's truly hard to tell with an expression like the one on the left page's first panel. Chihiro pats the floor beside her and asks Tetto to sit and watch the stars as if she didn't just massacre several people and turn two friends against each other. Actually as I write this I get a sense of deja vu...I feel like I saw this very same page before? Though a quick look through the blog indicates otherwise, so maybe I'm just spending too much time here. In any case, Tetto is about to do the deed when he finds himself mid flight and on the ground --courtesy of air Chihiro. Seems like she's figured out what he wanted to do, but rather than mercilessly killing him...

She...begins to cry and blame him for "what will happen from here on in." As if any future actions she takes will be his fault and not her own. Due to his inability to "grant her wish". Chihiro in tears makes her escape, cryptically stating "she doesn't care what happens to this world now.", which Tetto admits hurts him in the heart to hear, but before he can go after her, Sakamoto and Ikeyama show up, and the tears don't stop there. Ikeyama begs Sakamoto not to kill anyone else, and yells at Tetto to run away before he's her next victim. Tetto refuses, replying that he's tired of running and won't anymore. 

Hane is back on her feet and lends her hand, granting Sakamoto "peace" as we've seen her do to other MG's. Tetto comments on how strange it is that Chihiro can bring the MG's back to life, while Hane apparently kills them, and how ironic it is that he thinks Hane's method is for the best. I like Hane's expression of surprise --she fully expected Tetto to disagree with her methods, and is pleasantly proven wrong. Ikeyama cries over losing Sakamoto for a second time, and it's here the trio make a solemn vow...

That they will stop Chihiro --by killing her. A not surprising move, really, but kind of interesting from the point of view of a series that seems to have one leg out the door. There's enough chapters for this to end in a week or three, but the set up from this chapter indicates that it'll be around much longer than that? It's hard to tell really --but for me personally, I'm quite interested in seeing where this series will go from here. Of course a quick conclusion is very possible, but at least for now I'd say there's a bit more gas left in MG's engine. 

As if to prove that TOC's don't mean everything, Saike who is very much not on his way out sits below MG. Fukuchi being as open as possible about his work on twitter is a boon for me as I can make inferred decisions or basically wildly speculate the fate of our time traveling hero who hasn't actually time traveled at all in this arc so far, come to think of it. Fukuchi mentioned going to a meeting with his editor a few days ago, and while he's not going to outright say "Hey guys, Saike's been cancelled, sorry! Lol." That he is still going to these indicates that at least for a bit longer he'll be in the magazine. Though for now let's talk about what's going on this week. As mentioned in the chapter previous, Ming-Ming is able to judge what Saike is going to do based on the mini tremors in his body, making her deadly game of RPS a shoo in for her side. Saike might be able to block her killer clown's attacks, but he has a limit and if he wants to win he has to go on the offense. 

Since his oracle has such a huge "condition" Saike's mental acuity becomes his main weapon. He has to figure out a means to use Ming-Ming's ability to "read" him, to his advantage, which he manages to in the right page. By pointing at her, he adjusts the tremor of his body every so slightly, so Ming-Ming can't read him as accurately as she once did, while also giving him just a little bit more time to make a decision. 

Ah I do love how Fukuchi twists her expressions from cute to sadistic like a light switch. So she can't rely on reading his arms anymore? Big deal. She'll just rely on his shoulders and legs to tell her the information she needs for the next turn, and as if announcing it on megaphone, his entire body is screaming "up". 

Except that's not what happens. 

Suddenly she's unable to figure out what Saike will do next for either RPS or the acchi muite. His body says "up" one minute, but his actions are clearly counter that. While at first he's just able to change direction of his gaze and pointer finger but not able to catch Ming-Ming's eye, as the game wears on he's able to get closer, and closer to a hit till he gets one as seen above. Fukuchi's use of speed lines and slight deformation demonstrates the speed of the game without actual motion, and I like that he's okay with warping his characters a little bit to give us a sense of motion. 

Saike found a loophole in the rules --while Kuroda and Mako can't step into the game directly they can help him from the sidelines, and they provide quite the assist! Mako's ability to create hamsters that shoot seeds come in handy as by using the seeds and the pain that comes from them, Saike is able to adjust his body tremors in a way that changes them at the very last second, rendering Ming-Ming's hard reads moot. She's the type who can dish it out but not take it, as when it's her turn to receive punishment from "It-chan", she immediately cancels her oracle. Though as powerful as this oracle is, it comes with a hefty price tag --she can only use it once per day, leaving her at the mercy of a very upset Kuroda. 

Who punishes her for getting in their way with a bit of tough love. I hadn't considered it before, but I guess before Johann took over his group, Kuroda was sort of a father figure to those who have oracles and no where else to go? At least from the conversation on this page, it sounds like Ming-Ming is often mischievous and while she promises to not use her ability again, Kuroda says he's tired of her lies, and even when she's brainwashed she still acts the same way. I'm a little surprised this was resolved so quickly, but it makes sense from the standpoint of how Saike is serialized. Next week we'll see what the others were up to while this game was going on. 

It's Golden Week in Daiku no Hatou, and the ladies are looking for love --or something that can approximate finding a mate. Ah, well Ena is at any rate. There's a heart shaped stone in a park that she just has to find in order to get a "marvelous" boyfriend, though when they find the stone in question, there's already someone there.

Nacchan (who doesn't like being called that) who was in the same class with Nagiko back in high school is here and remembers way back at at the start of the series how Nagiko had a boy who was clearly into her around. If that's the case why is she here looking for love unless she's some kind of heartless woman who doesn't take the feelings of others into account? That's...not entirely untrue as Nagiko had completely forgotten about Minato up until now, heh. Nacchan gets annoyed that someone who easily steals boyfriends can't even remember the guys who are into her and warns Ena that she's gonna get disappointed if she continues to hang out with her. 

The girls move on to the "main event" as Nagiko calls it --fishing! I guess she really is a simple girl, huh? And after that they head back to her place where Ena meets her mother and father who look like herself and her older brother respectively. 

And have a look at the picture mentioned at the end of the last chapter --where Ena and Nagiko realize the woman with light hair is someone they might have seen recently....also Nagiko's father mentions that he thought they'd be with Ebihara-- but which one? Minato or his mother? The side text implies both families have a bit of a history, and now that we've seen this from both sides, perhaps this  history will be touched upon in the next chapter. 

And with that issue 50 is one for the history books. Next week we have Be Blues on the cover, and with it a lead color page, the second of the two K.O.I color pages, Evans recieving a color page for it's huge popularity, Yuugami stopping in for his monthly visit (though I feel like this would be twice in one month? The last issue was a November issue, and the release date for this one is too...hm.) And last but not least, a special chapter of a popluar Sunday Webry series --"Tokinogi(Ki?) Nodoka no Idol nichijou" or "Nodoka Tokinogi(ki?)' Idol everyday life." by Takeshi Kojima. Sounds like the next issue will be a little bit of a breather for me as there's only one one shot, along with the 2nd part of the special mini-series by Kurachi-sensei. Either way, I'll be bringing the goods as I do every week, so I hope you'll come on in and join me! Until then!