Weekly Shounen Sunday #12 (2018)

Sunday's a day of rest or surprises. Never both. For me it's more the latter --especially this issue! There's a lot to discuss with a new series, a surprise appearance and the magazine more or less being filled with all of the series we know and love after last week's issue had a bit of bait and switch due to three oneshots. Either way I've got my work cut out for me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

On the cover is Hata's new series, which...apparently is supposed to be read "Tonikaku Cawaii" though the typical spelling of "cute" in Japanese is "Kawaii", but hey it's his series not mine, so I'll go with what he says. Be Blues is back after a little break, and in a liiiiiitle circle there is Hiiragi back for a little diversion after ending recently. 

Next is, you guessed it. Table of Contents!

Tonikaku Cawaii by Kenjirou Hata (New series/Lead Color)

Atarashii Chizu by Kouji Kumeta (Special chapter)

Aozakura daigakkou monogatari by Hikaru Nikaido (Chapter 77)

Komi-san wa komyushou desu by Tomohito Oda (Chapter 125)

Be Blues! by Motoyuki Tanaka (Center Color/Chapter 320)

Amano Megumi wa Suki darake! by Nekoguchi(Chapter 110)

Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san by Aiko Koyama (Chapter 55)

Major 2nd by Takuya Mitsuda (Chapter 127)

Hatsukoi Zombie by Ryou Minenami (Chapter 112)

Tenshi & Akuto!! by Aya Hirakawa (Chapter 152)

K.O.I King of Idol by Tamaki Wakaki (Center color/Chapter 34)

Souboutei Kowasubeshi by Kazuhiro Fujita (Chapter 90)

Maoujo de Oyasumi by Kagiji Kumanomata (Chapter 88)

Tantei Xeno to nanatsu satsujin misshitsu Story by Kyouichi Nanatsuki/Art by Teppei Sugiyama (Chapter 10)

Dagashikashi by KOTOYAMA (Chapter 178)

Shinobi no by Rokuro Ogaki (Chapter 28) 

Marry Grave by Hidenori Yamaji (Chapter 8)

Saike matashitemo by Tsubasa Fukuchi(Chapter 104)

Daiku no Hatou by Michiteru Kusaba (Chapter 39)

Hoankan Evans No Uso ~Dead or Love~ by Mizuki Kuriyama (Chapter 42)

Sokyuu no Ariadne by Norihiro Yagi (Chapter 9)

Hiiragi-sama wa Jibun wo Sagashiteru by Hiroyuki Nishimori (Special chapter)

Zettai Karen Children by Takashi Shiina (Chapter 495)

Youkai Giga by Satsuki Satou (Kuro part 20)

Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen by Yuuji Yokoyama (Chapter 10)

Not appearing this week are the following:

RYOKO

Detective Conan

This is....quite the TOC. I don't think it's all that concerning in all honesty but wow. Lot of crash landing all over the place. Even if it's only an issue, I wouldn't have expected Saike to stand tall over both Evans and Ariadne, same for Xeno. Also, Kumeta just barging in and taking a seat in the magazine was a master stroke by the editorial department, and I'll explain why when I get to the coverage. Otherwise all of the usual suspects are back in the magazine despite some really freaky positioning this week. 

This week's Sunday Gal I like that, maybe that's what I'll refer to them as for now on.  is Oto Abe, born January 18th 2000 in Osaka Japan. She likes listening to old (not sure if it means classical or just older) music, and will be on a drama called "Mafuyu no Ookami-kun ni wa damasarenai" or "The Winter wolf won't be fooled" that started in January, and is streamed online in Japan. She's pretty young, but has a pretty distinct look I think! 

Hata's always had some incredible color pages even if I'm not the biggest fan of his preference of genre. I can appreciate art where I see it though, and the first panels of his new serialization do a wonderful job of drawing me right in. I mean look at that big beautiful moon! Though the big question here is...what exactly is this series going to be about? Out of the three new serializations, it's the one we know basically nothing about, and I'm here to say that these opening pages...still don't say a lot, though they do indicate the story going in a direction I wasn't expecting. The monolog is of protagonist-kun realizing he's going to die and how much that sucks until the beautiful girl tells him to hang in there and he reveals that this is the first conversation he has with his wife. 

Even the color page here reads like wedding vows. Though the biggest surprise isn't that (or the subtitle "Fly me to the moon" which I'm only seeing for the first time now), but is that the first volume already has a release date set --May 18th. Hata's been tweeting about the series for a while, even giving an incremental sort of status report so I guess it's not too far-fetched to imagine the editorial department already knowing just how much they have from him, but I don't think I've ever seen a first chapter of a serial also indicate when the first volume's release will be. For now, welcome to "Tonikaku Cawaii" or "In any case (she)'s cute!"

The clock is rewound back to the beginning of the protagonist's life. where his parents make the unfortunate decision to call him "Nasa". Y'know, the guys who study space. I do like how Nasa is narrating his life here and says this "For those of you thinking of having children, here's a bit of advice. Name them something normal." His Dad's heart was in the right place as he wanted his son to be someone who shoots for the stars, but wow that's a terrible name, but poor Nasa's stuck with it. Even in kindegarten whenever an adult would see his name they'd laugh a little, and the other kids would assume he's got aims to be an astronaut, when he doesn't. Although at the time he didn't know anything about the American branch of space travel, he didn't like being made fun of so he seeks to make the name "Nasa" one people would be amazed upon hearing! I know a bit about Hata and this is definitely his sense of humor --a sort of dry ridiculousness. Time jumps forward to Nasa in Middle school looking to head into a prestigious high school. His teacher is impressed at his confidence, but is dumfounded when he says he doesn't intend on having a second choice of school since he's assured to make it into this one --comparing himself to the "choujin" of Ultimate Muscle/Kinniukman. Yup, Hata's gonna Hata.  

True to his word, Nasa tests super well and his future seems to be set along with his belief that hard work can change everything and anything. However it is then that fate intervenes and he meets with a girl who will change his destiny. He forgets all about "reason" and wants to learn more about this girl --because she's just cute. Title drop! He goes to call out to her, but then a truck seemingly ends this story of young love before it could really ever start. 

Now we're back to the beginning of the chapter where Nasa lies dying on the ground when the girl assures him he won't die. Oddly she too is bleeding but that's not really explained....with those words of encouragement she leaves without stating her name or anything else of relevance. Nasa is too weak to get up and comments that watching her return into the embrace of the moonlight made him immediately thing of Princess Kaguya from the moon. That'd be a strange place to end the first chapter, or an appropriate one?  But fear not, chapter two is included in this week's issue, and starts down below! 

Chaper two picks up immediately after chapter one --to a point that it's actually kind of surprising. Like Nasa literally just gets up and runs after the girl despite his injuries, finding her later at a bus stop, though she seems to be totally fine now. I wonder what happened to all that blood? I'm not getting a supernatural vibe from the series thus far, but that's not to say there won't be one at all, I suppose. 

The girl is surprised --rightfully so since it's not like Nasa's injuries were light ones and it's snowing. Still she attends to him the best she can and goes to call the ambulance for Nasa who feels the weight of his injuries now that he's calmed down. She once again doesn't leave her name or any information, seemingly content with being nothing more than an enigma. 

Now this is a bit refreshing though! Nasa doesn't let her go and professes he likes her immediately, as well as his intention to date her, which gives this series a leg up on it's competition I think. So far it's followed some tropes, so I thought this would have been a series where Nasa searches for the girl, but his persistence and the lack of convoluted reasons for the plot to play out that way have got me a little more receptive to it than I was initially. 

Though, wow, I wasn't expecting her to respond so casually with "Yeah sure, I'll be your girlfriend if you promise to marry me." 

Time goes by and Nasa goes from highschooler to college ready, though he chooses to live in a cheap apartment and work hard to get through life. Although he's doing well financially, it's not money he wants --he realizes as he sits alone in his apartment. It's then that a knock on his door reunites him with a face he had long thought gone --and once again the girl casually reenters his life. She introduces herself as "Tsukasa" and asks if she can come in, deferring to him as her "husband". Nasa's dialog indicates it's from here a story of a married couple begins from here --and even the text on the side suggests that this is indeed going to be a married couple comedy series, which I gotta say is intriguing for a shounen magazine filled with characters who haven't even dated, much less have gotten married.  I hate to admit it, but Hata's gone above and beyond what I expected from this series based on his past pedigree, and while I'm not fully committed to this yet, I can say with certainty that I look forward to the next chapter. Perhaps it might be because Hata was recently wed to voice actress (who appeared in and assists with his manga "Sore ga Seiyuu!") Mayumi Asano that this series is so far it's hitting all the right notes of being mysterious and interesting without wallowing in the romance tropes I so loathe? Hopefully Hata can keep it up! 

And right after that is a big surprise in the form of Kouji Kumeta randomly returning to wish his former assistant luck in his new serialization. For those who don't know Kumeta, he once had a few series in Sunday, though the one that took off was "Katte Ni Kaizou" which almost had an anime while running in the magazine, but didn't for whatever reason. The characters in this short comeback are actually from that series, appropriately enough. I say this, but I do feel like most people really know Kumeta from his work on "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" which actually ran in Shounen magazine, and did get an anime. With his backstory out of the way, Kumeta cheers on his former assistant by well, ruthlessly mocking the premise of his new serialization. "There's no way someone would accept a date from someone else but only on the condition that it leads to marriage!" Is what the page above says, and he's not wrong. 

I haven't read Katte ni Kaizou myself, though after this I might give it a look, but essentially the characters break apart the series by talking about things such as what the title could/should have been which is what the girl --Suzu above does, 

To having a roundtable discussion about it which is what the three characters above --Kaizou (on the far right,) Chitan (center) and Umi (on the left.) Chitan is convinced that the whole premise of "Date me only if you're going to marry me" is the fevered delusion of virgins. While Kaizou imagines that this whole thing is a cash grab for a TV drama production down the line. Umi suggests that maybe this is for Hayate fans who if they were reading the series from the start would be at marriageable age, but Chitan shuts her down by saying "If you read Hayate you're probably never going to get married anyway." Savage. Umi says if people want to read something about marriage from the start, they'd go with Jump magazines --totally implying that people who read Sunday are doomed in their love life, ....I feel like I'm being called out here, honestly, haha. Chitan then says at the very least if the series does badly, Hata can save it by bringing out cameos from Hayate, which leads to a discussion of renaming the series "Hayate 2: Tonikaku cawaii" a totally blatant callout to Negima by Ken Akamatsu who's current series "U.Q Holder" essentially stuck the "Negima" name to it (though I dunno if this was out of popularity or lack of popularity or so on.) Say what you want about Kumeta, but he doesn't use the kid gloves, even on his former assistant --or anyone for that matter. 

Umi points out if that's the case why would Hayate fans bother reading this when they could just y'know, go read Hayate. Kaizou tries to get the conversation back on track by pointing out fans would be disappointed if it was suddenly revealed to be Hayate all along so they probably shouldn't do that, or if that is what's going to happen, then it should be done with proper timing, and Umi who's as savage as she is cute points out that this sounds very similar to what Major 2nd did after Mitsuda's second series --BYUDEN failed miserably. I do wonder if Kumeta just figures he can get away with this because he used to be in Sunday and isn't now, haha. In the end Chitan goes home and says that people are only happy because they read Jump, but then bears witness to an entire family reading Sunday happily together proving that he's wrong and just has a personal bias. (Is this a artist avatar for Kumeta, maybe?) Yeah, I think I might give Kaizou a look if the humor is as sharp witted as it was here. I know Zetsubou Sensei is, but if this is Kumeta all of the time then it's right up my alley, and it's no wonder Hata's sense of humor shows shades of it as well. If you want current Kumeta, he's drawing a series called "Kakushigoto" and it has three volumes out! 

Admittedly I'm not really reading Aozakura as much as I used to back when I started this blog --with so many options it's hard to keep up with the entire magazine as much as I'd like to, but I just couldn't pass up the fabulousness in this chapter despite having a full slate of things to talk about this week. I mean, look at it. This was purely me throwing up the most incredible images from the manga this week, and honestly even if I could explain what's going on (I guess I could try but again full slate) anything I'd say would pale in comparison to just looking at this. Aozakura is on break next week unfortunately so finding out where this bastion of manliness is heading will be delayed for a little bit. Still, you can always bask in it's glory here whenever you feel lost or lacking in pure manliness. Even worse that this is in the middle of an arc so I'm even more confused --I'll have to read to see what on earth is going on that lead to this, not that I'm complaining! 

Komi was short but very sweet this week as the chapter at hand is about how her parents Shuko and Masayoshi met. Turns out momma Komi was quite the delinquent in her older days at 17 years old, while her dad was, well, maybe not a delinquent per se, but rather than paying attention in class he was making ornate sculptures of dinosaurs and other things with school supplies, and apparently that was all Shuko needed to know that this was the man for her. From doing that to sheltering a poor kitten caught in the rain by building it an actual house, Masayoshi was hitting all the right buttons accelerating Shuko's feelings for him in rapid fashion. Heck he even showed her up in their home EQ class by being a better cook --and by that time Shuko was essentially in love, if the bottom left image didn't drive that point home. It's cute that even now as adults with teenage children, she still gets very dere over her husband complimenting her cooking, even if he doesn't understand why, hah. I compliment Oda (not that one)'s ability to tell a pretty complete story in only a few pages too. We got just enough information to be endearing but not so much that a revisit would embark upon old territory. All in all, a great Komi this week! 

Be Blues is back after a brief hiatus that the magazine treats like a longer one, oddly enough. From all indications it seems like this was a planned break for Tanaka --though it's hard to tell with all the oneshots and other things going on if it was planned by Shougakukan's editorial department, or Tanaka himself. Either way the soccer manga is back and in good form as the coach shows he's still got the moves by training Ryu and his rival Takumi. It's interesting that even this far into the series (more than 300 chapters...!!) The characters are still learning basics and growing, though I admit as someone who doesn't read too many sports manga, maybe this is per the course? I guess it can't always about taking on rival teams if one wants the story to stay relatively realistic. Athletes need time off, and that's a perfect time to perfect their skills, especially in series like these that take place in a school setting. Tanaka's spreads are still masterfully done, as illustrated in the pages I picked out above. It's great to have him back in the magazine, even if he wasn't really away that long. Now Shougakukan, how about that anime? 

You know what they say about misunderstandings in romantic comedies, what comes up must come down, and that's exactly what happens to Ma-kun in this week's chapter. The guy is completely convinced that Megumi is seeing another person that he tries to distance himself from her at first, but that doesn't work because she doesn't know what he's misunderstood and acts as usual. It's then that Ma-kun begins to understand something about their relationship or lack therof, and begins to say something about how he feels --what he wants Megumi to understand about him, but then she blurts out how happy she is for her friend who confessed to the boy Ma-kun thought Megumi was talking to, and the pieces come together. Ma-kun breathes a sigh of relief along with a "Thank Goodness", whch Megumi takes to mean he approves of that union, but, well, yeah. Was he really going to confess to her? That's something we may never know, unfortunately. 

That being said, Megumi remarks to herself that she acts happy for her friend confessing when she can't bring herself to. At that time, Ma-kun is completely petrified to the point that he can't move, hah. So things are back to the status quo more-or-less, but they did manage to take a substantial step forward as well in a sense, weirdly enough. Of course I haven't read the entirety of this series, but at least as long as I've been doing this blog, I don't think Megumi and Ma-Kun have ever done much more than kind of hint at each other and the audience that they like each other, even if it's painfully obvious to us --the viewers at home. Now one hurdle has cleared, and it's on to what's probably the most difficult part --the actual confession. I believe in you two! Akuto and Nari were able to (though they don't appear in this week's writeup, sorry everyone.) So you can too! 

Revisiting the blog due to having a color page is K.O.I which is taking it's narrative into surprising (to me) places. I had always figured that Wakaki would focus on the girls en masse, but he is in fact giving each one time to shine, as I remember the last time I covered the series on the blog, it was another girl's backstory that was being told. This time around it's Hitomi who's trying to use her idol power to save a traditional festival from being replaced by a contemporary hip hop update. Mahoro is surprisingly in his boy form as he helps out, completely taken by Hitomi's mettle of an idol. Real talk? I'd actually had been much more interested in the series if it were about Mahoro helping out other idols by encouraging them to pursue their dreams despite being a boy, rather than relying on the gender-bender aspect of things. It does get me wondering as to whether that's what Wakaki is doing since the series is faltering in both the TOC and sales, or if this is just something done for this arc in particular....though that aside I did enjoy this chapter much more than even the opening three I reviewed some time before. Also Wakaki's art for the open stretches of highway that Hitomi and Mahoro bicycle down on really gives a huge sense of scale and the rural nature of Hitomi's home town all without using dialog which is squarely focused on the character's interactions --something I noticed and thought was really well done. 

I had been wondering when we'd get more on Seiichi in Souboutei, and Fujita has seen fit to answer my inquiry now. Up until this chapter we had gotten glimpses of Seiichi's family after they were attacked by the aqueous life-form, but nothing about what kind of kid he was before the tragedy occurred. Unfortunately these fond memories are products of the evil house, and we know how that goes, and so does Zanka who tries his best to stop the house from taking Seiichi heart and soul. Shino's been saying for the last few weeks that Seiichi has what it takes to stop her plans with Sakamaki, so it's not surprising she's decided to attack him directly. 

If these pages seem to clash when placed together then I've done my job. Seiichi's happy family life as normal as it was as they --his mom, dad, little brother and himself celebrate Christmas is completely at odds with the life he has now fighting monsters in what is basically an alien house. An apparition of his mother appears to protect him from the dangers of the monsters, but with the souboutei it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't, which is probably exactly what the house wants. It wears people down by presenting very real things that they desire and then taking those away and presenting them with cold, hard, reality. In fact you could say everyone currently in the souboutei isn't because their life is going great, it's the sign of something gone wrong somehow, somewhere --except for Takoha which is perhaps why he seems to be the least affected by it's whims. 

It really does seem like Seiichi's mom is here to protect him, however, as she tells him to fight she gently fades away, giving what amounts to final words as her son fights his way back to her, a cruel fate for the boy who's been fighting alone without really thinking about how alone he is. A reminder of the people he's lost, and the family he won't see again is actually more brutal than forgetting them to face what needs to be done, and it's perhaps this that the souboutei uses to it's advantage in breaking him down --ending with his mother gently singing "Jingle bells" to him as she holds him in her embrace --one he hasn't felt in literal decades. 

And it works. Seiichi is broken down by the house like many before him, and Zanka knows exactly what's going on as it happened to him as well. He also has figured out that the house wants Seiichi, and he won't let it happen. Though can he really defend the boy from the entirety of the house's psychic attacks? For now it's the only choice he has to save them both.

Last time on Xeno we found out that the entire Campus is a giant "murder door" constructed by Kai himself. Does that meant that this crime is indeed unsolvable? Xeno intends to prove that false, but before that, he has to do a bit of investigating. Principal Sena has enemies due to his personality --he was one who was impatient for things he wanted, but it's hard to  believe that it would be to a point where someone would want to beat him to death...

However, it would seem while Shizuka was with the founder there having tea the night of the incident, she suddenly ran out for reasons unknown, leading Xeno to ask what she was holding at the time. Weirdly enough it was just music notes which might explain what she meant about losing them in an earlier incident....though it's later he saw Shizuka waiting for a bus with an expression like she was deep in thought about something. They venture to another part of the campus (the buildings are made to look like instruments --it's really offputting if I'm to be honest.) though Xeno notes that the different buildings --specifically the Viola house (shaped like, y'know) and the Horn house (also self shaped) are adjacent. 

With the buildings being soundproof, Xeno realizes the now deceased director's windows were the only ones that were not. Xeno's already figured out the mechanics behind the "trick" used in the murder, but Ayla stops him saying she feels like something is "missing." She reminds him that he hired her on as an assistant to pick up the "fragments of human reasoning" that he is unable to grasp. There's more to this than just logic, after all --there's emotion that is the "why" to the "how". I like that it's Ayla who reminds Xeno of this --giving her character agency in this situation. She and Xeno confront Murata, who according to Xeno knows about the murder doors, and was the one to set up the dummy version of him --to prevent a crime from happening, and now he's keeping quiet to protect someone --but Xeno tells him the facts --he's not. Falling on his sword to protect "that person" isn't going to help them, or him. 

Xeno then confirms with Ayla that it's thanks to her he understands everything there is to know about this case, and heads out to collar the target, and using the PA system announces to the campus he'd like all the related parties to gather --especially the one seeking "revenge" for the Muse of the Opera. The conclusion to this arc is nigh, and I'm curious as to whether my guess (that I'm keeping to myself!) is the correct one in regard to the culprit? Though again, I really like that Ayla and Xeno play well off each other. I've been into her this whole time, and not surprisingly she makes Xeno a way more compelling character than on his own. Till next week! 

A samurai is killed during a moonlit night by a woman in illustrious garb calling herself a prostitute and getting a good laugh in the man --a samurai losing his life to someone like her and the shame of it all. 

Shinobi no was away for a week, but chapter 28 comes along like a ninja and shakes things up in ways I wasn't expecting. First, the season has changed to fall, and second it seems Todou Heisuke has more or less become a boarder in pops' place despite the test being for the boy to kill his master. Something he fails miserably at when pops comes back in from outside and easily dispatches Heisuke who's hanging on the ceiling. This seems to be an everyday occurrence to the two, so it's definitely more meant to be comic relief than anything, though I give Heisuke a gold star for taking an approach I might have never thought of myself. 

The levity doesn't last long as a returning face greets the two --it's Kaede! She's got somewhat of a precocious crush on pops after he saved her life during the Abe/Perry incident but isn't here to flirt, no. She has a bit of a problem/job for the shinobi. I couldn't include it here, but her banter with Heisuke reminds me of fighting between siblings, hah. He calls her an old lady and she retorts by calling him a brat. We also find out here that Kaede is 23 years old --just in case you all were curious. 

She asks --or well tries to ask pops for help, but he already knows the situation --she wants him to kill the "Gekka Bijin" or "Moonlight Beauty." (The literal TL is something more like "Moonlight Flower's beauty, but the former is less of a mouthful) I should note that Kaede's crush only deepens when Pops already knows the deets of the job without her saying a word. Ah, love. So what is known of the Moonlight Beauty is she's an assassin who dresses in the garb of prostitutes as she kills. She earned her moniker from when she kills --during full moons --a flower that blooms only in the moonlight. However there is more to Pops' mission, no, Kaede wants him to not only kill the Moonlight Beauty, but to protect a certain person's painting. Posing as her relatives, she takes the boy and man to the painting's location, The Satsuki jyuku (A jyuku is a cram school of sorts.) where studies and research is done. It's there they see the painting --entitled "Fuji etsu ryuuzu" which from my reckoning means something like "Map of a dragon passing through Fuji". Kaede says it's the last work of a certain artist worked on until their death at 88. 

The name of this artist was "Manji" though he's better known as Hokusai Katsushika. Who was an actual artist of the times, known for his famous wood block series  "Thirty Six views of Mount Fuji" which you can read more about here and if you'd like to know more about Hokusai himself, just give this a click. Though if Hokusai is dead, what's going on here? Turns out it's his daughter --Katsushika Oui is the client in this case and she's the one who's going to need Pops' help to make it through the long night. 

It's the end of the "Jean" arc of Marry Grave! This is the first longer arc of the series and thus will probably serve as a yardstick of what to expect going forward. Does Yamaji knock it out of the park or at least give an expectation that there's plenty to look forward to in the future? There's only one way to find out, or well two if you consider my translation a means of learning the 411 of the dead one. Sawyer takes out the orc with little issue, and warns that if they should ever come back he really will kill them. Now this is the Sawyer I was expecting when I saw the first set of promo art for the series. Of course I'm glad that's not what we got, but there is a small sense of satisfaction in seeing that I was right --the risen Riseman can be pretty terrifying if he sees a need to be. 

So what of Jean? She's fine after everything is said and done --to her surprise however, she wakes up in town surrounded by the citizens that she could have sworn would hate her. Sawyer has figured out what we at home have known for a bit --Jean has distanced herself from people and other faries because of her long lifespan and how lonely it makes her feel to watch others she cares about die while she continues on. The truth is she's been away for 100 years and Sawyer explains that a sadness such as hers must be unbearable and more importantly impossible to conceptualize. The faries confront her after Sawyer has brought her back to their village and ask if she remembers them?

It's a strange question at first, admittedly, but then it all dawns on her. She knew the three faries from before when they were but wee children. See, she didn't know who they were, and the children didn't realize the Jean they idolized and the one they feared were in fact the same person since they didn't realize she lives for a lot longer than they do. Then all of the people chime in --elderly remember Jean from when they were younger, stories passed down to them by the departed, an old lady even passes down thanks from her mother who has long since died for the help Jean gave her so long ago. A child says his grandfather told him stories of a fairy fitting her description and how cute and pretty she was. Other villagers comment on how Jean helped their friends and family who have passed away long ago, but had nothing but the fondest memories of Jean and passed down those stories, those words, those sentiments to the next generation. The old man from earlier asks Jean what she thinks of this --she has plenty of friends, and those friends have decedents so she'll never truly be lonely. People's bodies may age, wither and die, but their memories and feelings exist long after that. 

I am a little disappointed Jean didn't stay with Sawyer, but honestly? This is the best ending I could have hoped for in this arc. Not to mention, it's established to me that Yamaji is a fully functional manga artist --the sentiment of this chapter didn't feel heavy handed --in fact it is a natural progression of the story so far, and the conclusion to Jean's story arc was wonderfully handled. Of course we know that Yamaji can draw --man can he draw, but it is only now at the end of this arc that I really believe in his writing as well. Jean's tears at the end as she realizes what she has sought has always been right in front of her, and will remain there everlasting is a beautiful sentiment and only cements my desire for Marry Grave to stay with us. 

Saike's 104th chapter starts with some downright breathtaking storyboarding --snow really does make everything more beautiful doesn't it? Saike's not here to admire the view however, but to continue his deadly trade with Johann. The scheming villain has our hero surrounded --the doors leading outside of the building are locked so he can't run to mogura pond, and he has no means of contacting Hizu or Ana, and he refused the help of Kuroda so he is by all definitions of the word --completely helpless. 

Like or leave Johann, he has a bit of understandable logic in his words as Saike assaults him verbally. Saike is sure that if Johann should get his way, he will give people without oracles the ability to break the law with supernatural powers. In return Johann likens the oracles to guns --people commit crimes with them all without the need of abilities, do they not? To him the problem is the disparity between the haves and have-nots. In truth he really doesn't want to rid the planet of the have-nots, so the only option left to him is to give everyone abilities and make them "equal". It's a twisted logic, but logic none the less. Of course Johann is wrong, deadly so, but what makes a work like this is how the antagonistic forces interact. Johann shows a keen sense of insight when he points out what Hirayasu said only two arcs before --what Saike really fears isn't the wickedness of people with abilities, but losing what makes him "special". Ergo, whether he becomes a muggle with no abilities whatsoever, or lives in a world where everyone has abilities, he is a nobody doomed to resume the life he had before. Whether Saike just has no way to refute this because it's true or his stress of being in this situation is beside the point --at it's core what his desires add up to is pure selfishness plain and simple.

And it's a selfishness that has involved his closest friend Mikan who despite her innocence in this whole matter defends her friend from these strangers with abilities at risk to her own life. She proclaims Saike is a teenager and has nothing to do with them, revealing to Johann that she knows nothing --something he feels he has to fix immediately. 

He reveals to Mikan the nature of Saike's ability even as the boy shouts at him to stop. Mikan doesn't believe him of course, but Saike is once again silent when she asks if it's true. The look in her eyes as she stares at him realizing that Johann is telling the truth, and his face sinking, eyes downcast to avoid facing both her and the burden of his own doing upon himself is palatable --I like how Fukuchi repeats the panel on the page opposite this one above but adds the little detail of Saike biting his lip as he struggles to come up with an answer to her --any answer that will both satisfy his friend without revealing what he is. Not only this, Johann rubs it in --if he had his ideal world then Saike wouldn't have to worry about pushing his friends away due to his oracle. To everyone's surprise, Calim steps in and deems the trade a waste of time, and jump starts things by dropping some weight --Mikan. 

Saike shoots and scores, saving Mikan at the expense of himself. There's no pond, no backup, and no way out of the situation, so this should be the end of him. I don't even begin to convince myself of this of course, since it wouldn't make much of a shounen if the protagonist were to die --especially like this, and while I have a few ideas of how Saike might get out of this one, I can't imagine how Fukuchi defy or meet expectations. This arc has been filled with a heavy tension both on and off the page as it does feel like the series is moving along to a conclusion while simultaneously paced much less briskly than the ones before it. What's Saike's fate both as a character and a comic book series? I'm hoping for the best in both aspects, and eagerly awaiting the next issue. 

Evans experiences empty nest syndrome all without having children on this week's chapter. Although Mattie's haughty attitude and wise beyond her years outlook made her extremely uncute as Evans and Pheebs mentioned several times throughout this arc, there's still a sense of emptiness amidst the happiness of father and daughter's reunion. The group returns to Mr. Bridges' house, where Mattie makes Pheebs an offer she can't refuse --be her mother for real! Bridges' wife has separated from the family leaving the man to raise a daughter on his own, and said daughter has really taken to Pheebs to the point that she basically says "Here, go get remarried to her." Pheebs is taken aback --though that's mostly because Evans is right outside and she's concerned of what he'd think. Mattie tries her best to convince Pheebs that getting married would be in her best interest --after all one can't do too bad with a rich older hubby. As much as Pheebs resists the idea, she interally wouldn't mind having a portrait of herself in a mansion and people waiting on her hand and foot. Evans is waiting outside and overhears most of the conversation before realizing he has to act quickly before she actually considers saying yes! He grabs a carriage and says Ted is sick so he needs to leave immediately, which is just what Pheebs was hoping for. 

She does at least promise to give Mattie's "thanks" to Evans, though when she gets outside Evans reveals they actually have a 40 minute wait, and when she asks about Ted's condition he just turns away silently. These two....from Pheebs hopping in on Evans "fake family plan" without needing an explanation, to Evans coming up with this ruse to get her out of that situation --they seriously are the perfect couple, but they have the same issue Ma-kun and Megumi have, huh? Funny how a lot of the relationships in this magazine are similar, though I guess that's the romance genere as a whole. As I said to those two, you guys should take a page from Akuto and Nari and just take the plunge already. (Now I feel like I really should have covered Tenshi and Akuto this week --I've mentioned it twice as is.) 

Just what is "strength" exactly? That's the question of sorts presenting to Princess Leane this week on Ariadne. She claims Rashil will be the strongest man but what exactly does that mean? The knight that gave her a spanking not long ago spanks her again but verbally this time as she's unable to come up with an answer as to why she has so much confidence in our plucky protagonist. She just does, okay? Though as the fight rages on, Rashil is doing a pretty bang up job of keeping his opponents at bay implying at least that he has the potential to be as strong as his boast and the princess's confidences indicate. In fact, Rashil manages to take down three of them leaving two opponents --the woman pictured above --Diva, and the knight speaking to Leane. The knight seems rather confident in their abilities in particular, but it's here Leane thanks the knights for their service and promises to never forget them as if the fight's been decided and she'll be going with Rashil. 

Mr. Knight doesn't take that too well, upset that she would even consider the notion of him losing to some strange kid. Ariadne has been clearly inspired by Star Wars, but seeing a light saber here makes me laugh for some reason --probably not the intended effect. Though in all seriousness, I have full confidence in Yagi, but how he handles the next chapters will undoubtedly frame the package of Ariadne as a whole. Whether Rashil wipes the floor with everyone, or ends up being sent packing by this opponent will be the fulcrum of which the series moves to for the foreseeable future. 

It feels like it's been an eternity since we saw Hiiragi in the magazine last, but it actually hasn't been that long at all, has it? The final two volumes will be released on February 16th, and March 16th respectively. I can't say for sure whether the story reached a natural conclusion or if it was cut down in it's prime since this is Nishimori and it was selling pretty well-ish, however. I'm assuming it was the former as right now Daiku seems to be hanging on purely because they need an established series to remain in the mag with all of the other things ending in rapid fashion and the new series' fate not quite set in stone, but this is all conjecture on my part, admittedly. 

Hiiragi's return to the magazine for the last time(?) is a stand alone story which means I was able to make more sense of it than the normal series. From the little of the series I do know, it does seem to tie together some elements --as this is a story that takes place quite some time before the main series. A young man finds Hiiragi while out in the mountains and after a bit of banter the two come upon what looks to be a little girl who was kidnapped and about to be sold. Hiiragi can't have that and saves the girl and then the guy from the kidnappers,  and all seems well --there's a bit more banter about the ocean being full of salt, something the guy doesn't believe at all, heh. 

But this is only a momentary peace as the guy is captured and then beaten by the kidnappers who want the girl back. Despite being a weak lad, he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't reveal anything resulting in his death. The girls get away without any external injuries, but within is a completely different matter. 

The lad appears as a spiritual apparition, and curses himself for being too weak to fight back, that he wishes he could have been there to see them off. If he had been more than what he was perhaps now he'd still be alive with the girl he had started to grow feelings for. As he fades into the afterlife his final thought is...

"If perhaps I could be reborn"....

A very short and tragic story in the scheme of Hiiragi. Speculation on my part of course --but it's heavily implied that the lad was indeed reborn as the protagonist of the series proper. Though Nishimori doesn't outright say it, and I didn't read enough of the series to know myself, so all I can do is take a stab in the dark at it. Interestingly enough the series credits are displayed (in English!) at the end and it's here I realize I see Shinya Misu, who did a oneshot last week, specifically Osanajimi 

no karen naru henshin --which on retrospect did have some similarities to Nishimori's art. Misu doesn't have any current serializations so I could imagine having time to work on this and their own manga, but it's cool to see a newbie working with a great like this. Hopefully we'll see them both back in Sunday soon enough! 

Kuro's moving really quickly, leaving me to wonder just how far Satou is planning to take the story? Last week I was assuming we might lead up to Makoto having the child over the next few weeks, but I was blindsided by the pregnancy being covered over what's basically a chapter and the family welcoming in a little boy. I do love that Kuro is overjoyed to the point of tears that the child was born without difficulty, and despite having a newborn to take care of Makoto comforts the youkai. Also, the other yokai attached to Makoto is still around too, but it isn't indicated whether she can see it, oddly enough. But yes, the main feature of this week's chapter is Master's family growing by one, and while the speed of which things are happening hit me by surprise, it still pretty heartwarming. I guess if the non-Kuro stories are about snapshots in time with youkai, the kuro ones are more about daily life with the creatures? I like thinking of it that way, at least. 

And that's it for issue #12! Next week brings another old name with a new game --Shun Matsuena's new series "Kimi wa 008" which will be a gargantuan 63 pages. Not only that, Yuugami will be around for his monthly visit, and Hatsukoi zombie will receive a color page. It's going to be a lot of work for your favorite blogger, but I'm one who aims to please! Till next week, have a good Sunday and if possible, rest of the week too!