The number up there says #28, but the blog says 100! That's right, with this entry I have officially hit the 100 mark of Sunday fun! Sadly I don't have much of a budget or time to do something awesome at the moment, but I can certainly commemorate this moment with more of what's brought you here over these 99 entries....Weekly Shounen Sunday!
The Cover has a lot going on --two beauties from different Idol groups --AKB 48 and STU 48, as well as Mr. Shounen Sunday and Yamato proudly announcing they're in this issue. Speaking of what's in, Hirakawa's new oneshot is also part of the fun. I'm excited to see what she's doing now that the curtain has fallen on Tenshi and Akuto, so let's get in there!
It feels like I talk about 100 series on this blog, but there aren't nearly that many as the TOC shows.
Gopun go no Sekai by Hiroshi Fukuda (Chapter 6/ Lead Color pages)
switch by Atsushi Namikiri (Chapter 8)
Kimi wa 008 by Syun Matsuena (Chapter 15)
Detective Conan by Gosho Aoyama (Chapter 1013)
Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time: Supervised by Gosho Aoyama/ Art by Takahiro Arai (Chapter 5)
Shinobi no by Rokurou Ogaki (Chapter 43)
Komi-san wa Komyusho Desu by Tomohito Oda (Chapter 144)
Souboutei Kowasubeshi by Kazuhiro Fujita (Chapter 104)
Amano Megumi Suki Darake! by Nekoguchi (Chapter 125)
Saike Matatshitemo by Tsubasa Fukuchi (Chapter 114)
Maojo de Oyasumi by Kagiji Kumanomata (Chapter 103)
Shounen A to Naisho no Nanatsu kakan by Aya Hirakawa (Oneshot)
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san by Aiko Koyama (Chapter 70)
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ by Mizuki Kuriyama (Chapter 57)
Hatsukoi Zombie by Ryou Minenami (Chapter 128)
Daiku no Hatou by Michiteru Kusaba (Chapter 53)
Tonikaku Cawaii by Kenjirou Hata (Chapter 17)
Major 2nd by Takuya Mitsuda (Chapter 141)
Sokyuu no Ariadne by Norihiro Yagi (Chapter 24)
Memesis by Takuya Yagyuu (Chapter 14)
Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa (Chapter 126)
Marry Grave by Hidenori Yamaji (Chapter 23)
Chrono Magia by Fujiko Dousei (Chapter 7)
Tantei Xeno To Nanatsu satsujin misshitsu: Story by Kyouichi Nanatsuki/ Art by Teppei Sugiyama (Chapter 25)
Aozakura Bouei Daigakkou Monogatari by Hikaru Nikaido (Chapter 91)
K.O.I. King of Idol by Tamaki Wakaki (Chapter 48)
Zettai Karen Children by Takashi Shiina (Chapter 506)
Youkai Giga by Satsuki Satou (Chapter 57)
Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen by Yuuji Yokoyama (Chapter 25)
Not in this issue are the following:
Be Blues
RYOKO
Tenshi and Akuto is gone, but there's barely any time to weep for them as Hirakawa is back and rather high up, proving her supremacy as a Sunday veteran. Otehrwise it's....business as usual in a sense? I can't wrap my head around this issue honestly. I love Saike being so high up, but towering over Cawaii, Evans and Memesis? The last of which took a huge spill this week! Also Silver Spoon is rather low, but since it's an irregular serial I'd imagine rankings don't matter much to it. Xeno yo-yoing is barely a surprise at this point either, as is K.O.I being low, but it does hurt to see Sawyer so down in the dumps as well as Xeno.
Meet Satone Kubo from AKB 48 and Yumiko Takino of STU 48 --this week's Sunday gals. The former was born November 20th 2003 in Kanagawa and has an aptitude for field sports, while the latter was born September 24 1997 in Yamaguchi, and is a saxophone player. They're promoting a new single and TV show respectively which is why Sunday is featuring them so prominently this week, so here's wishing them both well.
Let me start off by saying that while the splash of yellow splotches in Kakeru's hair is kind of offputting to me, the color page above this paragraph is one of my favorites in a long time. While I do like color pages that are busy and action packed since they don't come around much, there's something to be said about ones like this that are simple yet evocative. Not only that but Fukuda's choice logo really shines well here, as well as font. This is the kind of thing I'd expect for first anime key art for an anime, and I like compositions like this that have utility. I really hope Shougakukan gives this out as a wallpaper because I'd really want to use it!
Right, I should explain who Kakeru is, since she appeared last week in a chapter I wanted to cover, but couldn't since there was so much I wanted to talk about. Kakeru is Michiru's younger sister who had been hiding out in their house since the attack occured. She doesn't much like her name, and continues to insist they not call her that --and to be fair it isn't a particularly girly name, so I guess I can see how she'd dislike it. More importantly than that is the revelation that Michiru read a lot and kept notes on everything she read, and the last chapter implied that she may have found some means of dealing with, or at least explaining the threat of the masochistic Buddha statues that now attack them. Yamato and Yuuto start to dig into this mystery but then the house is blown apart! The military has arrived with the best worst timing in the world!
The kids are happy to see them of course, but since they're Buddha busting they don't have much time to gather what they need out of the house and beat a quick retreat. It's interesting to note that according to the commander, they've been advancing for some time now. I wonder how long they've been at this?
There's something cute about how the soldier puts his helmet on Kakeru--er, sorry, I don't know what else to call her--'s head, but you know me, I'll post pages for extremely shallow reasons like that. Anyway, there's not much for me to comment on here since the soldiers do their thing against the raging Buddhas. So, instead, I'll say that I'm rather surprised that even up until now the series hasn't shown it's hand yet in regard to Yamato's ability to go back in time, further distancing it from any Saike comparisons. Not only that, it's managed to stay pretty compelling despite not using it's main premise at all. Anyone who read Mushibugyo and felt that Fukuda was a one trick pony might want to give this a shot --I really think Fukuda has managed to tackle a completely different genre with a flair that's surprising.
Even with Missles and Army grade weaponry, the Buddhas can't be stopped, and they easily take out the soldiers, leaving Yamato no choice but to pick up up a gun and take a shot. For the sake of his friends he can't die here! Unfortunately it looks as if he's going to do just that until suddenly the Buddha is eviscerated?!
"There are rules to defeating them: Guns and explosives have no effect, their arm and leg restraints mustn't be removed, and unless you decapitate them they won't die". All of this comes from the stranger who appears on the right. Yamato asks who he is, and he says he's no one in particular --just a guy who's returned from the future. Just as I say the time traveling seems to be at a minimum for a series with a title and premise like this, Fukuda goes to show me up in the best way ever with a guy from the future who clearly has answers to the questions that have plagued us so far....or well, barring that at least knows how to kill these things which is definitely an improvement for the characters.
To your surprise, and mine to be quite honest --switch is back again this week! There is a reason why the basket ball playing brotherhood has done a sick crossup and arrived in my blog this week, and I think once I get down a bit further that reason will be clear. For now, let's soak in Namikiri's wonderful artwork as the brothers school the teachers in some good old hoops. Surprisingly enough, the teacher who had so much confidence in Raimu last week tells the teachers not to take it easy on him at all, which...actually I suppose that isn't too surprising and after reading the entirety of this chapter, I have a feeling that teacher is going to be a major figure in his future. In fact the teacher seems to know more about the boys than they themselves do, as he advises Raimu to go for what seems to be an otherwise impossible pass to his brother and he nails it! Someone even comments the two of them are like mirror images able to tag in, out and completely sweep up the competition! Even the teacher who had been hassling the brothers up until now doesn't stand a chance when he bullies one while completely forgetting about the other. It was really great seeing him get his comeuppance, seriously.
Although the game itself wasn't my cup of tea, this chapter really did get me thinking about writing sports series generally. I'm noticing that in the past sports series generally operated around some kind of tragedy motivating the main character forward to achieve their goals through the sport itself, while it seems like nowadays it's more about the character is already motivated and thus the series becomes more about the interaction with the sport and how that keeps the narrative moving forward. To get a bit personal on this blog --something I try not to do by design I guess I just don't find sports series interesting because I myself am not interested in sports and thus cannot share the character's enthusiasm for their craft. I can generally empathize with characters and their motivations, and heck, when they're not playing sports I tend to enjoy that much more than when they are, so I have a much bigger attachment to series where the sport is secondary to the characters developing, or well to put it bluntly, sports series where they barely play the sport. Yes it makes no sense, but that's the reason why you don't see much Be Blues or Major on here outside of when they have color pages or excellent artwork. And let me be honest, I love the artwork in Sports manga, just not the subject matter. Anyway, back to switch --I had thought we'd be getting a type "B" series where the love of the characters playing the sport would be the main focus, a lot in line with current sports manga, but Namikiri had other things in mind.
Admittedly I really like how this was executed. Just complete and utter silence. Also, it's the first time I've seen a three page spread. I just couldn't figure out how to get that third page to work out with the blog's set up, so you get the two pages to keep things streamlined. Even the title page was saved until the end, and the editorial department didn't use any of the customary ending text to really drive home how sudden this development is. Of course, this does make the next developments somewhat predictable --not to sound cold or uncaring! The next few chapters are going to be important for Raimu and for the series itself. switch has been doing okay in the ratings for a while, but now that the series has shown it's hand so to speak, it's going to need a heck of a follow up.
I meant to cover it last week, but there was understandably a whole lot else going on that was slightly more important. 19 other somethings. But I love it when shounen series do this thing where they introduce a whole cast of side characters to interact with the leads, and 008 did just that last week, introing a few new teachers and students, though the teachers didn't really figure as big this week, not that this is a problem! My favorite guy(?) Usagi-sensei was front and center this week, and really that's all I need. --Is what I would have said earlier, but the class is now split into three person cells which introduced another character --the spunky glasses girl above. My obvious shallowness aside, she's just the type --very forward and competitive to keep things interesting. Plus it really helps that Matsuena was actually pretty conservative with her design something I really wish he'd be more often.. so she's cute without being overbearing...at least on the eyes. She is in every other sense of the word, much to the chagrin of her teammates, hah. She also seems to really have it out for Kido for reasons Kido doesn't understand, hah. Usagi-sensei (his actual name, from as far as I can see?) has decided to make training fun by having a spinning wheel labeled with weapons and a dummy the kids can test their attack prowess on. The first team up is the one with the girl on it, and she --hoping to beat Kido unfortunately gets the bad luck of getting pretty bad weapons due to her team not taking this as seriously as she --see some of the weapons on the wheel are "tooth brush" and "scrubbing sponge", and guess what they get? Still the trio manage to land some pretty impressive hits even with not so impressive weapons. So with their turn up, it's time for Eito and his friends to take the next swing...
And it starts off like this. Those reactions are priceless. Hope Usagi-sensei isn't too mad --that is a mask, right?
Mr. Shounen Sunday is back this week and sadly he didn't bring the continuation of the last case with him. Rather this week is about Aoyama's penchant for love comedies in his sleuthing series. Admittedly I don't know too much about the couple in question since there's a big gap between the current stuff (when the blog started and I started reading weekly) and where I stopped watching the anime, so other than Naeko Miike's name, I'm not too familar with her, but I will say this for the chapter's pacing --it's rather easy to figure out what's going on without needing to revisit past events. Miike has a thing for Chiba, but Chiiba doesn't remember her despite them growing up together, so their relationship is stuck in a somehow-worse-than-friendzoned place. She's late to work after having a dream that Chiba finally remembered her, and it's great how the kids more think of her as an "underling" than a cop. Still, she is a member of law enforcement so she stops the kids from crossing the street when the sign doesn't indicate it --but only after remembering Chiba told her not to back when she was a child herself.
Summation aside, this case does introduce a few more police officers as well as a criminal who has a thing against crosswalks --or well, rules. The new officers have a relaxing night out with some karaoke, but then the shadow-person from earlier fools one of them into checking out a bathroom stall where a little girl was supposedly crying, and attacks! Though they get more than they bargained for when they get flipped over. The officer says they made a mistake attacking her, except this was the shadow-person's intention as they taze and then finish the officer off with the last blow. I seem to remember it being implied that this will be a longer case, but so far all seems standard....we'll see as the investigation moves next week.
Zero's working through some training and a few personal issues with this week's chapter, which admittedly makes his series a little more interesting, and thus to me should be the focus. While I can't imagine to know what Aoyama has in mind for the character in the Detective Conan series proper, I don't think giving more hints into what Amuro deals with behind the scenes in regard to his job with law enforcement would hurt too much. I can respect that Aoyama may not want to show his hand too much in a spinoff, however so I am feeling a little torn. Not only that but the series has been wildly popular, causing Sunday to sell out, and Amuro's mere presence in the monthly magazine "Sunday Super" has caused that to sell out too. I'm not sure what Amuro does for the fans myself, but hey, if it's bringing more fans into Conan and thus Sunday, I can't complain. It's clear Shougakukan is also banking on this as they've been pairing Conan(s) together with Hanzawa last week, and the main series this week.
In any case, this week Amuro assisted his partner with a few tips in regard to gun maintenance and such, before going to do a bit of training on his own, remembering the scene that drives him so --Akai killing Scotch. Arai's artwork is still in top form here, and I think not having to write too much in the way of text is a major plus for him. Unfortunately it's because there's so little text that there's not much for me to say that the pictures don't say already so just have a gander at those above and let the Amuro angst sink in. The end of chapter text indicates that next time a secret mission will arrive to Amuro in the cafe, but I've learned that things with Zero --and this spinoff are rarely what they seem.
Not satisfied with his sound defeat at the hands of the Shinsengumi in the last arc, Toudou tracks them down to enact his revenge --but is immediately caught by Hijikata who wraps him up and brings him to the rest of the Shinsengumi. Despite his precarious situation, Toudou still mouths off and says he doesn't intend to lose to the likes of them! Ah, youth.
They not surprisingly don't take Toudou's threats seriously at all, and continue having breakfast and surprisingly Hijikata is the cook? Hm. I guess this is just me speaking from the point of view of someone who's familiar with him mainly from Gintama, but that surprises me. Toudou has already earned Hijikata's ire by coming in while he was trying to make food and then insulting them while they're trying to eat is asking for trouble which Yamanami seems to be interested in if only because he's never seen anyone mouth off to Hijikata like that, hah. The group then argue over breakfast, and Toudou can't help but think that they're having a lot of fun.....that he wants in on, but then he remembers his mission and gets angry all over again. I can only imagine what his family life must have been like to think that the shinsengumi's bickering is fun, but I like that being included even if it was mainly for a one off gag for now. Toudou is most steamed that Okita fooled him with the ill-defined notion of gender, and this isn't helped much when Okita notices he looks down and tries to feed him, activating all sorts of feelings again.
"Why did you have to be a boy?!" He angrily asks. "I thought you were a girl!!" Okita asks what Toudou would have done if he had turned out to be a girl, and he can't answer that of course, hah. Instead he deflects the question and says if he had known he was a boy back then he wouldn't have lost. So Okita figures what's in order now is to have a rematch. The other shinsengumi are down for this and after taking bets (all on Okita), the match begins!
Unfortunately for Toudou, Okita learned from his last encounter with Pops and his attacks reflect that as he comes in from above. Toudou manages a hit on Okita, but if they were using real swords, Toudou would be dead --a truth his face reflects.
Kondo catches wind of this match and sits Toudou down for a little talk --one that the kid isn't interested in hearing since Pops lectures him almost every day. What's good here is Kondo talks down to him in a very frank but heartfelt matter, using his own experiences to punctuate his meaning. That is to say, he learned a bit from his encounter with Pops too. Before that fight he thought that "victory" was defeating your opponent in a fair battle, but "running" and "protecting" are also legitimate forms of victory as well. They send Toudou back to pops with the promise that once he gets stronger that they'll face him in battle. Toudou heads back and despite pops being fast asleep wakes him up for some impromptu training, his focus to be stronger now renewed. It's not often Shinobi no has time with it's break-neck pacing to take a breather, but I'm glad Ogaki decided to give us this chapter --for the return of the shinsengumi who I thought wouldn't be back again for a while, and some time with Toudou who didn't get much in the last arc. Considering Ieyoshi's words to Pops back in the first arc of the series, Toudou is likely to be the "next era" for Pops so it's great he's rounding out into a multi-faceted person in the story and character to us, the reader.
This week's Komi-san is the fun-filled or cursed, depending on your point of view family vacation! I don't think the Komis and Tadanos have met each other en masse, just in separate incidents at different times, so this is a first where they're all together --along with Najimi for...some reason. It's great that Komi's mom is so friendly and outgoing thanking the Tadanos for having such a wonderful son who looks after their daughter, while the Tadano's are just thankful that Komi allows their son to breathe the same air she does. (I paraphrased but only a little bit?) Meanwhile Hitomi reveals just now that she and little brother Shousuke are in the same class, and when the Tadanos ask that Shousuke look after their daughter, Hitomi's basically like "Oh no need to worry about that, because I'll be looking after him." She's not wrong, per se, hah. Oda (not that one) even breaks the fourth wall a little when Osana's exsitence is only noticed seven pages in (and they say just that) and they're like "don't worry about me being here now, it's fine". hah.
The page on the left, well, we know Komi likes Tadano and it's probably only a matter of time till he finds out, but I like this small detail if only because it feels so real. Like with a lot of media in this vein, it's either supercharged with fanservice, or has absolutely none and comes off as a bit saccharine because of it. Granted, I'd rather have the latter than the former myself, but despite it being innocuous and arguably unnecessary, I think it really builds upon the characters --in this case Komi and adds a level of sincerity to them. Sincerity isn't necessarily being fresh and clean all of the time, no, it's being true to oneself. Ah, I'm rambling about something insignificant, hah. In any case, the kids have a great time and the parents get to bond. Komi-san really is just that feel good spot in Sunday each week, and it's easy to see why Oda (not that one) is enjoying so much success.
With TV cameras rolling, tempers flaring, and the evil house looming in the background, the battle between the treacherous sisters and the survivors of the first Souboutei raid are ready to throw down in this epic battle of titans. I'll have to do a re-read, because I'm not entirely sure just how much of the Souboutei's background is public knowledge. Clearly not the alien thing of course, but considering the reporters in attendance are confused about "survivors" and "infiltrators" it seems a lot of what the house is about has been kept from many. Not surprising, but still relevant.
Frol is off as according to a plan they've come up with beforehand, leaving the others to take on the sisters, who launch the "Kusari douji" at them as seen above. Ah, I will never tire of seeing Fujita's monster designs. They're so cool looking! Not to mention his use of dual page spreads is impeccable --there's so much going on here but it's not overwhelming or confusing in the least.
So as I said earlier, reports are watching this whole spectacle unfold and I do wonder how it'll affect future developments? Auguste did seem really hesitant to take the sisters on now probably because of this, but there's not much choice as they're not getting in till they're dealt with. The battle is pretty even as Auguste is able to use his powers of electricity as seen above to neutralize the Kusari Douji. The reporters there --aside from looking a bit different than Fujita's style (drawn by assistants maybe?) Point out that they've seen this on American Television, so Auguste's reputation precedes him.
The sisters are undeterred and call out "Iron Douji" which the pyromaniac couple returns fire literally. Unfortunately for them the Iron Douji gets a hold of water and douses their chances for victory, taking out the prof and the pyromaniacs immediately afterward.
No pressure Frol, but everyone's waiting for you, and if that final panel before the end of the chapter is any indication, there's no time to lose!
We now have an official name for this arc, even if it isn't very surprising --the "Will" arc. Seeing as Saike arcs have had way more exciting titles than this before, I don't suppose I'm wrong in hanging onto yet another fleeting hope that this isn't the finale, even if the events in the chapter suggest otherwise. "What are you going on about now, Sakaki"? Well....I'll get to that. For now Will continues his recap of his life and ambitions to a very captive audience made up of Saike and Hizu. Although the first time he activated his ability was an accident, Will soon figures out how it works and uses it to create many advantages for himself, from love, his career and so on, everything goes his way when he can just hypnotize people to do what he wants --and despite things, this isn't a very fulfilling existence as Saike points out. Do people actually care about him or are they just acting out roles? Not surprisingly Will is well aware of this snag in his grand plans, but doesn't seem at all concerned about it, at least in the present.
I didn't include the page, but Fukuchi gets really flowery with his metaphors here...or perhaps he's just using Will as a conduit for his deeper more poetic self? Either way, Will describes his life after awakening his oracle as being similar to having an aquarium with a hole in it. --He puts water in and it comes out the opposite end --he's never satisfied for long. Ten years in his life pass and while he wants for nothing, he also isn't satisfied either --that is until he notices an ad in the paper selling youth. I didn't notice it when reading the chapter proper, but it's cool that Fukuchi stays region appropriate with a blurb on the paper about the Surgeon General's recommendation of nutrition on the page on the left. Will decides to check this auspicious claim out, and meets Bax the ability user who indeed promises he can de-age Will for a price. Bax recommends turning the clock back to his 20's where his mind and body are at their freshest, Will decides on going back to about 6 years old, explaing that he did childhood the "normal" way naturally, so he wants to go back and due it abnormally --getting into college at six, playing the piano at six and so on.
It's not surprising Will wants to try his childhood again --I'm sure some of us would do it if we could without any major recompense upon ourselves. What makes Will, and this arc eerie is his adherance to doing the "abnormal". Though this ties into Will as a character later on, and I will explain it --he's definetly got a screw loose. After getting Bax to reverse his age, he immediately enslaves the man and makes it so he'll continue rewinding his age to six on demand, and not only that he forbids Bax from dying himself. I'm assuming that means Bax can use his ability on himself since he's necessary for this, which gives Will quite the convenient set up that works for 50 whole years!
Something that did surprise me --well aside from Will hijacking this series and turning it from shounen romp to grim time travel tragedy, is Fukuchi bringing back a plot element from volume six. It's a pleasant surprise though so no worries --Will is living the good life and whenever he's dissatisfied, he just goes back to being six again and excels in some other field. Except in volume six, Saike's ability to turn back the clock on a day was revealed to slowly be killing him through his mind's perception of time. I don't intend to explain the science behind everything (or lack thereof) but essentially for those who didn't read that volume, While the "body" undergoes the manipulation of time, the "mind" still perceives things as usual. Saike for example still remembers what happens in the first timeline before his time traveling because his body went back to early in the day but his mind still remains on the first set of events. This in turn causes a contradiction, a tear in the mind's perception which then eats away at the body. This is what happened to Saike that he had to go to Nepal to get healed during that arc (which was covered in the blog!) And while I still scratch my head as to why healing it once is enough to prevent the problem from happening again, Saike is fine and dandy after the Healing God's intervention. Will, however is undergoing the same ailment and his time is running out.
So what does this have to do with the Akashic records? Will has already said he doesn't want to use them to gain all knowledge ever, so what does he want it for? Fukuchi strikes again with his poetic metaphors this time comparing the brain to a PC's hard-drive. The knowledge he's getting and the timeslips he's experiencing are doing a number on his brain, so if he can just plug into the records and add all the memories and experiences he's getting to that rather than directly to his mind then he can go right on being forever young with no consequences! .....But then the awful truth is apparent. If Will teamed up with Johann who teamed up with Kuroda, then he's been manipulating both of them just to keep himself young. Kuroda suffering because of his little sister being put to sleep by Sakagami, Johann suffering because his friend Sumire died before knowing her purpose in the world and their persecution by those without oracles, while arguably those two incidents had nothing to do with Will, he used their pain for his gain.
And Saike is left speechless. At least with those two they were doing bad things for good reasons, and Saike could appeal to their humanity. With Will however? Nothing. This is pure and unfiltered self-serving evil. Thinking back on it, Saike was able to defeat the last two by stepping in and assisting them to see the error of their ways but can he really do anything when the person in question doesn't want or need help? Admittedly I am a little put off by this development since it's pretty clear Fukuchi wrote this in only recently since it wasn't hinted at all throughout the series, and the man himself said that he had only really planned up to volume six --thus everything after that was him expanding on the plot. So far I've thought of it as fine, but this does really feel like it came out of left field and thus the impact is lost somewhat. It's not so much so that the series is doomed now --especially since as I said earlier this pretty much confirms Will as the final boss unless something else happens, which as much as I love Fukuchi and Saike I really hope that isn't the case...I'm a bit sensitive to this kind of development due to it happening to another series I enjoy recently but at the very least Saike has from the start been more of a character driven series than a plot one and this development is just an extension of that even if I question it's execution. At least Fukuchi isn't being rushed as he's spent two weeks in explanation mode (and at least that was rather evenly paced.) and it's only next week that it's implied we'll find out why Will chose Saike and Hizu specifically to explain his lofty goals to. I'm with your step up to the plate Fukuchi, but I'm not yet sure you can hit a home run. Still, I'll hang in there since I do believe you can do it.
Fresh off Tenshi and Akuto is Aya Hirakawa with yet another work! The Editorial staff has made a big deal about how this is her first one shot in 8 years, so what does she have to offer us with "Shounen A to Naisho no Nanatsu kakan"? (Lit: Boy A and the secret seven days). Let's start with the premise: 16-year-old Haru Mizuhara is a boy who had it all as a ice skater --money, fame, and a dream to become a hero! .....When he was 12. 4 years later he's penniless and forgotten. just what happened here?
Well, to a slightly more pressing issue, Haru's not only penniless, but he's also a kidnapper?! The kid there with him isn't his little brother or family member, but a child from a prestigious family that he kidnapped and brought home with him! Meet Koshiro Kongoji who's the son of the richest family in Japan. Haru just couldn't help himself and brought the kid along when he saw him in the park and realized he's filthy stinkin' rich. Though even he didn't realize to what extent this child is a VIP. Koshiro's quite preccouious too, demanding he light up his filthy little room so that he may study --yes, Study despite looking like he's no older than five. He also "forgives" Haru for kidnapping him, and offers him cash to let him stay a week! Haru's not interested in adding to his crimes, but Koshiro already knows blackmail at his tender age and calls the cops as soon as his offer is shot down. Kid's got quite the future ahead of him, yikes.
But yes, that is the basic premise. No lie, it does sound extremely...wrong, but Hirakawa does show a dexterity in her approach and execution that mollifies some of the ickier bits of the overall set up. Although Koshiro acts like a tycoon, he's more like a tyke who still wets the bed, enjoys cartoons and wants all the newest toys. When Haru serves him luxurious foods such as Cup Ramen, and Koshiro doesn't seem to know anything about the outside world, it starts getting apparent that this kid may be smart, but he's not receiving the type of tender loving care that he should be at his age. Heck, Haru starts to think that maybe seven days with him won't be so bad...!
.....Child-rearing is hard.
Koshiro manages to find his way into Haru's things and finds his old outfit thinking it's very "heroic"! It's then we find out that Haru isn't on the ice anymore because he had an injury and never fully recovered. Koshiro thinks it's just as easy as him never giving up, but Haru wallows in self pity, not wanting to get back to something that hurt him so, and using his current circumstances as a place for him to crash guilt heavy permanently. Now if you've been wondering why Koshiro could even stray from his parents for seven whole days, it's because he set this up to get them to worry about him since they seem to enjoy working more than raising him. The boys have a shared commonality of running from their problems and as such met each other, though Koshiro says he wouldn't mind staying permanently since he enjoys it with Haru, leading into the pillow fight above.
At the end of the Seven days the men of Koshiro's estate come and his parents are nowhere to be found. Haru hands him over as promised and gets his cash reward, but he has second thoughts. When he realizes (after Koshiro smiles and says they both accomplished their goals) that this whole thing really was Koshiro's way of confirming whether his parents actually love him or not....and it's looking like the latter which Haru just won't stand for, even if it means losing the money he so desperately needs.
Despite it being incredibly reckless, he takes the boy back and using his skills from a previous life weaves through the crowds.
What Haru wanted wasn't someone to pity him or tell him it's okay not to push himself, but to be told to jump --leap to higher places than he had before his injury...something Koshiro does out of pure wonderment as they leap up, up, and away from his family's guards. He wanted someone to encourage him to kick reason to the curb and go back into what he really loved doing.
Well...maybe not all reason, but I get the sentiment. Still jumping into a lake isn't looking too heroic, my guy. To keep this from getting out to the cops, the two guards make an impromptu deal with Haru to keep mum on the subject, but Haru throws in one more condition --that he be allowed to work on the premises. He lands a rather lame job, but hey he gets to keep hanging out with Koshiro once in a while, and even though the guards say it's not good for him to be seen with a former kidnapper, Koshiro deems it fine as...
They're friends now. I do think it's great that they both have ice skates indicating that Haru is heading toward his dream once again, and to some extent that it didn't end in the "typical" manner of the parents learning their lesson and taking care of their son. Rather, it was intriguing that they didn't show up at all in this story and it was the bond between the boys of different generations that pulled the plot along. I also think it's good that Hirakawa didn't try to write this into a story that would instantly work as a serial. It really feels like something she wanted to do for some time, but couldn't due to Tenshi and Akuto keeping her busy, thus it feels a bit more earnest than it would if she were simply doing this for a quick buck or visibility. Admittedly it feels a little uneven and the premise about child kidnapping might be a sore spot to some, but I think the ending lands like a triple axle, and Hirakawa's artwork is always very pleasing to look at. Tenshi and Akuto's final two volumes will be released in July and August respectively, and the text on the final page of this one shot indicates that she's already "diligently" working on another serialization, so no worries that Hirakawa will skate away from Sunday! I look forward to whatever she's got cooking next, and you can rest assured if it runs in Weekly Shounen Sunday I will have a thing or three to say about it!
Evans was surprisingly straightforward this week despite the revelation that Papa Evans is alive. I guess that makes sense to an extent as this wasn't a secret to Evans himself, just to the audience reading. Evans didn't talk about it, sure, but it's because he didn't talk about it that we simply assumed his Dad had passed. (Or well, I did at any rate.) So when Kurt "the nameless" just comes and goes with a cool line "It's the elderly's job to protect the youth". Evans says to himself that he has to use that one later. Evans doesn't ask any questions and leaves it to his Pa. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised that he doesn't ask a bunch of questions or try to find out more about his Dad's whereabouts until now, but it is interesting and a little telling of their relationship that all it takes is Kurt for him to say "go" for him to go. Interestingly enough Abby decides to head back and help Kurt, and it's implied it's because she actually does want to go on a date with him. Though Japanese linguistics allows for a little quirk here --she says "date" but the kanji is for "repayment", so I think it's probably more likely she doesn't want to be in his debt than actually finding him charming. That's not made clear and she doesn't come back for the rest of the chapter, so we're on the hook for that one.
So now the question of the hour --or the entire arc, what's the deal with Morris that everyone wants a piece of him? I love that Pheebs and Evans only realize now that neither one of them actually knows what the heck is up with this entire mission, and they both sort of play it off like they know exactly what's going on when in fact they don't. Seems acting cool isn't only a father/son thing, but a possible future girlfriend/wife thing too, huh. Anyway to explain what's going on here, it seems it really was a case of mistaken identity --the guy before them is actually the prince of another country who came to the wild, wild west from overseas. The reason why he's here is to meet a lover who thanks to international disputes cannot see each other in their respective countries. They knew they shouldn't keep contact, but Prince (no relation to the symbol), thought he could fudge the rules and see her here anyway --but then a local mistook him for a wanted man and it's been dicey ever since. Evans suddenly asks Pheebs who's rightfully annoyed by this whole matter if she'd be upset with him if he did the same thing and she's suddenly at a loss since she wasn't expecting Evans to be so...romantic-ish.
There's a reason why Prince (no relation to the symbol), came here though, he heard through the grape vine that his lady might be dying of a sickness soon and rushed over to see her. The bounty hunters catch up, but from their position Evans and Pheebs are easily able to keep them at bay and escape with Morris. They manage to get the Prince back to a waiting boat to escort him home, and it's implied even after all this he wasn't able to meet his lady, but apparently she's okay since her illness was cured, and he's looking forward to coming back! Ah, love makes us do stupid things, doesn't it? So with that whole thing behind them, Evans and Pheebs head back to assist Abby, but the guy doing the tradeoff with them for Morris says someone's left them a gift. What could it be? The ending text is being mum on the subject, so we'll just have to find out with Evans next week.
You didn't think I'd skip Daiku this week after the reunion of the season did you? It's true I have done it before, but I couldn't do this time, even if I'm only an occasional spectator to this series. Yes, Nagiko and Minato have managed to find each other, but due to a misunderstanding from Ena who said in the past that if she should meet up with Minato again then it must be fate, Nagiko tries to make a break for it, hah. Minato manages to win her back by asking her to thank her older brother/his teacher for looking out for him, and it works!
I think what I appreciated most about this chapter is that it doesn't spend a lot of time re-treading old ground or making excuses for what it's been up until now --nor does it get too emotional over this reunion making it ring false on some levels, no. If you were expecting a confession or something of the sort, you'll be disappointed. Rather, the two discuss their dreams and ambitions for the future, and while it is clear as the sunrise above this set of pages that Minato is deeply in love with Nagiko and hearing her speak about her dreams only reminds him of those feelings he had back when they first met, especially in the face of her dream which is as big as the whales she so loves and as solid as they come. I don't know for sure if this means that Daiku will be with us into the future despite it's sadly lacking sales, but Minato instead resolves to look for a dream like hers, so that one day he can face her and talk about it straight on like she has done for him. A sentiment that in this blogger's humble opinion carries much more weight than a simple confession of love. I think Daiku really found it's stride this week and while it may not help it in the long run, I hope it can keep this up.
Ariadne is also back in the blog and at a higher spot than usual. This week's chapter doesn't start with Rashil and Leane however! Instead the frontispiece and several pages are dedicated to a lone girl who through no fault of her own survived to reach a "promised land" just to find that it had turned into a nightmarish forest before her eyes. The very same forest the traveling princess and her knight are headed to next on their journey. To their displeasure they find the forest is crawling with baddies, and it takes almost everything they have to keep from being overwhelmed. Especially since it seems like the forest has it out for them specifically for some reason...
Back to the girl, who's story is intertwined like roots around the two's struggles. She suffered in this forest and it's wildlife, but rather than staying down, she stood back up, and kept standing up and as time passed she became stronger, faster, smarter...deadlier.
Until eventually she became the queen of the forest labyrinth, explaining exactly why this particular place has been extremely ruthless in it's attacks against Leane and Rashil. We get naught but her silhouette on the side there, but the girl --Rulurola (wow that's a nightmare to translate, good luck to whomever has to deal with that.), was mentioned by Rashil last week as one of his previous comrades. While it's not strange to think that she might ultimately become an ally, I think the road to that conclusion is fraught with peril.
First 008, and now Memesis! Though I'm in no way upset that this week has two series introducing a bunch of new side characters! Plus to be fair, Yagyuu all but said we'd get several fresh faces as a new Demon Lord officer is on the horizon, and that one has a price on their head that several warriors want a piece of. Due to Memesis being very straightforward in it's content due to it's shorter page count and being an action series, this week's chapter is basically dedicated to the new faces, all of which have really unique designs, like the martial arts user Mei Fan (left) and the magician Gally (right). Again when the names aren't of Japanese origin they're a pain to figure out, so take these and Rulurola from Ariadne above as my guesses and not necessarily fact. Both look like they could be from different manga, and I love it when artists really flex their character designing muscle. Even the wolf butler; Demil is really distinct which makes me think he'll play a bigger role in this arc later. Another thing that was pretty cool was Yagyuu's use of Demil serving these guests food to introduce them rather than a list off which would have been way less interesting. Now we not only know who they are, but their favorite foods, and it feels organic with the flow of the chapter.
Yagyuu's art also shines in departments other than having character designs that stand out. Like on the left is the demon user Pit, who's cute appearance contrasts greatly with the monsters they have subjgated, and then the trio of warriors on the right who are all of noble class --A sniper, a swordsman and a wizard all mesh well with one another while being different on sight, and unique to the others introduced before them. (The swordsman is Wills, the wizard Nail, and the sniper, Milty) Yagyuu's also got an interesting naming scheme that I haven't seen since Fukuchi with Anagle mole...
Honestly I wish I could have posted the whole chapter so I could have shown off all of the warriors, but rules are rules, even if they're rules I made up myself. I should point out that Demil notes Ash and Kijira to be the most peaceful/well mannered warriors he's seen in this gathering. True they are both talking politely and sharing food with one another --really belying how strong they actually are, but I'm sure we'll see lots of that later. Anyway as I said before the chapter ends with the announcement that they'll be moving the festivities to the king's castle where the warrior selection "Dragon Stage" will take place. I actually hope that Yagyuu takes his time with this next stage since I really want to spend more time with these characters. Ash and Kijira are awesome and everything, but this bevy of warriors has got me wondering what else Yagyuu can do.
Marry Grave is still boasting some of the best art in Shounen Sunday, but Yamaji's story telling is showing some signs of weakness as this arc proceeds. That being said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but that too feels like it leans into the major problem of MG --and that is that Sawyer as a character doesn't leave a strong impression, even if he is a great guy in theory. If he were the side character in another story then he'd be perfect, but as a lead he's lacking. Even here in this flashback, Dante is stealing the show, and once again I find myself more interested in what he's doing over what the protagonist is. Granted that is sort of the point right now, but it highlights Marry Grave's one glaring weakness, and it's a real shame as the series does so many other things wonderfully. My commentary last week where I hoped Sawyer would learn something from his self-sacrificial tendencies didn't really bear out this week, but Dante's words to him that one who treats something like "life" as a light thing that can be given up for any reason has no right to be alive are extremely important.
Though after saying that, he does finally tell Sawyer where he's going --Cape Side. Apparently it's a place where "Utopia" exists and Demons don't go anywhere close to, and he wants to see it for himself. Dante doesn't forbid Sawyer from following him, but by saying where he's headed, that does give the boy license to tag along too. This whole time Sawyer has said that Dante is a kind soul and that's why he saved him --and it shows here. That being said, Dante has straight up told Sawyer his way of thinking is going to get him killed, and perhaps this is his means of keeping him alive? Or perhaps he's seen something in this kid who tried to save him despite not having the means to do so?
Either way the true star of this chapter --and ostensibly the series is Rozalie who's origin story seems to be unfurling at the same time as Sawyer's appropriately enough. At the end of the last arc, Rozalie was implied to be a part of the church that had amassed many Deadman's Recipes as possibly some kind of priestess. Here she's run away and the church is looking for her referring to her as "Marry Grave Rozalie". I joked around with friends that perhaps Yamaji wanted to write a series about Rozalie from the start and was told by Shougakukan that he needed to have a male lead since this is a shounen series, and so he hurriedly came up with Sawyer so he could tell the story of Rozalie that he really wanted to tell, and it's really beginning to feel like my joke might be on the money since the series gets infinitely more interesting when she's around. Of course I hope Sawyer is able to take back his throne as protagonist, but I'm not complaining at this chance for more Rozalie.
Xeno's down in the dumps after a stellar chapter last week, much to my chagrin. Glad to see that Sugiyama and Nanatsuki aren't bothered by this and continue to deliver an engaging story about Xeno's past and lost memory. He's taunted in his dreams by the specter of the deaths surrounded him, and the image of Kinoh asking even after seeing him and the things he has done if he still wants his memories to return.
For now that dream is on hold as Xeno and Ayla are knee deep in a case. I do like that Ayla and Xeno have gotten so close that she can tell when he was asleep and totally missed her question, but continues explaining without a beat. They may just be my favorite pair in Sunday currently. In any case, they're headed out by boat, but it seems the ferry won't be coming due to the weather. Xeno's still somewhat out of it thanks to his dreams --which seem to be stemming from his possession of the watch given to him by Kinoh, a device he's tried to investigate from every angle but is unable to come up with anything.
Xeno ends up having a conversation with some locals who ask him if he's headed to Onigamishima (Lit, Ogre island) and he replies he's headed for Onugamishima (Hidden God island) I'm translating this because I feel like it'll be important for the case later as it's an intriguing distinction. The people say they give the island fearsome sounding names like the aforementioned "Ogre Island" and Kijintou "Demon God island" Due to it's reputation in the sengoku era where pirates would sink ships there, and in the Edo era where Christians were burned at the stake. This bloodstained history lies at the hands of a certain clan, the Kugas...and speak of the devil, their heiress Manami Kuga appears to set everyone straight on. Despite the ferry being unavaible for the time being, Manami says she'll wait, so she and her attendant Kisaragi do just that.
Xeno's reputation precedes him as Manami knows all about the amnesiac detective. She asks him what business he has on the island, and he responds that he's just going sight seeing. Aha, Manami then makes the big mistake one often does in detective stories, she asks Xeno to "deduce" something about her, and insists when he turns her down. Manami does seem like the spoiled "heiress" type, since she insists and basically demands that Xeno entertain her. Maybe it's Xeno's fault for being so blunt, but hey she asked! He points out that she's abandoned herself due to her fiancee standing her up recently, something he can tell from seeing the marks on her ring finger where proof of engagement once sat. She only went on a tirade around the others upon her entry because her pride has been injured, so in short --well, before Xeno can complete that thought, Manami gives him a smack to the face and asks how he could know anything about her. Even after that, Xeno doesn't take offense and simply asks "was I wrong?"
Wrong or not, the events move quickly as Kisaragi steps up seemingly to intervene but then collapses to the floor, literally stabbed in the back bringing what seemed to be a happy vacation to a terrifying end. Xeno knows someone stabbed him since he was sitting on the bench furthest from them, but who was it? The investigation starts next week!
This week's Youkai Giga features the "Akaname" which literally means "Filth Licker" It's said this youkai is the personification (or Youkai-ification?) of people's fear of using the bathroom at night, and comes out to clean up any grime that is left behind in bathrooms when no one is around. The players in this story are a young man who lives alone and swears he doesn't clean his bathroom, but only because someone always beats him to the punch somehow, suggesting he has otherworldly help. Turns out it's actually a lady Akanameru living in his house without his knowledge, but she refuses to do as her namesake does and just cleans the bathroom normally so she can use it. She says anyone who licks a bathroom clean is just a weirdo, hah. I enjoy that self awareness in face of the legends, really. Anyway with the town's bathrooms being clean all of a sudden, the lady starts to realize she may not be necessary in the town, and wonders if maybe she should just come out as youkai to the guy she's been sharing a bathroom with and live normally, but then...she fins him well...licking the bathroom clean. To that, she just quietly closes the door and with a face filled with regret at what she sees realizes that things born in the bathroom should just stay there. It was a weird ending to this story, but I won't deny this: it was hilarious.
I usually don't cover Tokaichi, and I'm not sure how true this is, but Yokoyama apparently had to prepare curry for the one, the only Gosho Aoyama at some point! It was during Conan's two/three month hiatus that the two met each other again. Aoyama had heard that Yokoyama had been moved to Hokkaido, and is surprised to see him around. The conversation then changed to curry and Aoyama's favorite is "Curry Rice". Reading through this, it seems it was just examining the different ways of making Curry, but at least we found out Aoyama's favorite type, and that he actually recovered pretty quickly from his hiatus. Can't keep a good mangaka down, huh?
And that's it for issue 28! Next week Komi takes the cover for her 100th....serialization? It sounds weird, but remember, Komi sometimes runs more than one chapter an issue so while the count is closer to 150 chapter wise, the times the series has appeared in the magazine is closer to 100, which explains why they didn't do anything for the 100th chapter. Megumi will get a lead color page, and Aozakura a center color page! That's three series I'll be covering for sure, but you can look forward to those and more next week! Until then, take care!
The guy from the future is most likely Yamato himself. The only catch being it is too obvious
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure myself, but it does seem to be a likely theory!
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