I'm back once again with the little magazine that could --Shounen Sunday! What does this week have in store for us? Only one way to find out...step on in!
This week features the lovely Yui Oguri along with Rashil, Minato, Zero, Yuugami and Xeno in his first dual page color spread since his first chapter! It's incredible how there's so much here but it doesn't at all seem packed. There are a few series getting color pages due to their volumes coming out, which means it's that time that wallets cry and readers rejoice.
The TOC continues to dazzle...or do something.
Tantei Xeno to Nanatsu satsujin misshitsu: Story by Kyouichi Nanatsuki/ Art by Teppei Sugiyama (Lead color pages/ Chapter 31)
Amano Megumi wa Suki darake! by Nekoguchi (Chapter 131)
Souboutei Kowasubeshi by Kazuhiro Fujita (Chapter 110)
Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time: Supervised by Gosho Aoyama/Art by Takahiro Arai (Chapter 10)
Major 2nd by Takuya Mitsuda (Chapter 146)
Shinobi no by Rokurou Ogaki (Chapter 49)
Kimi wa 008 by Syun Matsuena (Chapter 21)
Maojou de Oyasumi by Kagiji Kumanomata (Chapter 109)
Sokyuu no Ariadne by Norihiro Yagi (Center Color/Chapter 30)
Memesis by Takuya Yagyuu (Chapter 20)
Daiku no Hatou by Michiteru Kusaba (Center Color/Chapter 58)
Be Blues by Motoyuki Tanaka (Chapter 340)
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san by Aiko Koyama (Chapter 76)
Saike Matashitemo by Tsubasa Fukuchi (Chapter 120)
switch by Atsushi Namikiri (Chapter 14)
Gopun go no Sekai by Hiroshi Fukuda (Chapter 12)
Komi-san wa komyusho desu by Tomohito Oda (Chapter 152)
Tonikaku Cawaii by Kenjirou Hata (Chapter 23)
Yuugami-kun ni wa tomodachi ga inai by Jun Sakurai (Chapter 72)
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ by Mizuki Kuriyama (Chapter 63)
Aozakura Bouei daigakkou monogatari by Hikaru Nikaido (Chapter 97)
Marry Grave by Hidenori Yamaji (Chapter 29)
K.O.I King of Idol by Tamaki Wakaki (Chapter 52)
Hatsukoi Zombie by Ryou Minenami (Chapter 134)
Zettai Karen Children by Takashi Shiina (Chapter 511)
Youkai Giga by Satsuki Satou (Kuro 30)
Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen by Yuuji Yokoyama (Chapter 31)
Not in this issue:
RYOKO
Detective Conan
Chrono Magia
I guess really things haven't changed a great deal from last week or in general, except for MG being back in the bottom, sadly. Xeno being so high up makes sense with it's color page but the surprising thing here is that the color page is a dual page one rather than a center color. This seems to suggest that Xeno is pretty well recieved by fans, or well, more importantly the editorial department. I'd like to say the color pages are really what are causing things to be screwy, but honestly? They didn't change things too much giving credence to my theory that they're trying to promote different series using the middle of the magazine each week, rather than simply give the popular series more clout. That doesn't explain things like Hatou sticking around despite it's poor sales, but at least it allows one to make a little sense of the TOC.
The Sunday gal for this week is Yui Oguri, a member of AKB48 of who has been featured on this blog quite frequently, and that's not surprising considering how popular they are in Japan all things considered. This photo shoot like a few others is posed as if one is on a date with Miss Oguri, and admittedly she's quite pretty in her kimono. She was born December 26th 2001 in Tokyo, and her interests lie in photography. Aside from her work with AKB48, she is going to be in the drama "Majimuri Gakuen" as a guest star on the episode airing July 26th. I wish I could see if she's as good an actress as she is a singer!
Now I'm pretty familiar with magazines hyping their manga to unfortold degrees to create interest, and thus have a healthy amount of cynicism when a color page like this one says "Great popularity" without any quantifiable proof of such, but even then I'm stoked that Xeno has seemingly become a success in the magazine. Lead color pages like this don't happen to series that aren't at least upper echelon popular in the magazine so this is a pretty positive sign even if Xeno's sales have been only so-so. Of course there could be some editorial interference at play, but let me try very hard to put aside my natural pessimism and believe in Xeno. As for the color page itself --Sugiyama has really outdone themselves in this one! I really wish Xeno would get more color pages like this even only because Sugiyama's color work really pops. Maybe the art isn't the most handsome in BW but man, if they could make Xeno a full color manga, I'd totally pay extra for it.
We get a tiny recap of the series to start off with --Shichirou Kai is the man behind the eponymous "murder rooms" of which there are seven. For those who aren't in the know and don't want to sift through the blog, these "murder rooms" are essentially locked room mysteries in which murders occur seemingly without the victim being in the same place as the culprit and thus are ostensibly impossible to solve. Xeno's been on the case and solved each of the murder mysteries (and others) so far, but now revelations have lead him to find Ichizou Kuga who is Kai's father, bringing him to a certain island in hopes for finding clues as to how Kai created the murder rooms. Unfortunately for him, he gets involved in a mystery upon his arrival which puts his own search on hold. Xeno solved the first mystery but one lingering question remains --who bore witness to how the body was disposed?
This chapter is actually pretty slow moving all things considered, but as it's looking to be Xeno's longest and maybe most ambitious arc, it makes sense that the authors would want to take time to unpack things. Plus I admittedly like seeing Xeno and Ayla investigate on their own a bit --something I feel like we haven't seen too much of for some time. We also get the pertinent info that Kai was actually the result of an extramarital affair, and wasn't treated too kindly by Kuga, but after the former became a famous architect, he proposed a building to be constructed for the latter implying that perhaps he knows of the murder rooms. This is getting deep! I'm interested in seeing how having the "mythos" arc so early on into the series will affect the plot as a whole. There are enough moving parts --Xeno's missing memory, and Ayla's assassination background to fill series on their own, so I'm not too concerned about the secret of the murder doors being exposed too soon bogging down the series in the long run, but I am wondering what Nanatsuki is up to in regard to being so open about it's origins despite this only being the "beginning" of sorts.
The chapter isn't completely humorless despite it's serious content --Manami is still around, and while she claims her purpose is to thank Xeno for his work, she ends up following he and Ayla around silently which is enough to unnerve them both until --much to Ayla's chagrin Xeno loudly asks what she wants. She reveals her own father sought approval from the elder Kuga but was never able to get it despite Kai finding it easily after he built the house, hmm....in any case they end up in town where a girl named Hina thanks Xeno for solving the mystery of Sakuma's death --while inconsequentially dropping the knowledge of the state of the corpse --something no one should know unless they were on the scene of the discovery, or perhaps the one who transported the corpse...but could such a frail looking girl really be the culprit? Xeno's eyes at the end of the chapter say yes, so now it's all about seeing if he's right and how.
I'd hesitate to say that Amano Megumi (the series) is addressing the romantic life of Amano Megumi (the character) thoroughly as this chapter was more just a thing to mess with Ma-kun, but I do like the idea of another of their classmates totally seeing what the two of them don't. The series is on location in Okinawa this week (and might be for several more it appears), and it just wouldn't be any fun without a little bit of romance (or hooking up as it were.) As one of their classmates goes for the jugular and asks straight up what Ma-kun thinks of his classmate! I'm totally down with the visualization seen above where she's a boxer and each one of her comments comes out as a piston fast jab, haha. She tries to stir up a little interest in Ma-kun by pointing out she's popular (Megumi that is), and that she might just have someone she likes! Ma-kun initially responds that he thinks of her as nothing but a childhood friend but after this verbal assault, it's safe to say he might be rethinking that. The end is of them in a picture that looks very "couple-ish", the two poor dears, hah. While the bread and butter of these types of series is keeping the main couple apart until the big moment, I wonder if Nekoguchi too is going to go for a long game with this arc as well? My gut feeling is no, but I'd like to be proven wrong especially with a chapter this strong right out of the gate.
Souboutei reels in the creepiness this week for a surprising amount of warmth --but with Fujita that warmth comes at a price. He does also have a way with bringing us right into events --Kurenai isn't just shown what Sakamaki's past was like, but lives through it through his perspective, in his eyes as he spends time with his beloved older sister. As a story technique this is old as time, but it's all about the execution. So far there hasn't been anything in the story that's too off the beaten path, but Fujita is so good at retreading with gusto that I don't particularly mind it at all. Sakamaki --or Yoshitaro as he was known in a past life was even into art as a child, a talent his sister encouraged. Let me just say that the two of them really are adorable together, like, I won't go as far as saying Fujita get's sibling relationships as there are different ones for every person, but at least with the two of them it feels wholesome but natural. Shinobu --his sister is refined, but down to earth as she encourages her brother to keep doing what he loves even when the world around him shuns his interest in drawing. (Specifically women, which does set off a few alarms, but at least when he's younger it seems innocent enough.) So even though we've only had a short amount of time with the siblings, I can feel Yoshitaro's pain when Shinobu elects to leave for Tokyo to pursue her own artistic interests, and while he wants to support her deep down he can't stand to see her leave him.
Yoshitaro learns to live life without his sister although he does pine for her from time to time. Still, knowing she's pursuing her dreams is enough for him to be happy...until a certain letter arrives at the house and it's revealed that Shinobu's situation is far more dire than the family thought. Shinobu has become the model for a painter --Yomiza Tsukihashi, who's artwork is renown. However to Yoshitaro he's a hack, and to the rest of the family he's taking advantage of their lone daughter. The father heads into Tokyo to get her back, and Yoshitaro is understandably overjoyed to have his sister home but what returns is a shell of her former self as seen above. It's like the life, the dreams, and the happiness she left home with have all been drained out of her body....on the right is Fujita's own artistic prowress showing the puerile rage Yoshitaro has towards Yomiza who'd dare to do this to his sister. Kurenai within Yoshitaro realizes this is the point where the young boy's anger became darkness and it was from there that Deido Sakamaki was born. Fujita's done this thing of swinging back and forth like a pendulum with Sakamaki's character --from pitiable to monstrous, and now back to pitiable, but it doesn't at all seem forced to me. It works and not only that really does go a long way in making Sakamaki a fully functional character and not just a villian, especially with what we found out about him in the previous week's installment --the urge has always been there but the guiding light that his sister provided kept it at bay. Now with that light dimmed by Yomiza's actions, the darkness has no refuge and billows outward creating the man we see before us and thus the crux of the entire story.
Zero's gone to the dogs this week with his new puppy partner "Haro". Will the dog appear in the main story too, I wonder? I don't think we've ever seen his house in the main Detective Conan series and I think this would be a great crossover (as well as a way to confirm the timeline of this series) so I hope it happens. As usual, there isn't much in the way of content to talk about this week in Zero --it's my vacation spot in writing the blog each week, no lie. Though I do like seeing Arai getting more and more comfortable around Aoyama's artwork --there are a few panels where I'd swear it was Aoyama drawing the series himself, just with slightly less straightforward panelwork which makes playing with a dog (and naming it) over twelve pages a swift and more importantly easy read. Next week Zero takes the cover and gets a lead color page to advertise his first volume which I'm sure (thanks to most indications) will sell very well. As for me? Well, I'm just looking forward to that awesome Arai artwork.
I admit I've been kind of worried about Shinobi no in real life thanks to it's sales even as it's TOC rankings remain very high including this week, but It looks as if I should have been more concerned with what's going on with Pops in the realm of the series since this is Ogaki and he's got no mercy toward anyone, even the elderly. When we left off last time, Hattori had just encountered Pops during a mission, and Hattori lets it slip that something is about to happen, but tells pops that what is going to occur is of no concern to him as this is where he's going to die. It's Shinobi vs Shinobi in an all out battle, and Hattori foolishly thinks he's got the upper hand due to a couple of admittedly well placed traps. Except he didn't factor in just how dogged Pops is going as far as cutting off his own leg to attack! Yikes. Again I've gotten used to Ogaki's brutality over this almost year my how time flies. but in the world of shounen, such injuries usually don't happen to the protagonist, and espcially not so casually! I'm with Hattori who's speechless when he sees how Pops just casually lobs off his own leg and keeps right on coming. What can you say to that, really?
Unfortunatly Pops really is just outmatched, and outmaneuvered by the trio of Saitou, Hattori, and Nakazawa, losing an arm and a leg in mere moments to them. Apparently it was Hattori's idea to do this alone but Koto and and Hajime both decided to tag along, and it was worth it for them and bad news for Pops. Pops who's been an invisible force throughout this series is easily taken down, and the three argue about how stupid Hattori is as if they're talking over lunch. It might feel like fodderization, but I think Ogaki has done a pretty good job of setting this up beforehand to take some of the sting off. (For us, anyway). Shinobi no has been a series about the old stepping aside for the new, and how this leads to a new era. Ever since Pops took in Toudou I feel like this has been the narrative of the series which means this was bound to happen....I just wasn't expecting it to occur so soon. Though I guess that's on me for thinking that piston speed Ogaki would slow down in any way.
I'm not sure how old the three are --probably around the same age as Toudou, but Pops asks why they --mere children would be involved in the world of darkness, and surmises they're after money or fun. Interestingly enough despite his situation, he asks them to leave if those are their reasons for doing this --a warning before it's too late. Unfortunately they don't understand what he means, and think these are the mutterings of a dog who has lost it's will to fight, and before they can converse any further, the "company president" Sakamoto arrives, and the plan is explained --or alluded to as the mastermind says he thought it'd be interesting if Pops could have prevented the assassination of (Ii) Naosuke, who has served his purpose, but he couldn't and that works out too. Naosuke served as the daimyo of Hikone and the Tairo of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1858 to 1860 when he was killed in the Sakuradamon incident which this short arc has had parallels to. (For more on Ii Naosuke and his legacy, give this link a look here) Pops' final words are simply "You will be killed by a Shinobi --remember that until you die!" to which Sakamoto responds "Ok". as he shoots him, apparently ending Pops with little fanfare. The end of chapter text simply says that the next issue is a "must read", but how do you even follow this up? I wasn't sure what Shinobi no was up to before, but now I'm completely in the dark. Is this leading up to the end due to poor sales, or was this Ogaki's plan from the start? Either way the series has got me gripped as it always does to find out what will be next!
In a small nod towards Sunday's biggest series, or a huge coincidence, you take your pick. The sleepy princess is trying to learn "deaging magic" this week. Except...it doesn't work, at least not on her. The other monsters however aren't quite so lucky and get treated to what Conan has to live through, hah. Essentially this week's chapter is the demon king's refusal to postpone his pre scheduled meeting due to well, being a kid, and the princess sort of taking advantage of this situation that she created to "help". Probably the best part is seeing the child forms of the monsters and how difficult it is for them to do anything like this --for example the wolf dude is basically a dog and no one can understand his barking, and Alraune the plant monster talks in baby talk (which is also adorable), which makes it impossible for the meeting to proceed. Meanwhile the princess just thinks this is all adorable and wants the monsters to stay this way for her entertainment. By the end of the chapter this whole problem hasn't been solved, and the princess who was acting at least a little motherly ends up getting tired and falling asleep. (Eliciting a response of "Apologize to all of the mothers in the universe!") from the monsters which means this is going to continue for a bit which leaves me at a quandary of my own. I've been rotating this and Komi out each week but man if I don't want to keep reporting on this development as this chapter alone was really funny, and what I like about Kumanomata is they walk on the path of familiar comic beats but do juuuust enough to make these situations fresh and interesting. Ah, I'll leave that decision to next week Sakaki.
Ariadne has found itself getting constant coverage lately because it's such a good adventure manga --much better than when it attempts to be an action one. I do realize both of these walk hand in hand, so there are bound to be fights again eventually, but for now I'm happy with Rashil and company going on a fantasy road trip. Not only that but Rulu has been quite a fun addition to the cast between the slightly less rash Rashil and the regal Leana. Interestingly Rashil seems content with seeing the Luther (I'm going with that name until proven otherwise) forest and leaving, but the girls --especially Rulu want to give it a closer look.
Somehow Yagi makes a panda look threatening as it speeds through the forest thanks to the linework and SFX placement above, hah. I hadn't mentioned it before but Rulu uses "guardian spirits" to do her bidding. For example, that Panda is her "right arm", though the way it's written seems to suggest it's more of a name than a position, hm. In any case, Rulu's ambition for going deeper into the forest isn't anything major --she's just hungry. She happens upon the Gisau clan (Basically the Japanese for "rabbit" (Usagi) backwards), and as the name suggests they look like humanoid versions of their namesakes.
Rulu is really appealing hard to be my new favorite character in Ariadne simply because she's so...simple. The Gisau immediately open fire on her (to Rashil's horror) and she's impressed they'd pick a fight with the "queen". Rashil drags her out before she can really throw down with them. While Rulu is upset saying she's never run from a fight before, Rashil interestingly notes she isn't the kind of person who had such a personality before. Although it's clear she's lost some of her memories of when they used to be soldiers together, I like this idea of her personality being changed by her experiences as well. They run into other members of the Gisau who are a little more friendly and open to talk, though they won't say what exactly the clan is doing here, though Leana does figure out it might have something to do with the "light of origin". It seems the two they've run into and clan who violently fired upon them are two different factions, however...
So Rashil suggests that he act as their bodyguard, in exchange for more information. The chapter ends with the leader of the violent side of the clan not being wary of the humans in their midst, but definitely making it clear if they interfere that they will be eliminated. This was a set up chapter, and a great one at that! Yagi's artwork continues to impress, and now that the gang has a focus, it does feel like the story can start moving in a direction that's easier to grasp. Ariadne really has hit a stride, and I hope it keeps this up.
Memesis continues it's longest arc so far, and while I'm enjoying events so far, I would have liked to see more of the cast that Yagyuu gave us earlier on....is what I've been thinking the last few weeks. We've been focused on Kijira and Ash, and while I like them well enough, it's weird that we got an ensemble cast for this arc who have mostly been non entities since forage into the castle began. That being said, the implications that the demons are fusing their own with humans to create new soldiers is pretty interesting since it's a world building detail that hadn't been addressed up until now, and has implications that could be intriguing. Why make humans into monsters at all unless there are something wrong with monsters? Of course numbers mean a lot, but the process that they're going through here seems like a lot of work if it can be avoided. For now at least, Yagyuu has got something simmering in the background while giving us lethal fire up front if the goblin's face on the right is any indication.
What do I mean? Just glance above! I opened up this chapter with a concern about the other characters and well, there you go. A group of three have made it to this floor with Ashi and Kijira, and it's mentioned that these are a group of fighting woman (and one samurai) as Mei Fan took care of the floor before this one and now one Kayoko Sakurado is in charge of this one, and what a spectacle in spectacles she is! Not only that but when a rightfully bewildered Ash and Kijira ask who she is, she gives a pretty standard answer --her school name and classroom number as well as her hobbies?! Not only that but she mentions being from Tokyo....wait, Tokyo exists in this world? Normal high schools exist in this world? More over what does this normal looking high school girl want with demon lords and why is she packing heat?! I'm both confused and intrigued with this development. It's Yagyuu's world and he can do whatever he wants with it, but to take his own seemingly iron clad rules and bend them over like this is something I never thought I'd see, and I hope the explanation is as bombastic as the reveal next week.
Daiku is back with a color page that doubles as a short introduction to the series. I'll save you my bewilderment that the series is still around despite probably being the worst seller among them all I'm not trying to be mean, honest. And focus on what's going on here, though it is worth noting that there was a full page spread talking about fisheries in Japan in support of the series so someone at Shogakukan really doesn't mind that it's not selling well. At least on one front things are progressing as Minato managed to work up the courage to ask for Nagiko's LINE info. I Kind of like how this series fuses the quaint with the contemporary and quite naturally too --even as it flips things back on their head when Nagiko says she doesn't have a smartphone so she has to rely on her email instead (one she can only access from school I might add.) The dude is still pretty happy he's made one step forward and ridden a wave of his own. See what I did there?
The rest of the chapter is a gourmet's paradise of sorts as Minato and a friend check out the delicacies in Nagasaki, specifically whale which the locals prepare in all sorts of ways --including the belly. It kind of goes with that adage that all parts of the animal get used without anything being tossed out (if you can see from the above picture, though the text is kind of blurry...) So this chapter is as informational as it is entertaining. The tastiest part of the whale is apparently the tail, by the way --you don't have to thank me, I just thought you'd like to know. In the dual page spread above, Minato notes that while there are some species that are forbidden to capture and consume, there's nothing against raising them for that reason. To reach Nagiko, Minato says he needs a dream as big as hers, and that's whale sized all right. It's also heavily implied that the series will be around a bit longer if Kusaba is introducing this story element. How much longer is to be seen, but it's a thing that the series is getting some much needed clarity.
To my surprise Saike leaps from one fight to another this week, and it's my beloved Ana's turn. Ana's a favorite of mine because she bucks some tropes about girls in shounen manga by being tough without her entire personality revolving around that idea, and has in many circumstances been the knight to Saike's damsel which is a great role reversal in this demographic. So how does she fare in a battle versus one of Will's henchmen?
On one hand it is weird that Ana's battles are generally against, well, weirdos. This guy for example gets off on pain, and so having his face ripped off by Ana's tape really just brings him pleasure much to her displeasure. I'd probably be much more critical of this if the fights then became gag-offs, but Fukuchi is careful not to let that happen. Still, it'd be nice if her battles recieved the same amount of seriousness as others, but that's just a mini gripe.
Mostly because, again, the silly moment is brief and we're thrown right back into the thick of things right away. There's no guff about it --this guy's a sicko, but Ana isn't deterred from her mission to save Hizu. She states what she dislikes about him --that he only thinks of Saike and treats her like a nuisance, but he is an idiot that gave up his own body for the sake of helping Saike. She can't say that she has anything other than complaints about him whenever they're in each other's company but
"I respect a guy like that more than anyone else".
Like Ogaki (to a lesser extent) Fukuchi isn't one to back down just because it's a woman's battle --in the best and worst sense of that sentiment. Like Johann before her, Ana is mercilessly taken down by her opponent. Now if you're a reader of Saike, it doesn't take much imagination to figure what might come of this, and on one hand it does take the edge off of these battles, but on the other, Fukuchi's willingness to up the stakes by having these conclusions to these fights is admirable in their own right. Considering that we didn't even get to see this guy's ability, I'm almost positive we'll get another chance so to speak. This also somewhat serves as a unofficial confirmation that this arc will probably run for two volumes consecutively since there's no way I can imagine it ending like this --and it would be a pretty fitting end to Saike if this were the last arc. For now at least there are two down and only Saike's battle to go. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go pray for Ana like any good fan would.
Yuugami's new(?) obsession with Rakugo might just prove to be his undoing in this month's installment of the antisocial comedy manga. With Kadota unable to pitch properly, you'd think Yuugami would be even more on guard so that he doesn't make mistakes, but he's still just as blase as ever, and now it seems as if the world of his beloved rakugo and the real world are merging. It's great how Yuugami misses what could have been a strike, and Kadota takes this to mean he's actually worried about him, but nah, it's just the rakugo getting him down. (Which leads to an argument as to what it actually is right there on the mound, hah.) Of course Yuugami's got his own reasons to win this (if you don't recall, he'll be funded to move out on his own if he can make it to koshien), so you'd think he'd take this a bit more seriously, but I guess even that's not motivation enough to work a little closer with his team. Yuugami's sister and grandma are there as well and no lie I found it great where grandma is confused as to why no one is really cheering for him, and his sister is sort of like "would he be happy if we did that?"
After seeing a player on the other team --Nanda hit a pretty impressive home run is enough to send even the normally unflappable Yuugami reeling and no matter how much he tries to recite the rakugo "Jugem" he's still unable to shake off "Reality" and get into the game. It's then that Chihiro gets his attention by reciting a bit of the story herself, and for the first time in the entire game Yuugami actually looks at the audience? It's significant enough for his sister to notice, and frankly even I who haven't read this series too much before I started writing about it realize how significant this is --Yuugami actually took notice of someone who isn't him? Though that fades quickly as he's quickly back to relying on rakugo to get him through his yips, and it works for a little while. However, the people watching think that he got a glimpse of the girl he likes in the stands and that's the source of his abilities --ah I can already see where this is headed after the game ends. At least for now, the showdown against Nanda and Yuugami is upon us and issue 39 can't come soon enough! Till next month!
Evans reputation has started to precede him as in this chapter, he's asked to be bodyguard to three daughters who refused anyone else! Not only that but they're big fans of his work. It's gotta be the opportunity that he's been waiting for, right?
Ah but there's the rub. This is work, not pleasure and Evans isn't sure how to separate the two even when the ladies are more than willing to give him what he wants. I don't mean it in that way, I mean more like they'd like to cook for him at home and not in a holed up in a hotel. The situation is made worse by the three actually competing over his affections as he's not sure whether he should take them up on their offers or whether that would be too gauche for this cowpoke. The oldest sister, Mary offers to cook for him, the second Carol will play a serenade with her piano skills, and Elle the youngest is good at massages. Evans tries to calm the sisters down and tell them that their bickering does no good for the mood even though he's secretly elated that women are fighting over him. Finally things come to a head and the ladies ask flat out for him to pick which one he likes the most. Evans is at a impasse when he sees what he thinks to be Pheebs hiding out despite her claiming to be away after a bounty. Looking for an answer, Evans seeks out a memory with his father who claims it's not good to be quick to believe in people, including a hilarious anecdote when Evans asks if Kurt has ever lied to their mother. "If I had told her the real reason why I was late last night, it would have been terrible." Ultimately Evans decides a half truth will suffice as he doesn't want to lie to Pheebs --"I like women who can protect themselves". (rough TL).
In the end the person he saw out there wasn't Pheebs but a guy with a bandanna that looks like her bow, and you can see it in Evans eyes above that he regrets not taking one of the girls up on their offers based on thinking it was her hiding nearby. Again, Kuriyama just has a way of turning what could be a pretty straightforward premise into something hilarious without sacrificing Evans' character too much. I can't tell if this arc will continue this week, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit, so I hope so.
Dante is the first off in the development train this week in Marry Grave, as we finally get a little bit into what makes him tick. As it is a foregone conclusion that he'll be dead by the time the beginning of the series occurs, I wasn't thinking that Yamaji would want to flesh him out much, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how this turned out. I had thought last week that Dante would be outclassed by the hunters of Cape Side and realize he'd have a long way to go, but the opposite occurred and he outranked everyone while still claiming he's become weaker. It looks as if someone did something to him back in the day that had enough of a impression that it drives his very being even now. For the present however, the kids have a pressing problem --they have to share a room and Rozalie isn't much of a fan of this development since it means sleeping in the presence of two boys. Dante's fine taking the floor since he's used to roughing it, but Sawyer is overjoyed at seeing a bed for the first time in his life.
My word these kids are cute though. Rozalie remembers Sawyer was a slave, and although she's not pleased with the situation, she's begrudgingly willing to let sawyer take the bed with her. More than anything, Dante's snide comments not only illustrate he does indeed have a sense of humor, but give me life. I like seeing that he's more than just a character out for revenge(?) as when Rozalie gives Sawyer half the bed, he comments that he's never seen kids so in a hurry to be naughty. The whole right page is filled with a lot of personality which has been kind of lacking in Marry Grave since this flashback started.
Most of all even though a lot of this is a foregone conclusion, seeing Yamaji unfurl it in front of us with such softness is a joy. Sawyer has always been alone, and Rozalie has never once shared a bed with anyone --be they parent or friend. Realizing this, Rozalie responds to what Sawyer said last week --about coming to Cape Side to "live to the fullest", that she too will live to the fullest, and find a place for themselves. Although I'm a little surprised at how comfortable the pacing for this arc has been, I am glad that Yamaji is being afforded the time (seemingly, at any rate) to tell the story as he sees fit, as since the story of the relationship between Rozalie and Sawyer is the one that holds the series up, it really does deserve to be told with care.
Although it's a chapter about Kuro, the titular youkai actually spends the whole time asleep. Rather this is a chapter about the humans, which I didn't even know I needed until now in all honesty. I really think that Satou could have even told a story about the war without the Youkai and it could have been just as compelling with her artwork alone. The colors and BG is drab fitting the situation the characters are in, and her minimalist yet stylized artwork really does look both classic and modern at the same time. Not a whole lot happens this week outside of the interaction of the soldiers as they converse about how unlucky they are to be drafted during wartime, and Kuro's master keeps the optimism alive despite that. In the end however, even optimism can't win out against reality as the reserve corps who thought at least they had time on their side find out that they will be deployed sooner than they thought. No lie? I really would read a story about this period of war in Japan even without Kuro being involved. Even with it's short page count, Satou does a wonderful job spinning a story about these soldiers that helps us connect to them and understand their feelings. Probably what makes Youkai Giga work to me is that it's a story about how both humans and Youkai interact rather than being one or the other dominating the narrative. It strikes a good balance!
And that's it for issue #34! Next week we'll have Zero gracing the cover and color pages, Hatsukoi Zombie and Maiko-san receiving color pages, and Birdmen coming in to roost for this month. As always I'm glad that you've come to visit my quaint little page on the internet and hope you'll continue to do so each and every week! Till next Sunday, take care.
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