Memesis is finally back to doing what it does best and I couldn't be happier with it. Cool action scenes, funny interactions and even an appearance by that lovable rogue Leon! Maybe absolutely I'm too easy to please, but this Memesis chapter has managed to yank the series out of the slump it was in for the last few weeks in my humble opinion, and it's not really like a whole lot happened! Though the new friend in arms that they made "Moriken" as Rose calls him is a facinating addition to the cast if only because it's clearly onesided crush on Rose provides for some great laughs as well as a bit of exposition. So I have to take back what I said --maybe not much happened in the sense of plot development, but what we did get was a bit of forward trajectory even if it wasn't quite motion.
Leon's closing in on the Demon King while Ash, Kijira, Rose and Linda are still making their way through the demon world. Although it still niggles in the back of my mind that this is essentially the final level of the "game" known as Memesis, it's position in the TOC has never been basement low, and while I can't write home too much on it sales wise, the TOC position seems to be the catylist as to whether a series lives or dies. Having a demon king captain on their side is certainly helping the group out as he grants them wings to fly through the sky and slay demons on the way. --I do wonder what happens when this unrequited love doesn't bear fruit...? Two more demons await them in the "Dragon Valley" which they've landed in by the end of the chapter. This one is back to Memesis's normal page amount too which seems to occur when it's time for some action. I'm hoping Yagyuu's had enough detours for a while and we'll get to the nitty gritty next week!
I ask myself from time to time how Kuriyama comes up with ideas for Evans every week when by their own admission the serialization happened on a whim, and it's this week I realize that they probably don't actually think about ideas for the series at all as much as it seems like Evans just sorta writes itself. I guess in one sense this isn't exactly the greatest since it suggests that the series cruises along on autopilot --and there is a little bit of that admittedly, though the other way to think of this is that the characters are so....not strong exactly, but have such a presence that Kuriyama is more recording their lives than directing it. Like this one about Ted bringing one of Evans' fans to meet him, a lass named Nona who despite all of his coolness seems to think everything he does is hilarious. Not only that but for whatever reason she won't talk to him directly instead going through Ted.
Turns out in the end that she's really Ted's fan and not Evans'. The kid got the wrong idea and hoisted her upon his boss, and despite Evans best efforts to walk this off as if he knew, Nona's constant laughing at him gets under his skin. Weirdly the reason why she thinks Evans is so hilarious isn't revealed this week, but from the end of chapter preview it's straight up said we haven't seen the last of Nona. Actually it's implied that she and Ted will get a little bit of together time? Could it be that it's finally time for the young assistant to shine?
Souboutei's strength is that it just never slows down. --I guess really that's really Fujita's strength from what I've read in all of his series...the guy just has so much forward momentum that it's terrifying. Even after the revelation last week, he just keeps on going without giving the characters a moment to slow down and reflect. I mean heck, we haven't seen Kurenai or Sakamaki in a few weeks, but I haven't once thought about that (discounting now), because everything else is moving along so quickly! Kaeri--well, Makoto's fight is only beginning as her brother Seiichi is getting his head handed to him by the other child with the same abilities as them.
When things go wrong, they do in spades --Seiichi is getting his head handed to him by Taichi, and the kids that Rokurou saved are also out for his blood. I just have to note how Fujita made them all look eerie on that left page --those blank stares right into the audience does a lot more than even his later illustration of them transforming into horrible monsters (Though that too was pretty impressive.) Souboutei is doing a great job leaning into both it's horror and action leanings this week, but it really is at the expense of these characters good fortunes. Rokuro is without any defenses and everyone is too tied up to help him --is bravery really enough to see him through this?
The family that kills together....This week's Xeno sees the solution to this long case and while the culprit probably won't shock too many people, it's the execution and aftermath that'll be what really turn heads. On one hand it's kind of audacious how Sugiyama and Nanatsuki actually have the butler do it --the culprit is Kinoshita the family butler, and he's actually a relative of the deceased Kai so he has far more skin in the game than you'd think. Though on the other that revelation as well as his motivation (not so much that he has a beef against the Kugas, but because his brother couldn't let go of his hatred toward the family) is probably far more interesting than the reveal itself. See, Kisaragi who was in the suit of armor is his brother, and when he heard Xeno was coming to the island, he wanted to off him right then and there. Kinoshita on the other hand didn't want to mainly because he knows Kai wouldn't have wanted the detective to die.
Unfortunately Xeno's deduction calling the entire family together was part of his plan --now that he's got the accursed family in one place, he can kill them. See, it wasn't so much the island that was the murder room, but the house they're in --and now to coin a phrase, he's got everyone right where he wants them. What form will his revenge come in, and why has he chosen (apparently) to kill Xeno now when he implied he'd like to keep him alive for Kai's sake? We've gotta wait for next week for more answers!
Marry grave has been great since the flashback ended --to the point that I'm actively rooting for Yamaji to get the time he so deserves. Like, last week's chapter was moving while this week's was funny and intriguing in equal measure. The young lass that's related (distantly) to Sawyer is Rise, (or Lise? I'm going with the former since it's somewhat related and similar to Saywer Riseman, but I'm sure Yamaji will embarrass me with a different rendering later. Rise like her distant grandma is incredibly powerful, but unlike Rosalie has poor control over her powers and almost burnt down her village. Due to that she ran away from home which is where Sawyer found her --but grandpa can't have that and wants her to go home and apologize. Rise doesn't even believe that Sawyer is related to her at all, but then she puts two and two together and is shocked to realize she's got more in common with the undead traveler than she thought. Rise has such a lively personality, that she's really a welcome addition to the cast even if at the moment it seems to be temporary...
And there's another returning face --Zel is back in the picture and he's not above attacking kids to get to Sawyer (poor Rise, she thought Zel was a hottie, but the only thing hot about him is his temper.) Her expression above is the truth violently attacking her, hah. The two make a break for it and hope to hide with a bunch of dwarves, however...
They find that the dwarves have been frozen in time by some strange phenomena. Comedy! Action! Mystery! This chapter of Marry Grave had it all! I thought maybe the series would slowly see itself out after the long flashback, but with the (admittedly soft) bump in sales, and Yamaji's writing hitting a groove I'm ready to say the Riseman may have risen again.
Saike is in an interesting place --we know it's the final arc since that's been advertised, but Fukuchi doesn't seem to be in any hurry to actually end anything from the looks of things. Though no, that's a bit of a misnomer, It's not as if the story is slowly meandering around with no purpose, no Fukuchi is obviously giving the characters a chance to deal with unfinished business before heading into the endgame proper. Last week was Ana, and this week is Hizu who heads back to his father's home --a place filled with past traumas and bottled up emotions. Although it was handled in one chapter and thus might leave a bit to be desired, this chapter really is the epitome of "not knowing what I wanted until getting it." I didn't really think I needed Hizu to get a sense of closure from his father, but now that we've gotten it I'm so glad Fukuchi was benevolent enough to give this to us. The normally stoic Hizu being noticibly scared of talking to his father adds a layer of complexity and a sense of familiarity (who hasn't had a time where they found it hard to talk to their parents, even if they aren't nearly as...awful as Hizu's dad was?)
Although there are many different interpretations as to what Saike actually means to Hizu (I'm not going to suggest which my dear readers should apply --you can do that on your own!) It's abundantly clear that he is an important catalyst of change for Hizu, I mean he came back home to his Dad just to let him know it! According to Hizu Sr, the family has always operated on their own without the need of others --and Hizu being unable to do that himself is what fractured his relationship with his father. Despite that, Hizu stands up to his Dad and tells him he's found his "gold" --his friendship with Saike. His thought expressed, Hizu leaves his father who admits maybe his son has grown up. Like Hizu himself, this chapter came did what it needed and then left, but it was no less important in the scheme of things. I'll probably repeat myself in the future, but I'm so glad that Saike is getting an actual final arc rather than a final volume like I initially thought.
Youkai Giga had last week off --and returns with probably the most bizarre installment to date. This week's chronicles the "Shirime" who's name literally means "Butt Eye". It's not really a harmful youkai (unless you think being flashed is harmful), and it really just gets off on scaring people. Though in Satou's version, a particular Shirime is scaring people for the sake of it's children, and a kind girl who hears about the youkai decides to support it in it's endeavor of raising it's kids as a single parent. I mean the idea itself seems pretty straightforward, and while the Shirime is a weird youkai to begin with (and probably one you won't see in Youkai Watch --though don't quote me on that.) It's the little kid Shirime that made me lose it --are they supposed to be baby chicks? Is the Shirime actually a bird? Also while it's not unsual for the humans in these stories to be relatively unfazed by Youkai activity....this girl really must have the temperament of a saint to decide to help out the Shirime after seeing it's kids --though I guess in a weird way they are kinda cute?
And that's it for this week's editorial page! Oddly enough this was easier to write than the features section despite this usually being the opposite. Either way I hope you had a good time reading this! Until next week, take care!
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