The protagonists backs are up against the wall in Xeno which makes for some good entertainment. That being said, you know the detective has everything figured out from what the officers said at the start of this week's chapter --something crazy is happening and they've got to put a stop to it! The pacing for this one is pretty exciting as rather than picking up immediately where the last one left off, we instead continue with Xeno's explanation of events. Though as Manami points out there's no way this whole plot could have worked if there wasn't at least one other conspirator who among other things attacked Hina for her notes so far following the tune of the song that little Ai was singing --except there's a third verse which was revealed a few chapters ago that even Kinoshita didn't know. Though how did this third verse get into circulation in the first place? The third person who's really been operating behind the scenes knows....
And that person is none other than Shuuji Kuga who isn't in the room, escaping during the deduction show.
Twists and turns aplenty! Turns out Shuuji and Kai worked together on this murder room "Noah's arc". Wow, at the end of last week's chapter we thought it was Kinoshita in control of this whole situation, but it turns out we were all wrong. Though was Xeno wrong --dead wrong too? This arc has been going for some time now and it feels like even as it closes out that things are only going to get more exciting. Heck, Xeno came here for clues about Kai and while we've learned a lot behind the scenes, Xeno still hasn't had his questions answered. I feel like in another manga this would be the final arc, but Xeno's only getting warmed up. If the next murder door after this one is even a third as interesting, I think we'll be entertained by the series for a long time.
Patience really is a virtue! Memesis hit a lull for a while but has definitely hit it's stride in the last few weeks. While it hasn't relented in it's efforts to be more comedy than action, I do feel like it's when action is an element it includes that it works much better. This week sets up the next few chapters --the group finds dragons to take them to their next location --with a bit of humor as the characters pick out their dragons based on characteristics like looking a bit too much like Leon or being extremely muscular. It's also revealed that Ash took some of Leon's advice rather seriously (that he doesn't listen to others) and learned to converse with well...everything including dragons. Seriously, I have to wonder if Leon isn't more helpful than the boys let on.
You'd think the group would head off together but almost immediately after they set out, Ash and Kijira separate and take on two of the demon generals themselves as seen with some awesome composition and artwork above. I really like how Yagyuu has his own sense of aesthetics in how he sets up a page --there's a lot going on in the two pages above but not so much that it's distracting. These look like they could be advertisements or cover pages for the series itself rather than a single page/moment and it's awesome. Next week sees the characters clashing with their opponents, and I can't wait.
Evans was oddly...cute this week. The series typically goes for something along the lines of snarky and maybe a little bit cynical, but this chapter despite things was some good times for everyone and hey, even Ted got something nice out of it. I never would have thought I'd want him to get lucky in love too, but he and Nona have a pretty decent rapport with each other. Plus Nona herself is a lot more perceptive than she lets on, even if she's rather lazy, hah. Evans comes to the bar to find a bounty head along with Pheebs and as much as he should and could just do his work without bothering his assistant on his day off, he's endlessly jealous that Ted seems to be scoring where he couldn't. Although it's clear Ted just thinks of her as a friend, their mannerisms really do give off the aura of two who are on a date. Ted is earnest however and asks to join in on the search which leaves Nona and Pheebs alone, the former of which has already figured the relationship that the latter has with Evans. Gotta love that woman's intuition.
Evans ends up talking to a girl at the bar for info, and of course his one track mind wants one thing even if it's clear the risk is rather high. A man tries to leave the bar and Nona (who's apparently good at sniffing out liars), says that the guy leaving and the girl who tipped him off are in cahoots, and that man knows where the bounty head is. As the chapter ends Nona asks Ted to tell Pheebs that she's wishing her good luck in her own romantic endeavors. I really hope we see Nona again as she's got a great personality and heck was actually really helpful this week. Next week is indicated to be a brand new arc for the series which has me excited since I generally like the Evans arcs, but I'm sad to think that we perhaps won't get any more Nona for a bit.
The brothers are an odd part of Saike's world. Their arc didn't seem to really add anything to the overall narrative of the series, but it's thanks to the older brother that Saike had an out during the battle with Johann. Now with only five chapters left (looks like I was wrong about this being a final arc vs a final volume) we get a chapter with extra pages about the bros taking their rapping to a live stage. Not exactly something that screams "soon to end" even if I'm still rather pleased with Fukuchi's efforts to end the series properly for everyone rather than rush off to a conclusion. It does feel as if he's coming to an end naturally which I appreciate in this world of shounen manga where series are mercilessly slain almost daily. I guess it goes with the territory with Saike since this final arc is more a accumulation of events than a cap off, and this chapter really does bring that point home using the bros who are perfect folks to do just that. I am a little bit confused though --Fukuchi unfurled what seems to be this grand narrative when this began, and when I thought we'd get at least two more volumes to explore these themes I thought it was fine he was giving everyone a resolution, but with only four chapters after this to go I'm baffled as to what some of the discussions earlier meant in regard to Saike and his friends. Still this chapter sticks it's landing and considering it is what we have for now, I'll take it.
But yes, to keep from yammering on and on, The chapter is pretty straightforward --the bros ended up taking their rapping on the road and Fukuchi's sense of humor really shines through as their first live event goes from a manzai (comedy) routine to finally rapping. When a bad guy attacks the stage, Koutaro the older brother protects a girl with his oracle --which should be a bad thing since the existence of those with powers --or M are feared, but Kou just admits he's an "M" and that's all there is to it. I suppose in a world where the Hirayasu incident technically didn't happen (remember Saike did away with that!) It's probably not as terrifying as it would have been afterward which helps since Kou's power is pretty harmless and even a little funny in retrospect. Everyone accepts him and the show goes on, but I like that in a small way what both Saike and Johann were fighting for is acknowledged and they're both proven wrong. People can accept that which is different from them. Yes it is endlessly hopeful in the shounen tradition, maybe even a little foolish but from the POV of Saike and his friends who have struggled so far to get here it feels well earned and thus fulfilling. I do hope that Fukuchi has enough leg room to give us a satisfactory ending, but this small but huge victory is a step in the right direction.
Souboutei is anything but predictable, I can say that much. This whole page is shocking and a little funny as Takoha rushes in worried about Rokuro before he realizes he's in a tight spot himself. What happened that certain death became rather uncertain? I investigate...or, well, explain I guess.
Remember the small injury on Rokuro's hand way back during the nitroglycerine incident? Well it seems for whatever reason it has the ability to stop Shino's slaves in their tracks. It's not really explained and even Rokuro is barely able to work out what's going on, but a save is a save! I'm sure Fujita has a whole backstory for this but we're going to have to wait for that to come up. Really the main thing about this chapter is less what happened and more how Fujita illustrated what happened.
His artwork is always amazing as is his sense of layouts, but something about this week's chapter sees Fujita in rare form. I love the entire page dedicated to showing just how much Shino is shocked by this development and the enslaved children struggling against their orders before attacking each other in a display of pure confusion. Placing Rokuro in the middle of the panel was a great move too if only because it shows his dominance over the situation as the children's faces distort and cloud over their inability to resist them or the orders given to them. Yeah not much happened, but we know Fujita is here to stay --and at least he's making sure we have plenty to look at while he's here.
Birdmen has an interesting title for this month's installment. Interesting and a little bit ominous? I can't say for sure of course, but it does feel like the series has a sort of trajectory toward a conclusion. I hesitate to truly say since there's quite a bit I need to really get into reading before ascertaining whether Tanabe has addressed everything she's brought up in this sprawling epic, but with this title and the chapter content itself it certainly does seem to suggest that.
The bulk of the chapter is conversations between various characters from different nationalities with different motivations. It's kind of striking really how laced with tension the American side of the Birdmen are versus their Japanese counterparts --though considering what the Americans have been through it's not all that surprising. They've had to shoulder some real tragedy to get to where they are now. It gets me thinking that even with all the supernatural powers they wield that the finale will be in fact one of ideals versus brute strength. The thing about that is of course when it comes to ideals that generally speaking even when everyone agrees there's usually a point, an idea of which people can't really bring themselves to fully commit to simply because we are all different. Even the most neutral of positions leans a little towards one side due to natural bias. I do wonder how the American group will fare against their Japanese counterpart when they want revenge and the other side wants to save the world, hm.
It's because of this that their methods are heavy handed and bring destruction --a surefire way to cause a confrontation before long. As that's going on the scene transitions to another place where two love birds (see what I did there)? are enjoying a party, though the man notes the woman, Elizabeth seems to have a faraway look of sadness in her eyes even at this place of merriment. Though he does note she's at her most beautiful when she's sad. Things get weirdly....not erotic, but sensual when they go home and the man Gabriel wakes up to find her attempting to kill him. Rather than go through with it, she asks him not to forget "Elizabeth" and he promises not to.
In the morn he awakens and finds that "Elizabeth" is gone, leaving silence in her wake. It's definitely a striking place to end the chapter, and a hallmark of Tanabe's storytelling even since Kekkaishi. She's very methodical in her pacing --there's a sense of forward momentum at times, but she revels in moments, quiet moments like these where intrigue rather than momentum propels one forward. I found myself really ensnared by the final page because I don't know what it'll lead to (and it is pretty) more than anything else, and that I think is the strength of a series like this running in Sunday.
Dwarves, Snakes, and the undead oh my! That's the name of the game in Marry Grave this week, and we get all of the above in a very fast paced chapter. MG definetly has that sense of forward momentum going for itself. Sawyer, Zel, and Rise are surrounded by slithering snakes, and little folk who are petrified --in the literal sense. It wasn't obvious last week but they've actually turned to stone thanks to the powers of the medusa that live in the area. Zel and Sawyer (but mostly Zel) are able to fend them off with a bit of work, but what's going on here? A little dwarf asks if the two can please save his people from the medusa clan --something Zel figures they've already done that, but however...
The snake lord who looks kind of familiar, hmm is very much aware of their presence. Gotta say, the snake lord looks very out of place with that outfit of his, but if we're considering things from a purely gender based perspective, I guess having a male Medusa is something new and unique. Also a bit of a joke on the part of the editorial staff ---the ending text reads "Snake, snake snake" which in Japanese is "hebi" ---sounds a lot like the English word "Heavy" doesn't it? Will the chapter be as "heavy" as advertised? We'll have to find out next week.
This week's Youkai Giga gives us the tale of the Yamawaro who are said to dwell in the mountains of Kyushu. Some of them are just Kappa who dwell in there while others look more like furry children who have a particular dislike of ink. In Satou's take, the youkai are having a bit of an issue with the fish they like to eat --they're nasty. So it comes down to a discussion of whether they should go to the mountains for greener pastures, and a disagreement over that. Eventually they head off and find that the grass really is greener up on the mountains and have a great time eating but the Kappa Manabumaru has a bit of a crisis since out of the trio he's the only one without fur and thus feels like the food isn't as good. His friends assure him they'll find something he'll like to eat and happy with this he takes a bite of what they've found --and grows hair in a rather inconspicuous place. It's another weird chapter, (though I feel like it's more because I'm not quite as knowledgeable about Youkai as I present myself to be here) but the trio of youkai here are pretty cute --wouldn't mind seeing a series about them living in the mountains to be quite honest.
And that's it for the editorial this week! For those of you who celebrate, I hope you're enjoying your day after the Thanksgiving Holiday! And for those who don't, I hope every day is as enjoyable as any holiday! For me, I'm just thankful that all of you come to spend your second Sunday of the week here with me. Until the next time, see ya!
Comments
Post a Comment