This week's very mature question comes from Tokyo and asks "What's the first thing that you enjoyed the taste of as an adult?"
Maoujo de Oyasumi (Kagiji Kumanomata): Wasabi! I just can't get enough of it now!
Detective Conan (Gosho Aoyama): Natto. (Lol)
Amano Megumi wa suki darake! (Nekoguchi): Oyster and Turban shell. I feel like I love things with shells.
Komi-san ha Komyusho desu (Tomohito Oda): Beer! Pickled Dishes! Blueberries!
Fire Rabbit!! (Aya Hirakawa): Blue Cheese and Eggplants! And Natto.
Souboutei Kowasubeshi (Kazuhiro Fujita): Dried fish in garlic oil. I've been eating that lots lately. Dried fish!
Kimi ha 008 (Syun Matsuena): Peppers. I've really come to like them quite a bit.
Gopun go no Sekai (Hiroshi Fukuda): Cheese.
Anonatsu 1959 (Ashibi Fukui): I hadn't really eaten Sushi and Sashimi until my twenties, and now I think they're super tasty.
Undine wa kyou mo Koi wo suru ka? (Shinya Misu): The stomach fat from grilled meat. I used to consider myself a Korean BBQ prince, but the lower classes have overthrown the top.
Sokyuu no Ariadne (Nobuhiro Yagi): Bitter Melons. I thought all of the adults were lying to me before.
Be Blues! (Motoyuki Tanaka): Wasabi.
Tonikaku Cawaii (Kenjiro Hata): Itoshikoishi's Manzai. (TN- Itoshikoishi is the collective name of a comedy duo that performed from 1937 to 2003).
Tantei Xeno to Nanatsu no Satsujin Misshitsu (Kyouichi Nanatsuki): Celery I guess?
switch (Atsushi Namikiri): Pickles on a Hamburger.
Daiku no Hatou (Michiteru Kusaba): Beer.
Zettai Karen Children (Takashi Shiina): I never grew up to be an adult so I dunno.
Chrono Magia: Infinity gear (Homura Kawamoto/Takeshi Muno): Red Ginger, Sliced Ginger in vinegar, and Pompano Sashimi.
Imouto Rireki (Kei Nishimura): Pickled Daikon Radish.
RYOKO (Kaito Mitsuhashi): Raw ham and Sake.
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san (Aiko Koyama): Pickled dried plums and pickled vegetables.
Aozakura Bouei daigakkou monogatari (Hikaru Nikaido): Manual labor.
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ (Mizuki Kuriyama): The evening meal I had before setting out from the ryokan --it all started with beer!
Hatsukoi Zombie (Ryou Minenami): Soft roe, red bean jam covered rice, fatty tuna. I don't much care for sticky things.
Youkai Giga (Satsuki Satou): My adolescent years.
Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen (Yuuji Yokoyama): The broth of Miso broth.
I'm with you Satou...more so than any other week I've translated this. Also Same with Nanatsuki --I didn't care much for Celery as a kid. Though most of these being Beer is a feeling I think a lot of us adults(?) understand, even if I don't drink myself. Of course we had a few people who just had to be clever --looking at you Shiina and Hata.
The happenings inside of the Souboutei are so interesting that it's sometimes hard to imagine there's a whole world outside of the house where things are happening. Well, if you've been wondering about that, wonder no more as Fujita is back and..rather high up in the TOC this week. The Japan defense force begins their attack on the house, and it's a lot to behold. Souboutei's osclating between what feels like a final climatic battle, and feeling as if it's only really beginning. I almost think Fujita might have purposesly mislead us by saying the series is almost over on purpose really. I'm in no hurry to see it end though, so he can take all the time he needs. Another thing I liked about this chapter is how chummy Zanka and Yadorigi are. I always find it great when characters who don't seem like they have anything in common meet and end up mingling really well.
Though while all this is going on, Sakamaki continues to paint Kurenai, and the two seem to be sort of comfortable around each other? At least now Kurenai's desperate gambit to get Sakamaki to open up to her has lead into some interesting developments with the villain. Why, Sakamaki even asks Kurenai to talk more about her brother Rokurou. He says it as a pretense to get into her head so he can paint her "mind's colors", but I wouldn't be surprised if he's genuinely interested in what kind of person she is. A shame that is interrupted by Shino gleefully bringing him the news that there are folks outside waiting to bring down the house...literally. Those expressions are probably the highlight of the chapter --I'm not sure what Shino is thinking but I can hazard a guess --after being thoroughly thrashed by Rokurou and Seiichi, I wouldn't be surprised if a little battle for revenge was in order. I don't think that these soldiers will be much more than fodder in the scheme of things, but after a brief cool-down things are moving again.
Xeno's ominous words from the last chapter echo this week as more actors join the stage. I find it great we've come from one killer house to another in this magazine --and yet even with that unique premise these two killer houses manage to be very different. For one thing, the victim here was killed 20 meters away so it can't possibly be suicide. For now that question is left hanging in the air --after all Xeno and Baron are in the same place, and the questions from their first meeting still hang in the air. Baron's still not in a talkative mood, but he does say that he finds Xeno's contradictory existence interesting.
The case moves right along and we're introduced to another suspect --Kiyomi Tsukui who was caught sneaking around the cottages. She claims that they've all been fooled and two people were taken to another house and killed. The case just gets even wilder from there when the other person killed finds their way to the building attached to the tractor, apparently killed by the AI that runs the smart cottage, this time a lawyer named Senda who before this whole incident received a strange email. Is the house really picking off people one by one, and why? Is the AI seriously the thing without a form that's committing murders?
RYOKO worries me with it's slow slump through the TOC and not so great volume sales. (Not terrible, but not great either), but with chapters like this I can let myself forget about my concerns and enjoy what's going on. Without really needing to translate things, I think it's easy to tell what's going on, which is exactly what Mitsuhashi's strength is. Kogarashi's appearance is the first real hurdle for Ryoko and worst yet he's managed to take a home team advantage and turn it into a distinct disadvantage. I can't tell really if these developments are meant to speed things along or if they're the natural result of Mitsuhashi's planning, and I hate that RYOKO is in this situation where it's really hard to tell where it's future is headed. It's almost bleaker than this fight in the first part of the chapter where Dad, Rere, and even little brother Ryousuke are put in danger's path.
And then there's this panel which....I get it. I get how Mitsuhashi's artwork pops. It's less of a thing of being able to draw well. (And I'm most certainly not saying he can't draw well.) As much as it is that he has a very purposeful way of setting up panel for most visual impact. Not only that but he actually uses SFX as a framing device in a way I've never seen manga do. The composition is a moment frozen in time, captured in three panels and seen from the POV of the audience, Kogarashi and Ryoko herself. (And yes Ryoko is swinging around a microwave as her weapon of choice.)
By the end of the chapter Kogarashi is a lot like me. Rather than Zen who's got the story warping power, he's far more interested in Ryoko. Who even now is humble and says all her victories so far have been won with the help of others. She's revved up and ready to go (if grabbing her gloves wasn't a big enough indication) So next week is going to be one to watch!
Pheebs manages to score a rather unique chance to learn about her crush Evans when she's in league with his teacher this week. Of course not being able to be straight with him or anyone who has to do with Evans proves to throw a monkey wrench in her plans. Though I suppose more than "teacher", this guy once employed Evans. It's easy to see where Evans gets his general attitude from, as Levin (Spelling TBA), simply wants to boast that he raised a super-star to impress women. This could have been a pretty predictable chapter if not for one thing --Pheebs seems to see right through him, and that's what really makes this work. It'd be one thing if Pheebs were just a wide eyed opportunist, but while she's madly in love with Evans she's no fool. Doesn't help that Levin really hams it up fishing for compliments. Still, both people are extremely ---selfish? Nah, more like straightforward. She wants more Evans stories and photos, and he wants her to think he's cool.
When bad guys show up, he's able to take care of them easily which is once again a twist to keep this chapter from being completely predictable. Sure he could be someone who talks up a big game but is actually a buffoon, but Levin actually being a good gunman somehow makes this even more hilarious since he's fishing for compliments from one lady when he's clearly awesome without really needing her opinion. Better still that Pheebs is still not impressed after everything he does, but when Evans shows up after doing his job as usual she's ready to praise him right away. Even his Dad says as a lesson that he should be the kind of guy who can be happy with a woman praising him without pretense. Though really, she could see through Levin but not Evans? I guess love really is blind, or blinds.
Youkai Giga goes to the dogs...or wolves as a young Youkai confronts Kuro and Minoru, looking to protect it's master like Kuro does Minoru. They're not very good at it though, so this comes off as more charming than dangerous. Although we don't see this new Youkai's face, they seem to be way more humanoid than what we've seen in Kuro so far. (Intriguing since we've gotten many humanoid youkai in non-kuro stories.)
Though where this youkai fails, Kuro succeeds. Could we be seeing the birth of a new team? While Minoru has made a friend, Kuro's been settled into the role of protecting his master's child. That being said, could even Kuro be fortunate enough to make a friend?
This week's Sunday Diary is Hikaru (Aozakura) Nikaido illustrating their (needlessly) wide room.(Their words, not mine.) Generally speaking they tend to draw on their own with the assistants using the computer from time to time. Nikaido sort of bemoans that the days where several people would come together in one place and draw have changed. They do admit as well that when they were serialized they had plans to move somewhere else, but will continue to do their best in this room.
And that's it for this week! I hope these are a bit easier to read despite being so late. (Sorry about that...) Till the next editorial post, see you!
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