This week's question is "Tell us something that you've been really proud of lately!"
Fire Rabbit!! (Aya Hirakawa): I made it through the winter without getting sick.
Anonatsu 1959 (Ashibi Fukui): I fell asleep immediately after getting into my futon.
Yuugami-kun ni wa Tomoadachi ga inai (Jun Sakurai): I started muscle training!
Detective Conan: Zero's Tea time (Takahiro Arai): I had something to do in a nearby town and made it home with impeccable timing --right before a downpour.
Komi-san wa Komyusho Desu (Tomohito Oda): My marriage partner is really cute. (This is all lovey-dovey talk though.)
Maojo de Oyasumi (Kagiji Kumanomata): The first tenth volume in my life is about to be released! Go buy it. (Direct pitch.)
Kimi wa 008 (Syun Matsuena): I'm pretty good with blades...Like razors for example. If I don't have a whetstone, then I suppose the underside of a tea bowl works...
Gofun go no Sekai (Hiroshi Fukuda): I got through all of last year without catching a cold!
RYOKO (Kaito Mitsuhashi): I've got a good sense of direction. When I went to a town I'd never been to before I didn't have any major problems.
Tonikaku Cawaii (Kenjiro Hata): I met and got an autograph from Tsukino Mito-san! (TN- A virtual youtuber.)
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san (Aiko Koyama): I finally swam 25 meters!!
Imoto Rireki (Kei Nishimura): I upgraded my living situation and moved to Osaka!
Amano Megumi ha Suki darake (Nekoguchi): My achievement of drawing 15 volumes of manga. Though the actual work behind it is hhhhhaard. (Lol).
Sokyuu no Ariadne (Nobuhiro Yagi): I was able to eat spicy food.
Be Blues! (Motoyuki Tanaka): I don't have anything to be proud of.
Chrono Magia: Infinity Gear (Hikaru Muno): My daughter and I exploded onto the scene on s*lash mountain. (TN- Most likely "Splash Mountain --a ride in Tokyo Disney Land.)
switch (Atsushi Namikiri): I didn't get depressed when I missed a TV show I really wanted to watch.
Undine wa kyou mo Koi wo Suru ka? (Shinya Misu): Am I allowed to say it here? Well....it's that tomorrow my very first volume comes out!! (TN- Though it's more like yesterday at this typing..)
Souboutei Kowasubeshi (Kazuhiro Fujita): I remembered to eat Kimchi with Natto in it! That'll clear up my blood circulation for sure.
Aozakura Bouei daigakkou monogatari (Hikaru Nikaido): I haven't done anything to be proud of.
Zettai Karen Children (Takashi Shiina): My cat is adorable.
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ (Mizuki Kuriyama): Utamaru-san read the letter I sent in on the radio. (TN- Utamaru is a Japanese rapper.)
Daiku no Hatou (Michiteru Kusaba): One of my former assistants created an anime movie by themselves.
Tantei Xeno to Nanatsu no Satsujin Misshitsu (Kyouichi Nanatsuki): I've now gone over a year without smoking.
Youkai Giga (Satsuki Satou): I have obtained a body that will under no circumstances become any thinner.
Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen (Yuuji Yokoyama): I can now use my right hand to eat with chopsticks!!
Oh Oda (not that one). I'm happy to hear you're lucky in love. I almost thought that was a marriage announcement until I read it over again, haha. The authors proud of their manga achievements are endearing too. For those who say they don't have anything particular to talk about, that's fine. Still to be in a magazine like sunday and not have any health issues is a good thing too. Though I feel like Namikiri's is really the most relatable this week even though with streaming I'd imagine not missing shows is easier than ever, hmm...Also Kusaba....who's your assistant? I'm extremely curious! Could it be Shi--
One of the things I'm beginning to really appreciate about RYOKO is the disparity between the outlandishness of the premise and how the characters are handled. Like, I wouldn't go as far as saying that how Ryoko and her friends are portrayed in the manga is realistic --I'd be crazy to do so. However, the characters who have recieved flashbacks have all faced adversity that is palatable in the basis of reality --from Rere losing her sister while being in prison for a crime she was innocent of, to Ryoko's family hanging on to their home and each other as long as they can --prioritizing their bond and the dinner table, to Kogarashi's extended flashback this week --the premise is as out there as it gets but the reactions, the stories, the depiction of life after a disaster feels very human. I realize my spiel loses a little bit of effectiveness in the middle of a rescue arc of all things, but I still see wisps of Mitsuhashi's "humanity" behind the audaciousness of the artwork and story. RYOKO really is a full serving, and I can only hope it's fourth volume in May has an uptick in sales that matches how great the story has been so far.
The chapter itself is Kogarashi's backstory and thankfully he really wasn't killed off by Rere last week --he is the quintessential blood knight with a tragic backstory so don't go in really expecting anything new per se, but don't write it all off. Due to his mother and her much younger husband getting in an accident that claimed the life of the latter and left the former unable to care for herself, Kogarashi worked two jobs and is berated by the husband's family who in their grief unfairly blame his mom for taking away their beloved relative. Not only that but his mother is fairly ungrateful for his care, and he's burning himself at both ends to provide for her. This leads right up to the point where the foodstuffs attack the train and leave him for dead which we saw several chapters ago --though the lines are slightly different. Where before he was depicted as having a screw loose as he asks Parsley if he can do the killing all over again, this time he wonders why he was saved, and upon seeing Parsley wants to be saved again. Kogarashi is turning out to be a much more complex and nuanced character than his initial appearances let on and I'm really enjoying his development.
Another interesting point that several characters have mentioned or thought is how Ryoko hasn't lost enough or at least hasn't lost things in a certain way to really understand the reality of her situation. In a way this is true --she has lost her neighborhood, her former way of life and ostensibly her mother but really those things are auxiliary to what Rere and Kogarashi have been through. Though their different approaches --Rere backing Ryoko up and Kogarashi seemingly determined to break her are worlds apart. I'd imagine that Kogarashi just cannot stand to see Ryoko with what he never had --a loving family, and that's why he's determined to unleash the beast within her, but after this chapter I feel like he's almost doing this as a cautionary measure. "You could become like me if you lose everything" or something to that effect. At the end of the chapter the source of his power is revealed --Parsley's aroma, and he injects it into himself directly at the (un) reasonable cost of his humanity. Kogarashi no longer thinks of himself as human anyway so he doesn't care, and it seems we are going to get that showdown between he and Ryoko after all. This arc has had it's twists and turns but we're getting to the heart of things (the title page even advertises this chapter as such). Though between a rotted heart and one that remains steadfast, who will win?
Rokuro the lynchpin?! It's more likely than you'd think. At least, that's what Fujita wants us to believe. Fair enough since the boy has the power to ward off the thralls of the Souboutei, and thus is the thing standing between our heroes and certain doom. It's still interesting to me how when compared to other Fujita manga (that I have read) how Takoha is still the least super powered protagonist of them all. Even this far into the series he's not recieved any kind of supernatural powerup to keep him in line with the others, and isn't particularly smart or courageous --his power really is that he's a nice guy and there's a certain amount of satisfaction to that. You don't have to be super powered to make a difference. --Ah, Saike said that too didn't it? It's a lesson worth repeating! Though it might be because Takoha doesn't have super powers that he's able to notice something is off about the enemy's attack formation. They know he's able to control the thralls if they get near him, yet they come at the group in droves. If they can't get to him close up then....
A shot from a distance will do. Rokuro being shot is sad enough but now their one advantage is gone, and the group really might be at their wits end.
One more chapter till 100 and maid Pheebs is how Evans says farewell to the double digits. I approve, Kuriyama! It's great how Pheebs seems to have all of these friends that do different things --she's simply watching over a restaurant that's maid themed for a buddy and despite her refusal to wear the uniform, she happens to try it on when Evans shows up and you know what that means. Though it's not even as if Evans minds really, in fact he's rather enthusiastic about it --not that we'd know since rather than say something normal like "You look nice" or "That dress looks good on you", he says "I'm looking for a bad guy, help me find him (while wearing that.)". Guys, really, really?
Though no I don't mean to sound exasperated. It really is hilarious how things snowball this week, and Pheebs really is cute in that outfit. Not that she's worried about this --see, I think one of the (many) things that makes Evans so hilarious as a series is the amount of misplaced priorities everyone has. Pheebs steps in to help Evans but when a gun is pulled on her, rather than being worried about y'know, being shot she's more concerned with being caught in her dress in public. Though things get really dicy when she realizes the culprit stole her gun from the dressing room. Evans lends her a hand and they bust the guy before he can use her gun for criminal means, but again Evans just can't be straight --he buys Pheebs the dress mentioning that she moves pretty well in it considering everything, and she just complains it's an annoyance (while secretly being overjoyed). Next week, a color page and Evans reaches it's 100th chapter!
Ayla isn't the cold hearted killer she thought she was, and that's actually a little disappointing? I'll get to that in a moment, but first the good: her time with Xeno has made her a more confident person and I like how that's depicted in this chapter. Although she's his assistant I do think they bring a sense of equilibrium to each other, and more than that --I honestly think they've gotten to the point where they're essential to one another. The case itself goes by pretty quickly --and one could say that Xeno is still in fine form even without Ayla backing him up, but there's something much more appealing to the two working together --he the logic and she the emotional core (helps she's also got awesome reflexes and is great to have on your side during a fight!) Kuze wants to find the culprit to this act right away, but Xeno thinks that there isn't one --in fact Kuze might be only acting like there was one to strengthen the power of the organization. What if in fact the boss was being violent toward his wife and in self defense she shot him dead? It'd make the organization look bad if that were the case, but if he were murdered by someone else like a rival or enemy then...
Kuze has had enough of the show and tries to kill Xeno, but Ayla protects him. It's then that he declares she's no longer his daughter and way back during her "exam" she wasn't the one who made her first kill, but it was him with a sniper rifle from behind, so ultimately Ayla has only taken one life --the one she did in the last case to protect Xeno. Admittedly I'm not fond of this angle because it really takes a lot of the bite out of her character development and reeks of taking an easy way out due to the series probably ending soon. Intellectually I understand, but I still would have preferred the path where Ayla works through her past and becomes stronger from it rather than taking a "you didn't really do that, so it's fine" card. The revelation is also supposed to endear us to Kuze (as much as one can be endeared to an assassin) but it falls off the mark there too because we really don't know much about him as a person. It's not a complete loss though as now I can really believe that he is her father due to him going through such lengths to tell her she's no good at an assassin and is better off with Xeno.
The sixth murder room is out at sea! Kuze reveals that he knows where it is as a parting gift, and I'm actually surprised that we're still going at this. I would have thought by now that they'd find a way to throw six and seven together....Maybe Nanatsuki really did intend for the series to run it's course in this time and the series not doing so hot in sales and the TOC haven't actually impacted anything. Either way next week Xeno's heading out to dangerous waters, and I admit I'd really like to know what Kai has to do with boats.
This week's Youkai giga features the Kuneyusuri, a youkai that is said to be the cause of fence rattling noises. The chapter itself is about two women who work tending a garden and wonder if their hard work is being noticed by the owners of the house. A Kuneyusuri comes out after they complete the fence work and you'd think at least it would appreciate their hard work but instead it sorta runs around the fence a bit and then runs away until one of the ladies catches it. She tries to convince it to cling to the fence and do it's thing but instead it hangs onto her leg and adorably won't let go....but as the other lady points out, it seems to be having a way great time there rather than where it should be...
And that's it for issue #20's editorial post! Fukuchi starts a new series in the very next issue, and yes through my infinite bias i will be covering it here. Though in fairness I think new series will all get the three week preview here before being features on the twitter. It's just a lot more likely anything Fukuchi does will stay here. I hope you're looking forward to the new stuff as much as I am! Until next issue, take care.
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