#Shonen Sunday Super

[thes-hitoverlord]

art by El chico detergente

[inukag]

Sooo I went to Japan for 2 weeks! It was amazing! Extremely hot but I still enjoyed everything and want to go back ASAP 😭

I wanted to share the Inuyasha merch I’ve been able to find! Which is not a lot, lol. Urusei Yatsura's Lum was EVERYWHERE (especially thanks to the recent reboot) and I also saw Ranma 1/2 stuff quite a bit, but Inuyasha was nowhere to be found except in Nakano Broadway...

Starting from top left: A doujinshi I found at a Mandarake, a CD with some of the opening/endings and a pack of playing cards with art from the second movie. Below that I have a Inuyasha acrylic (found that one in a Animate at Ikebukuro), a small shippo figure and volume 4 of Yashahime (with Momo on the cover 🥰). Then below that I got 2 volumes of the wide ban edition of the manga (1 and 30 so the first and last volumes) and the Shonen Sunday S magazine with the latest Yashahime manga chapter. Above that there's Hisui from a Yashahime gachapon and above the beautiful miko Kagome figurine ♥

She's supposed to sit on a bottle so I cut the top of a plastic bottle, added some wrapping paper and a scrunchy to make some kind of base for her to sit on! I've always wanted that figurine but it's super expensive online so I'm glad I found her at a decent price. The world needs more miko Kagome merch 🙏

This is the back of the inukag doujinshi I bought, I haven't been able to find that artist online 🤔 If anyone know where I can find them, let me know!

Funny thing, the only time I saw the Yashahime gachapon was at Tokyo tower. I tried it really hoping I would get either Moroha, Hisui or Kohaku and not the others so I'm very glad I got Hisui! 3 out of 8 is not good odds lmao.

I KNOW there's some actual Inuyasha gachapon out there but I never saw any! Even that Yashahime one was mostly empty 😭

I also visited Niigata, the home city of Rumiko Takahashi. In the Manga and Anime museum there I bought this special fan that was released for the 35th anniversary of Takahashi's career. There was also the same for Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2. I thought it was a really cool find!

Anyway, Japan let me down a bit in terms of Inuyasha merch but everything else was great (except the weather, seriously don't go in Japan in the summer it's too hot). I definitely want to go back in the spring and see the cherry blossom. I'd also like to visit the south more, like Osaka and Hiroshima.

Yashahime might be a disaster but it's actually thanks to that series that I met the amazing girls I went on this trip with, and for that I am so thankful. We went through hell following that series every week but we ended up with forging really strong bonds and traveling with them felt like being with family!

The real Inuyasha sequel was truly the friends we made along the way 😌🌈✨

[officialinuyasha]

Takashi Shiina Blog Translation - First Chapter Completed

09/01/2021

The first chapter is completed. Regarding this blog, it will have notes and advertisements before the chapter is released and when the manuscript has been finished, with a cut image at the beginning, and I’ll write about this and that, but this time I won’t post spoilers.

I think this project of me drawing “Yashahime” is interesting in terms of matching itself. I’d laugh too if I was told “Takashi Shiina will draw a Rumiko Takahashi manga” (laugh). Well, you could certainly say that this is an original anime project that uses “InuYasha” as its base. 

I think those who saw the announcement (of the manga) and have interest in it feel expectation and suspense like “what is Shiina-sensei exactly going to cook and how is he going to wrap it up”. That’s why I want you to taste that until the moment you pick it up and read it (laugh).

(The first chapter) went over well for those in the staff who checked the storyboard and Takahashi Rumiko-sensei also praised it, so I think the result wasn’t bad. My self checking function is often broken, but if it passes Takahashi-sensei’s standards, it’s okay (laugh). I sat down and drew more than (the usual number of pages) expected for weekly publication. It’s okay if you look forward to it… I think… probably. At least I hope you guys enjoy it as it turned out to be “a comicalization of my liking” for me.

Therefore, please wait a little bit longer until the Weekly Shonen Sunday S (Super) is released around 09/25.

Source: https://cnanews.asablo.jp/blog/2021/09/01/9417955

[moonsb1996]

How to write convincingly, part 2

Okay, okay! Holy motherfucker! Let's talk about this again because I think many people know what I'm talking about. Yes, "How to write convincingly." And this is the second part from the first part I complained about. When you are a writer Besides you have to create a new world. Or add from the real world in our imagination how the story came to be. We still need something called "limits".

So what is "limit"? 1) What are the living things in your story? Is it a person, a ghost, a god, or a new, unknown species of alien? If in your story there is a person who became a person with special powers super heroes And there are some groups of mutants and ordinary people who have no powers. What limits do they have? What can humans do and not do? Human superheroes still have all the same features as humans, such as the 3 rules: not without air for more than 3 seconds, not without water for more than 3 days, and not without food for more than 3 months. yes ! There are humans who can hold their breath for 22 minutes. You can go find out. But he can do it because He's an ordinary human being, trained for years! Okay, let's talk further. What do these "superheroes" who look like humans have that are different from ordinary people besides their powers? So what are the disadvantages? And the super heroes like mutants What are the advantages? And some disadvantages? To be a mutant, there will be things that are similar to the characteristics of the creature that they are. Or do they have any behavior that is different from other people's? Or is it really the same as the human characters in the story, but because of their appearance, is it overlooked?

2) power scales When you have a power scale What effect do these scales have? Is it like in the game DND where you have to get a dice number and go + - X, Y, Z? Then compare it with other characters and do it again to continue the story or not? And is your power scale appropriate for your character, such as experience? Ability Value or the character's age example Character A is a war veteran. and became a special agent, killing big villains with his own hands Meet the character B, a 17-year-old serial killer who has been on the run and no one has been able to capture her for 2 years. Let's fight. Who will win or lose? Following the Shonen style, the older you get the stronger you compete, so the winner must be A, right? (But some people choose that a 17 year old girl can take a knife and stab a pro hero in the shoulder Moreover, she was able to escape too, huh! Why? She's a naked girl!)

3) upgrades What "rules" and "limits" are there that can make the characters in your world upgrade their powers? physical and mental training or having to encounter serious experiences or risk death So it can be upgraded? or encountered some form of cruelty (Emphasis on mental imagery) and power upgrades Going another way with those who practice physical training? Then the bodies of the superheroes in this world will be able to withstand the How often can you continuously upgrade? For example, you can only do it once. Or more? Or the mental image does not consent because it directly affects So there is no upgrade itself? So what are the things that people who can do more than other humans do that make some of other people's "rules" or "limits" ineffective for themselves? such as ancestral bloodline or become more infected than others But is there immunity? (This idea is bloodborne. If you have a lot of insight, you become the great One.) (But yes! Someone chose their beloved child to be Gary Stu with all his heart to work normally. The brain has never lacked oxygen, an arm has never been broken, blood has never been lost before! Oh, and speed up too. will be able to follow the super villains Saturday - Sunday in the TV cartoon)

I still have many more. But I'll probably have to compose it again. Thank you for reading until the end.

[kamenwriter]

"Space Babies" and "The Devil's Chord" reactions.

Spoilers I'm sure behind the cut.

Space Babies

"It was a genocide" wait I thought the time war got trapped in a painting and then...oh wait the Master killed them all during the Chinbal run, didn't he? God we could just ignore that whole mess but noooooo

The butterfly gag...sigh.

"we made it...we went to the stars" like, I get the whole "hopes and aspirations thing" but when we've got billionaires trying to sell us colonizing mars when it would be a hundred times cheaper and easier to save the planet we're living on, I'd rather a solar punk future not a colonization future. Am I being exceptionally cynical? Maybe. These are just "reactions" not a proper critique.

I can only imagine how difficult filming with all the babies was.

Making the Doctor adopted and all about "embracing what makes you unique" is good Timeless Child damage control but I dunno the idea of him being a renegade of a detached society appeals to me more than him being THE ULTRA SPECIAL TIME BABY.

The AI might actually be an AI?

AND there's something mysterious about Ruby because of course there is.

Star Trek ass looking uniforms on the crew.

"The planet down below refused to stop the babies from being born, but refused to take care of them afterwards" hey now this is getting close to some proper Doctor Who.

"It's like a children's story" this is is a good set up for the mystery here's hoping they stick the landing. Now watch it being some alien that feeds of psychic energy and manifested as the babies fears or something.

The incredibly literal baby raising machine made a bogeyman out of boogers to give the babies a monster to fear. Okay. Acceptable.

I totally understand the Doctor empathizing with the bogeyman but why the babies?

The constant babiesSPACEbabies bit got old so fast.

And a fart joke.

And don't forget, Ruby Sunday is super special and not just some random person we can't have random people do incredible things in Doctor Who nope nope nope

The Devil's Chord

The visual representation of The Maestro sucking out music and eating it is some fucking comic book shit and I am here for it.

The Maestro starts playing the intro oh god don't let this character be meta don't let this character know they're in a story don't fucking lay on that crutch.

"What about my clothes?" Both of those retro ass fits would work fine in the 60s. I'll concede to the hairstyle change though.

...trying to visually communicate the Maestro's influence on reality is definitely a trick. Again this feels exceptionally comic booky (That's a compliment).

Oh that's right Susan was potentially killed during whatever bullshit killed the Time Lords during the Chinbal run.

I do enjoy a camp villain.

The Doctor using the Sonic to actually do something sonic. What a refreshing change of pace

Ugh don't wink at the camera.

"I was born in 2004" well I'll just turn to dust, then.

Power scaling doesn't just affect shonen series the Doctor has to go up against literal gods now...

Callback to the Sound of the Drums yeah okay.

"There's a hidden song deep inside her soul" SPARE ME FROM THIS TROPE OF COMPANIONS BEING SUPER SPECIAL.

"What is this song?" "Christmas" actually it's the Carol of the Bells which was originally a Ukrainian song called Shchedryk do your research.

MuSIC BaTTle hahahaha

DONT WINK AT THE DAMN CAMERA

I want to make this clear I have no problem with a big musical number at the end but making it a meta joke I wanna bash my head in with a hammer. I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF META WRITING.

So in summation Space Babies was kind of what I expect from nuWho nothing amazing I would have loved The Devil's Chord if it weren't for the "oh Ruby is some secret incredible thing" and all the metaphorical and literal winks at the camera.

[pochqmqri]

UPDATE: As of September 11, 2023, the 26th Detective Conan film, “Black Iron Submarine,” has now solidified its place at 20th in the All-Time Japanese Box Office!

While "Black Iron Submarine" may have now waned at the box office, it still continues to climb bit by bit in its last couple of weeks, and has solidified its place as the 20th highest-grossing film in Japan, currently earning 13.71 billion yen. It is the 14th highest-grossing animated film of all-time in Japan as well.

The 26th Detective Conan film originally reached 20th place on the board about a month ago, however, it tied with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which premiered in Japan several weeks after it did and is also currently running in theaters. As "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" grew in gross at a higher rate, the week after both films tied, "Black Iron Submarine" was knocked back to 21st place, and slowly climbed its way back to 20th this past week. As the film still has a few more weeks left in its run, it is likely to reach at least 19th place, overtaking the currently-running "Top Gun: Maverick," which has stagnated in growth at around 13.73 billion yen for several weeks now.

To celebrate "Black Iron Submarine" breaking all-time records for the series, and its last few weeks in theaters, the Detective Conan franchise is running the "BLACK 'CROW'SING" campaign to send it off. One of the promotions is showing off a special visual of the Black Organization members in theaters, which started earlier this month. The same visual was also shown on the cover of the August 30th issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday.

While it is a little disappointing "Black Iron Submarine" may not be able to hit 14 billion yen at this rate, it has still cemented itself, not only in Detective Conan history, but also anime and Japanese cinema history.

[davidmariottecomics]

Best of 2023

Hi there, 

This week, we're celebrating the 2 year anniversary of my website and blog (well, just under 2 years, it officially launched on Jan 1). So, to round out this year with the blog and in general, I thought I'd do a little roundup of my personal "Best of" 2023. This is more a list of stuff I really dug this year than a formal ranking of any sort, and a lot of this isn't necessarily new in 2023, so much as stuff I discovered (and rediscovered) this year! Some things will get a little extra blurb, some things will just be listed. Alright, without further ado, my best of 2023! 

PODCASTS: Dungeons & Daddies - Legitimately, 90% of my podcast listening this year was either Dungeons & Daddies or Blank Check. I don't even think I meant for it to be like that, it's just how it happened. As a work of collaborative fiction, I really love Dungeons & Daddies. It's a super funny show and this past week-ish, I've been relistening to Season 2 so far and have just been delighting in it.  Blank Check My Year in MENSA Solve This Murder The Real Housewives of Dungeons & Dragons Abandoning the Premise - Haven't heard of it? Well so far, there's only one episode and it's exclusive to my Patreon! But it was fun and I'd like to revisit in the future! 

VIDEO GAMES:  Reverse 1999 Honkai Star Rail - I am very bad at playing updating video games. It doesn't come naturally to me. I am not someone who completes a lot of games--if I am really gripped by something, I'll finish the story, but I'm not very good about new game plus and 100% runs or anything like that. So, what usually happens with games like this is I get to a point where I am caught up and then I take a break because something else catches my eye or I have less time or I just feel like there's not a lot to do with where I'm at in the game and when I next try to dip in, I feel too far behind. That's definitely where I am with HSR right now, but I'm hoping to take some of my remaining time off to actually try to play and enjoy it again.  The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog Detective Pikachu Returns - This was a Christmas gift and it's delightful! A lot of the puzzle-solving is very easy, but, I dunno, I like hanging out with my friends the Pokemon. 

COMICS:  Nancy Chainsaw Man Milky Way by Miguel Vila - Another Christmas gift, this book is beautifully ugly. It is a semi-erotic relationship-thriller that I think does a very good job of balancing the grotesqueness of human nature and interpersonal relations with a sort of soft loving lens of what compels us toward each other, even when it's at our expense. There's deception and injury and fetishization presented in ways that remind you why they're often treated as morally repugnant, but also are so attractive to us so often.  Superman Kaguya-Sama: Love is War 17-21 The Rock Cocks Witch Watch - Every Sunday morning, I read through my "webcomics" of the week. I hit up Webtoon and catch up on anything there, then hop to Shonen Jump and read my new stuff there. Consistently, Witch Watch is probably my favorite read each Sunday morning, just because it almost never misses weeks and the characters are all just so delightful. Even with the current storyline being kinda weird (one of the main characters has been turned from a teen into a toddler and is being kinda raised by her romantic interest...) there's such a solid core of thoughtfulness and care and humor that I think it just always works.  Spy x Famiy  Lore Olympus Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story Birds of Prey Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville - I recently talked on my Patreon about how I think playing backseat editor and coming up with "a book that would really get readers to the shop regularly again" isn't practical because I think there are other things that could bolster comic sales in longer-lasting, better ways and I think particularly with the current state of the readership, "comics readers" aren't looking for a unifying title, they're looking for the stuff they find personally compelling. I'm a guy in comics, I have a lot to say on that and how to improve things, but that's for another day. Why I bring it up here is between Birds of Prey and Fire & Ice, those are the books that if there was justice in this world would bring all the boys to the yard. These are the exact kind of superhero titles I wanna read all the time. Poison Ivy: Thorns Superman: The Harvests of Youth Dumbing of Age One Piece Crimehot - Crimehot #4 came out this year and includes the Cassidy and Butch to our main group's Jessie and James (That's a Team Rocket reference), the way more competent counterparts who all have weirdly deep backstories with the main cast. And let me tell you... like the name says, they're hot. And they do hot stuff. It's a good comic.  Steamy Dandadan - I was recently gushing about Dandadan to some friends and described it as really hitting me as a comic that is so very much a book about whatever interests the creator at the moment (similar to Witch Watch in that way). If you read the pitch, it's like "she believes in ghosts and not aliens, and he believes in aliens and not ghosts and then wacky stuff happens to make a believer out of both of them" but it's really a light rom-com with just bonkers stuff happening and I love that about it.  Three Rocks: The story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy  It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth  What Happens Next - This is a webcomic I discovered not too long ago and there are content warnings on the very first page that I think are very helpful to make sure you're in the right headspace for it. I am a big fan of stories about younger adults finding their place in the world--not a coming of age "taking your first steps into real life" kind of thing, but a "you've been around for a while and life is hard and even if you're doing the right things, or nothing at all, why isn't it better and what comes next" types of stoires. This totally fits that. And it reads incredibly quickly since it's usually 1-2 panels per page. 

BOOKS:  Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror - I look at my comics list and I look at the things I didn't place on either list and I know I read plenty this year, but it does feel strange having such a short list for traditional books. There's a lot to that: I spent like 6 weeks spending all my free reading time catching up on 1100 chapters of One Piece. I started a handful of books that I was enjoying but for one reason or another paused and didn't really pick back up. And so while this is the most recent release on the list, Out There Screaming was a major help for me because it was something I could pick up and read in short bursts and leave satisfied and wanting to come back for more. Every story--even the ones that I didn't like as much, was compelling and fun and left me thinking about it afterwards.  House of Leaves  Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs - Book of the year. I don't even eat hot dogs, but I loved this book!  I'm Glad My Mom Died  The Broken Room 

TV SHOWS:  Poker Face Craig of the Creek  Rise of the TMNT  Transformers: Earthspark  I Think You Should Leave - Out of everything we've consumed this year, I think ITYSL is the most quoted show in our household (though Real Housewives of Beverly Hills/Vanderpump Rules are close contenders). So much of this show is so funny and strange.  The Rehersal Barry  My Adventures with Superman Praise Petey - Without a doubt, Praise Petey is the least known show on this list. And because of that, as I just found out, it was canceled after a single season which sucks. The premise is after her cult leader dad dies, a down-on-her-luck New Yorker moves to the countryside and becomes a cult leader... whether she wants to or not and her own feelings on that differ minute-by-minute. Despite the broad premise, it's pretty in line with other animated sitcoms like Bob's Burgers or King of the Hill (it is a Mike Judge co-production) that I think speaks in an authentic, funny voice of the 18-35 demographic. If you like Only Murders in the Building, I think this has a similar energy, but hornier and with more of the concerns of youth than of old men.  Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Sex Education - Okay, I know I said I wasn't doing rankings, but as an overall piece of media, I think Sex Education is my show of the year. The last season, the one that came out this year, isn't my favorite of the series, but when so many shows flub their endings, this one really found a way to nail it (and to roll with the more major cast/location changes) in a way that felt real. This is one of those shows that, if it was available on DVD, I would buy to add to my "regular rotation", but much like Freaks and Geeks, I'd only ever be able to watch some of it again because as it got closer to the end, I don't know that I'd be able to emotionally take that on a regular basis.  Joe Pera Talks with You Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

MOVIES:  The Boy and the Heron The Fablemans - I have very complicated feelings about this movie. On the one hand, I really loved it on first viewing. It hit me emotionally in a major way. I've talked on the blog before about crying multiple times in the theater. And if you had asked me in the first half of the year what my favorite movie of the year was, it'd probably be this (even though it's technically a 2022 film). But I also have my issues with Steven Spielberg and... it is a film where I'm still navigating my own emotional catharsis with it relative to Spielberg as an artist/creator/subject of the film. Not to get too far into real issues of death of the author and separation of the art and artist, this is the sort of hyper-personal work that even moreso than usual I think cannot be separated from the creator and so my changing feelings on him means I'm still figuring out my new relationship with the work.  M3GAN Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Up until recently, this probably would've moved into the movie of the year spot. I just thought it was so much fun. It's a visual feast. I like that it's a full story (Sorry, Spider-Verse). I love the world and the enthusiasm of the turtles and just really tuned in.  Robocop Phantom of the Paradise - Becca watched this for the first time with me and we both marveled on how this kind of forgotten cult film actually informed so much of all pop culture for decades to come. I am happy to say that overall, still slaps.  Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart Blue Beetle Gone Girl - I ended up watching a lot of Fincher movies this year, largely influenced by Blank Check. And Gone Girl has to be my favorite of his, and, on this rewatch, one of my favorite films of the 2010s.  Oldboy Josee, the Tiger and the Fish Godzilla: Minus One - Again, not to rank things so much, but if Minus One did an Oscars sweep and took home (checks notes) every award, I'd be happy. Even the ones that don't make sense. Best Documentary Short? Give it to Godzilla, cowards! An absolute masterpiece on every level. 

MUSIC:  The Loveliest Time - Look, we got a new CRJ album. What else do you want from me? 

OTHER STUFF:  A smooth transition from IDW into the holidays (and into my new thing soon) Making a Discord for my friends and the feeling that I can spend a little time making my friendships stronger with some folks while we aren't also coworkers/collaborators. Bluesky (and not being on Twitter). Remaining boosted on my vaccines and not having any serious illness of my own. Becca's first year on Twitch.  My first year on Patreon.  WaifuExpo (now KimochiiCon) and generally being more open in my interest in consuming and creating adult material.  Having some good experiences at shows and doing so many (will not be doing so many in 2024).  Having good times with the people I love.  All the comics I edited, all the blogs I posted, and just being at an end to that for the year. 

Not to be a bummer at the end, but it has been a long, strange, difficult year. There is so much wrong in the world and so many are struggling. So, it's nice that there is also so much that I found enjoyment and comfort in. I hope you've had some real bright spots in this year too, and I look forward to next year with you. 

I am not much for resolutions. I usually don't do a good job of them, if I bother to make them at all. But I do have some things I'll briefly say I'm excited for in the coming year. 

I am excited to get married and to figure out what celebrations we can do around that.  I am excited to start this new job and tell you all about it when I can.  I am excited to make more comics. Besides my little self-drawn things that you can find on this blog, I didn't release any comics this year and I am very much looking forward to that not being the case in 2024.  I am excited to grow my friendships.  I am excited to continue this blog. 

Thanks for reading. Happy new year! 

New Releases next week (1/3/2024): Sonic the Hedgehog #68 (Editor)

Pic of the Week: A little thing about where else to find me online that I made. 

[jamsofdeath0]

had a dream about a YouTube video talking about an early 2000s Christian dub of Ranma 1/2. and if you know anything about Ranma you know that sounds like about as good an idea as a 4kifd dub of One Piece. or even a worst idea. So the dream started with like a few minutes info dump. YouTube home documentary style. about this person talking about being like eight and watching this. but it transitioned to me watching like a random arc. in my dream decided Ranma was animated way better than it is.

The main teist of this Christian Dream Dub was Ranma was girl cursed into being a boy. A hellavu change. Im not sure why my brain decided this was what would happen. The Second change was there was no romance. So like BOOM all of Ranma 1/2 gone immediately. I get this one. This change makes sense to not dreaming me. Obviously a CHRISTIAN dub FROM THE 2000s wouldnt want gay romance. And there ISNT a straight romance in ranma 1/2. No matter how you spin it itll get messy. The third main change was a shonen action super power element. That didn't make any sense and I cant explain but was kinda cool anyway.

The dub had like whole scenes where they had to edit in whole outfits over half naked characters. And ALOT was just flat out cut or rearranged.

The "weird" thing about the dub was none of this tho. Being practically unrecognizable would be expected if something like this happened. The weird thing is it had heart. The dub was basically a whole different show grafted on top of Ranma but but it was a show someone reslly but effort into making. (my brain ig. but you get ehat I mean. Like i could of dream an intentionally terrible ranma dub)

The whole thing had a sort of girl "power vibe". And even tho it was going for "friendship is magic" it landed more in "vaguely homoerotic friendship" territory. Which its RANMA youd need some magic as editing to completely remove the romantic undertones.

Anyway it was an odd dream. especially cuz I didn't fall asleep thinking about ranma. I don't normally have dreams about media if I don't think about them before bed or like quite a bit during the day. I did neither of rhose.

Anyway my consensus outside of the dream is a lot like my consensus inside the dream. I'd watch this if I could get my hands on it. which one would be happening because it's not real. but it wasn't happening in the dream world because it was pretty rare. even just like dumps of it. it's because who would give a fuck about it but like 9-year-olds who watched it Sunday School. Or like mega ranma fans who want a laugh.

[annon-guy2]

Tekken 8 Guest Character Poll (Light Novel/Manga)

[italeteller]

What's even crazier is that WSJ is running out of popular sunday manga, and they go and pull this shit

MHA has ended, JJK is ending in 3 chapters, YozaFam is ending this year or early 2025, Black Clover changed magazines

Sure, Sakamoto Days, Blue Lock and Witch Watch are getting anime next year, but that's still only 3 series, and only 1 of those is a battle series

I guess they really wanna overhaul the whole thing and start with all new series, which is fucking stupid because everybody knows they'll axe anything not super successful in less than 30 chapters

They really could've used the ending of MHA and JJK to boost UU, like hey here's another battle shonen with cool powers and fights and incredibly powerful enemies but noooooo they gotta be idiots about it

I have seen many people blaming Tzk when we all know it's Shueisha fault. I honestly feared this was going to happen when they changed chief editor earlier this year, they're probably trying to finish their old series to start a new era or something, and we all know that UU wasn't that good at sales to begin with...

[meandmyechoes]

since there's no serial star wars until august and it's a series i'm not sure i can sit through i'm gonna turn this into sentai brainrot.

i like kingoh this much i've watched every episode at least three times and trying to piece together all the information. i love rita so much i'm planning kingoh FLT and dissecting their costume and sewn a plush and possibly will buy a toy during its run

now i'm just racing to finish kingoh brainrot before May 4 so I can concentrate on Visions vol 2. After Sixth debut I probably had to put things on hold for real to do school work. I hope.

it's plot-heavy and serial unlike your typical sentai but almost typically anime/shonen with a heavy fantasy setting and character designs. but do you need more reason than 'rita kanisuka' to watch it. and the tokusatsu action/direction is so good.

practically:

i started a toku sideblog @mofffun anyway so i will be free-r over there. kinda wanna post opinions here and gifs over there lol. maybe polished gifsets here and random gifs over there. my queue is low in the tens but i certainly have many SW stock. i won't remove that completely just, not actively going for it? i'd still do regular tag searches on top of what came on my dashboard, but i might not write/talk about SW for a while? i still have a couple books to read

it feels weird because i became an SW centric blog since I came back 3 years ago. Not to say I didn't have other stuff chimed in but it's been 95% SW running non stop for 3 years. It's weird to have a sudden shift that stays. It's even weirder when you think when i first started this blog in 2012, it's as multifandom as you can get with 5 regular ones. so fuck it. i care about followers and feel a duty to provide? like an editor to a magazine? but probably just overthinking it. i won't force anyone to continue following if they are not into what i'm putting out. it feels weird but i'm just gonna talk about kingohger as much as i want to now. maybe change the blog description in a bit so that i don't feel disconnected. it's MY blog.

Talking about fixating on kingoh. I love the thrill of collecting clues and unraveling its plot. I love thinking again. I love that it gave me a reachable goal to work towards. Though half the time i'm just shouting RITA KAWAII/KAKKOUI i don't really pay attention to what's being said. It's been saccahrine the past 48 hours and i'm exhausted and elated. they got me crawling my ass up sunday at 8 to watch nitiasa live again.

compared with star wars it's just, ₻₻₻ (<- scribble). Mando s3 was a letdown and nobody cares about tbb. i can't stand how hype ppl are for the ahserka series and it feels like a minefield getting to know others with that hanging. sometimes i had to listen to ill-informed forum bros dissing, and when i look at official stuff, i begin to question who's actually keeping the lore.

it's not all negative. i still haven't done a totj!togruta analysis (even though i don't really want to think about totj itself because all it is to me is episode 5). i'm still super excited about SWC2025. i still love ahsoka (yes holding that throne against rita). I know I will be blown away by Visions as well. But I've been letting that define and govern me for too long it's time to let somebody else have a chance.

I'm crazy scared i won't be able to finish work this time. i'd hate that. i'm working the courage to tell my fam i need some space but, every time i actually said that, it's no use anyway. because i'm special. i'm responsible. what i do will never be enough.

i also try not to think to much about the society or where i will be in five years. it's like, some of the things i ultimately want can't happen unless you give it a few years of effort but i don't dare to dream that far. eh

well good thing ko let me think all that. i like thinking. i like writing.

[roydeezed]

Weekly Shonen Jump Manga Round-Up(2023-04-04)

It’s time for another weekly manga round-up! I feel like this is still a process I’m figuring out but I’m having a lot of fun with. I think for manga that release outside of the sunday but aren’t piquing my interest enough to get their own posts, I’ll just bundle with the nearest post release. I honestly forgot how much fun it was to just stop and talk about stuff like this. It’s probably not for everyone but it really helps me enjoy it a lot more so if you’re following along, thanks for the read! Manga I’ve got ‘thoughts’ on will have their own paragraphs and the rest will be packaged into a big paragraph at the end. I had only just caught up to the sunday releases when the monthly releases also dropped so they’re included in this. Looking back I had a surprisingly positive reaction to a lot of manga this week, especially ones that I haven’t been the biggest fan of. Click on the “Keep reading” to check it out.

One-Punch Man(Chapter 180)

This chapter concludes the mini-arc about Saitama and Tornado’s fight while setting up events for the future. This was actually around where I had left off in the webcomic so I’m curious to see where it goes from here as almost all of it will be new material. We get some amazing art as always as the fight continues and the Blizzard group figure out their priorities. We also get a heartbreaking look into Tornado and Blizzard’s backstories where we realize why Tornado is trying to isolate and toughen up Blizzard. She herself was the cause of Blizzard’s awakening, and wanted to take some responsibility for it in the way that Blast wouldn't. In the web-comic, and the manga and anime, up until the point he showed up, Blast was held up as a paragon, but now that we’ve finally seen him, it’s easy to see he’s just human and makes mistakes. Like telling a 10-year old girl to not expect any help. Blast’s message was a perversion of the central axiom of being a hero, one that was broken down so well with the quote “With great power comes great responsibility.”. Blast’s idea of being a hero actually shows up in Spider-Man stories a lot as Peter takes way too much onto himself and isolates his loved ones, just like Tornado has. I honestly really love ONE’s characterization of Saitama here and the way it bounces off of Tatsumaki. A lot of the OPMC’s(Over-Powered Main Characters) in media that are modeled after Saitama, don’t show emotion or human connection, that somehow because they’re too strong they can’t relate. But Saitama, though his strength gives him a sense of apathy, has never lost his connection to humanity. In fact, his ascension to near godhood allows him to see what actually matters and what’s important as well as remember the most vital parrots about being weak. And these are all reminders he’s able to impart onto Tatsumaki. In another way, Saitama is a lot like Superman. In the way that Grant Morrison wrote “You have given them an ideal to aspire to, embodied their highest aspirations. They will race, and stumble, and fall and crawl....and curse....and finally.... They will join you in the sun, Kal-El. (All-Star Superman Issue #12)”, Saitama’s friends and peers also stumble after him and in all ways but physical aim to achieve the sense of inner peace he has. And by being a static being to aim for, he becomes their north star. And while Saitama has achieved strength and inner peace, the other thing that makes him an engaging character, other than his super relatable battle with apathy, is that he has other areas in his life that he acknowledges that he’s bad at, such as charismatic public relations and fighting games, that he strives to get better at. And while it does play to the comedy of it all, being so low stakes, it also humanizes him as well. I really loved Tatsumaki’s development this week and can’t wait to see where the story goes from here, I’d really love a breakdown of Blast.

Kaiju No. 8(Chapter 83)

I hate being negative towards things because 1-It’s so easy, 2-It’s not constructive if it doesn’t lead anywhere, and 3-I just don’t like being that type of person, but Kaiju No.8 makes me so negative towards it because I can feel the potential for greatness with it, but it just falls back on shounen bullshit. It really fucking sucks that it does that. All of the hype building and power scaling and power comparison stuff. It’s juvenile and okay for building tension but when you do it for chapters on end and it’s the main trick in the deck to build up to a fight it gets stale and repetitive. Also, the fights in Kaiju No.8, while having explosive and expressive art, lack complexity. It’s usually a matter of strength and power levels and the fights, other than one’s determination, don’t show off anything about the characters. The one cool moment in this chapter was Kafka letting Shinimiya know that he wouldn’t help her but it also highlighted what appears to be this manga’s problem. It’s a manga of cool moments and not much deeper.

Naruto: Konoha’s Story-The Steam Ninja Scrolls(Chapter 12)

It had totally slipped my mind that Hidan was the man that killed Mirai’s father, Asuma. Even though the cult leader seems to be a throw-away villain, connecting it with Mirai’s father is a good touch. This way she gets some much needed catharsis at what appears to be the capstone to her journey. Obviously digging up Hidan to hurt him would be a bad move but this way she gets some sort of revenge, and using Asuma’s moves no less. I would like to see her evolve into her own moves as well, to show that not only has she inherited her father’s will but also carved one out of her own. I expect to see this end soon so I’m looking forward to seeing it keep this quality up as it nears its end.

Tokyo Demon Bride Story(Chapter 29)

And it finally ends. And a lot sooner than I thought. There’s two types of rushed endings in Jump, when a manga gets canceled early days. One is the final arc in two chapters to completely finish off the story and the other is the open ended one where a final villain or future threats are teased but left off in an optimistic light. This was the latter and it was well done for the most part. I believed this had potential, though not as much as manga like Nine Dragons and Super Smartphone, so I’m sad to see it go. The art was beautiful and the mangaka had a pretty solid grasp of both shounen and slice of life storytelling so I’d love to see them come back with something else. They’ve got potential for sure. In terms of the story, its left off pretty hopeful as a future threat looms but Manaka and her friends aid Jinta and look to the future. All in all not a bad ending. I guess this ending means the way is being made for new manga. Wonder what it could be?

Spy X Family(Chapter 78)

Oof, that was a gut punch. Handler has always seemed somewhat put together so to find out her home life was a mess was a funny twist but to see it be because of her losing her husband and kid was downright painful. But also completely in character for Spy X Family. This manga excels at that tightrope walk between comedy and tragedy. In essence, much of Loid’s interactions with Anya are like this. It’s a lot like Life Is Beautiful(1997) but with the twist that the child actually knows what is going on. It’s not as tragic of course but the political state of the world they live in is quite fraught. And despite Anya knowing the truth, her interpretation of it as a child still makes it humorous, often uncovering the ridiculousness of all of the skulduggery just by taking it at face value. This chapter also puts another truth about this world into perspective, this world has taken so much from its people but also cut them off from each other, that most are starved for companionship. It’s true of all three of our leads and almost every one of their connections. The distrustful nature of the world that necessitates spies also seeps into everyday life and makes everyone distrust each other, and thus separates them.  While it was mostly played off for laughs, the Handler accepting Anya’s challenge and being able to experience a small part of her old life again cut through me like a hot knife through butter. Anya inadvertently reminding her of her daughter was also such a sweet touch. Usually the reason I don’t talk about Spy X Family much is that I’m reduced to a mess because of the comedy, the adorableness, or the romance or the tragedy and I have a hard time expressing that in words that would mean anything. This one was somehow coherent but I will probably go back to unintelligible laughs and squeals soon enough. It’s just too good for words.

Ginka and Gluna(Chapter 28)

This manga also seems to be waving death flags and I am afraid for it as I absolutely adore it. The main characters are a delight and when it takes its time the manga is absolutely breathtaking in its journey. Even though I sense a rush, Ginka and Gluna is so confident in its storytelling that it tells a solid story even in this chapter. Ginka confronts his own shortcomings this chapter and having magic so closely deal with memories, deals with his misconceptions about his own. I really love that despite being a OPMC, Ginka has genuine problems in the ways of self doubt and feelings of failure. It’s a genius move to have his main insecurity tie to his strength and his companions, both staples of OPMC’s. To bring it back to Superman once again, exemplified wonderfully in Young Justice, even he feels like a failure when he can’t save people. Ginka’s feeling of failure is even more profound as he sought power to get revenge for his sister and not have to worry about that feeling again but he still failed Gluna. His status as a being of strength to strive towards gets called into question because of this failure. Still, it’s his companions and his sister that bring him back from the brink and help him recover. Even if it ends soon, I think Ginka and Gluna will be a satisfying story as I can see it fulfilling the promise it set out in the beginning, that magic can solve any problem, as it seems Ginka is about to ask his allies for help in restoring Gluna’s memories.

Cipher Academy(Chapter 18)

As always, Cipher Academy delivers another incredibly interesting chapter. In this chapter we learn a few things. One, that Anonimity-Requested’s(I don’t like calling her anon so maybe let’s try Ano from now on?) glasses weapon’s don’t actually have any decoding powers. She’s been getting through it all using her own considerable abilities. We see that on display this chapter as it’s assumed that she solves the ciphers on everyone else’s cards right away. One thing that I wonder about is what the framing device of the manga is now. Because the other character’s must have a name they’re using to refer to Ano so why is her name getting censored. Things sometimes seem performative as well and other times things are censored. Plus all the weird otherworldly vibes make me think that something like Battle Royale is going on and they’re performing for a television audience or something like that. Part of that solidified in my mind because I went back to Chapter 11 to look over the personal details Iroha gave out to prove that because he had such a rough childhood, he is good at bluffing, mostly to avoid a parent’s wrath. But in going back, I was able to pick out some key details that expose what kind of world this is. So let’s go over the facts the game from that chapter revealed. He often broke his bones as a child. He had a crush on a senior and had a close friend that passed away. He’s experienced heartbreak, confessed his love and received a love letter. He was present at people’s deaths nine times and was forced to come to school by his father who was a caricature artist and called his mom “mama”. He’s also experianced child abuse and been in the middle of exceptional violence perhaps even gang violence or war. Because of the fact that he’s seen 9 people die and had a close friend die, I feel like he was plucked from a war zone to participate in whatever sick game Cipher Academy really is and that it’s something akin to a reality tv version of a death game. He was forced by his dad to come so maybe it’s an opportunity to get away from bad things. And the fact that he went through child abuse also makes me think that maybe his mom was abusing him and his dad sent him away to not only get away from the war but her as well. Iroha’s dream is also to end all wars so this academy must be significantly influential. I think I might need to reread it all soon so I can look back at it all with some hindsight. I’m sure there are some answers there. Basically, something’s up and we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. But going back to actual events that took place in this chapter, we see Yosaimura receive all 15 votes and Toshusai receive 13 votes, and Ano only 1 behind with 12 votes. Iroha is in last place with 5 votes but that’s not necessarily game over as this seems it was done more as a seeding thing more than anything, giving a slight advantage to the winners. And in terms of support, Iroha getting 5 votes isn’t actually the worst thing. The 5 that voted for him are 5 people that he’s built a personal connection with and gotten on his side. Which means that, compared to the general feeling of respect that Yosaimura has earned, Iroha’s is much more hard fought and this much harder to lose as well. It’s also much more dedicated. I’m not too familiar with Poker or Blind Man’s Bluff but it seems like bluffing is going to be the main skill at play here, and based on Iroha’s childhood I think he’s going to be excellent at bluffing as he’s probably good at it when he has a reason to be. Or it could be that he read from the other player's responses at his hand that he’s got a good hand. I think it might even be that Iroha is just better at reading people because not only does he have a lot of empathy, it could’ve been a skill that helped him survivee. I’m interested to see how that plays out. It’ll be interesting to see but I think Ano is going to eliminate Yosaimura soon just to show her as a credible threat and also an evil paragon as opposed to Yosaimura as a paragon of good.

Witch Watch(Chapter 103)

I get an excuse to talk about Witch Watch again as something I talked about last week happened so I’m incredibly happy. Witch Watch is a joy and to share it is even better. I was talking last week about how the social circles in Witch Watch organically interact and this week it proved me right as as a result of shenanigans from the new character of Fran, we get Morihito and Nico interacting with Miharu’s friend group. It’s set up really well as Miharu doesn’t want Fran to meet his friends and experiment on them while acknowledging to Rui that they frequent the neighborhood. It also makes sense that Fran and Nico would want to meet and why Miharu wouldn’t want that. It’s set up organically and followed through just as well too. I absolutely adore Fran as a new addition to the cast and it seems the author does as well as she’s been introduced to the main cast so fast as well as developing the inklings of romantic chemistry with Miharu as she can touch him without being drained. Her lack of social awareness and chuunibyou sensibilities also crack me up. It’s nice to have a non-magical being in their circle and I can’t help but wonder if it’s some sort of set-up to get back to the warlock plot. I honestly wouldn’t mind reading another few hundred chapters of Witch Watch’s slice of life brilliance, it’s a nice change of pace from the urgency of all the other manga around it and is always consistently funny and well told. 

Blue Box(Chapter 95)

I have really been coming around to blue Box in recent chapters. The story between Chinatsu and Yumeko has been really interesting and it feels like the first proper act of love that Taiki has performed for her. I think a reason I disliked it before was because a lot of Taiki’s gesture’s and pining rang hollow and performative, but after he’s really gotten to know her and learnt of something personal about her, he used that information to do something incredibly thoughtful for her. And yes, while it could have turned out badly, it didn’t so it remains a love story. But it also recontextualizes his past actions and gives them more meaning as well. Taiki’s been “nice” but he seemed very one-note. With this gesture he demonstrated his emotional maturity and trust in Chinatsu as he basically did a lay-up so she could dunk some emotional catharsis in that feelings basket. Did that make sense? I haven’t played basketball in so long, I shouldn’t have tried for a basketball reference. Go Raps?!?!?! We the north!?! It’s been an even longer time since Badminton. Someone give me a tennis manga. Or bring Prince of Tennis back. Okay, I’ve had enough fun. One other thing I wanted to bring up was the beginning of Kyo’s love triangle. Chinatsu and Taiki are a foregone conclusion but this also seems to be on of those manga where the ‘leftovers’ are paired together and while it initially appeared Kyo and Hina would end up together after Taiki rejected her, Ayame has also just entered the game as Player 3. And honestly? Good. This love triangle is a lot more interesting than whatever the authour was trying go for with Chinatsu and Taiki and this way the story gets to have it’s cake in the sweet moments between Taiki and Chinatsu and eat it too with the angst between Kyo, Hina and Ayame. And the fact that Ayame was the one that encouraged Hina makes it even juicer. 

Akane-Banashi(Chapter 56)

Kaichi’s original portrayal was a total fake-out and it turns out he’s actually a formidable rakugoka. I didn’t see that coming. His trajectory becomes really interesting after learning that. Initially I had thought that it was a mid-life crisis type thing that spurred him to join the Rakugo lifestyle but it must have been because Ishho saw talent in him. This makes him a serious opponent to Akane as not only is he at her exact level, and maybe even better, I’m sure she still holds a grudge towards Ishho she can somewhat satisfy by beating Kaichi. On the other hand Hikaru makes a reappearance. She was a strong character right from her introduction and it’s nice to see her stay in the story as a significant role. With the reintroduction of Hikaru, the emergence of Kaichi as a serious contender, and the acknowledgement of Akane, it seems like three out of the four slots for this event are filled up. While the judge might still hold a grudge against Akane and take away the win for her, it seems like there’s still room for one more character to be introduced and play a major role. 

Undead Unluck(Chapter 153)

Believing in Fukko’s confidence, I had thought the change in Billy’s ability was a 100% predicted but it turns out it was just pure luck (maybe an extrapolation of Fuuko’s powers and strength growing so much it’s affecting the world like One Piece’s awakenings?). The fact that this change wasn’t anticipated makes me love Fukko even more as she straight up had the confidence that she would beat Billy in a one on one. God, I love her. I interpreted Billy’s change as acknowledgement of the copied’s strength but it’s even more tragic as it’s envy towards target. And as someone who’s shouldered so much responsibility and pain, he hasn’t let himself want things, but seeing a group of people who can readily rely on each other, it makes him envious. This is an even better change than trusting others as it’s based on his subconscious desires and shows his deep need for comrades. And then the chapter goes ahead and drives this theme of trust and reliance even further as Fukko freezes up for a moment as she comes up against her power potentially hurting someone she loves, something that almost led to her killing herself at the beginnig of the manga, but is snapped out by her comrades asking her to rely on them and trusting her as their leader. I’m not sure how Fukko gets Nico to astrally project but it’s what saves him and nets them remember as well as three new official members. The chapter ends with Fuuko announcing that she’s aiming for the moon to save little Phil next. I don’t remember much about Phil, which definitely means I need to reread this soon, but I do remember he had Unfeel which let him amputate and mechanize his body parts. Him being in space is very interesting. I wonder if he was born in orbit or something like that. 

Sakamoto Days(Chapter 113)

While I really love all the side characters in the current time, I much prefer Sakamoto in the past. I feel like the comedy behind having a really capable assassin also be chubby has worn off and it does a disservice to his stoic nature. The softer lines in his current physique don’t betray much but his chiseled face from the past shows that he really isn’t unfazed and lends itself much better to the action. Sakamoto Days has to pay its dues to its comedy origin but I think it would do much better if it just embraced an absurdist action aesthetic instead, something that I can see it shifting towards already. The character’s having crazy gimmicks such as killing as filmmaking or virtue points preventing your death are much more absurdist concepts than they are just funny. I’ve really been loving this dip back into the past and seeing the schoolmates try to earn their stripes. Their dynamic has been engaging and having them be equals with Sakamoto lets the action get really crazy. Had the manga really gone more in depth with Sakamoto being a father I think I would’ve liked it more but at this point Rion is a much more interesting character and someone I wouldn’t mind becoming the main character, especially after that Akira slide into lighting her cigarette stunt she pulled. So it’s tragic to know she won’t make it. But then again, getting the audience to become fond of her as a character was probably the intention behind this flashback as it’ll give us more of an incentive to root for Slur’s defeat.

My Hero Academia(Chapter 384)

Before I read this chapter, I was so confident I was going to relegate this to the leftovers pile, as each chapter in this fight had gotten more and more rushed and seemed to be hurtling towards the ending without much development in each new chapter other than a character appearing to do their part, but this chapter took a step back and in my eyes really nailed the execution of it. The pacing has been breathless for the last little while and it picks up with Shinso explaining that Machia himself is mad at All for One as he felt abandoned. This, although par for the course in an ever growing fight, felt a little bit different in its vibe. Maybe it was the week’s break but it felt poignant as it addressed much more than just the 1+1 of fight calculations. Though it kind of undermined Shinso’s role, it was nice to see him assist Machia in getting revenge. Machia had always been a manipulated character, much like a lot of the villains, and it was nice to see some catharsis with that, especially after constant reminders of Twice’s tragic death. And then it zoomed out. And showed reporters arriving on the scene to document what was going on. This is something I think superhero media messes up on. They need more stuff like this. Not only society’s perception of the heroes but the affect the heroes have on society itself. We see how Deku has inspired these people and how the world is coming together to witness this final climactic battle. There’s wide panels and it arguably waste’s pages but that’s good! It gives the story room to breathe and I’m actually looking forward to the ending now. That was a really great chapter! (P.S. Is that Koichi near the Big Ben on the left of the last pagge?!?!)

Show-Ha Shoten!(Chapter 17)

I don’t think there’s a way I can express how much I love this manga. It hits so perfectly for me and it demonstrated that this chapter when it answered one of my burning questions. How does One Way Ticket to the Top(Tickets, shouts out to Himawari, Himawari's dope) polish their 18 sketches? Because real stand-up comedians workshop their materials until they know where each laugh and beat is going to land. There’s no way Tickets were able to do that and it’s apparent not only in the ways that the other duos and the comedy legend inform them about it, but also in how Tickets acknowledges Broken Glass Slippers stage presence and in how Shiba Inu World Tour was workshopping their bits. It shows such an awareness of the story and battle manga mechanics that something that Tickets thought was their trump card actually becomes a fatal flaw as they ascend to higher levels. Now moving on to the characters, I absolutely love Rinka and the way she stood up to the creep talent agent. I really want to know why she wants  to become a comedian so bad. Is it just that her passion burns that strongly for all things or is there some tragic reason for it all. Her insistence that Tickets crush Passionate Sandbag alludes to that. And then moving on to Rinka’s partner Himawara. I did not expect to like Himawara as much as I do, the adorable little gremlin is a font of physical comedy, I spent a good minute cackling at her empathic serial killer face. Glass Slipper are such strong characters I can’t stop fawning over them. But then that brings us to their interaction with SIWT and Tickets. It’s such a relaxed and comfortable vibe that’s established that shows the comraderie and companionship that’s experienced among peers. And the fact that they aren’t really enemies is also clear here, as the other two teams don’t even consider Tickets a threat. Though the Professor does see a lot of promise in them as he gave them really good advice. Going forward I really want to see Akemichi work on his stage presence as he’s mainly been focused on the joke writing so far. Going forward I want to see Tickets win but I hope we also get to see Glass Slippers sets as well.

THE LEFTOVERS

Me & Roboco(Chapter 131) had a lot going on. We’re introduced to a new character, Laila, who seems to be Roboco’s true rival while continuing the progression with Roboco losing to Meico last week. I loved the gags as always but the Undead Unluck reference had me in stitches. Jiangshi X(Chapter 11) finally feels like it’s getting somewhere as it plays out the beats of its tragedy that it had been building up to. I expect that we’ll see the main character's father return as a Jiangshi sometime soon, though I do wonder how popular this manga is. It is definitely leading to story beats purposefully, but I wonder if the casual shounen audience will have patience for that. The thing I’m most interested in is the slip the main character’s father gave him as it seems like that will be the main catalyst for revenge as he’ll be able to capture a high level jiangshi to fight the bad guys, maybe even his father. The art was excellent, but if the story can break out of it’s cookie cutter mold I expect I’ll be dedicating paragraphs to this manga soon. Ichigoki’s Under Control!!(Chapter 17) had another timeskip as the duo spend four years in jail before going in search of their second dragon ball type thing. Overall in the last three chapters they’ve gone through almost eight years so I can see hints of this manga ending as well. It was a funny chapter but nothing remarkable really stood out rather than the incredible amount of time the manga has wasted. Fabricant 100(Chapter 16) , while an excellent chapter that keeps up the momentum from before, only has one notable thing to mention aside from its striking art. And that is how well it’s building up its battle system. It’s building it up quite organically and leaving a lot of room for creativity so I’m looking forward to seeing how it pays off. Actually one other thing that was pretty great was the introduction of the two new characters, very telling and dynamic. Mission: Yozakura Family(Chapter 172) continues the story after the timeskip, with Taiyo and Mutsumi’s kids in an absolutely adorable fashion. Honestly I wouldn’t complain if they kept the story going with the kids as the main character’s because they’re so gosh darn cute. The kids get in trouble as there’s a bounty on the family but they’re soon saved by Taiyo. While I’m not connecting with The Elusive Samurai(Chapter 104) as well as I was with the manga-ka’s previous work, Assasination Classroom, I can’t deny that there’s moments of beauty in it that rival Assasination Classroom’s best moments such as in this chapter when one of Tokiyuki’s followers lets himself die with the rising of the sun instead of committing seppuku. It also comes as an extrapolation of the fact that historically Tokiyuki’s followers fought to their last breath instead of admitting an early defeat. Marrying the two into such an amazing moment was truly inspired. I have to admit, I was a little confused with The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins(Chapter 19) because throughout the chapter, it seems like Tsubasa’s dad was seeing him but the reveal at the end was showing that he had just imagined himself going into the hospital room? The revelation led Tsubasa’s parents to the beginning of a reconciliation but I’m not too sure how everything is supposed to fit together. At the end we see that Tsubasa has regressed and started forgetting about the loops again and Sota mugs the audience. Black Clover(Chapter 356) continued the final fight and revealed Yuno’s powerup and how it’s able to even the playing field. In Jujutsu Kaisen(Chapter 218) we see the fight between Yorozu and Sukuna continue with him barely breaking a sweat.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles(Chapter 150) had a really nice colour page and some actual great moments with Ochoa. I am not the biggest fan of Mashle, I think it’s comedy is stale and it’s combat isn’t engaging enough to be a fan of, but here for the first time in a while, with Ochoa, they’ve actually built a great character. He’s always uncharacteristically of the series had funny gags, and to now give him a tragic backstory, while it does in some way seem to reflect the OPM Garou fight, is still a great move for the story.

While I love it to death, this week's World Trigger(Chapter 232) was mostly crunchy technical elements of wargaming with a little bit of personal drama thrown in the mix. It’s easy to root for our heroes from Tamakoma 2 but in this week’s chapter Amatori gets put up against Osamu and with her getting the raw deal in terms of a leader while Osamu’s thriving we can’t help but feel sorry for her. Osamu not being able to let down his current teammates, capatalizes on Chika’s weakness and hammers her team. I honestly think that because Osamu is so empathetic, he’s doing it to show Chika how to overcome her weakness. Seraph of the End(Chapter 125) actually manages to salvage out quite an interesting set of ideas from this chapter after a meandering set of chapters for the last couple of releases. We understand that this is Yu’s memories we are observing and we get a scene between a child that looks like and is named Mika and acts like Yu and the First and a homunculus named Yu. Our heroes quickly deduce that the child is dying and that the First loved him. The fact that a homunculus is a humanoid creature and Yu and Mika share different characteristics with both of them, it reminds me of that old Plato quote, “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” What if Yu and Mika were once the same person and now are two separate halves that have found each other. If that is the case and the direction this is heading towards, it’s quite a beautiful realization of the pair’s relationship. While I had been quite pessimistic about it, the most recent chapter of Blue Exorcist(Chapter 139) turns things around and delivers us a new and exciting status quo. I had always enjoyed the quiet and imposing worldbuilding Blue Exorcist had, like living in a mash-up of Soul Eater’s halloween aesthetic and our real world, and this new future doubles down on it. Honestly I’d even love to see an anime in this world, it’s really interesting and contrary to what I’d said earlier, I really want to see this manga continue for a while. After Satan is semi-defeated, he explodes in a wave of demonic energy all over the world and we come back to the world two years later and learn Satan is coming back once again. The secret war against demons isn’t so secret anymore and the Knights of the True Cross fight them on a global scale with Shima as their poster boy. All isn’t right though as a conspiracy seems to be afoot and Rin himself appears to be fighting against True Cross as the Demon King and a True Cross dissenter tries to expose the truth. Honestly, I am so intrigued by this new direction and really looking forward to where it goes. In this chapter of Gokurakugai(Chapter 7), we are treated to some set-up and world building along with some gorgeous and expressive art. I really love how the character’s are drawn, a lot of emphasis is put on their faces. From what I’ve seen of this world, it reminds me a lot of Tokyo Ghoul but without the grayness in morality. It seems this family is turning people into cannibals. I really hope there is some of that ambiguity that was in Tokyo Ghoul as I really like what’s been built up so far.

[greensparty]

Stuff I’m Looking Forward to in February

Still getting used to saying 2023 and yet it’s now February!?! In addition to Black History Month (Feb. 1 to  March 1), Groundhog Day (Feb. 2), Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), Presidents’ Day (Feb. 20), and Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22) in addition to Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 12), here is what’s on my radar this month.

Movies:

Magic Mike's Last Dance

It’s a stretch to say I’m “looking forward to this movie”, but with Steven Soderbergh directing it’s on my radar. Soderbergh has been on a roll with his last few movies Kimi and No Sudden Move. His 2012 male-stripper vehicle Magic Mike had its moments, but I didn’t see the sequel Magic Mike XXL since Soderbergh didn’t direct. Now he’s back for the third one. Opening on 2/10.

Marlowe

Neil Jordan has made some good movies. I actually worked briefly on his 2007 movie The Brave One. Now he takes on Raymond Chandler in this film noir opening 2/15.

Music:

Shonen Knife Our Best Place

Japan’s Shonen Knife have been together for over 40 years and I’ve been lucky enough to cover them here, including their last album Sweet Candy Power. The band’s new album drops 2/15.

Inhaler Cuts & Bruises

I was a big fan of Inhaler’s debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This and even named it my #9 Album of 2021. They’ve dropped some new rockers in recent months and I like what I’ve been hearing. The band’s sophomore album drops 2/17.

Philip Selway Strange Dance

Radiohead drummer Philip Selway has released some great solo albums, flexing his folk and art rock muscles. Now he’s back with his newest solo album dropping 2/24.

Awards Season:

Awards season is in full swing with Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, DGA Awards on Feb. 18 and SAG Awards on Feb. 26.

[elfgrove]

I really want folk to enjoy Ranma 1/2 because I loved it when I was young and experienced it very much in context to the era. I'm excited for the remake.

But I'm doing potential new fans a disservice if I sell it as a queer or even queer-friendly anime. It's not even really a romance anime.

Ranma 1/2 is first and foremost a comedy series that uses martial arts as the primary format. The manga was published in Shonen Sunday. It uses a lot of slapstick, visual, and linguistic gags.

The new series has an opening card that explicitly states it is occurring in the 1980's. This gives context to things that would have been far too much of an overhaul of the source to include and should set some expectations of how much is going to change in this update.

A lot of fans read into the series things about gender dynamics and societal expectations that are wonderful interpretations and helped a lot of baby queers back in the 80s and 90s. Heck, because the lead characters' transformations is firm cis-male to cis-female, it is a super relevant series to have discussions of queer interpretation and theory about. That sort of fandom meta discussion is something that is GREAT about fandoms and has been happening with Ranma since it started.

But Takahashi has long said she wasn't going for some deeper message, that she was going for a simple fun idea that girls and kids would enjoy and all the cursed spring invoked body changes were meant to be just fairy tale type story aspects (link). So to say she intended more nuanced messaging or an update would go deeper or more carefully into such themes is probably expecting or advertising things that will not happen.

That doesn't stop you from taking the fun comedy series and reading into it themes that speak to you but were not part of authorial intent. Not everything is or needs to be canon or explicitly laid out for you.

With the new Ranma 1/2 series finally out on Netflix it's a great time to mention that despite the fact that Ranma 1/2 cracked a lotta eggs for 90's kids the character (and series as a whole) is not really a queer/trans/nonbinary story.

I loved Ranma 1/2 as a kid, it definitely was a part of crackin' my egg, but seeing people getting into it now calling Ranma (the character) "genderfluid" or "under the trans umbrella" is kinda wild considering like... what the actual character does, is, says, etc and also what the show actually does, is, and says.

[mk1412]

Portada de la Shonen Sunday S #5 El capítulo de Nishikida Keibu wa Dorobou ga Osuki incluye páginas a color. Creada por Kanba Mayuko, quien también se encarga del spin-off Detective Conan: Hannin no Hanzawa-san, narra la historia de Kaitou Jack, un ladrón de guante blanco. Sin quererlo, se ha robado el corazón del Inspector Nishikida, quien está encargado de capturarlo. Recientemente, la serie fue adaptada a obra teatral desde el 11 al 21 de marzo. Fuente: 1, 2