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arkus-rhapsode · 1 year ago

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Are We Returning To 2000s Era Shonen Anime/Manga (A Discussion)

So this is going to be way more of a thinkpiece than I usually do for this blog, but recent trends in the space and niche that I devote a lot of time to, Anime/Manga, have been showing themselves that got me thinking. This is not meant to be a serious sociology case study taken as fact, it's going to be more a theory based on observations of the community that I, like many others, devote a lot of time into than a full on claim, but I do want to ask, is the anime and manga community is experiencing a resurgence in 2000s era shonen manga?

Background

Now let me get this out of the way, there is bias in these observations as I am a western anime fan, but also a North American anime fan. Meaning my gateway and gauges of pop culture are mostly determined by the history of my area of the world’s relationship with anime. From the OVAs of 80s hyper violent and hyper sexual sci fi that you had to purchase from the backs of video rental stores, to the Toonami era of 90s and early 00s programming block the centred around action anime and cartoons, the 4kids era of mass market japanese animated kids shows that were really just giant commercials with some of the earliest memetics in western sphere, and the explosion of shonen battle series in the western sphere in the mid to late 2000s marked by the rise of the colloquially named “Big 3” of shonen jump. I understand that continents like South America or Europe may have undergone a different exposure to the Japanese medium, but as I am going in with some bias in this observation, I would like to make it clear on where the formula is coming from. I also would like to lay down a certain clarification before making this, when discussing the topic of nostalgia I think a lot of people have forgotten what it actually means. If we go by the Cambridge dictionary definition, Nostalgia is “a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.” This is often invoked when talking about pop culture because people from say 20 years ago don’t seem to enjoy or relate to the interests of today. The belief is that nostalgia is generational ergo if you grew up in the 80s you’re likely wishing to recapture the feelings of childhood that you associate with those trends from 20 years ago. In fact, most revaluation in media has often been catalyzed by a difference of those who grew up in an era rebuffing the opinions of those who didn’t.

There is the well known “20 Year Rule” regarding pop culture nostalgia. That every decade it longs for what was popular 20 years ago. Probably no better example than “That 70s show” being popular in the late 90s, the return of many beloved 80s-90s franchises like “Ghostbusters” returning in the 2010s as well as series like “Stranger Things” that wrapped itself up in 80s aesthetics. DC's New 52 relaunch that seemed to bring back trends from 90s era comics.

Now it goes without saying that the 20 year rule isn’t a “real” rule, rather an observation that certain trends make a return to popularity because the ones who grew up with a certain media will be the ones who add to the discourse when they come of age and will be the ones having a chance to create consumable art for the masses and that may just be revivals of once popular IP. This isn’t necessarily wrong in regards to nostalgia, but I do believe that one doesn’t need to have been born in a certain era to be nostalgic for something when we discuss pop culture. Pop culture is really just trends and preferences that become en vogue and people can acquire a taste at any given time. Sometimes it can be due to those who grew up with something now having the chance to create and drawing upon their own childhoods, sometimes it's just due to not being exposed, other times it can be a certain feeling of disillusionment of the now, and seeking something that peaks your interest, and even sometimes it can be major corporations or networks looking for things with existing audiences to draw upon that actually expand the audience. In fact one of the most prominent Netflix adaptations of the 2020s has been live Action Avatar the Last Airbender and One Piece, both shows that got their start on American televisions in 2004 and 2005. One of the biggest animated shows right now is Invincible, based on a comic book from 2003

So I want to stress this is not necessarily about how if you grew up with the original Mobile Suit Gundam show you are being replaced by the kids who were watching GetBackers. And or if you are a fan of shows that came out in the 2000s you yourself were born in the 2000s.

But what was the landscape of the English speaking anime community like back in the 2000s? Well let me paint a portrait for you.

What was the 2000s like for anime fans?

The term I used, “shonen boom period”, is somewhat mythologized in the western anime sphere. There was a glut of high profile shonen anime running around the same time that most people identified with this time period and was arguably when we saw the most influx of people getting into the hobby. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach served as big series known for their massively large casts, MCs with a level of attitude, some of the most hype centric power supernatural/extraordinary power systems, and certain brand of “Japanese-y” humor. We can’t deny that it wasn’t just these series however, as series like Fullmetal Alchemist became many people’s introduction to more narratively intricate series interspersed with a somewhat gothic action style. The gothic and somewhat edgy Death Note became many fans' first ever “battle series that’s not a battle series” that also incorporated many biblical and gothic horror elements into its presentation. And things like Code Geass also incorporated this combination of hyper stylized cat and mouse with ornate and gothic aesthetics and fighting robots.

Series like Ouran Highschool Host Club and and Haruhi Suzumiya were basically gateways to the more hyper extraordinary slice of life series that didn’t shy away from fanservice and loud comedy. With ecchi like Rosario + Vampire taking it to an even greater extreme. For people willing to go even deeper, series like Fairy Tail began to pop up and share a distinct similar flavor to series like One Piece and Naruto which arguably started the popular conception of it coming from the same magazine as the latter. That’s not also discounting the amount of holdovers from the 90s like Dragon Ball z, Trigun, and Yu Yu Hakusho, which also had an edge towards fantastical combat and comedic oriented series.

All of this is to generally illustrate the media diet of what an average anime fan was expected to have some level of access to. As this was far before the eras of Funimation or Hulu having online services. Not a homogenized spread by any means, and im certain plenty of readers could name more underground or smaller series like Mushishi or Elphen Lied, but generally the popular mainstream you could tell that there was a consistent theme of long form media with a very loud, very flashy, and very action oriented type of series. Which I think is fair to say had skewed some people’s perception. And while I cannot claim with utter certainty that Japan was the same in this regard, you can look at magazines like Shonen Jump and notice a somewhat synchronistic trend. With series like Hitman Reborn, Gintama, D. Gray Man, Eyeshield 21, Bobobobo, etc.making a clear marcation of what was commercially successful at the time. Even series not inside the magazine but had smaller nicher, Tokyo-pop-esque series like Rave Master, Flame of Recca, Air Gear, History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi, Soul Eater, etc all had a similarity to the shonen jump magazine. To the point it was not uncommon to see so many jump characters in a collage and one from shonen sunday or shonen magazine in there as if this was all coming from the same place.

Changing Landscape

Now with the advantages of the modern internet, we have the ability to actually keep up with the jump magazine in real time as opposed to the common practice of relying on scanlation site and fansubs that were often devoted to the most popular works. But with simultaneous publication and services like Crunchyroll, being able to access a wider variety of shows and series that we may or may not have access to. I believe that the 2010s in the english speaking fanbase was the decade we saw a somewhat expansionism of what people perceived as anime. Anime could be One Piece and Naruto, but it could also be Erased, it could be the Promised Neverland, Attack on Titan, K-On, Haikuu, and Durarara. With the representatives of the 90s no longer being holdovers in syndication like dragon ball but rather full on revivals of the likes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Hunter x Hunter.

All of these could be "shonen" but also other genres like Seinin, Josei, and Shojo all had their own varying layers of what they could be in their demographic

The mood of what was popular was also changing, not just in the fact that more flavors of anime and manga were becoming mainstream, but new works from shonen jump showed a rise in almost subversive series like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer that seemed to consciously deviate or place new spins from traditional tropes of the 2000s characters, and we saw works that were derivative of previous serious like Black Clover drawing upon Naruto the same way it was known that Naruto had drawn upon Dragon Ball before them. Series like The Promised Neverland and Doctor Stone offered up more dramatic series that still infused a certain energy of the shonen genre.

And of course the series like Attack Titan whose much more darker and gorey storytelling seemed to have become one of if not the biggest hit of the generation with a well regarded adaptation, but something that had felt so removed from what were once contemporaries like the then ending Bleach or Naruto. We can also note that the late 2010s saw the rise of series like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen that began a trend of popular urban fantasy stories. Where fantastical concepts were now in contemporary Japan and the stories that focused on concepts like self identity and the harshness of maturing were juxtaposed to the real world inhabited by monsters.

It seemed many tropes of the previous decade were still alive in the rise of Isekai anime. Which was particularly the only popular outlet for fantasy stories with an action orientation. But these almost felt disconnected from the wider world of manga as things like heavy harem action series had actually decreased in mags like shonen jump. There was also new tropes being established in this subgenre that became unique popularizations of tropes all on their own, such as the overpowered protagonist whose power everyone believes is weak. But many of these were based on light novels, a form of media that only in the last few years western readers are having official access to and not simply scans found on the internet.

We in North America truly have gone from anime being a niche that was primarily accessible through dedicated TV blocks like Toonami, to a full blown cultural relevance shift.

We also need to talk about this era in its perception of the past also shifted. The 90s and the early 00s often blend together as classics of the anime community. Somewhat encased in amber. However, there is no denying that “feels like a 2000s series” had become a bit of a shorthand for very goofy, Very horny, very action heavy series. Series like Fire Force and and Undead Unluck had their show what more problematic elements be equated to the problematic trends of the past that people just accepted as “a part of the medium.” But lets keep in mind, this is not really describing a time, more a trend. Superficial elements that invoke similar feelings of the past.

Speaking of anime fans…

Fan Culture

So while I wanted to paint a picture of creatively the landscape has changed, there’s no denying that in the age of internet accessibility, the anime fan community has also changed. It is much much easier now to get in contact with people who are anime fans now than it was to rely on word of mouth like it was back in the day. I can still distinctly remember my anime club which wasn’t even really a club devoted to anime but rather other geek stuff like D&D and TCGs. Our hobbies just happened to have similar overlap.

Now though, anime fan culture is much more relevant and thriving. Going from just posting weekly reviews, to long retrospectives, comedy videos, abridged series, clickbait articles, fan theories, and podcasts. However, I think a defining feature of fans of the 2000s era of anime that were at their most prominent was hype culture.

Due to many of the biggest anime series at the time being released weekly and focusing on action, many many many discussion boards and videos were often about staying in this cycle of wanting to see what happens next and the action made people very excited to see just how characters were going to win fights or even if they’d have fights at all.

I want to make it clear that this type of activity doesn’t belong to a certain era, but you can see it shaped by the 2000s era. Especially when discussing “what is the next big 3.” As if it were a true position and title, rather than a moment in time where there were just three very distinct shonen series in the fanbase.This doesn’t necessarily have a “negative” effect on the discussion of anime/manga but you can see that certain genres lend themselves to hyping fans up more and more.

Someone isn’t reading the most recent chapter of a romance like Blue Box with the same level of anticipation of who will face who like it was One Piece. But there have certainly been series that try.

The Present

Now we reach the 2020s and this decade is still young, so it is hard to say what the future will hold for certainty, but we can look at the last four years and notice some significant waves being made recently in Shonen Jump alone. I already spoke of Undead Unluck, a series that almost wears it would now be considered retro inspirations on its sleeve. With an opening chapter that establishes an MC that seems motivated by a sexual joke, A power system follows a verbal naming gimmick, and a loose enough world that allows for characters of varying aesthetics and to be incorporated into groups. With groups of these powerful characters splitting up to face each other and use their ridiculous power to the extreme. Even in the series' own meta arc about creating manga, the in-universe analogy for Undead Unluck’s manga is commented on as feeling retro. There is no doubt the biggest viral hit of the decade so far has gone to Kagurabachi, a manga about sword fighting and magical crime lords that seems almost indulgent in its stylistic slicing and or dicing of baddies. Its memetic success was primarily due to a somewhat sincere and somewhat ironic belief that it would be the “next big thing” as it promised to be a stylized action series. Another surprise viral success has been the manga Nue’s Exorcist which sees another supernatural swordfighter boy harness the powers of his sexy spirit lady while getting into harem shenanigans that echo a particular form of ecchi of anime’s past that had actually been somewhat absent in the past decade in jump. Both of these series have a somewhat noticeable similarities to Bleach, a long running shonen action series that has seen its own revival in the last few years of writing this with the long awaited adaptation of the final arc of the bleach anime.

While the other members of the “big 3” never truly went away and became almost inter-generational, Bleach truly did feel like a “come back” as it was absent for so long. And unlike Hunter x Hunter and Jojo which were never really popular in the west and even their older anime are more regarded as anime deep lore. Bleach was one of the most popular series in the west at the time to never receive a conclusion animated.

Speaking of anime of the 2000s Trigun Stampede was a reimagining of the original late 90s show. This errs a bit similar to Hunter x Hunter’s style of revival, but also seems uniquely its own in actually trying to find a balance between the original series but adding in things cut from its original late 90s early 2000s counterpart.

And now we must examine other shonen magazines. Series like Gachiakuta created by a former assistant of Okubo, the creator of Soul Eater, carries with it much of the similar energies of that series. Its also noticeable as being a truly dark fantasy series. Not an urban fantasy, but rather a completely new world that had a very grunge and dirty world building. And then there is Daemons of the Shadow Realm, a series by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. This series is also set in modern day japan with supernatural elements, however Arakawa’s style of writing is practically unchanged from her time on FMA. With an emphasis on action, intricate mysteries, and character building comedy with her trademark over exaggerated blocky style. There is of course Hiro Mashima who has started another new series, Dead Rock, and his style has also not changed that much. Then there is just flat out sequels to 2000s series like Gamaran Shura.

This to me shows that we are seeing a bit of a combination of people who are now entering the workforce inspired by creators of the past, but also that creators of the past still exist 20 years later and are still making content that hasn’t really undergone significant change.

Of course, we can’t also forget the implementation of the Manga Plus/J plus service which has opened up a very interesting ground for creators to have some of the most creatively out there series than what you may have expected from the shonen jump brand. I genuinely don’t think series like Make the Exorcist Fall in Love or Fire Punch would’ve ever been acceptable in the pages of a weekly shonen series. However one series in particular does feel like it could've and boy its been quite the success. Kaiju no 8.

Kaiju no 8 almost feels as though it is the AoT of a new generation with the amount of anticipation this one series has as well as the similarities between the series superficial elements. However, I'd say the key distinction between the two has been the tone. AoT took a dark and practically dour tone on its titan infested world. With an MC declaring war on all of his enemies. The pain was realistic, with human bodies being brittle and vulnerable. And the belief that just because you were a good person you weren't going to make it out alive. Kaiju no 8 instead opts for a more action oriented tone. Down playing the bleak realism for more "Hell yeah!" moments. With super science weapons that feel more akin to a tokusatsu show and fights and battles between humans an kanji the feel like the Dragon Ball style wrestling matches of old.

And of course, that’s not to say Jump hasn’t continued with series that feel more modern like the realistic and mellow romance of Blue Box or the dramatic coming of age story of Akane-Banashi.

But the presence of these series has caused somewhat of a friction with the popular conception of the magazine. Its safe to say that while “shonen” tends to think of action male oriented series, it can really just mean works aimed more at adolescents. But I think many tend to associate this familiar feeling of “what is shonen” with their popular introduction of the magazine. With a saturation of action and brash comedy series. This is further complicated by the fact many action series in jump are actually ending over the last decade. With new ones not popping up to replace them as frequently and series like One Piece and MHA and Black Clover basically stretching out across an entire decade or longer. In fact, I don’t think it's unreasonable to believe that the hype for something like Kagurabachi was in part a belief that it signaled a return of a type of familiar series and genre that had been missing. Or at the very least, looked to fill an inevitable gap the magazine was obviously going to be facing. Followed by the other commercial success of Nue’s Exorcist, we are likely to see these series last for a long time. At the time of this writing, Tokyo Revenger’s author Ken Wakui has released Astro Royale, a series that feels very similar to his previous work yet infused with this almost GetBackers flavor.

So that leaves us with the question at the start, are we seeing a rise in 2000s nostalgia in anime and manga?

Conclusion

So I'm sorry if I disappoint, but the best I can say is, I’m not certain. I do believe that from my observation I think it is reasonable to say that we are seeing a rise in creators in the shonen space being ones inspired by series from 20 years ago. However, I think we are also seeing creators who are from that time period also returning to write how they have always written.

On the consumer side, I think we can see that fans of anime and manga have changed in the sense their tastes can now be shaped by a much larger catalog of series at their disposal. But in the case of shonen, I think we are simply seeing those who likely got their start in anime at around the 2000s resonating with newer series drawing upon those series, but also with younger fans now likely to grow up with the tail end of what was popular in the 2010s now being influenced by the 2020s. I also believe that one of the defining features of the anime community in the last decade is hype culture. And currently we are seeing a rise in series that actually feel more catered to hype, be it a revival of a series they liked or predicting what will be the next success.

All and all, this piece was trying to tunnel on the shonen demographic in general, which is more likely than not going to have similar traits relative to itself. I do see us as a community endorsing trends of the past and there’s an excitement for these things to “come back” even if they may or may not have left. If you liked this please drop a like or reblog because I may do more of these think pieces in the future.

#anime #manga #think piece #discussion #shonen #shonen jump #kagurabachi #gachiakuta #nue's exorcist #undead unluck #kaiju no. 8 #bleach #one piece #naruto #yomi no tsugai #attack on titan

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tokiro07 · 29 days ago

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Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #15: Cuck Week

One Piece: The God's Knights use some kind of nightmare power to kidnap the children of Elbaph; Loki slams Ragnir, his hammer, into the World Tree, summoning lightning to strike the trunk and start a fire. Got some neat powers this week, though I'm curious if this means that Killingham ISN'T a Kirin Zoan and is actually some kind of dragon-man with a dream Devil Fruit OR if the dream power is a demonic ability like what the Elders seem to use

Roboco: A royal friend of Motsuo's visits from overseas, and despite Motsuo's failures to protect him from harm, he manages to have a great time and gifts Motsuo his old house back. I don't know how property tax works in Japan, but having a mansion definitely doesn't make him rich again, so I don't know the point to that bit

Sakamoto: The team escapes from the prison, only to be confronted by The Order, who reveal that they've allied themselves with Slur and have left JAA chairman Asaki undefended for Uzuki to kill; Uzuki publicly declares that he's establishing a new JAA. I'm so unclear on whether or not the general populace has even heard of the JAA, but I assume that either way this is going to have dramatic ramifications for the setting

EluSam: Morofuyu sees how far Tokiyuki's abilities have improved and asks what sort of training he did; Tokiyuki cannot bring himself to admit that he's been getting raucously slammed by three baddies for the last couple years and needed to bulk up just to survive, and tells him he's been training with animals instead. Matsui couldn't get permission to serialize F-Ken, so he had to find a way to incorporate fetishism into his power system SOMEHOW

Witch Watch: Wolf asks Nemu to bear his children, as he's afraid he'll one day fade away when Keigo no longer needs him, and wants to leave something tangible behind; Nemu admits that she loves both Wolf and Keigo, but refuses his confession because she doesn't want to be unfaithful to either of them; using a magic mirror, Keigo confronts Wolf, who challenges him to be more active with Nemu lest he take her first; Keigo resolves to confess to Nemu himself, though it seems he still doesn't quite have the courage just yet. Boo! BOO!!! You better just be cooking, Shinohara, cus if you're seriously going to say polyamory is unfaithful after Tozuka and Matsui went out of their way to make it a major positive plotpoint, I'm never going to forgive you! However, Wolf's motivations are extremely compelling; this is basically The Victor Problem from Undead Unluck, and being a magical setting, it can easily be solved without killing off Wolf

Blue Box: The ransom note turns out to be a ploy by Nagisa, who just wanted to talk to Taiki in private about Chinatsu, thanking him for being there for her and helping her stay in Japan. Very cute chapter, no notes

Akane: After her three years of training abroad, Akane returns to Issho, who asks what she's learned; when she answers that she's come to understand the value of what she has, Issho calls it a mundane, yet valuable enough lesson to acknowledge Akane as being ready to learn about Shiguma's Art. Again, I'm not sure I had the takeaway Suenaga wanted me to have, but I like that interaction; Issho having such an unusually soft reaction, and allowing Akane to come to her own conclusion rather than having a specific lesson in mind, demonstrates an interesting amount of depth to his character and teaching style that I hope will be greater informed in the coming chapters

Kill Blue: Looking back at her adventures and interactions with Juzo, Noren comes to a shocking discovery - although she'd once dismissed the possibility, she is in fact in love with Juzo. ...Okay, so she's definitely an adult that got Conan'd, right? Like there's no way Fujimaki is going to have these two get together otherwise, right? But if that's the case...who is her dad, really...? Are they actually ex's and he's just playing a role? But then why would he stage this whole thing about her getting engaged...The implications of this series are truly mindboggling...

Nue: As Squad 6 attempts to escape from Gashadokuro, Nue helps Gakuro to unlock one more upgrade - his Soul Armor; Gashadokuro is so impressed with Gakuro's growth that he becomes jealous that Nue got him first. WOW that's the dumbest crossguard I've ever seen on a fantasy weapon! It's unique, but it's so impractical!!! You can even see how awkwardly Gakuro's wrist has to bend to hold that stupid thing!!! Anyway, wasn't the current goal to get Gakuro to force a contract with Gashadokuro? It seems like he'd be pretty down for it, why not take advantage of the fact that he's asking for Gakuro to join him?

Kagurabachi: As her memories return, Iori flashes back to her former relationship with her father, and the death of her mother; at the point where they started to get along, the Hishaku appeared with a proposal for Samura. Hakazono's really good at establishing compelling dynamics within one chapter, and Samura's contact with the Hishaku being part of his motivation for erasing Iori's memories adds an interesting layer to his decision to form a contract with them

Chojo: Finally back from overseas, Inukai is confronted with a shocking rumor - that Keinain is dating Ippongi! Traumatized by losing Chojo to her, Inukai panics and accidentally gets himself Me-Too'd; Inukai's fears of losing Keinain are assuaged when he hears Keinain defending him from petty coworkers. It somehow only just sunk in how many ships there are in this series, I wonder if there are any plans to make good on any of them?

Astro Royale: Terasu's next opponent tries to assassinate him behind the scenes, but Shikaba interferes and knocks them both out of the tournament, making Hibaru the winner by default and allowing him to jump straight to fighting Shikaba. Man, it's almost like there was no point to Terasu being in the tournament in the first place

Kiyoshi: After Bakku's defeat, Jack Joe pleads to spare him as his old friend; as Bakku bids goodbye through tears of joy, he is suddenly killed, seemingly by another Demon Lord; meanwhile, Hydrako lures out Kiyoshi with seemingly yandere intentions. BAKKUUU!!! Wait, is his name Bakku Yoraku or Yoraku Bakku? Weird to suddenly change it like that, I wonder which way was the error...I am legit upset about this development, but I'm also unclear on what it takes to kill a demon considering what Yamada survived in chapter 1

Hima-Ten: The group goes to a beach house, and the girls all fish for compliments on their swimsuits, though only Himari doesn't get one; while she tries to get over her jealousy, Himari gets hit by a wave and loses her contact lenses, only to be saved by Tenichi. I truly don't understand why Tenichi would need to quit working for Himari if he starts dating, that's dumb

Ichi: Gokuraku sees through Uroro's empty promise and flies off the handle, reminded of his nemesis - the local deified Magik, Bakugami, a Human Hater disguised as a benevolent god, plotting to sacrifice his followers as a tribute to the World Hater. ...I guess that makes more sense than Gokuraku fighting Ichi, huh? I wonder if defeating Bakugami will allow Gokuraku to become a Witch, or if he'll accept that he can't become one once his goal is fulfilled?

Shinobi: Kawasemi overpowers Yodaka and reveals that Public Safety are the ones responsible for the death of Aoi's parents; he offers to ensure Aoi's safety if Yodaka joins the Fugitive Ninja, but Yodaka refuses to give her to someone who will make her life miserable. It seems that's the theme of the arc, as Yodaka also refused to give Aoi to Suzume because of her view on relationships

Syd Craft: Misery returns and tricks Syd and co. into entering a haunted house...which, due to safety concerns, has been modified into a fun thriller attraction rather than the death trap it was meant to be. A+. 10 outta 10. Perfect chapter. Misery should be the main character and all the girls should be lusting after her

Embers: Takami manages to receive the ball from Haitani, but cracks under the pressures put on him by everyone's expectations of him to be an ace scorer, especially from his father; one failed goal nearly breaks Takami's spirit, but Haitani's refusal to allow a single failure to define someone resonates with him and gives him the motivation to try again and successfully score a goal. Haitani's entire dynamic with soccer is a string of failures that slowly stacked into success, so he's the ideal person to refute Takami's perfectionism; the theme of second chances is really resonating with me, I wonder how it will be applied to someone like Inanaki who seems so irredeemably nasty

Beethoven: Claude is distressed to learn that Yaso is back to playing piano and trying to transfer into Reiro Academy, as doing so threatens to tarnish the memory of his victory over him two years ago; because the students are set to be the judges for Yaso's audition, Claude preemptively decides that he won't allow Yaso to pass no matter what; with two weeks to practice, Beethoven plans to teach Yaso how to play Apassionata so well that no one can deny his skill no matter how much they want to. Claude's insult game is insane; he's already a great antagonist just from representing the antithesis of Yaso's master's philosophy, but his loony personality and animated movements make him shockingly endearing for someone so downright reprehensible

As if in response to me calling last week's issue Polybait Week, Jump went out of their way to crush my hopes with spite, jealousy and near explicit cuckoldry!

Nemu explicitly denying the possibility of polyamory and Wolf threatening to cuck Keigo, Himari putting herself on the backburner for Tenichi but still acting jealous, Inukai mistaking Ippongi for an outright homewrecker...okay, that last one wasn't based on last week, but still!

I would argue that Nue's Exorcist also played with the idea, as not only was this a Nue-heavy chapter, but Gashadokuro was kinda getting cucked by Gakuro taking away Shiroha AND by Nue having Gakuro as her vessel

At least EluSam keeps leading the pack by continuing to show us the true Power of Love...making...

Top 3 of the Week:

Ichi the Witch for delving into Gokuraku's motivations

Star of Beethoven for our new special little freak boy

Syd Craft for Miseryyy~~~

Embers' dynamic between its leads was super interesting, Shinobi Undercover continues to endear me to Yodaka and Aoi's relationship, and of course Elusive Samurai had one of the funniest gags I've ever seen from Jump, but these three weirdos have all dug themselves into my brain and I need to acknowledge that

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