#stitchy manga live blogs

[rainofbrasspetal]

Two of my favorite guys tbh

[rainofbrasspetal]

Grappler Baki: The Stitchy Review

Started Grappler Baki June 17 2024.

Finished Grappler Baki July 6 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 9/10

I, like many others, have seen those infamous clips and "WTF is Baki even about" memes. I finally decided to take a look at the source for myself. WTF is Baki? Well, it's peak, I'm afraid.

I was once a hater of Itagaki Sensei's artstyle, I thought Baki was so ugly. "How can people stand to look at it?" I would ask myself. I am extremely happy to report, however, that I now have no choice but to stan my king and Baki's art. I think Baki has fantastic and engaging art. Baki's girlfriend, his landlady, his mother, ect, they all look like regular people. Only the guys that fight and have dedicated themselves to being "the strongest" have these horrificly muscular bodies. It makes a lot of sense to me and makes everything else pretty easy to swallow.

Each character is also pretty destinct which is also fantastic. I happened to really fall in love with the cast. I brought up my character designer friend in my Mashle review, but I was discussing Baki with her earlier today. She correctly noted that hight difference is also really important and Baki has it in spades. Yujiro Hanma is like the strongest dude ever to exist and there are actually a few characters taller than or almost as tall as he is. Baki himself is also pretty short, which is great. It makes everyone stand out more and helps the silhouette of the characters. Baki also looks like he really is a 17 year old boy! Another plus in a world where I am supposed to believe that Kiyomaro Takamine (Zatch/Gash Bell) is a middle schooler! He also has a great personality, a fun protagonist that almost seems out of place in such a violent story.

Grappler Baki is the most "normal" of the series, from what I can tell. All the big memes aren't going to be found here, unfortunately. That being said, this manga is still absolute nonsense. There's biting and ripping and breaking and just incredibly unbelievable violence. Baki characters feel like cockroaches! Baki himself takes a ridiculous amount of damage and just is fine at the end of the day sometimes. It really reminds me of the old brutal Mortal Kombat 9 x-ray moves, like Sub-Zero freezing your stomach and crushing it, before just continuing the fight like that didn't happen to you. The fights are so brutal and engaging to watch. Even when the side characters were going to fight, I often found myself excited to see how it went. It's just a good old time.

If you've never read or watched Baki, I don't want to give too much away from the plot (MAKE SURE YOU DO SOME RESEARCH! It really took me a minute to figure out what order best to consume the story as a whole. There's like 5 or 6 Baki mangas and two of them have the same name). I will say that I was really locked in the whole time, though! UNFORTUNATELY, this also has the bit where it loses that perfect 10/10 score. I will tell you that Grappler Baki has maybe four important female characters and unfortunately they are pretty lacking. They really don't get to do too much, Baki's girlfriend especially doesn't do much.

Most of our story revolves around a tournament, which is also a big plus. What arcs does everyone love? Naruto's Chunin Exams, Yu Yu Hakusho's Dark Tournament and, Dragon Ball's Tenka'ichi Budōkai, Yu-Gi-Oh's Battle City! The people love tournament arcs! We yearn for the tournament! Even Oda stuck one in One Piece during Dressrosa! A main plot that revolves around a tournament, what more could we ask of Grappler Baki?

Another thing I believe Grappler Baki handles well is what I'm going to call, "The Vegeta Problem." I call it The Vegeta Problem because he is always the first character I'll think of in the context. I define it as: introducing a character that is supposed to be so strong and intimidating but usually gets whipped before the main character gets to take his turn and beat the bad guy. Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu. Since Baki's villain is Yujiro Hanma, and he's said to be untouchable and just a ridiculously impossible standard, it never feels like someone is weak when they lose to him. Even people who lose often put up decent fights. Baki is very good at making fights really edge of your seat, which is refreshing!

In conclusion, Grappler Baki is a fantastic read. It has everything someone would want from a manga mainly about fighting. A ridiculous ride that grabs you and makes you really want to see where the twists and turns take the story!

[rainofbrasspetal]

Inuyasha: The Stitchy Retrospective

Started Inuyasha January 26 2024.

Finished Inuyasha May 24 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 6/10

As a huge fan of Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2, it seems almost sacrilege to have never read or watched Inuyasha in all my years on this earth. A series revered and loved by many anime fans. Yet, here we are. I decided to pick the manga up this year just to say I did, plus it's probably Rumiko Takahashi's most famous work. I went in excited to see how Takahashi Sensei would handle a long running over arching shounen plot. The chapters of Urusei Yatsura that are a lot more plot focused are really strong! Especially the last bit of the manga and when she first introduced Inaba. Unfortunately I left Inuyasha very underwhelmed, especially for something as revered as it is.

The main plot of Inuyasha is constantly hurt by how rough the pacing is. In my humble opinion, this 558 chapter manga feels more bloated than something twice as long like One Piece. It's meandering and it feels like a lot of the time, it doesn't really know what direction it wants to go exactly. It feels to me that all the people remember is their OTP. Now, there's nothing wrong with that but, it is quite telling to me that nobody really talks about the plot on the stan accounts. By far the worst part of this story is Kikyo. She constantly grinds character growth to a halt. Every time this woman is around, it's always the exact same song and dance. Inuyasha is understandably still working through how he felt about her, especially because he spent 50 years thinking she betrayed him for no reason. Kagome gets understandably jealous and even has the very normal reaction of worrying if Inuyasha likes HER or likes her because she looks like Kikyo. These are great tools for character arcs, in truth, Kagome is very young and Inuyasha is very immature. We want to see our characters grow and change in a story like this. 300+ chapters in, however, these arcs should be long behind us. Yet Kikyo, the dead woman, sticks around for SO LONG, bogging and slowing down the plot. Her long presence in the story also takes a lot from Kagome herself as well. I was really excited to see Kagome was the ace in the hole. She can see the shards, she can shoot light arrows, her ancestry is just really strong. I wanted to see her grow as a priestess and really make the power her own but, it really just ended up being she's a worse Kikyo until an arc that comes way too late in the story. Inuyasha and Kagome also have just an okay romance. It would be a lot better if Kikyo was not around bogging everything down. It was so hard to get through and I really wanted it to end about halfway through. Naraku is actually a fine villain but he too gets exhausting.

What about the good? The art is, as always, fantastic. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the best manga artists to ever do it and she really shows it off in Inuyasha. The horror elements are all incredible. Our four main characters all all distinct and very cute. Her expressions are fantastic. Shesshosmaru and his character arc were interesting and he proved a good foil for his younger brother. The real OTP for me was Miroku and Sango, however. Maybe it's my firm love for sleezy characters with hearts of gold, like Ataru Moroboshi or Spirit Albarn, but every time they were together was cute and fun. Sango ending up a homemaker was a little dissapointing but I'm very happy they ended up together happy and healthy.

Overall, I think Inuyasha was pretty mid. Now that's mid as in okay not as in grabage, like so many use as short hand. It was an okay story with great art and lovable characters (except Kikyo) and overall I'm glad I read it. Will I again? Most likely not but, again, I'm happy that I have read it to say I have. Think this manga would have really benefited from being a lot shorter or with some better pacing.

Hopefully her newer series, Mao, fixes some of the problems I had with Inuyasha. Especially since from the description, it really just sounds like Inuyasha but again. We will cross that bridge when we get there, I suppose.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Mashle: The Stitchy Review

Started Mashle May 26 2024.

Finished Mashle June 17 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 6/10

Shortly after finishing Inuyasha, I wanted something really straightforward. More importantly something short. At a crisp 163 chapters, Mashle really delivered on that. Mashle has a pretty good bag of jokes and a great artstyle.

A friend of mine, someone who does a lot of character design, always tells me that simple designs will always look better. Usually she's right and this time is no exception. I think Mashle really is visually appealing. As someone who also loves film discussions and film as art, it seems almost comical to say. Something that feels like it's such a surface level compliment, "The camera work was fantastic!" Of course it was! It's a movie! That's like the most basic thing you have to do! With visual mediums like movies, or especially comics and manga, you still have to point out when things look good. It's a luxury I think consumers of a visual medium may take for granted. Mashle having such a great artstyle also adds to the overall gag of the manga. There's even a lot of good fights with great scene blocking. Plus I love that it really is based around a dude that doesn't use magic and never will. Right, MHA? 🤨

The gags are, as with most comedy, hit or miss. When Mashle hits, however, it does. I also appreciate that the viz translation managed to weave words like "cringe" into the dialog without it really feeling like it's trying to hard. I'm sure this will be dated as time marches forward, but for now it's pretty charming.

Unfortunately, the gags also add to a couple of the negatives. I can't rate it that high objectively because Mashle really tries to be serious while making fun of itself. This is such a dangerous tightrope to walk. Mashle really tries to be a racism allegory. It feels like a little too much; have your cake and eat it too. The actual plot is also so incredibly straightforward. It can be a positive to save time that way, but it's also a negative in being memberal overall. The villain isn't set up all that well and while there are so many cool designs and fights, a lot of them aren't very engaging outside of a gag or the fact they showed up one time. A lot of the big badasses show up once and are kind of boddied offscreen as the endgame comes. They all show up for such a short time. Everyone has a sad backstory while the main character makes fun of them for wasting time with a sob story. It can be funny if it wasn't the thing every time. I don't know how I am expected to care about certain characters when their only joke at the end of the day is "sister complex freak" or villains who have a sad backstory before Mash looking at the audience like "👈😏 this guy, huh audience?" Serious moments are often overshadowed by these eternal gags.

In conclusion, Mashle is a fun and quick read. It stumbles a lot because sometimes it tries to drop the funny to look at you very seriously and tell you that an oppressive class in charge is not good and everyone should ever be treated as less than human (great message, but it doesn't feel like it does a good job). Despite it all, it's fun to look at and it's a nice "turn your brain off" kind of time. Like I said, some of these jokes are real zingers. I would recommend this to people but I would really caution them that you're not going to get much substance out of it. I don't know if I'd read it again myself, but I think it has it's moments and I enjoyed my time.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 1081 - Kuzan, Tenth Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates

Finally Oda blesses me with the delicious Kuzan content I have been thirsting for so desperately.

I'm so glad to finally know how this dude got here. I have been fucking wracking my brain as to why in a million years these two ever teamed up.

Getting a nice little crumb of where the next Poneglyph is. I can't wait to not know who the man marked with flames is supposed to be for the next few years!

I can see why the thought of having his own agenda and it making him successful would be alluring to him. Especially after mentioning Ohara and how he really hated that he had to do that.

I'm just so happy to have some delicious Kuzan content...

Makes sense why Blackbeard went straight for Law with the op op fruit. Seeing Bepo go Sulong finally was sick. Wish he got to do it at Wano with everyone else tho.

Also it looks like Kid and Law are done. Which really sucks. I always had the vison of like a new generation and the legends of those big 3 of the worst generation being like the next generation's names like Roger, Whitebeard, and Shiki. I don't think they are out of the story just yet. Oda set too much up for them but it sure is sad that their solo adventure ends here.

Also thank God no break next week.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 127: Save the Asa

This was a really great chapter. It was a really good showing of Denji's empathy towards others and how yes he has it so bad but yes he keeps going. In depression as deep as Asa's it really can feel like nobody has it worse or understands but there's always people around you that can help keep your feet on the ground.

And then he said this

Absolute clown man idiot. Nothing but love for him.

[rainofbrasspetal]

This is my favorite bit in Sakamoto Days. Everyone should read it!!

[rainofbrasspetal]

Bleach: Final Thoughts

I have just finished the final arc and the final chapter of Bleach. I spent many years as a hater because I heard it was bad and because as a kid and I carried that belief for years. As I have gotten older, I have softened a little bit towards media and became more willing to give things a chance. I just wanted something to read while waiting on new One Piece, CSM, and JoJo. Bleach is just shy of 700 chapters so it seemed like it would be an okay time sink. I didn't know anything about Bleach other than after the first arc is bad and I thought that I might as well give it a shot.

As I finish this series, it becomes a favorite of mine tbh. Kubo is probably one of the most talented artists I have had the pleasure of reading. His designs are so creative and visually pleasing. His blocking and panel work are engaging and sometimes really creative. This display of Shinji's ability is so sick. I love looking at it.

Kubo actually playing with the word bubbles like this to display the other character's power of "painting over names" is so cool that I kept going back and reading these couple of pages this happens before moving on.

The main cast are all great and very very easily likable. I ended up really loving them all. I found it really hard not to. The side characters and villains had a lot of great designs and I enjoyed almost all of them really. The powers and the bankai were all really fun and unique; bankai also had great designs. Boy, oh boy! One thing about me with these shounen battle manga, I love whacky powers that can just be whatever!

They weren't kidding that Soul Society was such a great arc. Everything about that arc really clicked and it was so well written! The common complaint about the Arrancar arc is just Soul Society again and I feel that but honestly, it was still fun. I was engaged enough and having enough fun to not really care. I will say, after looking into the filler, if I was watching the anime, I would have dropped it pretty quick. Luckily I had a good pace thanks to reading instead. I was talking to my friend yesterday and he said the he dropped off at the end of Arrancar because he thought that was where it really should end. If I had watched the anime, I would have agreed. Fullbringers was mainly just a fine arc. Sure there were parts I liked and characters I liked but it was really just an okay arc that existed just so Ichigo could get his powers back. However, since I was reading and got to read 1000 Blood War all at once, I disagree with the sentiment. That last arc is really really strong. 1000 Blood War is such a great arc with well raised stakes and a satisfying ending in my opinion.

Any complaints I have would be again that the Fullbringers is definitely the weakest arc, Nel was a really weird character. I thought she was cute as a kid but didn't like her as an adult. Some of the fights dragged a little but overall the fights were really cool.

I had a great time with the series. Sure I had a few problems here and there but I loved it a ton overall!

I would give it an 8/10 on the Stitchy Scale. It was great and I'll definitely want to collect physical copies in the future!

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 181 - And The Rain Left Off

So now that I know that Byakuya is actually Rukia's brother in law instead of just adopted brother, I kind of like it. It's a short and sweet story that showed us the struggle he faced between honor and love for his late wife. Surprised that some people are not just freaking arrested (Izuru...) but you know that's just how it be sometimes.

Anyway Renji and Ichigo continue to have a fun dynamic. It's kinda like Zoro and Sanji but I feel like these dudes would actually like to hang out.

Rukia being told not to apologize was also a good touch. We also are shown more of Rukia's belief that she should shoulder the guilt of her actions alone.

I also like that Orihime thinks that Ishida likes Rukia when it seems he has feelings for her. Teehee how humorous. I like that he's good at sewing and likes making cute little outfits!

I really like the last page of the Soul Society arc. I'm pretty sure this is the end...either way it's very sweet.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Start of Volume 20!

Good cover, love that the evil looking guy is evil. Great work Kubo

Chapter 168.5 - Blooming Under a Cold Moon

Extra chapter. It was cute enough. I always like things that build on character relationships.

I liked this sentiment. It's a day you get to pick and it can be symbolic which is really nice.

Chapter 169 - End of Hypnosis

God I love shit like this. I love when people have whacky little powers that are fun. Wabisuke is a neat little idea. Plus it's a hook bro, I'm so weak for hooks. Wish I could remember this dude's name.

Also this is a crazy reveal! The evil looking guy is working for the guy who was nice! The nice guy was evil and faked his death! Kubo you sly fellow. Plus that panel of Aizen in Momo's pupil? Sick. Dope even. I am always reminded how good an artist Kubo is. It looks great.

Oh I see

Chapter 170 - End of Hypnosis2 (The Galvanizer)

Me when I am honest and morally sound.

With the reveal that Aizen has been cooking this shit since he became captain is wild. Now I am even more desperate to find out what this end goal is. I was already thirsty for it with Gin, but now I NEED to know. (RIP Tôshiro btw 🙏)

Chapter 171 - End of Hypnosis3 (The Blue Fog)

Now we know why these chapters have been called End Of Hypnosis. Isn't story telling just neat! Aizen's ability is pretty cool. I like that the man who has been manipulating things from behind the scenes has the power that lets him be a manipulator.

Kubo also just keeps hitting us with these reveals in these chapters dog.

Hopefully we're going to learn this endgame soon. Especially since Kaname doesn't like fighting and wants peace. I want to see how Aizen has convinced him to achieve that.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 186 - Tell Your Children the Truth

So there have been a lot of reveals in these last few chapters.

First off, love my man Shinji. Weak for a character that has a grin like that in manga tbh. The exchange telling Ichigo to keep it down in the last chapter or so was really cool. He's no Kenpachi but I'll probably like him a lot like Kurotsuchi.

The Ishida dad reveal is cool. Some family drama to mix into this here situation...plus he can't associate with soul reapers any more if he wants his powers. What about his bestie, Ichigo?

Speaking of Ichigo

This was a crazy ass reveal...

Chapter 187 - The Cigar Blues, Part 2

Not much to say on this chapter besides I think it's cute that his dad never called Kon, Ichigo while in his body. It's a fun little "oh yeah omg" moment for the audience. Also I'm glad we at least get a bit of an explanation of him having all that pressure out of the gate.

Oh and CAPTAIN LEVEL?

Volume 22 Cover

Shinji is cooler than this dude design wise imo...

Since drafting this I hit volume 51.

The Arancar arc sure was freaking long but honestly I was overall pleased. The Grimjow fight was good and was what I had been waiting for in these Bleach fights. I'm really glad Chad got to do more and that my man Kurotsuchi showed up. Plus Kenpachi. I went crazy when I saw that dude. I really didn't care for Nel. I liked her as a kid and her boys were really funny but when she became an adult again for like 5 seconds and then disappeared after Kenpachi showed up was really weird. Not to mention it implied she was like wow I am in love with Ichigo! That was kind of freaking weird Kubo...but the rest of the arc was neat and a pretty good time. My favorite Arancar was Nnoitra.

Like I said, I'm so fuckin weak for characters with that type of grin. I can't help but love them! Peak character design when they have that freak smile.

Speaking of...

Shinji has been upgraded to be the guy ever. Sorry Kenpachi. I still love you. I also loved the rest of the Vizored so much. Great dynamic, designs, and the backstory was very neat. I hope I can see them in the future.

Not hating the Lost Agent arc so far. I think it's really funny how Kubo keeps introducing allies but acts like they are evil until revealing they are chill. Like "omg who is this mysterious guy that knows about Ichigo?!? What's he after?! What's this weird organization?! Oh they are nice! :)" it's always funny to me.

The winner so far is who graces volume 51, Riruka. Especially because of this exchange.

She's so fun and I love characters that are vain like this...

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 176 - End of Hypnosis8 (The Transfixtion)

Well I suppose this answers my question about Byakuya...

I guess that's true that he could just do his hypnosis shit and make people think the 46 are alive. I suppose I should have thought of it. Tôsen and Komamura friendship backstory was nice. Sets up some stuff for Komamura later that I hope pays off.

Chapter 178 - End of Hypnosis10 (No One Stands on The Sky)

Man Kubo is such a good artist.

I like the drama here for them. Perhaps obviously evil man feels regret for being evil? We shall see...

Once again. Kubo is such a good artist.

I love this moment on top of how good it looks too. Screaming at an old friend. Just wanting to know why you stand there with a broken heart. Begging for him to come to his senses.

Also so funny he did this

Erm I'm freaking cool now. Glasses are for not evil losers.

This chapter was kinda nuts tbh. If this is the end of the arc, this is such a great arc. I am excited to see where we go but hear Kubo fumbles the bag so I'm also really scared...

[rainofbrasspetal]

Chapter 172 - End of Hypnosis4 (Prisoners in Paradise)

Learning what Kurotsuchi looks like makes me feel sad. It feels like when the curtain is pulled back in the Wizard of Oz tbh. I will say that I would have been able to tell that was him even if Nemu wasn't there because of his face. So yeah shout out again to Kubo's character design! 👍

Also again I really like this political bullshit. It was revealed chapters ago but I love that the council has been dead this whole time and their orders were bullshit. Just Aizen pulling strings.

Wait actually doesn't this mean that Byakyua is also working with Aizen? He went to talk to the 46 about her execution iirc! I suppose I'll have to see...

Chapter 173 - End of Hypnosis5 (Standing to Defend You)

This chapter is so dramatic, I love it. I love what this means for Renji and the people that looked up to Aizen. This is some classic evil puppet master shit. The me you know and love is a lie. The man you looked up to never existed. It's soul crushing and changes so much about your life in the past and how you are able to see it. The rose tinted glasses are shattered and tossed aside to reveal there was never anything at all. It's cruel. I love it.

Renji also has a really great character arc I think. I like him going from doing his duty to following his heart so fiercely that he would rather die than let go. I think he and Rukia should be the endgame ship tbh.

Chapter 174 - End of Hypnosis6 (The United Front)

This is a fun dynamic.

Man this looks so good and epic and cool. I'm so glad we get these awesome pages after Renji doing some cool bullshit

Then Aizen hits him with the

Chapter 175 - End of Hypnosis7 (Truth Under my Strings)

This was a nice and needed exposition chapter. I remember Rukia mentioning that it was weird that she didn't have her powers back yet like a few times. Now we know it's because Urahara waa trying to turn her human because of his Dr. Frankenstein fuck up. It's also nice to finally learn why he had to leave Soul Society the way he did.

As an aside, I think I will no longer be doing this chapter by chapter individually. While it's nice to jot down my thoughts, this shit is really slowing me down...

[rainofbrasspetal]

I think I will live blog reading Bleach 167 chapters in because I think it would be fun teehee!

My thoughts so far, while I'm in the middle of Soul Society is that I'm having a great time. The man cast is really lovable and Kubo has great character design. Ichigo is basically diet Yusuke Urameshi but that's okay. Orihime is a really fun character and Chad fucking rules. Ishida is also a very loveable fellow. We all love a foil. I like how the swords and the bankai are all unique because it makes shit more fun to read and look at. The fights felt a little shakey at first but they got way better. Especially Renji vs Byakuya and Kenpachi's fight with the other captains.

I have decided that I am a Kenpachi stan but I really like Kurotsuchi because he has such a great silhouette and he's such an evil fellow.

Here are a few pannels I really like so far

Also there was a random Blazing Saddles refrence early on when Kon is first introduced. Neat! 👍