Showing posts with label Bleach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bleach. Show all posts
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Bleach Chapter 416 Rave
Early this week I mentioned how the most recent chapter of Bleach was good, and to my amazement I was pretty much alone in that thought. After the trashing I’ve been giving Bleach for the past few weeks I figure people just assumed I’d be harsh on the newest chapter, however I must state that I’m not going to lie when I find a chapter honestly decent. The newest chapter of Bleach is good! It’s not great, and the quality of it pales in comparison to even average chapters of other, better manga, but still it was not a bad chapter. Why? Because this is the first time in a while that I hated Aizen… for the right reasons.
For months now Aizen has become the malignant tumor of Bleach; irremovable and doomed to kill the story. I hated what he did because he was a terrible villain. His actions weren’t evil, just over powered. I felt nothing regarding him smashing the cast into pieces just to prove his strength, and Bleach’s inability to truly sell someone as dying makes caring about their supposed demise impossible. I don’t believe the Soul Society will be killed, and thus I don’t care much when it appears they’ve been killed. Aizen failed, for months, to make me hate him for his actions and not just his existence. I hate that he’s an overpowered asshole who buries the cast to boost his already maxed ego. However this week, for one chapter, I hated him for his actions and not who he is.
Killing Gin (or presumably killing him) was the first action Aizen has done since striking down Tousen that legitimately pissed me off at him. I wanted him to get beat then, and I want him to be beaten now. Gin wasn’t the best character, and it’s tough feeling too bad for the same dude that tortured Rukia before her execution, but you do get the feeling that Gin was trying to accomplish something noble. His good-bye to Matsumoto was sweet, and I must note that Kubo actually has very intriguing side characters. The relationships between characters like Matsumoto and Gin or Komamura and Tousen are far more interesting and well developed than characters like Kenpachi or Ichigio.
Aizen did made it savage right off the bat by ripping Gin’s arm clean off, and moments like this strike me. Granted arm removal in Bleach has become somewhat of a trope, but this instant reminded me of the rather vicious scene where Matsumoto lost half of her chest from the attack of the chimera. The resolution to that was bullshit, and I imagine I’ll be displeased with the end result to all of this too, but as of now I remain optimistic and honest when I say that Aizen ripping of Gin’s arm and then cutting him down was pretty intense and intriguing. Follow that up with Ichigo appearing, and for once I’m excited about Bleach. Ichigo appearing means less of the bullshit burying, and we will, fingers crossed, finally see the asshole dead once and for all.
Look, I don’t think Bleach will get good. I think Ichigo v Aizen will be long, boring, and overall very unfulfilling. That doesn’t mean I won’t say I enjoyed this chapter. It was a nice change of pace to actually feel sorry for the guy getting cut down by Aizen instead of just saying “OH COME ON! AGAIN!?” Gin being more than a wild killer has been hinted at for ages, so I’m glad the payoff was something I could get emotionally attached to. Drink it in fans, and get your hate ready. Rollo T liked Bleach this week.
For months now Aizen has become the malignant tumor of Bleach; irremovable and doomed to kill the story. I hated what he did because he was a terrible villain. His actions weren’t evil, just over powered. I felt nothing regarding him smashing the cast into pieces just to prove his strength, and Bleach’s inability to truly sell someone as dying makes caring about their supposed demise impossible. I don’t believe the Soul Society will be killed, and thus I don’t care much when it appears they’ve been killed. Aizen failed, for months, to make me hate him for his actions and not just his existence. I hate that he’s an overpowered asshole who buries the cast to boost his already maxed ego. However this week, for one chapter, I hated him for his actions and not who he is.
Killing Gin (or presumably killing him) was the first action Aizen has done since striking down Tousen that legitimately pissed me off at him. I wanted him to get beat then, and I want him to be beaten now. Gin wasn’t the best character, and it’s tough feeling too bad for the same dude that tortured Rukia before her execution, but you do get the feeling that Gin was trying to accomplish something noble. His good-bye to Matsumoto was sweet, and I must note that Kubo actually has very intriguing side characters. The relationships between characters like Matsumoto and Gin or Komamura and Tousen are far more interesting and well developed than characters like Kenpachi or Ichigio.
Aizen did made it savage right off the bat by ripping Gin’s arm clean off, and moments like this strike me. Granted arm removal in Bleach has become somewhat of a trope, but this instant reminded me of the rather vicious scene where Matsumoto lost half of her chest from the attack of the chimera. The resolution to that was bullshit, and I imagine I’ll be displeased with the end result to all of this too, but as of now I remain optimistic and honest when I say that Aizen ripping of Gin’s arm and then cutting him down was pretty intense and intriguing. Follow that up with Ichigo appearing, and for once I’m excited about Bleach. Ichigo appearing means less of the bullshit burying, and we will, fingers crossed, finally see the asshole dead once and for all.
Look, I don’t think Bleach will get good. I think Ichigo v Aizen will be long, boring, and overall very unfulfilling. That doesn’t mean I won’t say I enjoyed this chapter. It was a nice change of pace to actually feel sorry for the guy getting cut down by Aizen instead of just saying “OH COME ON! AGAIN!?” Gin being more than a wild killer has been hinted at for ages, so I’m glad the payoff was something I could get emotionally attached to. Drink it in fans, and get your hate ready. Rollo T liked Bleach this week.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Weekly Manga Update: August 17th, 2010
Hey everyone, sorry I’ve been quiet regarding manga for a bit. My plan since the first recap was to do the next episode in video. Well the first time I recorded it was the day my internet died, so the chapters were dated by the time I got back online. I then tried recording regarding this week’s manga, but when I did my recording I realized ten minutes in that my camera ran out of power, and since then I just haven’t sat down to refilm it. Instead I’ll make this upcoming week the first time I’ll try the review in my new video format (it’s just a vlog nothing special). However I still want to get out my thoughts regarding the last week in manga, so why not do it again, but in written form?
Something else I decided was not to talk about each individual manga, but more so the interesting ones. The really bad ones, the really good ones, or the ones simply worth noting as discussing each manga could take awhile. So this week I wanted to talk about Bakuman, SWOT, Beelzebub, Naruto, and Bleach. Let’s get into it.
Bakuman 96 – Originally this chapter panned out to be rather boring as it was one of the chapters talking about rankings and votes. This chapter would have been a very decisive “meh” were it not for a double paged spread towards the end. One thing I love about Bakuman is reading a lot of the suggestions they make regarding manga, and seeing how it comes off in the actual story. For example a recent chapter had the characters discussing “tones” in a manga and how using a lighter tone helps out the story, and I think a lot of people really thought that was silly. However look back to early Bakuman, and you can see the series had a lot of darker tones to it, and it really had a distinctive Deathnote feel. Now Bakuman has its own style and it’s due in part to the tones. I love that stuff, and the two page spread utilized another tool they were talking about with dynamic paneling.
The two page spread was great in both story and art. Storywise it was Hattori admitting that he believes Mashiro and Takagi are finally surpassing him and have the talent to beat Eiji, and art wise the way the pages were structured justified this epic moment using two pages. Seriously, the art is amazing, and you just need to remember what they said just a few chapters ago about using panels to create something dynamic. The two-page spread was, in all likelihood, one of my favorite spreads ever. Loved it. Good chapter.
SWOT 6 – When I first read SWOT I read its One-Shot thinking it was the first chapter, and I thought the story sucked. The One-Shot was not very good and it felt like a quick in and out story for Jump. Reading the real first chapter and the five following chapters, I have to say that SWOT still seems stereotypical, but it’s a lot more interesting. Manabizaki is a really fun character who thankfully breaks the snobby elitist savant student stereotype that plagues manga nowadays. While he is smart and does look down on others, he’s far from calm, cool, or collected and in fact he’s probably more erratic than most of the people he looks down on. Most characters of his type would sit back and just say “jeez it’s tough being so much smarter than everybody else”. This guy hurls desks across the room when he can’t find a pencil. I love it.
Plus his fighting style and dream changed from the one shot to the syndicated story. In the one shot he wants to work for NASA and he knows how to fight using that cliché method they always have smart people use where they can predict how an opponent will move because they’re so effing smart. They changed that in the series in that he wants to build a UFO instead, and he learned to fight so that he can combat aliens. It’s silly, but it should be silly! I like the wacky stupid answer way more than the generic yawn-fest one. Still, the manga has faults. It’s predictable to the extreme. While this isn’t bad, it keeps some parts from being as enjoyable as the author intended. The moment I saw the long haired, sword wielding delinquent who only wants to fight “strong opponents” I knew he’d end up an ally of the group. Also the main female lead, Haruno (I believe) has been relatively boring. She hasn’t done much of anything despite the fact she’s supposed to be one of the strongest students in the school. There’s a reason why she doesn’t fight, but having her do something would be nice as so far she hasn’t left nearly the same impression the rest of the cast has.
I can’t recommend this title yet as I still am not sold on the product. Still, it has potential, and I’m content to give the series 20 or so chapters to see how it goes. Perhaps I’ll do a follow up on the series then and let you know if you should check it out… barring it’s still running.
Beelzebub 72 – More people need to read this manga. Please, if you read this manga please say if you do in the comments because it feels like way too many people are forsaking this title. It’s great. I’m trying to get Y Ruler of Time to read it so he can do a review on it like Toriko and Bakuman (which I helped convince him to read thank you very much). It’s a great series full of fun characters, interesting action, and side splitting humor. READ IT!
Anyway, this week initially got me quaking in my boots as it felt like Kundiea admitting her feelings was a big sign the manga was ending. Thankfully a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter ensures that’s not the case, so in the end it was just a really good chapter. I love Kundiea as a character, and she might even be my favorite female character in manga right now. I really like what the author is doing with her, and yet again the chapter has a moment that made me bust out laughing. I’ll simply say it again. If you don’t read Beelzebub, you need to give it a try. Trust me that it becomes an absolutely hysterical manga.
Naruto 505 – For the past few years Naruto has been the red headed stepchild of Jump. Everyone hated it, and for good reason: it sucked. Recently the series hasn’t been bad. They’ve removed Sasuke from the equation, and gave us fan-favorite Killer Bee. Then with a flashback we got some more emotional Naruto which is always better than plot progression Naruto. This was all well and good, but this week actually was a pretty good chapter. Might Gai shows up, so Kishimoto continues to pile on the fan-favorites. I tell you, if Shino and Shikamaru somehow show up next week, fans will die.
Anyway it was a strong chapter where the humor actually worked and the characters did interesting stuff. I’m glad Kisame’s stupid hiding tactic got exposed, and his chances of surviving are almost impossible. Not a fan of the new power up though. In fact it kinda bothers me that Naruto gets yet another new form right after getting Sage Mode. Seriously, how many costume powerups will this guy go through, when they all look lame? Still, as far as Naruto goes this was a great chapter. Hope this trend continues! (I know it won’t)
Bleach 415 – Fuck Bleach. Can I go home?
Fine, I’ll elaborate on why Bleach is the worst manga running right now, and Aizen is a heavy contender for worst villain of all time. I seriously can’t stand this guy. For months now this man has made a living off killing the cast in Bleach (in wrestling terms. We all know no one dies in Bleach). He has killed the majority of the Soul Society. He killed the Vizards. He’s buried Ichigo, Isshin, Urahara, and Yoroichi. He’s killed his own Arrancar, made it clear he was better than them all, and even killed Tousen. Then he hits Kakura Town, and we have to see that his very presence brings humans quivering to their knees and likely causes them to evacuate their bowels just form being in his god awful overpowered bullshit presence. GOD DAMNIT I HATE AIZEN!
Okay, so surprise surprise, Gin unleashes a super attack, and Aizen lives! Not only does he live, but he comes back as a freaking butterfly man. I don’t know why but he does. Oh, and if I complained about Naruto changing costumes, I can’t let this ass go free. In the past two months this ass has gone through three separate wardrobe changes. He was a cocoon, then he was Fabio, and now he’s a butterfly. These costume changes are so unnecessary and exist solely to be art porn for Kubo whose sole fetish in life is just to try stupidly elaborate costumes. So back to the point, Aizen wasn’t killed, and instead strikes down Gin adding yet another person to his burial list. I’m desperately trying to think if there’s anyone left in the cast that Aizen hasn’t buried yet that he still could, and all I can come up with is the Huece Mundo crew (as if seeing Aizen one shot Zaraki is something we all want to see). Either way, I’m fucking tired of this. I am beyond fucking tired of Kubo doing this constant fucking plot twist. Someone unleashes their ultimate attack, but Aizen is fine. Time after time he’s been fine. I GET IT. AIZEN IS FUCKING OMNIPOTENT. STOP REHASHING THIS SAME POINT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TITE KUBO!!!!
Aizen has killed Bleach and everything good about it. I’ve stopped caring because while I know Ichigo will leave his super special awesome training and kill Aizen somehow, it won’t be satisfying. I say that because the guy has beaten everybody. Imagine if in boxing a World Champion destroyed every opponent he fought. No, he doesn’t just beat them, he annihilates them. He finishes fights without a single blow, and every fight ends with a knock out in the first round. Let’s just say you knew ahead of time that a boxer he fought early in his career was going to learn one new punch, and would beat him. How would that be satifiying? How could someone learn one move strong enough to beat a guy who has defeated everyone else without taking a punch? Simply put: it won’t. There won’t be any logical satisfaction to this battle. I know that Aizen will lose, but it won’t make sense. No one can logically beat Aizen as he’s essentially God. This stupid fucking story built this guy to be unstoppable, and now he is, but for the sake of the story he has to be stopped. When Ichigo wins we’ll all feel a sigh of relief that the greatest problem in Bleach is now dead, but we’ll all feel empty inside because it’s a hollow victory only given to us because the hero needs to beat the villain.
I’m beyond tired of Bleach’s terrible plot line. I’m tired of the stupid Bankai abilities. I’m tired of the unnecessary addition of so many characters. But most of all I’m tired of Aizen. Please. Somebody. Anybody. Kill this man.
Something else I decided was not to talk about each individual manga, but more so the interesting ones. The really bad ones, the really good ones, or the ones simply worth noting as discussing each manga could take awhile. So this week I wanted to talk about Bakuman, SWOT, Beelzebub, Naruto, and Bleach. Let’s get into it.
Bakuman 96 – Originally this chapter panned out to be rather boring as it was one of the chapters talking about rankings and votes. This chapter would have been a very decisive “meh” were it not for a double paged spread towards the end. One thing I love about Bakuman is reading a lot of the suggestions they make regarding manga, and seeing how it comes off in the actual story. For example a recent chapter had the characters discussing “tones” in a manga and how using a lighter tone helps out the story, and I think a lot of people really thought that was silly. However look back to early Bakuman, and you can see the series had a lot of darker tones to it, and it really had a distinctive Deathnote feel. Now Bakuman has its own style and it’s due in part to the tones. I love that stuff, and the two page spread utilized another tool they were talking about with dynamic paneling.
The two page spread was great in both story and art. Storywise it was Hattori admitting that he believes Mashiro and Takagi are finally surpassing him and have the talent to beat Eiji, and art wise the way the pages were structured justified this epic moment using two pages. Seriously, the art is amazing, and you just need to remember what they said just a few chapters ago about using panels to create something dynamic. The two-page spread was, in all likelihood, one of my favorite spreads ever. Loved it. Good chapter.
SWOT 6 – When I first read SWOT I read its One-Shot thinking it was the first chapter, and I thought the story sucked. The One-Shot was not very good and it felt like a quick in and out story for Jump. Reading the real first chapter and the five following chapters, I have to say that SWOT still seems stereotypical, but it’s a lot more interesting. Manabizaki is a really fun character who thankfully breaks the snobby elitist savant student stereotype that plagues manga nowadays. While he is smart and does look down on others, he’s far from calm, cool, or collected and in fact he’s probably more erratic than most of the people he looks down on. Most characters of his type would sit back and just say “jeez it’s tough being so much smarter than everybody else”. This guy hurls desks across the room when he can’t find a pencil. I love it.
Plus his fighting style and dream changed from the one shot to the syndicated story. In the one shot he wants to work for NASA and he knows how to fight using that cliché method they always have smart people use where they can predict how an opponent will move because they’re so effing smart. They changed that in the series in that he wants to build a UFO instead, and he learned to fight so that he can combat aliens. It’s silly, but it should be silly! I like the wacky stupid answer way more than the generic yawn-fest one. Still, the manga has faults. It’s predictable to the extreme. While this isn’t bad, it keeps some parts from being as enjoyable as the author intended. The moment I saw the long haired, sword wielding delinquent who only wants to fight “strong opponents” I knew he’d end up an ally of the group. Also the main female lead, Haruno (I believe) has been relatively boring. She hasn’t done much of anything despite the fact she’s supposed to be one of the strongest students in the school. There’s a reason why she doesn’t fight, but having her do something would be nice as so far she hasn’t left nearly the same impression the rest of the cast has.
I can’t recommend this title yet as I still am not sold on the product. Still, it has potential, and I’m content to give the series 20 or so chapters to see how it goes. Perhaps I’ll do a follow up on the series then and let you know if you should check it out… barring it’s still running.
Beelzebub 72 – More people need to read this manga. Please, if you read this manga please say if you do in the comments because it feels like way too many people are forsaking this title. It’s great. I’m trying to get Y Ruler of Time to read it so he can do a review on it like Toriko and Bakuman (which I helped convince him to read thank you very much). It’s a great series full of fun characters, interesting action, and side splitting humor. READ IT!
Anyway, this week initially got me quaking in my boots as it felt like Kundiea admitting her feelings was a big sign the manga was ending. Thankfully a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter ensures that’s not the case, so in the end it was just a really good chapter. I love Kundiea as a character, and she might even be my favorite female character in manga right now. I really like what the author is doing with her, and yet again the chapter has a moment that made me bust out laughing. I’ll simply say it again. If you don’t read Beelzebub, you need to give it a try. Trust me that it becomes an absolutely hysterical manga.
Naruto 505 – For the past few years Naruto has been the red headed stepchild of Jump. Everyone hated it, and for good reason: it sucked. Recently the series hasn’t been bad. They’ve removed Sasuke from the equation, and gave us fan-favorite Killer Bee. Then with a flashback we got some more emotional Naruto which is always better than plot progression Naruto. This was all well and good, but this week actually was a pretty good chapter. Might Gai shows up, so Kishimoto continues to pile on the fan-favorites. I tell you, if Shino and Shikamaru somehow show up next week, fans will die.
Anyway it was a strong chapter where the humor actually worked and the characters did interesting stuff. I’m glad Kisame’s stupid hiding tactic got exposed, and his chances of surviving are almost impossible. Not a fan of the new power up though. In fact it kinda bothers me that Naruto gets yet another new form right after getting Sage Mode. Seriously, how many costume powerups will this guy go through, when they all look lame? Still, as far as Naruto goes this was a great chapter. Hope this trend continues! (I know it won’t)
Bleach 415 – Fuck Bleach. Can I go home?
Fine, I’ll elaborate on why Bleach is the worst manga running right now, and Aizen is a heavy contender for worst villain of all time. I seriously can’t stand this guy. For months now this man has made a living off killing the cast in Bleach (in wrestling terms. We all know no one dies in Bleach). He has killed the majority of the Soul Society. He killed the Vizards. He’s buried Ichigo, Isshin, Urahara, and Yoroichi. He’s killed his own Arrancar, made it clear he was better than them all, and even killed Tousen. Then he hits Kakura Town, and we have to see that his very presence brings humans quivering to their knees and likely causes them to evacuate their bowels just form being in his god awful overpowered bullshit presence. GOD DAMNIT I HATE AIZEN!
Okay, so surprise surprise, Gin unleashes a super attack, and Aizen lives! Not only does he live, but he comes back as a freaking butterfly man. I don’t know why but he does. Oh, and if I complained about Naruto changing costumes, I can’t let this ass go free. In the past two months this ass has gone through three separate wardrobe changes. He was a cocoon, then he was Fabio, and now he’s a butterfly. These costume changes are so unnecessary and exist solely to be art porn for Kubo whose sole fetish in life is just to try stupidly elaborate costumes. So back to the point, Aizen wasn’t killed, and instead strikes down Gin adding yet another person to his burial list. I’m desperately trying to think if there’s anyone left in the cast that Aizen hasn’t buried yet that he still could, and all I can come up with is the Huece Mundo crew (as if seeing Aizen one shot Zaraki is something we all want to see). Either way, I’m fucking tired of this. I am beyond fucking tired of Kubo doing this constant fucking plot twist. Someone unleashes their ultimate attack, but Aizen is fine. Time after time he’s been fine. I GET IT. AIZEN IS FUCKING OMNIPOTENT. STOP REHASHING THIS SAME POINT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TITE KUBO!!!!
Aizen has killed Bleach and everything good about it. I’ve stopped caring because while I know Ichigo will leave his super special awesome training and kill Aizen somehow, it won’t be satisfying. I say that because the guy has beaten everybody. Imagine if in boxing a World Champion destroyed every opponent he fought. No, he doesn’t just beat them, he annihilates them. He finishes fights without a single blow, and every fight ends with a knock out in the first round. Let’s just say you knew ahead of time that a boxer he fought early in his career was going to learn one new punch, and would beat him. How would that be satifiying? How could someone learn one move strong enough to beat a guy who has defeated everyone else without taking a punch? Simply put: it won’t. There won’t be any logical satisfaction to this battle. I know that Aizen will lose, but it won’t make sense. No one can logically beat Aizen as he’s essentially God. This stupid fucking story built this guy to be unstoppable, and now he is, but for the sake of the story he has to be stopped. When Ichigo wins we’ll all feel a sigh of relief that the greatest problem in Bleach is now dead, but we’ll all feel empty inside because it’s a hollow victory only given to us because the hero needs to beat the villain.
I’m beyond tired of Bleach’s terrible plot line. I’m tired of the stupid Bankai abilities. I’m tired of the unnecessary addition of so many characters. But most of all I’m tired of Aizen. Please. Somebody. Anybody. Kill this man.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Weekly Manga Update: July 27, 2010
Hey guys, going to try something new with my blog. I want to try a weekly blog in addition to my spontaneous stuff, so I can try to make this a site people check regularly. Then maybe I can spruce it up with some designs or something. Anyway, I wanted to try something weekly, and a few fans suggested a weekly manga recap. I had thought about doing the same, so I’m going to give it a try, so please, if you have any feedback let me know.
Now if I do this as a series I want to shoot for releasing it on Monday/Tuesday so I can get all the new chapters in before the week refreshes, so one chapter per week, but since this is the first of the series I figure I’ll explain a bit about where the series have been going to give you my overall impression. So let’s begin.
One Piece Chapter 593 – After the great war ended the story slowed down, but this was for the better. We got the really good Luffy/Ace flashback, and after that ended I was ready to get back to the story, and thank the gods we’re back to the Straw Hats. It’s been tough to manage the past year or so without any Straw Hats beyond Luffy. Just their brief chapter focuses have been golden like Sanji denying his bounty poster and Franky blowing up the lab. I remembered almost instantly why I loved these characters so, though I am curious how they’ll all get together. I mean Robin, Nami, Chopper, and maybe Sanji just need to travel there, but Zoro still has to pass the baboons, Brooke’s a hostage, Usopp has to figure out a way off the island, and Franky is in a whole heap of trouble. I wonder if we’ll get small mini arcs for these characters, but somehow I doubt it.
Still 593 was a great multi-focus chapter. We got some hints at things to come like Crocodile going to the New World, and images of Dragon (who’s design I’m really starting to dig), but the cliff hanger is what really intrigues me. Buggy gets a message from the government directly, so does this mean Buggy is going to be offered a job as a Warlord? Makes sense considering the Warlords are down four members. Blackbeard, Moria, and Jinbei are gone, plus Hancock’s alliance has to be questioned. Also what’s with Kuma meeting Shaky? Is he truly all gone? Anyway, this was a good chapter of One Piece. Not great, but we’re still accepting the aftermath of the big war and slowly pulling together for the next arc.
Bleach Chapter 413 – I’m really bored of Bleach. This Aizen all out war arc just needs to die, and die freaking hard. I’m tired of Aizen and his constant burying of the cast. I get it: Aizen is unbeatable. I don’t need to see this dude completely destroy the entire freaking cast. See the problem with Aizen is that he’s too strong. At this point Aizen had managed to defeat the majority of the captains from the Soul Society, and he did it without exerting himself. He then took the supreme, ultimate, super special attacks from Isshin, Urahara, and Yorichi, and walked it off. He’s effectively crushed every possible threat, and continues to belittle what remains of the cast every chance he can. What this means to me, is that Aizen is, simply put, unbeatable. He didn’t just beat the Soul Society, he fucking crushed them. He defeated them so handedly that not even his clothes have a scar to prove he was in a real battle. What could possibly beat him at this point? I’m not just going to accept that Ichigo will obtain some new power that will suddenly surpass Aizen. That’s just ridiculous. Even considering Ichigo’s skill, it’s generally assumed that he was on par or weaker than most of the Soul Society captains at his current level, so one power bonus shouldn’t put him on a level that the combined might of the Soul Society couldn’t beat.
As for Chapter 413 itself, it was another throwaway chapter. I’ve forgotten much of what happened behind the slight hint that Gin will betray Aizen. So Aizen will kill Gin? Yeah, like Aizen totally needs that push. Bleach is in a complete garbage low point right now. If you don’t believe me, then ask yourself why this battle started, and see how long it takes you to remember it.
Naruto Chapter 503 – Naruto’s recent chapters have all been about this massive flashback regarding how the Kyubi came to be in Naruto and the history of his parents, and I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been too bad. Beyond the extremely awkward chapter where Naruto talked about how bangable his mom was, this has been relatively good, or at least, it hasn’t been wall bangingly bad. The only problem I have is that the suspense is low since this is a flashback that we all know about. The minor details are a mystery, but we know that the fourth hokage died to put the Nine-Tailes inside baby Naruto. The rest is just explanation. It’s not bad mind you, just no very suspenseful. More interesting however is that Naruto is now about to become in control of the Demon Fox, and that’s something I can get on board with. Say what you will about Naruto, but it’s not fucking around with its plot points. Itachi v Sasuke is long in the books, Orochimaru is dead and gone (for the most part), and now Naruto is overcoming the last weakness he has. Either this means Naruto is coming to an end, or some new plot elements will need to be introduced, but still I really dig progress. Not a bad chapter at all.
Beelzebub Chapter 70 – For all those who don’t read Beelzebub, I really suggest you do because this is quickly becoming one of my favorite manga. Few titles manage to make me laugh as hard as Beelzebub does on such a consistent basis, and the mangka knows how to tell an interesting story without making it feel overly serious. For those curious, it’s the story of Oga, a delinquent who recently comes in contact with the new demon prince of Hell, Beelzebub. Beelzebub is attaching himself to Oga and granting him part of his power, but the catch is that Beelzebub is a mere infant. So far the manga has mostly been about Oga beating up other delinquents, though they did make a quick appearance in the Demon World for a moment if I recall. The cast is hilarious, and Oga himself breaks the typical shonen mold. You hear delinquent and think “oh great, another misunderstood bully”, but Oga is actually a pretty big douche. He’s just so funny and straightforward that you can’t help but love him.
The recent chapter was another great one. I’m curious to see how they turn this volleyball match into a real epic encounter, but more so I have to note that I nearly pissed myself laughing at the last panel. Oga superkicking the ball, and immediately everyone calls foul on it. Again, it’s shonen awesome, but unlike series like Prince of Tennis, they don’t try to make it serious. I love Beelzebub, and I recommend you give it a try.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn Chapter 299 – Reborn is a strange title for me. At points I hate it. It can become such overwhelming shonen stereotypical slop that I want to drop it, and I come rather close to doing so, and yet sometimes the manga shows an amazing amount of depth and maturity that reminds me why I read it. For every time I see the series try to force animal companions and motorcycles on us, I’m reminded of a chapter that left me speechless. One of the more recent ones came after Yamato was attacked and put in intensive care. The next chapter was dedicated to the ramifications of this, and how Tsuna has to make a decision on the inheritance ceremony. Even though he wants nothing more than to run away from his duties, he decides to undergo the ceremony so that the rest of his friends don’t become targets. Following that we get the revelation that the Shimon family were the villains all along (cue deadpan surprise), and Enma manages to curbstomp the guardians single-handedly. This is why I love Reborn. I love manga where a villain will absolutely demolish the main heroes so that I can root for them to succeed. These chapters have made the Shimon family a threat, and I’m curious to see how they win. Really quite excellent chapters… with the exception of Julie kidnapping Chrome. Don’t get me wrong, I like that he took a guardian. It’s so vile, and really places weight on Tsuna’s training since now another guardian’s life depends on him, but it’s the fact it was Chrome that bothers me. The girl is already on the short end of the stick as far as being a guardian. She’s accomplished almost nothing on her own, and her abilities (beyond being retarded) really aren’t that intimidating. If anyone was going to benefit from massive training it was going to be her, but instead she’s going to be a damsel in distress for everyone to save. Also Julie kidnapped her for date… he does realize she’s thirteen right? Kinda creepy…
Anyway the recent chapter actually really sucked. The Vongola rings were destroyed, and this means that basically our heroes have no weapons to battle Shimon with. This is pretty tense, but then out of the blue some random fucker appears who just happens to have a way to not only repair the rings, but make them stronger. This is silly in and of itself, but it’s the random dude that bothers me more. I mean essentially he just appears with a solution to their problem. I’m going to call him Dues Ex Fail from now on because he really brought down the tension in this arc. Still, obligatory training chapters await, so hopefully they don’t decide they need jetpacks, lightsabers, and children’s card games to beat their opponent. Amano is really bad at that stuff.
Toriko Chapter 103 – So after the epic battle in Ice Hell, Toriko healed up and we’re now on the start of a new hunt for the H20 Salad. I really don’t like salads (clearly), but this arc will likely get me started on craving lettuce. The big thing to note this chapter was that Toriko tried to ask Komamatsu to be his cook, but for some reason this is a question on the same level of asking a highschool date to go steady with you, because Toriko stumbles over his words and eventually just dodges the question. So weird, and with oddly sexual undertones, but still Toriko is about to start something epic, so no complaints.
Bakuman Chapter 95 – I love Bakuman, and the series really never dips too far in quality for me. The current arc where PCP tries to beat Natural + and Crow has been interesting, but I like the subtle stuff, like showing how Eiji has the ability to tell a story without any dialogue, and how their one assistants new manga is basically Pheonix Wright. I’m loving the storyline so far, and curious to see next chapter. Overall, a very fine chapter.
Fairy Tail Chapter 194 – I hate Fairy Tail, I really do. I can’t explain why I honestly read it anymore. I hate most of the cast. Erza will always be one of my most hated manga characters. Wendy is a disturbing amount of bland loli I don’t want. Natsu is Luffy but without the excitement, and Gazelle is a pale imitation of Vegeta. Hell, the dude basically is Vegeta, but I still dig his fighting style, so I’ll tolerate it. Anyway, this other world arc has been more obnoxious than anything else, but it should be almost over. The recent chapter put an end to one of the blandest villains in history. Seriously, did that King even have a name? I guess he was the big bad of this arc, but I honestly don’t know. If it means this arc is over then I am all over it, but there’s still an over the top poorly paced “emotional” moment that Hiro needs to do like when he ripped off One Piece after the Luxus arc, or when Wendy’s guild just spontaneously died. Fairy Tail eats. This newest chapter wasn’t god awful, but it’s still lacking.
So everyone, that’s been the last week in manga. I’ll try to condense my thoughts next week since this is more of a test than anything. If you enjoyed reading this, please leave a comment below with any suggestions you might have for next week. Until then, Namaste!
Now if I do this as a series I want to shoot for releasing it on Monday/Tuesday so I can get all the new chapters in before the week refreshes, so one chapter per week, but since this is the first of the series I figure I’ll explain a bit about where the series have been going to give you my overall impression. So let’s begin.
One Piece Chapter 593 – After the great war ended the story slowed down, but this was for the better. We got the really good Luffy/Ace flashback, and after that ended I was ready to get back to the story, and thank the gods we’re back to the Straw Hats. It’s been tough to manage the past year or so without any Straw Hats beyond Luffy. Just their brief chapter focuses have been golden like Sanji denying his bounty poster and Franky blowing up the lab. I remembered almost instantly why I loved these characters so, though I am curious how they’ll all get together. I mean Robin, Nami, Chopper, and maybe Sanji just need to travel there, but Zoro still has to pass the baboons, Brooke’s a hostage, Usopp has to figure out a way off the island, and Franky is in a whole heap of trouble. I wonder if we’ll get small mini arcs for these characters, but somehow I doubt it.
Still 593 was a great multi-focus chapter. We got some hints at things to come like Crocodile going to the New World, and images of Dragon (who’s design I’m really starting to dig), but the cliff hanger is what really intrigues me. Buggy gets a message from the government directly, so does this mean Buggy is going to be offered a job as a Warlord? Makes sense considering the Warlords are down four members. Blackbeard, Moria, and Jinbei are gone, plus Hancock’s alliance has to be questioned. Also what’s with Kuma meeting Shaky? Is he truly all gone? Anyway, this was a good chapter of One Piece. Not great, but we’re still accepting the aftermath of the big war and slowly pulling together for the next arc.
Bleach Chapter 413 – I’m really bored of Bleach. This Aizen all out war arc just needs to die, and die freaking hard. I’m tired of Aizen and his constant burying of the cast. I get it: Aizen is unbeatable. I don’t need to see this dude completely destroy the entire freaking cast. See the problem with Aizen is that he’s too strong. At this point Aizen had managed to defeat the majority of the captains from the Soul Society, and he did it without exerting himself. He then took the supreme, ultimate, super special attacks from Isshin, Urahara, and Yorichi, and walked it off. He’s effectively crushed every possible threat, and continues to belittle what remains of the cast every chance he can. What this means to me, is that Aizen is, simply put, unbeatable. He didn’t just beat the Soul Society, he fucking crushed them. He defeated them so handedly that not even his clothes have a scar to prove he was in a real battle. What could possibly beat him at this point? I’m not just going to accept that Ichigo will obtain some new power that will suddenly surpass Aizen. That’s just ridiculous. Even considering Ichigo’s skill, it’s generally assumed that he was on par or weaker than most of the Soul Society captains at his current level, so one power bonus shouldn’t put him on a level that the combined might of the Soul Society couldn’t beat.
As for Chapter 413 itself, it was another throwaway chapter. I’ve forgotten much of what happened behind the slight hint that Gin will betray Aizen. So Aizen will kill Gin? Yeah, like Aizen totally needs that push. Bleach is in a complete garbage low point right now. If you don’t believe me, then ask yourself why this battle started, and see how long it takes you to remember it.
Naruto Chapter 503 – Naruto’s recent chapters have all been about this massive flashback regarding how the Kyubi came to be in Naruto and the history of his parents, and I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been too bad. Beyond the extremely awkward chapter where Naruto talked about how bangable his mom was, this has been relatively good, or at least, it hasn’t been wall bangingly bad. The only problem I have is that the suspense is low since this is a flashback that we all know about. The minor details are a mystery, but we know that the fourth hokage died to put the Nine-Tailes inside baby Naruto. The rest is just explanation. It’s not bad mind you, just no very suspenseful. More interesting however is that Naruto is now about to become in control of the Demon Fox, and that’s something I can get on board with. Say what you will about Naruto, but it’s not fucking around with its plot points. Itachi v Sasuke is long in the books, Orochimaru is dead and gone (for the most part), and now Naruto is overcoming the last weakness he has. Either this means Naruto is coming to an end, or some new plot elements will need to be introduced, but still I really dig progress. Not a bad chapter at all.
Beelzebub Chapter 70 – For all those who don’t read Beelzebub, I really suggest you do because this is quickly becoming one of my favorite manga. Few titles manage to make me laugh as hard as Beelzebub does on such a consistent basis, and the mangka knows how to tell an interesting story without making it feel overly serious. For those curious, it’s the story of Oga, a delinquent who recently comes in contact with the new demon prince of Hell, Beelzebub. Beelzebub is attaching himself to Oga and granting him part of his power, but the catch is that Beelzebub is a mere infant. So far the manga has mostly been about Oga beating up other delinquents, though they did make a quick appearance in the Demon World for a moment if I recall. The cast is hilarious, and Oga himself breaks the typical shonen mold. You hear delinquent and think “oh great, another misunderstood bully”, but Oga is actually a pretty big douche. He’s just so funny and straightforward that you can’t help but love him.
The recent chapter was another great one. I’m curious to see how they turn this volleyball match into a real epic encounter, but more so I have to note that I nearly pissed myself laughing at the last panel. Oga superkicking the ball, and immediately everyone calls foul on it. Again, it’s shonen awesome, but unlike series like Prince of Tennis, they don’t try to make it serious. I love Beelzebub, and I recommend you give it a try.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn Chapter 299 – Reborn is a strange title for me. At points I hate it. It can become such overwhelming shonen stereotypical slop that I want to drop it, and I come rather close to doing so, and yet sometimes the manga shows an amazing amount of depth and maturity that reminds me why I read it. For every time I see the series try to force animal companions and motorcycles on us, I’m reminded of a chapter that left me speechless. One of the more recent ones came after Yamato was attacked and put in intensive care. The next chapter was dedicated to the ramifications of this, and how Tsuna has to make a decision on the inheritance ceremony. Even though he wants nothing more than to run away from his duties, he decides to undergo the ceremony so that the rest of his friends don’t become targets. Following that we get the revelation that the Shimon family were the villains all along (cue deadpan surprise), and Enma manages to curbstomp the guardians single-handedly. This is why I love Reborn. I love manga where a villain will absolutely demolish the main heroes so that I can root for them to succeed. These chapters have made the Shimon family a threat, and I’m curious to see how they win. Really quite excellent chapters… with the exception of Julie kidnapping Chrome. Don’t get me wrong, I like that he took a guardian. It’s so vile, and really places weight on Tsuna’s training since now another guardian’s life depends on him, but it’s the fact it was Chrome that bothers me. The girl is already on the short end of the stick as far as being a guardian. She’s accomplished almost nothing on her own, and her abilities (beyond being retarded) really aren’t that intimidating. If anyone was going to benefit from massive training it was going to be her, but instead she’s going to be a damsel in distress for everyone to save. Also Julie kidnapped her for date… he does realize she’s thirteen right? Kinda creepy…
Anyway the recent chapter actually really sucked. The Vongola rings were destroyed, and this means that basically our heroes have no weapons to battle Shimon with. This is pretty tense, but then out of the blue some random fucker appears who just happens to have a way to not only repair the rings, but make them stronger. This is silly in and of itself, but it’s the random dude that bothers me more. I mean essentially he just appears with a solution to their problem. I’m going to call him Dues Ex Fail from now on because he really brought down the tension in this arc. Still, obligatory training chapters await, so hopefully they don’t decide they need jetpacks, lightsabers, and children’s card games to beat their opponent. Amano is really bad at that stuff.
Toriko Chapter 103 – So after the epic battle in Ice Hell, Toriko healed up and we’re now on the start of a new hunt for the H20 Salad. I really don’t like salads (clearly), but this arc will likely get me started on craving lettuce. The big thing to note this chapter was that Toriko tried to ask Komamatsu to be his cook, but for some reason this is a question on the same level of asking a highschool date to go steady with you, because Toriko stumbles over his words and eventually just dodges the question. So weird, and with oddly sexual undertones, but still Toriko is about to start something epic, so no complaints.
Bakuman Chapter 95 – I love Bakuman, and the series really never dips too far in quality for me. The current arc where PCP tries to beat Natural + and Crow has been interesting, but I like the subtle stuff, like showing how Eiji has the ability to tell a story without any dialogue, and how their one assistants new manga is basically Pheonix Wright. I’m loving the storyline so far, and curious to see next chapter. Overall, a very fine chapter.
Fairy Tail Chapter 194 – I hate Fairy Tail, I really do. I can’t explain why I honestly read it anymore. I hate most of the cast. Erza will always be one of my most hated manga characters. Wendy is a disturbing amount of bland loli I don’t want. Natsu is Luffy but without the excitement, and Gazelle is a pale imitation of Vegeta. Hell, the dude basically is Vegeta, but I still dig his fighting style, so I’ll tolerate it. Anyway, this other world arc has been more obnoxious than anything else, but it should be almost over. The recent chapter put an end to one of the blandest villains in history. Seriously, did that King even have a name? I guess he was the big bad of this arc, but I honestly don’t know. If it means this arc is over then I am all over it, but there’s still an over the top poorly paced “emotional” moment that Hiro needs to do like when he ripped off One Piece after the Luxus arc, or when Wendy’s guild just spontaneously died. Fairy Tail eats. This newest chapter wasn’t god awful, but it’s still lacking.
So everyone, that’s been the last week in manga. I’ll try to condense my thoughts next week since this is more of a test than anything. If you enjoyed reading this, please leave a comment below with any suggestions you might have for next week. Until then, Namaste!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
