Jump again

One Piece 648 was a bit daft, centred as it was on the Sea Kings, making them sapient in a way that will be difficult to reconcile with their former roles and really all seems a bit of a stretch timing-wise. The rest was the aftermath of a battle that never really seemed to get off its feet, especially in comparison with the immense one we had before it, and it’s not like there was ever any real danger of Luffy not pulling through (so Oda opted for comedy, which was a good move – Chopper once again providing the real laughs here). The final twist of another new nakama wasn’t exactly unexpected – either this was going to be how things proceed or he was going to go off to be his own captain again – but I’m glad we’ll start making some progress beyond Fishman Island again now. Time for the Grand Line, if you please!

Naruto 565 for one thing showed that for all the criticism he gets, Oda is better than Kishimoto at depicting anatomy from odd angles. Comparing the female Jinchuriki with wings seen from below with a comparable angle for Shirahoshi, even if the former focuses on legs and the latter on the torso (as Shirahoshi doesn’t have legs), it’s clear which has been done better. The Jinchuriki’s pelvis seems…distended. The chapter itself was another underwhelming one, with a few moments of action and then big two-page spreads of things I don’t find very interesting – plus a fight that’s essentially a rehash of the Pein fights.

Bakuman 156 seemed to be the most explicitly autobiographical chapter of the series since it began, with the sort of endnote that usually only crops up on authors’ omake at the end of the series. But it was nice as a one-shot to show just how much work goes into making a manga.

One Piece 647 was pure fanservice, but great for it. The awesomely strong crew looked great, especially immense Chopper (and Frankie's line about being upstaged was hilarious), and I loved the surprise conclusion for being on such a huge scale.

Naruto 564 was an adequate chapter, but didn't excite me much, for an action-packed clash between our heroes and the dead Jinchuuriki. It did satisfy me on a strange level that the character we saw with rubbish powers in anime filler had the same rubbish powers here. Now Tobi's true identity has become a prize to work for. Perhaps it'll turn out to be Obito after all!

One Piece 646 – pffffft, Chopper’s huge berserk form getting all shy was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This chapter was amazing – I also got a chuckle out of the source of Sanji’s newfound power, but mostly every page was a huge amount of fanservice as the male strawhats show just how far they have grown. Fantastic stuff, with very impressive art – it’s clear why this chapter took two weeks, and it was well worth the wait.

HunterXHunter

HunterXHunter 325 was brilliant, thanks to the return of Leorio, after such a long time. No Kurapika, but that was commented upon. Leorio was brilliantly funny in his interactions with Morau, brilliantly unpredictable confronting Gin and showing what he can do with his nen and then at the very end part of a brilliant mini twist I didn’t see coming at all. It’s been quite a few years, but he’s suddenly become much more of a favourite character!

HxH

HunterXHunter 324: I’d have loved this chapter no matter what else, if only for the gathering of hunters outside Gon’s room, figures seen from the back we haven’t seen in quite a long time. But I loved it in any case: great new characters, great set-up for the new arc and a nice reference back to the old theme of Killua at odds with his family. Togashi, you’d better not go on another long break now!

Naruto, Bakuman, Soul Eater

Naruto 563 sees all five kages in action together, which is pretty awesome even if most have only been introduced fairly. After all, One Piece’s Whitebeard was incredibly cool to see in action even if he’d barely appeared, and the Supernovas were great even if they only made very brief appearances. On the other hand, Naruto battles are as silly these days as anything in Dragonball Z, with giant ghostly god things, giants made of sand and women spitting out lava fields. Not great stuff – it would work with a more humorous tone, but Naruto has gone for more serious shounen, and it comes out goofy.

Bakuman 154 revolved around a little twist I didn’t expect, but which made me smile. There was some of the old Hikaru no Go flavour here, too, in the art – passionate young people getting very excited about something a little silly. Good fun!

Soul Eater 91 had me giggling with its stupid, stupid first page about an iron bar. It was good to see Kid in action again, and that ridiculous moon close-up, but the title is still having real pacing issues and this didn’t seem like a full chapter at all. Kid’s opponent, looking like Shirou from Deadman Wonderland redesigned by Kitou Mohirou, is uninteresting and I’d much rather see what’s happening with Chrona. Still, I’m definitely still interested in the series.

Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail 254: joining other major shounen series in a timeskip, Fairy Tail has just moved in an interesting direction – where are the main characters, and what will the minor guild members do to find them. It’s risky, not only shifting away from your main cast but suggesting that they’ll all be totally different when they reappear, but I like it.


Fairy Tail 255: so the time skip isn’t really a time skip at all – or at least, not for any characters that really matter. A little hop into the future and a chance to introduce some new characters. I like it. It’s too early for big changes to Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail 256: a feel-good chapter of reunions and updates – with the drawing of the cats one of the biggest laughs the title has given me so far. And I chuckled at Juvia’s overactive shipping imagination. I was also glad Lucy thought of her parents – that was the main thing I was wondering about last chapter. Poor Lucy.

Fairy Tail 257&258 take the arc forward. I quite like that there were a lot of loose ends left at the end of the last one, but these two new dragon slayers don’t seem the most interesting thing ever. Well, we’ll see where it goes.

Fairy Tail x Rave: I’m not familiar with Rave Master, but it didn’t take long to get the hang of, and I liked this little crossover special. It was by-the-numbers, down to the usual crossover twist (we’re led to think the bad guy is someone from one series, only to be one from the other), but it was fun and I liked the mangaka poking fun at himself for drawing his main characters to look so similar.

HunterXHunter 323 was a bit of a shocker, and I’m actually finding myself really drawn into this Alluka situation. Indeed, I rather resented the comparatively dull election storyline for taking up pages. Nice for Hisoka to be appearing more too!

One Piece 645 – boo, a break next week! On the other hand, Chopper’s little revelation was awesome – if expected – and the arc looks like it will only last a handful more chapters. Still compulsive reading!

Naruto 562 – a few dud chapters were worthwhile for the awesome final panel of this one. Some of them have only been introduced this arc and it could have happened any time, but the five kages assembled make for a pretty cool image.

Jump Manga

HunterXHunter 322: a very Togashi idea! We finally learn the reason the last of Killua’s brothers has been hidden away out of sight so long. It’s all a bit contrived, but very much in keeping with HunterXHunter. It’s all a bit convenient, but I wonder what will come of this little story arc. I assume it will end up with Gon back to normal, but at what cost?

One Piece 644 was a stirring speech chapter. I’m just glad it wasn’t the start of an extended flashback into the bad guy’s past. Not bad, with a nice moment of posing for the Straw Hat crew at the end, but I want the arc to end.

Naruto 561 didn’t get the adrenaline going, despite the extremely powerful new foe and Naruto getting extra power. There’s an old person to sacrifice himself in what is getting to be a tired Naruto conceit and the stakes still seem low (clone Naruto vs resurrected dead guy controlled remotely, albeit one with lots of secrets).

Bakuman 152-153: two chapters today, as I hadn’t caught up with last week’s. I was quite pleased about that, as they went well together. Bakuman was playing to its strengths again – new, strong story ideas, drama with them going up against one another and the underlying rivalry of Ashirogi vs Niizuma, but … the manga is just getting pretty repetitive now. It needs to go somewhere major now, or end soon. But with the anime’s second season just starting, I know that’s not happening any time soon.