Yotsubato! 79, Yotsuba & V: While in principle I think this is a nice, neat idea for a chapter, and it was pretty cute, I have to say after the long waits for each new slice of adorable Yotsuba comedy, I wanted a fair bit more. It will be nice to look back on as part of a larger work, but here and now I was disappointed.  

Naruto 584: The trouble with these lengthy flashbacks is that their purpose ought either to be to get the audience sympathising with a villain and see their nobility, or to ease tension because it makes it very likely that once their story is told, the hero will kill them. Neither is a good thing for Naruto to be doing this late in the arc. It’s just not easy to care. 

Rozen Maiden II – 36: a comedy chapter for the first time in a while. Which was welcome. Suiseiseki going to school and having all her fantasise so nearly come true, only to be so rudely dashed away, was brilliant. It’s also interesting to see where this arc with Jun and Megu is going…I really want to see all of it animated. The success of the anime is still reflected by other series (like Ore no Imouto and Gosick), so I’m sure I wouldn’t be a big risk to have more. 

One Piece 664 was a talkie chapter, but it introduced what looks to be the arc’s major antagonist and managed to be very interesting. The classic humour of the main characters in switched bodies is still fun (especially Frankie in Chopper’s body and Chopper in Sanji’s), and I’m glad Smoker’s faction are going to play their part.

Naruto 583 – oh hey, Kabuto’s contrived backstory. I give it a 5/10. Now back to the proper plot, please. 

Bakuman 175: this should have been an uplifting, fun chapter, but it just felt flat and empty. None of the characters’ achievements mean anything – they just happen. Oh well. I’ll still read to the end to see how it goes. 

One Piece 663 had some very funny moments, but – probably mostly because of a bad translation I was reading – was a little confusing. I didn’t realise until the end what had happened to Smoker and I’m sure some of the jokes with the body-switched Straw Hats got lost in translation.

Naruto 582: please let that be the beginning and end of flashbacks to Kabuto’s childhood. 

Bakuman 174 still felt like the authors having a fantasy about what they were not allowed to do when they were writing Death Note. I don’t know for sure, but that’s certainly the impression it gives me.

                        

Rock Lee’s Springtime of Youth 09: as if to prove itself against the anime adaptation, this was another great chapter. The jokes about the Hyuuga looking the same, Neji as master of tsukkomi (even against clothing), Hinata’s way of running off and the bizarre sight Naruto came across all made me chuckle. The only thing that was a bit weird was Akamaru’s…yeah.

Naruto 581 had some of the nicer art in Naruto for a while – but it ended on some ridiculous new power pulled out of nowhere (guh) and a whole lot of people coming to realisations that should have been obvious and just make these great ninja geniuses sound really slow. And I don’t know how Kishimoto will get out of this without Sasuke either giving up on his goals (which will cost the title its big showdown) or just totally, wilfully misunderstanding his brother.