Yotsbato! 88.1-2: Grandma went home, and inevitable the separation was extremely cute. There was a laugh-out-loud moment this time, with Yotsuba’s attempt to hide Grandma’s luggage. It was fun having such a good straight-man foil in this series for a bit, but I’m looking forward to more high-energy chapters now. 

Yotsubato! 87.2: It’s been a little while since I read more of the adventures of the Koiwai household, but they unfailingly lift my spirits. No big laughs in this chapter, but lots of cuteness with Yotsuba being manipulated into finding cleaning interesting and getting an adorable outfit. The world is better with Yotsubato! in it, that’s for sure. 

One Piece 824: not a bad chapter, mostly focused on comedy but with some glimpses of the threats to come with rampaging yonkou. The comedy was pretty funny, though, with Luffy characteristically slow recognising who his father is, and then his appalling attempts at cooking.

HunterxHunter 351: In an abrupt change of setting and with no build-up, we’re suddenly launched into one of the events the series has been building up to for almost its entire run – the showdown between Hisoka and Kuroro. This is going to be an odd clash and it’s difficult to imagine any pay-off that will satisfy everybody, but it will certainly be exciting to watch this unfold.

Naruto side-story: The Path Shone by the Full Moon’s Light: If the return of HunterxHunter wasn’t enough, here’s more nostalgia. But in fact, this back-story for Boruto’s Sasuke equivalent was very good, probably the best chapter of Naruto in...well, at least five years, probably ten. Orochimaru set up a wonderful deception where part of the rouse was making Mitsuki believe in a completely different lie. A nice multi-layered trick with lots of excellent artwork. A pleasant surprise.

D.Gray-man 222: Ahh, it feels nostalgic to not only read HunterxHunter but D.Gray-man as well. Good chapter, with the adorable child version of Allen getting all emotional and then determined. After a few disheartening chapters with Allen subsumed, it was good to see him back even in an internal fantasy sequence. The newly-introduced characters seem interesting, too, so for the first time since coming off hiatus, I feel engaged in D-Gray-man again. Good news!

HunterxHunter 350: Ahh, it’s good to have HunterxHunter back. I wish it had never stopped and I fear it grinding to a halt yet again. But I’m a fan and always will be. This was another talky set-up chapter, still transitioning into the new arc, but it was still good. It was great to see some familiar faces again, but probably the most impressive part was that even after all this time, Togashi can still pull off some good character comedy moments with Biscuit.

One Piece 823: Carrot is a fun character and it’s good to see her here. Some funny moments, and some really nice glimpses of characters past, but I’m looking forward to some more real action.

One Piece 822 was another good chapter, even if a simple transition one. Teams are established and Luffy had another classic reckless moment, dragging the others along with him. The story might get a little fragmented from here,  but we’ll see. I’m interested in all the different strands.