Haikyuu! 320: This time we switched focus back to Tsukki. He got some nice facial expressions!

Dr. Stone 76: Well, the plan didn’t work, and after all it was pretty slapdash for a genius. I guess we’ll see Senkuu has worked out all this and planned for it. We’ll see. There was a feeling of this series rushing to finish but I expect it will continue long after this.

Boruto 27: yup, Boruto has definitely found his Sasuke. Quite fun to see a new sizzling rivalry that will no doubt turn into a strong bond later on. But this isn’t all that interesting, to be honest, and I don’t really look forward to new Boruto chapters.

One Piece 919: not a ghost story but a time travel story! One Piece is very silly but always brings me back, eager for more. I didn’t expect this, but it makes a lot of sense. And interesting how we get Oda’s take on isolationism and young kids getting fed propaganda. Perhaps the kids reading this will be more critical thinkers in the future, haha. A few of the crew members are back to meet up with Luffy, too – but a few are still missing too.

HunterxHunter 382: I’m still eager to read this one every time, but it’s really just vestigial affection keeping me going at this point – and the possibility that this will kick off in a big way. There was some action and both an assassination and an assassination attempt, but precious little of the characters I care about. Where are the Spiders?

The Promised Neverland 104: not much happening here, just confirming that this will need to be a fight rather than just an escape. Still, it will be interesting to see this become a survival adventure, more like how it started – only with guns. 

One Piece 918: ahhh, classic fun storytelling. Luffy in full Robin Hood mode, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Really fun having straight man Law to yell at them too. I’m looking forward to the fallout from this – and to finding out who the little dragon kid and the rest of them the crew met before really are, if their headstones are waiting on the mountain.  

HunterxHunter 381: hrmm … not the best way to return to serialization. Kids encountering HxH for the first time must be so bewildered. Almost no action this chapter, bar an invisible nen beast eating another invisible nen beast. I understand set-up is important but so is intrigue and actual activity. I only really care about the spiders. Hilarious frontispiece though!

Dr. Stone 75: this is how you do it! Look at all that action, just when the series had gotten slow. Great character moments, especially Taiju just coming back into the series and stealing the show – even if his sound bomb was a bit unlikely, haha. The low-tech tank was great, the little exchange with magma was great, and the new allies did their part too. Not sure we needed the new boobie girl but eh, didn’t hurt.

Haikyuu! 319: I see, this set is gonna be highlights of different positions. Makes sense to keep things fun. This time it was Nishinoya and the libero position. I wasn’t at all sure about Furudate’s art style at first but it’s so dynamic and interesting.  

One Punch Man 96: Just a continuation of Flash’s fight. I was hoping to hurry on to Child Emperor’s. Should be next time, though! This was another masterclass in dynamic art, but not all that interesting plot-wise. Would’ve been nice to have some humour or to check in, however briefly, on Saitama or King.

Heroes of Fury 1: I decided to read these One/Murata one-shot comics. This is a very One piece of humour. Not very clever and just a little offensive but taken to very entertaining lengths. The last twist was the funniest, and of course the art was gorgeous. I’d enjoy seeing more One stories in this kind of fairytale setting.

Gokiburi Blaster 1: A very silly, somewhat Pythonesque one-shot about a group of cockroach hunters. They go way overboard and blame their own incompetence on the power of their nemesis. Another pretty obvious gag but well executed!

The Promised Neverland 103: Very interesting once again! Things are moving fast, both with hints that the demons are actually corrupted humans and with a new invasion of antagonist humans. Enjoying this series a lot.

Haikyuu! 318: It’s nice to give the antagonists some screentime and make them likeable, but this kind of flashback isn’t really needed in Haikyuu! because one thing it always does well is to identify strong, interesting character types just through the everyday conversations we see. So while this was by no means bad or uninteresting, it feels superfluous.

One Piece 917: haha, looks like pliers really triggered Luffy. Well, torturing a kid did, so his counterattack was very satisfying. This chapter progressed things very slowly but the action at the end, and the possibility of Law vs Hawkins, made for a pretty satisfying update. I wonder how long it will take for Kaido to be on the scene. The idea of a horse-person randomly inheriting the ability to see like a herbivore despite a human face is so Oda, haha. I remember it was obvious Jack didn’t die when he was last mentioned so it’s no surprise to see him back, but I’ll have to look up the details of who he was…

Dr. Stone 74: I feel like an editorial hand instructed the mangaka to hurry this story up. If so, it was a good idea! It’s all coming to a head now, and the whole plant-a-telephone strategy, as well as the idea that communications devices would give a huge advantage in organizing an army, ended up reduced to converting two key players to the good guys’ side. That’s not really what the set-up was meant to lead to, but it’s probably a fair bit more interesting.

The Promised Neverland 102: Interesting! Just when the title started to feel a bit stale, everything was switched up. We had a time skip, a new and interesting development for the cliffhanger, and a fun opening – which interestingly further humanises the monstrous ‘demons’. Plus that popularity poll, haha – who would vote for goddamn Phil?! Lol

One Punch Man 136: Aww, we didn’t get to Child Emperor vs Phoenix Man. But we’re now into the big fights of the best arc of the webcomic. Of course, everything is going to be fleshed out a significant amount – Flash’s fight that we started in this chapter, for example, was just a throwaway handful of panels originally. So I don’t know how long this arc is going to take – potentially several years. But I think I will enjoy it all the way.

Haikyuu! 317: good, it wasn’t dragged out too far! And it’s nice that this was won not by another big spike but good positioning and effective defence. But what’s left for the last set?

Dr. Stone 73: awww, the twist in this tail doesn’t really affect the overall narrative, but it’s a fantastic character moment and a very nice little detail. Looks like the way this war will be won will be by winning over the hearts of basically everyone else on the other side. That’s very manga.

Kuroshitsuji 143: eh, I get why the revived Ciel wants to frame the Ciel we know and love, but it’s all so rushed and unsatisfying. I don’t know that after using her long-prepared trump card, Toboso hasn’t wasted her single best twist on a really lacklustre new arc.

The Promised Neverland 101: hmm, everything went a bit abstract, with visions, esoteric contradictory statements and abstractions abound. Not sure I’m on board but it really depends where it leads.

Haikyuu! 316: more flying Hinata is always fun but Karasuno should just win this set already. There’s no doubt they will.

Dr. Stone 72: Yay, Chrome. That tank stuff from before feels a bit clumsy and pointless now, but this escape was a lot of fun, especially with a little bit of extra cleverness at the end.