One Punch Man manga 124: Pochi is such a cute doggo, lol. This was another fun and impressively-drawn expansion on a short section of the webcomic, and I enjoyed it a fair bit. I wish we could get more!

Chainsawman 52: kind of unexpected for this major threat to just be quietly eliminated in a back alley, without Denji even being aware. A bit anticlimactic, actually. And not in the clever subversive way this title sometimes manages.

Dr. Stone 134: I’m looking forward to seeing how this progresses! A bit of a one-on-one face-off is a good idea in a manga like this, that’s usually so focused on its ensemble cast. Senkuu is still at a large disadvantage so I’m going to be interested in how things pan out now. It’s going to be satisfying seeing Ibara get his just deserts.

 Dr. Stone Reboot: Byakuya 9: Okay, in the end I finally did feel moved by the nobility of the robot that waits forever for its master. I suppose it’s a different form of the Hachiko story – unwavering loyalty is touching, even if we’re dealing with non-human subjects. I hope all this has a payoff – and I assume it must do, as otherwise the way this side-story ends is a bit too random. I’m looking forward to when Rei enters the main storyline.

Samurai 8 32: I guess there was some nice art. Still very much uninterested, though.

Haikyuu! 378: Ah, as soon as we get back to Japan, things improve with familiar old characters, even in older forms. Apart from him tallness, Tsukki still seems to be my spirit animal – right down to the Kahlua and milk. Buying him a gaudy pink T-shirt was so very Hinata, and Kageyama’s terrible curry commercial was absolute brilliance. Asahi becoming a designer was totally unexpected! I guess it makes sense to close Haikyuu with a confrontation between the two rivals from right at the start, even if I don’t think we needed quite such a long road to get there.  

The Promised Neverland 162: it does make sense to take this back to where it started, much like Haikyuu!, but I still don’t really feel like this can be anything but anticlimactic. The high-fantasy storming of castles and taking down evil queens has left this series with a big void to fill and I’m not convinced it’s doable. We’ll see, though. Mama playing a substantial role will certainly help. 

One Piece 966: I’m finally enjoying this flashback thanks to this impressive clash. And now Oden’s on another boat and we’re getting some more information about the trail Roger left behind him. I guess we’ll know more about the ‘one piece’ by the end of this side-story.

Haikyuu!! 377: Okay! This boring arc is over. Now big bulky non-cute Hinata can go and at least hang out with Bokuto. So as long as he actually gets onto this team that’s a plus. But what pay-off can this lead to? Will Hinata win an adult game? Will we care? Will it be the Olympics? Will we care?

Samurai 8 31: I should probably just drop this rather than moaning about it every week. But yeah, no emotional impact here whatsoever for me. I really don’t care about this battle or expect it will resolve in any but the most cliché way.

Dr. Stone reboot: Byakuya 8: I keep expecting this miniseries to be over, but not yet! This one raised a smile with the 50^th anniversary. And it is quite interesting to see how the little robot kept the earth safe. Seems like it should have been able to preserve more for itself to keep its operation up and running, though. Ah well, that’s how we get to a tragic ending next chapter, I’m sure. One downside to this added level of detail is (1) Europe’s people are mostly completely shattered, one would assume, and (2) this just makes it far more obvious that Senku and the others should all have been buried deep in the earth rather than lying on the surface.

The Promised Neverland 161: The stakes have been raised well and now it’s a small group versus a small army, which takes it TOWARDS a satisfying conclusion, and taking the setting full circle helps, but there’s still a long way before I feel like this is going to be a conclusion as satisfying as taking down the demon queen. Though maybe there’ll be one more arc after this with the weird metaphysical stuff again and THAT will satisfy.

One Piece 965: I'm not overly hooked on the Oden backstory but seeing all those characters from the manga's history in the final pages is a thrill as always. Let's have more of the big hitters together!

Shingeki no Kyojin 124: fantastic chapter. So much happened. The core characters actually ponder the ramifications of what is being done for their sake, which the audience benefits from seeing too. There was a great moment for Pixis that I didn't think he'd get. And then I didn't see the cliffhanger coming at all. I think this will bridge well into a final arc. Though I don't know whether it's going to be a huge spectacle or a small personal confrontation at this stage. 

One Punch Man 123: Ahh we’re getting to the good bits. Seeing the S-class in distress is such good build-up. And Tatsumaki seeming untouchable makes for the stakes being raised so much soon enough – when the real untouchable one shows up. This is why OPM transcended its gag origins – because when the camera is pointed elsewhere, the stakes are convincing.

Chainsawman 51: I should have seen this coming with the foreshadowing. But it was still nice. Not sure about letting the bad guy go but she’s obviously popular and maybe she can be redeemed. Maybe even next chapter!

Dr. Stone 133: You can tell these guys have good story sense because in this chapter building up to Senku being the heroic one, it was the other characters who came up with plans and used their specific talents. But it’s about time for this arc to get wrapped up, I think.

One Piece 965: I'm not overly hooked on the Oden backstory but seeing all those characters from the manga's history in the final pages is a thrill as always. Let's have more of the big hitters together!

Shingeki no Kyojin 124: fantastic chapter. So much happened. The core characters actually ponder the ramifications of what is being done for their sake, which the audience benefits from seeing too. There was a great moment for Pixis that I didn't think he'd get. And then I didn't see the cliffhanger coming at all. I think this will bridge well into a final arc. Though I don't know whether it's going to be a huge spectacle or a small personal confrontation at this stage. 

The Promised Neverland 160: Yeah, this was obviously what would have to happen for this arc to have any tension to it. Still not exactly finding it compelling, though. Stakes still so much lower…

Kuroshitsuji 158: This got a bit better, though it’s very clichéd. I at least cared for Rin and her little friends. But the cheesy mob guys and the old cliché of “Let them go you say? Well, okay then,” needed only a moustache twirl to be complete. Beautiful art as usual but very trite.

Dr. Stone 132: Haha, that’s a great move from the bad guy, both sneaky and creepy to look at. Very Shingeki no Kyojin. The spear fight was satisfying, too. Though I think perhaps I’d forgotten the way Hyoga fights.

Chainsawman 50: Aww, so many great little moments in this chapter. Beam the shark guy is such a great support character and the little moment with Aki and the angel was strangely adorable.

Haikyuu! 376: Lol, the little gag 4-koma at the end was my favourite part. Otherwise, still not really into it. It’s weird how this title’s strength always used to be getting the characters of big teams really fleshed out and interesting, but when it’s just a 2-on-2 I’m not clear on the personalities on either side.

 Dr. Stone Reboot: Byakuya 7: Awwww, that was a lovely end to this spin-off. Mostly it felt superfluous, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bring the feels. Much more for Byakuya himself than the silly robot.

Samurai 8 30: ehh, another step backwards. The guy who we thought was dispatched now has a still death star. I don’t really care about stopping him.

One Punch Man (manga) 122: Yay! More Child Emperor action. And he’s not going to come out of this well. And then a good summary of what S-class means straight out of the webcomic. I wish OPM came out more frequently, but then, the art quality of course takes time.

One Piece 964: Awww another break already? Still, this got more fun now that Wano is left behind and instead we’re focusing on Whitebeard’s crew. He got some good faces in. Oden is basically just another Luffy, which isn’t that exciting. But I definitely hope we see more of ‘Gold’ (not Gol D. this chapter) and the smol versions of Shanks and Buggy.

Chainsawman 49: Hilarious chapter! Was the whole thing set up just as a reference to Sharknado? Denji utterly failing to utilize his power in a sensible way was great and this whole crew is now pretty interesting. I guess the sword guy, whose name I’ve forgotten, wasn’t even close to just sorting everything out himself after his new contract, though.

Haikyuu!! 375: Nooo, I don’t want Hinata to be 171cm, I don’t care about this guy he’s teamed up with and I don’t like this arc at allllll. Seeing Kenma’s future was quite fun though. Wonder what Nishinoya and Tsukishima are doing.  

Dr. Stone 131: This actually came across as a bit messy and overly coincidental, and of course it has always been just a little silly how ridiculously superhuman the combat is in this ostensibly very grounded title.

Samurai 8 29: I’m still trying to care about this. But I don’t. These revelations don’t come on the back of making us care about the characters. Nothing but indifference from me.

Boruto 40: while this adversary similarly lacks development, and would have been much better if we cared about him or the threat he represents, he’s at least clearly formidable and allows our little team of heroes to shine. I’m actually quite interested in how they fare, though Boruto has several times now presented interesting set-ups and disappointing conclusions. And I still don’t like how they’ve made the old heroes, once so absurdly strong, seem unimpressive now.