The new One Punch Man from Murata-sensei turned out to be revisions to chapter 99 through to 102 for the next tankobon. We knew at the end of the last volume that his decision to change the design of Doutei-kun’s cockpit would mean a huge amount of work, but I didn’t expect THIS much. I wouldn’t talk about just art fixes, but this was a major story rewrite. Unlike most of the Western fandom, Child Emperor is one of my favourite characters, and this is a way more interesting angle, with Phoenix Man taking him to a metaphysical world to talk about him having darkness within him a couple of times – including in penguin mode. Some interesting foreshadowing, and having Saitama involved definitely improves this whole fight. I laughed at Dotei-kun’s first blunt response (DASASUGIRU!), but what really made me laugh was him TOTALLY misunderstanding Saitama’s sign language. Saitama tries to tell him he’s being loud and to keep it down, which Child Emperor manages to interpret as ‘I don’t want to hear that I’m bald so don’t say it!’ I love One Punch Man.  How much strength Child Emperor drew from Zombieman’s words was also super-sweet, I’m interested if this means Phoenix Man can come back since he just ended up little chick-man, I like how Saitama being there increases Child Emperor’s suspicion of Genos (since he was meant to be excluded) and if we get more revisions on this kind of scale, I won’t mind the main story getting a little delayed. Though at the same time I kinda miss some elements of the original fight, and how Dotei-kun took care of it himself … I’m kinda glad I got to read both.

One Piece 981: Not only was there a nice colour frontispiece this week, we had Luffy on the front cover too. And it looks like we might get Luffy and Zoro dealing with Apoo after all. They’ve been given a strategy to deal with him, and we got the obvious sight gag of our smart characters reacting. Made me laugh, at least. Otherwise, mostly set-up again. This arc has had a bit too much setting-up now, I reckon. Still, Chopper got into an interesting scrape and an old familiar face showed up for the first time in a while, sending Big Mom’s kids blasting off agaaaaain …

Agravity Boys 23: I’ve been expecting this for a couple of weeks, but now we finally go back to Monica, who we knew would be holding a grudge. Geralt used Chris’ picture so the dance of mistaken identities kicked off right away. As usual there were a few laughs. I liked Saga’s extremely poor excuse. And of course Grislow showing up at exactly the wrong time to hear the worst possible lie. As expected this is a superb comedy of errors, and though I still find Monica’s … somewhat exaggerated design a little … erm, would excessive be the right word? Yeah. Excessive definitely covers it.

Chainsawman 72: Time for a trip to Hokkaido, it seems. I liked the fast cut to the poor cat getting an interesting pet-sitter, and his glib response to what omiyage he wanted. It’s kind of nice to see these guys get to relax a bit on the journey, and Power of course acts like a little kid. Like a little brat, I should say. And there’s something oddly poignant about Denji and Power being so obstreperous that Aki was distracted from the usual flood of bad memories when visiting the family grave. It’s such a dark idea that somehow it strikes me as very, very sincere. And then by the end I was laughing at the look of pride on Power’s face when the cooking she and Denji produced proved truly disastrous.

My Hero Academia 274: So Shigaraki knows where to go to find Midoriya. But I still don’t think this is going to be our final showdown. I really like that good ole Kacchan not only figured out what was going on but goes with Midoriya. I guess I’m starting to get why so many people ship them.

Moriking 7: Bless Shota, being worried his pet beetle is going to be taken away. Still, I feel like police in Japanese media may not inspire as many cries of ‘ACAB’ as those in other parts of the world right now. Though one did attempt to shoot an unarmed man who seemed suspicious because he seems so foreign and different. Maybe Moriking is a deep, meaningful allegory after all. Luckily he got a chance to show his amazing abilities and good heart and got thoroughly accepted by the police. If only real life worked that way when armed police drastically overreact, eh?

Haikyuu!! 396: Colour pages here too! The thing I like most about the popularity poll is seeing everyone back in pre-timeskip mode. I miss Noya. At least we know he isn’t dead now though, which I honestly started to suspect before he showed up. I liked the clash of players with a strong desire to be the strongest here. And Hinata shows off some ambidextrous skills. As the final lines note, we’re almost at the end of this journey now. And I have to say, it’s time.

Time Paradox Ghostwriter 4: Very like Boku wa Beatles, Teppei now feels obliged to bring the work he stole into the world where otherwise it won’t exist. The assistants look like a lively bunch, and it’s no surprise the true author – from another timeline – is among them. I quite like the dynamic they’ve set up. Not sure about where we go now, though. I like that his guilt is why Teppei is tortured to extreme perfectionism, but by the end it was just obnoxious.

Guardian of the Witch 17: decided not to leave this one til last this time. This chapter was all the fun of a 30-minute transfusion. Yay. Again, the fact nobody follows wicked orders just feels like weak world-building because there’s no reason we should be persuaded that in normal circumstances everybody is just fine with this horrific system. Claude managed not to die and the main trio just walked out of the situation, apparently. Because apparently the authority figures can just be defied and tied up and there are no consequences. I’m just surprised the manga is continuing. Cancellation soon, I’m sure.

Dr. Stone 153: The humour here felt really off, almost like this was a fan doujin rather than the actual manga. I still don’t like this arc, and I don’t know why Xeno is giving our heroes time to prepare. It feels a bit artificial that this has become a capture-the-king set-up, given Xeno should just be able to massacre the other side, but I’m interested in what little Suica’s role will be!

Bone Collection 6: What happened to Pino? Guess they left her unconscious in the woods. Later on she gets dropped back into the action. Rude. I guess showing the heroes are only using a fraction of their potential helps with the problem I had yesterday, but honestly I’m losing interest in these characters and this scenario. It needs some heart, and pronto.

The Promised Neverland 180: I’m a bit conflicted. I don’t know that the story can end in a satisfying way if Emma and the rest aren’t reunited, and at the same time I’ll be annoyed the promise is meaningless if they do. I guess them being reunited by Emma remembering nothing and them having to rebuild their bonds will be a decent balance but that strikes me as a bit awkward too. Being with this old man who lost his family to war, it’s all feeling a bit contrived, and similarly to what happened with Mama a few chapters back, how artificial it all feels is stopping me feeling any kind of emotional resonance. I’d love to believe that Shirai-sensei can write a satisfying ending but I don’t feel we’re on the right track yet.

Shingeki no Kyojin 129: I really liked the double-page spread, with the stillness of Armin and Connie in shock in the foreground, the perhaps slightly out-of-proportion-with-Armin boat dividing the space, and the chaos in the background, which the two bottom panels are clarifying. I don’t really get why this Odiha place won’t have been destroyed by the Rumbling already, but there’s a new plan in motion. I kinda wanted Armin to be involved but I guess he has to recover. So instead it has to be lil’ Falco to the rescue. He has probably the goofiest Titan, maybe after the Cart, and Gabi stops that pesky Floch. The Cart titan is helping too – AS EXPECTED OF PIECK. Is that still a meme? I’m gonna say that’s still a meme. Fandom meme. Two of the old guys – who if I’m honest I occasionally mixed up - get to make a standard grand gesture, and generally we’re on to the next stage of the story. This little plane raid subplot ended up surprisingly interesting. What’s next?

One Punch Man (webcomic version) 126-8: I love when One retroactively puts characters that first appeared in the manga adaptation back into the webcomic. Great Philosopher looks just wonderful in his style. I’m pretty interested to see what One does with the Neo Heroes now that they’ve gone public. And whether Saitama will care. At all. At the moment he’s just protesting about his uncool name. The Neo Heroes send out their best so of course they show up the mediocre members of the Hero Association, though it was interesting to see Dotei-kun (Child Emperor) impressed by the tech and yet again suspecting Bofoy of having dubious intentions. Relying on tech usually ends badly in manga. Such an illustrious title as Boruto has recently been exploring that idea. But I liked how not every single neo hero was successful. This will all obviously end in a showdown and I’m pretty interested to see how things will escalate. But so far we’re still laying the groundwork. I’m sure it will pick up soon – and hopefully Saitama will get more involved in the next few chapters!

Agravity Boys 22: Not sure about that no-context opening. But the higher being is here, so the chapter will probably be a lot of fun. OR IS HE? OR SHE? OR OTHER? That’s a very strange shape for the higher being, and I love the resentment when they don’t realize the different. I normally hate meta-humour in my manga, but somehow them even missing the differently-shaped speech bubbles made me chuckle. Chris loving to sing heavy metal just makes him even more the perfect being, and the higher being getting so upset at being left out and replaced was strangely adorable. Though his wrath was pretty horrifying, I must say. The punchline was pretty obvious but I laughed nonetheless. A lot of fun, as always.

Boku no Hero Academia 273: As expected, the action kicks up several notches, even if Shigaraki is still far from the action. Toga has been seeming a bit outclassed lately so it’s intriguing to see her go a little crazy after what happened to Twice. I wondered last week if this series was reaching its climax, but the way Shigaraki is acting makes me feel it’s unlikely. It seems to me like he’ll retreat and Gigantomachia will be the main problem the heroes have to deal with. But we’ll see. There aren’t many more hidden cards on this table, unless All for One ends up being able to take over. Shigaraki is definitely the stronger and more iconic adversary here, though, and that flashback to one of the series’ best, creepiest moments where he met Midoriya at the mall and had his hands on his neck just reinforces that. Will Endeavor make it out of this situation? Got to say, all those family scenes raised some pretty prominent character death flags…

Time Paradox Ghostwriter 3: Hmm, this wasn’t very satisfying. There’s been a realistic feeling to what characters say and do up until now, even within a manga about future copies of Jump appearing in microwaves. But this confrontation was just too daft. She wanted him to see her nib so almost stabbed him in the eye? She just accepts they are kindred spirits so accepted they wrote exactly the same story? Mmm, it’s all a bit much. I guess she’ll be more of a rival, but now I really don’t know what interesting places the manga is going to go. I guess I’ll keep giving it a chance and find out.

Moriking 6: The chapter started off a little uneven, with the gags about Oka’s slicing powers falling a bit flat, but the girls interviewing MoriKing and him just coming out with how he’s a pet raised definitely got me laughing again. If anything, it could have been pushed a bit more. Still, I liked the chapter taking on a sentimental tone, that was pretty sweet and makes it feel like there’s more at stake than it might have, had the manga just been all gags all the time.

Chainsawman 71: Ooh colour art and a popularity poll. Kind of fun to see Angel is so high. Poor Denji is 5^th in his own manga, and Pochita makes it to number 9 despite one of the saddest things about the manga being that he didn’t make it past chapter one, at least in the form we see here. As expected, the arc just abruptly ended and we have a bit of a comedown chapter, though we’ve lost some good characters and most of the rest have lost limbs. Poison is also totally traumatized and acting bizarrely. And it was nice that Denji actually put her first and is showing just a little sensitivity. Their shower scene was once again pushing the boundaries of what it feels like should really be in Jump. Though far less so than other chapters, to be fair. At the very least, Chainsawman always feels completely different from anything else in Jump. It reminds me of certain other series that pushed what’s acceptable in shounen manga like Fire Candy and Bokurano. But it’s definitely totally singular and idiosyncratic. In a very good way. Interested to know what’s next.

Haikyuu!! 395: Hmm, an Ushijima chapter. A character whose whole personality is being the strong, silent type doesn’t make for the most exciting side story. The unsurprising revelation about his father raised a little smile but I can’t say I care that much about the big cow.

Bone Collection 5: Ooookay, so Abe’s design was basically not the design we’ll be seeing going forward. It’s a pretty girl’s technique to look that way. Throwaway gag or editorial intervention? Or maaaybe the plan all along? Either way, it was jarring. I feel like the point of the series is undermined a bit when the combined power of our heroes doesn’t actually match up to this random genius kid’s. And her being able to grant them amnesty is very contrived. We’ll see what happens.

Dr. Stone 152: Still not liking this arc. I’m not pumped for a science showdown, I’m still lamenting how the main characters have lost what makes them unique. They do still have their revival fluid as a very unique asset, but I just don’t know that this arc is going to be particularly enjoyable.

The Promised Neverland 179: colour pages here too. I actually really loved the frontispiece, with the main trio looking so peaceful with the younger kids around him, but those tattoos totally undermining the sweetness there. I’ve been pretty negative about Yakusoku no Neba-rando recently, but this reminds me of how it made me feel in the early days. And the chapter continues to answer some of the big questions I had. There does indeed seem to be more to the promise, and here we see that there are Ratri in the human world, which is a bit of a cliché sci-fi nationless world. I can let the loose ends from the demon world go. If there really is a cost to the new promise, not just Emma being separated from the others, and if there’s some exploration of the fact that these humans have been fine with the status quo so far with all the moral implications that brings, I think I’ll be pretty satisfied overall. But it looks like our final arc will be Saving Private Emma.

Majo no Moribito 16: The chapter title, ‘Last Stand’, had heavy cancellation vibes. Again, the action doesn’t seem very fluid or connected, and the dialogue is clunky. Predictably, Claude did a total U-turn and joined the good guys as soon as he saw them protecting his partner Spica. Very original. Now for the counterattack, the cliffhanger leaving us in no doubt will be a cakewalk for our heroes. Still expecting Claude to die but maybe not, since there’s probably not going to be much more of this series so they don’t need to worry about him and Spica complicating things down the line. I don’t see this getting better and if I didn’t think it would be over in a few weeks, I’d probably drop it.

One Piece 980: As expected, the action gets started with a bang. Zoro was hilarious, telling Luffy off for something while doing the same thing much worse. Some of these minor adversary characters look pretty interesting, and Eustass Kid springing into action with his spectacular ability is always going to be pretty cool to watch. I would have liked to have seen how Luffy would deal with Apoo’s tricky ability without any help, though.

 Agravity Boys 21: Another great chapter. Though it didn’t tie in with the immediately preceding ones at all! Also good for this manga to show that it can be funny even when Chris isn’t at the centre of the story – he appeared here, but mostly to just be the outraged tsukkomi, or straightman character. But somehow this competition of who knows Geralt the best was absolutely hilarious, from the mercurial judging to the random questions from the ‘glasses’ category. And the ending to it was oddly touching. Totally inconsequential, very silly, but extremely entertaining and well-done. This continues to be the best gag manga I’ve read in a very long time. What have I read that’s funnier? Maybe Azumanga Daioh? Yakitate!! Japan?

Boku no Hero Academia 272: Yup, like I said last week, Shigaraki waking up here is going to really bring the action to a head – but it also gives a heavy impression of the series reaching its endgame. Just like Tanjirou and the Hashira and his other comrades clashing with Muzan is clearly where Kimetsu no Yaiba reaches its climax, Midoriya having a big showdown with the empowered form of Shigaraki could be where this title ends. On the other hand, with Midoriya-shounen only just getting to grips with new powers from his One-For-All predecessors and plenty more possible character arcs for the ensemble, we might see the battle end with no clear winner and this could be no more a final showdown than Naruto fighting Orochimaru was. We’ll see. Probably BnhA will continue for a few more years, that’s my gut feeling. At the very least, this story development is a devastating blow for the heroes. Fs in the chat for Crust.

Moriking 5: Yep, just as I thought – a gag manga with ridiculously overblown battles. Man, I’m getting a lot of points in the ‘told you so’ chart this week. Well, it was one or two panels that were overblown, but give it time, it’s clearly going in that direction. I enjoyed Oka’s display of power, and then Moriking’s very silly yet very serious response. This is a neat parody, complete with the wonderfully cheesy post-battle dialogue, but it maybe wasn’t all that inventive or original. I wonder if Oka will be a powerful ally in future?

Time Paradox Ghostwriter 2: Another colour page, eh? Very extravagant! But I feel this was the right way for the drama to go. He gets another copy of Jump from the future – and has to confront the fact that he didn’t come up with the idea in a dream, but totally ripped it off. Now, though, he assumes that because he published the story and it will no longer be possible to publish it in the future, he must be in a divergent timeline and can continue – and yep, the manga has ‘time paradox’ in the title, after all. This is actually very similar to Boku wa Beatles, the quirky little manga I’ve been reading about guys who travel back in time and start releasing Beatles tracks as their own – very similar moral conundrums are raised. Though here I guess we just have to take the word of the characters that the manga in question is that good. Not that many manga, even classic ones, are that good when they first start out, after all. But that’s just what we have to accept for the sake of the story. And already, his misdeeds are catching up with him. I’m interested to see next week’s confrontation. And of course the mangaka whose future work Teppei is ripping off is a real beauty. Of course.

Chainsawman 70: While it’s characteristic of Chainsawman to end things very quickly and simply, and actually a positive of the writing most of the time, I feel a bit short-changed here. Denji wins his fight but it’s largely a pyrrhic victory because this is just one of the many Santa Claus dolls in a vast network. But another of the enemies of the arc comes and sorts out that problem that would be impossible for Denji, and then Makima just has to sort them out. And while I guess it’s possible they’ll survive and return, that’s not really the Chainsawman style. While I did love the way Santa Claus was dealt with and the absolutely wonderful idea that when all the knowledge of the universe is poured into your mind, all you can think about from then on is Halloween – that’s just a brilliant piece of absurdist, macabre, twisted thinking that I love. It’s absolutely some of the twisted conceptual thinking that makes this series special. But it’s part of a cheap set-up that I disliked, which has left me feeling a bit dissatisfied. Things are just gonna go back to normal next time, after we saw these absurd levels of power on display. How much more can the dial really be turned up from here?

Bone Collection 4: from a really unique series to one really struggling to stand out as anything but generic. Still, it’s an enjoyable read. It amused me that Rino is just carrying a picture of Paira around, that’s how much she hates her. But compared with just how clever Agravity Boys is with maximizing the comedy of each new event, or how flat-out absurd Moriking is right from the description of the premise, Bone Collection struggles as a comedy. But with Abe, apparently extremely powerful, already on the scene and witness to Kazami’s crime, this might be more compelling as a drama, and after all, One Piece does dramatic storylines with a very comedic tone brilliantly. Perhaps Bone Collection can go in that direction.

Dr. Stone chapter 151: Hmm, I still have the same qualms I had last week. I really don’t like it when a new character can do everything that makes our hero special, but better. And that’s clearly happening here. They look so ridiculously villainous, too. I wonder if the fact they’re speaking English here will be remembered or not. I quite liked the primitive polygraph test and how that played to Gen’s strengths, but I’m really not sold on this arc yet.

Haikyuu!! 394: One of the real strengths of Haikyuu!! is that Furudate-sensei really knows how to give characters quirks and idiosyncrasies that are believable enough to be realistic. It’s a real trope of anime and manga that everyone has to have their key character points and be easy to understand, but when it’s subtle like Sakusa just liking to see everything seen through to the end and done neatly, with the proper preparation and the proper execution, it just works. But that’s not to say it’s necessarily that interesting. I’d actually say this chapter focusing on Sakusa was pretty boring. Elegant, but dull.

The Promised Neverland 178: someone asked me what I meant by the loose ends still left in YnN, and the two big ones were Emma’s promise and what bearing it had on the story overall, and then what they were going to do once they were in the human world, which after all supported this status quo where human children were raised as cattle and brutally murdered, the key hook the whole series was hung from, to use a maybe slightly unfortunate phrase. Then there are small nitpicks like where are all the numerous rebels amongst the demons there would inevitably be and was there seriously nobody who would take up Ratri’s cause once he was just talked out of his life’s work in a few panels by Emma? Well, this chapter dealt with the big ones, at least. The promise, well, it apparently was perfect with no need for quid pro quo, but I’m hoping there’s actually some twist to that. And now they’re in the human world, actually arriving in New York of all places, and the story isn’t over yet. I really am hoping for one more arc confronting the morality of this world, rather than a few easy wrap-up chapters. Everything has been way too convenient basically since the confrontation with the Queen, and for me at least, the rushed and unconvincing way this has been wrapping up hasn’t sat well at all. But there’s still hope for a satisfying ending, and I’m going to withhold judgement until I see where this goes.

Majo no Moribito 15: Always the last thing I read – totally taking the place of Samurai 8 at the bottom of the pile. There’s always something off about this series, something that feels amateurish. Claude flattened Fafner and then he just got back up again somehow, in a tiny panel that was very confusing in terms of why Claude allowed him to stand. Fafner had no counter to the gravity attack, but Claude just didn’t use it again and then the fight got interrupted. Seems like a really cheap way to get out of writing yourself into a corner. And the very premise at the core of this story seems faulty – the protector has to kill the witch when she’s too close to turning into an unstoppable evil, and one of the very first duos the heroes come across have the same moral qualms. Maybe we can just about accept that they only doubt because of the influence of the heroes, even though Claude didn’t really get much opportunity to be influenced, but can we really buy that this kind of rebellion doesn’t happen all the time when pairs who have bonded over months or years have to turn on each other? It seems like it would be happening very frequently, if we’re honest. Majo no Moribito stands on flimsy world-building, has next to no humour, average art, a poor grasp of fluid motion, a generic world and characters that aren’t especially interesting. Honestly, I don’t think it deserves to have shared pages with Kimetsu no Yaiba at all, and if it doesn’t improve drastically soon, I can see it getting cut before too long.

Boruto 44-46: Really? Space aliens? I didn’t realize I’d missed two months of Boruto, but I’m not exactly desperate to check it out. And now that I have, urgh, it’s not that I wish I hadn’t, but I can’t get past the fact that they’re revealing that the antagonists here are evil aliens from space. Because without that, if they were just regular baddies who were sucking out all the chakra of the world for their own purposes, that would have been fine. Other than this one detail, this wasn’t a particularly bad scenario. I even like how we had a betrayal and the guy making all these ninja devices defecting, if I didn’t particularly like his hostage-taking. I like his design and how ordinary he looks. I’m kind of interested in how his robot uses techniques like Jiraiya’s. But I just can’t get over the space aliens angle. The Naruto universe just isn’t goofy like Dragon Ball’s. And I guess it’s a bit of a microcosm for Boruto in general. There are plenty of things done right by the spin-off, but it’s always outweighed by the big, glaring problems it always puts right in the middle of everything.  

Kimetsu no Yaiba 205: The last chapter. This was actually in last week’s Jump, but I’m slipping it in now because, well, it was the last chapter and this was a great series. I’ll probably make a full video about it at some point, but it didn’t feel right to not include it. This was actually a very interesting way to do an epilogue chapter in a way that gives a happy ending despite how much tragedy we went through to get to this point. I’ve got a lot I want to say about the series overall, which in storytelling terms was a very simple one, but this particular chapter was just such a nice way to end everything. Through reincarnation we could see so many familiar faces and it almost feels like everyone got their happy ending. Being less than charitable, you could call this cheesy, but maybe because of the emotional rollercoaster of the final confrontation, I for one am happy to let it slide. A fantastic manga in the end, and I hope to see the rest adapted to anime form.

Kuroshitsuji 164: Quite the change of pace. Most of this chapter was Mei-Lin’s transformation from a raggedy assassin everyone thinks is a boy to a much more feminine maid. Including getting her glasses. Can’t say it was that engaging, even with the seamstress’s extrovert personality, but as a breath of relief after a pretty intense flashback full of assassination attempts and kids getting thrown off the top of buildings, it was welcome. Will we go back to the present day after this?

Dr. Stone 150: Like I kind of expressed in my thoughts about Haikyuu!!, I really don’t like it when a manga introduces an adversary who just does what the main character does in similar circumstances, but better. Even if the hero manages to overcome their rival, they just no longer seem unique. I don’t know if that’s what’s happening here, there may well be a twist like the Americans are being guided by an AI or have reference materials to follow. We’ll see.

Bone Collection 3: This manga continues to swing between unfunny boob jokes and genuinely funny gags. I liked the easily-bribed headmaster and Rino’s weird reaction to this absurd situation. Their confrontation was kinda funny but as a gag manga, this is totally getting outclassed by Agravity Boys and Moriking. We’ll see if a more serious challenge from this Abe character makes the series a bit more compelling.

The Promised Neverland 177: From what I’ve seen, others in the fandom are actually moved by this situation but it just seems way too contrived to resonate with me. In other circumstances I could see this same situation having a high impact but it was just set up in such a fake way. I think the character was a good one and did get redeemed even if a lot of her more sinister behaviour was just skipped over but this was just too rushed and artificial for me.

Majo no Moribito 14: Okay, almost nothing happened here. Yes, there was a fight scene, and I guess there was a deeply unimpressive new power revealed in the flame shield, but the attacks from the current adversary character were the same as before and compared with the inventive and quirky fights that the best of the Jump titles constantly put out.

Agravity Boys 20: Aw, I thought this was going to be a boring chapter but it was great. Of course, Chris showing up instantly dispelled that first impression. And now for the first time we’ve had a reason to pay attention to Luo and found out he’s super strong. I absolutely loved that the way this was demonstrated was through classic wrestling moves. Nakamura-sensei has such a great grasp of comic timing. Of course, Grislow still having the wrong idea about Chris is wonderful. There’s something that doesn’t feel particularly woke about the comedy of misgendering people, but hey, it worked for Shakespeare, it’s a staple of anime and manga humour, it’s not as though Chris is anything other than a cis male so it’s simple a case of the humour being that Grislow is so dead wrong, and hey, it’s just really funny and cute. Tie in some callbacks to last chapter and I really enjoyed this. I’m glad Luo is substantially more interesting now, too.

Boku no Hero Academia 271: Yes, I’m now up-to-date with BnHA, so I can talk about the latest chapter. And we’re in a really exciting spot – it almost feels like this is the climactic arc too, depending on whether Shigaraki actually wakes up here. Tokoyami is up there with Froppy for favourite minor characters in this series, so it’s nice to see him rush to Hawks’ aid and as soon as he showed up last chapter I got worried he’d be the big casualty of this arc, which would be pretty tragic. There’s something fundamentally funny about diffusing the tension of the moment by cutting to Giant Lady’s giant, uh … booty (not my words), but I’m definitely invested in the outcome of this battle. If Gigantomachia is going to join the battle after all, and especially if Shigaraki wakes up, this is going to be bad news for our heroes.

Moriking 4: Here we have a new character introduced, Oka Makiri. I like her hat – but with it and the gloves, I’m suspecting she might be a rival for Moriking. Oh okay, a few pages later, that suspicion was confirmed, so I suppose it wasn’t really meant to be a huge mystery. Of course Shoko just happens to meet this enemy while working at Gusto, err sorry, Gus-Cho. Not much of a confrontation, more of a verbal smackdown, but I’m oddly eager for more.

Chainsawman 69: A simple battle, but Denji being simple is if anything the charm of this series. I guess this extremely powerful being was overcome with a tug-of-war and sheer perseverance. Not the most inventive or enjoyable chapter, but one that makes sense for Chainsawman.

Haikyuu!! 393: Eh, a Hoshiumi chapter. I never liked Hoshiumi or how his presence in this story consistently made Hinata seem less unique and interesting. It was quite funny to see Bokuto read so easily, though. And not for the first time this game, I’m a bit annoyed that people are treating fairly basic feint strategies and reactions to them as super elite-level.

Time Paradox Ghostwriter 1: another new Jump series, starting with some nice colour pages. This is a weird setup almost like Stein’s Gate getting smushed together with Bakuman – a young aspiring mangaka starts receiving copies of Jump from ten years in the future. I rather like the art, which is a little reminiscent of Bakuman’s Takeshi Obata, my favourite manga artist since his work on Hikaru no Go, my favourite manga. I like Teppei, a good-hearted guy, and as Bakuman showed us, manga about the process of publishing manga are pretty interesting. Though I have to say I was wondering how Majou no Moribito got through this rigorous process. I’m not sure the kids reading this are going to be that moved by the idea of a guy in his mid-20s failing to succeed in his field and coming close to giving up, but hey, it resonates with me and it’s not as though only kids read Jump these days. Teppei gets a copy of Jump from the future, thinks it was a dream and rips off the story he read in there and loved – and now will have to deal with the consequences. Pretty interesting stuff – I’m curious to see how this will be developed!

One Piece 979: Another set-up chapter, not the most exciting or amusing but I’m still grateful we’re out of the long flashback sequence. There were some laughs seeing Chopper get excited about being able to command a tank and how well the more sensible members of the Mugiwara crew know the less sensible ones. I’m interested in Kaido’s big announcement and whether his son is someone we already know well, but more interested in the chaos Luffy is bound to cause here.

Agravity Boys 19: I still read this title “A-gravity Boys” but I suppose I should say it more like how the katakana suggests. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’d tune in for Chris’ streams. And it’s good to know that in a far-off world many many years from now the streaming will be very much Nico Nico Douga-style. He’s pretty much exactly the kind of character I like and his first stream was adorable. I may not care too much for maid outfits – that’s a pretty Japanese thing I’d say – but I almost want a whole series about Chris’ misadventures as a galactic livestreamer. I guess last week’s new character needs to get involved here, though. It’s pretty fun that this kind of manga is in Jump. Hope it’s popular and has a long, long run.

Yotsubato! 108-9: Yanda and Yotsuba’s frenemy dynamic is definitely the best thing about this manga. And there’s a lot that’s good about this manga, which is still consistently the sweetest and most adorable thing around. Yotsuba’s methods to persuade others were adorable. Generally I need to check more often if there’s new chapters of this wonderful series.

Bone Collection 1: I’ve been trying all the new Jump manga out lately, which has been great in the cases of Agravity Boys (or ‘Aggravity’ as I should probably pronounce it) and Moriking, but disappointing in the case of Majou no Moribito. Bone Collection … I’m not sure about. Basically, monsters attack and high-school exorcists fight them. One hapless exorcist befriends a super-powerful one and can use her powers to be super-strong. My first impressions were bad - generic humour about boobs does nothing for me, and the main character has a very generic look apart from weird lower eyelashes. The gag manga tendencies didn’t sit well, but the serious side of it mostly came over as a poor version of Kekkaishi. But towards the end, as Kazami showed he’s used to defying social norms and has won over a very powerful yokai, I started to be won over a little. I’ll keep reading for a while but I might drop this. It’s certainly not bad like Samurai 8 was bad. 

Moriking 3: Let’s be honest, at least in Tokyo, nobody would look twice at someone who looked like they had a big beetle horn coming out of their hat. They’d barely look twice when he started flying. Still, I’m continuing to very much enjoy this gag manga, and once again it’s Shoko playing the straightman role that really makes this work. A fun read every week so far. Again, hope this continues a good long time.

Chainsawman 68: Guess I was flat-out wrong last time. Denji did have a crisis of conscience and doesn’t want to be a murderer. Once again, the art, fluidity and sheer macabre imagination on display here is very impressive even if for me this arc lacks focus somewhat. Chainsawman always goes at a breakneck pace, though, so I’m sure it will wrap up soon.

Haikyuu!! 392: Heyyy, a Bokuto chapter. Absolutely the best character from this manga, after Hinata. And I’m still not on board with this post-timeskip non-cute Hinata. I thought perhaps we’d go into more depth on his tendency to get tilted, but it seems he conquered that in the timeskip and is now just an outright powerhouse – while charismatic as ever.

Dr. Stone 149: As I thought last time, we’ll be seeing some human life here in the post-apocalyptic US. Most of the chapter built up to that revelation, and there was a remarkable show of hostility. But where will this arc go from here? I somehow doubt it will just be a good vs evil showdown. The last arc was a bit too much of that. We’ll see.

Bone Collection 2: I still really don’t like the main character’s design, with those weird eyelashes. But this chapter was very funny. The ecchi stuff I can take or leave but the comic timing of the Gashadokuro’s reaction to an historical image made me laugh out loud. And cutting straight from silly fight to family meeting made me chuckle too. And what an interesting way for the haughty big brother to be humbled, too. Last time, I felt like Bone Collection was a mediocre action manga with some awkward gags, but it might just become a very funny gag manga with some action scenes. I hope so.

Majou no Moribito 13: a bit of the ole talk-talk-no-jutsu. It was quite heartfelt, so even if this was yet another super-generic chapter, I didn’t hate it. I imagine having this witch actually come with the main cast will be too complicated, so she’s going to end up dying to save either our main character or, more likely, this stickler-for-the-rules guardian. Hopefully I’ll be surprised, but given the precedent set, I don’t feel it’s that likely.

The Promised Neverland 176: Nice frontispiece this week, after the break last time. I almost wish the memes about Phil being the ultimate evil of this title came true. For me, this was a bit overly mawkish and YnN has been a bit off the rails since roughly when Emma had to go and make the new promise. This almost felt like it was going to be the very last chapter, but a bit of somewhat artificial tension got added, and Mama gets to make a grand gesture. I really can’t tell if this wildly successful series is about to just wrap up or if there’s another arc to come. There’re still a lot of unanswered questions but for a series that started out so beautifully-paced and intriguing, it really does feel haphazard to me, jerking between clumsy action scenes and bathos without really giving me the impression of a solid plan. We’ll see where it goes. But it seems likely the end is nigh. If this and Kimetsu no Yaiba both end soon, there’ll be a bit of a gap in Jump for serious drama series, as most of what’s started lately has been comedy. And, I mean, Majou no Moribito just ain’t gonna cut it.  

D. Gray-Man 236: Poor Allen. He was a good boy. And our Allen attempting to understand Mana’s emotional state was oddly fascinating to read. And it looks like we’ll finally learn where Cross Marian comes into this picture. I certainly hope Hoshino-sensei gets to tell her story in full. It’s clear a lot of this was planned a very long time ago. D.Gray-Man may have a fraction of the audience it used to have when it was in Jump, as opposed to one of the various SQ magazines, but if anything it’s more interesting to me now than it ever used to be, and is just as polished and well-drawn as ever.

One Piece 978: of course we need the one-on-one opponents for this arc lined up. They don’t seem that interesting but they haven’t had much time to develop, of course! Some new outfits (good for selling figures) and a lovely setting. So Japanese-themed that it almost seems like what a foreigner would dream up, cramming everything in!

Agravity Boys 18: I really love Agravity Boys. Nothing’s made me laugh so much in ages. Some nice art this chapter too, with the alien architecture. I laughed affectionately at the way they didn’t find Chris pretending to be a girl funny at all, and loudly when Baba said the vase he was conned into buying fitted the décor of his room. A good new comedy of errors has been set up with this mistaken identity business, and while I may not think giant boobies make for a good design, I’m keen!

Moriking 2: This might make me laugh even more. And now the drama has been set up – assassins and over-dramatic battles are sure to follow. The father made me chuckle quite a bit, and the situation is just so gloriously absurd.

Haikyuu!! 391: Kinda nice to see Miya get encouragement from his twin and, indirectly, old captain. And there was some nice dynamic art this chapter. But I can’t get used to him being on Hinata’s side, and pinging the set back to his serve again was confusing – but maybe that’s just some quirk of volleyball I don’t understand.

Chainsawman 67: some incredible art in this chapter. This series is so underrated. Some very powerful beings are fighting right now and I wonder how much bigger this title can get. I don’t imagine Denji will have a morality crisis here.

Dr. Stone 148: Moving the plot on briskly as ever! I wonder if any living humans will be encountered on this excursion. And I guess the break last week means lots of the mangaka had time to produce some really nice art. The combat team are pretty cool – and was that Ginro, getting to look awesome just for a moment?

Majo no Moribito 12: I’m kinda irked that this manga, of all manga, is the one where there’s a character trope I’m using myself in my book. But at least this set-up is on the interesting side now that the heroes want to win these new adversaries over rather than just defeating them. Probably the best chapter so far – but this is still a very mediocre manga.

Kuroshitsuji 162: Toboso is uniquely good at almost getting British high culture right while missing just slightly. That food looks incredible and everything is pretty accurate but having a chicken salad on the side of oxtail stew, placed up above the wine glass? Unheard-of, haha. Even with a master dipping his bread in his stew! Despite myself, I became invested in this flashback of the ‘Owl’ and take Mei-Lin rather more seriously now. Plus as always, the art is just beautiful. Even if I didn’t feel the need to track down the manga for a couple of months, leading me straight to …

Kuroshisuji 163: again, the details, haha. Commendable to know tea could be sourced from Harrod’s in the late 1880s. But I seriously doubt a good member of an aristocrat’s staff would mention the place the tea was bought. But what proportion of this Japanese manga’s audience would quibble over that? And yay, Finnian showed up, my favourite character! He’s such a ray of sunshine, even when he’s … disturbingly … psychopathic … Anyway, I look forward to more with him included. I’m still just a little sad we’re unlikely to get this kind of flashback telling his complete story, though.

Shingeki no Kyojin 128: fantastic chapter, which I’m surprised by. I thought stalling out with a complicated raid on a building after everything that’s happened was very underwhelming. But they did it in a way very close to how I was thinking would be a good strategy (even if it failed) and then there were some really emotionally heavy moments at the end as our supposed good guys have to accept that if they’re going to change this situation they have to murder their former friends and comrades. Pretty heavy stuff, mixed up with some impressive action. SnK has become a step above the rest.

D.Gray-Man 235: Man, it’s been a long time since I read the last chapter. Where were we? I only remember the nice cover art last time. Oh yes, we found out the world the Noah remember is probably our one, which is a bit jarring for me. And this one was quite affecting. Poor Allen. The original Allen, I mean. This is some tragic backstory and it’s always been one of the strangest quirks of this quirky series to set so much of the foundational story in a circus, but I’m on bored for it. I guess Allen gets his name next chapter – which will be out in a few days.  

One Piece 977: Yeah! This is why I was looking forward to the flashback being over. Seeing the main characters in action, and it finally being confirmed that Jinbei is going to be a full member of the crew (as long as he makes it through the current adventure) is pretty satisfying. Now I wonder who the neatly-matched-with-our-heroes adversaries will be this time? All new characters, or perhaps some returnees? And just who is Kaido’s son? Intriguing! Break next week, though.

Agravity Boys 17: Hmm, this chapter didn’t make me laugh like the others. It was an exposition chapter, with an attempt to make the guys acting like cartoon gangsters carry all the comic relief and it didn’t work so well. Hopefully we’ll be back with another hilarious situation soon.

Chainsawman 66: This has got a bit too wild and trippy for me, though characters using one another’s names was at least welcome. Using the Hell Devil seems a bit absurdly OP and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be used over and over again. Still, Denji is back in action and defending Makima against a terrifying foe. I wonder if this will ever see an anime adaptation. Sadly, it’s probably too explicit – which remains kinda weird to say for a Jump manga.

Haikyuu!! 390: Somehow, when they were schoolkids, exaggerating how cool something pretty simple is made sense. But now they’re supposed to be pros, people being super shocked that Miya can serve two different ways WITHOUT giving it away by how many steps he takes is a bit silly. I guess Haikyuu!! will be ending soon, and it’s probably approaching the right time for that. Seems wild it’s not that far off half as many chapters as One Piece now.

Dr. Stone 147: Nice chapter! Educational, showing the creators’ inquisitive minds researching this and finding out about theories the Vikings used calcite to navigate, pretty funny and then also briskly taking us to the next arc. Keen to read it!

Moriking 1: Might as well try this new gag series! A little kid’s fighting beetle metamorphoses into a handsome young man who acts like a dreamy prince. Very surreal and definitely funny. This mangaka has great comic timing – I loved Shoka going for the window. She’s a fantastic straight man for this bizarre narrative. And the bug battle, what a wonderfully silly situation. Lion King parodies don’t hurt my affection for this either. I’ll definitely keep reading.

Majo no Moribito 11: And then there’s this new title too. Definitely didn’t give the immediate positive impression of Moriking or Agravity Boys. But that said, I quite liked this chapter. They’ve stumbled upon a new witch/guardian pair, and the witch is actually very kind-hearted while the guardian is a total stickler for the rules. A much more intriguing premise than the cut-and-dry situations we’ve seen so far. So yeah, yet another chance for this title to do something good.

The Promised Neverland 175: woah, woah, wait – Lewis is just sorting everything out exactly as Emma wanted. It feels like a hurried wrap-up of the story. I sincerely hope there’s at least a bit more tension and one more powerful arc. And I guess there will be, as we still don’t know what Emma’s promise was.

One Piece 976: Oyabun!! Great to see Jinbei show up here, even if it was to deal with a relatively minor threat. And good on lil’ Momonosuke for being so bold in this crisis situation. Let’s hope the action continues to build from here!

Agravity Boys 16: Even in a chapter without much Chris, I chuckled quite a few times. The three idiots winning over the prison population was a lot of fun. But let’s get on to the time-travel shenanigans. Always fun!

Haikyuu!! 389: haha, smug Kageyama! But this just makes me feel like he’s going to be overcome in the end.

Chainsawman 65: wow, that was a massacre. I’m hoping not all these deaths stick, but I’ve been surprised when expecting that before with this title. Very inventive with the violence, I can definitely say that!

Dr. Stone 146: aww, I liked Ginrou’s little moment of surprising maturity here. I hope he can grow beyond comic relief, fun as he is in that role. Kind of weird to see alcohol celebrated so much in a Jump manga for kids, though…!

The Promised Neverland 174: hrmm, I kind of wanted Mama to be the final antagonist, but then I’d probably want her to be redeemed even if she were in that role. Guess it’ll be Lewis. This still feels a bit … adrift.

Guardian of the Witch 10: Hrmm, so I guess the training montage at least isn’t going to be drawn-out. But there was also nothing clever or convincing about it. I’m starting to feel about this the same I used to feel about Samurai 8.  

One Punch Man (webcomic)130: so it wasn’t a baseflip in the manga, merely a base raise, but this was still visually awesome. This is probably the best part of the webcomic, from here on, but now we have a huge Orochi-Psychos amalgam thrown into the mix. Snippets of the S-class getting saved were nice, especially poor Child Emperor, and we got a few snatches of Saitama too. But as usual, King stole the show, and Tareo’s reactions around him and to seeing Genos were very sweet.

One Punch Man (webcomic) 122: Ooh, now this is interesting – Amai Mask’s story has reached its logical conclusion already. But what next? What happens once Saitama is on the scene? Will Amai Mask try to defeat Saitama? Or will Saitama in some way cover for him? It’s going to be interesting to see. I hope we find out soon and not in weeks and weeks.

123: Ohhh! There were three more chapters all dropped today! This is fun. I liked how we saw Suiryuu’s sister, even though Suiryuu wasn’t in the webcomic, and suspect she’ll cause some mayhem at some point. But I want to know what’s happened to Amai Mask. I skimmed the other chapters in Japanese but I’ll wait for the translation because they’re pretty dense dialogue-wise and I’m not in a mood to concentrate on trying to understand.

124: Ahh, I didn’t get the concept of the group having bad names at all when I tried to read in Japanese. That’s a funny angle, and Saitama taking it very seriously works hilariously well. Seeing Suiryuu show up in the webcomic is interesting too. I bet he’ll clash hard with his sister at some point, which will be fun to see. And yes, the heroes dividing their power so much will make for interesting developments I’m sure.

125: Here we get a proper introduction of Blue, who I’m guessing will be a major antagonist before too long. It seems odd that these guys were all hidden away, especially the sumo guy, but it’s fun to have a new lineup of weirdoes. It was very satisfying having all these chapters to read, but I want more action from Saitama!

Agravity Boys 15: This is a good idea – get the guys back in time to mix things up and keep it from being a sitcom with everyone trapped together. I’m sure they’ll be set up to fail, though, and it will default to what we’ve already seen. After watching so much Red Dwarf I feel like I’m on very familiar ground here. The chapter itself was possibly the least funny so far, though. Still loving the series, though.

Haikyuu!! 388: putting all the aging-up that I still dislike aside, it is so great to see Kageyama against Hinata. The seriousness of their rivalry and the silliness of their little exchanges at the net. Kageyama in particular is so straightforward with letting his emotions show. It’s really quite sweet.

Chainsawman 64: wow. I do prefer the series when it’s being less confusing, but letting loose with the surrealism allowed for some incredibly striking imagery. I wonder how our little gang can get out of this. I’m doubting they’ll manage it unscathed. And I quite like some of the more interesting adversaries in the arc having to work with our protagonist.

Dr Stone 145: a bit of an odd aside here, but I do enjoy everything Francois does, with that impeccable perfection that defines the character. I really like the character designs here, and Francois’ androgyny is pretty perfect. I liked how Ukyo looked in this chapter, too. At some point I should watch more of the anime adaptation.

Majo no Moribito 9: yup, super generic. Nice art, though. And at least it’s not looking likely to be a drawn-out training arc. I really don’t have much faith in this going anywhere much, though. Perhaps it will soon follow Samurai 8.

The Promised Neverland 173: So Ratri’s dumb sub-arc ends with a dumb gesture and some flashbacks. Not very impressed by this whole abortive diversion. Yes, it’s interesting to see his relationship with his brother, that key figure in the shadows from earlier in the series, but this felt more like cutting off an inconvenient plot strand than genuine development.

One Punch Man manga 129: some of the less interesting pages of this arc, which we’d seen in the webcomic already. Nice art, of course. But I just want to get right on to the next chapter already!

One Piece 975: ahh, the plan will come together well after all. And nice to see a wee bit of action from our bickering captains. Looking forward to this becoming a big showdown.

Agravity Boys 14: silly as ever. I want to see Chris trying to flirt, bless him. And good on Saga for trying his best, haha. I always smile through a chapter of this silliness.

Haikyuu!! 387: interesting to have flashbacks of Kageyama's life at this stage. Kind of sweet really. Not sure Hinata is really all that amazing though.

Chainsawman 63: phew, okay, that was pretty weird and confusing with who is controlling who and who was made a doll and the rest of it. Our rematch wasn't that exciting either but perhaps it's significant who was outside the building. Should be an interesting arc anyway.

Guardian of the Witch / Majo no Moribito 8: goddammit. Just when I thought this guy would be a super interesting companion, just when the dynamic was going to change, it became a generic training arc. Kimetsu no Yaiba just did this old chestnut really well, so I'm sceptical MnoM can match it.

Dr. Stone 144: a fun have of poker. Or, rather, cheating at poker. I don't think allergies could really be used that way but I was amused by the reaction to the five aces in the deck, lol. 

The Promised Neverland 172: time for talk-no-jutsu. And it's the trite 'end the cycle of suffering' stuff we've heard a thousand times before. Even a coronavirus reference! I didn't love this but at least it makes it more and more likely there's going to be a better arc before the end.

Samurai 8 43: ha! It's over. Some readers called it last week with the endgame vibes but I thought we'd at least get a farewell story arc. I won't miss S8. It was a chore to read from start to finish.

One Piece 974: woo, finally back to the present day. The traitor’s admission was a bit anticlimactic and seemed a bit unnecessary, given the circumstances, but who cares? The big three of the worst generation have shown up and it’s about to get explosive – at long last!

Agravity Boys 13: I didn’t think I’d enjoy a chapter with almost no Chris, but the new science guy making all the excuses for Geralt’s bizarre behaviour still made me laugh. And of course the divine being has to start messing with these new characters too. But I’m looking forward to more Chris.

Haikyuu!! 386: Okay, we finally found what Noya is up to, and it wasn’t that interesting. He just got to be a vague symbol for freedom so that Hinata could surprise everyone by switching to setting mid-flight. Eh, I feel underwhelmed but still enjoyed that heady moment.

Chainsawman 62: The action is so fluid and so dynamic in this series. Though I have to say I’m somewhat forgetting who is who… Always good to see beam.

The Promised Neverland 171: Yeah, this continues to be pretty underwhelming stuff. There was no way to make Ratri that impressive so it’s all just crumbling. Nice to see Lewis show up again, though. Perhaps he’ll be a more effective final enemy…otherwise, I’m not sure who will fill the role. Mama?

Guardian of the Witch 7: Will this laid-back but formidable guy save this series? That would be nice, but I don’t find myself that hopeful.

Dr. Stone 143: A great way to spice up a long sea voyage – which is infamously where series like Berzerk and HunterxHunter grind to a halt. I’m looking forward to seeing how this little card game unfolds.

Samurai 8 42: This is such a load of bullshit. Discorporation and being able to talk-no-jutsu until your stats are overloaded and you can do whatever. There’s just no tension or reason to care. Boring!

Shingeki no Kyoujin 127: one thing I like about how SnK is written is that it bothers to pre-empt the questions people will definitely have about current developments and have the characters talk it out. That did mean this wasn’t the most interesting chapter ever, but it worked. And mostly I want this group to get to Eren to see what happens.

One Piece 973: Some final clean-up. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to yet more flashback. Seems unlikely, though. I’d probably have been more impressed by the revelations of this-current-character-was-that-past-character if I’d been more engaged by this whole storyline. But frankly I want it to be over and to get back to the main story!

Agravity Boys 12: oh man, I hope we get an anime of this show. This was a wonderful, old-fashioned, unoriginal but perfectly-done comedy of errors. I absolutely loved how it unfolded even if I knew Grislow would pass out from the start. Chris having his own misunderstandings about Grislow’s behaviour was also hilarious, and that terrible sight when he woke up had me laughing out loud.

Dr. Stone 142: Off to America, eh? This rocket plan did seem absurd logistically, but now they’re going to revive most of the world’s population? I do wonder how this will develop – and presume it won’t go exactly as described. I suspect things would just get much too complex if they did. But certainly I’m curious about what’s to come with this reliably fun series.

Chainsawman 61: old man Kishibe is so cool. This series can definitely do stylish when it wants to. Characters are so well-sketched so fast. Interested to see what happens next.

Haikyuu!! 385: Yeah, it’s pretty inspiring to say that Hinata could through his sheer will, talent and skills earn his place at the highest level but it still doesn’t really seem convincing. I guess largely because he can’t exactly do supernatural things to show how talented he is, but real-work skills just don’t seem that impressive. Oh well. I suspect the opponents will rally and win this set for added drama.

The Promised Neverland 170: This whole arc continues to feel like a stumble. Ratri getting out with that many guns pointed at him just seems dumb. And I don’t think he’s going to be a convincing endgame boss at this point. Mama betraying him and taking over sooner would make more sense.

Guardian of the Witch 6: still very generic. I feel like most of the good series at the moment would have covered this in about 2 pages.

Samurai 8 41: I guess it’s kinda nice for Nanashi to come back, though it’s totally out of nowhere. But then, so is whatever Hachimaru is doing now. There’s just no stakes or emotions if new random blobby powers can just appear out of nowhere…

One Punch Man (manga) 128: As usual, it’s Saitama’s parts that are really enjoyable, even if they’re only a few panels. Interesting how they made it look like Tatsumaki actually might have been overpowered if not for the distraction – a little more indication that she was holding back even in that circumstance would make more sense given how much of an impact it makes later when she’s not untouchable after all. Still, this arc is about to really get good, and I’m waiting eagerly.