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!