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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 264: You Either Die a Hero...

Previously on BnHA: The kids of 1-A sat around waiting for something exciting to happen, and then it did happen, and they were all “!!” Over on the front lines, the heroes charged the Ol’ Villain Hotel with poor Kaminari crying the entire time, but we’ll excuse him since he is only in the second grade. Tokoyami gave him some gentle encouragement by reminding him of how hard he can slappa da bass, while Midnight told him to think of his one true love in order to find his inner courage, so he immediately thought of Jirou and everyone was like WHOA DID THEY REALLY JUST, and yeah, they kind of did? Anyway so Cementoss ripped the building open and Kaminari got all Thor on us and started battling this other electric guy, and then we cut to Hawks and Twice, who were having a friendly conversation similar to the friendly conversation Hawks had with Best Jeanist on the very same day that Jeanist abruptly went missing and was never heard from again! Hey, wait a second. You guys don’t suppose...??

Today on BnHA: Re-Destro gathers in the basement with all his followers and they’re all like “Re-Destro!!” and he’s all “what??” and they’re all “the heroes are attacking!!” and he’s all “:) :) :) the fuck??!” Outside, the heroes continue to wreak havoc, and between Edgeshot, Midnight, Honenuki and Toadette, I’m pretty sure they have actually killed some of these guys. But that’s silly though because heroes would never actually kill someone. Speaking of heroes not killing someone, back in the hotel, Hawks is all “(Ò‸Ó)” and Twice is all “(இ‸இ)” and then Hawks is all “I’m gonna arrest you but I’ll help you get through this and get back on your feet again afterwards because you’re a good person” and Twice is all “WHAT THE FUCK NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN” and does the whole Sad Man Parade thing. And Hawks is all “I don’t want to fight you!” and Twice is all “TOO BAD” and meanwhile Dabi is running up the stairs all “time to start some shit” and then the chapter ends. So while I’m relieved on behalf of Hawks’s soul, I can’t help but be a little concerned on behalf of his, uh, life. Shit.

okay, so! I finally have time to read this damn thing. but before I start, a couple of holdover thoughts from the prior chapter!

firstly, I want to go on the record now and say that I’ve decided once again that Hawks, in spite of all appearances, is not a murderer. you hear that Hawks. I’m putting my neck on the line for you. gonna look like a real stooge if you go and murder Twice before going on to fight Dabi to the death while we cut to Noumu!Jeanist taunting Bakugou

but in all seriousness, I just can’t reconcile it with what we know of Hawks’s character. his behavior during the fight against Hood almost got him exposed because he couldn’t bear to let anyone get hurt or to let Endeavor get killed. I know the HPSC got their claws in him at a young age, but in spite of that I don’t think he’s harboring a dark side. to me he always just comes off as tired and struggling to do the right thing even though he never asked to be put into this kind of position. he’s smart enough to understand the whole “needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” thing, but he’s also young enough to still hold to a certain idealism, and juuust cocky enough to have faith in his own cleverness and convince himself that he can somehow achieve this mission without sacrificing anyone else’s life

so in short, I don’t buy the dark!Hawks theories. I just can’t. but I guess we’re about to see! and my guess is that Horikoshi will probably have Dabi interrupt before Hawks can reveal his hand either way, because Horikoshi is just like that. what a troll

(ETA: I forgot that sometimes Horikoshi also likes to troll by giving you exactly what you want but in the most painful way possible. shit.)

now, moving on, the other thing I wanted to quickly address is Viz’s translation of this very important line from last week! so as a reminder, here is readheroaca’s version

and here is Caleb’s

I’m actually really glad I’ve been reading the fan translations first, because it made me more aware of the potential nuances in this scene. so is KamiJirou actually being confirmed here, or not?? and I spent 20 whole minutes digging into this more the other day because I have no life, so here are my findings!

first, here is the actual Japanese panel

and while I don’t speak Japanese, I can read hiragana well enough that I was able to plug it into a couple of translators to basically figure out what was being said. so here’s the full dialogue:

どこかの誰かじゃ

難しいなら --

今一番大事なものを

心に据えな

so the part in bold there is the line in question -- 大事なもの (daijina mono). “daiji” means “precious” or “important”, but the thing is, “mono” for whatever reason is written in hiragana and not kanji. and the word mono (which can be singular or plural btw) can hilariously mean either of the following depending on the kanji used:

lmao. so basically the bottom line is that from what I can see here, Horikoshi purposely didn’t specify! now I could be completely wrong; maybe this is a common enough expression that Caleb felt comfortable deciding that he meant “person.” or maybe he just guessed based on the context. or maybe he just said “fuck it, you only live once” and just went there because why the heck not

anyway, so that was fun, and for me it reinforced the fact that I really do prefer to have at least two different translations to compare in order to get the most complete picture of what exactly is going on here in this stupid manga that I obsess over week after week! so now let’s finally get to reading this thing

oh my

I have so many thoughts whirling around in my head right now, such as “oh my god look at all these secret entrances/exits the villains apparently had” and “wow the heroes are so thorough” and such, but ngl, right now the biggest one is “why are they all entering so slowly??” seriously though. let’s just gradually meander on in single-file. no rush. meanwhile 800m northwest and 1 km east, Cementoss is literally tearing the building in half and the other heroes are charging full speed all “ARGGHHHHH.” and over in Jakku, Miruko kicked a door open so hard it killed a guy. but we’ve all got our own styles I guess??

at least this one guy 800m north of the hideout is doing some doorbusting. sheesh. be more exciting please

oh hey it’s this place

behold. the great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf. well there’s an eye-opener and no mistake

LMAO THESE GUYS DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING YET OMG

oh my god. first of all wtf is that shirt. and second of all oh my fucking god, let me just shut up and read this is amazing

SDKLFJLSJK

LMAO

oh man. Re-Destro is one of the few characters whom I really want to see die. come on Horikoshi. don’t be a fucking coward. he’s had it coming ever since he killed that little mouse. and let’s not forget Giran. JUSTICE FOR GIRAN

oh we’re actually cutting back to this fight!

I wasn’t sure if we would! shounen authors have this habit of showing the start of a really cool battle only to then cut away to a bunch of other stuff and leave us hanging for a dozen chapters, so yeah. of course, that may still happen. I’m just lucky that I’m invested in virtually every single thing that’s going on right now, so it’s a win-win for me no matter where we cut to next

(ETA: lmao there really wasn’t much more to this fight to speak of. but what do you want to bet Horikoshi will try to pull this shit with Dabi and Hawks next week though.)

holy shit

this looks like when I attempt to build a gingerbread house. that’s uncanny

lmao Kami

YOU’RE DOING GREAT BUDDY. KEEP IT UP CHAMP

(ETA: Kaminari’s ridiculous smiling face is the balm we all need in these troubled times. tempted to ask him if he wouldn’t mind heading up to that telenovela happening over in Twice’s room and telling them all to lighten the fuck up.)

Lefty is all “does he have an absorption quirk?” because apparently he’s one of the two people that never watched the U.A. Sports Festival? how does anyone in this day and age manage to come across one of the 1-A kids and not know what their quirks are. and you’re a fucking general or whatever too, aren’t you? god you suck

so now he’s all “I BET YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HANDLE... A FEW MILLION VOLTS” jesus christ. I bet you he can! but still, that’s awfully murdery of you. and to think, he’s on your side!! Kaminari are you really sure you want these guys as your friends

YOOOOOOO FUCKING KAKASHI ALL UP IN HERE DOING HIS HUMAN YONDU ARROW THING WHAAAAT

straight up prepared to be massively disappointed in Viz when they inevitably translate the “Ninpo” part instead of leaving it alone and letting everyone bask in these sentimental Naruto vibes. and also ngl I prefer for Edge’s lines to be as close to the original as possible so I can better imagine them in my head. stupid sexy Edgeshot

holy shit “I’ve pierced a small hole in each of your lungs” !!? WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, YOU SADISTIC WARRIOR OF THE NIGHT. YOU HEARD HIM BOYS. I’M SORRY, BUT HE’S ALL OUT OF FUCKS TODAY

OH HEY Y’ALL, MIDNIGHT HEARD YOU WERE KICKING ASS AND DECIDED TO JOIN IN, HOPE THAT’S ALL RIGHT

and if it’s not all right, well. tough

can you imagine. you’re just a simple villain, chilling out in your Hilton Garden Inn HQ and minding your own business when all of a sudden the walls come to life and some fucking shinobu busts a small hole in your lungs, and then you just fall asleep. sometimes life comes at you hard

now Kamui Woods is doing his whole Lacquered Chain Prison thing, but we’ve already seen that one so I’m not gonna bother showing it! tough break Kamui!!

OH MY GOD IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS

HALF OF THESE PEOPLE ARE ALREADY UNCONSCIOUS WITH HOLES IN THEIR LUNGS, SO SURE, HONENUKI, LET’S GO AHEAD AND FUCKING DROWN THEM TOO LMAO

LOOOOOOL OH CHRIST

CLASS 1-B WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!!!

LMAO AND NOW SHE’S STANDING WITH HER ARMS UP OVER HER HEAD ALL SMILING LIKE ERI AT THE FUCKING CONCERT. A COLD GOD IN AN UNCARING UNIVERSE. WHAT THE FUCK

oh shit everybody shut up we’re cutting back to Hawks!!

but you pulled it off because you’re so damn smart. so now let’s stand around and explain your plan to everyone. what the fuck, Hawks

(ETA: and the thing is, now I’m thinking that by “incredibly difficult” he doesn’t mean that it was the cipher part that was difficult lol. that part was child’s play. any simpleton could do that. no, the difficult part was betraying his new friend. anyway so how’s everyone doing? what a fun chapter!!)

hey everyone I still have unwavering faith that this man is not a killer just FYI

what does that say about me I wonder. let’s just completely ignore everything being presented on screen here. also what the heck happened to all this furniture? did he upend the entire room with his crazy feather attack, or is that damage from Cementoss’s shenanigans?

HAHA!! FUCK YEAH

I KNEW YOU WEREN’T A KILLER YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!!

fuck yeah. of course, I realize that by betraying Twice so harshly like this, Hawks has still found himself on lots of people’s shitlists. but I would just like to put out a friendly reminder that Twice, despite being the nicest and most loyal guy you will ever meet, is still a terrorist who was going to kill a lot of people because he’s friends with a guy who wants to destroy the entire world. so basically there’s just no clean way out of this and it’s all very tragic

but anyway if it’s any consolation, I fully expect Dabi to turn up in the very next panel and be all “BLARGH! IT’S ME!” before we commence with the single sexiest battle in this manga to date

lmao Horikoshi. “but before we get to the sexy battle let me just twist that knife up in there real good!” jesus

friendly reminder that despite all appearances, Hawks is still objectively the good guy in this scenario. anyways for real, how are we all doing this afternoon. how many death threats has my bird son gotten today. I’m afraid to check. poor Twice is so trusting and I really hate to see him cry like this, poor baby. but I’m sure it’s also tearing Hawks up inside as well but we’re just not seeing it

and here we have Hawks, about to unleash his Mangekyou Sharingan

“are you sure you don’t think this sinister maniac looming in the shadows with the deranged look in his eyes is a ruthless killer, makeste?? are you really sure?” Horikoshi asks while pouring every last inch of malice he can into a single chilling panel

and yes, you bastard. I am sure. fuck you, how long are you going to make me sit here looking like a complete ass. look, we get it!! either way, Hawks is clearly a compelling actor! but the question is, which one is really the false face? is it the smiling, easygoing Hawks who always seems to have a faint hint of sadness in his eyes? or is it this menacing figure stripped of all mercy? is it really so crazy to go ahead and say that it’s the latter? huh?? [pokes Horikoshi in the chest] huh?????

anyway so Twice seems to slowly be progressing his way from despair to anger, which is probably not good. heh. fuck

maybe I was wrong about Dabi showing up and saving Twice, maybe his arrival will actually save Hawks instead lmao

anyway Hawks is still being all cold and creepy, and he’s all “you have my thanks.” and Twice is still crying, so maybe he’s still more sad than angry. well this is starting to drag out now though so if a certain spicy flame boi wants to make his grand entrance now, he’s welcome to do so anytime

oh shit Hawks is throwing me a bone!!! yessssss

YOU SEE!! THE SAD LOOK. HE DOESN’T WANT TO DO THIS. HE’S A GOOD BOY. oh my god I just realized how tense I was. hahaha what is this chapter

FINALLY OMG

NOOOOO I THOUGHT IT WAS DABI SNEAKING UP BEHIND HIM. OH MY GOD I CAN’T. WAS THIS HORROR MOVIE SERIAL KILLER ANGLE REALLY NECESSARY THEN, HORIKOSHI. WHAT THE FUCK

TWICE SHUT UP YOU ARE DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE!!!

fuck!!! this is why I was so sure he was going to die! because he won’t go quietly; he’s not the type to ever betray his friends. to him the League are basically the only family he’s ever known, so of course he’s not going to just be all “okay sure I’ll go to prison and let you reform me”

so then what, Hawks?? you didn’t fucking think this through you stupid kind-hearted punk!

sob!!!!

is that one of Hawks’s feathers slicing open the mask. sing it with me guys. to the tune of Jingle Bells: fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuck

OH MY GOD NOOOOO

I WEIRDLY WANT TO COVER MY EYES LOL OH GOD. I DON’T WANT THIS BUT I CAN’T LOOK AWAY HELPPPPP

FUCK ME, IT’S REALLY HAPPENING. HE COULDN’T BRING HIMSELF TO KILL HIM AND NOW HE’S SCREWED HIMSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE OVER, FUCK

FOR FUCK’S SAKE HAWKS YOU COULD HAVE JUST KNOCKED HIM OUT THEN!! YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND FUCKING TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF. DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN DEIKA CITY, HAWKS. DO WE REALLY WANT A REPEAT OF THAT. SURE, WE’VE GOT CLASS 1-B OUT IN THE BACKYARD MORE THAN READY AND WILLING TO KILL ANY NUMBER OF BITCHES BECAUSE THAT’S HOW THEY DO, BUT STILL

oh shit!?!

lol excuse me are you really just going to end it there? fucking seriously. Dabi running up the stairs with the crazy eyes while Hawks regretfully thinks of himself and his side as “hero scum”?? fff

and that last part! holy shit! again, I don’t buy into any of the dark!Hawks theories, and that includes the theory that Hawks will turn on the heroes and end up siding with the villains (because, again, it has nothing to do with him liking the villains, or secretly resenting the HPSC; it’s strictly on account of the whole “the villains want to destroy the entire world” thing. like. unless you think Hawks is cool with all of that of course). so I have to admit this was very startling for me to read

but I do think this is probably just some of the inevitable self-loathing finally spilling over after being forced to play this role and do all these things for the sake of the greater good, rather than him hinting at a desire to turn against the so-called “hero scum.” but still, that’s probably as dark as we’re gonna get from him, and ngl, it’s some heavy stuff

goddammit. feel like we need to cut to some wholesome class 1-A antics or something after all of that. as always, angst is a double-edged sword that I always anticipate and love but am also destroyed by sigh

#bnha 264 #hawks #twice (bnha)#kaminari denki #re-destro #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste spoiler recap #makeste reads bnha #at least next week the anime will finally get to the concert!#I can't wait omg #exactly the type of wholesome antics I was referring to #the manga is so tense right now holy crap #got a feeling we're gonna need this

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 11/13/17

Anne Happy, Vol. 7 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – It’s sports festival time, and out heroines are doing their best to at least survive the events, though in Botan’s case that may be difficult. The volume consists of what you’d expect—everyone’s quirk is in full force, the Unlucky Class ends up very very far behind in the rankings, mostly as they’re up against a sports class that compete in national events. Sayama continues to attempt to get over her terminal shyness, and makes small strides. Small strides is in fact the point of this series, as the class in general is doing OK but not well enough to make it in the world. This may become more important later on. In the meantime, Anne Happy is unassuming and cute, with minimal ambition. If you enjoy cute girls falling over, you’ll like it. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 9 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – We wrap up the Battle with the Midnight Sun here, and our heroes spend some significant time recovering—though for Asta, that time may end up being far longer than he’d really like. We also end up seeing Yuno again. Remember Yuno? Asta’s rival who we saw at the very start of the series? He’s back, and of course is ridiculously strong. The rivalry between him and Asta has ridiculous amounts of BL tease, because this is a Jump manga, but I’m fine with that. There was also a nice non-reveal with a masked captain of Yuno’s unit, who turned out to be masked for different reasons than we’d thought. In any case, new arc should start soon, as we try to figure out how to heal permanent damage. – Sean Gaffney

Demon King Daimaou, Vol. 3 | By Shoutaro Mizuki and Souichi Itou | J-Novel Club – There is one reason that the jaded light-novel fan should give this book a try, and that’s the appearance of the villain, Mister X, who is over the top crazy and in his desire for villainy and despair that is “Art!” reminds me of nothing less than an evil Great Gonzo. Other than that, it’s situations normal at Daimaou, Inc. We get a bit more depth for Hiroshi, Akuto’s fanboy, but it doesn’t really work nearly as well for me, as the characterization feels off from the prior two books. And there are the heroines, with Korone getting a nice fakeout “I am going back to be executed” moment, Keena being Akuto’s conscience, and Junko being, well, Junko. Daimaou is a perfect buy for those who have to buy everything. – Sean Gaffney

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 4 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – This was a super shoujo-riffic volume of manga, even though there are some funny bits too (particularly the bonus comic). Shimana encourages Zen’s brother, Ken, not to give up on his boxing ambitions, and in gratitude he shows her Fujiwara’s high school yearbook, which only brings up more questions. In between, there are Christmas presents and bittersweet longing and earnest conversations about dreams. Also, there are at least three and probably more scenes that involve Shimana tearfully running away from a conversation and slamming a door. It’s repetitive, yes, but at least she doesn’t ever spend very long in a sulk. I enjoy Asahi stirring the pot and Zen being a good, sweet friend, but I’m not sure I want Shimana and Fujiwara to get together. He’s right—she is still a kid. Maybe Zen will win her over in the end with his panda wiles. – Michelle Smith

The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún, Vol. 3 | By Nagabe | Seven Seas – The beginning of this volume is super tense! Shiva’s aunt has come for her, accompanied by several of the soldiers that only recently were trying to kill her, and Teacher does his best to rescue her, to no avail. One particularly impactful page-turn, revealing Teacher struck by many arrows, made me realize that because this series is so unique, there’s no variations-on-a-theme template to rely upon and, as a result, I really believed Teacher could actually die. He doesn’t, but what happens when Shiva gets back to the village is dramatic enough, along with a cliffhanger about her real origins. The art continues to be a delight, as well—I particularly love the panels that emphasize Shiva’s smallness and the nonverbal depiction of Teacher’s devastation after she’s gone. Now to manage the four-month wait for volume four! – Michelle Smith

Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 3 | By Tsukumizu| Yen Press – The odd finally manages to win out over the cute for this volume of Girls’ Last Tour, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We see again and again how depressingly apocalyptic this world the girls are traveling through is, and on more than one occasional it almost leads to their horrible deaths. They also meet someone in the final section, though this is a robot rather than a human—but the essential story beats remain the same. And there’s even some fanservice for anyone interested. I’ve said before that this reminds me of Strawberry Marshmallow, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was Miu’s bizarre self-insert fic with her and Chika—though I suspect it’d earn her a smack or two. Oddly compelling. – Sean Gaffney

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear, Vol. 6 | By Masume Yoshimoto | One Peace Books – Well, I did ask for more of the bear, and I certainly get that here. Unfortunately, I also get another bear, who’s painted as the obsessed female stalker of our main bear. The humor that follows, showing a tsundere bear trying to be seductive (and failing), only works about one third of the time. It doesn’t help that the series already has a tsundere, Hibiki, and we get an amusing chapter devoted to imagining what might make her actually confess. Honestly, though, the highlight was the final chapter, where the bear tries to get Machi to take a train as part of his “make her a functioning adult” plan. It doesn’t work—she gets on the wrong train, and is now at the ocean. Will she die? Probably not. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 4 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – This series continues to play to a very limited audience, the sort who likes lesbians and likes sociopaths, and REALLY likes the combination of the two. If that pleases you, this volume will too, though be warned another sympathetic cutie is butchered horribly. As for Kuroko, she’s actually out of commission for part of this, having been brainwashed by the head villainess of the book. Fortunately, we needed some more characterization for Chiyo, Kuroko’s yakuza girlfriend who’s in a state of constant rage from, well, dealing with Kuroko’s tendency to bed anyone female. Spoiler: she’s badass. As for Rinko, the child killer from last time… well, I don’t want to spoil it. Suffice to say I laughed, but it was rueful. Murcielago is hilarious and you will feel bad. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 8 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – I suspect it’s going to be harder and harder to drag out the “we’re not really dating” card after the ending of this volume. Which is fine, as I will freely admit that the relationship between Asahi and Youko is one of the two best reasons to read this book. The other is the humor, and there’s plenty of that on display as well, as we see angel feathers that make people act out the Seven Sins; Koumoto-sensei celebrating another birthday of being a single woman, as no one will let her forget; and Nagisa getting turned big (as opposed to being in her alien suit) in order to once again fire up the love triangle. There’s stuff that doesn’t work (anything with Shimada), but this series still has more hits than misses. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 7 | By Aya Kanno | VIZ Media – Wow. And also “holy crap.” I’m going to completely forego any spoilers this time, because the surprises in this volume need to be experienced as they come. Suffice it to say that Richard does not handle the revelation about Henry’s true identity well, and Henry doesn’t handle captivity and his lusty feelings for Richard well, either. All of these sad, broken people being crushed by… well… the game of thrones. Although a smidge of me still dares to hope Richard will find happiness by the end of the series, the ending of this volume suggests otherwise. I actually had to look up whether the series was concluding in the next volume, though that doesn’t appear to be the case. I should have known better than to choose something else for pick of the week, even if it was my beloved Chihayafuru! – Michelle Smith

Toriko, Vol. 40 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – Still counting down towards the end of this series. At least Toriko gets to add another item to his menu, meaning he only has two to go. But unfortunately, this one is more about the ridiculous fights than the ridiculous food, and whenever that happens it’s never good news. The author is better at food porn. He’s also better at ho yay, as the reunion of Toriko and Komatsu is loaded with an absolute ridiculous amount of subtext—I would not blame readers for forgetting Rin exists. As for the evil plot, it creeps incrementally forward, leading to a cliffhanger as Toriko and company finally challenge God. I’m finishing the series as I’ve already read 40 volumes, but it’s only for the hardcore now. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 9/18/17

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 1 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Combining a magical academy story with the ‘eccentric guy who ends up being a good teacher’ story that manga likes so much isn’t a bad idea, and Akashic Records does a decent job of it, though it gets off to a sluggish start. Frankly, Glenn is far too irritating to bear, and this one of the rare times where you are 100% behind the angry tsundere from the start. Of course, what he really needed was something to snap him out of his funk, and once he decides to actually turn on his brain and start teaching, things get exponentially better. It’s still a standard light novel adaptation, but I’m interested in seeing where it goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – A good deal of this volume is devoted to a flashback showing us how the band In No Hurry came to be, and while a lot of the narrative points I was expecting were absent (why were they all hospitalized long-term?), the emotional beats were there. Certainly it was more entertaining than the love triangle we’re getting here. Not that it’s not well-written—in fact, the reverse may be the case. I’d rather go back to the standard shoujo cliche of having one person have it all together while the others flail. Seeing all three characters do stupid things and then immediately castigate themselves can be exhausting. On the bright side, we get more of Nino screaming, which remains the book’s high point. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – I think I may only enjoy this series when Nino is performing, because the best moment in this volume is the brief one in which she accompanies herself on Momo’s guitar. The rest of it involves romantic angst from the two boys who have appropriated Nino’s voice as their personal property, unsuccessful attempts at comedy, and some (vague and improbable) backstory about how the band came to be. I did appreciate that Nino comes to see herself as a caretaker of her bandmates’ dream, and the parallel that while Nino has been hoping that her singing would bring Momo back to her, Yuzu has been hoping that his music would do the same with her. While this volume was a little on the meh side, I do look forward to the rock festival performance coming up in volume five. – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 3 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – The first half of this volume is far more light-hearted than the rest of the series to date, which is fun but may be to its detriment. When it’s relaxing and showing the characters being happy, Bloom into You is like any other yuri series. But when Touko is being so aggressively forward that you want to slug her, or when Yuu is once again reminding us that she may very well be asexual (though that does not stop her from being lonely, as someone else pointedly notes), the series takes it to the next level, albeit a very uncomfortable one. There’s also another pairing casually introduced here that startled me, but I suspect the reason for it was more to have more adult ‘mentors’ the kids can ask for advice. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Complex Age, Vol. 6 | By Yui Sakuma | Kodansha Comics – Complex Age has been pretty upsetting at times, so I confess that I totally looked at the last page to make sure Nagisa looked happy before I committed to reading this final volume. Its pace is somewhat accelerated, covering about a year after Nagisa’s meeting with her mother’s loli-loving friend as she tries to figure out what it is she loves best about cosplay and what kind of new shape it might become in her life. True, her conclusion is somewhat bittersweet, but it’s hopeful too, and I think that’s just the right combination for this series. If you were put off by the rough going in the middle volumes, take heart that this final installment remains realistic, but isn’t gloomy. I’ve really enjoyed this series. – Michelle Smith

Demon King Daimaou, Vol. 2 | By Shoutaro Mizuki and Souichi Itou | J-Novel Club – It’s finally happened: I’ve come across a light novel with so little to say about it that it’s only getting a brief. The light novel world is not exactly littered with deep, meaningful stories, but even among the fluff Demon King Daimaou is still pretty throwaway. That said, it’s not actively bad, and reads quickly—I don’t feel a need to drop it, I just feel no need to worry about what happens next. It’s at its best when at its least serious, such as Akuto’s constant desire to not seem like a villain, and the fact that he always does. (He’s desecrating hundreds of hero’s graves… but for good reasons!) As for the girls, we get a new one here, whose first scene amused me, but they’re as forgettable as anything. Only if you really liked the anime. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 6 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – This series is in somewhat of a holding pattern, despite a few changes. Asuka keeps coming into contact with Kamiya, who keeps trying to wear her down on marrying him despite the fact that she’s told him in no uncertain terms to back off and that she isn’t interested, and Ryu continues to be troubled by this. There are a few new elements in this volume with the introduction of Asuka’s protective 18-year-old brother Kanade and the fact that she and Ryu officially move in together, but since a) Kanade puts forth Kamiya as an alternate candidate and b) oopsies, they moved into Kamiya’s building, it’s really just more of the same. Everyone’s Getting Married is still fairly entertaining, but it’s not at all surprising or exciting, even with the possibility that Ryu will be transferred overseas. – Michelle Smith

Golden Time, Vol. 8 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Umechazuke | Seven Seas – Linda returns in this volume… though it’s more about Banri returning, as he goes with her to a class reunion. The reunion itself goes off fairly well, and doesn’t really bring back too much. Unfortunately, he does have a bit of a breakdown later on in the middle of a festival dance, which leads to disaster. (And holy crap, that festival guy yelling at the cast was appalling. I really really hated him.) As for Banri and Kouko, it seems they’re doing very well, though I suspect both are trying just a little too hard—I have a nasty suspicion the next volume will be even more dramatic, especially after the medication discovery. Golden Time is heavy-duty romantic drama, but worth the slog. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 15 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Answering the cliffhanger from last volume, we get a few chapters showing us who Karasuno will be facing in the semifinals. The actual winner is not a surprise, but the author does a good job at keeping things tense anyway. As for the main event, it’s what you’d expect from a sports manga. Our heroes have shown off that they’re not the team they were before, but their opponent also has a few tricks up their sleeves, and so things could go either way. I like the constant emphasis on how important momentum is to a game. And of course things end with Yamaguchi, on the sidelines, desperate to make up for his earlier play. Classic Jump sports manga, and you should be reading it. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 27 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Credit to Pin, he is doing his best to make sure the ship with Ayano does not get further—something Ayano is tearfully aware of as well, though at least she’s started to openly admit her feelings. That said, Pin is up against the author here, and so I’m not sure how things will go. I’m not… TOTALLY against the ship, but I want it to wait till he’s not her teacher in any case. The other big news is that Kazehaya finally confronts his father, and the two learn a lot more about their similarities. They both communicate poorly, though Kazehaya has gotten better now that he’s dating Sawako. As for Sawako, after a long sweet date she admits she’s applying to the educational university, and he can how happily cheer her on. Sweet stuff. – Sean Gaffney

No Game No Life, Please!, Vol. 2 | By Kazuya Yuizaki and Yuu Kamiya | Yen Press – This is pretty much exactly what hardcore NGNL fans would want out of a spinoff manga, which means about half of it is not my cup of tea, because heavy fanservice and fetishes just don’t do much for me. I’m also not fond of the suggestion that Fi and Chlammy is a yuri pairing, and this book really loves to suggest it in unsubtle ways. It’s at its best when developing the characters, be it Steph thinking on her feet (or with her bladder) to escape a dungeon that Jibril has created, or Izuna continuing to learn from the masters—our sibling heroes—on how to both improve her gaming skills and also have more fun. Lacking a proper manga version, this is a decent alternative for those who want pictures. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 12 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – The tournament is perhaps the least interesting part of this volume. In that, it’s not dissimilar to many other tournament battle manga, though those lack the deadpan blaseness of our hero. Fortunately, there’s also a slew of monsters and villains attacking outside the arena, which allows Genos to remind us he’s still really tough despite being Saitama’s self-appointed lackey. The best scenes, though, involved Blizzard and her sister Tornado, whose family issues certainly seem to be deeply seated—Blizzard’s almost jaded “don’t worry, she’ll be coming to save me anyway” is well done, and you really sympathize with her here, especially with Tornado at her most arrogant. Essential, despite the tournament. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

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