Weekly Manga Recap - 02/09/2012

A lot of chapter reviews in this Weekly Manga Recap. Most notably Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai has reached it's 200th chapter, so congratulations are in order.

Let's start on the big list of manga to be reviewed from the week.

Fairy Tail - 297

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!

This chapter was simply powerful. When I got to the page where Levi was crying her eyes out while writing the letter to a probably dead Lucy (much like Lucy was doing for her dead mother), I couldn't help but feel like bawling my eyes out. It's safe to say that this is the first time Fairy Tail has felt this serious, and has done so by killing of quite a few characters.

Even without knowing which characters will face their demise, the chapter felt a lot more serious. The foreshadowing that's been going certainly contributed to that but all the mystery surrounding this arc and even Gajeel discovering the dragon graveyard; I'm not fod of how he discovered it since it is poor writing on Mashima-sensei's part but it's addition to a long line of events definitely added more gravity to the situation.

Towards the end of the chapter I was left with too many questions: Who will die Will their deaths be final Is this how Fairy Tail will end Are the slayers facing the dragons next Honestly this is just too much! I really do hope that at the very least the identity of the woman who was watching the fights is revealed in the next chapter because otherwise my head might explode from being flooded with more information and developments.

GE - Good Ending - 139

Tooru's explanation felt weak and the chapter itself felt a little surreal.

It's no surprise that a lot of school/slice-of-life/romance series tend to exaggerate the vileness of certain characters, something I never quite liked. Although, Tooru's explanation seems to fit perfectly with the ongoing series and more mature feel of the series.

Not much to complain about story-wise. The young virgin who gets pressured by his friends is a hallmark of any school love series but is usually seen in a comedy setting as opposed to this type of setting. I'm guessing this development in the plot might have made some readers more sympathetic towards Tooru but I for one still hate the guy and definitely don't want to see him and Yuki back together.

Tooru handing Yuki his phone number, seems to be a move to force Seiji's hand. Will Seiji stay with Shou or will he go back to the one that got away The break up with Shou is still in motion and now that Tooru's played his ace, it's time for Seiji to step up and be a man.

With little happening, GE continues down a predictable yet much desired road. I'd like to see the break up soon and to then see the series wrap up in a clean-cut way instead of dragging on like it sometimes does.

Area D - 17

That was fast.....

Not the end of the arc but the appearance of the jailers. I don't know if it's a right move to introduce them into the story so soon, with everything going on but we'll just have to see.

The end of the arc occurring abruptly was cushioned by Jin being approached and didn't turn out so bad. Being the most wanted recruit, it's no surprise that gangs will be fighting over Jin and even resorting to force if they think they can take him. I hope Jin's recruitment doesn't continue to be a big part of the story and gets settled quickly but for now I find it hard to think about how the story should progress after this.

Unlike Deadman Wonderland, this series' characters aren't giving off any feelings of urgency. The need to survive is certainly conveyed by a number of things, the biggest being the decision to stick together as a group but it doesn't feel like they want to escape. Basically, I see this manga turning into something like Gangs of New York and focusing more on the power struggle and survival in Area D as opposed to the escape from confinement.

The chapter was good in transitioning from a filler-ish arc back to the main story, and even brought with it a suspicious character. It wouldn't be surprising to see Enki as a character who has a secret plan and for now it looks like she'll be playing a bigger role in the upcoming arc.

Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai (The World God Only Knows) - 200

200 chapters is a great accomplishment for any series. This chapter not so much.

It felt a little too rushed for my liking and the ending of Keima's conquest came way too quickly. I'll even go as far as to say that he forced himself upon Dokurou just for the sake of completing his mission.

In hindsight, it was probably better than replaying the scenario yet again (haven't we had enough of that) because that would have been just as bad, if not worse. The chapter could have been better, and if I was to speculate I'd say that the author felt the need to do something big for the 200th chapter.

All I can say is: Keima got swag and game. Fastest conquest yet. Now with Dokurou conquered, I can't think that this is the end but rather the true beginning of the arc. What's to be expected is Keima returning to his own time period and more being revealed about Dokurou and New Hell.

Buyuden - 69

Eh....This is becoming a little bit of a hassle with its predictability.

Not really much to say about this chapter, except that it's following a route very familiar for any series that's set in school. The new enemy as it were, is probably nothing more than an introductory filler character who won't last long enough as an antagonist to be remembered and might even end up being a team player (literally).

There was some good comedic moments in the chapter. I laughed at how Moka is now taller than Take and even though she's fat she's being recruited by so many of the sports clubs.

There really wasn't all that much going on with this chapter.

Gamaran - 154

Best phrase to describe this chapter would be "the calm before the storm."

As far as transitional chapters go, this one was done quite well. We get to see both sides getting pumped up for an all out war in their own respective ways and it's done in a semi-relaxed manner which is appropriate considering how intense the upcoming fights should be.

This really did feel like the warriors day of rest before marching into war. Everyone was calm and collected but knew they have to fight their strongest opponents yet, not to mention Zenmaru informing Kashitarou that he wouldn't be going; I can't be the only to be reminded by any scenario when a member has to be left behind so that they don't die.

Something tells me that this will be Arata's last chapter as a supporting character. He's one of the more honourable fighters in Gamaran, so seeing him die would be a pity and seeing him progress further wouldn't make much sense if Kashitarou isn't going ahead. Still, I've liked his addition to the series and he's been a likeable ally to the Ogame school, so if his final actions are just taking down a gate that's completely fine.

Next chapter, the madness begins!

Kimi no Iru Machi - 195,196

Nothing to see here.

These chapters can be summed up as annoying. Nothing happened and there was just more excuses for fan service in both chapters, whether it's the crowd-pleasing lesbian implied massage given by Miu to Yuzuki or it's the swimsuit drawings of the two girls.

Its chapters like these that make me wonder what Seo-sensei actually has in store for us. Surely he's just wasting time with more pointless filler arcs filled with excuses to cram as much fan service as he can into this series. With Haruto and Yuzuki's relationship having been tested to the max, it just feels pointless to carry on with this.

I'm guessing Miu's fans would have loved these two chapters but she's the girl I hate most in the series. It's like she knows the exact right times to cock-block Haruto, which brings up more frustrations about how this still doesn't look like a normal relationship.

Now that my rant is done with, I'm hoping the story gets back on track sometime this year.

Yamada-kun to 7-nin Majo - 27,28

Yamada and the Seven Witches continues to impress as a romantic comedy.

So chapter 27 maintained the mystery behind the new witch Reiko and her relation to Yamada in all of this and it wasn't until chapter 28 that further developments

took place. Well..... kind of. There's still no information

about Reiko's witch powers but single panel when she had a nosebleed definitely made me wonder.

Chapter 28 brought about a little ecchi to the series.

I hate pointless fan service but this chapter made for some nice comedy. Instead of the usual comedy, we got Odagiri, who's quickly becoming one of my favourite characters, groping away at Shiraish's body. A little too obvious for fan service Maybe,
Now that Shiaraishi's managed to convince Reiko, it looks like the next few chapters should reveal her powers. I'm interested to see if Reiko somehow can tell whenever Shiraishi and Yamada swap, because she gave off that impression. Call it women's intuition but I don't that's a plot device favoured for shonen series.but I was still laughing away with no feelings of guilt.

Nisekoi - 38

Wait, what ! Did azeriraz forget this is a Jump manga No I didn't but Nisekoi is behind on scans so until it's caught up, it'll be covered in the Weekly Manga Recap posts.

Finally my prayers have been answered and Komi-sensei has delivered on that Onodera chapter that I've been waiting for. Not only that all of those ridiculously exaggerated facial expressions we know and love are back stronger than ever, starting with Ruri's shocked face.

Besides the constant string of Onodera's various facial expressions which could give you a moe overdose, I loved how different Onodera is from her mom and how that difference in personality was used to make her embarrassed during the chapter. Lately there has been a lot of meet the parents action going on in Nisekoi, which is kind of fun since each parent ends up bringing out a different reaction from both the girl and Raku but I suppose there won't be any more of these situations which is a little sad.

Luckily this Onodera chapter wasn't a one-off and we'll get a continuation in the next chapter, because of a not-so-subtle plot move. I don't care! I want more Onodera!

Best and Worst of this Weekly Manga Recap

Best Chapter - Nisekoi and Yamada-kun (Tie)

Worst Chapter - Kimi no Iru Machi (both)