As promised, here’s the continuation of the manga reviews from Monday, along with a small (sort of) summary of the current plots in Beelzebub. Enjoy!
PSYREN (chapter 80) – Smile
Kyle has Okugou and Taiga trapped after their defeat. Ageha then wants to go help Marie and Amamiya, however Frederica senses Marie’s power and anger. The ground near them cracks, and up floats a huge mesh of rubble and debris with Usui trapped inside. Marie floats on a small rock, confronting Usui. Usui then says he’ll release his power. Flashback to moments before, Usui uses his trap “Delete Spider” to erase Amamiya’s memories. In a fit of rage, Marie crushes part of the underground facility while trying to protect Amamiya and Nemesis Q’s master. Concerned, Ageha rushes to Amamiya’s side, and realizes that she’s fine. Kyle lets Okugou and Taiga go, since they were never really enemies and were just being used by Usui. As the others make sure Usui doesn’t do anything, Kyle and Amamiya finally confront Nemesis Q’s master. As Ageha approaches the chamber, Nemesis Q’s master smiles.
After being a little worried that there was a third power group in Psyren, it’s comforting to know that while they are strong, they still aren’t a match for the other two groups. Okugou and Taiga were trained to be able to take on W.I.S.E. members after all. I guess it can be lumped into either the “underestimate protagonist abilities” cliché or “we’re weaker as villains but will be stronger when we come back as good guys” shonen staple. Amamiya is definitely in need of a power up, though. And hopefully, we’ll finally get some insight on Nemeis Q’s past. Good chapter.
BAKUMAN (chapter 47) – Contradictions and Reasons
Mashiro still refuses to go on hiatus, saying that he’ll be able to draw in the hospital as long as he takes it easy. Miura will try to talk to the editor-in-chief tomorrow, to try to convince him Mashiro can do it. Takagi and Miura leave to give the couple some time alone. They make an arrangement that they can see each other while he’s in the hospital. Miura brings the situation to the editor, and he decides to check in on Mashiro the next day. Mashiro tries to convince him that he can continue drawing, even getting the doctor’s permission. Before the editor can approve or deny, Mashiro’s mother comes in. After they talk, the editor will talk it over with the assistant editor-in-chief. Hiramaru (of Otters 11) and Fukuda decide to visit Mashiro the next day as well. Miura and the editor-in-chief return. They decided that Trap will go on hiatus until next April, after they graduate. When asked why, it has to do with Taro Kawaguchi’s death (Mashiro’s uncle that inspired him to be a manga author).
It was nice to see some Hiramaru antics. And I thought that they were going to let Mashiro continue drawing in the hospital until the final reveal. Wonder what his uncle’s death has to do with this, and what will happen to Trap? Good twist in the story this week. Good chapter.
And now we come to a brief summary of Beelzebub—
Oga Tatsumi lives the life of a normal high school boy with one difference: he goes to a school full of angry, aggressive delinquents. Oga himself is pretty strong. We are first introduced to him as he forces a group of delinquents to bow down to him, because he beat them after they tried to attack him while he was sleeping. Now this is where the story gets weird. Oga stumbles across a dead man floating down the river (later to be revealed as Alaindelon). As Oga checks on him, he splits in half and reveals a baby. As Oga explains what happened to his friend Furuichi, the baby’s demon caretaker Hildagarde, Hilda for short, appears, revealing the baby’s backstory. His name is Beezlebub, or Baby-BL, and he’s the son of the Devil King. He attaches himself to Oga, considering him to be the most suitable “father” because he is strong, arrogant, and thinks nothing of other humans. As long as Oga continues down his current path, BL will grow up to be a great Devil King that will destroy mankind. Though Oga does try to stop fighting, circumstances prevent him from doing so.
The school he attends is Ishiyama High, and it is run by the Tohoshinki, 4 leaders of different gangs of delinquent students. The first to be introduced was Kanzaki. Oga wants to meet him so BL would get attached to him instead, but Oga ends up getting pissed off at him and throws him out a window, hospitalizing him. Himegawa is a rich delinquent, and tries to buy Oga to become his underling. He even goes so far as to kidnap Furuichi and Hilda (who just plays along) to force him to join. Oga beats him up and sends him to the hospital. The third member is Aoi, leader of the female delinquents. After she and Oga meet at a park, she starts to develop feelings for him. However, when she finally returns to school, circumstances arise that cause her to fight with him. Their match ends in a draw after they discover that they’re being manipulated. Aoi quits being the leader of the gang, and starts wanting to hang out with Oga, though she’s also jealous of the close relationship she thinks he and Hilda have. The fourth member is Toujou. We’ve only seen his back in one chapter. Oga will probably fight him next.
The manga is both hilarious and action packed. If you love any type of action comedy, it’s definitely worth a read. Best part, there’s only been 22 chapters released so far, so you don’t have to worry about taking forever to catch up (like reading One Piece, or Hajime no Ippo). Look for a review of next week’s Beelzebub chapter to be included on the next Shonen Weekend post. Take care everyone, and be good humans.
