So close to getting this out on Sunday. Missed it by 20 minutes, hahaha. So PMX (Pacific Media Expo) was this past weekend. I didn’t go. I went last year, and it was only okay, but didn’t feel worth the price of admission to me. If any of you went, feel free to let me know if it’s improved in any way. What did you like, and what did you dislike. What can be improved, and what should stay the same. ALA (Anime Los Angeles) is the next convention I’m heading to, and it’s the second weekend of January. Need to plan a costume idea. Hope you guys have had a great weekend! And in other news, (which you’ll see below) One Piece is on break next week. I know that you can’t rush quality, and each time the author has taken a break, the chapters are jam-packed of awesome. But I want to have my cake and eat it, too. Well, enjoy!
ONE PIECE (chapter 563) – One Heart, One Man
The fighting nearly stops, as everyone witnesses Whitebeard being stabbed. Marco rushes and pins Squad before he does any more damage. Squad manages to escape Marco’s clutches, and confronts Whitebeard about what he’s heard from the Marines. Whitebeard, his crew, and Ace will all be spared, as long as the Marines can annihilate the rest of the New World pirates. Before today, Squad didn’t know that Ace was Roger’s son. He was all alone when Whitebeard found him, because Roger killed his friends and crew. He calls out Whitebeard’s deal and betrayal, noticing that the Pacifistas aren’t attack any of Whitebeard’s crew, just his allied pirates. Since they are surrounded by the walls of ice, no one can escape this massacre of a war. Squad’s words cast doubt upon the rest of Whitebeard’s allies. Even the onlookers from Saobody Island are thinking that Whitebeard sold out his allies. Sengoku orders Aokiji to take out the remaining camera, and he does so by freezine Buggy and his criminal cohorts. Angry, Crocodile yells at Whitebeard, proclaiming he is weaker than when he defeated him. Marco knows that Whitebeard’s health is getting worse, that he should’ve been able to dodge Squad’s sneak attack. It’s revealed that Akainu was the one who persuaded Squad to betray Whitebeard. He then tells squad that though he hates Roger, children shouldn’t be accountable for the sins of their father. Realizing that it was planned all along by Sengoku, Whitebeard crushes the ice walls with his quake powers, and telling his allies that they can choose what they want to believe. Believe Squad’s story and escape, or stay with Whitebeard to fight to the death. Sengoku then orders the remaining marines to prepare themselves, as Whitebeard himself jumps down from his ship to pesonally lead the attack.
So Squad really was a turncoat for the Marines, but only because he believed their lies. This little break in the action has made for a good change of pace. It was an interesting story aspect, because I also imagined that someone would betray Whitebeard to either take his place as an Emperor or to save himself and crew from the wrath of the Marines. Great escalation of pace at the end, too, now that Whitebeard officially joins the war. It’s such a shame though, becaue One Piece will be taking a break next week. Too much detail and story planning. Argh! Good chapter.
NARUTO (chapter 470) – Killerbee vs Kisame
Sakura tries to convince Naruto that her feelings are genuine, but he’s still convinced that she’s not being completely honest with him and herself. Naruto begins to explain why he thinks Sasuke is still set on his revenge by joining Akatsuki after defeating his brother, but he remembers that he, Kakashi, and Yamato promised to keep what Madara told them a secret. Not able to change his mind, Sakura and the other Konoha ninjas leave. However, they aren’t planning to go back to their village. Instead, Sakura wants to find Sasuke herself. Meanwhile, the rest of the Kages make their way back to their respective villages, while others try to find Kakashi to let him know of their decision. Finally, though the Killerbee and Kisame fight has started, they haven’t fought each other yet. Kisame makes short work of Ponta, and Sabu takes offense that he called his pet raccoon a bear. He acts as a distraction, wielding his giant axe. Giving him an opening, Killerbee throws a lightning charged pencil at Kisame, who barely dodges it. Though Kisame is surrounded, he’s able to throw off Sabu and only barely get hurt by Killerbee’s attack, much to Killerbee and Sabu’s surprise. He then activates his 8-tailed beast, and goes in for a headbutt. However, their heads connect, with no real damage done to either. Sabu finally notices that Kisame’s sword is draining Killerbee’s chakra. Falling back to prepare for their next attacks, Kisame removes his swords bandages, revealing it to have a different shape than before.
You know, it’s been so long since we’ve seen Kisame in action that I completely forgot that his sword “eats” chakra. It explains why they said that Kisame is as strong as a Tailed-beast host. At long last, this fight is starting, and so far, it looks like it should be a good one. Can’t really tell who should have the advantage (at the moment, it’s Kisame and his sword). This half makes the chapter good. The beginning half with Sakura, not so much. We all get the who-likes-who part of this story, and some times, it’s needed or poignant. Most of the time, it feels shoe-horned and breaks up the pacing. Like these last two chapters. But the good outweighs the bad by a lot, and hopefully, the fight will still continue next week. With only a few interruptions for the other stories. Good chapter.
BLEACH (chapter 381) – Words Just Don’t Like You
With the Garganta open, Mayuri warns Ichigo that he can’t guide him back to Karakura Town, and that one misstep could possibly trap him between earth and Hueco Mundo. Ichigo tells Mayuri that him explaining everything to him like this is similar to when Uruhara told them how to get to Hueco Mundo earlier. He also wonders if Mayuri studied under Uruhara, being the second head of R&D, and that both of them are actually pretty similar. Ichigo and Unohana head back to earth, but his words infuriate Mayuri. He was thinking about locking them in Garganta, but now he wants to instill great fear in Ichigo once this war is over. Traveling back, Unohana asks what Ichigo’s experience was like when he first faced Aizen. He says he was so overwhelmed, that Aizen didn’t even have to use his sword against him. Unohana says that it’s good news. Meanwhile, Yammy and Kenpachi continue to duke it out, but after a series of punches, Kenpachi cuts off some of Yammy’s fingers. Kenpachi appears on his arm, runs up it, and goes for a blow to the head. Byakuya asks Mayuri why he’s staying in Hueco Mundo. Mayuri says there are more interesting things here, such as the corpses. And with Garganta open, he can head to earth anytime he likes. Unohana explains to Ichigo that for Aizen to use his sword’s power on an oppenent, one must see it’s first release, which Ichigo has not. All the former captains, Espada, and even Vizards have seen it. Ichigo is the only hope of defeating Aizen. If he does see the sword’s release, Ichigo’s advantage is over. Mayuri is frustrated at Byakuya’s silent responses to his answers, so Byakuya says that his answers hinted that Ichigo would end the war. That Mayuri believes in Ichigo’s abilities.
Surprisingly, there was a lot of dialogue in this week’s chapter. Same can be said for last week as well. And the story aspect of this chapter wasn’t bad at all. I wasn’t expecting the plot device of the unknown is your biggest strength while knowledge is weakness. I know I could’ve worded that a lot simpler, so whatever. I was also amused that Kenpachi pulled off taking down the giant Yammy Shadow of the Colossus style. Orihime still isn’t with them. Decent chapter.
HAJIME NO IPPO (chapter 872) – Predicted Corner
Ippo continues to press forward, hoping to pin Woli into the corner. Just as Woli hits it, the bell signals the end of the round. Itagaki thinks that Ippo has this match won, once he gets Woli into the corner. Miguel asks if Woli knows what Ippo’s trying to do, but he says that he needs to study him more. While the other assistants what the coach to tell him, Miguel instead is curious to see how Woli will handle it when it happens. In the other corner, Ippo says he’s able to predict where Woli will end up. Each punch he’s thrown has forced Woli to jump back and to his right (Woli’s left). As the third round begins, the match continues right where it left of, with Ippo giving chase and putting on the pressure still. He presses him towards the ropes, but Woli avoids it. However, Takamura notices that Ippo was directing him to the next corner instead. Throwing a punch he knows won’t land, Ippo is able to get Woli to jump into the corner. Now that Ippo has him where he wants him, what will Woli do to counter?
Ippo strategy: success! Now what will happen next? It’s kind of relieving to see Takamura so unsure about Ippo’s situation. Itagaki thinks he’s got it in the bag, but his uncertainty means we’re in for a not-so-one-sided match. Woli is putting up a great fight, especially being a rookie. What new or old technique will he show next week? Can’t wait. Good chapter.
FAIRY TAIL (chapter 158) – Door of Memories
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy are able to get up in response to their teammates pleas. Not lasting long, Hibiki tells everyone that they must pick a number between 1 and 6, to determine which lachryma chamber to attack. Natsu picks 1. Everyone else picks their number. Natsu is glad that Erza’s safe, but he hears a familiar voice choosing 6 (Gerard’s), but he doesn’t know who exactly it is. Finally losing their mental connection, the team decides to head into their positions. At the No. 1 Lachryma Chamber, Natsu finds Zero there waiting for him. Meanwhile, Erza suspects that Zero is at location 1 as well. She doesn’t think he needs any help though, trusting in Natsu’s abilities. But Gerard’s recalls the name Natsu, hinting at his memories returning. For the battle, Natsu struggles to attack Zero, dodging most of his attacks. Zero goes on the offensive with his Dark Capriccio, but unlike Brain, he’s able to control its direction after he fires it, making it curve and burrow underground. Not able to dodge, Natsu decides to meet it head on, and stop it with his own strength, using his fist. Before he can recover, he’s attacked by Gerard.
So it looks like Gerard has all his memories back. Now, will he continue attacking Natsu, or is he instead just getting a little bit of revenge before focusing his attack on Brain? And I’m not sure if it’s all of Gerard’s memories or just some of them. Ichiya is still tied up to that branch. And it’s still hilarious. We’ll have to see what happens to Natsu next week, whether he’s double-teamed or gets help. Finally, the Fairy Tail Extra chapter was pretty cute, even for an all Lucy story. Hope you were able to read it. Decent chapter.
HISTORY’S STRONGEST DISCIPLE KENICHI (chapter 359) – Red Feather Sword
Kenichi hides outside a building and acts as a lookout for Sakaki and Shigure, as they guard swords to prevent a potential Yami attack. Talking on the phone with Akisame, it turns out that he’s stationed other Ryouzanpaku members at various locations to protect other potential sword targets for Yami. So far, just two blades have been stolen. Though, Kenichi wonders why he’s with two of his masters. Sakaki is also worried about Kenichi as well, and Shigure makes of him, relating him to be like a mother hen. Suddenly, Kenichi calls Sakaki on a cell phone, but not knowing how to answer it, he crushes it in his hand and calls out to Kenichi outside. He responds by saying that he saw some people enter the castle. Sakaki is nearly ambushed but is able to dodge, and Shigure is fighting against the other one. There are actually three members of the weapon division: a hooded man with a katana, a hatted woman wielding two kukris, and an axe-wielder in a suit of armor. Not knowing what to do, Kenichi decides to call Akisame, but his phone is taken away by Kagerou, who’s there with Kushinada and Chikage. The ladies walk right past him, with Chikage having her Yomi eyes, if you will. Kagerou finally remembers Kenichi as being Shigure’s disciple.
All right, more multi-master team-ups, and indeed, Shigure is involved in this match. The three weapon users have some pretty nice designs. Not sure how I feel about the armored person yet, but he definitely looks like a badass. Seriously, I wouldn’t mess with a guy wearing a suit of armor. The interactions among Sakaki, Shigure, and Kenichi leading up to the fight were hilarious. It’s good to know that the auther still has a good grasp of comedy. Looking forward to the continuation of the fights. Good chapter.
