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Psycho666Soldier

[Manga Chat]

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I cannot stand Zensho. But I also loved that he could not help but vote for Maikeru. Props to him for being honest with the art. Also good on the author for swerving like that. It would have been so easy to take it the other direction and make Zensho a cookie-cutter villain. That would have been a bit spicier at first, but ultimately more dull and predictable. 
 

Part of me just keeps waiting for Akane to fall flat on her face. I am dreading it but thankfully it hasn’t happened. Y’know, not that it’s been easy for her all the way, but often in these kinds of stories the main character has to endure more hardships and dramatic failures before really succeeding. I hope she slays in her next performance! Keep the good vibes rolling. I’m also hyped to see the boss show what he’s got. 

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Been trying to plow through Elusive Samurai, but I was more behind than I thought.  I was back in chapters released in March :lol: I just finished 156 and have about 11-12 more chapters to go

 

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:highfive: 

 

I won’t spoil any of the stuff coming up in Elusive Samurai. Lots happens. 
 

Did you read the latest Kaiju No. 8 chapter from a few days ago? That was a long gap between chapters! 

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Been listening to heavy music all day today, so I took a detour to catch up on Kaiju No. 8. Man, this series still has some of the best action art and monster/character design of anything going right now. They also do a good job of making the back and forth twists and turns feel epic and well-timed:

 

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  On 7/2/2024 at 4:59 PM, dr. b said:

I’m all caught up on Undead Unluck now. I really enjoyed the most recent arcs. The Unchaste (Kururu) chapters with Fuuko’s parents making an appearance was very nice. They nearly have the full squad assembled now!

 

Next up on the reading list is Kaiju No. 8. The anime was solid but I like the manga more. Wish I hadn’t slept on it this long. I love the style. It’s relatively simple. Very clean and easy to read, easy to follow the action. I really like the character designs. I also appreciate that the dialog is more concise. E.g. compared to Undead Unluck which I just binged. Some pages in that one can feel more like a novel, with so many rules and things needing to be explained in depth. 

Just kind of reading back on some of the posts I ignored for potential spoilers, and it's interesting to see my gut feel on the anime for Kaiju No. 8 resonates. I haven't watched it yet, but the previews just made it feel somewhat less engaging than the way it's presented in the manga.  Would you say it's still worth giving a shot, or have you been convinced of just following the manga rather than the anime?

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I liked the anime well enough. I watched it with my 13-year-old, so I guess taking in the episodes together with her added a little something extra. The comedic elements of Kaiju No. 8 come across very nicely in the anime. And the action and voice acting were solid. But, I dunno, the anime failed to capture _something_ that came across better in the manga. I'll continue watching the anime if there's another season, since it's always fun to see big fights animated. I'm not sure they can do anything in the anime to one-up the manga though. The manga is just so good.

 

Yesterday's batch of new chapters in Jump had so much good stuff going on :shiny: 

 

Spy x Family #103

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Elusive Samurai #168

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Sakamoto Days #178

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Akane-banashi #122

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I started reading the OG Dragon Ball manga the other night. Man it’s been a long time. I’m only like 12 chapters in but I’m absolutely loving it. The simple beginnings of the whole DB story. Obviously I love much of everything that came after in DBZ and DB Super, but I have a strong appreciation for — and feel very nostalgic for — these early chapters. 

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I think it's still arguable that the initial DB run before it introduced the Z era is better than Z. I'd say it's all consistently amazing up through the Cell Saga, but there's a certain depth to the combat and conflicts that isn't always there with Z fights.

 

I actually have never read the manga other than select random chapters that I bought individual comics of or I read at a friend's house as a kid, so I've been wanting to actually start from the beginning now that Toriyama passed.  I wanna go back and enjoy HIS full artistic vision.  Plus I know he's legendary for his action page layouts.

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I've got up through Ch. 163 with Elusive Samurai. This war with Moronao has been great. Loved how it started with pure chaos with both sides countering rapid advantages.

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  • Shiny 1

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And now I'm all caught up

 

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  • Shiny 1

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  On 8/21/2024 at 12:26 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

I think it's still arguable that the initial DB run before it introduced the Z era is better than Z. I'd say it's all consistently amazing up through the Cell Saga, but there's a certain depth to the combat and conflicts that isn't always there with Z fights.

 

I actually have never read the manga other than select random chapters that I bought individual comics of or I read at a friend's house as a kid, so I've been wanting to actually start from the beginning now that Toriyama passed.  I wanna go back and enjoy HIS full artistic vision.  Plus I know he's legendary for his action page layouts.

I definitely endorse reading the manga. It’s great. 
 

It makes me feel like a tiny bit of a hipster, essentially like a hardcore music fan saying “They’re early albums were better!”, but I am totally on board the “Dragon Ball was better than DBZ” bandwagon. Not that I dislike DBZ. I just really really like the early parts of the story better. The Saiyan Saga that DBZ begins with is arguably my next favourite arc. I think most cite either the Frieza or Cell sagas as the best of the best… but the Saiyan saga was really special IMHO. 
 

 

 

  On 8/21/2024 at 4:32 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

And now I'm all caught up

 

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Yeah man some of these moments have been brutal :rip: :crying2:

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Akane-banashi 122

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Spy x Family 103

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Gonna read all of this week's chapters of the series I've been caught up on, catch up on Beat & Motion and Show-ha Shote , and then I think I'm gonna finally tackle catching up with Shoji Null and Wild Strawberry.

 

There's also a lot of other new series from the last couple months I want to give a shot.

 

Did Jiangshi X end up getting cut? It didn't grab me too much so I dropped it early.

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Agreed on all points re: Akane-banashi and Spy x Family! :nod: 

 

You will like what’s going on in Beat and Motion. Guaranteed. That reminds me, there is a new chapter of it today. Yay! New Shojo Null today too. It’s only got a couple chapters left. It’s been an interesting and sometimes weird series. I have enjoyed it overall, but I’m also glad that it’s not running much longer. It seems like the author has the ending planned out fairly well. 

 

I never picked up Jiangshi X. I can’t recall seeing it updated anytime recently. Guess it got cancelled a while back. 
 

I haven’t really touched any of the most recent new series. I am curious about a couple. I’ll wait for Shojo Null to finish in a few weeks before adding another to my reading list. Let me know which new ones you think are good!

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Caught up on Beat & Motion

 

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  On 8/23/2024 at 8:21 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

Just finished chapter 218 of Undead Unluck.

 

She said the thing!!!

Just a couple of hours until the next chapter drops!!!

 

:jumboshiny:

 

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  On 8/25/2024 at 5:46 AM, Psycho666Soldier said:

Caught up on Beat & Motion

 

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Yeah, this has been a really special story for sure. The characters are all so likable and relatable in their own ways. Feels good to read it.

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Today's chapters!

 

Jujutsu Kaisen #267

5 chapters left! The Culling Game has been dragging on and on. Recent chapters, the final showdown with Sukuna, have admittedly been very solid... but overall this arc has not been amazing. I am happy to see the end in sight. Also the end of this chapter had a very exciting re-appearance by a certain fan favourite character :shiny: 

Despite being down on The Culling Game arc on the whole, I still look forward to seeing it animated eventually. I wonder if it will come across better animated. The Chimera Ant arc in HxH was not exactly a fan favourite originally, but it was incredibly well done in the HxH 2011 anime and I think that changed a lot of people's minds about it. Maybe the same will happen with The Culling Game in JJK.

 

Undead Unluck #219

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The Elusive Samurai #169

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Akane-banashi #123

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Sakamoto Days #179

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I think the true strength of Sakamoto Days' action is the over-the-top aspects that they try to somehow ground with whatever logic, because nonsensical or not, it almost always pays off satisfyingly for the action. I feel the same way with the sand-blasting.

 

Great round of chapters this week.  Very excited to see what comes next for everything.

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Thought there was going to be a new chapter of Chainsaw Man yesterday but apparently it doesn't actually come out until next Tuesday. Thanks for nothin' VIZ :badrazz: Are you caught up on Chainsaw Man? It hit a low point for me a couple months back, but the more recent chapters have been more compelling so I'm kind of back on the bandwagon. 

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Chainsaw Man is also on the docket.  It is one of the ones I was pretty far behind on, but not quite as bad as some.  I'm working on Show-ha Shoten first and then Chainsaw Man will probably follow

 

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:thumbs:

 

With Show-ha Shoten!, all the goings-on in this big competition have been fun to follow. I still struggle to make sense of the comedy that these kids are doing. But that's a cultural difference that I assume is not easy to explain. The translators would have to add so many little notes under the panels, it wouldn't work :lol: But outside of not really finding their comedy funny, there are a lot of likeable characters, and the interpersonal relationships between the different comedy groups are interesting. I like a lot of the characters so I don't even know who I want to win anymore. Can't they just all win!?! :lol: 

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New Kaiju No. 8 today!

 

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  On 8/29/2024 at 4:14 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

New Kaiju No. 8 today!

 

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Only one chapter left for Shojo Null. This weeks chapter had a lot packed into like 16 pages. It seems there is a time skip now, then the final chapter somehow will resolve everything..? Or it will be a more open-ended type of ending. I dunno. I’m curious to see how it wraps up. 

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Caught up on Show-ha Shoten

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And Chainsaw Man too!

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So tempted to use the jizz smiley to react to that one :rotfl: :eek: 

 

It's a fun coincidence that you mention facial expressions in Show-ha! Shoten before also commenting on Chainsaw Man. I love the many weird, sad, dejected, wacky, awkward, and just plain messed up faces that Denji makes. That guy wear's his heart (and his stupidity) on his sleeve :lol: Just one glance at a panel and you know exactly what is (or isn't) going through his mind. 

 

I totally agree that the-thing-that-happened-with-Asa is so perfect for Chainsaw Man. It would be cringey or feel forced almost anywhere else. Not in Chainsaw Man! 

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  On 9/1/2024 at 12:08 AM, dr. b said:

So tempted to use the jizz smiley to react to that one :rotfl: :eek: 

 

It's a fun coincidence that you mention facial expressions in Show-ha! Shoten before also commenting on Chainsaw Man. I love the many weird, sad, dejected, wacky, awkward, and just plain messed up faces that Denji makes. That guy wear's his heart (and his stupidity) on his sleeve :lol: Just one glance at a panel and you know exactly what is (or isn't) going through his mind. 

 

I totally agree that the-thing-that-happened-with-Asa is so perfect for Chainsaw Man. It would be cringey or feel forced almost anywhere else. Not in Chainsaw Man! 

The irony is that when you see Denji going through issues like "I always think with my dick," you know it's like an actual existential crisis for him, not just him being silly.  You can tell Fujimoto likes trying to get to the bottom of his characters' true feelings 

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Spy x Family #104 was a fun little adventure with Damian and his buddies. I like his butler. 
 

Akane-banashi #124 - Master Shiguma’s performance continues to be great. I’m really curious to see how his story ends!

 

Kagurabachi #47 - You might want to check this one out if you haven’t yet. It seems to have some staying power. They’re embarking on what feels like a rather big new arc in this chapter. Sweet colour title pages this week too. 

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Shojo Null #33 (final chapter) - There were some beautifully drawn panels in this chapter. I was satisfied with the ending. Not too many loose ends.

 

Chainsaw Man #176

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Choujin X #55 - This series has been consistently really good (IMHO) for quite a while now. There is so much detail in the story and I love the style. The current arc feels like it will ultimately be the last, but it's going to be pretty long and drawn out. 

 

Beat & Motion #39 :shiny: :heart: 

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Got the new Show-ha Shoten! queued up for later today to read.

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I'm caught up on all the Sunday manga, though don't have any specific comments that don't just amount to "Yeah, this is still good" for pretty much all of them, so will hold off until at least next Sunday.

 

Gotta read the most recent of the ones you just mentioned, but that's on hold because I've been binging Dragon Ball the last week and am now 14 chapters away from finishing that.

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Dang that’s fast. I started reading Dragon Ball a couple weeks ago but haven’t had much time to really binge it. I’m ~30 chapters in. It’s awesome. I love how short-but-not-short the chapters are. Toriyama could pack a lot into 13 pages!

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I had a day where I said fuck work and was reading at my desk, and then I literally just spent the rest of the evening at home reading. I think I started that day halfway through the first tournament and just found myself wanting to blitz through the Red Ribbon arc. The time flew.  Like you said, even though a lot of the chapters are only 13 pages, between the dialogue and how drawn in to the individual panels I am, it feels like a lot is going on.

 

It's pretty awesome to see how great at depicting motion in his art, and I just don't think you can fully appreciate that watching the anime, so I'm glad I went this route.

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I did end up reading Beat & Motion:

 

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Holy shit, and Chainsaw Man:

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The Elusive Samurai #171

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Akane-banashi #125 -- No spoilers, but Master Shiguma is an absolute boss :golfclap:

 

Sakamoto Days #181

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Undead Unluck #221

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Finally ready the most recent Elusive Samurai:

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I’ve been reading loads of Dragon Ball the last few days. Just finished the Red Ribbon and Fortuneteller Baba arcs. Goddamn I love the original DB. Time to get into the next tournament!

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  On 9/18/2024 at 12:35 AM, dr. b said:

I’ve been reading loads of Dragon Ball the last few days. Just finished the Red Ribbon and Fortuneteller Baba arcs. Goddamn I love the original DB. Time to get into the next tournament!

It's so good, dude. I ended up finishing about a week ago and I've moved on into Z territory now.

 

The Red Ribbon was originally as far as I got with the anime a long time ago because the files I downloaded had corrupted subtitles around the episode where he's training with Karin, and I checked and every episode after that had the same issue. So it was nice to finally see the Fortune Teller Baba arc. 

 

It's really funny that out of all the things the manga has, they feel the need to censor the cusswords. Every time they say, "Fooey!" I have to laugh.

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I find “Fooey!” kind of charming, and I think it fits fairly well with how juvenile the sense of humour is in DB. I guess it’s kinda funny juxtaposed against all the panels of naked Goku :lol: (“Damn!” or “Shit!” would not have been so bad really.) But even the other maybe-not-so-kid-friendly things like the sex jokes, naked Goku, etc. are all relatively tame and childish. I think it works to keep the language clean in the translation. 
 

I don’t know if I’ll continue on with DBZ. Maybe just the Saiyan saga, which is low-key maybe my favorite arc of DBZ overall. I’m well into the Piccolo arc now in DB because I couldn’t sleep last night, so it won’t take long to finish. 

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  On 9/18/2024 at 2:55 PM, dr. b said:

I find “Fooey!” kind of charming, and I think it fits fairly well with how juvenile the sense of humour is in DB. I guess it’s kinda funny juxtaposed against all the panels of naked Goku :lol: (“Damn!” or “Shit!” would not have been so bad really.) But even the other maybe-not-so-kid-friendly things like the sex jokes, naked Goku, etc. are all relatively tame and childish. I think it works to keep the language clean in the translation. 
 

I don’t know if I’ll continue on with DBZ. Maybe just the Saiyan saga, which is low-key maybe my favorite arc of DBZ overall. I’m well into the Piccolo arc now in DB because I couldn’t sleep last night, so it won’t take long to finish. 

It honestly wasn't too bad until near the end where they say it more frequently. But I agree it does fit the general aura of that part of the story.

 

I'm mostly going through Z because I've never read the manga all the way through, so I wanna see how it plays out in that form. Plus, just watching Toriyama's art continue to evolve. 

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I finished DB last night. I’m glad I read the manga. It’s a masterpiece. I love the last arc especially. All the matches in the Piccolo Jr. tournament were fun as heck. I have found I really prefer the simpler DB to the increasingly more complicated Z and Super. More martial arts and less energy blasts. Energy blasts and special moves feel more impactful when they’re used more sparingly, like when Ten busted out his first Kikoho. I also love the special items Goku uses early on like Kintoun and Nyoibo, and all the silliness. (Really wish Lunch had continued to be a recurring character in Z. I forgot how hilarious she is!)

 

I started reading the Saiyan arc in Z last night but I dunno… I sort of just want to read the original all over again! 

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New stuff this week was solid. 
 

Kaiju No. 8 #115

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Choujin X #57

No spoilers since I don’t think you’re following this one anyways… Just wanted to say that I think you should get on board! This final arc has been epic. I’m loving it. I love the art style throughout. Ishida is a great artist and storyteller. Feels like we’re getting close-ish now to the final showdown. 
 

Chainsaw Man #178

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I've been digging the prison arc for Sakamoto Days so far. This chapter in particular was really cool, seeing how Shingo has developed both his powers and his compassion from the beginning do the series.

 

Chainsaw Man #178

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Elusive Samurai #172 & 173

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Also, kind of a random thought, but I would love a Dynasty Warriors-style Elusive Samurai game.

 

 

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  On 9/27/2024 at 10:17 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

Also, kind of a random thought, but I would love a Dynasty Warriors-style Elusive Samurai game.

I would absolutely love an Elusive Samurai themed hack’n’slash game! :shiny:

 

re: the latest Elusive Samurai chapter:

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Agreed the current arc in Sakamoto Days has been pretty good so far. 

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Also, Kaiju No. 8 was hype as usual.

 

Akane-banashi #126 & 127

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The Elusive Samurai #174

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Spy x Family #105.1

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JJK #271 (finale)

The ending was not bad but it was not great either. Kind of forgettable :-/ I’m holding out hope that the Culling Game arc will come across better animated, if/when it gets animated. It certainly has its moments in the manga, but it was not a consistently engaging and compelling arc IMHO. 
 

Undead Unluck #224

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Sakamoto #184

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Absolutely killer action this week in Kagurabachi #51 :shiny:

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Show-ha Shoten! #34

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Beat & Motion #41

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Hunter x Hunter is back in the weekly rotation!!! :mosh: I don’t know how long it will last until the next hiatus but I’ll enjoy every chapter all the same! Already hyped for the next one :shiny:

 

The Elusive Samurai #175

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Akane-banashi #129

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Undead Unluck #225

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A little behind on some stuff. Might try to catch up a bit today. But I wanted to shout out one of the newest series Hakutaku. Third chapter dropped today, I really liked the first two chapters. It's about becoming a video game coder.

 

Good art, very interesting characters, and it feels like it has the right level of charm and style as all the best anti-battle shonen. Hard to say if it'll hold up, but it hasn't disappointed yet.

 

I think once I get caught up on the last couple rounds of the usual series, I'm finally gonna move to the second chapter of Kagurabachi and burn through that.

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Nice :highfive: Kagurabachi gets really good!

 

I have held back on trying any of the new series that debuted in Jump over the last few weeks. Don’t want to make my weekly reading listtoo long. But JJK and Shojo Null finished recently so I guess I have some openings. JJBA Stone Ocean only has about it a dozen chapters until it ends too. Dandadan will definitely be next in my list. Then maybe Hakutaku next. Your description of it sounds good. 

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This week's chapters. Lots of good stuff! 

 

Spy x Family #106

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Sakamoto Days #185

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Undead Unluck #226

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The Elusive Samurai #176

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Kagurabachi #53

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Akane-banashi #130

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