#cannon master

Alternate title: Happy Birthday Week 2, Dan Week

20. Kinato's Magic ch.20 (-1, Neutral): Sazaku espouses her philosophy of Majo superiority to Terasu. Meanwhile, Kinato gets a glimpse of the strain that the Amrita drug puts on the body and starts speculating how to counteract its effects

Pretty standard villain philosophy, nothing really to write home about. I did kind of enjoy Kinato's impromptu examination, but we won't see the actual payoff until at least next week against Sazaku herself, so this chapter doesn't leave much impact on its own

19. Sakamoto Days ch.264 (+2, Neutral): Sakamoto criticizes Uzuki's plan for reform as useless killing, but Uzuki rejects his argument because he's a killer too

Not a lot to chew on here, this is the same core argument Uzuki's been having the entire arc, just now with a real person and not a ghost. I suppose this could be an extension of the question of whether we are our pasts, as even at the end Sakamoto is being dismissed because of his despite having solved every problem thus far without killing. I don't know how Sakamoto is gonna convince Uzuki of that, but I imagine we'll learn that he's resistant to accepting Sakamoto's way because it would mean taking responsibility for his own actions or something The choreography was good at least

18. Me & Roboco ch.286 (-5, Appreciated): Roboco attends a cooking class and finds herself being bullied by a woman with an uncanny resemblance to Toriko's Livebearer... only to realize she was actually just trying to help all along!

I am not immune to reference humor, especially since Livebearer was a surprisingly memorable character for me despite how little prevalence he had This sort of misunderstanding is pretty classic stuff, so nothing all that wowing, but it fits Roboco's character pretty well to behave this way, so it works

17. Hima-Ten! ch.95 (-3, Appreciated): As Honoka struggles to force out her confession, Tenichi gets the courage to confess himself, and the two officially start dating. Seeing them inspires Mayu and Yokomizo to start going out, and Sumire to admit to Himari that she's in her fan club

Wait, Mayu and Yokomizo weren't already dating??? For all the build-up it had, that half-chapter confession scene wasn't as climactic as I would have liked. I'm not saying it necessarily should have filled up the entire chapter, but like...I dunno, it could have done *something* flashier with it, and probably shouldn't have let three other characters soak up runtime It almost gives me hope that something flashy *is* coming next week and we might actually get Poly-Ten after all...almost. Oh well, at least there's now a slight chance that Ono will make it up to me by pulling a Shuffle and having Himari get with Sumire...if I can't have poly, you can at least give me yuri!

16. Nue's Exorcist ch.150 (=, Appreciated): With his original power only just having awakened, Gakuro is essentially reset to Lvl.1, so he EXP farms against a horde of high-level spirits to gain the light manipulation he was always meant to use to control Nue

I suppose it's fitting that Gakuro went from having shadow powers when he was much more reserved and passive to light now that he's more open and active, but the question I have is whether he's going to get back all of other powers he had before, or is he all light all the time now? If he does light and shadow, I'm down, that's pretty sick, but I really don't want him to have fifty million forms and familiars and yada yada yada anymore, just pleeease keep it simple, Kawaeee

15. Class 2B Hero Destroyerz ch.9 (+2, Appreciated): The 2B team enters the dungeon to find that Saigo's team has nearly all been petrified by a monster. While formulating a plan, Valaris manages to get petrified in an awkward position, and a whole horde of monsters appears as Mogura watches in anticipation

A few funny bits in this one, but nothing so hilarious to elevate it any higher or really warrant further analysis

14. Hal Formula ch.2 (+1, Appreciated): With Miharu's contract extended so long as he keeps winning, Haruka sets up a rudimentary road map for Miharu's career up to WF1. In his next race, Miharu is surprised to see that the track seems a lot wider than usual... because his mental "brakes" got damaged and he can see opportunities where he once saw danger

Huh... it almost seems like Kyogoku is saying that it's a *good thing* Miharu is taking these risks now. I'm gonna have to wait and see how Terasaka handles it before I make any judgments, but I'm kind of iffy on the message based on how differently chapters 1 and 2 discuss it / More importantly, though, Haruka's faith in Miharu is precious and continues to be the real heart of the series, so I'm looking forward to how he counterbalances Kyogoku

13. Under Doctor ch.21 (-3, Appreciated): Haiji tracks down his impostor, Dr. Dan, and learns that he was a failed med student desperate for money to help a sick friend, Sharley. In exchange for returning his ill-gotten gains, Haiji offers to examine Sharley

I was kind of hoping this would be a bigger deal, like a real rival or something, but another one off kindness from Haiji isn't a bad thing. It just feels a tad samey I guess

12. Witch Watch ch.252 (+6, Liked): Miharu gives all but one of his coins to Momochi pretending to want to ease her suffering, but secretly to pass a message to use her magic to swap Kiriko's selected card at the last second, forcing her to select the lowest card and forfeit the game. Kiriko takes on the punishment in Maverick's stead, moving him to beg Miharu to save her, which he happily obliges, as the Witch Watch never came here to kill anyone

I feel kinda dumb for not realizing how minute Maverick's resonance could be, but that's really clever! And teleporting the cards with Momochi's magic is equally impressive, I wish I'd thought of that! However, I completely forgot that Miharu could either vaguely read thoughts or give the energy that he takes, so I didn't really understand what was going on in my first read this week. That's not Shinohara's fault, just my experience with it. Whether I understood the workings though, I really liked the emotions of this chapter from everyone involved

11. Roku's House of Oddities ch.11 (-2, Liked): Roku takes Sachiko back to school to investigate her origins, and finds that her presence brings classic school rumors to life in unexpected ways, like an army of Hanako-chans with different designs or an entire soccer league of anatomical models. Drowned out by Roku's cheers for the soccer game, Sachiko asks Roku to find the real Sachiko who never got to experience school life

If I weren't dubious about how long Sachiko's curse has been a thing, I'd be tempted to say that the "real Sachiko" might be the main love interest, but I'm under the impression that the curses have been around long enough that she's either quite old or quite dead. As such, I'm getting the feeling that THIS Sachiko will be the love interest, and I'm down for that, she's cute as hell

10. Animal Signal ch.3 (+10, Liked): Sad that he's in a different class from Kokone, Tsubasa agrees to help StuCo president Aoi solve various students problems in hopes he'll contribute enough to be placed in Class A, but Kokone gets jealous about how much time he's spending with Aoi

It's kind of wild for Kokone to say "you don't know him like I do" when she's only known Tsubasa for like...a week, but whatever, we love to watch a stupid girl pining. The way she got excited to be assigned a case since it meant she had the opportunity to spend more time with him, plus the revelation that he was actively trying to get closer to her elevates their dynamic quite a bit for me. Now we just need them to ACTUALLY SOLVE A CASE TOGETHER! Honestly, this whole thing about working up to Class A could have been a mini arc showing their teamwork developing, but whatever, it gets them into the same class so that they can have more organic interactions, so I don't want to gripe about it too much Also extremely based how proud Aoi was that their power is to transition, 10/10 favorite character

9. Kagurabachi ch. 125 (-4, Liked): Joji deduces where Hasumi took the Datenseki and chases it down to Subaru's workshop, where he finds Kunishige hard at work smelting the first Enchanted Blade

This chapter was mostly exposition on both how the literal katana forging process differs between steel and Datenseki, and for what it is that makes Kunishige so special as a swordsmith, but somehow it didn't feel too dry. I was pretty engaged with all of the technical talk (probably because I'm genuinely interested in smithing), and Kunishige having unusually regenerative eyes helps give context to Chihiro's exceptional vision in the modern day of the story. Not exactly emotionally moving, but definitely kept my attention

8. Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi ch.97 (+4, Liked): During Kiyoshi's Cross Paladin inauguration, Utsugi crashes the ceremony to size him up...and is actually impressed by what he sees! Except for one fact - Kiyoshi smells of demons

Oh, phew, for a second I was kind of worried that the ceremony was going to be a gag-centric chapter, thank god Utsugi showed up to replace the awkward tension with dramatic tension! I rather like Utsugi's energy, he's got that good balance of goofball and intimidating that Usui is pretty skilled at striking I wonder if this is going to be the start of the next big arc, like maybe with the Cross Paladins forming factions and fighting amongst themselves, or just the transition period into the next one where Kiyoshi just needs to get Utsugi on his side before the final Great Demon Lord makes themself known?

7. Blue Box ch.247 (+4, Liked): After losing to Yusa at Nationals, Taiki goes to the beach with Chinatsu for her birthday. As they play games together and share a cake with one fork, Taiki uses the joy of the moment to steel himself for Chinatsu's impending departure to study overseas

This was an incredibly sweet chapter, even if it does feel a little weird that after ALL THAT Taiki got off-screened. I know, I know, this is a romance before it's a sports series, but it just feels odd to have the qualifier be the final victory and then just let it drop from there I also still don't know where this is going from here, whether it's about to just end completely or if there's going to be a timeskip and a college arc or what

6. Shinobi Undercover ch.86 (+1, Liked): After being told he has to work even harder to protect Aoi and become the next head of the Mukai family, Yodaka's will begins to break from the pressure after having failed to save Yoichi...only for Kasasagi to give him both a firm and a friendly affirmation that he's much more capable thank he thinks. Upon finally returning to Amamori, Yodaka finds Aoi waiting for him asleep in the lobby with a handmade teddy bear for his birthday

A nice little wrap-up to this arc demonstrating the emotional impact it had on Yodaka while also resolving Kasasagi's feelings for him in a pretty satisfactory way, I feel. It's a little bittersweet, but I can't imagine she's being written out of the story completely, so I'm confident that she'll have her chance at happiness sooner or later

5. Cannon Master ch.1 (NEW, Liked): A man named Bharat works as a Slaylith, a defender against the Regilith, giant autonomous weapons left behind after a great war, and has earned a glowing reputation thanks to his freakishly strong apprentice, Ur. When Bharat refuses to teach Ur any proper techniques one too many times, Ur decides to quit. However, when Bharat valiantly faces a powerful Regilith alone, Ur is inspired to continue fighting, managing to destroy the beast in one blow, and Bharat realizes that Ur may not be a human child at all...

...So why's it called Cannon Master? Is that going to be Ur's title? Cus when he tried to use Bharat's wind attack, it came out as a laser cannon? It's not a great title, honestly Ignoring that, though, I definitely enjoyed this introduction! The action was pretty easy to follow, the characters are fun and interesting enough, and I'm rather fond of this Middle Eastern aesthetic! I was kind of surprised by how Machida chose to present this intro, though. I assumed that we'd see the truth that Bharat is a fraud be revealed by the end of the chapter, but no, Bharat is actually genuinely competent! He just thinks he's weak because he's comparing himself to Ur, and despite his outwardly bragadocious personality, he uses Ur's strength to downplay his own accomplishments internally. This creates a pretty interesting take on the Mob and Reigen-esque fraud master/powerful apprentice dynamic where Bharat is actually capable of *being* a master to Ur, he just needs to figure out that he himself isn't the weakling he believes himself to be first

4. Ichi the Witch ch.87 (=, Loved): After Ichi stabs her in the next, Fujimine delightedly calls him out for how little provocation it took for him to attempt to take a human life. As Desscaras retrieves Ichi, the World Hater drags Fujimine through a portal. In the aftermath of the attack, Desscaras and Minakata play ping-pong

Wow, that's a jarring tone change...honestly, just a pretty abrupt ending to this conflict anyway, but not at all a disinteresting one. That entire first section was stellar, partially because I adoooored Fujimine's expressions, but also because it sets up an extremely interesting question about Ichi - is it *really* that easy for him to justify killing a person? Hell, even one that he considers *a friend*?? What will this do to Ichi's mental state, and how will it impact his capacity to hunt going forward? I'm hoping that we'll take some time for him to introspect while getting alternate perspectives from his dual mentors

3. Akane-banashi ch.211 (-1, Loved): In Kaisei's version of God of Death, rather than the original character pushing his luck by exorcising a God he was warned not to, the son exorcises it to save the life of his master, who spitefully turns on him for not helping sooner, a direct representation of Kaisei's feelings of gratitude and betrayal from Issho

There are so many layers to Kaisei's performance; at first, we weren't seeing any of his own imagery specifically because it was being overshadowed by Akane's, but now we're still only seeing him because that actually *is* his imagery! "The Art of the Personal," putting his own lived experiences into the work, he's bearing himself to the audience - and more importantly, to Issho himself The fact that what was originally portrayed as a trial to for Kaisei to overcome has now become the very weapon he's using to overcome it is incredibly interesting and masterfully crafted, to the point that I actually do prefer this version to Akane's, which to me seemed to mismatch its intention and presentation

2. Drawn to the Fire ch.10 (+1, Loved): Higurashi reflects on his middle school days, back when he jealously watched Keiki and Hanabi continuously improve and spout fantastical words about sparks that only they could see. In their final game against Akane, Higurashi repeats Hanabi's speech in an attempt to inspire Keiki, but in the end, he wasn't good enough to fill the space Hanabi had left behind. In the present, Higurashi realizes that Keiki truly never blamed him for their loss, and asks to join the team for another chance to show Keiki how skilled he really is

THE THEEEMES!!! Just like Keiki, Higurashi told a lie to put the team in the right position to win, but where Keiki's bluffs act more like a placebo that help him to improve, Higurashi's simply became a broken promise that ended up having a long-term detrimental effect on Keiki, literally the exact opposite effect Then there's the added irony that there was in fact someone on that court who *could* in fact see the sparks that Hanabi was talking about, just that he was on the opposite team. Akane, on the outside looking in, saw every detail - who was skilled, who wasn't, where the openings were, where the failings were, and how he could have done better; again, the exact opposite of Higurashi, who looked in on Keiki and Hanabi and had no idea what he was looking at, and could only pretend to even have a clue what he was talking about. I'm very excited to see how this dynamic develops and plays out with Higurashi officially on the team

1. Someone Herts ch.38 (=, Loved): Now that he's caught up with Kurage in total points, Mimei tries to go to a bowling alley on his own to research the next prompt, but Kurage insists on tagging along anyway. There, she confesses that for as proud of Mimei as she is, she still has the competitive drive to stay in the lead. During the next broadcast, Kurage takes back her lead with two consecutive live reads

Nue's Exorcist doesn't win anything.

Most of this chapter was a fight I didn't understand or particularly care about. The only things that stood out were Ragyo doing a dreamworks face, and the fact that this chapter seemed notably anti-polyamory? Like, we kill Ragyo's lovers with little fanfare, and then later the big armored person whose name I dont remember says "don't go two-timing me". Like, am I crazy or something?

RoboCo wins the "stop showing me these chatacters" award.

Why have so many roboco chapters been about the old guys recently. I hate the old guys.

WITCH WATCH wins the "I can't even care anymore" award.

I've just completely lost the ability to care about Shikimi's motivations at this point. That flashback sucked major ass.

(I try not to judge chapters on what I wanted them to be, but I am very sad there's not even a single joke about Shikimi becoming weirdly knowledgeable about denim.)

SAKAMOTO DAYS wins the "hype moments and aura, I guess" award.

I really can't get too engaged in this fight, to be honest.

Hal Formula wins "Music of the Spheres".

Those were some genuinely beautiful circles. I anticipate that this guy might have a harder time once dealing with other racers impacting his perfect lines, but for this chapter, those were some beautiful circles.

Kinato's Magic wins "Getting back to what I liked in the first place".

While I feel the actual exposition this chapter is middling, I did still genuinely enjoy it - mostly because it harkened back to what I liked about Linae during those early chapters when she was prominent. She's greedy! I have always loved greed in my manga. Greed as a driving and positive force is something I don't see often in other mediums, and it's a personal favorite motivation of mine. (Which is to say, I'm still not over Fullmetal Alchemist.)

Animal Signal wins "Kinda gay"

Was this chapter harassment? Yes. Is it almost entirely Roga's fault? Yes. (Kids, harassment is never the victim's fault in real life.) Anyway, it was a funny chapter and helped show how other people react to this guy being a fucking weirdo

Drawn to the Fire wins "Best inner monologue"

This chapter does a good job explaining Hirae's whole mental state. I understand his thought process, and it's not one I can remember seeing as often in other sports manga.

Cannon Master wins "simple and clean"

A simple enough fight scene, but a good one. Sets up some stuff with the demon and Bharat's own thought processes that I look forward to seeing pay off.

Hunter X Hunter wins "Best Villain"

Benjamin's spent these past few chapters slowly creeping up the tierlist. This scene with Camilla was especially good. He's ready to die here, and he is going to do whatever necessary to achieve as much as possible before that time.

Someone Hertz wins "Ultimate comfort food"

I've seen this story or something like it so many places - but it's always nice. It's like getting your usual at a family restaurant.

Shinobi Undercover wins "Best kick-off"

And here we go! This is all officially kicking into high gear, and I'm very excited. We haven't seen a true tower defense like this yet, I don't think.

Under Doctor wins "Playing to the strengths"

Tanimoto-sensei seems to be at his most comfortable when he's doing these one-or-two chapter episodic things, and he's quite good at them. Though I was worried when they introduced that nefarious evil organization, he still seems confident enough to do these short vignettes - and I'm glad.

Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz wins "best development"

This is probably my favorite chapter of this series so far. I like Hakaze, and despite the chapter being toilet-focused, it wasn't all potty humor. Rather, we get an interesting perspective into Kumon's thought patterns that makes him a more endearing protagonist.

Roku's House of Oddities wins the Heartwarming Award

Man, right in the feels at the end there. And I'm glad that it looks like we're not becoming a battle manga.

Spy X Family wins "Best cliffhanger"

Hot DAMN that's a good cliffhanger. Seeing Anya start crackling like that, her nose about to bleed… I don't know if she's just connected to Desmond, or if she's hitting the entire hospital, but either way, it's not gonna end well.

Kagurabachi wins "best tension"

Man, do I feel for Kunishige. The idea of knowing that your fathers actions caused so much pain, doing everything you can to protect Chiaki after what felt like your father hurting her with your own hands… damn.

Ichi the Witch wins "Very Gay"

This is a good intro to more of Amadoro's character. Also, imagining being in that space while a large muscular woman is driving a motorcylce and swearing to let me come to no harm is giving me the warm fuzzies. You go, Kumugi. Yo go.

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi wins "Here we go!"

I see, I see… a good close off of the previous arc, that leads wonderfully into Exorcist Academy. I can't wait to see Hitsugi again (even though its been half an arc since he was gone.)

Akane-Banashi wins "Most excited for the future"

I was already excited for this upcoming performance, but now? My excitement is OFF THE DAMN CHARTS. I get what Zensho's deal is in just enough detail to be eager for more, and we're about to GET that more. AND I CANNOT FUCKING WAIT.