#hal formula

Alternate Title: How Are You Alive Week

21. Sakamoto Days ch.263 (-5, Appreciated): With only Uzuki left, Gaku awakens to find himself patched up by Kashima, and realizes that Uzuki has taken on Takamura's personality. Nagumo brings Shishiba to a safehouse while re-arming himself for battle with Uzuki

Hm. Don't know how I feel about Gaku still being alive. I did feel like his death was a little too sudden for how much he'd been built up, but I also don't recall there being any indication that he had anything left to contribute to the story. I guess we still haven't really had a good opportunity to delve into Uzuki's past with the Al-Kamar kids, so I'll take it as a net positive for now I was also beginning to wonder what Suzuki would do to make the final battle a bit more climactic than just Sakamoto vs Uzuki, so I guess bringing the heaviest hitters together is as good a way to do that as any

20. Animal Signal ch.2 (-13, Appreciated): Kokone and Tsubasa investigate a ghost sighting in Kokone's school, only for Kokone to run off in fear. Thanks to her mind-reading though, Kokone hears Tsubasa figure out that it's just a cat Anima teacher's eyes reflecting light as he walks the halls. To thank him, Kokone gets Tsubasa enrolled in the school

Again, it's cute, but they aren't...solving anything? Tsubasa is deducing answers, but they're not stopping threats or accomplishing anything. I guess that's fine for a gag series, but I'd like it if they don't wait too many chapters to start showing any level of real competence

19. Kinato's Magic ch.19 (-4, Appreciated): Surrounded by Majo, Kinato disarms them by relaxing their stiff bodies with seitai. Meanwhile, Jien saves a wounded Majo and learns that Sazaku has taken a forbidden medicine to boost her power in a bid to usurp Terasu's leadership

Okay, yeah, that makes more sense than Kinato being able to actually take them in a fight, I can get behind that, even if it's not going to be a practical solution in real life-or-death combat scenarios (as we're probably about to see) I also said I expected a faction war, which I feel like I misworded - I knew we were going to Sazaku's rebellion here either way, I just kind of guessed that it would end up being the anti-Kinato and pro-Kinato factions setting aside their differences to fight the anti-Terasu faction to reunify the entirety of the Majo. Guess I was just overcomplicating it

18. Witch Watch ch.251 (-7, Appreciated): Miharu successfully swaps out Ban for Momochi, who he can share strategic codes with to even the score. Meanwhile, thanks to Ban's flight, Kanshi is able to take the fight to the top of the giant puppet

Classic good news phase, though honestly I barely remember Kanshi and Ban having a falling out in the first place, so I'm not particularly moved by their reconciliation. Still, I like the way that Kanshi's battle is resolved by both Ban and Miharu's skills making up for the vestigial Tengu traits that Kanshi lost, it really drives home the Friendship angle

17. Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz ch.8 (-4, Appreciated): To seek out the help of the Fallen Hero Mogura in the labyrinth beneath the school, Valaris and Surume hold tryouts to recruit explorers, only to learn that all of the best candidates have already been sniped by Saigo, a delinquent trying to take charge of the school

I appreciate the exposition for the power system, with the sigil abilities being derived from the darkness in the user's hearts, a classic narrative choice to explore the characters through their powers that works surprisingly well for Sorachi's sense of humor, but again, this chapter just hammers home that we're still sitting in the prologue. We're only just alluding to the idea that Class 2-B is taking charge to fight the heroes, but how far off are we from getting the Hero Destroyerz name? One more chapter? Two? Ten??

16. Nue's Exorcist ch.149 (-2, Appreciated): Returning to his old home, Gakuro meets his father's ghost, who explains that Gakuro was supposed to be raised to become Nue's contractor, but he sealed his Command Energy and memories so he'd be free of that burden. Now an adult, Gakuro is able to make the choice to fight of his own volition and reawakens his own power

Well...that was easy. I don't love how quick that turnaround was, or the fact that his dad took literally no convincing, but...I don't hate it, either Basically Gakuro was supposed to have the same core backstory as Natsuki or Shiroha, being raised as a weapon with zero autonomy, but ended up back at exactly the point he was always meant to reach while also being free to find his own happiness. It's a direct rejection of the methodologies surrounding the rest of the cast, proof that you can have your cake and eat it too. The presentation may not be the most elegant, but I want to focus on the taste of the meat rather than the fork here I'm also fond of the return to basics here; I don't adore Gakuro's original outfit, but if it means that he'll get a simpler ability devoid of all of the nonsense he kept getting from Nue, then I'm on board

15. Hal Formula ch.1 (NEW, Appreciated): WF4 racer Miharu, despite the admiration of his little brother Haruka, can't find the courage to take risks during his races until his constant poor performance threatens his career. In what may be his final race, Miharu accelerates through a crash when everyone else brakes, winning him the race

@wickedsick is right, this feels like a one-shot I truly thought Miharu was going to die and Haruka would become the protagonist Akane-banashi style, but I feel like that would have defeated the purpose of the message - that sometimes in life, you have to take a risk This kind of falls apart a bit when the commentator explicitly notes that Miharu's actions weren't actually commendable, they were suicidal, so it feels like the narrative is both congratulating and admonishing him for the character growth he literally needed to undergo Still, the core of this chapter is the relationship between Miharu and Haruka, and in that regard I think it resonates quite well. If Terasaka can find the balance between taking risks and playing it safe, living free without throwing away that life, I think this series might well be able to go the distance

14. Hima-Ten! ch.94 (-11, Liked): Seeing Honoka nervous that Tenichi might choose Himari because of their closer relationship, Himeno advises her that the "strongest" girl doesn't always win the boy. We then get a flashback of Honoka's perspective on the start of their relationship

This chapter still doesn't elevate Honoka from the lowest Best Girl for me, but I do find the way her middle school self fantasized about getting married to be quite sweet and endearing Also appropriate that Himeno's advice basically comes down to "just because you're not Best Girl doesn't mean you won't win;" in fiction and in life, romance is not about making the "objective best choice," it's about following your heart. Sometimes people who are closer just work better as friends, or one simply doesn't think of the other that way, There's so much nuance here, you really can't put a quantifiable measure on it ...That said, if literally EVERYONE involved actively has romantic feelings for each other, there's NO REASON for anyone to *lose* in the first place...

13. Me & Roboco ch.285 (+4, Liked): The boys build a secret base in the woods, but day by day compete for majority ownership with increasingly elaborate additions

I think this might be my favorite style of gag in this series, seeing these boys weaponizing their friendship with each other in a way that just ends up making them closer friends

12. Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi ch.96 (-4, Liked): To cram for finals, Kiyoshi invites a study group to the Gates of Hell, and manages to pass!

Nothing really all that special about this chapter, but it was sweet! I especially liked that when Akari asked which of his classmates Kiyoshi was interested in, no attention was paid to that girl from the bowling chapter, and then Oka showed up almost immediately! ...Which could mean nothing...

11. Blue Box ch.246 (-6, Liked): As Taiki defeats Yusa and earns his place at Nationals, his promise anklet finally snaps. At the awards ceremony, Chinatsu advises Iozaki that when his efforts fall short, he just needs to have friends he can rely on

Nice little summary of this arc's thesis, I believe basically exactly what I said last week. As I asked previously, though - where the hell can we go from here? Yusa vowed to defeat Taiki at Nationals, but are we going to see him try? It feels kind of redundant, since he's the only character we know who would even be there It also looked like that reporter said Nationals already happened, so did we jump forward? Chinatsu's birthday is in late August, so it would make sense I guess, but I don't know the schedule for Japanese high school badminton. If we are skipping Nationals entirely, we've gotta be getting close to the ending, so I imagine that we're going to have X number of chapters just dedicated to discussing their relationship and their futures?

10. Under Doctor ch.20 (-2, Liked): Upon learning of Kusumi's unhealthy eating habits, Haiji takes it upon himself to make him a balanced home-cooked meal. After the meal, Kusumi informs Haiji of a rumor he heard about someone impersonating him

As interested as I am in the impersonator, I'm way more engaged with how sweet that little vignette was of Kusumi watching everyone eat. His obsession with taking photos of people has generally been depicted as perverse, but this made him feel like part of a family, and I really enjoyed that

9. Roku's House of Oddities ch.10 (+4, Liked): Roku invites Altra out to play to get to know her better and learns that she was sealed in a dark room for 300 years. Because she's just a doll, she doesn't know anything about the world or what she wants, so Roku, inspired by a skink coming out of hibernation, tells her that she isn't lifeless, but instead has the opportunity to discover what kind of life she wants to lead

DAT'S MY FREAKIN' DAWTUH!!! ;0; Not only is Altra incredibly cute and endearing, but this was a really good moment for Roku too - we got to both learn a bit more about his interests in science (specifically biology) and see how it ties into his own worldview, making him a much more interesting lead and focal point for exploring the rest of the cast

8. Ruri Dragon ch.47 (-5, Liked): As Ruri runs away from the rampaging dragon, she realizes she can fight back with her own powers, though they hurt more to use than she would have thought. A stranger appears to explain the dragon is going through a spurt, and Ruri resolves to fight it until it calms down

I'm a tad conflicted about Ruri getting into a more traditional shonen battle when this whole series has basically been "what if a shonen battle protagonist was in a slice of life instead," but damn if this chapter didn't look cool enough to get me hyped for what's coming next

7. Shinobi Undercover ch.85 (+3, Liked): Yodaka's arguments manage to get Fukuro to admit some oversight on the Great Family's parts, but she remains resolute that allowing Kasasagi to remain head of the Uzen would spark unrest. When Yodaka objects to placing politics over the core mission, Fukuro dismisses him because he doesn't have any ties to the Great Families...until Mimizuku reveals that Yodaka is set to marry into a former Great Family through Aoi

Oh boy, guess we're really leaning into the romance angle now, huh? This should be...hard to watch, haha...Still, I'm excited to see where this goes, and the flow of the discussion made enough logical sense that I was pretty *engaged* the entire time! ...Oh god, how's Kasasagi gonna react to this?

6. One Piece ch.1845 (+2, Liked): Brook recounts the events leading up to Shuri's birth, where Candelle mysteriously fell ill after Esperia was visited by the Celestial Dragons. Sometime later, Esperia is beset by a mist that corrodes their instruments and eventually claims Candelle; in financial ruin, Esperia cannot pay the Celestial Tribute, and is soon besieged by the World Government. Brook rushes to the throne room to find that, under the effects of Domi Reversi, Shuri has killed Leuven

So it seems pretty obvious that Candelle was impregnated during the CD's initial visit and Oda just wants to be judicious about how he broaches that subject. I imagine that this has something to do with the corrosive mist as well, likely part of a bigger play by Imu to get Shuri since she's apparently pretty important to him There's a lot of mystery and intrigue going on that I'm not confident we'll have resolved by the end of this flashback, as it's clear that Brook being consistently out of the loop is a major factor. Hopefully he'll get closure by the end of Elbaph, it's tragic to think that Brook has been holding on to so many misunderstandings for the better part of a century

5. Kagurabachi ch.124 (+8, Loved): Upon hearing the decision to sacrifice Chiaki, Akemura approaches the new head of the Soga Clan with intent to kill, but is reeled in by Chiaki. Meanwhile, Hasumi loses his job helping to steal the Datenseki for Kunishige...and the Enchanted Blade Project begins

The artistry of this chapter was really solid - the forge being lit at the end was obviously a technical highlight, but a more subtle detail that I really enjoy is the sheer range of expressions we see from Akemura, ranging from sopping wet tears to searing bloodlust Giyu offhandedly telling Akemura that he could save Chiaki by killing the Mikaboshi also clearly sets off the dominoes of the entire rest of the series, which neatly lines up with him becoming the first Swordbearer after Kunishige's half of this chapter. This even creates a fun contrast with Giyu's approach as new head of the Soga, as his first words are of him anticipating manifesting the Kurotsuchi sorcery, while Akemura will inevitably eschew that same sorcery in favor of Magatsumi

4. Ichi the Witch ch.86 (+2, Loved): Having been freed by Tricaputo, Desscaras works on restraining the rest of the group under Fujimine's control. However, her shirt gets torn, and Fujimine notices the seal for her blood contract...getting her a stab right in the neck when she directs killing intent towards Ichi

It would be really easy to just put everything on any one character's shoulders in situations like this, but Nishi has thus far proven pretty good at dividing up the labor and making everyone feel like an active participant. It's almost never just "Ichi fights the villain" or "Desscaras is strong enough to handle everything alone;" it's pretty always a team battle, where everyone falls into distinct roles, direct or supportive, and giving Ichi a way to do that while he's still under mind control demonstrates that strength excellently Also Fujimine getting that big blushy smile as she puts together Desscaras' weak point gives strong Toga-vibes, I love her

3. Drawn to the Fire ch.9 (+1, Loved): After Keiki goads Higurashi into a bet to join the basketball team, Akane seems rather down. During the game, Higurashi proves himself a solid small forward, but has trouble keeping up with Keiki's deceptive style, prompting him to reflect on how he failed to receive Keiki's passes in their final middle school game

Ah, the classic self-blame game; both Keiki and Higurashi think that they're the ones in the wrong, and unfortunately Keiki's vocalization of that ended up funneling Higurashi's internalized insecurities into anger directed at Keiki. "Why *don't you* blame me? Why *aren't you* mad at me? Who said you needed to apologize?" Higurashi is self-aware, but he lacks the emotional maturity to actually take responsibility in any meaningful way other than lashing out when someone else tries to do it in his place. I suppose this could be another application of the light imagery if played right - that ironically by Keiki directing the light of blame on himself, Higurashi's own darkness is left to fester I think this is also what's going on with Akane, as Higurashi being a small forward puts them in direct comparison; where Akane was able to keep up with Keiki, Higurashi wasn't, and yet for as desperately as Keiki didn't want to play with Akane, he *does* with Higurashi. Akane and Higurashi both see Keiki struggling to be with someone incompatible with him, and they're both jealous of the other because of it

2. Akane-banashi ch.210 (=, Loved): As he did for his mother when she was struggling, Kaisei uses good humor and childlike joy to relax the audience after Akane's high-tension performance. With the crowd back on board, Kaisei uses his story's magic words to dispel their concept of Akane's God of Death

Damn, that's clever! I almost feel silly spelling it out, but using the story being told to diegetically target Akane's version of the same character is such an inspired way to convey the narrative! I'm also once again impressed about how clever it was for Kaisei to turn his story into a sequel - it's such a natural way to revisit the same core ideas without feeling like a rehash, and in fact capitalizes on the fact that the audience just experienced it. I'm with Kaichi on this one, I really don't want to see either Kaisei or Akane lose, I just want to see them both succeed at this point!

1. Someone Hertz ch.37 (=, Loved): Once again worried that his classmates will think they're dating, Mimei tries to keep some distance from Kurage, only to end up seated behind her in class. When Kurage's friends point out that her ears are red from how happy she is about it, she starts covering them with her hair

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