20MinsLate

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Black Clover: Ch 76

Overall I have to say that I was disappointed with this chapter. I get that The Golden Dawn is the most powerful order of knights but they are shown to be so overwhelmingly powerful that this fight became uninteresting. Yuno will almost never be in a place of danger if he is already this powerful. Worse than that, the Kingdom of Clover is never in any real danger if one order of knights can take out the strongest foreign army so easily. Plus, why did Julius want Yami to go to the battlefield if Golden Dawn is so overpowered? 

There are plenty of interesting things in this chapter though. Yuno uses Bell’s (the sylph) powers to defeat the enemy captain’s attack which means he might not have been able to on his own. We see Finral’s brother in action and he uses teleportation magic in a modified way to attack straight through an enemy captain’s protection. Lotus of the Diamond Kingdom makes a quick reappearance but that is overshadowed when we finally see William go into action. 

William has been drawing magic from everyone around in order to cast this giant tree magic which swallows up enemy combatants. William is a monster and may have already won this battle with a single spell. While this does not make him any less suspicious it does make it harder to believe that he is really just Licht in disguise.   

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World Trigger: Ch 156

Osamu is taken out and doesn’t even give Chika enough time to get back into the safety of the wire zones. Chika fires off a “pure” hound to delay her pursuer. It is no longer a secret that she can not fire on a human target but she uses it to mask her escape. This is the second time this round that Chika has used her own wits to escape. While most her talent lies in her immense trion supply she has proved to also be a very clever combatant.   

Osamu was at least able to score another point on his own which points to continued growth. Problem is that the team still needs Kuga so much that, just as the announcers say, anywhere Koga isn’t is a weak point. This would be solved by the inclusion of Hyuse but how? The obvious choice would be to switch Osamu and Hyuse but that would mean no wires. If they replace Kuga with Hyuse they still have a strong attacker but Hyuse has an increased range which could cover a much wider distance and solve Kuga’s problem of not being able to be in multiple places at once. 

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Boku no Hero Academia: Ch 105

The team is separated by a quirk induced earthquake and Deku is on his own against a powerful enemy (plus eight or so trash mobs). 

The girl from Shiketsu quickly outclasses Deku. She is able to easily avoid Deku’s sight let alone attacks. Thing is she did this without even using her quirk. She manages to distract Deku with a thrown rock and disappear into his blind spot. She then manages to take Deku down. Sure Deku could have used his quirk to easily get out but that doesn’t dilute the girls abilities at all. Remember Deku took on Bakugou without his powers so the Shiketsu girl is a force to reckon with without her quirk. 

Shiketsu girl’s quirk allows her to change her appearance and voice. She doesn’t seem able to mimic powers but her quirk is the least of Deku’s worries. This girl is smart. And at the moment she has access to far more information than Deku does. Deku was saved by the fact that he knows Uraraka on a very personal level which meant he could see through the disguise but will he be able to pull that off with anyone else?    

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by reddit user u/OpticalSunset. Some battle strategies you might have missed. 

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Fairy Tail: Ch 499

In a move that surprised no one, Juvia and Gray are forced to take their own lives in order to avoid harming each other. Gray is dead for nearly an entire page before (equally unsurprising) he is revived by Juvia. This moment could have been moving if it weren’t for the many “deaths” in this arc that turned out to be a lot less permanent than death should be.  

Even if death were permanent in Fairy Tail this event would not have had the same impact as Gajeel’s fake death. Yes the fact that Juvia and Gray were forced to fight each other was pretty dark but they didn’t have to do it out of their own will. Their bodies moved on their own so there was no real emotion behind each strike. And we have seen this situation before when Elfman was forced to attack his sister and the guild because of Seilah’s magic. 

Next week Prediction: This chapter misses the mark but there is one interesting thing. Invel orchestrated this event in order to bring out the darkness in Gray. The last page of this chapter show Gray ready for battle but without the black markings on his arm. Juvia’s last act(if you believe she is really dead) seems to have had the opposite effect that Invel wanted. Gray will likely attack with a new magic that is a kind of fusion with Juvia’s magic. 

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The “dead” just keep stacking up as Fairy Tail’s Alvarez Arc continues. Gray and Juvia are the manga’s most recent “victims”. The tears flow as the two lovers(?) are forced to take their own lives to in order not to harm the other. Gray is “dead” for almost an entire page before being brought back by the power of love... friendship... unhealthy obsession.   

Will the massacre continue?  Will Juvia be “dead” for one chapter or two? Stay tuned as Fairy Tail only kinda kills all of your favorite characters. 

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Black Clover: Ch 75

We quickly see the power of the three enemy generals as they crush a barrier made by 50 knights. The most hot headed general charges ahead but is quickly stopped to show off another character. 

Yuno blows easily blows away a captain level enemies spell only to be chided by the wind spirit. Yuno has no doubt gotten a lot stronger and his relationship with Sylph adds to his character though kind of in a predictable way. Sylph is lively and gregarious which classes with Yuno’s seriousness. Rangil remarks about how quickly Yuno has become so powerful and William says he will grow much more powerful. This is important since it continues this idea that William has some way to determine the potential magical growth of a person and he uses this to recruit.    

Golden Dawn won’t be allowed to get all the glory for this arc. Yami and a skeleton crew of the Black Bulls are on their way. Yami says he wants Aster to see a battlefield which means he wants him to see a large battle field or war. Aster will not be able to do anything in this battle but the writer probably thought that he couldn’t get away with not having the main character around. 

Yami does still seem to be suspicious of of William since he says he wants to check up on someone (hard to see but that is the back of William’s head in that panel). No doubt he wants to see what magic William uses. After the first encounter with Licht, Yami makes statement about William not using light magic but doesn’t seem to really believe his own words. William is only seen using his magic twice in the manga. Once at the beginning where he uses tree magic to create brooms and again in this chapter when vines wrap around him in preparation for the fight. 

Next Week Prediction: Yuno has to have some trouble with the general in order to show that he still has some room to grow. He stopped the general’s attack but him being captain level at this point would mean he has little room to develop as a character. I don’t think the Black Bulls will arrive in this next chapter without Finral but Finral may have a moment with his much more talented brother Rangils.  

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Boku no Hero Academia: Ch 104

Well my prediction was a bit off. Inasa’s quirk was shown off but I thought it would be by him taking out Bakugou in one strike. Instead Inasa takes out 120 trash competitors simultaneously. I would have thought that Inasa taking out a stronger fighter that was already established in our mind would have been a more effective way to show off Inasa’s quirk but Inasa still comes across as a total BAMF. His wind quirk is powerful and he has amazing control over it. In addition to that he has a great M. Bison-like costume. I’m still sure Inasa is being set up to eventually take on Shouto but that will probably happen in later rounds of the competition. 

The U.A. crew managed to fend off the initial U.A. bashing and we got to see some interesting new quirks in the process. The fact that this group had already faced off against real villains showed through in their teamwork but that couldn’t last long (story would get boring if it did). The crew is quickly separated by and earthquake quirk and Deku gets taken off guard. 

Next Week Prediction: Inasa could be done for this event since he already passed but there is still a chance he will continue to fight just for the fun of it. If he does he will have to come across a well known student for the fight to be interesting. Deku and others will be forced into one on one fights with a few being eliminated.   

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Inasa Yoarashi’s quirk is revealed!

Inasa proves just how much of a BAMF he is by not only being the first to pass the selection process but by simultaneously eliminating 120 other examinees. Inasa uses wind to steal all balls from the vicinity and throw them back with incredible force and accuracy. 

Inasa doesn’t appear like your average manga wind user. He is absolutely massive, to the point where he probably doesn’t have to use his quirk to take out a few heroes. He wears a giant glove on his left hand that blows out wind. His right hand is relatively bare. This likely hints that his right hand is used to control the wind while his left side produces it (somewhat similar to Shouto). 

Extra Trivia:  Inasa's last name contains the kanji for night (夜 yo) and storm (嵐 arashi).

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Theory Debunked? 

In the latest chapter we see our suspiciously familiar students unleash their quirks against U.A.. One’s quirk allows him to cause things to shake by touching it and he uses this to make an earthquake. The other shrinks her body within itself to avoid an attack. These quirks don’t match our villains at all and since they can’t have more than one quirk that is the end of this theory.

There is the possibility that the villains are given quirks through One for All to help with their disguise but you would have to switch so many things around to make this work that it becomes very unlikely to be true. 

Oh well... We will find another crazy theory soon enough. 

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Fire Brigade of Flames: Ch 43

The high energy battle between brigade captains fizzles out as they... talk about it? That’s right, a problem that could be solved by talking it out is actually solved the easiest way possible. Konro stops the fight using his ability (which causes his gray sickness to react again) and everyone is given time to figure out that there most of been some sort of illusion going on. While this does make the most sense in “real world” situations it proves to be an incredibly boring way to end a fight. 

Good news though cause the chapter doesn’t end there. Konro explains how he got the gray sickness protecting Benimaru in a touching flashback battle against a very demon-like flame human. This explains the sickness as well as Benimaru’s extreme respect for Konro. On top of that we have the intorduction on a demon-like flame human which may be a type we have not encountered before.    

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Fairy Tail: Ch 498

Gray’s Ice-Make magic is out up against Invel, who claims to use the purest form of ice magic. Invel is capable of effortlessly destroying Gray’s creations but is surprised by Gray’s demon slaying magic. The surprises don’t stop there. Natsu is able to melt Invel’s ice (even Mavis had no defense against Invel’s ice) and Invel remarks that Natsu truly is... something. 

The stage for the next few battles is then stage rather awkward and forcefully when Brandish stomps in and snatches Happy, Lucy, and Natsu away. Really feels like some deus ex machina going on. The hand of “God” may not exactly be saving Natsu and the gang but it still shows that the writer got the story into a position that couldn’t be solved naturally. Would Mashima really do this so awkwardly just to set up a battle of the death between Gray and Juvia? Probably not. As awkward as this transition was, Mashima is setting up the final battle of the almost forgotten rivalry between Gray and Natsu. 

Gray and Natsu have been each other’s opposites from the beginning because of their opposing elements but besides playful battles that destroyed the guild hall on various occasions the rivalry was largely ignored. That is until Invel comes in to connect the dots. What we know about Gray and Natsu has changed a lot in the last few arcs. We now know that Natsu is E.N.D which basically makes him a demon and Gray has inherited demon-slaying magic from his father. The chapter ends with Invel saying that Gray is destined to defeat Natsu and that killing Juvia will bring out his darkness preparing him to defeat Natsu. 

Next Week Prediction: As dark as the battle between Juvia and Gray is set up, I have little faith that Mashima will follow through with it even though it would set up Gray v. Natsu. This situation has power of friendship written all over it. We will get some water works and a touching flashback. Shippers will be disappointed (we’re not getting another confession of love so soon after Gajeel and Levy).          

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Theory Time! Has the League of Villains infiltrated the other schools? Were Dabi and Himiko Toga students all along? Or is this just a big coincidence? 

Deku and the rest of U.A. already have huge targets on their backs but if this theory pans out the consequences of losing this competition could be much greater than not getting a license.  

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Boku no Hero Academia: Ch 103

The training arcs are so short but Deku comes out of it using One for All in a way that is much more his own. I’m still hoping that he will one day use a weapon like a giant hammer that takes advantage of his power storing ability but kicks will be entertaining for awhile. 

Boku No Hero Academia does a great job of moving the story through one confrontation to another. We have another competition but this time against other schools with the added challenge of being everyone’s targets. In addition to that, Eraserhead says that all their powers and weaknesses are known while they have no info on the other competitors. This mirrors what they will face as real heroes and they must rise to the occasion. 

With the addition of several hero schools we have tons of new characters. More characters are welcome as they make the world bigger and bigger but this can backfire. World building needs a lot of characters to feel complete but quality matters far more than quality. We’ve been causally introduced to many new student heroes but only one stands out as a character that will add to the story. 

Next Week Prediction: The crew is on the defensive and will be for some time. Deku will show himself off as a commander but will also be a big target. The star of this arc will be the new character Inasa. He will ultimately face off against Shouto since their powers were compared a couple chapters ago but I think we will first see Inasa take Katsuki out quickly to chow off his power and we will end with a Inasa v. Shouto stand off.      

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Black Clover: Ch 74

One arc ends and another begins. Black Clover wastes no time. We get a quick goodbye to the little water kingdom and rush into a major conflict with the Diamond Kingdom. Since the Black Bulls very clearly need a lot of time to recover, Black Clover has taken this opportunity to turn attention to Yuno and the Golden Dawn. 

We haven’t seen Yuno in some time and I’ve seen a few people online wonder when we were going to get an arc focusing on him and other Golden Dawn members. Sylph hovers above Yuno’s shoulder as he prepares to take on Diamond Kingdom and appears to have grown in size signaling that Yuno has again grown in strength. Prior to this moment Yuno was unable to control Sylph and she only appeared randomly. Though Yuno seems to have more control over Sylph he is up against three Captain level opponents along with their army so I don’t expect an easy victory.    

I do hope we spend some time with Golden Dawn (maybe a whole arc). Suspicion surrounds their leader William Vangeance and this would be a great opportunity get some insight into his character and see if it matches up at all with the theory that he is really Licht. 

My complaint with this chapter is that most of the captains of Diamond Kingdom are all characterized as battle crazed villains. Diamond Kingdom has done some villainous things such as forcing Mars to kill his friends as part of his training much like the Hidden Rain Village did in Naruto. Sure they’re bad but if there is no reason behind it then they will prove to be a very boring enemy. Plus we already have our “evil” guys and even they have the hint of ulterior motives.     

Next Week Prediction: Next chapter will be all about displaying new powers. We have to see what the Diamond Kingdom captains can do so a few Golden Dawn members will become victims of the Worf Effect to show off these powers. Yuno will have some troubles to show he is not just a marry sure (annoyingly perfect character) and we will end with William stepping into the battle field. 

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Bleach: Ch 686 (It’s Over)

I haven’t written about the last few chapters (been traveling) but I’m home just in time to write a bit about the last chapter of Bleach ever... hopefully? 

This ending makes little sense. It really seems that Kubo was rushed to finally ending the manga after 12 years and as a result we have an ending that had no chance of being satisfying to any reader. 

So what happened here? Just before the time skip forward, Yhwach promised he would go to a time where everyone was at their happiest so he could crush them there and fully destroy the hope Ichigo embodies. Some of Yhwach’s power traveled forward to that time, meanwhile the fight against Aizen and Ichigo was taking place. These two moments in time moved forward at the same pace. Yhwach was preparing to kill off the young Ichigo clone and take on the captains in Soul Society but Ichio managed to kill Yhwach before he could finish his plan. Cool right? Not really...

Too much is still secret. Kubo has had this issue for a long time. Mystery is amazing but surprise is overrated (You can look up what Hitchcock says about that). Kubo has kept the wrong things from readers for far too long. I can forgive not showing us every bankai (not really) since that does add mystery to characters in a way that is unique to Bleach but the manga is now over and we don’t even know what the Soul King is which means that readers don’t know how this world even works on a basic level. There is little excuse for that.  

Though there is still some good to be said. Readers want to know how this world works. We have been in it for 12 years and whether or not that is due to Stockholm syndrome doesn’t change the fact that Kubo’s characters sold us. They had us engaged with the manga for this long and it is a sad thing to see it go.   

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Bleach: Ch 679

Hax powers abound in this latest chapter of Bleach but what is worst is that everyone explains their powers.

Yhwach has been on this kick for a few chapters. He has been dominating the fight against Ichigo but has held back quite a bit. He seems to really want to break Ichigo down and repeatedly calls for him to give into despair. Yhwach has god-level powers but his speeches that explain every bit of his powers have taken made him seem more like a bad Bond villain than an all mighty god. Yhwach says that his power is to change the future but only the future that is in front of him. Ichigo’s victories in the past have only been because Yhwach was not around which makes Ichigo’s progress seem pointless but also suggests a limit to Yhwach’s power. 

Next hax power to talk about is that of Jugram Haschwalth. Haschwalth’s schrift, “Balance”, redirects fortune and misfortune. We have seen this in action a few times so this is not exactly a surprise but Haschwalth’s shield is. Haschwalth transfers the damage or misfortune his body takes into his shield. As long as he has his shield it is unlikely that an damage will stick.  

Ishida reveals his own Schift called “Antithesis” and it reverses anything that has “already happened”. This is oddly specific and obviously an overpowered hax power. The only opponent this couldn’t defeat is Haschwalth and Haschwalth demonstrates this immediately. Think about it- if Ishida was up against Gerard he could basically make Kenpachi a giant rather than Gerard. Ishida didn’t even use the power well. He could have given himself a fatal wound then transferred that Haschwalth and been done with this battle before he had time to use “Balance”. Instead we have a visually boring battle where damage is only passed back and forth.  

Next Week Prediction: Well, maybe not next week but if what Haschwalth says is true and Ishida’s power would be effective against Yhwach then Ishida could in theory reverse anything that Yhwach does to Ichigo. Yhwach will steal Ichigo’s power but Ishida will reverse this. This will mean that Ichigo will steal all of Yhwach’s power and, I guess, become Soul King.