Reading Manga

🩷💜💙 | 29 | she/her | Anime and manga every day | Shipper of many ships

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Chapter 46: Quit Judging Your Past Self

It's been too long since the previous chapter 😭 I'm glad Ruri is back. We got a lot of nice backstory too, thank you Shindo-sensei!

Umi, you mysterious woman, going up a forbidden mountain to meet dragons and keeping the child you have with one. How did she even find out about them anyways??? She does have a lot of knowledge about dragons, I wonder if that came before or after she met them. Did she study dragons and decide to meet them, or did she stumble upon one on this mountain and learned about dragons as she went?

We also have the FIRST APPEARANCE of a FULL ON DRAGON!!!!! I'm guessing this is the dragon Ruri is supposed to meet up with. If this one is the smallest of all the documented dragons, then how big are they really??? Maybe it's not the dragon she's meeting up with and there's some trouble 👀 But I'm keeping my hopes up.

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Chapter 235: Barber Shop Skills

I'm so glad the barber is an ally. He's Yatagarasu, the guardian sent by the old timers mentioned in chapter 228! I never would have expected Yatagarasu to take on the appearance of a barber lol. He's very agile, too, except when he's slipping on the floor 😅 Yatagarasu and Aira's quick thinking helped them defeat the enemies pretty quickly, and his shoryuken at the end made me laugh.

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Chapter 123: Chiaki

So much going on this chapter. First of all, welcome, fetus Hiyuki. Wow her entire family is just as attractive as she is lmao. Also, they're going to start testing her to wield flame bone at THREE MONTHS OLD?!?!? Have you ever seen a three month old? Do you know how little and weak they are??? Hiyuki is truly an anime protagonist I swear. Her entire life was planned out at three months gestation. They know she's special because members of the Kagari Clan literally can't burn, is what I got from their description of the pregnancy. Hiyuki, you special baby you.

Also, seeing Chiaki's thoughts this chapter broke my heart. She really loves Kunishige, and Kunishige, her. She would do her duty if it means keeping things peaceful. It feels frustrating that she's being used as a pawn, but she's doing what she thinks is best for her country and Kunishige, by extension. I wonder if she has a plan for meeting Kunishige one last time, and by that I mean maybe Chihiro's conception yep that's when it's going to happen I have a feeling.

Another thing, they're willing to sacrifice Chiaki because there's a chance her prophecy will transfer to the new Soga baby??? What trash. That's all.

Really liked this page of Kunishige carrying Chiaki home after she received the powers of prophecy. Him and his flip flops lmao

Last thing, wanted to show off the handwriting from the raw version lmao. Kunishige's is so messy while Chiaki's is neat and nicely spaced. I can barely read what Kunishige wrote lmao, I have a feeling the words would be all over the place without the lines on the paper.

I also noticed the typo of calling Shiba "Sogo" in the English version. The raw indeed calls him "Tougo" (Togo). You would imagine the translator knows the names of the characters by now lol.

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84th Hunt: I Want Him

Ok, Fujimine's brainwashing powers confirmed. These pages were pretty funny, seeing everybody talking casually to Fujimine like they're old friends. I figured some of the witches would be familiar with her, but it's when they're teasing each other that I figured out something's pretty wrong lol.

One reason that Chun isn't under Fujimine's effect is that he's been under her spell before, but I also think it has to do with his hatred for her. Fujimine did say the second time is less potent, but it looks like Chun isn't even feeling any sort of affection for her.

This page scared me. So many powerful witches and majikeepers under Fujimine's control. I do suspect that the other majikeepers could keep their cool, and maybe Moneygold is faking her reaction to Fujimine 👀 That would be very cool, and maybe we get to see her magic 👀👀👀

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Story 208: The Forerunner of All Flowers

The meaning of the flowers blew my MIND!!! I would not have connected the "Kai" from Kaisei's name to the plum blossoms on his kimono. Issho really thought things out when he gave Kaisei his name. "Kai" to make sure he and everyone knows he is number one, and "Sei" not only meaning "life", but the same kanji that was passed down from his master Kiroku. Kaisei has had a lot of expectations on him since the very beginning, and even though he is a genius, the pressure must still be immense.

On the other hand, before Akane was Arakawa Akane, she was Osaki Akane. The "O" which has the same kanji as the cherry blossom!!! I love how much meaning their namrs have, Suenaga-sensei really planned things out to a tee.

I feel like this line of lyrics represents the audience and rakugo world's expectations. They've already seen and recognized Kaisei's talents, "The plum has already bloomed." They are ready for something new and exciting, something that moves them through the seasons. "But when is it the sakura's turn?" This part phrased as a question still leaves some doubt. I have a feeling that Kaisei will be reminding them that the plum blossoms have not wilted yet, and it's still too soon to move on to the sakuras 👀

On another hand, I thought Kaichi was pretty cute and fun this chapter. He's going back and forth supporting both of his ani- and ane-deshi. He's great at keeping the atmosphere lighthearted.

Yeah, this is the face of a man who's going to show you what you're missing. Don't overlook him just yet! He's so handsome my goodness. I always love seeing the raw lineart with no screen tones, the vibes just feel so intense. I can't wait for Kaisei to blow all of us away!!!!!

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Chapter 444: Yes, Sensei!!!

Yayyy more Shiida 😊 One of my favorites! Don't know how long this arc will be, but I need to know more about her!!! I don't think we've seen her communicate with the Six Fingers after she became a teacher at Babyls and that whole debacle with Atori. I hope that part gets explored in the upcoming chapters... But either way, I'll be happy to see more of Shiida-sensei.

Also, the second-year curriculum sounds super fun! Everybody's choices for extracurriculars suits them quite well, my favorite was Purson wanting to work with music 🥹 My son is so precious. Even though there won't be any major events for them, I'm sure they will all grow a lot in an environment that specializes in their interests!

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Chapter 52: The Growing Dogspiracy

First of all, I love the way Mu's face is drawn when he looks down lmao. His cheeks look extra squishy and cute and I love it very much!!!

It's nice to see Chiwako the chihuahua maintained and grew her popularity online. She's an influencer for dogs basically 😆 It's hilarious that shes sharing these tricks to manipulate your human into pay attention to you, and they actually work. "Maybe a trick will help me feel better," you ain't slick Mu-chan!

But hey, even the most mature of jibas found a use for these tricks. I also agree with what Utsutsu said about not holding back on showing the jibas love. The longer they are around and know more about the world, the standard for ascension would increase, so just show the pups your love and let them be happy!!!

I love the Hanazono sisters so much, they are very sweet. It's nice to see Hikari hanging out and asking for attention too 😭 Such sweethearts 🥹

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Chapter 122: Start

Lots of important things discussed this chapter 👀 First of all, Kunishige and his desire to forge the greatest sword ever, I think we know which one that is. He also talked about his struggle with swordsmithing. He's passionate about the craft, but knowing the swords he makes can be used for harm, and that's the way the government wants it scares him.

I do believe Kunishige wants to protect those around him with his swords. However, his desire to make the greatest sword and the government's encouragement, there was never an option for peace.

We also see a brief mention of the Kagari Clan and Flame Bone 👀 I wonder if Hiyuki is alive yet? They haven't had an appropriate master in a long time, so I'm assuming Hiyuki hasn't been training long enough to see her compatibility with flame bone yet... I still want to see just a glimpse of my queen 🥺

I feel terrible for Chiaki. She's just become a pawn for the government, the Soga clan and the Mikaboshi. This isn't supposed to be her life!!! 😭 I can also see how Akemura became the way he did. He loves and respects Chiaki very much, so he must have been livid when he found out what the Mikaboshi wanted to do with her. His young age can contribute to a lack of impulse control, combined with his talent and power for swordsmanship made him unstoppable. More so with Kunishige's shinuchi.

Many pieces are coming together, I'm very intrigued to see more revelations 👀

also appreciated this nice photo of the group before they went to the Irishima Talks. Shuuji you will be missed my boy 😭

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83rd Hunt: A Moth and Flame

Many interesting ability explanations this chapter. I was surprised to see Amadoro using Lazud, isn't Lazud one of Desscaras' majiks? Amadoro is powerful, obviously, and she doesn't possess Lazud, but since she is so powerful, she's able to use any other spell as ammo??? That's very OP, I guess I understand why Fujimine chose her to carry out the infiltration.

We also see Zayero and his weapon. He is too gorgeous, my goodness Usazaki-sensei. We see later that Minataka uses Zayero's chakram to increase his mobility, so the team-up opportunities with the magikeepers is also there.

Very creative of Ichi to make decoys out of ice. It was also really cute seeing Ichi on Gokuraku's back 😆 I love that Minataka knew right away what Ichi meant when he said "bear hunting". They're all working so well together, using their brains.

I don't think Amadoro has been defeated yet, she has an enormous amount of magic energy. Maybe Minataka's sacred pillar is able to absorb Fujimine's spell, and if Amadoro is brainwashed, then she can stop and clear her mind?

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Story 207: Overdrive

Once again, had to pause my reading to applaud my girl Akane! What a fantastic performance. Everybody was waiting with bated breath for her bow so they can give her the standing ovation she deserves. I always love the way she lets her hair down after a performance. I suppose that can be considered her ritual before and after a performance.

Hehe love that it's Hikaru to give her water and speak with Akane first after. I almost thought it was Kaisei, but he needs to get ready for his own stage. What Hikaru mentioned is very significant! Akane's rakugo journey has been filled with challenges and restrictions. It's actually rare that Akane gets to go all out for a major event 😅 The last time that happened was Asagao's futatsume debut, and we saw the first variation of her "rakugoverse".

I guess this new version is called "rakugo overdrive" 😆 Akane, you sure are creative with names. It really was a collaborative experience with the audience. Everybody had a different reaction to their shinigami. I want to keep saying that Akane has grown so much, but she's always been a genius, hasn't she? She just needed the foundations, the building blocks and tools, to really show her potential and ability.

I'm also a little mad we didn't see even a glimpse of Issho at all this chapter. Maybe I shouldn't be since I hate him 😤 Akane already has Ikken's vote if this were a Shinuchi promotion test, but what is Issho's conclusion? I also didn't register the lack of a relationship between Ikken and Akane. I guess he's seen her around (Karaku Cup, etc.) but her ability never really popped out to him?

Aaaaaaahhhhhh Kaiseiiiiiii!!!!! We're going to see it, finally. I hope we see flashbacks to his Shinuchi promotion test and see what is different this time versus last time. I know it's going to be painful, because Kaisei's experiences in life have been painful. Augh Suenaga-sensei and Moue-sensei, please have mercy on our hearts.

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Oh my does he look more handsome?? 👀 I've always thought Sanchoumou's design is cool, and now he has a fur-collared jacket?! The yakuza vibes are intensifying. I also love that he calls you "little bird" it's very endearing 🥹

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Chapter 234: Let's Cut This Hair

Based on the title of this chapter, I thought we were going to see what happened with Vamola and Kinta, but it was Aira who got a haircut. The Black Barber is basically Acro Silky's antithesis. Meanwhile, Okarun is just getting beat up by the fish guys and that sea lion man 😭 His Oni Club is no use against them, he hasn't honed his chi enough yet... Now I'm not sure if I should be worried about Kinta and Vamola. The hairdresser seems to be against the Dragon Knights', but that doesn't necessarily mean he's on our side either. I'm going to have some faith in him though 🙏

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82nd Hunt: Successors

How interesting that Minataka and Amadoro both inherited their abilities. There must be a lot of pride involved in families who have their magic passed down like that. We also have a connection between Minataka and Fujimine, but I wonder what the connection between Amadoro and Fujimine are 👀

I also love that between Ichi and Minataka, Ichi's not the only one who learned something in their short time together. Ichi taught Minataka to not give up on your goals, and now that they are reunited, they can learn more together 🥹 I love it!

I also thought it was amazing that Minataka only joined the Magikeepers 3 months ago, and he's already so adept with his Sacred Pillar! That's my man right there. He was meant to use this treasure. Speaking of sacred treasures, the shaka tree has interesting properties. So that's how they were able to absorb that majik.

Also love the color page with all the Magikeepers we know and their sacred treasures. I was not expecting Higarashi to have green hair, reminds me of Kumugi. We also have Minataka's full name! I think Takeomi suits him 😊

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Story 206: God of Death

Oh the twists and turns!!! I've been getting English-subtitled rakugo performances recommended to me on YouTube, I've also watched the version of Shinigami from "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu" (WATCH IT) and of course, Master Shiguma's version. I don't ever recall the main character successfully re-lighting his candle in any of them. The moment is always so tense with the shinigami narrating, and the candle goes out eventually.

Akane's version gives you false hope and crushes it immediately with that sneeze! Like she said: "death comes for all of us." You know that saying about death and taxes. To Akane, it's not fair that Master Shiguma fell ill, and I'm still holding out that Shinta's death as a rakugoka influenced her interpretation in some way as well. To explain this unfairness, she has to accept that it's actually fair, death is something that happens to every living thing.

I just want him to go away. Don't give me that look Issho. You think you had anything to do with this? This was all Akane. But I guess everything is going according to his plan. Just wait, Issho, one day the shinigami will come for you too.

I had to set my phone down and applaud this ending page. I LOVED IT!!!!! The way the shinigami is reflected in Akane's eye is so haunting. There was no stopping it.

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Chapter 443: A Ribbon For You

So it turns out everybody's memories of Merize were erased. Chief Marbas resigned 😭 He was one of my favorite characters introduced in this arc. I liked how he looked at things on a case-by-case basis and understood that not everything is black and white, unlike Chief Naberius 👀 We know one of the teachers, Marbas March, is related to him, so I hope we see him again!

We also see Sullivan being mysterious again, his words have to have a double meaning right? Maybe something similar happened to him and a different human, and he literally is Iruma's grandfather! But how do we explain how "human" Iruma is?

Maybe this happened many generations ago and the demon genes thinned out. I still don't think I would like that outcome though, since the whole point of this manga is to see Iruma grow and adapt despite being a different species from everyone.

I went back to the beginning to see if we ever see the translation spell cast on Iruma, I didn't find anything personally, but let me know if I'm wrong, I'm kinda curious about this. The translation spell manifests as a ribbon, which we see in chapter 430 after they finish developing it. I feel like Sullivan has cast the spell before, which is why they were able to finish it so fast, and the ribbon on Iruma's pajamas reminded him of that??? Sullivan you mysterious demon.

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Chapter 51: Paying It Forward (Part 2)

I didn't even think about a virtual performance! There is the trip to the concert venue to think about, so Reiji isn't even allowed make his way over with Kiri on his back 😭 I'm so glad Reiji's producer had trust in him to pull this off. Everybody also came together to draw and program Reiji's avatar for his performance, and Kiri is also incorporated, I love it!!!

It's fun that the avatar still looks like Reiji, but a little more "anime", and Kiri looks more like a ghost 😆

I also thought it was funny that people thought Kiri's howls were human sounds, since it's unbelievable that a dog would be able to perform like that. They're so talented together!

The color page and bonus were great too! I don't remember seeing Kiri in color before. The red and black color scheme suits them well! And the little puppies headbanging 😭 So cute!!!

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The top 5 of the Kagurabachi character popularity poll are understandable, I'm pretty satisfied. If you're wondering why Sazanami Enji is number 6, it's because a single fan bought 1004 votes to vote for him 😭 I don't understand what you see in him, but I can admire the dedication. I was a little surprised to see Fushimi too, but I know he has a lot of fans. Happy for him 😊