Chapter 108: Enten Vs. Magatsumi

WTFWTFWTFWTF PLEASE BE OK PLEASE BE OK PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE 👀😭💀

I never have much to say for chapters like these, everything happens so fast and it’s all well-explained, so I’ll just sit back and admire the art, and hope everything can be ok 😭

It’s impressive that Chihiro is able to overpower the sword master for even an instant, but he’s still no match. I can’t believe Enten got broken 🥺 How many times has my boy Chihiro died now? Soga even had to ask which side the heart is on, like he doesn’t even have his heart anymore.

66th Hunt: Five Seconds of Connection

Jikishirone, or should I say Mirsam/Sammy, was really cool this chapter! I’m glad we got a break from Desscaras’ painful past, and it’s great to see this side of the operation doing well. I loved seeing everyone, majiks and humans, putting aside their differences and helping each other protect their loved ones.

Sammy’s willingness to disregard the negative effects on their body while using their majik to get rid of the threats as fast as possible is very admirable of them. I’m proud to see how far they’ve come, along with Chro. Chro’s ability is also impressive, being able to stop time from so far away!

It’s always so satisfying to yell out after your plans worked out and you reach a goal! They got rid of two of the smaller octopi, and looks like Chro has a lot of them under control too, I hope there aren’t too many bumps in the road… 😭

Also, lovely color page, as always! I love the way Sammy’s eyes glow when using their ability.

Story 190: What Is Death

Here is Akane’s first rendition of “Shinigami”, which is based on what she learned from watching Master Shiguma’s performance. She did an impressive job of portraying Shiguma’s stage presence, but her shinigami was nowhere to be found. I suppose that’s because Akane hasn’t delve into what “death” means to her, she’s trying to let the story speak for itself, but “Shinigami” is something different for everyone.

Her closest brush with death is when she found Shiguma collapsed before he had to be hospitalized. She saw the god of death standing at his head, meaning it’s his time to go. Fortunately, Shiguma is still with us and Akane’s vision didn’t come true, or perhaps that particular God of Death symbolized the death of Shiguma’s rakugo. In that case, Akane has more than one experience involving the death of someone’s rakugo with her dad’s expulsion. I wonder if she will incorporate that in her Shinigami, since she’s never experienced death before.

Akane brings up the juxtaposition I mentioned last chapter. Both Shiguma and Shomei’s versions of Shinigami had dark elements and lighter elements. To grasp where each portrayal of the shinigami comes from, Akane needs to dig deeper into the story tellers’ histories.

And I already can’t wait, we get to see baby Shomei, and his dad?!?! Someone needs to keep these glasses-wearing men away from me or I’ll actually go feral.

Also, Akane is so cute in today’s color page 🥹 Her fangs, her smile, her graphic tee, very girlfriend-coded, adorable.

Chapter 223: The Class Rep’s Costume

I’m still loving Rin’s new outfit. She really is channeling Hoshina Utau, especially with the blonde pigtails. She turns into a cockroach when teaming up with Kouki. I’m thinking whenever she teams up with someone, her outfit changes, and the other person gets a costume too. The possibilities are endless, I want to see more 😍

We also have some names and abilities for these bad guys! Lantern butt is Jack Wisp, we already know his power, and the name seems self-explanatory. Bicep monk is named Vakappa, and looks like he can control water. Maybe his name comes from the Japanese water monster “kappa”, but I’m not too sure, and what’s with the “Va”?

I feel bad for Kouki, she is pretty new to using abilities and making friends. Of course she doesn’t want Rin to die, especially if she’s not confident that she can save her on her own. Maybe there would be a deus ex machina showing up to save the day? Maybe Saint-Germain himself will come since he has decided to team up with the students 👀

Everyone needs to go read Requiem of the Rose King by Kanno Aya please and thank you. A true modern Shakespearean masterpiece.

Chapter 42: Cursed Anew

The body switch! I’ve always enjoyed this concept, so I can’t wait to see how Omori-sensei interprets it with Kori and Mu-chan! The curse from Kori’s old classmate was really powerful though, she must still hate Kori a lot…

You can tell she was the ringleader in Kori’s old “friend” group, and all because her childhood friend has a crush on Kori??? He seems like a nice guy, at least, and he’s still interested in her after so long which is pretty sweet. Maybe we’ll see them more in the future and resolve some pent up feelings on both sides.

Also, Mu-chan in Kori’s body doing the scowl is hilarious. Their personalities are so opposite, I’ll be looking forward to more moments like this when they act out of character 😆

Chapter 107: This Moment

Yesyesyesyesyes THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR!!! Enten was specifically forged to counter Magatsumi, Chihiro has spent a lot of time refining his swordsmanship and sorcery for this moment when he’s up against Soga and Magatsumi.

Kunishige planned for this scenario to happen, but I wonder if he intended to go up against Soga himself. Did he know he would die before the swordmaster and Magatsumi would be neutralized??? Kunishige, you mysterious man. The fact that he forged Enten as a weapon to use against Magatsumi highlights the guilt he feels about forging Magatsumi and assigning it to Soga. This is how he’s going to repent for his actions.

65th Hunt: Libro

I knew I wasn’t ready when I read the title of this chapter. Nishi-sensei and Usazaki-sensei, did you really need to take our hearts and smash them on the ground like that? 😭 We found out that Dess was an orphan to start, and then her only family and entire clan got erased by World-Hater??? No wonder she always looks sad.

Her motivation to become the greatest witch is not only to live up to Libro and the Ikagura Clan’s expectations, but also to take revenge on World-Hater for what they did to the people who cherished her the most.

This page absolutely broke my heart. Desscaras has never made a face like this before. You can see the regret and guilt she’s built up in herself over the years. The survivor’s guilt must be insanely heavy. She said not one night goes by without her thinking about what she could have done if she started learning magic earlier. I wonder if anyone knows about this side of Desscaras.

On the other hand, I’m glad to get to know Libro a bit more. He was so adorable 🥹 And this moment reminded me of what Ichi said in chapter 4, so I had to do a side-by-side. Desscaras’ wistful look as Ichi said “magic is fun” has so much more meaning to it now 😭 It also makes so much sense why Dess decided to make Ichi her family so quickly, she relates to him, being someone who lost her family, and Ichi is like a proxy for Libro.

Story 189: The Flavor of God of Death

Ahh Shinigami, the story with as many faces as it has tellers. I really love seeing Shomei perform, the gap between his serious personality and comedic performance really gets me 😆 It was interesting seeing a comedic version of Shinigami and how different it is from Master Shiguma’s more serious, solemn performance.

The fact that you can tell Shinigami in so many ways and you can’t understand the story without adding yourself into it is challenging on its own. It makes me wonder what Kaisei and Issho’s Shinigami were like, and I’m looking forward to seeing Akane’s own interpretation. She won’t be able to let the story tell itself, the flavor of Shinigami won’t be able to come out without your personal flair.

I had to go back to Story 123 and read Shiguma’s version again. I thought it was funny that the visualization of the God of Death feels opposite between each story. Shiguma’s Shinigami looks like a silly gremlin, while Shomei’s is what we think a typical grim reaper looks like. It’s also amazing how different the settings look too.

Chapter 43: Leeep!

Oh boy oh boy, Ruri’s going through a spurt. I thought the way they explained it was interesting. Of course dragons would have organs different from humans, and that makes it more difficult for Ruri to control her powers. And now she’s going to meet an actual dragon!!! Im excited, we saw a little teaser of the dragon’s foot. I wonder if it would be Ruri’s dad she goes to meet, or another unrelated dragon?

Also CONGRATULATIONS on the anime adaptation!!! I saw the countdown teaser on KyoAni’s Twitter, but I was not expecting Ruri Dragon anime! This is right up their alley though, I know they can do this manga justice 🥹