… because I can’t see him surprised about Ace being like Roger. (If you remember what he says you’ll know what I mean)
So, I plan this will be the next installment in the Living Fire series. But as I don’t see myself coming back to it to retell it the same way later, I’ll also write it for the Voice of All Thingy universe.
Garp letting Dadan beat him like that truly shows how he’s feeling about the whole paramount battle ngl
These panels are so uncomfortable. How come does he look exactly the same at 8 and 17?
I’m not sure if anyone made the connection before. But when Red-Shoes Zeff gave up pirating, it wasn’t because he lost his leg saving Sanji. It was because he lost the rest of the crew in the storm that hit both their ships. I bet that even with one foot, he would have gone back to the Grand Line if his crew had been alive, and taken Sanji with him. But, he ended up losing the pirates that he shared so many memories with, and so lost the motivation to keep searching for the All Blue.
And Luffy, having suffered so many defeats and lost Ace during the Paramount War Sage, was so close to giving up on his dream of being Pirate King when he remembered that he still had his crew, even if they had been separated. It really helps drive home the importance of having close friends and good support to keep your dreams alive.
Day Fourteen has officially begun and what a sight for those who wait for the end result. For Shukai Plains, it’s nearly the endgame and it couldn’t be any more crucial for the two nations. Hi Shin Unit is now the center, so all the more pressures for them. Most importantly, their death flags raise has increased greatly. It’s highway to hell. This was an engaging chapter with an ending that left me anxious and feared.
The battle with Zhao’s Left Wing and Qin’s Right Wing is very crucial to the Centre Army; practically the most defining battle of the war. That’s a lot of pressures on Shin and everyone else; you think losing two Commanders weren’t enough? Ousen has no intention to send any reinforcement to back up the Right Wing. I guess his one word, “Hoh” was enough for Shin to receive. It’s still worth it.
Ousen wants his army to remain fresh, yet some of his men don’t understand why not send few. If that battle is so crucial, wouldn’t he send reinforcements to fulfill their task? Denrimi feels that Ousen can’t afford to do so. Apparently, Ousen can read his mind and reply back with the thought that Riboku and others would feel the same way. Man, first, he has two faces, now he can read minds? But seriously, he can read expressions well. Still scary. Anyway, it all rest on Shin’s hand.
The scenery shifts to Zhao’s Centre Army HQ as some are pondering why not send reinforcements. To them, they feel Ousen is waiting for them to make a move that would decrease their men count. I like how they illustrate Ousen as a demon waiting for any slight movement with those glares. He’s still intimidating as hell for a guy who hasn’t done one action in combat. This would have come off as the same feeling from Qin earlier. Zhao however has more of a cocky remark.
Riboku believes he is “helping” Ousen by not sending any reinforcement. If he doesn’t move, so will his enemy. It’s basically a stalemate. Both sides are fresh to my knowledge, so both are in their prime or 100%. When it all boils down, the time to move relies on Shukai Plains result. The victor will increase it to 120%, overwhelming the enemy. The battle for Riboku and Ousen is very near. I got chills thinking about the intensity.
Kaine is recapping the situation at Shukai Plains, which boils down to this: Qin lost Ouhon and Akou, no more rations, and Shin is the only top Commander remaining. That is seriously bad, but it makes a good underdog story. With this setup, Riboku has a smirk of cockiness, believing the end is inevitable for Qin. Talk about over confidence. I can’t wait to see his reaction when Shin wins. Speaking of reaction, there’s nothing towards Gyou’s dilemma. I assume the news hasn’t broke out yet. Bottom line, Shin, we all counting on you.
The battle is tensed with plenty of fatality panels and close calls. One page is filled with panels of Hi Shin Unit members killing and surviving. It’s pretty tensed; however, the real tension is the amount of death flags. You can say a good 80% of Hi Shin Unit have theirs raised; that’s unnerving. As expected, Ten is floored by multiple reports left and right. At least, she keeps her composure, despite the tactic is begging for the enemy to kill them. What tactic? All offence, no defense. Unlike the last time with no tactic, this one forced everyone to go all out and not looking back. It’s actually worse, considering their condition.
The flashback adds a lot of tension. Ten tasked Shousa and En with a heavy responsibility. They are responsible for Hi Shin Unit’s lives for those two are capable to watch over based on their specialty. That sounds normal on paper, but my God, the actual scene is Prepare to Die difficulty mode. Calling it chaotic won’t even cut it. What makes it terrifying is when Ten told them that whenever there’s a moment that it’s difficult to save them, abandon them. That is serious.
It’s not like Ten is trying to be cold or calling it quit, though maybe it was best to let her struggle mentally instead. But seriously, now that she recovered her courage, more or less, this tactic is now an option. Shousa and En have a ton of weights of their back, but they accepted this task. That tells me their death flags’ height are the highest of them all. The scene shifts back to the present time, but it feels like a mockery, because now, everyone begins to fall. So many bloodshed as En and Shousa are doing their part. It’s a serious struggle.
It’s not completely bad news since Hi Shin Unit does have its own top tier offence. Hi Hyou, Sosui, and Suugen Infantry are the powerhouse, sweeping the floor filled with Zhao’s men. They’re carrying the Unit to press forward. Of course, we can’t discount Shin himself with his badass display with that Glaive. The whole tactic is suicidal and likely raise body count three times as much, but dammit, this is the Unit. They will win at all cost.
Speaking of unit, Gyoku Hou hasn’t make their move yet. Banyo watches Hi Shin Unit going out like mad men, but it’s the only way to progress. At least he has been gaining respect for Shin; development is a bliss. I can’t say the same for him for he and the Unit is up against Gyou’un Army. It appears his death flag is up in the air as well. It doesn’t help that he also state that they will fight until they die. For Ouhon’s sake, I hope none of them dies. It will be awful if he learns his men died under his coma. Actually, one notable man did die and he doesn’t know yet. Don’t raise the death count.
The worst part of the chapter is the ending, because it leaves a really bad vibe. There’s this uncomfortable feeling with Chougaryuu remaining calm, despite of some moments where he loses his top men. It’s all good with him and there’s an underline of his words that could interpreted that he has a tactic yet to be exploited. Is there a trap waiting to be triggered? Something about his confidence face reeks of bad news.
The downfall was close to happening with Bihei nearly killed. I mean we have plenty of bodies hitting the floor, but not Bihei. Thankfully, Shousa and others saved him right on time. The chapter ends somewhat abruptly; almost like the last two pages were swapped. Reading again, it does leave an uncomfortable feeling that one of the veterans will die. Shousa looks winded, so we’re off with a really bad sign. God, I don’t like this at all.
Overall, this was an engaging chapter that marked this battle as the defining one of them all. While Centre is the prominent battle, it relies heavily on Shukai Plains. The battle was tensed but very concerning with clear death flags above nearly everyone in the field. The visual is pretty solid with very crowded areas displayed in a clear enough view. Chougaryuu remaining calm only adds gas to the fire and with the way how it was building up, we may be in for another casualty. Hara, have mercy on these souls.
At long last we get an Oboro backstory! Takasugi sure likes to get involved in one on one brawl-like fights doesn’t he? Always getting stabbed, falling, and hurting his pretty face.
Going back to 590, oh boy, i think this is one’s a trainwreck. Well this arc has so many chapters that hit you in the gut.
So Utsuro being Shouyou was a deliberate choice after all and even if he was a murderer, he showed that he wanted change, that he was tired of being a murderer. If he is not going to die, might as well live more years redeeming those sins. Who gave him that resolve? Oboro.
In a way Shouyou is kinda similar to Gintoki when Gin found Yorozuya, doesn’t he? Being an empty shell, finding purpose among the joui3 and the other kids. There’s a pattern.
But if this Shinigami wanted to break away from his murderous past what exactly happened that made Utsuro, embraced his murderous traits once more? Because the way Sorachi writes Shouyou / Utsuro’s character, i feel like they’re both diff persons in one vessel and how come Oboro, the child who gave that resolve ended up not being with Shouyou? How come he remained with the Naraku and why did he let Gintoki ‘kill’ Shouyou when he was actually Shouka Sonjuku’s first disciple?
Remember his conversation with Shouyou when Nobume was there? It was like he wanted for Shouyou to go back to being a shinigami once more.I can sense oboro’s extreme hurt as he got older and Yoshida Shouyou, this guy is such a mystery, I’m liking his character even more.
Prepare more tissues for the next chapters.
*Read some comments in a couple of forums and why does the yato arc gets a lot of hate? Ok, kamui’s character is a bit underdeveloped, but this chapter showed a lot of what he is. This chapter also established the fact that Kagura can tackle her family disputes without going on Yato mode as some expected to be. The arc developed Kamui and Kagura’s character. Sure the chapter dragged a bit, but it worked really well for the ending.*
Did Mayuri turn those four Arancar into zombies? Or something?
Also HELLLO CHARLOTTE CULLHORN, I have missed you and your antics.
