One Piece Chapter 739 – The Legendary Kyros

The Legendary Kyros, what an amazing man

Wow, Soldier-san, what a guy, to continue fighting and having such a positive outlook on life despite the hardships he has had to endure for ten years, I cannot think of anything else besides how unbelievably incredible he is. To continuously battle against reality itself in hopes of revealing the lies intertwined with the truth and ultimately save the nation and its people crippled by the tainted control of Doflamingo, what will and strength this man has. Now I know why the identity of Soldier-san was kept a mystery until this very chapter, because the impact of seeing what Soldier-san had to go through for ten years and the strength he displayed in those years created a set-up so fitting for the man he represented before being turned into a toy. That is, the strongest gladiator in history of the Corrida Colosseum, Kyros.

Naruto Chapter 666 – Saving Naruto

I am not have been a fan of how Obito wound up following Madara, but I love how he is giving his all to save Naruto now

What a fantastic chapter, I’ve been waiting for this moment in which Obito gets a chance to redeem himself for being such a bastard since meeting Madara and getting all vengeful. It is impressive that Obito can move around so much given what has just been through – having the Bijuu removed from him, but I suppose Obito is an Uchiha after all, one of the strongest. I loved how Kishimoto-sensei incorporated Kakashi in the battle as well, seeing Obito and Kakashi team-up once again was spine-tingling awesome, it almost makes me forget how villainous Obito has been in the past two decades. But the past is the past and not what is happening currently, right now Obito is putting himself out there and is trying to save Naruto. With the Yin half of Kurama inside Naruto, it is going to be exciting to see what happens next.

Bleach Chapter 570 – Rukia’s Bankai (Part 2)

Quite the dangerous Bankai Rukia has – colour by DEOHVI

The intro to the chapter completely shifted the feel I had with the last chapter in making the fight extend longer then I initially wanted and having Byakuya save Rukia before leaving Äs Nödt to her. I was of the opinion that the way Äs Nödt was seemingly defeated at the end of chapter 568 should have been left as that, but with some back story of Äs Nödt’s being covered this chapter, I totally love how his character was able to get some fleshing out thanks to the previous chapter and the way in which Rukia defeated Äs Nödt. The irony in having a fearful man wield fear. But in another way it makes complete sense for a person so associated with fear to be the one handling it as a “tool”. With the end of one Sternritter and the appearance of another one, who seems to also have a tricky and dangerous ability, the chapter managed to portray itself as a solid and successful one.

Shokugeki No Soma Chapter 59 – Akira And Souma (Part 2)

The battle for the top of Tootsuki Academy, what a fearsome list of contenders

That was a great conclusion to the Souma and Akira “battle” in these preliminaries. I was curious to see if Souma would already outscore Akira in the first round of the Autumn Election or whether their rivalry would extend further into the competition. I was expecting Souma and Akira to tie with their dishes, but that didn’t happen, Souma was a point short, yet that didn’t matter because the way in which Souma achieved his score created a situation in which his dish may have well tied with Akira’s. Three of the five judges scored Souma’s dish higher than they did Akira’s, so there must be something Souma is doing that resonates with those judges. Whatever happens from here on, I am glad to see that Souma and Akira still have something to compete for in the following rounds of the Autumn Election. That surprise final contestant in block A who knocked Zenji and Shun out with his score of 91 was quite the shock, I was not expecting such an ominous twist at the conclusion of the preliminaries.

Fairy Tail Chapter 372 – Erza vs Kyouka

Got to love the Fairy Tail colour spreads, I know I do (cleaned by Ulquiorra90)

So Kyouka really was captured, I was half-expecting Minerva and Jackal to show up and take on Erza and Natsu respectively, buying time for Kyouka to escape and devise a plan B for the current situation i.e. disengaging the gravity on the undercube. Well that didn’t happen but it was amusing seeing Erza payback Kyouka’s earlier hospitality. I enjoyed seeing Erza’s new requip armor and weapon, though I hope this battle with Kyouka isn’t over yet. Kyouka has been portrayed as an important antagonist this arc, seemingly the head of the Kyuukimon (Nine Demon Gates), so it does seem likely that she will not be defeated just yet. Well now that there is a breach in the undercube, it is time for Fairy Tail to push forward their counter attack and hopefully avoid whatever terrors Zeref, who encounters Natsu, has in store for them inside.

One Piece Chapter 738 – Operation SOP Failed?

The Beta Beta no Mi is surprisingly a powerful Devil Fruit

Well that was a great chapter, from having some doubt about Sugar’s and Trébol fighting potential as high-ranking executives within the Donquixote Pirates, this chapter has proved quite nicely that they are serious opponents and dangerous ones at that. Sad that the plan dwarves had prepared didn’t work out, but it was too be expected, nothing really works out as planned when the Strawhats are involved =D. The attention given to Robin this chapter was amazing, I loved how she drew Trébol away from Sugar and even managed to give Trébol the slip once he found out she was deceiving him.

Naruto Chapter 665 – The Path Obito Has Chosen

Yeah you tell him Obito! Finally you snapped out from your despairing self!

I was hoping this would happen, finally Obito has come to terms with himself as well as what he has done and has seriously evaluated it all against what he really wants. I never really got the ‘fake Madara’ development and why Obito wanted to be Madara so badly, I guess it was because of desperation (to create a world in which Rin is alive), Obito’s desire to want to ‘save the world’ and Obito’s perception that he was giving his life in order to aid a comrade. Well all that doesn’t really matter now, Obito has chosen to kick all that to the curb and abandon the “Madara” name he had hidden behind for so many years, Obito has finally chosen to embrace who he is and continue walking a new path which he has just discovered as Uchiha Obito, the man who wanted to be called Hokage.

Bleach Chapter 569 – Rukia’s Bankai

Rukia finally reveals her Bankai! – colour by StingCunha

That was quite a surprise, for Kubo-sensei to actually let Byakuya take the back-seat in the fight and let Rukia deal the finishing blow. I am still of the opinion that the fight would have been concluded better when Rukia used her absolute zero attack on Äs Nödt, it would have saved Rukia from appearing so weak for one chapter as well as her bankai for another battle. Still, finally, FINALLY, we get to see the main female character’s bankai…after so many years of hoping and wishing, Kubo-sensei finally rewards the patience of his readers. Hopefully with Byakuya breaking Äs Nödt and inspiring Rukia, and Rukia unleashing her bankai on Äs Nödt, he will be down for the count for good this time. Quite a cool chapter with some nice brother and sister development between Byakuya and Rukia.

Shokugeki No Soma Chapter 58 – Akira And Souma

The climax of the arc nears, Akira vs Souma, who will outscore the other?

What a fascinating climax this is turning out to be, for the battle between Akira and Souma to turn into one which incorporates the power and sensation of aroma within the tasting of their dishes, quite the fitting end to the preliminaries. Will be interesting to see if the risotto inside Souma’s omelet can match and even surpass the spectacle which Akira has successfully been able to achieve with his curry dish.

[Theory] One Piece – Was Monet’s “Heart” Really Stabbed?

“Yuki-Onna” Monet – by teebohne

I have become really curious as to why Oda-sensei has decided to leave the “heart-stabbing” of Monet in such an ambiguous note. Firstly, Caesar’s stab was quite shallow and only managed to penetrate a few centimeters in the ‘block of flesh’. Secondly, there is more to consider as to whether what Caesar stabbed really was Monet’s “heart”. The fact that the “heart” was contained inside a ‘block of flesh’ and that the stab was shallow suggest that Oda may have left Monet’s “death” on an ambiguous note on purpose because he may have intended to cover her later in the story, be it through the cover page story or the general story of One Piece.