Nanatsu No Taizai Chapter 65 – Hendricksen vs Arthur

Hendricksen vs Arthur, how will the fight conclude?

Well that was a bit unexpected, so Hendricken attempted to have Arthus “assassinated” during the walk to the castle. I was half-expecting Melodias and Arthur to end up clashing with each other during this arc, but with this development, things have got a lot more interesting. The Hendricksen vs Arthur match-up is quite the treat, I was wondering how strong Arthur was and I guess he may just tease us with his capabilities in this battle before it is interrupted – by Melodias and Co.? That hooded character traveling with Arthus, I am curious to learn who exactly they are and their purpose of traveling with Arthur. Diane showing up at the end of the chapter in the underground section of Merlin’s Research Facility was a surprising twist, looks like Diane and King will be the first of the Seven Deadly Sins to battle this arc =D.

Fairy Tail 371 – Fairy Tail Fight Back

Erza’s Payback – colour by i-azu

What an incredible chapter, I enjoyed every single panel of it, from Tartarus’s wide self-satisfied smiles to seeing it slowly turn to faces filled with worry, concern and unease as Fairy Tail does the unexpected shocking the conceit right out of the demons attitude. Cana was particularly badass this chapter along with Mira and Erza. I was expecting Cana to borrow and use Fairy Glitter to do something about the lacrima explosion but she surprised me by relying on her own Card Magic, which I had totally underestimated, and found a way to get all the Fairy Tail members in the building out of harms way. Was also great seeing Happy, Carla and Patherlily helping out with the escape plan – the cat really does have Tartarus’s tongue =P. Mira and Erza turning the tables on their captives was badass, looking forward to the next chapter a lot and seeing them in action =D.

Naruto Chapter 664 – Black Zetsu’s Intervention

Oh Black Zetsu, you are always around when I don’t want you to be…

Wow, Black Zetsu…he just has to spoil everything doesn’t he? After the plan to save Naruto with the Yin half of Kurama was such a solid one, Black Zetsu had to have overheard Gaara conveying the Yang half of Kurama’s plan to Minato and slither himself in a position to cut Minato’s sealing jutsu off from Naruto and instead seal the Yin half inside him. Thing aren’t looking good for Naruto and Co., especially with Madara now at the scene. And the mysterious person near Sasuke, looks like it may not be Kabuto =/.

Bleach Chapter 568 – Frozen II

So surviving an absolute zero slash…how is that even possible?

Was the contents of this chapter REALLY necessary? Did Kubo-sensei REALLY have to keep Äs Nödt alive? Did Rukia lowering her body temperature with Sode no Shirayuki to absolute zero REALLY not instantly freeze and end Äs Nödt’s life (how the hell did he survive)? Did Kubo-sensei REALLY have to put Rukia in a situation where she needed to be saved by Byakuya? Really Kubo-sensei? Couldn’t you have at least let Rukia have this win? Rukia has just undergone some serious training in the Spirit Realm and has been out of action for long time in the manga…when she finally gets a fight in which she can prove herself in and the abilities she wields, the circumstances surrounding the situation end up being twisted to force Rukia once again in a situation where she needs to saved…Sigh…

Shokugeki No Soma Chapter 56-57 – Taking Flight

The first Shokugeki no Soma character and dish popularity poll results

I love how these dishes of Isami, Takumi, Alice and Megumi were presented and the emotion and meaning those dishes embodied. The Aldini brother rivalry was a charming quality Isami and Takumi share between each other, they go hard at each other inside the kitchen and outside trying to out do the other, but the emotion driving them is the love they have for each other and the hopes that they will continually keep challenging the other and consequently keep moving forward when it comes to cooking. Alice’s dish was a spectacle to look at and the innovative design, presentation and preparation of the dish was completely phenomenal. I can’t wait for Akira and Souma’s dishes to be judged next issue =D.

Fairy Tail Chapter 370 – The Rise Of Tartarus

Sayla puts her plan to crush the Fairies in motion – colour by NuclearAgent

Oh Kyouka, I love how she reacted when she realised she may have been a little too hasty in killing Crawford and losing the ability to activate Face remotely, that being, not much concern at all =P. Still what an intensely exciting chapter; Minerva’s demon metamorphosis is complete, something ominous is about to happen to Mira, Cana finds Elfman setting the lacrima, Face is above Magnolia, and the real twist of the chapter, the Fairy Tail building EXPLODES! That cliff hanger really has me hungry for more Fairy Tail, can’t wait for the next issue!

One Piece Chapter 737 – The Heroes Of Dressrosa

Ooohh how exciting, this arc is about to get even more interesting with the dwarves plan about to succeed

What an compelling and enthralling chapter, my excitement has just reached dangerous levels that waiting for the next One Piece chapter to come out has become borderline unbearable. So the danger of Pica and his Devil Fruit really is in how he can manipulate the surrounding environment to his advantage, that being, using the very castle Luffy, Zoro and Viola are in to attack them. It is going to be interesting to see how Luffy, Zoro and Viola handle Pica. At the Colosseum side, ah, the full on action contained within induces me to crave after more, Rebecca is holding her own within the battle and Sabo completely showed Burgess up by nullifying his Surge Elbow and destroying his armor. I also love how Diamante is completely confused at Lucy’s current fighting style, it is going to be so sweet when Sabo takes on Diamante.

The underground trading port, so the climax there is about to be reached with Leo preparing to plant the fake grape within Sugar’s grape bowl. Hopefully the plan goes down as intended and Doflamingo’s real character is revealed to the Kingdom and its citizens.

Naruto Chapter 663 – Sakura And Karin

I believe in your medical skills, Sakura! Do it! Save Naruto! – colour by pollo1567

By far, Sakura and Karin were the stars of this chapter and their actions in trying to save the ones they care for are what made this chapter so awesome for me. Sakura finally getting the opportunity to perform the medical ninjutsu she is so adept in and Karin finally getting the opportunity to unleash her Uzumaki power, for those two reasons and seeing them so determined, I absolutely love this chapter. Madara may have absorbed the Bijuu he captured and transformed in the “Rikudou Sennin”, but I really didn’t care much for that, it just signaled the beginning of his defeat now that he has attained that form. I’m more interested in seeing Naruto and Sasuke being saved.

Bleach Chapter 567 – Frozen

Rukia’s mastery over Sode no Shirayuki’s abilities are impressive, what else does she have up her sleeve?

THAT was an AMAZING chapter. My goodness, RUKIA was freaking awesome. FINALLY she gets the coverage she deserves. Thank you Kubo-sensei. And I am glad you saved her Bankai release for later. Let’s hope As Nodt is dead for good now, Rukia was badass this chapter and I am looking forward to seeing her move on to other Stern Ritter. Easily one of the best chapters this Quincy Blood War Arc. I was satisfied across every single panel, especially Rukia rebutting As Nodt’s philosophy of fear with her own philosophy of science. Incredible chapter.

Shokugeki No Soma 55 – Zenji And Shun

Got to love how the judges react now, especially Natsume

I’m glad the chapters are being separated into two parts, each part covering one of the named characters in this Autumn Election competition. Enough time and focus is given to each of the character to highlight their cuisine and the strengths behind their cooking styles. Bunching in several named characters in one chapter and covering their dish would take away from the development those characters could get by the reduced focus they will end up having. This way, with the chapter divided into focusing on two characters, most of the named characters in this arc have time to be highlighted. Though this was not the case for Miyoko and Yuuki, whose dishes were judges off-screen.