Fairy Tail Chapter 382 – On The Brink Of Defeat

The imprisoned fairies. All hope is now on you, Lucy!

I can’t tell if Marde Guille is extremely powerful or if he is just foolishly overconfident. Certainly he does boast some impressive power with that Alegria spell he cast which practically almost defeated Fairy Tail in an instant but with the way he is ridiculing humans, you just know that he is going to inevitable get a taste of what it feels like to get burned by those he is grossly underestimating. Cube being revealed as some massive beast which became a “prison” of sorts for the Fairy Tail members was an intense development, but it is interesting that out of everyone, Lucy was the only Fairy Tail member to remain unaffected by “Brute Grim” and the Alegria spell. With Marde Guille being limited in how he can use Alegria, it will be interesting to see what happens with Lucy still moving.

One Piece Chapter 745 – Doflamingo’s Game

The Joker finally reveals his true colours, but will things go as he plans?

I was curious to see what card Doflamingo had up his sleeve to save both himself and the SMILE factory from being destroyed and it seems he has pulled out one big joker that has changed this arc dramatically. From position of seemingly being defeated to one where he holds a stronger position over the ones seeking his downfall, and what’s worse, he has pitted the whole nation against those he deems problematic to him and his plans – namely the Strawhats.

Naruto Chapter 674 – Naruto And Sasuke VS Madara II

All or Nothing – colour by IITheYahikoDarkII

So we finally learn what “Limbo” is…some sort of ability that allows Madara to separate himself into two forms, one capable of being seen and the other only able to be seen by the Rinnegan and felt by Sage/Bijuu Mode. It was an interesting chapter seeing Sasuke get used to his Rinnegan and analysing Madara’s abilities in order to derive a strategy Naruto and he can use to get a hit in. The end of the chapter was a shock though, did not expect Kakashi to be targeted, but in hindsight, it makes sense.

Bleach Chaper 578 – The Double-Edged Imagination

And he didn’t even need to take his eye patch off, what a beast Zaraki Kenpachi

Well that was a fitting end to the battle, Gremmy killing himself through the perception of Zaraki he had formed within his mind. It was an excessively stretched out fight, especially with the result being obvious from onset, Zaraki was not going to lose to Gremmy, but at least it is over now and we can move on to the other battles and/or other characters. Still, now the Sternritter realises how dangerous Zaraki has become and that is exciting.

Nanatsu No Taizai Chapter 73-74 – The Sin Of The Fairy King

The regret of failing to protect a friend…

A friendship twisted by unfortunate and tragic circumstances and a fate conflicted by emotion. King and Helbram, a bond of brotherhood divided by the cruelty of man and their insatiable curiosity. Each behind their individual reasons now stand against each other to express the depths of their regret onto the other. Torn asunder from the love he once embraced humans with, betrayal and torment now drive Helbram to extinguish all that he once loved. And King, with repentance weighing heavy on him, moves forward to end the suffering of his best friend. In the end, the totality of the circumstances erupt into sorrow and sadness.

Shokugeki No Soma Chapter 67 – Megumi’s Confidence

Any apprehension or dread she holds has totally disappeared…those eyes express a harmonious state of mind

Those eyes of Megumi’s when she was walking out to the center of the arena, they conveyed so much determination and belief. I am not exactly sure what Megumi did to prepare herself, but she really does look more relaxed and centered, a total contrast to her usual flustered self. Right now Megumi does seem to be in state in which she could defeat someone of Ryou’s level, especially if she remains focused and confident in her abilities (which is unique amount the current students in the first year).

Fairy Tail Chapter 381 – Mirajane VS Sayla

That is one amazingly illustrated panel, I love the effect Sayla creates when she cast her curse

That was a great chapter. To get a flashback of Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna and how they came about attaining the ability to use their respective Take Over magics, it was a pleasant surprise and a great addition to their character development, especially collectively as a family. And as with the nature of a family, when one member is in trouble, the others come to their aid. This was shown in the previous chapter when Mirajane destroyed Tartarus’s lab to aid Fairy Tail and in the climax of this chapter when Mirajane forced herself and her magic to Take Over Sayla’s macro ability and command Elfman to blindside Sayla with a ferocious attack and save his family. Seeing both Mirajane outsmart Sayla and Elfman redeem himself for his earlier actions, it was enjoyably satisfying.

Naruto Chapter 673 – Naruto And Sasuke VS Madara

The showdown of the manga has arrived! Two severed bonds are about to converge once again! – colour by 103orjagrat

What an epic chapter. After the past few chapters of having this fight built up so immensely, the culmination of those developments really did manifest in a sensational manner. Both Naruto and Sasuke in their ascended forms standing against Madara who has now absorbed the Shinju inside him, as Obito had previously done, thus becoming the new Juubi Jinchuuriki. What is interesting though is the voice Madara heard from the Shinju and the new powers Naruto and Sasuke possess. This final battle for the world really is shaping up to be one exciting climax of the manga.

Bleach Chapter 577 – Nozarashi Unleased

Well dam, you just unleashed the beast Gremmy…

I did say last week that I had wanted Zaraki to quickly dispatch of the meteorite followed by Gremmy, but after seeing how beautifully Kubo-sensei highlighted Zaraki, I don’t freaking mind that it took one whole chapter just to get Zaraki to demolish that meteorite! The sheer audacity Zaraki has to challenge a meteorite of such a massive size, and to do dispose of it in such an effortless fashion, I couldn’t help but be satisfied at how badass Zaraki (and Nozarashi) is.

Shokugeki No Soma Chapter 66 – Souma VS Alice END

Souma and Alice, the conclusion to the battle

To be able to delve into the world of cooking with such a fearless approach and yet be able to understand the complexities of cooking in such a simple way, Souma really is incredible. Souma was able to arrange his thought process for this challenge in such a reflective way to the challenge that every move he made at each stage seemed so simple to understand, yet trying to get your mind structured in such a way first is one of the hardest things to do. To be like water and mold yourself and abilities to the situation and challenge you are facing, such a feat requires immense openness and confidence. Alice may have been too comfortable in the “way” and methods she used to cook that she ended up structuring the challenge around her abilities as opposed to Souma who structured his abilities around the challenge.