WSR 2-20-17

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One Piece is on break this week

The next Jump Star is Poro’s Demon Diary by Hitsuji Gondaira. The prince of the demon world, Poro, doesn’t’ want to participate in the battle royale to get to the top, but he’s so strong, no one can beat him. Enamored with the human world, he goes there to get away from it all and finds a new friend, starting a new life in spite of demons pursuing him.

2 series ended this issue of Weekly Shounen Jump: Ibitsu no Amalgam/Amalgam of Distortion and Demon’s Plan. Both dark themed series that had compelling premises, but execution apparently fell flat for the Japanese audience. Released about 6 weeks apart, but ending the same issue means Demon’s Plan especially fell flat, Ibitsu no Amalgam ending at 18 chapters, while Demon’s Plan ended at 12

Black Clover and Boku no Hero Academia had some rushing happen with the authors, so some portions will be unfinished in appearances, which will be fixed in the volume releases

Black Clover 99

 The Witch Queen chooses Noelle to be the first victim of Asta, but as he moves to bear the blade down on her, he holds himself back with his other arm, unaffected in some way by the Blood Magic.

Vanessa pleads with her mother to let the others go, that she will stay here and never leave, but the Witch Queen says she cannot afford to allow the possibility of the others planning something, so she will kill them here.

She tells Vanessa that her fighting against the Witch Queen’s decisions only led to this outcome, her friends about to be killed.

We see a flashback with Vanessa begging her mother to let her go, that the Thread Magic isn’t as powerful as she says. But the Witch Queen insists that the prophecy about her changing destiny with her magic holds and that her decision will not be opposed. 

Vanessa thinks to herself she cannot fight this fate, but an explosion blasts a hole in a wall of the room, Yami appearing before her.

He asks her why she’s here, Vanessa explaining her plight. Yami says that he can’t stand destiny and he’d fight against it. As he leaves, Vanessa asks him what she should do, Yami retorting that it’s her decision to make.

Vanessa steels herself and follows Yami, remembering all the fun memories she had with the Black Bulls.

She tells the Witch Queen that they’re her true family, not her, someone who would just use her as a tool.

With Noelle about to be killed, Vanessa wonders how she can fight this fate. But suddenly, her grimoire activates and a new spell manifests with her strong will to fight what seems inevitable.

Her threads manifest what seems to be a cat, the chapter ending as the Witch Queen says that this is the Red String of Fate. 

Boku no Hero Academia 128

 Deku’s acrobatics around the room make Night Eye comment that he’s just ripping off Gran Torino and notes that Deku’s analysis falls flat, since as long as he meets the basic conditions of his Quirk, within 1 hour, he can see everything someone does.

Night Eye states that 2 minutes into the future, Deku will have failed, saying that Deku has been unable to follow All Might’s teachings to the fullest, especially that which says a Hero must act with purpose and never doubt themselves.

Deku says All Might recognized him and said he could become the top Hero, throwing a bookcase at Night Eye, thinking that his Quirk only analyzes his future motions, not those of things other than him.

But even as it seems that Deku might have the chance to acquire the stamp, Night Eye dodges, since Deku was his focus and the predicted movements didn’t change.

With the 3 minutes up, Night Eye still thinks Deku was an insufficient inheritor of One For All.

However, Deku points out that he nearly stepped on the 10 year anniversary All Might poster, Night Eye astonished that Deku kept that in might even while bouncing around like Gran Torino.

As Mirio and Bubble Girl step in, Night Eye says that Deku did pass in spite of failing the test, because he never said he wouldn’t hire him if he didn’t pass. In fact, he had decided to hire Deku from learning that he was coming but he still refuses to acknowledge him.

From here, the true trial begins, Deku’s test in the field directly, fighting against Night Eye’s insistence that Mirio should’ve been the successor and All Might’s will that Deku acquires One For all.

The next day, Mirio and Deku split off as a pair, Night Eye and Bubble Girl going separately for patrolling and surveillance, since the agency is in the middle of an investigation regarding the Eight Precepts of Death (the group Overhaul is a leader in)

In spite of their being associated with an old yakuza group, they don’t have any direct evidence of criminal activity, so Night Eye and his agency are seeking proof to demonstrate that they have evil intent.

As Deku and Mirio are going through the city, a girl running away from a pursuer bumps into Deku.

The chapter ends as we see it’s Overhaul, asking the girl, Eri, to come back.

Seven Deadly Sins 207

Galan tells Fraudrin they have to retreat, Fraudrin recognizing the new forms as those of the Indura, beasts only found in the Demon World that are so dangerous they’re seen as nuisances even by their masters.

For them to have done this suggests that the Four Archangels are not to be underestimated.

But we also see that even Rueduciel can hardly fight back against the newfound power Derriere and Monspiet have acquired, Sariel and Tarmiel both being held down and assaulted by Monspiet while Derriere unleashes attacks that wipe out swathes of the landscape.

Meliodas’ group finds Elizabeth, Meliodas ignoring the damage to himself by pushing through the barrier surrounding her.

She apologizes for not knowing the Archangels’ plan, but Meliodas says she has nothing to be sorry about. 

But Elizabeth still insists that Meliodas will not be hurt on her account, flying ahead of the others.

The chapter ends as Rueduciel prepares to fight seriously against the Indura, but Elizabeth intervenes, saying she will stop this.

Magi 338

Judar, in spite of his apparent victory over Sinbad, sees a giant form of the 7 Dungeon Conqueror.

The Dark Magi rants at Sinbad, saying that this fight in Baal means nothing with regards to when Sindria first fell or Sinbad’s feelings about bringing everything back to the Rukh.

But Sinbad retorts that Judar’s way of thinking, that Judar will take on the role of thinking about irrational fate and whether to fight or surrender and Aladdin, Hakuryuu and Alibaba have the role of going ahead, is something that Sinbad wouldn’t have thought of, so he acknowledges that Judar has conquered the 1st dungeon’s challenge.

Aladdin and the others see Baal fall, Arba explaining that he convinced Sinbad.

Hakuryuu inquires about Sinbad’s one regret, Aladdin saying that it has to do with Sinbad thinking he cannot be wrong, that he became so powerful by his own machinations.

But Hakuryuu doesn’t understand, thinking Aladdin’s being a bit pretentious in his explanation. Arba tries to placate them both, saying that Hakuryuu’s had difficulty making friends, so he might not understand Sinbad’s thought process.

The group arrives at the 2nd dungeon, Valefor, seeing the Eight Generals fighting against a giant monster, that the 15 year old Sinbad calls destiny.

He explains that he was challenging dungeons at this time and sought to make a trading company with his allies to found a country in the future. But destiny, which he blames Solomon for, put many difficulties in their path, even on people who did no wrongs.

The question he poses is what should one distrust and what should one trust in this world?

Sinbad uses the Djinn Equip of Valefor, seen for the first time by Alibaba.

Hakuryuu says that he’ll face this Djinn that is concerned with doubt and suspicion, drawing an analogue to his own character in the last arc, distrusting others and learning to open up again. The chapter ends on this conflict that will begin next time

Fairy Tail 522-523

Zeref comments on how Deliora, a demon he created, killed Gray’s parents, and how Gray’s mentor, Ur, sacrificed herself to stop it, so he understands how Gray could hate him fiercely.

Gray wonders why he knows so much about people that don’t interest him, the Dark Mage saying it’s simple common sense to have information about your enemy, commenting on Lucy, Happy, Erza, Wendy and Gajeel all being major players in this conflict

Zeref states simply that he desires Mavis’ magic, nothing else. Gray asks why he would want such a thing with his army and immortality, Zeref explaining that he intends to destroy Acnologia, asking if Gray would cooperate with him, hinting that his ambitions go further than such a thing

We shift over to Gildartz fighting August, managing to slice him into tiny cubes, but August is seemingly unaffected as he comments that Gildartz’s magic is interesting, but that he cannot defeat August.

Cana throws her hand in the ring, attacking August as well, August intrigued that she reveals she and Gildartz are father and daughter.

Back with Gray and Zeref, Gray is in shock at what Zeref has told him about his true plans, something even the Spriggan 12 don’t know. And he has been told this because Zeref thinks Gray will be dead before he can tell Natsu and the others.

Gray thinks he can defeat Zeref, but Zeref retorts that even if he could do that, it would mean the end of Natsu, being connected to Zeref as END

But Gray doesn’t care, thinking that Natsu being END is moot, since Natsu is still his friend and that won’t change.

Zeref says that either way, Gray will lose Natsu, but Gray says there’s a way to defeat him without killing him

Gray initiates the Iced Shell magic of Ur, but takes it a step further, adding the Lost attribute, Zeref in shock at this.

The chapter ends as Gray explains that he’ll erase himself from everyone’s memories and convert all that energy from his existence into magical power.

The next chapter begins as Zeref wonders where Gray could’ve learned such magic, Gray saying that it was when he was working in Avatar. The power of magic enhanced with the Lost attribute is enhanced hundreds of times.

Zeref thinks Gray is wasting his time, because eventually the ice will melt or the spell will be reversed and all that will have been accomplished is Gray staving off the inevitable to stop him and wipe his own existence away in the process.

Gray doesn’t care, saying that this is best for everyone, since Fairy Tail will have won the day.

But he sees Ur as he begins to faint and Natsu holds him back as he snaps back to reality, the spell stopped.

Natsu tells his friend that he can’t think of dying, that they’re friends and even if Gray tried to kill him in the past, they’re still comrades, family through their bond of the magic guild.

Zeref brings up how it doesn’t matter what happens, Natsu will perish in either outcome. But Natsu retorts that such a destiny is something he’ll burn away.

But Zeref counters that fate and destiny are things you cannot fight, as he is well aware from being unable to fight his curse of Ankselam from 400 years ago.

We shift over to Erza and Wendy, the Wind Dragon Slayer wondering if she could’ve done something to save Makarov, Erza saying he had resolved himself to be a sacrifice for his family.

But suddenly an explosion bursts forth near them, the chapter ending as we see that Acnologia has finally arrived on the scene, bringing things to a future climax of the series with the major players all coming together.