MSR May 2024

 

 

 

MSR May  2024

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoy this monthly blog, I also put out bi-weekly animated film reviews among other content. Check out my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/kyoukasuigetsu) and Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/kyoukasuigetsu) to support my endeavors. Any contribution is appreciated, even sharing to friends.

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Scanlations and official sources both have a place in the community, but buy official manga volumes to support the author. If you can, also subscribe to Crunchyroll or Shonen Jump and/or Shonen Manga through Viz Media to read chapters virtually simultaneous with Japan. Most, if not all, of the series covered can be found through legal means, so please encourage the industry that gives us what we love

 

The last of the new series after the Golden Week break is Psych House by Omusuke Kobayashi, has our lead, Kotone, a high school student hiding her psychic ability to teleport objects from classmates. But a transfer student Nemuru Suya, also has psychic powers and offers to help Kotone use her powers for more than petty theft, via a government sponsored house for research on Psychs (the series’ name for the abilities) helping to cover living expenses while Kotone pays for her mother’s hospital bills

 

 

 

 

Kyokutou Necromance 3-5

 

Yoji has Kaoru get registered to join the Shiryo Sorcery Society and Kaoru himself shows promise with the assessment for his ether levels. And his father was well known among the other necromancers, one of the Council heads, Mezu, thinking Yoji pressured Kaoru into this. But Kaoru says he chose this and heads off with Yoji to their first real mission, a shiryo at a kindergarten, a few ranks higher and possessing intelligence

 

Kaoru learns that the kindergarten is linked to a temple, the incidents more frequent and children getting ill recently. Yoji attacks the shiryo on the roof, but it turns out to be a clone (likely having already killed children and turned them into weapons), Kaoru encountering the real one as it threatens 2 more children, his bonded shiryo appearing to fight

 

We see Yoji explain how necromancy is done with the help of the shiryo and Kaoru, after seeing that the shiryo can split itself up, tries communicating with Shishi, his shiryo, who in recognition of his resolve, grants him power. The shiryo flees, but Yoji and his shiryo Chitari, defeat him in an instant, both Shishi and Chitari apparently infamous among shiryo

 

 

 

Dear Anemone 12-14

 

Kurage follows along with Hachiue and Ryuchi, bemoaning how indecisive and passive she is. Anemone takes out a massive ape creature that walks into their path, Hachiue assuring Kurage she’s not alone in her worries, Yoshio having helped him. She agrees to help find Yoshio and they seemingly are drawn into what appears to be a more modern looking area, a rabbit opening the door as they are dressed in formal wear

 

We see that there are humanoid rabbits having some kind of party, the rabbit we saw before a guide for Hachiue’s group. Rabbits on Galapagos’ Puerto Ayora were devastated by the explosion, but some survived and became humanoid, all the survivors possessing intellect and the ability to speak. And Yoshio was the one who helped them rebuild civilization, the mayor offering to show Hachiue, though it seems Yoshio is injured

 

Lievre, the mayor of the town, reveals to Hachiue that Yoshio is imprisoned, seen as an inconvenience for the blooming rabbit culture. And he has a power that allows him to manipulate the non human rabbits, forming them into a conglomeration akin to a monster as Anemone prepares to fight. Meanwhile, Ryuichi and Kurage run into Lobelia

 

 

 

Nue’s Exorcist 49-51

 

As the training continues, Nue is transported to where the ritual blades are held, the one intended for her laying dormant and the Exorcist Bureau planning to grant it to her. Gakuro’s second stage fighting Moroyoki concludes as Gakuro’s Hollow Weapon’s name is revealed, Tokoyami no Shirogane, Silver Darkness. And the person who was guiding Nue meets up with a friend, actually one of the Level 4 Spirits in disguise, her friends having gotten key information to finalize their invasion

 

  the ritual blade, the training having gone on for about a week. Kazusa is surprised when Gakuro and Koga throw her a small birthday party and Gakuro gives her a ribbon, reminding her of her dead fiancé, who also gifted her a ribbon. But Nue interrupts and reveals that the Level 4’s have invaded the Exorcist Bureau’s vault with the ritual blades. And many other lower level spirits are attacking the school, led by a Level 4 named Yoriko. While Nue and Gakuro head out with Kazusa, Yoriko is stopped by Shiroha and Shitotsu, holding down the fort in the meantime

 

We flashback to Kazusa’s past with the 3rd Division, her fiancé and childhood friend Haruhi Ohtsuki, shown to be exceptional and investigating mysterious killings of high level exorcists. Kazusa could tell something was off, but he died the day after her birthday. In the present, Gakuro is encouraged by Kazusa to not give up and they encounter the Level 4 that infiltrated the ritual blade storage, transforming himself, Kazusa even utilizing a shikigami

 

 

4 Knights of the Apocalypse 148-151

 

As Sixtus’ magic weakens, King notices and stabs Killbeggan with Chastiefol. But it was part of the mage’s plan, his blood spurting out as he plans to curse King for the sake of Worreldane, his creator. It seals King’s magic force, making him much weaker, Diane catching her husband as he falls. Worreldane, using advanced magic, gains the Drug of Yore by replaying King speaking the incantation. But Sixtus’ siblings arrive, Worreldane’s helmet removed in the scuffle, revealing what appears to be Merlin (under the power of Chaos?)

 

Nasiens, Mertyl and Tioreh seem to reconcile and the Pollen Garden bursts, King unable to maintain the form. He tries to throw Chastiefol at Worreldane after she’s taken out the others in quick succession with seemingly little more than the helmet and a few spells, but she redirects the spear, only stopped by Nasiens intervening, now having fairy wings

 

Nasiens knocks the spear back, King still trying to attack Worreldane, but they dodge easily, even blocking with Perfect Cube. King pulls out more power, breaking the barrier and heavily wounding the Chaos Knight. But as he reaches for the Drug of Yore, Worreldane is still standing up to fight. They try blasting King, but miss, their senses affected in some way, revealed to be a Venom Melagaland Enchant by Nasiens on the spear, the father and son throwing the spear at the weakened knight

 

Nasiens has healed everyone, though some have to endure the pain in exchange for being restored from fatal wounds. But in spite of things going well, Worreldane still recovers with a dose of the Drug of Yore, fatally wounding everyone again. Nasiens stands up, regretting how he couldn’t help Percival, but the Apocalypse Knight appears, having recovered somehow to fight alongside his friend again

 

 

 

 

My Hero Academia 422-423

 

Shigaraki’s control over the Omni Quirk Factor release makes it difficult to land a blow, but everyone helps cut a path for Deku to finally strike his core, that unified encouragement even recognized by All Might

 

 

All For One’s body is starting to crumble as the combined efforts have finally caught up and his body cannot hold together. But he uses his Quirks to retain some form and tries to get a new body. Shirakumo uses Black Mist and blocks Deku briefly, Bakugou intervening with Todoroki’s help and Yoichi meeting All For One in the mindscape along with the other One For All vestiges. And Shigaraki, having regained control, bids Deku farewell, accepting that he was wrong in his own way

MSR April 2024

 

 

 

MSR April 2024

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoy this monthly blog, I also put out bi-weekly animated film reviews among other content. Check out my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/kyoukasuigetsu) and Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/kyoukasuigetsu) to support my endeavors. Any contribution is appreciated, even sharing to friends.

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Scanlations and official sources both have a place in the community, but buy official manga volumes to support the author. If you can, also subscribe to Crunchyroll and/or Shonen Jump through Viz Media to read chapters nearly simultaneous with Japan. Most, if not all, of the series covered can be found through legal means, so please encourage the industry that gives us what we love

 

Mamayuyu ended this month at 29 chapters, which has become the average versus what used to be called the Under 19 club, like Golem Hearts, Demons Plan, etc

 

 

 

Two On Ice also ended, at 28 chapters, an unfortunate victim of many sports series competing for dominance in a post Haikyuu magazine, the major one standing out likely Akane Banashi (the rakugo one) which is rumored to have an anime adaptation greenlit

And Shadow Eliminators concluded at 19 chapters, meaning it likely wasn’t doing well, since that’s a few months earlier than the other 2.

 

 

We have 2 new series in April, plus one more in May, filling in the gaps left by MamaYuyu, Two On Ice and Shadow Eliminators.

 

First is Astro Royale by Ken Wakui (of Tokyo Revengers fame), which focuses on Hibaru Yotsurugi, the only blood son of a recently deceased yakuza boss. The successor is announced, but a faction favoring Shio, the first adopted son, opposes it, while Hibaru and Terasu, the 12th adopted son, seek to carry on their late father’s legacy. And Hibaru, wanting to represent the yakuza spirit, says Terasu was announced as the one to take over while he will be the shield (even though Hibaru was the one set as the new head). When he wishes on a meteor shower, the pendant he holds is granted the power of Astro. He utilizes it to save Terasu, but we see he isn’t the only one given special abilities, great conflict on the horizon 

 

 

 

Kyokutou Necromance (Far East Necromance might’ve been too wordy?) by Fusai Naba of Aliens Area. Our lead, Kaoru, learns about the existence of shiryo, or death spirits, when his grandma is affected physically and he meets Yoji Amane, a friend of his father’s who explains more. When Kaoru stands up against an amalgamation of shiryo, he finds he can harm them due to a ring his father gave him, linked to their family curse. The ring seals a shiryo that can be used to fight other shiryo, the duty of a Necromancer

 

 

Black Clover 370-371

 

As Lucius prepares the massive spell above the Clover Kingdom, the Black Bulls all provide support to ensure Yuno and Asta can take down Lucius’s real body

 

 

 

We shift over to Morris and Mereoleona’s fight, the scientist mocking the lioness in how she’s reached the limits of human capacity while he continues to surpass them with his new magic. But Fuegoleon arrives and Mereoleona gains a new spell, reviving the souls of her fallen teammates, Morris unable to do anything to her body now fully comprised of mana as she destroys him

 

 

Kyokutou Necromance 1-2

 

Kaoru Uno lives with his grandma after losing his parents. But when weird creatures appear on his grandma, Kaoru is drawn into a world his father was connected to, the Necromancers who combat the death spirits, shiryo, with their own sealed shiryo

 

 

 

After leaving the agency of Amane Yoji, a friend of Kaoru’s father, they spot a shiryo. But Kaoru can’t summon the shiryo in his ring, especially since the person threatened by it is a stranger. He remembers how his grandma was willing to sacrifice to have him stay with her after his father’s passing instead of his abusive aunt and uncle and uses that memory to motivate him. The shiryo’s hunger is shown and it consumes the wild shiryo. Afterwards Amane approves Kaoru and they go the Shiryo Sorcery Society to check on their next mission

 

 

 

Dear Anemone 8-11

 

As Ryuchi, who died by the chameleon monster before, awakens to his regenerated form, Minazuki explains she grew up on the Galapagos, a human raised by wolves. Her Adaptor potential activated when she was faced with imminent danger. The mantis humanoid attacks and it seems she might be pinned, but with her enhanced olfactory senses, she notes a moment of weakness and tears his head off, showing her power

 

 

 

Minazuki tricks Kurokawa into thinking she defeated the mantis monster, so her own abilities are still secret. Meanwhile Lobelia reveals she can produce a highly potent toxin, seemingly weakening Anemone and leaving Hachiue severely wounded.  We learn Lobelia made the honey badger and mantis monsters and even reverted Anemone to the flower form. Someone took Anemone away after Lobelia crushed the flower (possibly Hachiue’s friend Yoshio). She moves to take down Anemone, but Hachiue, more linked to Anemone and using more plant powers, shields him

 

Lobelia flees after Hachiue pins her briefly and Minazuki and Kurokawa arrive soon after, The group finds the data, though it being in Japanese confuses them, indicating there’s more behind the scenes regarding the experiments

 

Ryuchi meets back up with the group after Kurokawa hits him, mistakenly thinking he was an attacker. With the data in hand, everyone just has to wait until the ship returns in a month. Hachiue and Ryuchi decide to keep exploring, while the other 2 stay behind. And the boys meet up with Kurage, another member who seemingly died, but now has been revived and likely possesses jellyfish abilities via adaptation

 

 

 

Shadow Eliminators 17-19 [END]

 

While Togami and Nagito defeat Zen’s 2 generals, Aine isn’t so lucky against Zen, his power too much. She tries one more desperate move and it buys enough time for Aoba to appear, having conquered his Kasane and grown much stronger

 

 

 

The fight between Aoba and Zen begins after Aoba eliminates the giant Kasane, then promising to defeat his older brother for all the suffering he caused while he sat by passively. Their clash leads to Zen’s defeat, but Aoba disappears as the skull from the Otherworld takes him away abruptly

 

2 years have passed and the culture festival is in full swing, Asakaze the president of the committee. He intervenes when a lost kid starts to shows signs of a Kasane invasion. Aine lets slip that Kuromori actually is in the Physical World, Aoba telling Asakaze that Zen let the skull take over his body, and we see that he’s still trying to turn everything into Kasane as his plan was before. And the two continue their adventures into the future

 

 

 

 

Nue’s Exorcist 45-48

 

Nue explains that she needs to train Gakuro and through some white lies, pushes Kazusa to ask Gakuro to train together. Shitotsu and Shiroha will also be involved, everyone wanting to get stronger for the upcoming fight

 

 

 

Gakuro’s training is to master Xenoblade, while Shitotsu, Shiroha and Kazusa are all dealing with their own trials under Nue, the living space more a formality for the overall training experience. The standards are difficult, but Gakuro persists, he and Kazusa having awkward interactions, Kazusa seemingly more casual in spite of the prior indications she might have a crush on Gakuro. And Nue plans to go to the Exorcist Bureau, who are concerned about the Level 4 group’s abilities

 

Kazusa is apparently nervous, hiding it well and when Koga, along with Machida and Tsujita in other training areas, is pulled into the process, subtly hinting something about Kazusa’s past. But everyone jumps into their training and we see improvement, Shiroha unlocking more of Kyokotsu’s power. Afterwards Koga tells Gakuro that Kazusa lost a captain she admired in the past (possibly Gakuro’s father?). The next day, Gakuro is tasked with fighting Moroyoki

 

As the training begins, Moroyoki says he’s going to push Gakuro to the brink, since he’s technically still imprisoned and plans to eliminate Gakuro for associating with Nue. But Gakuro’s strength impresses him and they clash their Hollow Weapons to strengthen Gakuro’s , Moroyoki already at the highest stage with Soul Armor. Meanwhile Nue goes to the Exorcist Bureau. Kazusa explains her past to Gakuro, how she was betrothed to the captain mentioned before. He eventually died and she became closed off to making close friends, sharing that with Gakuro leading to them holding hands

 

 

 

4 Knights of the Apocalypse 144-147

 

Nasiens arrives to stop Mertyl, but even after detoxifying him with a needle infused with his magic, the curse or magic still makes him attack Nasiens. King appears to stop his son, realizing he’s being manipulated as Killbeggan and his allies are scared away when Chastiefol’s massive bear form looms over them. And Nasiens, in spite of his broken arm from Mertyl, tries to get up, Percival’s magic appearing above them

 

 

 

Mertyl rages more with Killbeggan’s magic still affecting him, Diane forced to confront him, while Sixtus and King deal with Killbeggan and his minions. King’s Chastiefol allows him to deal with Killbeggan’s magic, still not as powerful as Merlin (ironic since he replaced Merlin in Camelot), Diane ready to endure Mertyl’s anger and Sixtus approaching the minions at the tree

 

Killbeggan tells King the curse on Mertyl is powerful enough only the Drug of Yore can cure it. Meanwhile, Diane takes Mertyl’s rage, while Zena and Zilian, the two giantess daughters, bring Gideon, Diane’s Sacred Treasure. Diane refuses, walking towards Mertyl, eventually embracing her adoptive son. She explains how they were sad about losing their child, but saw the need to care for this child swapped in its place. King even gave Mertyl the drug of Yore, but it didn’t work, unable to transform him. Yet all of Mertyl’s siblings recognize him as their brother regardless

 

In the aftermath, Mertyl’s vulnerability to the Fairy Forest atmosphere resumes, Nasiens and Tioreh unable to get out of King’s Pollen Garden barrier. Sixtus is overpowering his foes, even as they merge. But then he’s injured by the intervention of Worreldane, the White Knight, who impales Sixtus, saying that he also doesn’t like to bully the weak, but will in this case

 

 

 

My Hero Academia 419-421

 

We learn All For One manufactured the situations leading up to Shigaraki’s present situation, particularly that his own innate Quirk was replaced with a modified form of Decay, only meant to create destruction, which would further seed his hatred to take down One For All in the future. Deku is pushed out into the present, losing both his arms in the process. But thankfully others in Class 1-A arrive to help and Aizawa as well via Kurogiri’s portal

 

 

 

Aizawa and Present Mic struggle to get Kurogiri to warp them, apparently winning him over offscreen. They get assistance from other Heroes, dealing with the straggling problems in the process, resuming where we left off at them helping Deku, including Eri’s horn, which restores Deku’s arms

 

The unified front stands against All For One’s assault, Deku still the main target even though he only has embers of One For All at this point. Everyone encourages him to press on