Board 8 > Tom reads through the Bolo Family Manga Collection (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Blood+ Vol. 3
https://imgur.com/a/DSId8ia

Apparently Charles wants to recreate whatever it was that happened here thirty years ago. Apparently Saya and Hajji are themselves Chiropterans? And Saya blames herself for their existence. Also turns out that Carl the Cheavlier becoming Charles the.....not-Chevalier was part of an experiment. Van the Sidekick turns on Charles, but Riku takes the bullet for him. Saya is able to save him (THEY FINALLY USED A PRONOUN) with some of her blood, but that means Riku will become a Chevalier. (like Haji, apparently) And Charles lets Saya kill him.

Diva appears in the flesh! She refers to Riku and Haji as "candidates for her bridegroom" and looks to be going the yandere route. Or maybe just yan. Saya pushes away Kai and takes Riku to join Red Shield. She also accuses Haji of not having his heart in living and fighting.

Kai holds the director of Red Shield at knifepoint for answers, and gets the full Saya backstory. She is one of two humanoid lifeforms that showed up with a mummy in 1833. Saya was raised with people, and the other was kept locked away in a tower. Anshel, who is one of the villain types, shows up in this flashback, as does Haji. Saya and Diva are able to covertly talk through a door, and Diva urges Saya to get rid of Haji like she did the other servants. However, Haji wins her over through hard work and sacrifice (a smooch occurs!). But Saya has been burned before by servants calling her a monster when they find out about her healing abilities, and Diva is pretty jealous about Saya interacting with anybody else. Anshelm conspires with Diva to get rid of Haji without tipping off Joel, (a name passed down to the directors of Red Shield, and the guy leading the experimentation with Saya) which leads to Diva sticking her hand through Haji's torso with a smile. Almost made that today's pic but decided I didn't wanna mess with stuff that graphic on gamefaqs. (...or my work internet >_>) Anyway, Saya gives him the mouth to mouth blood at Joel's direction, which will save Haji and make him a Chiropteran. Or Chevalier. I think all Chevaliers are Chiropterans, but Saya and Diva are the only OG Chiropterans and therefore not Chevaliers? And there are a buncha synthetic ones now or something? Saya finds Diva mid-killing spree, and loses control. Lotta dead people, including Joel, who with his dying breath implores Saya to kill Diva.

Back to now. Red Shield was founded in order to wipe out the Chiropterans...including Saya, who intends to kill herself after Diva. Solomon is calling Anshelm (the same one?) big brother. There's a theory that Chiropterans can only mate with Chevaliers not of their own making, and they want to test this with Diva and Riku. That'll suck for the main character ship...o ya go my Kai. More importantly, Anshelm has POINTY TEETH. Diva shows up at the end so that's probably not good news.

Overall: 7/10
Oh good, it's backstory! So....basically vampires. Not really my first choice, but things are still going pretty okay.
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Write-up will be short and late today because I am afk but here's the pic
https://imgur.com/a/4tsD86x
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Blood+ Vol. 4

Man I'm tired and most of this I read eight hours ago so bear with me

We get a lot more Diva in this volume- she's just as crazy a yandere as you'd expect after being locked up and experimented on all her life. She and Anschel want to make the whole world into Chiropterans by distributing some synthesized form of her blood through food, and activating it with her song. Coincidentally said song also puts Saya in a berserker rage, but it is nothing that a PARTICULARLY EPIC HEADBUTT from Kai can't fix. Riku is having a lot more trouble accepting Saya's true nature than Kai did, partially because he was friends with Charles and Saya killed him. Solomon appears to be planning some sort of coup, partially by manipulating Riku with one of the synthetic Chiropterans. (all of whom look like Charles)

There's just a lot of rising character-based tension going on. Saya doesn't want anybody to get close because she might hurt them, but both Kai and Haji are determined to be there for her...and both seem to be into her, while Red Shield ultimately views her as more of a tool than anything. Riku is just kinda weirded out by everything, and I don't even know with the bad guy side. Diva just wants to be with Saya, and Saya wants to kill her.

My rating: 7/10
"Buildup" seems an odd way to describe a volume built around the big confrontation between the lead and the villain, but here we are.
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looks like the THRILLING CONCLUSION today? last one before we get into spinoffs at any rate
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not feeling it today but TOO BAD CLIMAX TIME

side note how do I actually get image posting to work I have copied several different links and none of them do the thing it is allegedly supposed to do

Blood+ Vol. 5 (of 5+)
https://imgur.com/pSDcmtG

I'm told this is actually the ending so hey that's nice! Three months after we last saw the gang, Kai has aged about eight years visually and joined Red Shield, which is trying to keep the synthetic chiropterans under some degree of control and track down Saya. They have weapons that can paralyze them, but not kill, and we don't know if it works on the originals or chevaliers at all. David gets in a pinch because he's a special forces guy who forgot to turn off his ringtone. Saya shows up and makes the save, but the timeskip has not been kind.

Kai is understandably upset that Saya (and/or Haji) is keeping him away, and she reiterates for the dozenth time that she is gonna wipe out the Chiropterans, including herself. (and Haji and Riku, coincidentally) Her facade does crack when she's alone with Haji, though. Turns out Saya might be entering a hibernation phase soon, and indeed she has some trouble with the next wave o'baddies to attack. The save is made by...Solomon and Riku, oddly enough. Solomon proposes to Saya because I guess the whole mating experiment hasn't been going fast enough for him. Saya's not buying it, but recruits him to help out against Diva. The question is raised of what Anshel's motivation even is, since Chiropterans need human blood to drink, but he has a plan to have her make her worldwide broadcast opera debut...which will of course trigger a bunch of people who have been eating the secret vampire drugs.

There's a lot of talk about wanting to live and wanting to die and wanting to kill and a will of your own. Somewhere in there Riku throws his little shota hat in the Saya ring because this wasn't a weird enough reverse harem already. Haji appears to have a plan- Saya can only die with use of Diva's blood, so if Diva's dead, then.....? I'd like to take a moment to appreciate how often western opera shows up as a plot device or setting in Japanese media. Riku appears to be trying to save them by saving Diva. This is gonna be a right mess! We break out into Solomon v. Anshel, Riku v. Van Van The Sidekick Man, and Diva already does the thing before Saya can get to her. Also Haji hellmurders one of the last surviving unimportant named bad guys. Anschel goes over Solomon, surprisingly, and reveals his plan to proceed to wipe out all the chevalier so he can be alone with Saya and "the beasts."

Diva gets Saya on the ropes, but hesitates to deliver the coup de grace. And then...the previously-too-minor-to-be-named-in-the-writeup Nathan gives Saya the ol' Sephiroth. Except what he's really accomplishing is killing Diva with Saya's blood. Diva crumbles away and Nathan gets hellmurdered much more thoroughly this time by a raging Saya. Haji and Kai work on talking Saya out of suicide, and Haji gets a kiss. Anshel arrives with one of the most glorious reaction faces I've ever seen. BTW we're nuking the opera house, so Haji stays behind to fight Anshel while we get Saya out of there.
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Epilogue. Saya is reunited with her family. Solomon and Van are hanging out in a....van, wherein Solomon decides to let Van experiment with ways to kill him. Riku is a member of Red Shield, hunting down the straggler Chiropterans and remaining forever a shota. Kai gives Saya a symbolic haircut. Haji is conspicuously absent. Saya goes into hibernation. Five years later...a single blue rose appears on Saya's resting place.

My rating: 7/10
This is one time where I actually wanted the fights to last a bit longer! Felt like we were kinda cramming everything in.

Overall rating: 7/10
Probably not something I would actively seek out, but I enjoyed it well enough all the same. If we have to do vampires, I'm glad we did them rather interestingly, and interspersed some lighter stuff at appropriate times. (side note: we got some rather oddly timed fanservice sprinkled throughout) I count at least four different blood+ related things being advertised in the back of the book. Two of them are up next, which is why I'm not doing discussion or hints or anything formal like that!
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Alrighty, so now we're on to Blood+ Adagio, I guess, which appears to be set in Rus-HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER

Afterschool Charisma Vol. 1 (of 10 IIRC)
https://i.imgur.com/PIDI0hN.jpg?1
By: Kumiko Suekane
Whose fault: Wifebolo

All I know about this is it involves highschool clones of historical figures or something like that ("shota Hitler" was mentioned) and Wifebolo cackled evilly when she found it tucked away in a box somewhere and presented it to me. An auspicious start if ever there was one! I'ma just pretend this is another Fate spinoff. I'm digging this presentation though, got a dust cover and cool cover art and a couple color pages and everything.

We're all sad that Marie Curie transferred out. A flashback informs us that she just wanted to play piano and not be Marie Curie- thus she is my new waifu. Shiro Kamiya appears to be our main character- he's the director's kid and the only one who's not a clone, presumably. Also makes him the only one with actual family. After he approached the director with Marie Curie's feelings, she was told she was going to transfer to a music school, then disappeared rather abruptly and not ominously at all, nope. Freud says a bunch of vague creepy things. Hey, Clone Kennedy is running for presid-whoops he got assassinated we'll have to start over with that one. And Marie Curie too. Not ominous at all nope.

Napoleon is really tall for some reason, Mozart looks like he stepped out of From Eroica With Love, and I don't actually know an Ikkyu but there's one of him too. Marie Curie looked up to Mozart but he's too good for her and especially for normal people like Shiro. We suddenly get tired of Shiro and Freud being catty with each other, so we lock them in the girls' locker room for some gratuitous fanservice. I don't even have the girls all straight yet and I'm already seeing their boobs. <_< This does serve a purpose of introducing some heavy-duty security dudes though. Somebody is out to kill clones, and it also looks like Daddy-O Kamiya and Kuroe The Other Guy are mixed up with some pretty shady types. We continue to get hints that Marie Curie was probably "transferred" to a recycling bin or something.

(Queen) Elizabeth wants to be domestic, and Freud manages to figure out that there are assassins trying to wipe out all the clones. After a random (sexy) Marie dream, Kamiya starts training to challenge Mozart to a fencing match for Marie's honor. It devolves into a beatdown after Kamiya accidentally scratches Mozart's face. Just once I'd like to see Mozart (or some other composer) not be a big ol' d-bag in one of these types of stories. He's not much better in Amadeus or Fate, and Classicaloid was....we don't talk about Classicaloid.

The fabled Shota Hitler makes his appearance. He's a nice guy who has bonded with Kamiya over their outcast status. Hitler gives Kamiya a little good luck charm of Dolly the sheep, which upsets Joan of Arc because Edison made those for clones. Freud gets caught probing into Kennedy Assassination 2: Electric Boogaloo, but covers it up with racy pictures. Heh. Einstein brings Kamiya to some sort of weird cult meeting where clones are praying to Dolly and hypnotizing themselves with mirrors. Freud thinks this is a crock and Rasputin and Himiko are dumb.
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But Einstein and Hitler got the weird mirror circle to accept Kamiya. (I guess I should really call him by his given name of Shiro...wonder if there is a KURO OH NOES) Also, Joan dropped her mirror, freaked out, and was given some sort of drink. Kinda thought she was gonna keel over but she seems to be alive still. Mozart's under a lot of pressure, (as is everybody really- they've been pushing that theme all book) and lashes out when Shiro and Hitler reach out to him. He has them come to his room to see what being a clone is all about, and there he has hung himself. Second suicide by hanging in my media choices today and it's not even dinnertime yet. "Dolly's Curse" is invoked, hm.

Then there's a random comic afterstory about boobs.

My rating: 8/10
Getting some real Dangan Ronpa vibes from this one, and that's a good thing except for one particular parallel in my book. I dunno if these last few manga have just been particularly weird about fanservice or I'm just getting older and less interested in it/more inclined to notice how shoehorned it is. >_> They do have me intrigued for the future though! Which is good because this is a long'un.
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This seems....weird.
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You ain't wrong!
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Afterschool Charisma Vol. 2
https://imgur.com/a/wHH9Ikt

We open on a MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN MEETING where they discuss their next step. It's kinda hard to track the dialogue because none of the faces are shown, but we establish that they're probably gonna try something at the upcoming school expo, and that our intent is to kill all clones. (although based on a couple lines they might be clones too? That would make sense as a motive I suppose) Mozart apparently survived his suicide attempt, prompting more conversations about the protective power of the Almighty Dolly. During one such, Himiko gives one to Elizabeth, and insinuates that it can backfire if the charm isn't treated well. It might be notable that she didn't give one to Florence, who was also there. Looks like Team Mysterious Villains is behind the whole Dolly thing to some extent. Side note: Kuroe the sidekick appears more compassionate towards the clones than Kamiya the Dadboss. That'll probably cause some conflict before too long.

There seem to be competing interpretations of whether Dolly cursed Mozart or saved him. We're still talking about it a lot. Rockswell, the weirdo director of the school, makes his debut by parachuting out of a helicopter onto campus...failing to land before his adopted daughter Pandora with his pilot Sasha. Nobody likes this guy and he doesn't care at all that Mozart is suicidal. Dr. Kamiya and Kuroe are aware that the Dollies are bugging devices, but don't tell Rockwell. Rockswell's boredom is now Shiro's problem because the clones have to get ready for the expo. BTW Rockswell is a stereotypical pervy bi.

Joan tells Napoleon that the Dolly has revealed to her that something might happen to him. There's weird romantic tension and she gives him one. (he was a holdout against this whole thing) Hey it's time for the Dolly Cult meeting, now with Shiro in attendance and the rest of the gang trying to eavesdrop. Rasputin proposes burning Joan of Arc at the stake at the expo to prove that destinies can be changed. Consensus is that this is a bit spooky. Y'don't say. Joan strips to panties only and solemnly accepts this duty. After a few pages we clarify that we're not ACTUALLY going to kill her (hopefully), just ritually sacrifice her in a relatively safe fashion. No doubt. Napoleon decides to infiltrate the cult and asks to be the one to light the fire. Mozart is acting even weirder than before and laughing at everybody, causing tension with Hitler and the other Dolliers. Dollites. Dollians. weird sheep people.

Einstein and Rasputin (I think?) report to Rockswell that they are convincing people that Dolly will save them. Rockswell was asked by somebody to get the Dollies going, and the two he's talking to will be allowed to leave the school after the expo as a reward. Somebody who looks like Shiro (minus the identifying ahoge) shows up and calls Pandora "Marie Curie."

My rating: 6/10
Kinda tired of hearing about THE ALMIGHTY DOLLY!!!!111eleventy!, but still interested overall.
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I didn't just grab two new ones at barnes and noble I can quit whenever I want
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Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 3

(Note from last time: People at this fancy festival thing are talking about buying clones, so that's probably what's happening to them when they leave. Super!)

Mozart gets his issue's quota of creepiness in before a flashback to what happened after the end of last volume. Not-Shiro (...I'm gonna call him Kuro until he's introduced formally) is a clone and graduate of this school, who now...researches cloning. He introduces himself as Kai (rats, I barely got to use that joke at all) and says that he doesn't know whose clone he is, but he assumes he IS one because he met ANOTHER guy that looked like him. He's unaware of any specific connection to Shiro, or any family he might have.

Flashbacks intensify to when Shiro first transferred in to cloneschool. His dad was starting to work for the organization at that time. Also Shiro doesn't know his mom.

Rasputin and Himiko meet in the Sheep Clone Club Room to talk about how he's leaving tomorrow and embrace. Napoleon sees them- apparently they're not openly a couple. Rasputin tells Himiko she doesn't need the Dolly anymore, and tosses it away. That'll probably go well for him. Rockswell confirms that Pandora is another Marie Curie, and appears to be trying to get them to hook up, even though she's like five and I doubt crushes transfer to different clones >_> When Shiro doesn't jump her bones, Rockswell chokes her within an inch of her life- if she's not Marie Curie, she's not needed here. That, uh, escalated quickly. Rockswell gives a heel turn monologue about clones not being people or individuals, and implies that Shiro is a clone as well, but lets him draw that conclusion himself. Pandora Curie stays behind when he leaves- smart kid.

Kai and his entourage off a few security guards, allowing reinforcements to para-drop into the school under cover of night. One of them might be another lookalike. Morning comes and we find him dead in the woods. Rockswell appears to have had ties. Also it's the day of the festival, so time to burn Joan at the stake for reasons I still don't follow. Hitler might be up to something here too.

At a meeting, Kuroe proposes calling off the festival, but Rockswell and Kamiya instead agree to a scaled down version that takes place just in the auditorium. Remember kids, the best defense against terrorists is to all crowd together in the same spot! Kamiya himself is brought up as a potential target in addition to the kids. Interesting.

Ikkyu bemoans his inability to do his comedy routine in the scaled-down version of the expo. I guess the original was a bastard of the emperor who became a monk, or something? Anyway he decides it's time to speculate about the nature of the clones. Since a lot of them don't actually have the means to build on their original legacies (IE Elizabeth has no country, and Napoleon no army) then he proposes that they have been given a new life because of their previous good deeds. At this point Hitler enters the room, so never mind that theory.

Shiro is almost as unhinged as Mozart at this point. Kamiya brings both of them to a secret room, takes the Dollies, and locks them in there (along with Pandora). Elizabeth, Florence Nightingale, and Ikkyu form the Numbnuts/Bonkura, Afterschool Charisma Chapter. For his presentation, Rasputin exposes the Sheep Cult as his experiment on the student body, and calls them all idiots for going along with it. Hitler and Joan take this particularly poorl-HEY IT'S A BOMB
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The security team is prioritizing the guests over the clones just in case you didn't get the memo that nobody actually gives a crap about the kids. Except Kuroe. Most of the major characters are accounted for after the blast, but Florence and Ikkyu go back in to help the wounded. Napoleon goes looking for Joan and runs into a black haired guy who calls him "me." Shiro dives further into a breakdown, Mozart dives further into nihilistic giggles, and Pandorie Curie tries to keep everybody together with her loli powers. Napoleon Alter puts the boots to Napoleon and reveals that there are several generations of clones before this group. He appears to have a mentality that none of them should exist and he's doing themselves and the world a favor by going the murder-suicide route. He should hang out with Saya from the last manga.

Meanwhile, another Nightingale shows up, and is about to kill our Nightingale before Kuroe makes the save. It's short lived though as another clone group gets the drop on him. Kuroe just wants to resolve all this peacefully, but it looks like this whole group shares the mentality of wiping themselves and the rest of the clones off the map. THAT group is in turn blown away by security guards. Geeze. Hitler is still hung up on the Sheep Cult. Einstein makes a break for it and is (presumably) gunned down offscreen by Einstein Alter. Joan is running around with a long-haired Joan that claims to want to save her. Rockswell comes down to retrieve Shiro from the safe room so he can witness stuff.

My rating: 8/10
Boy that went off the rails in glorious fashion! Also the girls kept their clothes on this time around, which I don't hate. This is back squarely in the Dangan Ronpa vibe, and I am looking forward to whatever sorta clone-related shenanigans are about to ensue.
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This is definitely something. Maybe it's easier to follow in the manga.
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It hasn't been super hard to follow for me but I suspect that will change now that we have several versions of the clones running around.
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I can also try to clarify if there's a specific point of confusion!

Afterschool Charimsa, Vol. 4
https://imgur.com/4RCpfjb

Hey, they finally started doing the character/plot summary thing at the beginning like most manga! Rockswell continues to twirl his villain mustache, but also mentions that Kamiya "brought [Shiro] back." Elizabeth is found by somebody. Einstein is confirmed dead. Napoleon Alter (probably) kills Napoleon. (Imma keep calling these recently introduced versions "Alter" for clarity and because the Fate parallel amuses me. However, I will resist the urge to call Pandora "Marie Curie Lily.") Joan Alter tells Joan that the Dolly charm is a bug and a tracker. Joan Alter appears to be the only member of this "Strikers" group that isn't interested in wiping out clones- Joan is still alive, so let's build a new life unrelated to that destiny. A shadowy dude accosts Kamiya, then reveals as...I think an older Shiro Alter (1) is what they're going for. He knows that he probably can't actually kill all the clones, but stirring up trouble around them will suffice. Another dude (2) is the one who found Elizabeth, and I guess they're both supposed to be Shiro Alters. This wasn't already confusing enough. A third Shiro Alter (3) with some backup catches the Joans. Kamiya somehow turns the tables on his Shiro Alter (1), who kills himself. Shiro Alter (2) kisses Elizabeth. Napoleon manages to kill Napoleon Alter, but collapses immediately after.

The Strikers have control of the premises, and Shiro's group shows up just in time for both Joans to be at the stake, with Kai leading the proceedings instead of Rasputin as originally planned. Kai drenches himself in oil because the only liberation for a clone is death. He's gonna burn himself AND the Joans I guess...but somebody shoots him...and then that triggers the fire anyway. Hitler and Mozart are both pretty far gone mentally at this point. The guards apprehend Shiro Alter 2 before he can rape Elizabeth. Mozart wanders off to the music room. Mozart Alter gets him at gunpoint, but decides to kill himself instead after hearing Mozart play. Rasputin is pulled out of the rubble. Himiko finds a surviving group of Strikers (appears to be Freud Alter maybe? And two others.) and joins them.

So let's see if I can update the scoreboard for those of you playing the home game

Hypothetical Original Shiro: Probably dead
Shiro: Alive
Kai: Shot (by a guard?), burned to death
Shiro Alter 1: Suicide
Shiro Alter 2: Apprehended, probably surrendered
Shiro Alter 3: Unknown or maybe he was Kai
At least one other Shiro Alter: Dead

Kamiya: Alive

Kuroe: Alive

Rockswell: Douche
Miscellaneous other people overseeing the school: Concerned about impact on profits

Marie Curie: "Transferred"
Pandora: Alive

Napoleon: Injured or dead after fighting his predecessor
Napoleon Alter: Shot dead by Napoleon

Elizabeth: Alive

Hitler: Obsessed with sheep

Himiko: Now with the bad guys

Ikkyu: Alive

Florence Nightingale: Alive
Nightingale Alter: Killed by security

Mozart: Alive but suicidal
Mozart Alter: Suicide

Einstein: Shot by Einstein Alter
Einstein Alter: Unknown

Freud: Alive
Freud Alter (I think?): Leader of surviving Strikers

Joan of Arc: Burned at the stake
Alter Joan: Burned at the stake

Rasputin: Injured by bomb

Some b****y Chinese dowager or something who had like three lines in volume 1: hasn't appeared since

THINK that sums it up?
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Man, we're running kinda low on characters now! To that end, here's Darwin to tell us about how the terrorist old clones were failures who couldn't live up to their purpose and didn't evolve with the times survival of the fittest yada yada. Napoleon's alive woo.

Kamiya interrogates the Shiro Alter/Kai/whatever that was caught, and the subject says he is "Kai, a Project X." Kai (I dunno if this is the same Kai, but he's probably the only one relevant for now so I'm gonna call him Kai now) doesn't know whose clone he is, and is jealous that Shiro has at least a fake(?) dad. There were multiple Kais made even though the original was just a regular dude, but Kamiya says that Shiro in particular is special. Working theory: Kamiya is an older Shiro clone. Kuroe is SUPER PISSED and apparently there is history here because this is our first time not seeing him as a super nice unassuming dude in a suit. Kamiya calls Kuroe off before he can punch Kai to death. Mozart is back to playing piano because he might as well do what he knows since he couldn't kill himself and people who wanted to live couldn't do that. He and Florence bond a bit.

Hitler tells the bedridden Rasputin this is his punishment from the Almighty Dolly, then stuffs a bunch of Dolly charms in his mouth. Napoleon is able to walk with the use of crutches. Hitler has decided that Shiro is a kindred spirit and they are the only ones who can understand each other~. According to expository monologues, Clone Kennedy is part of the prototype generation of clones, which is NOT the generation that just attacked the school. Most of the other prototypes have dropped off the radar, so that's a big ol' Chekhov's Gun for later, and there might be even more sets running around somewhere.

Rockswell is hanging out with the captured Kai and most of the main characters. Shiro finally calls him out for treating them all like livestock, but then Hitler cuts in that destiny can't be changed and he's glad to be able to have OG Hitler's path to follow. Nightingale asks why Kai isn't as suicidal as his buddies, setting him up to explain what's going on with the Shiro Squad....NEXT VOLUME

Today's omake: Freud and the previously unseen Jung argue about sex in psychology.

My rating: 7/10
@___@ Also I am gonna be disappointed if we don't at some point have a clone masquerading as a different copy of themselves. For instance I want Ikkyu to turn out to be one of the Strikers who killed and replaced the Ikkyu we know >_>
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SHOWER THEORY #1: Obviously the kids are all clones, but NOT of who they've been told. They're just assigned historical figures to influence their development in certain directions, and raise their value to buyers
-Some clones are more interested in their "talent" than others, and only Freud and maybe Mozart have been shown to actually be good at anything relevant, and not necessarily beyond the level of someone who has focused their studies in a particular direction.
-It's been pointed out by the characters themselves that people like Napoleon and Elizabeth seem like odd choices if they don't have countries or armies available to run.
-Before that, whose bright idea was it to clone Hitler?
-Napoleon is the tallest dude around
-It seems like a stretch (but maybe I just don't know biology) that we have viable DNA available for people who were dead centuries before DNA was discovered.
-We've seen a lot of Shiro/Kai/Project X running around, but I don't think we've seen more than two of anybody else, so that's kinda odd if THEY'RE the special ones.
-Management generally doesn't consider clones as humans and wouldn't have a problem lying to them.

SHOWER THEORY #2: Kuroe is also genetically part of the Shiro...situation.
-I've been making "Kuro" (black) jokes ever since I found out this manga involved clones and a guy named "Shiro" (white) and it is RIGHT THERE IN HIS NAME
-When all the Kais were revealing themselves I kept thinking they were maybe Kuroes, not Shiros. I sometimes have trouble distinguishing characters in manga without colors to help me out, but I could definitely see Kuroe as an older Shiro with a suit and glasses.
-Boy howdy does he want that Kai dead.
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may or may not be able to fit it in today
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Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 5

And now for flashback time with Kai! After some high school comedy fanservice shenanigans (hey it's Jung! and Marie Curie in a bikini!) Kai (people are calling him Kai, BTW) is called aside by Dr. Kamiya, who looks about the same as present day. Kamiya informs Kai that he will soon be joined by another Kai. We'll call the one talking to us in present day Kai I, and the new arrival Kai II. Boy this manga is a pain to recap :P Elizabeth is getting a bit of cabin fever, sequestered in this (walled) school. Kai II is a lot more fun and sociable, it seems, and has done some work with cloning already. Kai I don't like it. Apparently Kai II is also slightly smarter and better at sports. The Kais eventually get in a fight and we pull a bit from Ouran asking Elizabeth to tell them apart. Before she can try, some dude pulls up in a van and lays one of 'em out with a mean right hook. It's just as sudden as it sounds, but he's here at Rockswell's behest. It's....Kuroe, acting much cooler than we know him in present day. Now we can tell them apart :D (I am not sure which one got laid out, so we'll be switching to Punched Kai and Unpunched Kai >___>) Kuroe is "back" and knows Kai, but the clones don't know him.

Fanservice break! Hitler is doing an artistic nude of Joan for the upcoming Expo. Punched Kai and Elizabeth have a moment, and then a kiss, under the assumption that he is Kai I. I'm not willing to take that on faith. Kuroe is back to perform his "duties," whatever those are. He's nice to everybody but the Kais, who he seems to be able to tell apart.

Back to present day. Kai (with some bandages on his face like Punched Kai) informs us Ikkyu wasn't...something, back in the day. "Around," maybe, or just "important to the story." He also says that murdering Clone Hitler was the beginning of the Strikers. Rockswell drops a hint towards Kamiya being a clone.

Back to the flashback, Kuroe is referred to as "Kamiya Kuroe" so that sure is a thing. Rockswell decides it'd be fun to have the students meet really weirdly drawn baby clones for the expo. Everybody has to hold their baby self and I am getting uncomfortable Homestuck flashbacks. Joan promises to protect Baby Joan. (and she sure did try, later!) Hitler is trying to be a good guy, to the confusion of the attendees at the expo. One attendee refers to Kai as a "good worker," and when Clone Leonardo gives the keynote speech, he refers to both Kais as "custom orders," then trots out three more. This doesn't sit well with Kamiya or Kuroe or indeed the first two Kais.

Time to auction everybody off, driving home the point of clones as cattle. Hitler goes for a weirdly high amount, and Kai I pisses off the other four with his individualistic streak. Kai I stabs himself in the face to differentiate himself. Elizabeth is captured trying to escape, and the Kais are now in charge of policing the rest. Kamiya packs his bags and takes a baby Kai with him to raise as his son, even though he is a clone. (confirmed, finally!) We see most of the clones arrive at their new owners, and Hitler's group is particularly ominous.

My rating: 8/10
Nothing super out of the ordinary here, although it is nice seeing some of my theories confirmed!
---

Short phone write-up today because I'm afk

after school charisma vol 6

Most of this volume is still backstory time with uncle kai. All the clones are doing various levels of not well after being sold (Hitler is martyred and made a saint) and Kai decides it would be good to save them by killing them. He starts going around either killing or recruiting clones, including three of the four other kais, and that brings us to present day. Also of note is Rockswell replaced clone Leonardo after this batch of clones started going south, and doesn't seem to mind that they're killing each other.

Current day, Kai leaves and the gang resolve not to give in to despair and murder and suicide. But Kai leaves with Elizabeth and introduces her to"his" Elizabeth who never got bought and has been locked up in a room with books this whole time after her escape attempt. Kai wants to kill her but the non - striker Kai shows up and convinces him to spare her. Kai leaves the school with Rockswell and "our " Elizabeth and hitler. Kamiya and kuroe confront Rockswell, and kamiya pulls a gun, but we let him off with a pistol whip, causing Rockswell to call him soft.

7/10 don't feel like this one advanced or explained that much
---

Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 7
https://imgur.com/a/irZrFfA

Kamiya takes Shiro on a drive and reaffirms that they are both clones but still family. Shiro's "mom" was a woman Kamiya loved but they couldn't have kids. She's "no longer of this world" which seems like a phrasing worth quoting in a series like this. Shiro is brought in to the people-in-charge meeting, and told he has an important duty to perform that involves shipping him over to Clone Leonardo. Kuroe volunteers to go too- apparently this isn't his first time.

We show up at the Leonardo Da Vinci Foundation for clones and stuff. Here there is an older Freud, the Leonardo, and Marie Curie who is still alive! Leonardo informs Shiro that he, Kamiya, and Kai were all clones of the founder. They're counting on Shiro, since he turned out pretty "normal" and that's not generally how this goes. Leonardo and Kuroe don't trust each other much, as Leonardo is also aware of the discrepancy in Kuroe's attitude between the previous gen and now.

The Strikers are regrouping, and Einstein Alter and Hitler seem to be pushing them towards subjugating the normies instead of exterminating the clones. Shiro is training to protect his friends. Adult Freud is pretty weird. There's a reporter named Benjamin who has been told to keep his nose out of the whole cloning thing, but then he's introduced to Hitler. Hitler comes out to the media, playing the victim card of being on the run from the evil secret society of cloneschool. Not really wrong, that.

A dude named Robert Green introduces himself as a friend of the late Clone Kennedy, and offers his support to Hitler and Pals. The next page he's having a friendly chat with Leonardo, and appears to just want special people to help the world. The Strikers are winning the PR war. Leonardo consults Shiro, who advises coming out about the school (I guess it was a secret?) and showing its good side to protect the students.

The media tour of the school goes surprisingly well...until violence breaks out. All we know is that a visitor injured several students...prompting a SECRETLY EVIL SMILE from Leonardo.

My rating: 8/10
Business is about to pick up! But I think we're gonna run out of volumes we own before we get there ~_~
---

should be one later today
---

Afterschool Charisma Vol. 8
https://imgur.com/a/nJiwuTA

This is the last volume we have, so let's hope everything wraps up nicely! I think there are a couple more we don't have and a couple beyond that that didn't get translated? So don't hold your breath.

Einstein Alter says that the Strikers didn't send the attacker- it's just a guy who was moved by Hitler's speech. Rockswell sees through...whatever it is that Leonardo's up to, but Kamiya believes in Shiro. Newton died in the attack. Leonardo is still pressuring Shiro to lead the school, and tells him it's his turn to suffer in his original's shadow.

Shiro and Marie bail on the...whatever place this is where Leonardo has them, but Leonardo is monitoring. They meet a hobo who offers to help them find some food, and who introduces himself as Jesus Christ. Hooo boy. Jesus takes them to a soup kitchen, where they get some food, stay the night, and then go on some errands to earn their keep. Guys in suits are waiting for them to bring them back- apparently Marie was supposed to have talked Shiro into returning, but wasn't moving quickly enough. Shiro runs, and Kuroe manages to help him escape.

Leonardo calls that Robert Green guy and tells him to eliminate Shiro...but Green is hanging out with Shiro and Kuroe at the time, and claims there's nothing to worry about. Green is one of the people in the mysterious People In Charge Video Conferences! He sics some suit guys on Leonardo, having him removed and just...cut loose. He's not doing too hot on the outside, but runs into Jesus.

Benjamin the Reporter is still looking into the school, and coming to the realization that clones are people. He also vaguely recognizes Kamiya. Hitler's really starting to build a following in the mainstream. Both he and Shiro are starting to think about death's role for a clone.

My rating: 7/10
The calm before some sort of storm. Too bad we're not gonna see the storm! :\

Overall rating: 8/10
Boy this was a weird one, but I quite enjoyed it! Lots and lots of intrigue and politics, which is something I've recently come to realize I appreciate in fiction. They eased up on the gratuitous fanservice once the plot started getting heavier, too. Starting to get a bit more philosophical than I'd prefer, but there were only a few points that I felt the pacing really slow down to do that.

We'll be returning to Blood+ for the extra stuff now, so no hint needed.

Bonus question: What's your favorite use of either straight historical fiction or reincarnation/summoning/misc. shenanigans (like here or Fate)?
---

Blood+ Adagio, Vol. 1 (of 2)
By: Kumiko Suekane (like Afterschool Charisma @_@)
Whose fault: Wifebolo
https://imgur.com/a/nyk83QR

And we're back with Saya and Haji, who show up in 1916 Russia masquerading as musicians (Haji plays cello quite well, and one out of two is somehow seen as not bad). They are greeted by a guy who introduces himself as Walter, but if the previous manga taught me anything, he's actually a Napoleon clone. Claudia is kinda sickly but quickly bonds with Saya because there aren't other girls. The next scene introduces another girl: Princess Anastasia, who is dancing with Prince Alexei. Czarina Alexandra is upset about this but Rasputin says he can save Alexandra and Anastasia even though Alexei is sick. If he pulls out an Almighty Dolly I am throwing this manga off the balcony.

Saya's target has changed, per a letter from HQ. Saya cuts down her new buddy Claudia....but Claudia was still human. Saya takes this about as poorly as one might expect. General Shupukin doesn't buy Rasputin's humble monk/healer act, and indeed probably shouldn't. There are like fifty million named characters already and I have no idea which of them I need to mention and retain.

Saya's next target is one of a pair of twincest boys, Kisku and Kiska, who have been treated by Rasputin. One of them is sick and I think that's the one we fight. He awakens somewhat, and escapes when the other one intersperses to stop Saya's finishing blow. Claudia's brother Vincent mentions to Haji that Claudia wants to see Saya again. Guess Claudia survived. Victor leads Haji into a trap, where he's backstabbed by another Victor. Make your own Afterschool Charisma joke here- I don't wanna wear out the gag. The Victors (they're Chevaliers!) are toying with Haji when the twincests show up and the Chiropteran one eats the other. One of the Victors kills the surviving twin because they're not beautiful enough or something else about how superior Chiropterans are to humans.

Fun fact: at least one Victor has an FMA-looking symbol on the back of his cloak. That could be one of several symbols all of which outdate FMA by a few centuries. I learned something today! David (presumably a predecessor of the current one) shows up to have a chat with Saya about their lead on Diva. Also the letters she was getting were faked, which means somebody's on to them. We get another vaguely incestuous scene, this time with Walter and Claudia. Was early 20th century Russia just like that or something?

Anastasia is Diva, so there's that. David sics Saya on Claudia, but Saya hesitates and Claudia turns into a chiropteran (probably?) and kills one of the Red Shield members. She looks like she got spliced with a dog, and pleads with her big brother to kill her. Now I have two manga I can make jokes about! Also, Victor has Haji.

My rating: 6/10
It feels like we are trying to cram too much into 2(?) volumes because there is just a really high density of plots and characters. Pacing aside, it's pretty okay and more or less in the same vein as the main series.
---

Does wifebolo have any manga where everyone isn't killing everyone in sight?
---

there's uh

there's the not-quite-yaoi ones I guess?
---

Blood+ Adagio, Vol. 2 (of 2)
https://i.imgur.com/wPYAn8d.jpg?1
wow imgur got harder to use that's a good update

We start on a flashback back to (one of) Saya's reawakening(s). She doesn't seem as hung up on killing all the Chiropterans, or mention disposing of herself afterwards.

Back to Russia, Rasputin is using Haji to push special wine on the people. He's having Haji brutalized, and crediting his healing factor to "the queen's protection," which you too can get by drinking this wine! Presumably it has Diva's blood in there to turn them Chiropteran later. Anshel shows up...working with an anti-Rasputin plot in the palace, for whatever reason. Saya goes yandere on Alexei and decides to make him a Chevalier so she can ditch Rasputin. She wants to see Anshel.

It's confirmed that Rasputin and Victor were behind the fake orders sent to Saya. Victor has bought in hard to the Rasputin propaganda, and manages to drink a bit of Saya's blood. Diva does her song at that point, so there go a lot of new Chiropterans we'll need to fight. Rasputin is poisoned and shot in the head. It's not very effective...until Anshel shows up and shoots him a LOT. I don't think that's how that works but maybe they're blood-infused bullets or something.

Having to kill her friends is the tipping point for Saya, who asks Haji to kill her after Diva's dead. Anshel leaves Rasputin for dead in the river, but he's still not dead. Diva and Alexei are super excited to be Chiropteran and Chevalier together. Alexei goes to fight Saya because she's a big meanie who wants to kill his sister. A quick squash, a romantic HajixSaya scene in the snow, and we're all done here.

My rating/overall rating: 6/10
Still feels pretty all over the place! Didn't dislike it, but I don't think it was on par with the main series.

Next up is Blood+ Kowloon Nights and then we can move on with our lives!
---

soon
---

Blood+ Kowloon Nights
By: Hirotaka Kisaragi
Whose fault: Wifebolo
https://i.imgur.com/dAhO7Xo.jpg?1

is it just me or is imgur barely usable now

Haji's in Hong Kong in 1993. This is billed as a solo story and I'm pretty sure Saya is between Vietnam and the main series so don't hold your breath for her to show up. We meet Sai/Nishi the cop and Do Leong/Tony Lin the dude, who argue over their names and whether vampires exist and can be blamed for the recent string of killings. Sai/Nishi is told that this case is being turned over to a special organization, so butt out. Isaac is the guy in charge now, and also tells Sainishi to butt out. Dotony's big brother thanks him for keeping the cops off the right track.

After failing to butt out, Sainishi runs afoul of a Chiropteran. Haji is there for the save, but now he's hungry, so Sainishi takes him home and peels back his shirt sexily. Sainishi's big brother was (presumably) killed by a Chiropteran, so it's gonna suck when he puts all this together. Haji tries to leave but he's still wobbly so Sainishi throws him on the bed. I haven't seen much hentai but I think I know where this is going anyway. Haji gets some food and a lick of Sainishi's wound.

There's a lead that the Wong family (ie the bishie "big brother" of the dude from the first paragraph) is working on an immortality drug, but they seem too busy sexily hanging out in beds with their shirts off. Isaac asks Sainishi for info on Haji, but Sai is not feeling cooperative today. Haji reminds him of his big brother, which would make a decent twist except I think Haji's a few centuries too old for it to work. Nishi (he seems to prefer that name even though nobody uses it- something about Japanese/Hong Kong relations that I didn't follow because I don't know the IRL history) decides he wants to go another round with the monster. Isaac is with Red Shield, which isn't a huge surprise.

Nishi picks up Haji, who gives him the ten-second summary of Chiropterans. There's a lot of fighting, with Isaac making the save and finding Haji. Isaac explains more of the world to Nishi, then takes Haji away to lock him in a cage with a collar on his neck. Yaoi joke goes here. Hey it's Wong Sau Mon, leader of the Wong family, who finally gets a name. They seem to be behind the Chiropterans here, but want to combine the immortality with a retained human form, like Haji has. HE will be the one to take Haji away and do homoerotic things to him in the name of a greater purpose!

Recouping in a sick room, Nishi and Isaac debate philosophy. Isaac sees Haji as a weapon, as is consistent with Red Shield throughout the franchise, while Nishi sees him as a person. It was a Chiropteran that killed Nishi's brother, but Haji has saved him twice in addition to starving himself instead of drinking blood. Do Leong is to be punished for getting Nishi (and Isaac) medical attention after the previous fight scene. Wong is sexily poisoning the captive Haji for research purposes. Isaac and Nishi fight their way through (against Chiropterans???) and rescue Haji, but Nishi takes a suckerpunch from Wong, who is actually a Chiropteran.

Nishi, Isaac, and Leong all manage to escape with Haji, but he's too weak to make it over the wall. Leong is sent for help, Isaac leaves to do the heroic sacrifice bit, and Nishi gets to give Haji blood to wake him up. After Nishi calms Haji's fears about drinking blood and going berserk, Haji weakly takes Nishi's protruding finger, dripping with blood, into his mouth. Wong interrupts this scene before the manga can get an OT+ rating, and gets whacked. Haji disappears, the incident is covered up, and we all move on with our lives.

My rating: 5/10
I, uh, wasn't the target audience for this one. That said, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it?
---

Discussion question: What fandom of yours has the most spinoffs and sequels and prequels and such?

Hint for next time: We move from a long string of Wifebolo manga to....probably her least favorite thing on the shelf. Early contender for biggest mood whiplash of the project.
---

trying to push through but might not make it
---

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Vol. ? (of 3)
By: Yoshio Sawai
Whose fault: Mine
http://i.aerispies.com/Snapshot_20180617.JPG

And now for something completely different. Bobobo is a parody of shonen anime, with a constant barrage of absurd, over-the-top humor. Come to think of it, it kinda reminds me of One Punch Man. I loved this back in high school, but have no idea how it's aged since then- I'll either get more out of the parody elements, or the LOL SO RANDOM humor is gonna get old.

This edition has no number, and starts at a seemingly random point, including a "story so far." I have two numbered books, but they appear to take place shortly after this one. I believe this was a "pilot" of sorts for the series' American release, but maybe I'm remembering it wrong and this is just a random in media res opening because screw you. US Shonen Jump was kinda weird, in retrospect.

Today's gonna be an AFK day for reading, but this thing isn't gonna summarize well anyway. From memory, it's just like a constant barrage of visual gags, puns, and non sequiturs. Your characters are:
-Bobobo, a large black man with a yellow fro whose signature is his extendable, prehensile nose hair
-Jelly Jiggler, a blue Gumby-lookin' guy who tends to be the butt of the slapstick
-Poppa Rocks, a cranky sun with limbs
-Beauty, a token girl who is mainly here to be the straight man and have bug eyes several times a page
-Softton, the mysterious mentor type with poop for a head
-Gasser, a dude I don't remember well but he seems to share "normal human" duties with Beauty
---

And we're back! This is a lot more DBZ than I remember, but the description I'm going with is nevertheless gonna be "anime Looney Toons on crack." So far we've had a fight on a train, a fight in a playground where everyone is turned into kids, and now a big 4v3 against the Super Hell Bros. The chapter transition art is straight out of shonen manga but with these characters- it's pretty great. Bobobo's fighting style seems to be mostly based on beating up his own team, whether that's meatshielding with Poppa Rocks or just abusing Jelly Jiggler for no reason at all. Bobobo and Rocks can also fuse and form Bo-Rocks, although this resulted in a poorly drawn Incomplete Borocks when attempted as kids.

Anyway, the big team fight continues with Bobobo Roulette! Whoever comes up gets a punishment! Bobobo finishes the job with Fist of the Nose Hair: School Daze Graduation. Finally, the fight commences against Halekulani: Evil Tycoon King of Hallelujah Land, Master of the Money Fist, and the last of the Bald Empire's Big Four! He has the ability to turn people into money, which he uses to kill (?) one of the supporting characters. As (IIRC) is customary with major Bobobo villains, Halekulani is kinda cool in a weird way, and wouldn't be super out of place in a serious shonen anime. In addition to turning people into money, he can telekinetically attack with currency and jewels, which is handy in his giant throne room slash money pit.

Bobobo gets in some good hits, but the gang is soon trapped in Halekulani's Death Money Board Game! They will slowly turn into diamonds as Halekulani drains money from their spirits, so they have to reach the finish before that happens. ....But there is no finish! They are destined to travel forever until they die. But there is a last resort- Yugi Motou pops out of Bobobo's 'fro and summons Slifer the Sky Dragon! (according to an author note, Yugi was actually drawn by his mangaka, and there was a bobobo reference in some issue of YGO as well!)

Bobobo counters with a board game of his own, and pushes Halekulani through it with a bulldozer. He finally finishes by showing Halekulani a "normal" life, leading to a mega suplex that proves once and for all that the most important thing....is money.

My rating: 8/10
I am PRETTY SURE that there are a bunch of references that went over my head, but it was still pretty fun! ...I don't think I'd want to read more than a few volumes of this at once, which is good because I only have a few. It occurs to me that Pop Team Epic is probably a much better comparison than One Punch Man or Looney Tunes or anything else I've tried to use. We're going with that. Imagine Pop Team Epic and One Punch Man had a weird, weird baby.
---

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Vol. 1 (of 3)


Time to move on to volume 1! I don't know either. We've skipped a bit ahead from the other volume- Gasser has been kidnapped and we have to save him from Cyber City. We're just in time to see Pana, a spinny executioner guy and one of the six Cyber Knights, fall to Bobobo's nose hair, which he had been weaving throughout the arena all fight. The remaining five are viewing by floating screen, and the gang gets pulled into screen #2.

They find themselves strung up by bungee cords in the bungee execution ground! It'll be Bobobo, Jiggler, Rocks, and Beauty against Sonic the Cyber Knight and his useless-looking sidekicks, Super Rabbit and Emo Boy, all of whom are hanging by their feet over a deep chasm. Bobobo creates a Wonder Box over the abyss, and it does weird stuff to whomever falls in. The gang makes pretty quick work of this fight, and Jelly Jiggler gets weird exorcist powers and seals the bad guys in a bottle, for once accomplishing something without getting hurt.

Turns out that Giga, the big bad of this arc I guess, is hunting down practitioners of the "true fist," and he uses his Fist of the Objet d'Art to turn Gasser into a weird sculpture. Bobobo and Softon get sucked into one screen, while Rocks, Jiggler, Beauty, and TORPEDO GIRL go into another. The B-Team will be fighting Poet, whose Fist of the Gothic Font allows him to tap into words and kanji to attack. Another actually-pretty-cool-opponent! Bobobo and Softon (and mascot character Dengaku Man) are up against Carman, a guy with a car for a head. Poet's on the ropes until he wipes the B-team's memories (except Poppa Rocks because he's stupid) but Carman and his Evil Driving School Execution Ground go down quite easily. Poppa Rocks hits Poet with some extract that makes him think like Rocks does. Thenceforth, all of Poet's attacks do weird stuff, and he loses after trapping himself inside Heartthrob<3Yakuza High.

The whole team is teleported to the power plant, where J the weird onion/garlic-headed man powers the city with his Fist of the Black Sun. He's the last of the Six Cyber Knights! (yes, we've only beaten four of them) Softon will fight so Bobobo can save his strength for Giga, but first J squashes Jiggler and Rocks. Softon goes down in one hit as well, but figures out that J is using illusions from refracted light to dodge attacks. Bobobo counters this Sleepless Five Suns with a desk lamp, and then goes for a fusion...but accidentally fuses with Dengaku Man, creating Denbo, a magical girl whose only ability is beautiful song. Her departed father bestows upon her the sacred family heirloom- some nunchaku that turn her into a kung fu movie character. Denbo uses One Song Museum, where everything sung into the microphone happens. After a long string of goofiness, Denbo wins with the Holy Radical Ceremony....a nose hair attack.

After some gratuitous Jojo poses, Softon decides to power the city in J's place, and the fight against Giga and his Fist of the Objet d'Art begins! He has the ability to pre-calculate the results of everybody's actions, but Dengaku Man throws it off a bit.

My rating: 8/10
This had some fights that were actually kinda cool. This manga is very one-note, but eh, it's fun. I stand by my assessment of not wanting to read more than a bit of this at a time, but tomorrow is the last one so that works out.
---

Bring back clone high it made more sense haha
---

That it did!

They won't all be winners but they won't all be THIS impossible to summarize/follow either

today's manga was pre-empted by car trouble
---

as was today's, with an assist from the cubs
---

today I barely squeezed in

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Vol. 2

but it will be a very short writeup because I am about to fall asleep

The Giga fight is, in my estimation, not one of the better ones I've seen, but there's a fun finishing sequence with burning fighting spirit attacks. Cyber City is saved! (sorta, it kinda got blown up)

The previous generation of Hair Hunters have revived from cyrogenic stasis, and are now emerging to wreak havoc! I guess the bad guys were stronger 100 years ago or something. There's a guy that fights with flowers, but the big news is that we're gonna have to go through a long string of 3v3 fights against the old hair hunters in a theme park.

My rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Nothing has really changed this whole time- it's still silly and random and weird and same-y, but that is exactly what I needed after a long day, and I found myself wishing I could see more of the next arc. Ah well!

Bonus question: What's your weirdest manga/anime?
Hint for next: I think this one has only been around a couple years! (which makes it one of the newest in the collection)
---

Better today! ...Probably!

Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace, Vol. 1 (of 1)
By: ???
Whose fault: Tombolo
Genres: Sci-fi, comedy?, action?, slice of life?


The anime has been on my list for a while (I do like me some lady pirates) but I haven't gotten around to it. Pretty sure this was an impulse buy at a con a year or two ago and I haven't gotten around to reading it, either. That kinda thing is one of the main reasons I'm doing this! All I know is there are pirate girls in space and it's probably kinda over the top.

In the future, piracy was legalized as part of international rivalries, kinda like it used to be IRL. Now that things have calmed down, "pirates" are mainly just entertainers and errand runners. Marika is a pirate, but also a high school student who has to be home for curfew. She's also president of her school's Space Yacht Club, which is getting desperate for enough members to maintain their spaceship.

We also get a flashback concerning Kanata Mugen, a boy who sneaks around mysteriously. Business for Marika's pirate group, the Bentenmaru, has been declining, and hyperspace has been unstable lately, meaning FTL travel is kinda tricky. Kanata is about to get caught when the Bentenmaru "attacks" the ship he's on. Marika seems to recognize him? She pretends to take him hostage, but once he's on board she confesses that she's here on business from Kanata's father. An off-duty military vessel shows up demanding the return of the hostage, but Marika calls his bluff and jumps to hyperspace. The Bentenmaru is forced to change to a tougher route mid-jump by a disturbance, but manage it safely. Still, they notice a star in hyperspace, which is apparently weird.

There's a mysterious lady giving the orders on board the ship that was chasing us, so we're probably not done with them. Marika brings Kanata to a guest house at school, and there are twin princesses hanging out as well. Kanata's dad was a famous explorer, and was friends with Marika's dad. Kanata's dad disappeared one day, but not before asking Marika's dad to pass a message on to Kanata. Marika's dad is also missing and/or dead, so it's her job to fulfill that promise. Marika's cheerful demeanor cracks for a second when she starts talking about other people pushing their wishes onto her. Another girl shows up to Marika's house, and is surprised to find it partially destroyed.

Bonus material includes an interview with the guy who did the movie, some production sketches, and a preview of Non Non Biyori. Based on a few things, it appears that this is actually a manga adaptation of a movie that occurs after the main series? Good to know, I guess.

My rating: 7/10
I felt like we were setting up to something interesting, but we didn't really get to a point where I felt a NEED to find the next book and find out. It still seems like something I would like, but I don't feel I've really learned much about the plot or characters or world yet, nor did anything particularly memorable happen. I think the most important thing in this issue is that Marika and Kanata met. Ah well, I'll still plan on giving the anime a shot and maybe I can forumlate more of an opinion.

Bonus question: What's a manga/anime that you have to read a certain amount to judge?
Hint for next: It's about dogs and that's literally all I remember
---

The anime NOIR has a really slow start but I found it to be worth it. Most anime I recommend watching three episodes before judging. Trinity Blood in particular isn't good until the third episode. Manga is held to a higher standard, like one volume.
---

bout a 50-50 shot I get to one tonight
---

Bow Wow Wata Vol. 1 (of 2)

Genre: Comedy, Animal, Drama, Romance
By: Umekawa Kazuki
Whose fault: Tombolo

Bow Wow Wata is the story of Tasuke, the son of a widower vet. Dad can talk to animals, but Tasuke can't, and he has no interest in continuing in the field because humans are better. He develops a sudden interest, however, when a really cute girl named Misato shows up at the vet with her dog, Wata. She's in a pickle because Wata is not supposed to be at her apartment, and he bites everybody but her. Tasuke decides to be a hero and help find Wata a home, but when Wata comes to the vet for a chat with dad, Tasuke starts hearing the dog! Wata calls Tasuke a mononoke and bites him. Tasuke's nails grow out for a second before reverting. Wata is aware that he is likely to go to the pound or be put to sleep, but insists that Misato is his only master. When challenged to think of Misato's feelings, Wata proceeds to invert the trope by biting Misato's hand and running away so she will be less sad at the parting. However, Tasuke drags him back to Misato, and adopts him for her sake. She wants to be a vet and assumes he does too.

I guess Tasuke is eventually going to have ears and a tail in addition to the claws? I thought that was just a visual gag with his dad. Dad (did we give him a name and I missed it?) gives Tasuke an application to a local vet school, which is also where Misato wants to go. Out on a walk with Wata, they encounter a malnourished looking Irish Setter named Sally. Sally immediately attacks, but Wata takes the hit for Tasuke. The owner says Sally's been aggressive ever since recently having puppies. Wata explains he was protecting Sallyrather than Tasuke, as she would have been quickly put down for attacking a human.

Tasuke and Wata go to investigate what's going on with this dog. She apologizes and informs them that she's missing one puppy, as her line always has exactly as many as...they can feed at once. Wata and Tasuke go looking for the tenth puppy, but when Sally shows up at the clinic, an X-ray reveals that it is still inside her. It looks to be dead from the x-ray, but Tasuke can hear it inside! They're able to go in and save the puppy. Tasuke is still not wanting to be a vet.

Tasuke and Wata don't particularly get along, but they're pretending to for Misato's sake. Turns out Dad is Komainu-sama, the god of dogs. That's quite a thing to just throw out there. Mom was a fox statue at the shrine. Misato is now going to be interning at the clinic, and immediately knocks Tasuke another step down the social hierarchy.

We meet a black cat who has always had bad experiences with humans due to superstition. Is that a thing in Japan as well? It's very suspicious, but slowly won over by Misato's kindness. She names the cat Kuro as they start bonding. We get Wata's backstory when he and Kuro have a chat about Misato- she found him when he was abandoned as a puppy, and was the only one to be nice to him. Her parents wouldn't let her adopt him, but she gave him food and saved him when he ran into abusers. (he has a droopy ear because they stapled it, geeze.)

Tasuke and Kuro get in a fight over Misato (and her food). Kuro wins because Tasuke didn't realize she was female. We meet Misato's friend Hana, and Tasuke gets little-brother-zoned hard in introductions. Misato appears to like somebody, too. rip. Misato gets a sprained ankle in gym and has to go home, but Kuro waits for her in the rain until Tasuke retrieves her. Kuro gets a bit of heat stroke and it's Tasuke's fault because he didn't tell her that Misato had already gone home. Kuro's tapeworm (!) got worse, and she runs away to go die. Nice upbeat cliffhanger!

My rating: 8/10
This is really cute actually- the artwork is relevant to my tastes, and the characters are fun. It's also cute because they number the panels to avoid confusion
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Bow Wow Wata, Vol. 2 (of 2)


We resolve the Kuro arc pretty quickly- Misato finds her as she slinks off to die (cats do this because being seen shames their ancestors) and restores her will to live. Tasuke explains that the bad luck thing is just a superstition, and Komainu fixes the tapeworms and stuff, so Kuro's good now!

Next up, we meet a crow who is upset about territory, and who is probably causing problems going through the garbage dump. There's also an overly friendly corgi named Santa, and he really likes Tasuke. Investigating the dump, we find....Santa, who is completely different! He's ransacking the garbage and extremely possessive of the food there. He bites Tasuke and absconds, and then the crows show up and attack Tasuke for going through garbage on their turf. Tasuke brings a lot of his issues on himself, but not all of them, so I feel kinda bad for how often he gets attacked.

Weird trivia: Already this issue, Tasuke has been seen in two different shirts with the numbers 3142 and 3143. I'm sure that has significance to somebody somewhere, but not to me.

Santa appears to be only vaguely aware of what he's doing when he leaves, and his doting owner is completely oblivious. Owner lady sends Tasuke away when he talks to her, but locks Santa inside just in case. He gets enough food at home, so why is he skinny if he's going through trash on top of that? When she leaves, there's a possession-like sequence with Santa switching personalities or whatever his deal is. Tasuke catches Evil!Santa. This whole time he's been hearing Santa say "Tasuke" but it's ACTUALLY "Tasukete!" (help me) Komainu is also on the case and finds white droppings at the dump.

Wata stares down Santa until he reverts to his friendly self. Santa eats a ton but is never full, and hunger is what brings out the other Santa. I'm thinking parasite, personally. Komainu's examination finds that Santa has EPI and can't process proteins and fats properly. He'll be fine if he takes medicine with his food, but his owner might not be able to afford that. Speaking of the owner, she has come home to a broken window and a distinct lack of Santa.

Evil Santa starts to come out even though he's full. Wata deduces that Santa has been repressing this evil side because he is eager to please. Evil Santa, Tasuke and Wata, owner lady, and the crows all converge at the dump. Owner lady is understandably upset that this is her sweet pup, and Tasuke chews her out for never disciplining him. Wata thinks we need to let Santa make his own choices, but Tasuke is determined to help because that is presumably what Santa wanted. Wata takes a hit for Tasuke again. Tasuke's nails come back, and he shares his ability with the owner lady by touch. She and Santa come to an understanding where both personalities will co-exist and she'll shape up. Weird ending, that one.

Misato is talking about filaria, and Tasuke realizes he's let Wata get behind on preventative treatments. However, he can't get Wata to take the medicine, even after a Komainu demonstration. Tasuke is upset until Wata admits Komainu has been administering the medicine already.

the first 3142 3143 shirt is back again. I WANT TO KNOW WHY
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Hana has a new driver's license and an apparent desire to get Misato and Tasuke together. (....or maybe just to tease Tasuke) They drive through a haunted tunnel, after which Misato finds a bone by the side of the road. She feels bad that whatever animal this was didn't get the attention that a dead human would, so they find more bones and give it a proper burial. But a ghost shows up! Misato kinda shuts down, so Tasuke carries her to the car. Hana drives off with Misato, but Wata pulls Tasuke out of the car. The ghost is actually a tanuki (shapeshifting trickster raccoon...think SMB3), a mononoke like Tasuke.

Tasuke and Wata realize that he's only able to communicate with animals who come into contact with his blood, for some reason. (and in fact this tanuki has done so after a scuffle) The tanuki is responsible for the ghost rumors (and crashes) in this area, and has a blood feud with humanity because they run his friends over and don't care. He's got a fever, so Tasuke and Wata take him to the vet after Hana remembers they exist and comes back.

Flashback time! The tanuki elders always forbade contact with humans, but this guy and his mate wanted to co-exist instead, and started accepting food from humans. The mate was pregnant and got run over, and the humans didn't care. He's been on a mission of revenge ever since. The clinic determines he has distemper, which is possibly fatal and not fully curable. Komainu, Tasuke, and Wata try to talk the tanuki into breaking the cycle of vengeance, and leave him alone to think about that for a bit.

My rating: 8/10
Some good storytelling in this one- I got kinda sucked in!

Overall rating: 8/10
This was a pleasant surprise! (yes it's my own manga but I don't think I've touched it since at least high school) The characters are pretty likeable- Misato is diabetes-inducing, Wata is charmingly formal, Komainu is weird, and Tasuke is an unusually interesting everyman protagonist. Art's nice, and they slip in a bit of education in there (IIRC the author has a vet background) too. Can't go too wrong with animals, anyway. I might try to find some more of this one!

Bonus question: What's your favorite animal in anime/manga? Or fiction in general?
Hint for next: This could be completely garbage writing and I'd still read it for the fantastic art.
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A Bride's Story, Vol. 5
By: Kaoru Mori
Genre: Slice of life, Historical fiction
Whose fault: Both of us, sorta

The bad news is the only issue we have is 5, because I was primarily using the library to read this. The good news is that it happens to be a side story, so jumping in on 5 isn't as weird as it would be in most narrative manga! A Bride's Story is set in the 19th century on the Silk Road (Turkey-ish, if I'm not mistaken?) and has absolutely gorgeous art. I think this author is slightly more known for Victorian Romance Emma, (wait, we don't own that one?) and that is also well done, but she really gets to shine here with all the exotic details and backgrounds of the setting. The characters are really likeable, too, and this is just pound for pound one of my all time faves. It's even got a particularly nice hardback printing with a dust cover and all that.

This issue is mostly about Laila and Leily, a pair of bratty and mischevious twin girls, who are getting ready for their wedding to a set of boy twins. We've met them before in our travels. We see various beauty treatments for the girls, and a rather detailed presentation of slaughtering and butchering sheep for the banquet. There's a white guy whose name I forget that is traveling around and doing anthropological studies- we followed him instead of the "real" main character so that's why we're here IIRC.

One of the fun things is that sometimes you'll get whole pages without any text or dialogue, when what they're doing speaks for itself or there's some scenery we want to let soak in. Later on you'll see my other favorite art manga and it has no speech at all. Anyway, everybody's still getting ready- cooking and decorating and dressing. Mori-sensei is really good about sneaking in little factoids about daily life without feeling like you've wandered into an 90's edutainment thing. She's a huge nerd for historical cultures and costumes and you can just tell she loves what she does and wants to share it with us.

The grooms are on their way because this is like a week-long event. I forget if we've met them before now, but they're also twins. The girls are enjoying being the center of attention, but the formalities of sitting there and not doing anything and being admired are really crimping their style. When Sarm and Sami (grooms) arrive, Laila and Leily badger them into taking them "to the bathroom" so they can some out from under their robes and eat something. Later they manage to sneak out again by stuffing pillows under the robes! (which cover even their faces) They almost miss the arrival of the Iman, but make it back with only their (irate) mother noticing. The actual wedding goes off without a hitch, but then the girls are pretty sad about leaving their family behind.

The grooms are given fishing boats as a wedding gift from their father, and can't wait to take them out for a spin! They're pretty successful at fishing, so the brides are excited about their future riches. Now it's time for white guy and his sidekick to hit the road, so we're switching back to our main character!
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The titular Bride here is our main character, and her name is Amir. (or Amira, depending on whom you ask) She does cute daily life things with her husband Karluk. He's a lot younger (I don't think he's ready to do conjugal things yet?) and it's a pretty new marriage- I think we just got them married last issue so we're kinda waiting for the next big arc to start? Amir is super cute and good at hunting, but is trying really hard to be a good wife and take care of her husband Karluk. "Cute and useful," as Wifebolo would put it- only the best waifus manage to be both.

Side story: badass grandma saves a kid stuck on a mountain because she is really good with goats and mountains

Amir finds a wounded hawk while out hunting, and brings him back for treatment. Her friend Pariya is super excited because she's suuuuuuper into hawks. She might actually be on the autism spectrum, come to think of it. This hawk is good for hunting if we can nurse it back to health, so Amir devotes herself to the task and Karluk starts getting a bit jealous. (even though, as a flustered Amir points out, it's a girl hawk)

Unfortunately, we weren't quite able to get the hawk back in condition to fly and hunt and do hawk things. Amir's gotten attached, so Karluk agrees to put it down for her.

oh dang I'm out of time there's like five pages left for later today
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Karluk comforts Amir, and the owner of the hawk is able to track them down. He's a traveling peddler, selling the meat the hawk brings down. He'd given up on finding the hawk after it got away during a bandit attack. Russian expansion is causing some problems, it seems. Amir uses the feathers to make arrows for her bow.

Pretty big omake section, as per usual. Mori-sensei takes us through a day in her life, talks about being super into doorwomen, and shares some random drawings. She's a dork and I mean that in the best possible way.

My rating: 9/10
I don't like this group of characters as much as Amir and pals, but they're still a pretty good time, and weddings are always fun.

Series rating: 10/10
It's different and cute and well-drawn please read it thanks

Bonus question: What's your favorite art in anime or manga?
Hint for next: All I remember from the good ol' days was a dubcon situation that made me uncomfortable. There's a loli and a mecha on the cover. I'm really hoping those two facts are unrelated.
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Favorite animal: Momo from Samurai Champloo. Favorite art: toss up between Kaoru Mori and Kaori Yuki.
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