Well check that out, two Bleach covers for Shonen Jump Alpha in a row! Well, with the anime ending (its current time slot; it’s moving to a new one) in Japan along with the manga entering its final arc PLUS news of an American produced live-action film, the Bleach property is the talk of the town.
Toriko 176
King Vinegar - A sushi chef that looks like a luchador? I love it! Kind of reminds me of some of my local sushi restaurants. Still tastes fantastic though. I did think it was too easy for them to just finish gathering the sushi ingredients, so luckily, they’re on another sidequest. That’s a lot of booze to consume, though. Most likely we won’t get to see their severe hangovers afterwards. And it’s always fun to see Jiro. I’m glad to see that Toriko is able to maintain a good balance of humor with mostly self-contained chapters and the adventure feeling in between the huge battles they get into. I felt like it was still too soon to get into the Gourmet World.
One Piece 657
Severed Head - Looks like Zambai’s gone from Franky Family chief to the head of his own dismantling and parts union. Some pretty funny antics between Luffy and that lower torso (let’s call him “Pooter” for now). We FINALLY get the reveal of the island also being half ice. So if you haven’t guessed the primary reason for this…well, then there’s no helping you. 
But your guess is as good as mine regarding that winged person. And looks like my thoughts were right from last week: if you paid attention to those captors, they never accounted for Brook. So, looks like once again he might be the one who rescues the captive Straw-hats. Except this time, they don’t really stay captive. Well, at least in their current holdings. But out of curiosity, how does Sanji know so much about the Wano Country? From the guy’s head layout though, we are still with 3 dominant thoughts as to how it happened: 1) Law is able to extend his ROOM ability effects even after he’s gone somehow, 2) Buggy has grown in his abilities, making him capable of splitting others, or 3) a new character. And with a room full of big children, the mysteries and excitement just keep on coming!
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan 190
Purification - This week includes a color page from Nura, featuring Tsurara and Momoishi, whose hair circle dealies look even weirder to me in color. Haven’t seen Rikuo in his human form in a while, so it’s a good thing that they aren’t always keeping him in his badass yokai form. Taisei trying to commit suicide came out of left field for me, and that’s kind of dark for a shonen manga. We finally get to see Momoishi’s abilities: she’s an itako, or spirit medium. With possessings and purifications, it almost seems like an exorcism is in order. Kind of a dull setup chapter, but still enjoying the setup since our sidequest to get the Master Sword Nenekirimaru is complete. Oh, and might I add, Momoishi being possessed by the 13th Head is both creepy and hilarious at the same time.
Naruto 574
Eyes that See in the Dark - Ugh… Karin. Well, with Sasuke’s return last week, guess I should’ve expected the return of Hawk. Or are they back to Snake? Whatever. I felt that the Jugo/Suigetsu fight was a little forced, but the whole point of it was to just discover another of Orochimaru’s hidden rooms. Guess we’ll find out what that scroll contains sometime in the future. We see some more of Sasuke’s new (borrowed? stolen?) abilities with his new eyes. And it looks like it’ll be a rematch between the Uchiha brothers. I’ll just leave this here: Sasuke vs Itachi Comic.
Bleach 481
The Tearing - LOOK! MORE VISOREDS! Let’s hope they get featured some more in this last arc. I can’t really tell what’s going on with the cut that Hiyori is looking at. Is it healing? Warping somehow? Anyway, we don’t get that much time with that, because instead, let’s focus on RYUNOSUKE! For someone who was almost deathly injured, he sure stayed awake long enough to see Ichigo and his friends gather around to kick ass. Finally, that’s one confusing name: Asguiaro Ebern? Is that even a Spanish word?
Bakuman 167
Nonsense and a Word - Man, some VA idol fans are ruthless. Sad thing, too, this is probably a commentary on things that really happen in Japan. Try as they might, they just can’t seem to brush this under the rug. Even the anime producers are worried at the publicity this is getting. But then we get the best part. FUKUDA’S CRYING FACE! Oh man…was NOT expecting that. And looks like instead of podcasts, if an anime is popular enough, they get radio program blocks in Japan! Neat! Here’s hoping that Fukuda can rally the hearts and minds of his fans to help out his friends.
