Ascendance of a Bookworm Anime Review: A Bibliophile’s Isekai Story.

As an avid reader, I found the premise of Ascendance of a Bookworm to be quite interesting.
Based off the light novel by Miya Kazuki, the anime follows Urano Motosu, a lover of books who is ironically killed by falling books.
She is then isekaied into the body of a young girl named Myne (Yuka Iguchi), only to find she has been reincarnated into a bibliophile’s worst nightmare.
Myne is of the peasantry class in her new life and, given that most of the people in her town are illiterate, it makes finding a book next to impossible.
Refusing to be dissuaded, Myne sets out to make her own books, surprising her fellow townspeople with her creations brought from her previous life.

Myne’s inventions may be simple in her old life but in the medieval world she now lives in they are revoluntionary.

This premise was such a good one that, after I heard it, I immediately sat down to watch it and was met with a charming anime that has a lot of heart.
Myne’s struggles to find a way to read again are relatable, and the cast around her are just as endearing.
This is especially the case with Myne’s new family, as her father Gunther (Tsuyoshi Koyama) would probably be high up on a list of great anime dads.

Myne’s friend Lutz (Mutsumi Tamura) also serves as her constant supporter, while also slowly growing suspicious that Myne is now more than she seems.
Other interesting characters like Benno (Takehito Koyasu) and Ferdinand (Shou Hiyami) are also encountered by Myne as her prominence grows in the world.
Speaking of that world, it seems to be a simple medieval one at first, yet it slowly expands into a more fantastical one as Myne’s knowledge and desperation to read books lead to her encountering the nobility.
This leads to further world building accompanied by solid animation.
Granted this animation is nothing spectacular but it never needed to be, as a simple confrontation scene in the Season One finale is quite intense on its own.

Myne’s actions in this episode were surprisingly chilling for what had previously been such a wholesome show.

Along with occasional moments of intensity, Ascendance of a Bookworm is capable of bringing out emotional gut punches when it wants to.
This is especially apparent in the Season Three finale where a bittersweet moment between Myne and her family actually had me tearing up.

Season Three’s bittersweet conclusion makes me interested to see where Season Four will pick up.

Myne’s journey across the three seasons we have got so far have been endearing, humorous and emotional.
It makes me excited for what will come next in the story, both in terms of Myne and the other characters’ development and in terms of the world building.
I hope we get a Season Four soon.
I would highly recommend Ascendance of a Bookworm, especially if you are an avid reader like me, as Myne’s struggles will be all the more sympathetic.
The anime has a lot of heart.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 143, Rawr Review: A Dramatic Return.

For the past few chapters, Tatsuki Fujimoto has been building up to a terrorist attack committed by the Devil Hybrids in order to bring Chainsaw Man out of retirement.
As a result, going into Chapter 143, “Rawr”, we were all expecting to see this attack take place.
So, of course, Fujimoto played with our expectations by instead having the terrorists stopped before their attack can even begin, with them being taken out by a fan favourite character who makes their long awaited return in dramatic fashion.
Fujimoto remains as unpredictable of a writer as ever.
“Rawr” begins with the Weapons, consisting of Sugo, and the Spear and Whip Hybrids, prepring to begin their attack.
The Spear Hybrid seems to be in charge of the three, and my earlier impression of him being reluctant to take part in this attack is proved immediately wrong, as he horrifyingly suggests to target women and children.
Whip is just as messed up as, at 82 years old, she is eternally young and believes she was chosen by god, which she and the Spear Hybrid use this justify their oncoming atrocity.
Sugo is the only one of the three who is hesitant, which can be seen when a child falls over in front of him and begins to cry.
Sugo looks horrified at the thought of killing the kid but pushes his hesitancy aside, talking himself into believing this is a message from god.
Yeah, Sugo is still clearly brainwashed, yet his hesitancy still makes me believe their is some redemption for him.
As the clock strikes five, the three Hybrids reach to activate their transformations when, to the shock of probably all the readers, Quanxi dashes in from out of nowhere and cuts down the Whip and Spear Devil.
Sugo takes a little longer to take down, but only by a few seconds, as Quanxi executes him with pure casualness.
The little boy who Sugo was scared of killing earlier then looks up at Quanxi and the bloody carnaged she has unleashed.
“Rawr” Quanxi says to him, and the little boy runs off screaming, in complete fear of the chapter title!
Joking aside, I was not expecting Quanxi’s return at all and screamed out her name in surprise when she showed up.
It is good to see her again and the casual way she took down the Weapons was fun.
She is also revealed to be working with Public Saftey so I wonder how that occured, seeing as she was against them in the International Assassins Arc.
I have to imagine there was some hesitancy, considering that Makima was a part of Public Saftey and she killed Quanxi’s girlfriends.
Still, it will be cool to see Quanxi interact with her old buddy Kishibe, if Fujimoto decides to write that.
Following Quanxi’s return, it is revealed that Public Saftey covered up the planned Hybrid attack, instead portraying it as an attack by gunmen from the Chainsaw Man Church.
The Church is about to be raided by Public Saftey, and one of its members says that, “If they find the Weapons in the basement, we could be charged with treason.”
So, this suggests the Chainsaw Man Church has more Weapons at their disposal or held captive.
Maybe they have Reze and Katana Man, who are the last of the Weapons who remain unnaccounted for now that Quanxi has returned.
The chapter then ends with Haruka and Nobana being shocked to learn that the Church has Weapons, only for the random man who commented this to tell Haruka that he never heard a thing about Weapons, attempting to keep him quiet.
So, yeah, Haruka and Nobana are clearly out of their depth, although this was always apparent.
What is less apparent is just what Denji was thinking while all of this was taking place.
I mean, Barem just shows up, tells him the Weapons are going to attack and that Denji should transform into Chainsaw Man to help them, only for nothing to happen at all.
I have to imagine Barem was quite embarassed about that, which is funny to think about.
Barem is still out though and he is crazy enough to be danger.
As for the captured Weapons, I wonder if this will be the last we see of the Whip and Spear Hybrids?
I am pretty certain that we will see Sugo again, though, because Fujimoto seems to be giving him an arc, what with his clearly growing doubts.
Overall, I found “Rawr” to be a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter.
Yes, it was brief, but it had the return of a fan favourite character and, with it, a classic Fujimoto subversion of expectations.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 142, Denji Fan Club Review: A Different Side.

Despite the ominous ending to the previous chapter, Chapter 142 of Chainsaw Man, “Denji Fan Club”, has one of the most wholesome openings of the entire story.
Denji has taken Nayuta to an amusement park and we get a panel of her enjoying herself on a ride.
Sadly, this wholesome image is not enough to make even Denji feel better because he still looks incredibly depressed while watching her from the bench he is sitting on.
Fumiko is still guarding him and Denji assures her he is not going to turn into Chainsaw Man again.
Fumiko says this is disappointing but Denji points out that his time as Chainsaw Man was not all good, and Fumiko agrees, revealing that Public Saftey has even been keeping watch on Denji in the bathroom.
Denji rightfully points out how screwed up this all is, calling Fumiko a stalker which, after all of the creepy stuff she has done, is totally justified.
Fumiko, however, demands that Denji call her his fan, but Denji says that every woman who comes onto him ends up hating his guts.
With Denji’s interactions with Makima, Reze, and many others, it is hard to exactly fault him for thinking this.
Fumiko, on the other hand, admits that she does hate Chainsaw Man a little bit because he did not save her parents.
We then see a different side to Fumiko than the creepy stalker, as she reveals that she was there when Denji fought Aki who had been turned into the Gun Fiend.
Denji then asks Fumiko if her parents survived, which is pretty stupid of him, considering that she just said Chainsaw Man did not save them.
I am not sure if that is Fujimoto just showing Denji having a dumb moment, a writing issue, or a translation issue.
In any case, Fumiko reveals that she also saw Denji transform back into a human and cry over Aki death.
She states, “When I saw it, I realized for the first time… that the one who’s been fighting all this time, while Devils kill him over and over again… was just a kid.”
A kid who she touched inappropriately… yeah, Fumiko’s a creep.
Fumiko concludes her speech by saying she swore to save Denji after she saw who he was, making her, not a Chainsaw Man fan, but a Denji fan.
This is a very well written speech and it does make Fumiko sympathetic but, again, it is complicated by her prior actions.
She says she knew Denji was young yet she still pretty much assaulted him in the theatre.
Fumiko’s statement does seem to break through Denji’s depression, at least, because he is still considering what she said when Barem approaches, contrasting Fumiko as a Denji fan by saying that he is a Chainsaw Man fan.
Barem says it was not easy to sneak over to Denji without getting spotted by Public Saftey, indicating that they are looking for him.
Barem then shows his Chainsaw Man lighter to prove that he is a fan before asking Denji to grant his “fan request.”
What follows is a moment that feels like Fujimoto is speaking directly to the reader.
“Personally, I want to see Chainsaw Man fighting. I want to see him carving up Devils with his chainsaws… getting covered in gore… suffering and struggling and getting killed… and despite it all, returning to life and getting back up again.”
It feels like Fujimoto is just repeating what he has heard some fans say about Part Two, which has been much slower paced than Part One.
I am not complaining, though, since I have personally quite enjoyed the direction Part Two has taken but it does appear that Fujimoto is aware that there are some readers who do not.
It will be interesting to see which direction Fujimoto decides to take this.
Will he decide to give into some fan pressure and make the story more violent, or will he stick with the more character focused approach he has been taking?
It looks like we will get an answer next chapter because Barem reveals that the Weapons are about to attack, and we see Sugo, the Whip Hybrid, and the Spear Hybrid standing in a store ready to begin, as the chapter ends.
Of the three, I would say that the Whip Hybrid is the only one who looks comfortable with what she is about to do.
Sugo and the Spear Hybrid look much more uncomfortable.
I have said before that I think Sugo will probably end up betraying the Weapons to help Denji and I still believe this to be true but I am interested to see if my impression of the Spear Devil’s reluctance is correct or not.
Will Denji fight the Weapons when their attack begins or will he back down and let the attack happen to live a normal life?
I could see this going either way but, if he does fight the Hybrids, it will certainly not go as well as when Pochita fought them at the end of Part One.
Chapter 142 is a solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which promised an imminent attack from the Weapons while showing a new side to Fumiko.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 141, Normal Life Plus Review: An Ominous End.

Chapter 141 of Chainsaw Man, “Normal Life Plus”, feels like the shortest chapter we have had in a while, not that it’s a bad thing.
The chapter begins by showing that, despite Denji trying to live a normal life, he will never be able to escape reminders of Chainsaw Man.
We see this in the Chainsaw Man Curry Buns he buys while shopping with Nayuta, and even with the Asa posters they pass while walking home.
Also on their way home, they encounter a Devil, which Denji and Nayuta look pretty happy about.
Denji is about to transform but hesitates and, in that moment, a bunch of Chainsaw Man Church members show up and kill the Devil for him.
As Denji and Nayuta depart, a store named after Fujimoto can be seen behind them.
This doesn’t have anything to do with Denji’s predicament, I just find it a fun easter egg, like when Fujimoto named the karaoke place Denji and Fumiko visited after himself.
Fujimoto then presents us with more panels of Denji living his depressing normal life with Nayuta, until the two eventually go to bed with their dogs and Meowy.
Denji, however, cannot sleep and when he wonders if he will eventually get happy in this normal life, Nayuta attempts to console him by saying she will stay with him forever.
This does seem to comofort him, somewhat, as Denji goes to sleep hugging his little sister.
However, this is Chainsaw Man so trouble is innevitably on the horizon, as we see the Weapons of the Chainsaw Man Church meeting up at Family Burger to discuss their plans.
Barem is leading the discussion, with Sugo and the Whip and Spear Hybrids also in attendance.
Just like many of us thought, Barem is up to no good, as he plans to launch an attack with the other Weapons.
Since tomorrow is the Chainsaw Man Church’s day of worship, the Church’s followers will not stop any Devil attacks.
This will cause the Public Saftey Devil Hunters to emerge, who the Weapons then plan to kill to draw Chainsaw Man out.
Out of all the Weapons, Sugo seems to be the only one reluctant about enacting this plan, as he demands to know why they are going so far to make Denji transform into Chainsaw Man again.
It would seem that Sugo is being kept out of the loop.
In response to his demands, the Whip Hybrid tells him that they will be Weapons tomorrow, so he should remove all of his thoughts.
This, again, causes Sugo to reassert his humanity, telling her to let him think for himself.
Sugo really is similar to Denji in a lot of ways and this only reinforces my belief that he will eventually betray the Weapons to help him.
As for Barem, he does agree with Sugo that they are human, but also acknowledges that they are weapons, asking the group what they have in common.
The Whip Hybrid guesses that they are hard to spell.
It would seem that she is not the sharpest weapon in the shed.
With a creepy face, Barem states that the thing humans and weapons have in common is that they are both born to kill, so god will forgive them, no matter how many people they kill.
On this ominous note, the chapter concludes, promising that Denji’s normal life is about to come to a violent end.
Why the Weapons want to draw Denji out, I could not say at this point, but I do think there is one thing they have not accounted for: Asa.
Just like Denji, I doubt she is going to be able to stay out of the fray, which will probably lead to a second team up between her and Chainsaw Man, against the Weapons this time.
“Normal Life Plus” is a solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which I think signifies the end of Denji’s attempt at a normal life.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 140, Scales Review: Meeting Another Weapon.

I went into Chapter 140 of Chainsaw Man, “Scales”, excited to see if another Devil Hybrid would return to the story.
Sure enough, there was one, and an intimidating one at that.
The chapter begins with Denji and Sugo arriving at the Chainsaw Man Church, which has a giant model of Chainsaw Man’s face sticking out from the top of the building.
Sugo tells Denji that a cult used to own the building before the Chainsaw Man Church absorbed them, claiming they “vanquished evil.”
Well, it turns out that the cult elements of the Chainsaw Man Church are far from vanquished.
Before this is revealed, Sugo introduces Denji to his guide, the Kobeni clone from the Aquarium Arc.
He introdues himself as Nobana Higashiyama and, with this last name-drop, we finally know that Nobana is Kobeni’s brother and not just a weird male clone of her.
I wonder what Kobeni thinks of her brother joining the Chainsaw Man Church, and if we will see her again?
As for Nobana, he is exactly like his sister, stuttering over his words, as he gives Denji a tour of the Church.
When Denji notices that all of the Church’s members are students, Nobana says it’s because all of the adults’ minds have been altered by an American ultraviolet ray weapon hovering over Japan.
Why do the Church followers believe this?
Well, because Chainsaw Man discovered it with his super vision, of course.
So, basically, the fake Chainsaw Man is brainwashing his followers with outlandish conspiracy theories, which bear a strong resemblance to the extremist conspiracy theories of today, like the idiotic jewish space laser conspiracy.
This is not the only extreme thing the Church is doing because, when Nobana takes Denji to the Chainsaw Man Wedding Chapel, he tells Denji he will be having sex with a girl and then marrying her.
So the Chainsaw Man Church is also engaging in coerced underage marriages.
But, yeah, the cult elements have been totally vanquished.
Sugo said so.
Denji rightfully calls this cult behavior out, revealing to Sugo that he never found a ultraviolet weapon.
At this revelation, Sugo merely doubles down, saying it’s okay if one person gets screwed over so long as hundreds are saved.
Sugo is clearly brainwashed but he does seem like a good person despite this, so if his brainwashing is broken I could see him betraying the Church eventually to help Denji.
If this does come about, however, Sugo and Denji will have a lot to worry about from a particular member of the Church because this is the moment when one of the Devil Hybrids finally makes his appearance.
His name is Barem and he is the Flamethrower Hybrid whom Makima controlled to attack Denji.
He is also, clearly, a massive psycho, jabbing his fingers up Denji’s nose and then threatening the city and eventually Asa in an attempt to make Denji become Chainsaw Man again.
He then tells Denji to picture a pair of scales.
On the right side is Denji’s home, family, pets, a wonderful life, and on the left in Denji’s starter which transforms him into Chainsaw Man.
Barem asks Denji which side is heavier but, instead of answering, Denji pushes him off and storms off, while Barem cheerfully shouts out to Denji that he should, “Enjoy your normal life while you can!”
The chapter then concludes with this threat.
“Scales” had a lot of moments that are interesting to consider in their implications for the story,
chief among these being the introduction of Barem.
He is most likely going to be a threat going forward, and there are already quite a few theories about him already.
I have seen some theorize that he is the man who placed his hands on Haruka’s shoulder in a threatening way in Chapter 132.
This seems likely to me, considering he is introduced in almost the exact same way in Chapter 140, with him placing his hand on Nobana’s shoulder.
Another theory about Barem is that he was not actually under Makima’s control when he fought Pochita.
In that fight, all of the Hybrids are talking about how much they love Makima, while he simply states, “Hmmm. Everyone really loves Ms. Makima, don’t they?”
It is almost as if he is not under control like the rest of them and is just fighting because he enjoys it, which would certainly match up with his creepy personality we saw in his chat with Denji.
As for the other Devil Hybrids, with Barem’s introduction, there are now two unknown ones left who we have not been introduced to.
These are the Spear Hybrid and the Whip Hybrid, the latter of whom is already theorized to have shown up, which I mentioned in my previous review.
As for the other remaining Hybrids, Reze, Quanxi and Katana Man, I now do not see them being involved in the Chainsaw Man Church, given how much of a cult it is.
The fake Chainsaw Man, Fami, and the Justice Devil are clearly indoctrinating people to suit their own ends.
As for what this end is, I think a war with America is one possibility.
Makima mentioned that there might be a war in Part One of Chainsaw Man, and Yoru said “War draws nigh” in Chapter 135.
As for the American component, it seems like Fujimoto has been setting up a lot of anti-American conspiracies among his characters.
There is the random guy who says Chainsaw Man is just American propaganda in Chapter 103 and, of course, there is the Chainsaw Man Church spreading extremist conspiracy theories about America in this chapter.
A war with America would also make Yoru stronger as the War Devil, which may be a part of Fami’s plan to end the Nostradamus Prophecy, since the prophecy states that Mars, meaning Yoru, will reign.
Fami is also intertwined with justice as the Famine Devil, with justice being a big theme, what with the mention of scales from Barem in this chapter, like the scales of Lady Justice.
Like I said, there are a lot of implications which could be drawn from this chapter and other recent events.
We will just have to wait and see what these implications amount to.
Either way, this was another great Chainsaw Man chapter, which showed the indoctrination of the Church and introduced the new threat of Barem very well.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 139, A Chair’s Feelings Review: Teleportation Activated.

Chapter 139 of Chainsaw Man, “A Chair’s Feelings” picks up right from the reveal of Sword Man’s arrival, with Denji still not having a clue who he is.
In an attempt to remind Denji (and probably the reader as well), Sword Man brings up the battle with Makima, only for Denji to inform him that it was Pochita fighting her, not him.
Denji leaves a dejected Sword Man, telling him he has to go to school, only to be dismayed when he sees Sword Man is joining his class.
Sword Man introduces himself as Miri Sugo to the class but it is unclear if that is his real name or just an alias.
Sugo informs the class that he is not there to make friends, only for a bunch of girls to take interest in him, much to Denji’s apparent envy.
Later in the day, Sugo attempts to talk with Denji, who is being a chair for Fumiko.
He tells Denji that he is here to invite him to join the Chainsaw Man Church, stating that “the weapons walk” with them.
This statement means there are probably many hybrids from within the Church who we will be introduced to soon.
We may have even been introduced to one of these “weapons” already.
Back in Chapter 107, we see a girl from the Devil Hunter Club fighting Yuko.
This girl has a cap over her eyes, hiding her identity, but she resembles the Whip Hybrid who was under Makima’s control, like Sword Man was.
Many readers noticed this similarity but the theory died off when the girl was implied to have left the club after Yuko’s attack.
Now, with Sword Man returning and claiming that “weapons” have joined the Chainsaw Man Church, it seems that this theory may have some weight after all.
Getting back to the chapter itself, Sugo and Fumiko begin arguing to convince Denji to stay on their side.
Sugo wants Denji to join the Church, while Fumiko wants him to stay living a normal life.
During their argument, my prior impression of Sugo attempting to manipulate Denji was seemingly proven wrong, as Sugo seems genuine in wanting to help Denji.
This is because he holds a lot of gratitude for Denji freeing him from Makima.
Denji, however, is content to live as a chair.
Sugo is disappointed, saying that he actually wanted to be Denji’s friend.
As he leaves, Sugo happens to mention that if Denji joined the Chainsaw Man Church he could sleep with all the women he wants.
And, just like that, Denji gains the power of instant teleportation.
Joking aside, Denji does not actually teleport.
We can see from little dash movements in the panels that Denji actually uses super speed to get in front of Sugo.
This is probably for comedic affect, though, rather than being an actual Chainsaw Man power.
It is also very funny, along with the potential implication that Fumiko fell over when Denji dashed to confront Sugo.
Denji tells the Sword Man that he has given what he said a lot of thought, as if hours had passed and not just a few seconds, before declaring he will join the Chainsaw Man Church, bringing an end to the chapter on this comedic note.
So now we have Denji, Asa, Fammi, Sugo, and Haruka as members of the Church, along with the hybrids mentioned in this chapter.
All of the important characters seem to be joining up with the Church, which will probably result in a lot of great and funny character interactions over the next few chapters.
It will be interesting to see which “weapons” are part of the Church.
We could see Reze, Quanxi, Katana Man, Whip Hybrid girl, and even some of the other unnamed Hybrids who fought Pochita under Makima’s control.
These characters could very well reappear in the next chapter tomorrow, or later in the story.
As for Chapter 139, it did a great job of building up this intrigue.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 138, Sword Man Review: The Return of… Who?

After a two week break, Chainsaw Man has returned with Chapter 138, “Sword Man.”
The chapter begins by immediately disproving my theory that the creepy girl laid a trap for Denji because, instead of attacking him, she actually attacks an injured thug who was pointing a gun at him.
The girl then realises the gun is a fake, which did make me wonder why the guy even pointed it at Denji in the first place?
It was a bit of a weird detail.
Getting back to the creepy girl, Denji is surprised that the girl is not his enemy, and Yoshida shows up to confirm this, telling Denji that the girl is named Fumiko Mifine, a 22-year-old Devil Hunter.
So she is a 22-year-old making moves on a 16-year-old?
Well, Fumiko just got a whole lot creepier than she already was.
As for why Fumiko did not help Denji when he was being attacked by the group of thugs last chapter, she says that she did not want her song to be interrupted, looking embarassed.
Denji rightfully wonders just what is wrong with Fumiko and Yoshida, while Yoshida inspects the bodies of the thugs, finding no means to identify them.
So who sent these thugs to attack Denji and how they knew his identity is currently a mystery.
Denji is dejected that a girl was only acting interested in him as her job but Fumiko insists that she is into him because he is Chainsaw Man.
No, Fumiko, enough with the grooming, please?
At least Denji’s reaction to Fumiko saying this looks less than positive.
I hope?
The scene then ends with Yoshida promising to set Fumiko straight so Denji will not have to fight again.
The chapter then cuts to Asa, who is watching news about her exploits at home.
Asa seems happy when a commentator on the news calls her beautiful, yet completley contradicts this when she tells Yoru they are not doing this for praise.
Yoru agrees, saying that they are doing this to kill Chainsaw Man, while Asa says they are doing this to help him.
Yeah, they are definitley going to butt heads over this in the future.
After stating their goals, Yoru complains about the rush Asa is feeling, due to her newfound fame, to which Asa says fame creeps her out because people are invading her privacy.
Yoru looks likes she wants to call Asa a liar and the next panel proves her as one, with Asa sporting a tired and delirious grin at her fame.
This panel not only had me laughing out loud but also reminded me of Denji learning that people loved him as Chainsaw Man near the end of Part One.
Both he and Asa want to be loved, only now Asa is actually experiencing that while Denji gets none of the fame he had previously.
This is epitomized by the next panel, which sees Denji looking dejected as he stares at a poster of Asa.
He is then approached by a hooded man who is also angered by people overlooking Chainsaw Man for Asa.
Given the shape of this man’s hood, I thought he might be Violence before we saw the bottom half of his face in the following panels.
In these panels, the mysterious man confirms that people can see Yoru’s scars when she takes control of Asa’s body, meaning that Yoshida would have seen them when they first met in Chapter 99.
It makes me wonder what Yoshida’s actual plans regarding Asa are?
After the man finishes talking, Denji is annoyed, wondering why strangers keep talking to him.
The man seems disappointed Denji does not remember him but states that is okay because he does not remember him either.
When Denji insists to know who he is the man pulls back his hood and identifies himself as “Sword Man.”
Denji’s response is the one which many fans probably had reading this reveal, “Seriously, who is this loser?”
Well, turns out this “loser” is actually one of the Devil Hybrids Makima controlled to fight Pochita at the end of Part One.
He only gets a few lines and is killed pretty quickly in both fights, so he is not that memorable.
This makes it interesting that Fujimoto chose to bring him back, of all characters.
Perhaps Sword Man is the mysterious figure who healed Denji back in the Falling Devil Arc?
Maybe he was the one who sent those thugs to ambush Denji and Fumiko?
Whatever his role is, he clearly wants Denji on his side, as he appeals to his vanity by talking about Asa stealing his fame.
As for why he says he does not remember Denji, this is probably because he was under Makima’s control at the time.
Same goes for Denji, his body was being controlled by Pochita when he fought Sword Man and the other Hybrids.
Probably the most interesting implication of Sword Man’s return to the story, however, is the fate of the other Devil Hybrids.
If he is alive then that means the other Hybrids, like Reze, Quanxi and Katana Man are probably alive and could very well return to the story at some point, which is exciting to think about.
“Sword Man” is yet another great Chainsaw Man chapter.
It sets up Fumiko’s role as Denji’s creepy bodyguard, along with Asa’s enjoyment of her newfound fame, and the return of Sword Man has exciting implications for other missing characters.
It will be interesting to see what this set up amounts to in future chapters.

Choujin X, Chapters 1-40.2 Review: I Regret Dropping This Manga.

Tokyo Ghoul is one of my favourite mangas, so when I learned that Sui Ishida was writing a new one, Choujin X, I was very excited.
I was so excited for it that I made sure to review the first chapter once it released, and did the same for many of the subsequent chapters.
These reviews can still be found on my blog.
However, while I did find Choujin X to be good, I slowly began to lose interest in it, for a reason that I have never been able to put my finger on, to the point that I dropped it some time after Chapter 21.
I did not revisit it until recently, when I saw that the second part of Chapter 40 had released.
I decided to re-read the entire manga from the beginning, all the way through the chapters I had not yet read, and up to the most recent chapter.
After finishing Chapter 40.2, all I could think was that I was a fool for dropping this manga in the first place.

*Choujin X* is completley unique from other stories with super-powered characters.

The manga finally connected with me in a way which it had not on my first read and I am so glad that it did.
The story follows Tokio Kurohara, a teenage boy with seemingly no direction in life, who constantly lives under the shadow of his best friend, the confident and accomplished Azuma Higashi.
When the two are attacked by a Choujin, a person with super-human abilities, they are left with no choice but to attempt to become Choujins themselves.
This works for Tokio, who becomes a Beast Choujin resembling a vulture, while it seemingly does not work for Azuma.

Tokio becomes a Beastial Choujin in the first chapter, similar to how Kaneki became a ghoul in the first chapter of *Tokyo Ghoul.*

And so Tokio is forced into the world of Choujin, where he slowly begins to emerge from under Azuma’s shadow, alongside Ely Otta, a short teenage girl who gains her own powers after being attacked on a plane by the Choujin known as Chandra Hume.
The thing that makes Choujin X so distinct is how it fits into the super-hero genre.
This is certainly no My Hero Academia, as the powers many of these characters have fit in more with eldritch monsters, as is most apparent with the character of Sora.

Many of the *Choujin* in this series feel downright Lovecraftian.

Abilities like Raise and Chaos States make the Choujin entirely unique compared to super-powered characters from other stories.
The characters of Choujin X are also pretty great, especially Tokio, with his arc of learning what his own dream is and trying to achieve that.
It is this quality that makes Chapter 35 my favourite of the series so far, with the conversation between Tokio and his dad being a highlight, along with how the chapter itself ties into Tokio, Ely and Azuma’s growth as characters.

The conversation between Tokio and his father is one of my favourite moments of the manga.

The rest of the cast is also pretty great, with standout heroes, villains, and characters who may be somewhat both.
There is also a lot of mystery in this series, most notably the identity of the titular Choujin X.
I am highly intrigued to see the answer to these many mysteries, some of which I already have my own theories about.
As for my criticisms of the manga, I do have a few, such as that there are a few times where characters recap everything that has happened in the story, which does feel a bit unnecessary.
Also, of all the chapters, I would definitely say that Chapter Two is the weakest.
Re-reading that chapter really reinforced how much of a mess it was.
I probably had more difficulty trying to figure out what was happening during Chapter Two’s action on my second read than I did on my first.

Thankfully, Ishida greatly improves on the action in the rest of the story, and I am looking forward to the rest of it, especially with the horrifying events of Chapter 40.2 seeming to lead into an epic and probably tragic fight.
Overall, Choujin X is another great manga from Sui Ishida, which I regret falling behind on.
If you dropped it, like I did, then I would highly recommend re-reading the series all the way up to the newest chapter.
Hopefully, it will finally connect with you the same way it did for me.

Hell’s Paradise Anime Review: Well-Animated or a Let-Down?

I know I have found a good story when I decide to read the manga rather than wait week by week to see the anime version of it.
This was my experience with the Hell’s Paradise Mappa adaptation.
I loved the first three episodes so much that I read Yuji Kaku’s manga over three days, being rewarded by a compelling story with incredible characters and inventive fights that worked perfectly with the theme of accepting strengths and weaknesses.

It was this scene which ultimately convinced me to read the manga..

From that point on, I was watching the anime not as someone experiencing this story for the first time but as someone who had read the manga and was judging the anime based on how well it adapted the source material.
This is where a lot of complaints from manga readers came in.
I saw many critcizing the adaptation as it was airing for the quality of its animation.
To be fair, I can understand why this criticism is happening.
The animation is clearly not up to the par of Mappa’s other brilliant adaptations, like Chainsaw Man.
However, the animation is still solid, with numerous excellently animated fights, like in Episodes Two, Nine, Twelve, and Thirteen.

While some fights do feel a bit lacking, some of them are fantastically animated, especially towards the end.

The story is also much the same as the manga, with Gabimaru the Hollow (Chiaki Kobayashi) travelling to a mysterious island with his executioner Sagiri (Yumiri Hanamori) to claim the Elixar of Life in the hope of receiving a pardon from the Shogun so he can see his wife again.
Gabimaru, Sagiri, and all of the other prisoners and executioners are well voiced and just as endearing as they are in the source material.
The themes are also well expressed, with signs of how they will eventually tie into the story in a big way in the coming seasons, how ever many there are.

I am excited to see how Tao is portrayed in future fights.

Hopefully, the following season will have a bigger budget and more time to develop its animation so that it can reach the heights of the manga.
Again, the animation we got in this first season is very good but we know Mappa can do much better.
Although, in saying that, good treatment of their animators should come first because this was one of those anime where I heard rumors about the animators being under a lot of pressure again.
Overall, this was a good first season for Hell’s Paradise and I am anticipating its continutation.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Season Two Review: Emotional Gut Punches Throughout.

The first season of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury did a great job of getting plenty of people hooked for a second season.
Ending on the cliffhanger of Suletta (Kana Ichinose) killing someone in front of Miorine (Lynn) and being completley unbothered by it, there were a lot of questions about what would happen next.

This dark ending hinted at grim things to come.

This is why it was surprising to see the second season have a slow start, with the first episode mostly being setup.
Unsurprisingly, this caused a few complaints, but people should have been more paitient because, low and behold, the second episode gets right back to the grim story telling the first season left on from.
The story follows Suletta, who is struggling to deal with the blow that has been dealt to her relationship with Miorine, who, in turn, now has to run her father’s corporation while also trying to get Suletta away from her conniving mother, Lady Prospera (Mamiko Noto).
This leads to many a tragic moment, some of which are not even related to a character death, with the characters words alone doing the emotional damage.

This scene especially was hard to watch.

It is not just Suletta and Miorine who get the spotlight though because plenty of the other characters get time to shine, with Shaddiq (Makoto Furukawa) making his move, and an unexpected bond growing between Elan (Natsuki Hanae) and Norea (Aoi Yuki).
It is Guel (Yohei Azakami) who really shines this season, however, as he deals with the trauma of accidentally killing his own father, while being held captive on earth.
I have loved Guel’s arc, as he started off as a privileged bully at the beginning of Season One, only to grow into a humbled leader and friend of Suletta.

Guel’s arc in seasons one and two is fantastic.

Not all about his story is great though because this does lead into one of my issues with Season Two, that being Guel’s brother Lauda (Takeo Otsuka).
Towards the end of the season, Lauda’s brain does a whole lot of mental gymnastics to blame Miorine for everything, leading to a conflict between him and Guel.
It honestly felt like the writers just wanted Guel to have a fight at the end so they came up with a reason to have Lauda be his opponent, no matter how contrived it was.

Lauda’s reasoning ultimately left me scratching my head.

Unfortunately, that is not my only problem with Season Two because I feel that the ending is a bit lacking.
Don’t get me wrong, the characters do get a satisfying ending but, as for the world The Witch from Mercury has built, it felt like everything was wrapped up too neatly.
I think we could have got another season showing a conflict between earth and space, rather than it all being quickly wrapped up here.
Sadly, it seems like this really is the end of The Witch from Mercury.

It is a shame if the show is truly over because I felt it had the potential to go further.

That being said, if this is the end then the show was highly enjoyable.
Along with the story and characters, the animation and score were also great, with the OPs and ED being very well done.
This is especially the case for Season Two’s ED “Red:birthmark” by Aina The End, which has banger singing, visuals and symbolism.
All in all, The Witch from Mercury Season Two is a great follow-up to the first season, which provides a satisfying conclusion, despite it being a bit lacking.
I hope we get some continuation, even if that seems unlikely at this point.