This week's issues were pretty good! First of all, Code Blue (I still have no idea what the name is supposed to mean though).
There's a small timeskip and we see imprisoned!Natsu,Lucy&Happy, in an excellent colored page. The colored cover also looks good!
I don't like seeing Lucy imprisoned, because last time that happened with Erza we saw some sick stuff ( ._.) but let's see how this will work out. And why is Lucy still a maid, other than fanservice reasons? -__- Since they prolly have their magic sealed, the Star Dress should have gone away too, no? Anyway, Goumon visits them and the guy is kinda hilarious, bowing to nobody like that. Also, he's been cosplaying as Zeref and added his kanji on his forehead, although that kanji means something else entirely. Goumon reminds me of those crazy fanboys/girls that every fandom seems to have nowadays.
Anyways, my fears prove to be true as Goumon somehow controls the chains to have Lucy standing up(also giving readers an ecchi shot of her) and then says he will torture her. As expected, I guess...and for what? For some intel? Why does he think they do have intel?
That next part of the chapter tho...srsly wtf...
https://38.media.tumblr.com/f7e3618e2d416a9d26dfd8b487fe0921/tumblr_mh06ruvlvh1qd3no2o1_r2_500.gif
For people with weird feet fetishes this chapter is probably the best. I hate anything involving the use of torture for fanservice though, so I won't comment further on this ( ._.) the interesting part arrives when Goumon opens his kawaii eyes and says he would rather just tear Lucy in half rather than slowly torture her. Well, that escalated quickly I must say...
BUT! Gray arrives and freezes that bitch, saving the day! And guess what! Code Blue is something about his undercover mission(probably that he's not undercover anymore tbh) and Erza is the one behind it! That was def the highlight of the chapter as I've been waiting to see Erza for ages!
The Good[]
- Erza and Gray's part.
- Goumon's weird personality.
The Bad[]
Everything else? Don't get me wrong, the chapter was not bad and it certainly redeemed itself in the end, BUT! Everything up to Gray's appearance was completely and utterly pointless. We learn nothing new, and see nothing interesting. The chapter could easily begin at page 15 when Gray appears, and nothing would really change, except if frozen!Goumon is so essential to the plot... I don't see it though ( ._.)
Overall[]
Pretty good, mainly because we found out what's been going on with Gray(we do not have the whole story though, I still think he is obsessed with E.N.D.) and we also finally see Erza! The first part of the chapter was kinda pointless tho.
| Raven's Ratings: Chapter 429 | |
| Art | 10/10 |
| Story | 6/10 |
| Fight | 0/10 |
| Chapter | 5/10 |
Now on to Purification Ritual. Wakaba on the cover! He looks hella cool. Also his daughter looks good despite Wakaba's waifu being kinda fugly. It would be kinda interesting if the daughter joined FT or something :P when it comes back, of course.
So Gray's marks completely vanish, and I think he can control Devil Slayer Magic, and can have those tattoos emerge and go away at will. Good job there!
Gray proves me right when he says he learnt to control it thanks to Porlyusica. Also, Erza looks awesome, but she didn't really change anything either (other than her hair that looks longer). The two of them have been working together to stop Zeref and Gray went there under her own command. Accorrding to them, Avatar is planning on eradicating a whole town to lure Zeref. Holy shit they're crazy.
...Alsom yay for naming the arc after Avatar! Apparently they're much bigger than the group we saw, so that's good :P
There's also a small Graylu scene for the fans, and it was kinda good :P the two apologized to each other and Gray mentioned the maid uniform while blushing. We also get a hardwarming nostalgic feel with the original Team Natsu planning to take down the whole of Avatar, while saying that they're "All Fired Up". I seriously loved that part!
...Wait, so Gajeel is waiting outside of the Avatar base in vain? :P Imagine him walking in and finding only the frozen lump that is now Goumon.
Now on to the ritual grounds. Jerome is a pretty smart guy and I like him. Also people will probably ship him with Briar, as he seems to like all her nicknames (even Eyelashes for fuck's sake) and the two seem to be kinda close. Also, Avatar's numbers don't matter because most of them seem to be unnamed fodder that will go down quickly. They prepare to attack the village...
Until Team Natsu arrives in front of them and starts shit! Natsu and Gray are... well, Natsu and Gray, and Lucy uses Star Dress: Taurus!....meh ( ._.) when it starts being used for something other than fanservice purposes, I'll start being interested again. Also, ERZA wrecks them from behind too! That didn't sound like I wanted to... you get it tho! Team Natsu starts shit, and the hype is real.
The Good[]
- Everything Team Natsu, I srsly adore them all together.
- Briar and Jerome.
- Incontrol!Gray
The Bad[]
- Avatar. They look even more stupid than Lyon's gang back then with the Moon Drip business ( ._.)
- Star Dress. It's been used all the time and it's lost some of its hype. I do remain confident though.
Overall[]
Way better than last chapter, and can't wait for the next one. It's called "My Sword Is..." so it's probably Erza-centric. Let's wait and see!
| Raven's Ratings: Chapter 430 | |
| Art | 10/10 |
| Story | 9/10 |
| Fight | 7/10 |
| Chapter | 8/10 |
As for other manga... One Piece + Bleach were on a break. There's a trailer for the new Boruto movie though! Also, I've began watching Naruto the anime again, and the filler chunnin exam is pretty interesting I must say. What do you think about this week's manga? Let me know in the comments!