I'm fairly sure this cube of a man is an original creation of the manga, but his feats are all the classics. Ascetic practices like meditating under waterfalls, winning duels with the strongest fighters of his day, killing a bull with his fists alone. Too many legends to mention, the manga says. But only one is relevant for today. A relatively small little story, a single question. His finest student at the time wanted to know which style, of all the opponent's he's fought, gave him the hardest time. He closed his eyes, immersed in memories of the past. Then, after a moment's silence, he said with stern solemnity…
Way back when I was a tiny child me and first started dancing ballet, there was one woman in the big dance troupe at the school. Lovely lady, in her mid-twenties or so, looked like a porcelain doll and moved with as much grace as that description suggests. She was the lead dancer, primarily on account of the fact she could jump almost her entire (admittedly short) height if afforded the appropriate preparation.
She had also served two years in the army prior to my meeting her, and was now a self-defense teacher when not dancing. I've visited her classes since, and I can confirm that when this fictional man says one should never fight a ballet dancer, you should believe him.
That said, this comes with massive drawbacks. Every ballet dancer I've known retired at around their mid-thirties on account of what professional ballet does to your legs, particularly the bones on your feet, and the ones that lasted longer generally end up with chronic issues of all sorts. That dancer I mentioned earlier has now been retired for over a decade, both as a dancer and as a self-defense teacher, because she knew where her limits ended. A lot of ballerinas don't learn that so easily.
Sawada gets that too. The way his leg broke in this chapter, it's no small wonder he never really shows up for a fight again, even in Omega as far as I recall. That man is not going to be dancing or fighting much in the near-future. And honestly, from a reader pov, thank fucking goodness, his presence already irritates me enough with how much Sandrovich likes to lean on the gay jokes. I love that he gave Sawada genuine respect and turned a ballet dancer in a fighting manga into a genuine threatening force, but still, we're better off without this rep.
On to a better character though, Julius is a delight. The man's next fight is easily one of my favorites in this manga and as a character he is a great subversion of everything he seemingly represents, even if he's a massive hypocrite, as pointed out. He's a fun one.
Of course, though, none can measure up to the God Of Kengan, as we'll see in the next chapter...
The Sawada worf this chapter reminds me most of what Murobuchi Gozo recently did for Wakatsuki, with the manga doing a very good job of hyping up an Olympic athlete compared to a Kengan fighter, and then transferring that hype in one panel like a funnel directly into his opponent.
On to a better character though, Julius is a delight. The man's next fight is easily one of my favorites in this manga and as a character he is a great subversion of everything he seemingly represents, even if he's a massive hypocrite, as pointed out. He's a fun one.
I've heard this opinion echoed a lot. Meanwhile, I find Julius dull as dishwater, and wished Sawada got more fights. Specifically fights like Meguro, where he gets maybe one 'Hey guys, did you know I'm gay' line and then knuckles down for a good show.
I didn't get much further in the manga than this, though, and people are hyped for later Julius fights so I'm ready and willing to get my mind changed.
The Sawada worf this chapter reminds me most of what Murobuchi Gozo recently did for Wakatsuki, with the manga doing a very good job of hyping up an Olympic athlete compared to a Kengan fighter, and then transferring that hype in one panel like a funnel directly into his opponent.
Sawada does get a lot of that, though he also gets the unfortunate fate of having to follow Murobuchi up while also being at least partially just a gag character, which makes him a considerably worse jobber overall. He certainly didn't get anywhere near the level of damage on Julius that Murobuchi got on Waka, let alone the respect afforded by the story.
It's weird that Julius has no backstory. His extremely weird philosophy and arbitrary definition of what does and does not count as a technique sort of makes you think there'd be something there, right? Some trauma that gave him a psychotic obsession with strength and mass, or something like that. But no, he's just a genius who deliberately chooses to not get better at martial arts, because he thinks clowning on martial artists with nothing but gains is really funny.
Edit: Like seriously, the dude would rather inject enough steroids to kill 99% of people to increase his muscle mass by 10-20% than just learn some footwork and practice some combinations. I can't help but respect the hustle.
I think you can read it as Julius not really caring about the fighting at all beyond it enabling him to push the limits of his muscle training further. He's here at Kengan not because of a big warriors ideal but so he can buy and drink a gallon of elephant testosterone.
Funnily, I believe that this whole discussion of strength was what inspired this Let's Read to begin with. Months ago, I got into a grumpy discussion with Dogma about the way Dragon Ball treats power levels, and one of the points being thrown around was "well of course the stronger guy wins, that's how it works." And... not really? Raw strength and power is certainly an asset, but a thousand things go into a fight (and moreover, if the guy who is Just Stronger will always win and the only way to beat him is to Get Stronger, then that's a pretty boring way to render fights). And in that discussion I brought up Julius and Wakatsuki, because they happened to be the biggest examples, in my mind, of how to handle a character who is Just Stronger than everyone else. They are strong, for sure, and the manga acknowledges that being that strong is important and makes them incredibly scary to face off against, but it doesn't make their fights foregone victories - it's a powerful asset that they have to make use of, and their fights are dedicated to how they leverage that strength. As Dogma points out, even Julius, whose whole thing is that he should only be punching and occasionally bearhugging people, still comes up with what is, for all intents and purposes, a muscle-based martial art. And I think that's really cool.
I read "techniques" in Julius' mind as "mechanical advantage", IE a non-intuitive motion that amplifies force. His view is that if you just get strong enough you don't need to practice those kinds of learned motions because you can just get the same result with basic movement. Like, why learn a kimura when he can just rip a guy's shoulder out of its socket
We open on Yamashita and Ohma companionably walking down a corridor, presumably taking a little time to chill while things get set up for match 7. Ohma has just thrown a can, perfectly nailing it into the bin from a good twenty metres or so down the corridor, because of course he did. Yamashita, apparently known as "Kazzy the Toss Master" back in the day, (blissfully unaware of the potential euphemism) decides to take a crack as well.
Then, for some reason, the entire corridor shudders, throwing off his pitch. Clonk goes the can, right off the noggin of the biggest man Yamashita's ever seen.
Perfect. Immaculate. The Legend Grows.
Julius turns to look at the juddering stick of nerves with utter bafflement. Not in terms of intent, he immediately interprets the can bouncing off his head as an act of intentional violence, but by the fact that Yamashita did it without showing even a hint of bloodlust. Not even a whiff of killing intent. The possibility of it being an accident doesn't even occur to either man, no, clearly this knobble-kneed tall pot of quivering jelly is some kind of master operator with inhuman control over his body language.
So obviously Nikaido is concerned when Yamashita begins to run at Julius. What is he planning now? Something must be done to protect his gargantuan associate from this five foot nothing squirt of watery yoghurt. With a subtle movement, he pulls a needle from somewhere on his person. It'd just cause things to spiral even more out of control if Nikaido starts killing Association members, so the needle is coated with some kind of tranquiliser. Yamashita needs to sleep for a bit.
The fucking smirk on Nikaido's imagined Turbo-Badass version of Yamashita is just, fuck, I don't even have words this is so fucking funny. The tone of the previous chapter has been shattered like sugar-glass, there was probably a more elegant way to save Sawada's other leg than the return of King Yamashita, but to be perfectly honest I'm not about to turn this down. He fucking dodged a ballistic needle by sheer force of social propriety.
And better still, Nikaido's immediate reaction is a full panel of his eyes narrowing and muscles tensing, a sketchy and malign aura of murderous intent gathering around him as he declares that NOW HE HAS NO CHOICE. He must go full chuuni killer mode on this unremarkable schlub!
Fortunately for Yamashita, and his slowly burgeoning reputation as the biggest badass to ever own a business, Nikaido gets headed off by a voice in his earpiece. Yamashita absolutely would not survive the genuine murderous intent of a Fighter. Nikaido, that's enough, says Hayami. Forget about Yamashita Trading company, you need to get ready and Masaki needs to head for the arena. His match is up next, and he won't be receiving any orders not to kill. His opponent will be the legendary Mercenary, Muteba Gizenga.
Kill him to your heart's content.
How's that for a lurch in tone?
Permission to murder received, Masaki wanders off without any further input, and Nikaido relays Hayami's orders to head out to Julius. The Large Gentleman stares down Ohma for a moment before telling Yamashita not to let it happen again and lumbering off. Yamashita is downright pleased to be forgiven. I guess he's nicer than he looks, he muses, as Ohma muses on how strong the fighters looked.
Only then does Yamashita notice the groaning pile of tenderised meat sprawled behind the vending machines.
Sawada's still alive, but in bad enough shape that Yamashita immediately freaks out about getting him to a doctor. Ohma's more chill, but amusingly only recognises Sawada as "Rihito's buddy." Yeah, Ohma probably would interpret that sort of antagonism as friendship, wouldn't he?
Then Togawa interjects to thank the two of them…though for some reason she mostly just talks to Ohma. "Some reason" here meaning so we can get another Casanova Ohma gag, as Ohma brushes off the thanks, on the basis they didn't do anything. Which is true, Ohma did in fact literally do nothing, it was all Yamashita. But Togawa gets all blushy over it anyway, because the manga just can't help itself. Though we do get a mildly funny panel of Ohma as drawn in Fist of the North Star's style, with the sort of neck that would sink a ship. She firmly insists he let her pay him back for this, and she'll do anything, so Ohma asks her to treat him to some meat while Yamashita struggles to pick up Sawada in the background.
It's getting a little tiresome, but I do appreciate that Togawa at least responds to the attraction with the authoritative, brusque attitude she's already demonstrated so far. It doesn't completely swerve her out of character into some melty moeblob, she's still hand on hip demanding he let her ride him like the tower of terror. And obviously "Ohma misses the point and asks for food" is less problematic than "Ohma is forced to flee out of profound discomfort."
So, we cut away from that scene to Hayami's quarters in the Dome, which he's already gotten set up with a bunch of abstract paintings and a comfy chair placed like a throne. One of his head guardians, the dude with sunglasses, asks him if he's sure about this. Wasn't it a perfect opportunity to eliminate a contender? Hayami is dismissive. Yamashita is Nogi's puppet, nothing more, a complete non-threat safely ignored.
He's completely correct, and yet I still get a sense we're seeing why he'll fail in this scene. Mans is prone to presumption, dismissing anything that doesn't strike him immediately as important. Overwhelming confidence in his immediate insight. Well, we'll see how far that takes him.
Especially since he has more eggs in this basket yet to hatch. Over in the Forest of Ruin, another of his strategems approaches a critical moment. The Bodyguards are in combat.
The squad 3 captain reels back, one of his tonfa shattered by a blow of phenomenal sharpness and speed. He suffers a glancing blow, even through his block, but he's confident. There's plenty of other Bodyguards surrounding them. Still, the guys they're fighting are tough, his lieutenant notes, and he doesn't disagree.
Oh hey, it's the guys Kaburagi noticed a few chapters ago.
There is a problem though. The Messengers are drastically outnumbered, but the Bodyguards have orders to take them alive. Which is going to be hard, given they're damn good and have weapons. Not impossible, they have reinforcements coming that will ensure victory, but a tall order nonetheless. Kaburagi is watching too, and he agrees that the Bodyguards are gonna have a hard time, as Hassad absolutely annihilates a plate of curry in the background with every visible sign of delight. It's genuinely adorable.
There's another surprise coming though, as a group of non-generic shadows emerge from the treeline. It's Katahara Retsudo and the Extermination Force! They don't really sound like the people you want around when Live Prisoners are the order of the day, but we all know how this works. They're the best of the best, so they're the ones who can get a clean knockout without getting shanked in the process. Also they bring new orders.
"Might be too late," huh. More shenanigans from Hayami? We're definitely entering a backrooms subterfuge phase of the story, aren't we. Retsudo dismisses the Bodyguards here to be about their new orders. The Extermination Force will handle things here. As they disappear Misasa, the short blonde of the EF has a good old chuckle about the Messengers, dismissing them as idiots for using long weapons in the middle of a forest.
…aren't they in a massive clearing? Like, that's how the previous pages looked. Sure, they're still stuck in that clearing, but they're hardly going to get stuck on a tree twenty feet away.
Fortunately that weird moment doesn't get lingered on, as the guy with a katana (and isn't that another long weapon? wtf?) tersely tells Misasa to keep on his toes. Orders are to keep them alive. Misasa banters back to him and lsglknafglkrgfreffaerjferkf holy shit I am bored. Maybe it's just that this scene is being contrasted against the King Yamashita moment that kicked off the chapter, but it's probably also that none of this feels particularly relevant, and there's no clear idea of any stakes. Either their existence or their nature. What do the messengers want? Why should I believe the EF are in any danger when they clearly don't?
It isn't helped when the Messengers all take off their masks, and the clear effort put into giving them a variety of faces and body types is somewhat undercut by them all having numbers instead of names. Retsudo recognises them as from the inside, the Messenger's leader recognises Retsudo as a priority target, they both talk each other up a moment before squaring up to fight. Retsudo comments on how there's no fate worse than not being allowed to die. End Chapter.
Well, that certainly lost some energy after the first scene, didn't it? Academically, with my magical future knowledge, I know that this content does become at least kind of important later. But right now in the moment, god if it doesn't feel like we're just waiting for the next match to start. Not sure whether to pin that on the Tournament being that good, or this sudden rainstorm of one-note characters being that dull. Probably a bit of both, to be honest.
Not to worry though. The next match is coming soon, and it's gonna be another funky one, even if it's not as fun as match 5. See you all next time.
Ohma's more chill, but amusingly only recognises Sawada as "Rihito's buddy." Yeah, Ohma probably would interpret that sort of antagonism as friendship, wouldn't he?
Wasn't it a perfect opportunity to eliminate a contender? Hayami is dismissive. Yamashita is Nogi's puppet, nothing more, a complete non-threat safely ignored.
See this here is why Hayami will fail. One ignores Kazzy The God of Kengan at their own peril.
Anyway. The rest of the chapter honestly gives me Omega vibes in hindsight. Lots of talking and trying to do intrigue and introducing characters who are supposed to be incredibly badasses but I just don't care about any of it. An early indication, I suppose, of what would come after Asura. Even Misasa, who will in the future have the absolute best fight in Omega, is just kinda.. there, now. These attempts at a larger plot and intrigue are always the weakest Kengan is at any point, really. Sandro just does not have what it takes to write that sorta stuff. He clearly excels at character writing and the tournament planning, but he insists on the intrigue for some reason...
I like how none of the various mercenary forces ever use guns against dangerous enemies. It's not even that they never use guns, since the Kuro use them against a random cop and have a sniper rifle trained on Kazzy's son. It's just, they never think to bring them out against someone who might actually kill them?
And it's not like Kengan is the sort of setting where guns are obsolete against muscular fighty guys, as Baki is. Fighters would do way better than in reality, but it's not like they'll be bouncing bullets off their pecs or whatever.
What's fun here is that it's explicit that a fighter cannot see that needle, and although Kazzy the Thunder God didn't dodge it on purpose, he does explictly notice that it flies past him.
As they disappear Misasa, the short blonde of the EF has a good old chuckle about the Messengers, dismissing them as idiots for using long weapons in the middle of a forest.
…aren't they in a massive clearing? Like, that's how the previous pages looked. Sure, they're still stuck in that clearing, but they're hardly going to get stuck on a tree twenty feet away
This is probably just Misasa reflecting his own personal biases - his main style's Silat, and he's fairly small, so he fights a lot of bigger guys with more reach already. Sour grapes, as it were. In his one other scene across both mangas, he fights another guy twice his size and makes full use of the size limitations of the ring in the fight. (It is absolutely my favorite fight in that tournament.)
>Not going limp in your organs and arteries to make them sway around the bullet, making a clean hole through your flesh that goes right through you and hits nothing important at all
You'll never figure out Shaori with such a limited imagination. You are blind to the 400 billion years of kung fu.
Something I've noticed in the last few chapters about Julius is the way that the comedy makes him work is by leaving him entirely unchanged when drawing him as a fighter and drawing him having a conversation. It really helps to sell him as super stoic and physically imposing, an effective bit of hype building and making him a solid straight man for jokes to bounce off. This is a guy who when he isn't looming over people is towering over them.
