Capitalism ho! Let's Read Kengan Asura
- Thread starter Manic Dogma
- Start date
- Discussion Manga
- Location
- USA
I'll second Teppu as a great punch series. Dunno how the first few chapters stand up, but it's a short manga with great fights.
Batuque is a delight, but if we're going with the criteria of "similar to Kengan" and "first handful of chapters," I think Tenkaichi is the best option. It's my pick for the strongest ongoing tournament manga and the entire first match, Honda Tadakatsu vs. Miyamoto Musashi, lasts from chapter 2 to chapter 5, so you might be able to squeeze the whole thing in.
Speaking of squeezing the whole thing in, there's even a weirdly fetishized gay dude in it. It'll be like Sandro never left your side.
Speaking of squeezing the whole thing in, there's even a weirdly fetishized gay dude in it. It'll be like Sandro never left your side.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm still irked that Ayashimon got dropped without even getting enough chapters to actually finish the story, while the similar but much less interesting Doron Dororon got three more months. And that was a year and a half ago.
Speaking of Jump manga that I want to see more of, RuriDragon only has half a dozen chapters, so doing all of it at once would be practical. (Unless I get lucky and the series comes off hiatus in the next month.)
It's basically nothing like Kengan Asura, but who knows, maybe that sort of palette cleanser is something Dogma would be interested in.
Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
Just to clarify, since there seems to be some confusion, I'm doing one update's worth of content for this special. That is to say, one to two chapters depending on how much I have to say about the first chapter.
None of you are getting a whole arc out of this.
None of you are getting a whole arc out of this.
- Location
- boundless optimism
Anyway if we're talking about reviewing opening chapters, then I'll throw in Blades of the Guardians in the mix. It's a historical martial arts manhua centered around a smug holotype of a Western bounty hunter but with a bag of swords.
Also he's got a kid.
I'm throwing this rec because I know Manic has probably read Ayashimon and Tenkaichi and whatever be he's probably never read this before, so there's that novelty factor.
Also he's got a kid.
I'm throwing this rec because I know Manic has probably read Ayashimon and Tenkaichi and whatever be he's probably never read this before, so there's that novelty factor.
- Location
- Britain
It might be an interesting way to experiment with a different approach of analysing works — a more holistic, top-down analysis, something that might be of use if you want to parlay your success here into a more extensive catalogue of the same!
Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
That's an interesting idea, honestly. Something a bit more on the essay side that approaches full arcs with a bit more broad-view analysis. Lends itself better to specific commissions, too.
For now I'm going to stick with Kengan Asura's present format. But I'll give that some thought for the future.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I maintain my repping of Teppu and Farewell My Dear Cramer. Both have good introductory chapters followed by solid second chapters if necessary and would make for good reading for an update.
And seriously more people need to give love to Cramer, that manga is great and the anime killed any chance it ever had of getting the fame it deserves.
And seriously more people need to give love to Cramer, that manga is great and the anime killed any chance it ever had of getting the fame it deserves.
Chapter 98 - Actor
Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
After the extremely brief rainstorm God called in because he was just so incredibly enthused by the Femboy Throwdown for…some reason? The Annihilation Tournament staff are taking a quick break. This is conveyed to the impatient audience by a combination of Sayaka's verbal warnings, and the Arena girls holding up big signs with BREAK written across them in writing that's probably still far too small for even the front row to see. On the other hand, the fact they're in great, big, baggy raincoats is very cute. Speaking of girls in the arena, this chapter marks the return of Suoh Mihono! And after a brief aside to remind us who she is (remember the girl who bet the farm on Match 4, and then became yet another among the baffling legion of people who want to swivel on Ohma's dick? Yeah, that one) the manga lets us know what she's been up to since the last time we saw her.
Mihono. Mihono, no. Do not. Don't think like that, you have thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on your eye for money, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A TALENT FOR THIS SHIT DO NOT FORM A GAMBLING ADDICTION, DON'T-
Hard cut away from that disaster waiting to happen, and thank god I don't think my heart could take it, into the depths of the Kengan Dome. Nogi is sat in a dark room, telling a wall of beef with very finely kept facial hair that he knows what to do. The advance is already in his account. In reply he gets a clearly rehearsed little skit to the tune of plausible deniability. I've never met you before, what I do will be by my own initiative, we have never been acquainted. It's a fun little bit, and Nogi's right. He doesn't need to spell it out, we all know what he's up to. There might not have been as much backroom chicanery as one would expect from the premise, but at least we can count on Nogi and Hayami to fuck with people. Or that's what I would say, if Kushida didn't step in on the next page to spell out the attack on Yoshitake in plain english. Which is a little disappointing, but at least we get the nice note where she directly points out that Nogi isn't in any position to criticise Hayami if he's pulling shit like this and Nogi doesn't disagree. He, at least in private here, openly doesn't give a shit. Rihito's lost and Ohma's completely failed to convince everyone he's okay. He's in this to win, and every advantage counts.
Cut away to one of the fighter's waiting rooms, with a sign on the door commanding noone enter. With a little, lank-haired cartoon face on it specifically calling out girls as the exception. Akiyama's knuckles slam very deliberately onto the face as she knocks to tell Hatsumi Sen his match is almost here.
Something's different about him though. He's stood in pitch black…meditating? By god, he might actually be taking this seriously.
Back in the arena, the clouds are breaking and the staff have been given the okay. Sayaka throws off her raincoat, grasps her mic like she's the frontwoman in a heavy metal band and rings in the start of D-Block with a great big howl for Match Thirteen as the arena sparkles wetly around her. First into the ring? The hype speech that reveals Hatsumi's bullshit is really, really well known in the association, which I find very funny. "The strongest flake" is Sayaka's wording, and I love it.
I think that might be the largest Asset Acquisition Score so far. Only second to Wakatsuki, if I'm reading the numbers right. Serious business, even if Hatsumi usually isn't. Even if he's immediately been distracted by Sayaka, who he's apparently known since she was a kid.
From the entry tunnel Akiyama is watching, wondering if Hatsumi will actually deliver, when who should show up behind her but her sister Akiyama Sakura, being escorted by Wakatsuki who found her after she got lost. Nice of him, I guess? He does himself immediately get distracted by Hatsumi, who is in the process of…inviting Sayaka to "play grown up games" with him.
Dude. My guy. Keep it in your fucking pants for five entire minutes, you squalid piece of shit. I'm pretty sure Sayaka is just playing up the confusion to deflect him, at least.
Unfortunately, for all Wakatsuki is a much nicer guy, he doesn't notice Hatsumi's bullshittery, he's too distracted by Hatsumi's rippling biceps and meaty tits. Like the one-track-mind fight monkey he is, Wakatsuki muses on how well Hatsumi has polished up. That's a point of evidence in favour of Hatsumi actually being on form here I guess, we've never been given reason to doubt Wakatsuki's judgement before. Even if he is slightly blinkered.
Slipping out of Hatsumi's reach like the canny girl she is, Sayaka rings in the next fighter. Representative of Yoshitake Real Estate, one of the newest standouts among the Associations Upper ranks…
…a tiny old man, wobbling in on a walking cane? Also god damn, did you people not even give the arena a once-over with a mop?
Several of the Arena girls close in around the tiny old man, trying to explain that these aren't the stands, but he shambles on heedless. They're not sure what to do about him. Don't want to hurt him after all, if he's here he's probably important. They settle on calling in the Bodyguards.
Then this happens.
He is Chiba Takayuki, the faceless man. And he is pure, uncut bullshit.
I know you can do a lot with posture and body language alone, but bro's hands and feet visibly doubled in size and put on several pounds of flesh each. This is actual magic.
But we aren't resolving any of that yet, this chapter isn't done bouncing madly between scenes. We cut now to Yoshitake's quarters, where Nogi's assassin drops his knife and then follows it on its way to the floor, entirely unconscious. Nogi really took you for a ride, didn't he? Yoshitake taunts him, flanked by two of the fighters who failed to get into the main tournament. He promises the both of them a hefty reward for their excellent work. And then we get a little lecture from him. Why were the rules of the tournament changed? Why bring the losers of the preliminaries here? Why did they get a day off before the tournament?
Simple. To allow space for shenanigans. And Yoshitake took advantage of it by approaching the employers of several of the losers, and offering a handsome fee in return for time and muscle. He isn't even poaching them to fight on his company's behalf, so they have no reason to refuse, and plenty of reason to agree. They're five billion yen down after all, they're gonna want to make some of that back. And Yoshitake went for some of the more famous ones, too. It's really not a bad plan at all, it's not like those bodyguards are likely to have to fight people on the level of the main matches anyway. He taunts Nogi in the privacy of his own mind, and declares victory in both tactics and the match.
Has he won though? Well, we'll see. Back in the Arena Hatsumi actually seems rather concerned, and up in the stands Kushida gently teases Nogi over the failure of his ploy. He doesn't respond, for all his grimness he elects to leave matters to Hatsumi.
As the clouds begin to part and bars of light rake the ring, Chiba holds out his hand and laments the change in weather. He would have liked if the rain kept going, a duel in the rain is ideal framing. The man's definitely a performer, with an appreciation for dramatics. Hatsumi tries to keep up, but his assurance that it'll be raining blood soon is more edgelord than showmanship. Fortunately he doesn't try to keep pushing it, and changes tack to ask Chiba what he's even supposed to be. And like the dramatic bastard he is, Chiba shrugs off his cloak with a flourish with a light "Who, me?"
Why
He is a Becomer.
I…am fairly sure that's just artistic licence, and the manga hasn't just airdropped a literal faceless shapeshifter into the tournament. As kickass as that would be, it would sort of clash with the established tone.
And that's the chapter. See you all next time.
Mihono. Mihono, no. Do not. Don't think like that, you have thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on your eye for money, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A TALENT FOR THIS SHIT DO NOT FORM A GAMBLING ADDICTION, DON'T-
Hard cut away from that disaster waiting to happen, and thank god I don't think my heart could take it, into the depths of the Kengan Dome. Nogi is sat in a dark room, telling a wall of beef with very finely kept facial hair that he knows what to do. The advance is already in his account. In reply he gets a clearly rehearsed little skit to the tune of plausible deniability. I've never met you before, what I do will be by my own initiative, we have never been acquainted. It's a fun little bit, and Nogi's right. He doesn't need to spell it out, we all know what he's up to. There might not have been as much backroom chicanery as one would expect from the premise, but at least we can count on Nogi and Hayami to fuck with people. Or that's what I would say, if Kushida didn't step in on the next page to spell out the attack on Yoshitake in plain english. Which is a little disappointing, but at least we get the nice note where she directly points out that Nogi isn't in any position to criticise Hayami if he's pulling shit like this and Nogi doesn't disagree. He, at least in private here, openly doesn't give a shit. Rihito's lost and Ohma's completely failed to convince everyone he's okay. He's in this to win, and every advantage counts.
Cut away to one of the fighter's waiting rooms, with a sign on the door commanding noone enter. With a little, lank-haired cartoon face on it specifically calling out girls as the exception. Akiyama's knuckles slam very deliberately onto the face as she knocks to tell Hatsumi Sen his match is almost here.
Something's different about him though. He's stood in pitch black…meditating? By god, he might actually be taking this seriously.
Back in the arena, the clouds are breaking and the staff have been given the okay. Sayaka throws off her raincoat, grasps her mic like she's the frontwoman in a heavy metal band and rings in the start of D-Block with a great big howl for Match Thirteen as the arena sparkles wetly around her. First into the ring? The hype speech that reveals Hatsumi's bullshit is really, really well known in the association, which I find very funny. "The strongest flake" is Sayaka's wording, and I love it.
I think that might be the largest Asset Acquisition Score so far. Only second to Wakatsuki, if I'm reading the numbers right. Serious business, even if Hatsumi usually isn't. Even if he's immediately been distracted by Sayaka, who he's apparently known since she was a kid.
From the entry tunnel Akiyama is watching, wondering if Hatsumi will actually deliver, when who should show up behind her but her sister Akiyama Sakura, being escorted by Wakatsuki who found her after she got lost. Nice of him, I guess? He does himself immediately get distracted by Hatsumi, who is in the process of…inviting Sayaka to "play grown up games" with him.
Dude. My guy. Keep it in your fucking pants for five entire minutes, you squalid piece of shit. I'm pretty sure Sayaka is just playing up the confusion to deflect him, at least.
Unfortunately, for all Wakatsuki is a much nicer guy, he doesn't notice Hatsumi's bullshittery, he's too distracted by Hatsumi's rippling biceps and meaty tits. Like the one-track-mind fight monkey he is, Wakatsuki muses on how well Hatsumi has polished up. That's a point of evidence in favour of Hatsumi actually being on form here I guess, we've never been given reason to doubt Wakatsuki's judgement before. Even if he is slightly blinkered.
Slipping out of Hatsumi's reach like the canny girl she is, Sayaka rings in the next fighter. Representative of Yoshitake Real Estate, one of the newest standouts among the Associations Upper ranks…
…a tiny old man, wobbling in on a walking cane? Also god damn, did you people not even give the arena a once-over with a mop?
Several of the Arena girls close in around the tiny old man, trying to explain that these aren't the stands, but he shambles on heedless. They're not sure what to do about him. Don't want to hurt him after all, if he's here he's probably important. They settle on calling in the Bodyguards.
Then this happens.
He is Chiba Takayuki, the faceless man. And he is pure, uncut bullshit.
I know you can do a lot with posture and body language alone, but bro's hands and feet visibly doubled in size and put on several pounds of flesh each. This is actual magic.
But we aren't resolving any of that yet, this chapter isn't done bouncing madly between scenes. We cut now to Yoshitake's quarters, where Nogi's assassin drops his knife and then follows it on its way to the floor, entirely unconscious. Nogi really took you for a ride, didn't he? Yoshitake taunts him, flanked by two of the fighters who failed to get into the main tournament. He promises the both of them a hefty reward for their excellent work. And then we get a little lecture from him. Why were the rules of the tournament changed? Why bring the losers of the preliminaries here? Why did they get a day off before the tournament?
Simple. To allow space for shenanigans. And Yoshitake took advantage of it by approaching the employers of several of the losers, and offering a handsome fee in return for time and muscle. He isn't even poaching them to fight on his company's behalf, so they have no reason to refuse, and plenty of reason to agree. They're five billion yen down after all, they're gonna want to make some of that back. And Yoshitake went for some of the more famous ones, too. It's really not a bad plan at all, it's not like those bodyguards are likely to have to fight people on the level of the main matches anyway. He taunts Nogi in the privacy of his own mind, and declares victory in both tactics and the match.
Has he won though? Well, we'll see. Back in the Arena Hatsumi actually seems rather concerned, and up in the stands Kushida gently teases Nogi over the failure of his ploy. He doesn't respond, for all his grimness he elects to leave matters to Hatsumi.
As the clouds begin to part and bars of light rake the ring, Chiba holds out his hand and laments the change in weather. He would have liked if the rain kept going, a duel in the rain is ideal framing. The man's definitely a performer, with an appreciation for dramatics. Hatsumi tries to keep up, but his assurance that it'll be raining blood soon is more edgelord than showmanship. Fortunately he doesn't try to keep pushing it, and changes tack to ask Chiba what he's even supposed to be. And like the dramatic bastard he is, Chiba shrugs off his cloak with a flourish with a light "Who, me?"
Why
He is a Becomer.
I…am fairly sure that's just artistic licence, and the manga hasn't just airdropped a literal faceless shapeshifter into the tournament. As kickass as that would be, it would sort of clash with the established tone.
And that's the chapter. See you all next time.
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- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It's pretty baffling that this series keeps pivoting to that. Point 1: Ohma doesn't have any traits that seem like they'd be appealing to any potential sexual/romantic partners who aren't trying to practice battle eugenics.
Point 2: While a legion of sexy woman that want to do the sex is a stereotypical male fantasy, I don't see how anything Kengan Asura does with it is supposed to be appealing. Pretty much all of it is so incidental. This kind of manga is supposed to have sexy women that want to do the sex, so a woman says she wants to do the sex, and the story moves on.
Well, there's also Karla, who is by far the most memorable (and usually entertaining) of Ohma's suitors.
On one hand, lots of them would probably get rehired/retained by whoever bought her company when it went under. On the other hand, it would be hilarious if she bet wrong on the final match and lost everything. And probably in-character; it would make sense for her to get on the Ohma hype train.
Especially when your fighter lost almost a third of his Kengan matches by not bothering to show up.
Which would be even more impressive if that was his net acquisition score, since he's one of the few fighters in this tournament who's lost a significant number of Kengan matches.
One thing I'll give this series credit for is that it doesn't take pick-up-artist types seriously. At best, their interactions with women are a comic contrast to their normally ironclad competence.
Which just makes the way women throw themselves at Ohma more baffling.
On one hand, I would respect a manga which pretended it was all about grounded underground business brawls all the way up until the main tournament, only to reveal that the big corporations had tracked down a bunch of urban fantasy fighters to fight on their behalf. On the other hand, this is a little late in round 1 to introduce that gimmick; I wouldn't respect a manga which included only one urban fantasy fighter.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
side-eyes this week's chapter of Kengan Omega
Yeah it really would be, wouldn't it now.
Anyways.
This is today's Sayaka Appreciation Zone.
Look at her, she's great. And savvy enough to feign ignorance in front of Hatsumi and shrug him off like he wasn't even there. Sayaka is the best.
Anyway, this fight! I'm glad this fight is next, this one's fun. Gimmicky as shit, but I like it, even if it involves Grown-Up Mineta. Briefly ignoring the entire rest of him, Hatsumi has a very interesting character archetype and fighting style and this is where we get to see that properly for the first time, with Wakatsuki already hinting at some of it. He'll be a fun guy to watch fight. I'll reserve comments on Chiba for later though.
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- Location
- Leeds
I remember an observation on pickup artists being that they don't really have all that much advice about sex, its less meaningful to them than actually having another notch on their bedposts.
Its seemed more like they are people seeking the validation of being wanted rather than following some nymphomatic sex drive. Wouldn't the logical extreme of that then be that you don't even have to pickup women, they just walk up to you and ask for sex. Actually following through is irrelevant, they've already been validated. Ohma truely is the ultimate AlphaSigma.
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TheFoxsCloak
Professional Otaku
Two new fighters, and two new entrance themes!
For The Floating Cloud, we have Last Dragon by GALACTICA PHANTOM:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVEjokn238
A surprisingly hard-going song for such a laid-back character, but as we'll see it does fit Sen incredibly well.
For The Faceless Man, we have The Moment by BRIDEAR:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdBDF5bgiOM
A shockingly good theme, to me, for someone who's gimmick we can probably all guess.
On another note, the fighters Yoshitake hired are Ushiroda Takero and Aki Saito, two of the jobbers beaten by Hassad on the prelim boat. On it's own, nothing notable, but they and Yoshitake are actually all based on hometown friends of Sandro who are all in a band together, "No Escape", which is also Yoshitake's motto. So them being who he hired as bodyguards is a cute little shoutout.
For The Floating Cloud, we have Last Dragon by GALACTICA PHANTOM:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVEjokn238
A surprisingly hard-going song for such a laid-back character, but as we'll see it does fit Sen incredibly well.
For The Faceless Man, we have The Moment by BRIDEAR:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdBDF5bgiOM
A shockingly good theme, to me, for someone who's gimmick we can probably all guess.
On another note, the fighters Yoshitake hired are Ushiroda Takero and Aki Saito, two of the jobbers beaten by Hassad on the prelim boat. On it's own, nothing notable, but they and Yoshitake are actually all based on hometown friends of Sandro who are all in a band together, "No Escape", which is also Yoshitake's motto. So them being who he hired as bodyguards is a cute little shoutout.
Peanut-007
Hat or Hair? America decides.
- Location
- Maryland, United States of America
Unbelievable as it may be, this is actually the least wildly inappropriate incarnation of the Master Roshi archetype to date. The bar is just that low. Also given previous characterization of... every character with a female relative in Kengan Ashura, why doesn't Metsudo try to have him killed for this? Although I guess given Sayaka's age and the fact Metsudo is her father we can guess that he runs more towards the Leonardo Decaprio end of opnions on age gaps as well.
Honestly I can kind of see the appeal of chill Ohma. He's a fairly handsome, tall, buff dude who probably picks up washing machines for people when their change rolls under them and his standard outfit is a form fitting t-shirt or boxing shorts. You could do worse is what I'm saying. The problem is more that this never really goes anywhere interesting.
These ladies want to fuck Ohma. That's the joke. Women am I right?
At least when he's literally sprinting away from Karla we're getting a punchline. Still not great though.
- Location
- Sweden
Retsudo is the one who takes the role of overprotective male relative for Sayaka, so Metsudo doesn't have to.
Guile
Having a really great time right now
This is Kengan Asura.
There is definitely someone out there whose talent is gambling, and it's real and it works.
Probably from a long line of gamblers who have eugenically honed their craft over the ages.
Opaline Dreams
Virenina's handler
- Location
- Tei Ura
- Pronouns
- Any
Y'know, since Kengan Asura loves objectifying its female characters so much, maybe we should do some male-objectifying here in this thread to even things out.
Hottest/most attractive fighter(s) in your opinion. Go. If you're not into men, just pretend you are for the purposes of this exercise. Give a short explanation of why if you want, or just present your answers and let people wonder what's wrong with you.
For me it's Gaolang (I think he's pretty and I like the whole loyalty aspect of his character), Kiozan (sure, his personality kind of sucks, but they gave him a pretty face and I like the strongfat body type), and Sekibayashi (not my type at all physically, but I just like his personality that much).
Hottest/most attractive fighter(s) in your opinion. Go. If you're not into men, just pretend you are for the purposes of this exercise. Give a short explanation of why if you want, or just present your answers and let people wonder what's wrong with you.
For me it's Gaolang (I think he's pretty and I like the whole loyalty aspect of his character), Kiozan (sure, his personality kind of sucks, but they gave him a pretty face and I like the strongfat body type), and Sekibayashi (not my type at all physically, but I just like his personality that much).
Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
I'm not really of the opinion that answering objectification with objectification will actually achieve anything...but that said, Inaba and Cosmo are cute as hell. I'm not generally into older/bigger men, but honestly Wakatsuki could get it too. I'd be the little spoon for that man.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'm not saying I'd fuck any of the Kengan Asura guys, none of them are much of my type. But Wakatsuki fucks. And so does Sekibayashi.
I could also see someone being into Kuroki, but I personally headcanon the man as ace much like Ohma, so.
I could also see someone being into Kuroki, but I personally headcanon the man as ace much like Ohma, so.
- Location
- boundless optimism
Muteba. Undeniable rizz levels.
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Saw Paing. Fight himbo. No thoughts, head empty, doesn't even know his ABCs.
thePUNisher
Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane
- Location
- Brazil
Sekibayashi, what can I say I like Gachimuchi 
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
In eight centuries and change, one of their descendants ends up exploring a ring-shaped artificial planet.
If I understand how he works correctly, he absolutely does not. He just lays there and let's his partner do all the work so as to not risk literally breaking them.
And honestly, I could be into that.