Early Asura really is weird in that it has a sort of ambient reactionary energy that pops up from time to time. The authors aren't really deliberately trying to write this way(their politics are if anything rather progressive, on the occasions where they intentionally put them in), but their attempts to write the most badass shit possible lead to them kind of blundering into this nonsense.
We're in for a bit more of that before we reach the tournament proper, at which point the authors get their shit together and just do a bazillion fights without much room for weirdness. Then, by the time we come out the other end of those fights, they've most learned to not be weird.
Honestly, I don't know if I'd even describe it as ambient. I haven't forgotten how much of the earliest chapters was taken up with parroting unironic Alpha ideology.
By this point it certainly feels like the writers have chilled out some, but they're still very immersed in an unexamined hypermasculine mindset, I feel. This manga has a very clear vision of what an ideal person looks and behaves like, and while that person certainly isn't necessarily a brick shithouse, they definitely aren't in any way feminine.
I honestly think the Murder Bird is cool, bowlcut and all, and two superhuman fighters descending into petty, childish bullshit immediately upon sighting one another is funny.
It's just... there's one gay guy, and he's Like That. And then there's one guy who presents feminine, and he's Like That. As you say: Manga Don't Be Weird About Gender Nonconformity Challenge (Impossible).
Wow okay, I am really vibing with Yoshinari and Hassad. Though given this Manga's Everything, I expect it will also fail the Manga Don't Be Weird About Islam/the Middle East Challenge.
Which is a massive shame because Hassad's gimmick is also my jam.
Wow okay, I am really vibing with Yoshinari and Hassad. Though given this Manga's Everything, I expect it will also fail the Manga Don't Be Weird About Islam/the Middle East Challenge.
Which is a massive shame because Hassad's gimmick is also my jam.
This thread got me to read this. I don't particularly regret it but there was so much weird shit going on that i even glossed over smaller things and mannerisms things that are now obvious when you go over it again. Though admittedly i sort of glossed over the early chapters a lot.
I think i let out a few audible groans of "not this bullshit" during this, mostly when something so egrogious came along that was a new foot into foot-in-mouth territory of misogyny, racism, homophobia or otherwise bullshit that went on. One such moment the introduction of the next important black character that people have already pointed towards.
It's like a cavalcade of spectacle mixed with a hefty barrage of facepunches, anytime you think things are interesting at some point someone will do some stereotypical macho bullshit that makes you want to drop these fighters in some classical company presentation about misogyny. Not because those are good but because you clearly have to start from somewhere, and those presentations tend to be made for such toddlers.
I guess it also suffers from as noted, the tendency to try to oneup itself into oblivion. At some point it becomes so weird that you expect the next combatant to literally just master his ki and kamehameha the poor fool on the other side. It never gets there quite but it gets close either way. Which is a shame because most of the more interesting fights are between more relatively "normal" styles (though not necessarily normal people).
Also just how chill all of these people are with the fundamental concept of these matches is still ludicrous, but i guess at this point, that's the premise we're working under and thinking too hard about the implications would ruin it? Sometimes it's still fun to think of though.
Inauspiciously, chapter 30 starts with Kiryu creeping on Ohma. Don't worry, we won't see him again today. Much.
Instead we get a different sort of sexual harassment! Yay!
Poor, long-suffering Akiyama is once again the subject of unwanted male attention, as Rihito forcibly rubs her shoulders while battering her with questions. Where do you live? Wanna go for dinner? At least let me get your pus-jesus fucking christ, really? And you expect this to be funny, Mangaka? Like, at the very least none of the rest of the cast look particularly impressed, but the framing is very much that this is all a bit of harmless fun, which is…unspeakably gross. There's really nothing else to say about it, it's just disgusting.
While he's pretty clearly doing it because Rihito is annoying him, and not to help Akiyama, Ohma does all but tell Rihito to piss off in the next panel. Asking him if he shouldn't be with his own company right now. Blinking gormlessly, Rihito says that it's just him. Shaking off the confusion, he declares with pride that, in fact, he is the president of SF Cold storage. Cue flashback, as he tries to pull Akiyama into a hug and she desperately pushes with both arms to keep him off her, ha ha very funny.
Turns out that after he got fired by Yoshitake, he started part time work in a shipping company owned by the Nogi group. When all of a sudden, who should turn up but Nogi himself, exhorting Rihito to go independent! He doesn't deserve to spend his life being used by others! Rihito frames it as an epiphany on his part, as he spends the next entire page being lead around by the nose. Nogi hands him a foodstuff storage and transportation company he purchased the other day, announcing that Rihito will make his comeback as history's first President Fighter. And hark, the Annihilation Tournament looms large on the horizon! The perfect chance to demonstrate the fathomless power of the first President Fighter!
Being, as noted, a massive fucking idiot, Rihito buys it hook, line and sinker.
Ohma, you fucking dork.
In a moment of sympathy, Yamashita recognises a fellow slave. Rihito's in the same position as him, debt included. Ignorance sure is bliss.
Moving swiftly on, Yamashita notes that, assuming Rihito wins, that'd make him the Association Chairman? Rihito disagrees though, that's not the contract he signed. If he wins, he's agreed to nominate Mr Nogi for chairman. Yamashita's shocked at the idea, and Kushida explains, well familiar by now with how Nogi told him precisely fuck and all. Simply put, the prize for the winning company isn't Chairmanship, it's the power to decide who the next Chairman will be. We also get a brief panel of Nogi realising he forgot to explain anything, the little scamp.
Anyway, Rihito agrees with the explanation, presumably because it was given by a pretty lady rather than having actually absorbed it, and Kushida notes that this means Nogi's secured three of the tournament's 33 potential nominations. Nice of the story to finally openly acknowledge the plan. That said, in the same moment, Yamashita comes to a realisation. One Kushida confirms before he's even done asking.
Capitalism, ho!
So, Kushida summarises, this tournament isn't just a direct contest of power. It's a machiavellian war that pits money against money, machination against machination, and wit against wit. All but a direct statement to the reader to expect not just the fights to be important, but to anticipate all sorts of chicanery and shenanigans outside the arena. Fraud, blackmail, perhaps even hostage-taking, there's nothing the sort of sociopath who becomes a CEO isn't capable of.
And, in the privacy of her own mind, Kushida reaffirms her role in all this. Keep an eye on Yamashita, and keep him away from anyone who'd subvert or attack him. She owes a lot to Nogi, and means to make good on her promises. And the two meatheads present reaffirm their own status. All they need to do is win, they agree, every implication sailing merrily over their heads.
Then they arrive on deck.
It's him! Mister Capitalism!
As is appropriate for his role as the spooky old bastard, Katahara Metsudo congratulates the fighters on surviving the preliminaries. Though, he clarifies, it might well be that the men who fell in that arena are the lucky ones. With these five, the number of fighters in the main tournament comes up to a full 33. That said, even he didn't expect the preliminaries to end so early, the plan was to meet tomorrow morning, have a proper welcoming ceremony, but whatever. The schedule has been adapted, and will be announced in full at 2pm the following day, in the SS Kengan's main hall to all the fighters and their employers.
And so, with that all said, Katahara makes to dismiss those present to their rooms for a well deserved kip. But he is interrupted. Hassad has something to ask, he declares as he pulls off his mask, much to the tremulous anxiety of his employer. And to the arousal of Sawada, which on the one hand is fair (Hassad is very handsome), but on the other gayness is already at best treated as a joke in this manga and the one-panel blip of levity fucks with the tone and flow of this beat regardless. So hrm. Bad.
Anyway, Katahara seems to anticipate what's up, asking if it's about the Preliminaries. And Hassad confirms it is, specifically why they were necessary to begin with when the other 28 were exempt? Everyone here surely stands obviously head and shoulders over the rabble, so it's not just strength. What standards did you use?
Hm, well, no. Hassad doesn't get all the way through his question. Katahara interrupts him in turn midway through. First cutting off his momentum by insisting he not flatter himself and calling him a snot-nosed brat. And then, well…
How absurd it is, he howls, for the tools to place themselves before their merchants.
And here we are again, the bloody, beating heart of the main difference between Kengan Asura and other martial arts manga. The Kengan Matches are not tests of skill, but trials by combat. The strength of the fighter only matters in proportion to the wealth he brings the man who hands out the paycheques. Which is a pretty important difference for tone, and lends credence to Kushida's earlier commentary on the extralegal methods the employers will…employ. Whether or not this will be borne out by the actual competition itself remains to be seen, but as a setting statement it sets up expectations. Most manga of this sort and format very much position the personal grit and might of the competitors as the foremost relevant virtue. And the fighters on some level still see it that way, certainly, but there's a whole edifice around them where all their effort and passion amounts to points on a line graph.
For the sort of person likely to become this good in a fight to begin with, who'll train until their knuckles bleed, it could understandably be quite galling. Especially to be confronted with the attitude in such a nakedly demeaning, contemptuous way. It's sympathetic, to me at least, that Hassad would feel very strongly talked down to.
On the other hand…this is the edifice he's fought long enough to build a reputation in. Surely you've encountered this attitude before, can grit your teeth and push through the bullshit?
Hassad, it seems cannot. And marches at Katahara with clear intent to mow a path through his bodyguards until he can impress upon the old man the relevance of his strength. One of the more unique looking bodyguards, a man with a mechanical looking mask, verbally claims the job of ejecting Hassad, but Katahara tells him no. The job falls to one of the men in front. A fairly generic looking wall of beef with a bald head and a vein in his forehead bulging with firmly contained outrage. Know your place, wretch, he says to Hassad. I have no time to deal with small fry, Hassad responds. They stare each other down.
Look at how clear and sharp the motion is, how the bodyguard commands the panel.
So yeah, this is why Hassad got so much heat. It's so the manga can spread it around the bodyguards, and thus the Fang by association.
The other fighters are alarmed (except Yoshinari, who continues to emote like a cliff), even Ohma's face takes on a wary, hunted expression. Hassad, reeling, loses his temper and charges in like a chump, immediately eating a roundhouse kick to the mush and sailing across the deck on a jet of his own blood. He lands in the sea, passing over the other fighters and getting them all a bit damp in the process.
Setsuna sees this from his stalking perch and, for some reason, seems to take grave offence at Ohma getting a bit of blood on his face. Oh boy.
Back on deck, Katahara congratulates his man on a job well done, getting a hearty Yes Sir in return. Hassad's boss sprints to the side of the ship and Yamashita comes over all looney tunes on us, but Akiyama is shocked as well, so it's actually kinda serious. He defeated that fighter in an instant, she notes, and Kushida agrees that you can never underestimate the Bodyguards. They are, well, Katahara's personal army. The best of the best that can be lured in with his near limitless wealth, with the best training and facilities money can buy. If the Fang is the chairman's spear, the focused point of greatest power, then the Bodyguards are his unbreakable shield. And the implication is clear. These are the also-rans that couldn't take the spot of Fang, and they're still at least on par with the fighters, if not a class above.
Katahara grumbles for a moment about Hassad's foolishness, charging in recklessly even after getting so outclassed, and the numbers going down to 32. Then shrugs.
He's almost childlike, isn't he? Limitless power, cannily applied sure, but wielded frivolously, without much of a care or thought for other people. Katahara Metsudo is very much the avatar of the Kengan Association, a living embodiment of it in all its unthinking cruelty and excess.
That said, he apologises for the disturbance and…recalls something he forgot to mention. The 28 companies invited are, obviously, the 28 companies who've achieved the most outstanding results in the Kengan Matches. That is, the top 28 in the Kengan Association corporate rankings. This means not just the corporations with the canniest leaders who can wheel and deal and pick fights the best, but the ones who have access to the most reliable pillars of strength. Elites, considered the cream of the crop by the Associations finest, most perceptive connoisseurs. None of them would suffer such an embarrassing defeat to the bodyguards.
Yamashita does his thing as audience surrogate, experiencing a vision of rank upon rank of chiseled adonises flexing intimidatingly. With the SS Kengan's central structure looming ominously before him, he tries in vain to stop his knees knocking. He has such a bad feeling about thi-huh?
Once, as a teen boy, Yamashita Kazuo watched James Cameron's Titanic.
The manga tries to be cute about it, but that's clearly the intent so shut up.
Anyway, he found himself intensely bored, claiming its storyline to be mediocre. The title, the actors, none of it really made an impression on him. But there's one thing that stuck clear and bright in his mind. The party scene, glittering and splendorous, dazzled that young man. It bored down into his mind and dwelled there to this very day, his personal vision of the possibilities of life.
This is the central hall of the SS Kengan, a place for the dozens of CEOs and associated staff onboard to schmooze and socialise in anticipation of the coming tournament. And for a moment both Yamashita and Ohma are in synch on something, both feeling terribly out of place. It all seems like another world to Yamashita, and Ohma outright claims to have preferred the other ship, because of course he does. Which isn't to say that doesn't make sense, of course, what we've seen of Ohma's history doesn't exactly suggest comfort or familiarity with this sort of density of people or luxury.
They are on their own for the moment, too. Akiyama and Kushida left to find Nogi, since for all Akiyama's perfectly justified grievances he is still her boss, and she's a professional. And Rihito's gone to 'say hi to people', whatever the hell that means. Not that Ohma cares, 'cos he's hungry.
As the living trash compactor and his hypothetical boss go to find food, we find out what saying hi to people means. And it means Rihito's demonstrating that it's not just Akiyama he'll harass. This time it's Soryuin and her secretary receiving his unwanted attention, the Koyo Academy chairwoman noting that he's the only person who's ever hit on her at a Kengan Match.
Oh hey look at that, the manga went and said it out loud. "Harmless" my ass, fuck off, mate.
Ahhh, but the male advances aren't done yet. Who should slink out of the shadows but Hatsumi Sen, asking Tomoko for a light as a lead in to whatever PUA bullshit he's got cooking. Fortunately, an arm snaps in from off panel to offer him a light instead, and he thanks the mystery stranger for the light while privately cursing their cockblockery. He gets halfway through accepting the offer before noticing it's Soryuin who made it.
Kick his ass, Soryuin!
True to his nickname Hatsumi unfortunately slips out of his tie and flees for the hills, trailing anxious sweat the whole way. Tomoko, sensing a pattern, asks her boss if she knows that guy too and yeah, of course she does. He's her ex.
Tomoko is shocked, and Rihito is jealous, but Soryuin herself is very blase about it. While Rihito continues to be obnoxious, I do enjoy that Soryuin is pretty worldly like this without any real judgement being directed at her for it. The reaction seems more "really? HIM?" than shock that she's been in relationships at all, taken on its own it's pretty nice.
Anyway, we follow Hatsumi now as he moves through the crowd, pulling out a lighter and lamenting his now dead chances of pulling. His attention does get pulled in less grody directions though, when he runs across a group of fighters, and something about them seems off to him. And he's not the only one. We hard cut to Imai Cosmo, merrily stuffing his face and noting to Sekibayashi that there's quite a lot of fighters here he's never seen before, and have probably never been in the Kengan Matches. And yeah, Sekibayashi noticed too, but that said it's not like they're unheard of. And then we get brief introductions to a few of the fighters.
He looks cool. Probably not gonna be important, though.
Itsy bitsy spider, goes up the water spout…
And of course, the Kure clan get a panel to themselves, gathered up in a group with stylised, nondiegetic flames flickering about their shoulders. Still trying to pretend the one in a hoody being a girl is gonna be a twist, are you Kengan Asura? Come the fuck off it, we both know that you wouldn't put a dude in hotpants like that without saying something homophobic about it.
Contract killers aside though, Sekibayashi notes that it's not just assassins popping up out of the woodwork. There's big time names in the public sphere who've come in to join the fun too, bigger even than him but without the preexisting Kengan record.
Wait, shit, sorry. Wrong picture.
Given all the monsters gathering, Cosmo notes with an anxious gulp that this tournament's going to be the furthest thing in the world from a cakewalk. He ways it with a grin, though. And Sekibayashi grins in agreement. He's not exactly a lightweight himself, and has absolutely no plans to lose.
No fancy transitions following another character this time, we hard cut back to Yamashita as someone calls out his name. He turns and finds it was Himuro Ryo, who you might remember from chapter 23 as Kenny's fighter. He's mostly just here to say hi, but he does also have something he wants to ask Ohma. Who, fortuitously, rounds the table gnawing on an entire turkey leg just in time for questions.
Himuro offers another friendly greeting to Ohma, before admitting that as soon as he heard Ohma's name he could tell. It's a good name, just pretty telling.
Face shadowed and teeth gritted, Ohma wordlessly turns and walks stiffly away. Yamashita's baffled, he hasn't seen Ohma in such a bad mood for some time, and Himuro claps himself on the back of the head and apologises. With a genuinely shamefaced expression he explains to Yamashita that there's a lot of people who escape it that would rather forget about 'The Inside.' He probably should have broached the matter more gently, if at all.
Well now. This raises rather a lot of questions, doesn't it?
Well fuck you if you expect answers right now, because in comes Kenny to drag Yamashita away, demanding to know if he's any good at Shogi. Across the hall he gets hauled, to a spot on the edge where a pretty thick crowd has developed around a Shogi board. On one side of the board is as man Yamashita recognises as Okubo Naoya, undisputed champion of the MMA promotion Ultimate Fight. Another big public name, one could assume, given Yamashita's noted enthusiasm for combat sports. But Okubo isn't the one Kenny pulled Yamashita over to battle, oh no, in fact he promptly loses the match he's in. Loudly cursing the game and asking why he can't win.
Nah, the man of the hour is this guy.
This is Kaneda Suekichi, and Kenny literally just met him the other day in a communal shogi center. They went out for some drinks after their games and hit it off, so he invited him along on the spur of the moment. Which honestly tracks for the kind of guy Ohya Ken has demonstrated himself to be so far. That's not dissimilar to how he became friends with Yamashita, after all!
A moment later, Kaneda notices Kenny there and asks if this is the man he was on about. Kenny confirms he is indeed, this is Yamashita and he's got 50 years of Shogi experience under his belt! Kaneda gives a hearty chuckle, you're a tough one then, he says. He'll have to ask you to go easy, eh? Yamashita notes that he's not being taken seriously.
And for the first time in the manga, decides to take a little offense.
God, he even gets the ol' blank glasses treatment. Confidence! You love to see it!
He then promptly loses five matches in a row. Better luck next time, Yamashita.
But, it wasn't for nothing. As Kenny muses seriously how not even Kazzy could match this man, another member of the audience is taking notice of Kaneda. A sharp-faced man with slicked-back hair, who has "representative fighter" written all over him, noted how impressive Kaneda's performance was. Like he could predict every move his opponent was going to make. And Kaneda seems to notice he's being watched, as Okubo and Yamashita both demand another match.
Another hard cut, this time to Ohma as he slinks along in the shadows at the edge of the central hall, engaging in a little spot of introspection.
I don't know, Ohma. Why did you remember whatever visceral images of your past leapt to mind? Why do you consider it pointless shit, when it clearly lives in your head rent free? Could it perhaps be that you're more damaged than you like to present yourself as?
Anyway, as he's musing he runs into Akiyama and Kushida, and then Nogi. They have a brief pissing match to see who can project the most Sigma Energy for a moment, Nogi facetiously congratulating Ohma on getting into the matches, Ohma telling him he isn't going to be Nogi's tool, the usual shit. And then they're interrupted by a bunch of randos pointing up, toward one of the balconies.
It's chairman Katahara, here to thank everyone for their patience. And to inform them we're ready to begin.
Let's get started.
End chapter.
We've got something like chapter 27 on our hands here. Not so much an exercise in building heat for anyone, so much as a really dense barrage of setup for a bunch of different elements. So many characters, most prominently, a few we've seen before but plenty of colourful sorts we haven't met yet. And also a few layers added to ongoing plot elements. Particularly Ohma's past gets a little more clarification in terms of the sorts of questions we should be asking. What is the Inside?
And, well, it's just a good bit of fun to see different combinations of characters we've already met in isolation mingle and bounce off each other. Especially since the characters we were introduced to got such a variety of introductions. A few were talked about fairly straightforwardly, but Okubo's been introduced as much as a comedy character as anything else, and Kaneda's intro as a trickster nigh mind-reader was oblique in a fun way.
All in all an extremely dense chapter of a variety of interlacing bits of characterisation. Next chapter's probably going to be more straightforward. Right?
This arc I already like the start of because its like, a different vibe as you alluded to.
Someone is *absolutely* getting poisoned. Several someone's, most likely, and there's also a good chance that some dude chugging protein shakes just goes "nah bro, i'm good. Extra spicy." with a deranged axe murderer grin after getting poisoned. Because this is Kengan Asura and that's just its vibe.
And then we have Cryptid Inaba of the absolutely jacked arms and more tantalizing hints at Ohma's past. I'm excited for the next few chapters too now.
Kuroki Gensai and the God of War have such beautiful hair. I worry that they aren't long for this world, just so the mangaka doesn't have to keep drawing them.
But he already had Muteba and his million tattoos enter stage right. Maybe he just likes making things difficult for himself.
Awww. Give my man a break. This would've been a great time to give Yamashita at least a little win - maybe not beating the guy outright but at least throwing him for some kind of curve that forces him to play serious. Could've been Kengan Asura's own little Darby the Gambler moment.
Face shadowed and teeth gritted, Ohma wordlessly turns and walks stiffly away. Yamashita's baffled, he hasn't seen Ohma in such a bad mood for some time, and Himuro claps himself on the back of the head and apologises. With a genuinely shamefaced expression he explains to Yamashita that there's a lot of people who escape it that would rather forget about 'The Inside.' He probably should have broached the matter more gently, if at all.
Well now. This raises rather a lot of questions, doesn't it?
Between this and the wreckage seen in the flashback to meeting his teacher, evidence is mounting that Ohma is actually a time-traveling refugee from a world where Fist of the North Star happened.
27 hours is a long voyage, as these things go. Or at least, so Kushida claims. Rihito even expresses some concern about the idea of heading oversees, as he tries to worm an arm around Tomoko's shoulders. She parries him, thankfully, noting that she'd like to visit Hawaii. Down on the main floor, Yamashita continues to battle Kaneda's shogi prowess, forming a fast alliance with Okubo. While this is ongoing, Katahara says two very important things.
First, that upon arriving at the Land of Battle, the attending Kengan Association members will register their representative fighters. This will be the point at which fighters are officially entered into the Annihilation Tournament.
Second, personal fights between fighters on board the ship are strictly forbidden. Anyone who breaches this rule will suffer immediate punitive measures from the Bodyguards.
Then he wishes everyone present continue to enjoy the voyage.
Kaneda immediately sees the writing on the wall, and offhandedly checkmates Yamashita before taking to his feet. He has some business to deal with, he must be going, with his apologies. Neither of his opponents take this especially well, Yamashita's steady uptick in debt is sinking in again, and Okubo promises vengeance for his losses. Apparently a pretty sore loser. But someone else drops in to take Kaneda's place, offering to play with them until he comes back. It's the sharp man from before, who seemed so impressed with Kaneda's foresight.
"I've become a Shogi player before," he says. Odd way to phrase that, isn't it? I wonder if he could possibly be dropping hints as to what his gimmick will be.
Anyway, elsewhere in the main floor Nogi gets flagged down by another CEO. It's Soryuin, and her group's unwanted horny tagalong, and she cuts right through the chaff to the nub of the matter. She's noticed something fucky with the chairman's declarations, and prods Nogi for his thoughts on the matter.
They start talking cryptically about whether particular shit-stirrers will start doing their thing. Something Katahara said has clearly lit a fire under the chicanery detectors of the cannier folk in the room. Nogi is smugly noncommittal though, airily noting that there's plenty of ambitious people in the Kengan Association. Ohma interrupts the Mysterious Airs competition by dryly pointing out Nogi as one of those ambitious people, earning a look of flat irritation in return.
Soryuin spots an opportunity for fun though, and seizes upon the new thread of conversation. She swaggers up to Ohma, who pretty openly doesn't know who she is, idly noting how good he looks up close. And then noting that she sees why Kiryu's so preoccupied with him.
Ohma promptly grabs her by the lapel and demands to know where he is.
Classy, guys. I do like how unimpressed she is, though.
Now, obviously there's a large slice of "Rihito is a horndog and that's why he's objecting to Ohma's behaviour" here, but I do like the hypothetical angle that Ohma's legitimately just such a feral cryptid that even Rihito has a better sense of social propriety. Much more likely that the idea was to drop a bit of cheeky fanservice in and the rest is incidental, but I'll take what I can get.
Anyway, she goes on to flex on Ohma a little, noting that if he wants to fight Kiryu, he'd better be ready for anything. Cutting to a brief moment of Kiryu standing exactly where he was when the preliminaries group came aboard, looking rather like the cameraman slapped him in the face.
This whole moment was weird and a little forced, after the initial intrigue, don't you think? Noone was particularly out of character, but it still feels strange to me that Ohma would enter the discussion there. Too appropriate, almost.
Hard cut to another ongoing bit of fallout from the Chairman's announcement. Kenny stands flabbergasted, and Himuro is quietly watching his fuse rapidly shrink, as Kaneda bows humbly before them. Asking for Himuro's position as representative fighter for Ginokuniya Bookstores.
Kenny is scrambling to catch up, mentally, not sure what he's on about. He can't just swap out fighters at this point! Ah, but you can, Kaneda corrects.
Oh, okay, we're just laying this out already? It's only been like eight pages, are you sure you don't want to let it stew a little more? No? Well, okay then.
Anyway, Kenny objects to this further, pointing out that fights are forbidden, and just gets a good natured chuckle from Kaneda in return. No, no, the Chairman only forbade fights between Fighters. Specifically, the representative fighters of the corporations in the tournament. Fights between anyone else? Is fine!
The visual reference here uses Ohma and Kiryu as the fighter vs fighter example, btw, very cute.
By way of proof, Kaneda points to a pair of Bodyguards standing on duty at a doorway down the hall from them. They're perfectly still, despite Kaneda doing bugger all to disguise the fact he's obviously fixing to start a fight. This, finally, penetrates the fog of expensive liquor that's constantly marinating Kenny's brain. With faint disbelief he grants the point, though he'd never suspected there'd be such a big loophole in the rules. Which, I suppose is a failure of imagination on his part. After all, loophole isn't really the right word for a gap placed on purpose. Sure enough, in Kaneda's constantly spinning brain he thinks on exactly that, it's much too big an oversight to be unintentional. What, then, is Katahara's game here?
But, he won't get any more time to think. If Kaneda is jonesing for a brawl, then Himuro intends to oblige him. Kenny tries to interject, but Himuro keeps loosening up, promising not to hurt his friend. Besides, this'll be over in no time, he claims, eyes like knives. Kaneda, for all his whimsical play at false fear, does pick up on the fact that Himuro fully intends to punch his face in.
Right in the kisser.
Don't flatter yourself, Himuro drawls. We aren't even close to a match. Then he makes a counter offer. If Kaneda can withstand his attacks for one full minute, he'll let him be the representative. Still reeling, and with blood trailing from his probably broken nose, Kaneda thanks him for his kindness. While privately noting Himuro's very real strength, and left-handedness.
As Himuro hops in place, Kaneda makes his plans. Alright, he's fast, not an issue. All Kaneda has to do is keep a close watch on his left while making the analysis-
Himuro dashes in with a brutal flurry, and all Kaneda can do is retreat, desperately trying to deflect as much force as he can. And at the same time, observing as closely as one can reasonably be expected to while being punched in the face and kidneys. In a move that's probably meant as genuine, but can also very easily be read as Kaneda trying to talk his way into a bit of breathing room, he notes Himuro's vertically held fists and makes an observation. Himuro practices Jeet Kune Do, doesn't he?
We get a brief panel summarising Jeet Kune Do, along with an image of its most famed practitioner. The one and only Bruce Lee. Long story short, it's a modern form of Chinese Wushu with an emphasis on loose, fluid tactics without specific forms. Himuro is grudgingly impressed with Kaneda's canniness, being able to pick up his specific martial art from a few seconds observation of his posture. Out loud he encourages Kaneda to give everything he has, and points out he's always free to surrender if he can't take it. Confident words, but not unfounded. Kaneda's already sweating fiercely, as he hunkers down into a defensive posture.
Pull back the camera a little. Yes, literally, 'cos we're in the SS Kengan's security room now, with a couple of the Bodyguards shooting the shit and keeping an eye on things. Looks like some of them have noticed the loophole already, one of them notes. The other, the bald guy who wrecked Hassad's shit earlier, recognises Himuro and decides to get in on some of that gambling that's been a constant presence in the story so far. Which you gonna bet on, he asks his companion, and gets an immediate answer of Himuro. The gap between their movements is just too big, he honestly doubts whether Kaneda even has experience with martial ar-
Clack. Creeeeak.
The door opens. Kiryu is here. And he's…pissed off that bald guy got some blood on Ohma. "Defiled" him, apparently. So the Bodyguard must die.
Well, I suppose there's been worse manifestations of the whole Yandere thing.
End chapter.
Okay, looks like things are starting to actually happen, no? I do think this bit with the rules loophole is probably on the better end of the intrigues we've seen so far in Kengan Asura. It's not especially complicated, but it's also not immediately evident, it's just in the sweet spot of needing to be figured out but not actually hard enough to really stump the sort of person likely to read this sort of Manga. Granted, it getting immediately explained by the cast undercuts the intrigue, but in fairness it gets us right to the payoff of that bit of setup. That being at least one, possibly more, fight scenes. Which isn't to say the mystery is wholly spent, Nogi and Soryuin certainly seem to think there's going to be more than just Kaneda taking advantage of this! Especially given how it might interact with other, previously established rules of the tournament. And Kaneda himself points out the likelihood that Katahara has some kind of angle to allowing these fights.
And yes, that really is the end of the volume. God, it must be weird to read this manga in tankoubon format.
And yeah, my mans clearly does his crunches, and I suspect went out of his way to get a shirt that's not quite big enough. When you take off the outer shirt, you really want it to hit.
We begin chapter 33 in a breathless moment of pause, the fight affirmed in the mind of its participants. Himuro Ryo stays light on his toes, bouncing with fists ready, a crackling vessel of imminent violence. Kaneda Suekichi though remains firmly planted, despite his smaller stature, fists raised to protect his head. It's a wholly passive posture, and that doesn't escape Himuro. Perhaps Kaneda intends to wait out the full minute? Himuro can't be certain.
Not that he intends to let him try.
With a taunting invitation to die, Himuro charges in, unleashing another vicious flurry. Kenny is concerned, quietly exhorting Himuro not to take it too far, and lamenting that he didn't warn Kaneda what he was getting himself into. Himuro's a representative fighter, and not one who had to get in via the preliminaries. He's an established threat, and lays out his Bona Fides by almost casually piercing Kaneda's defenses, snapping the smaller man's head back with a jab to the face and then grabbing him two-handed by the head.
Fuck me, that looks like it hurts.
Then he stops. He simply lets Kaneda drop to his knees, hacking and wheezing, the bloodthirsty look falling off his face even quicker. Do you get it now, he asks. The Kengan Matches aren't a game. Then he turns, telling him to stop messing around before he gets himself seriously messed up.
Or, well, he would have if Kaneda hadn't interrupted him halfway through. The smaller man charges, teeth gritted against the pain and fists raised. Himuro almost can't believe what he's seeing, does this guy still think he can win after he got dominated like that? Himuro decides he has no choice but to continue the lesson, then, and snaps out a dismissive, casual jab.
I feel like there's a reaction image in this.
Himuro staggers back, brain rattled by Kaneda's first blow of the fight. The smaller man doesn't follow up, but I wonder if he can, given how ragged he is already. There was blood already on his fists, after all, and he hadn't landed anything on Himuro beforehand. Or perhaps it's simple presumption. As Himuro wipes the blood from his mouth, Kaneda congratulates himself on the point, and asks if Himuro feels ready to give up his position yet.
Understandably, Himuro's response is to punch him in the face. Less understandably, he immediately dismisses that blow to his jaw as a fluke. Grabbing Kaneda by the hair, he winds up a nasty knee strike aimed right at the man's nose, fully intending to end the fight right then and there.
And yet, again, he is the one struck instead. A fierce uppercut that cracks the bone of his chin, and sends him down to one knee. Kaneda repeats the question, managing a surprising amount of scariness for a guy with blood streaming freely from his nose and sweating like a pig.
Himuro is confused. He's dominated just about this entire fight, how the hell does this scrawny puke have him on the ropes? He reminisces briefly on his career so far. Though short, it's been explosive. Four overwhelming victories that placed him in the upper echelon of the Association's fighters. He's rightly confident in his strength.
Sometimes I wonder how this artist would do with a fantasy series.
Himuro lets his stance drop, an act Kenny recognises. He's getting serious. And sure enough, Himuro is fully centered again in the next page, eyes clear and focused. In the same instant as he admits to Kaneda that he acknowledges the man's strength he projects a deathly pressure that seems to get to Kaneda just as much as any of his strikes. And then the manga presents to us a question. What is the most powerful weapon in Jeet Kune Do?
We get a couple of exposition panels after, but the long and short of it is this. Himuro's punches are fast as fuck, and he can throw way, way more of them than you'd expect. Immediately he throws Kaneda back on the defensive, the blinding speed of his attacks even allowing him to pivot instantaneously to parries and back again faster than the blink of an eye. Flickering blows from precisely warped angles dismantle Kaneda's defences, dropping the guy to his knees.
Have you learned your lesson, Himuro demands in the privacy of his mind, before his fingers lash forwards to leave bleeding holes just under Kaneda's eye. With less than a centimetre to spare he avoided having his eyes poked out, and Kenny recognises the blow for the escalation it is. That's enough! He yells, certain that Kaneda will die if this goes any further.
And he's not wrong to think so, Himuro's next kick folds Kaneda in half, launching him clean off his feet as his organs stretch and distort. He lands back on his knees, vomiting from mouth and nose, and Himuro's followup is relentless. He roars in triumph, as he throws a finishing blow with all his weight. It's over!
It lands, Kaneda's head rolls with the force. A perfect blow, Himuro crows, in the privacy of his mind. Damn, that sure was a waste of his ti-
Come on bro, this is the second time he's done this to you. I thought you said you were taking him seriously now, why get careless on the finishing blow? Himuro still doesn't get it, even as he hits the floor and Kaneda thanks him, declaring victory. And obliterating Himuro's arm in a way that makes me cringe to see.
Himuro damn near whites out from the pain, his forearm rotated way further than arms are meant to. Kaneda backs off, commenting on how painful it looks, and apparently determined to get an admission of loss out of his foe. Himuro's only response is, eyes fucking feral with pain, to promise death.
And….that's the end of the chapter? Huh, damn, the pages don't half fly by when it's purely fight scene, don't they? And this isn't even 1000 words.
Alright, double bill time. I feel like chapter 34 will be a short one too.
Chapter 34 starts immediately where 33 left off. Kaneda notes that the fight's as good as won, but Himuro disagrees quite strenuously. With the expression of a man about to bite through suspension cabling he declares for all present that he still has one good arm.
And then the fight is on again. Himuro's fast, damn fast, but he's lugging about an entire arm's worth of dead weight. Worse than dead weight actually, that sort of pain is 100% going to be distracting. As such, what were once overwhelming flurries are now pretty handily dodged by Kaneda, and he counterattacks much more effectively. First with another blow to the chin, and then deadass kicking Himuro in his just-now annihilated arm.
No, I'm still not showing you it.
To his credit…or perhaps not, anyone sane would have stopped so they didn't get crippled for life. Well whatever, Himuro powers through the pain and keeps going. But Kenny notes something weird. Even with a broken arm Himuro is fast as fuck, and he was beating the piss out of Kaneda pretty casually before. But now he can't even land a glancing blow. What gives?
Then he sees Kaneda dodging a front-kick almost before Himuro even throws it and it all becomes clear. We dip into Kaneda's PoV and see him predicting Himuro's every move ahead of time, and identifying the perfect response to evade with minimal effort.
Kaneda isn't exactly in a good state. Still covered in his own blood, a few more holes than he started with, and all that. But by now he's the one standing tall in comfortable dominance, as Himuro sweats furiously. And Kaneda points out as much. Himuro's done, Kaneda has a read on him now, he's exhausted and in pretty severe pain. The fight's over, finito, checkmate. But Himuro refuses to surrender. Kaneda isn't any more surprised by this than he was any of Himuro's more recent strikes, though to his credit he does seem disappointed. Not so much in Himuro himself, as that it has to end like this. Himuro charges in with a frantic, desperate left straight, and predictably Kaneda slips past it like it's nothing. His left hand cups Himuro's chin, and his left the back of his foe's neck.
And then slams Himuro's head into the floor with all the combined force of both their bodies. Looks sort of like a Judo throw.
This somehow fails to knock Himuro out, but the fight is genuinely done now. The world swims in front of his face, and it's all he can do to reach out to Kaneda and call his name before a stomp to the forehead finishes it properly. Kaneda expresses his admiration. Both for Himuro's skill and his fierce tenacity. But this is the end.
Kenny, Ohya Ken, looks on. Processing. He joined the Kengan Association thirty two years ago, at the fresh age of twenty seven. In that time he's seen countless Matches and almost as many fighters. He's hired dozens, from all walks of life. And among that vast roster, Himuro was the best fighter he's ever had on his payroll. And he lost, to this nameless nobody.
You know, just in case you'd forgotten what Kenny is.
Ohya Ken makes his decision. This is the man he'll bet on. He offers Kaneda Suekichi the position of representative fighter for Ginokuniya Bookstore.
Here's hoping the beating he took for that win doesn't fuck him over in the tournament, eh?
That fight is over, so we hard cut to new scenes. Just a couple, to round out the chapter. First of all we skip to the security room, to see how the lads were doing against Kiryu.
Well, it's not like the main rival was going to kick it before the Tournament even started, I guess. Yeah, obviously the two bodyguards are SUPER dead, and Hassan's heat passes to a new bearer. Apparently they somehow also had no security cameras running in here, either, because absolutely noone has any clue what happened. And not to spoil, but they never figure it out, either. At least not quickly enough as they would if they had security footage of Kiryu twisting their necks like bottlecaps.
Kiryu isn't even trying to hide it either, he's wandering through the corridors of the SS Kengan as this happens, covered in blood. I thought you guys were supposed to be good at this?
Ah, but Mr Yandere isn't the only Shenanigans afoot. We hard cut again to some few hundred metres behind the SS Kengan, to a periscope peeking above the waves. Underneath the night-blackened sea a small submarine is following the cruise ship, and inside the harried orders of the Bodyguard in charge of the security room situation echo through some sort of bug. An extremely sweaty man has a good chortle, somebody's making some noise up there!
Look who's back, kids. And hey! He even saved Hassad, out of the goodness of his heart. I would show you that panel, but it's far too sexy to be put in a thread like this. We even see his treasure trail, god damn.
Ahem. Twenty six more hours until landfall. End chapter.
Alright, so don't necessarily expect double bills like this every time a chapter ends up running a little short. My energy is usually flagging on the best of days, and spending this long going through an extra chapter takes it out of me.
That said, this was an alright fight. Very desperate and drag out on both ends at varying points, though honestly I do feel it could have stood to be a little shorter. There isn't really much to either of the fighters here, and while it talked a big game I don't think it actually did all that much to build heat for Kaneda. Mans got absolutely fucked up, even if he won, and his gimmick is exactly the sort of thing that's almost custom built to get countered by any antagonist/protagonist worth their ink. He's a mean little shit though, so who knows. Maybe his sheer, unscrupulous goblin fury could take him far, against the right opponents.
Ultimately the important part of this fight is establishing the context for the rest of the boat ride, and prompting the reader to anticipate further shenanigans. To wonder who's going to get replaced, and in whose name. And while it could have gotten there more cleanly, it did manage that much, I think.
But tbh I'm kinda like. Disappointed almost that it went to a snap cut. It transfers some of Hassan's heat to Kiryu, but I do wonder how a more filled out alternative of like a blow or two exchanged and then they're Just Dead would work better. Like a more vicious, lethal, and smaller parallel to the Gangster scene Chill Ohma had a while back.
So, over the last bunch of chapters Kengan Asura has been trying very hard to drum in the idea that there's gonna be more going on than a simple tournament, and that this is by design. Let's see what they actually do with that then, shall we?
Well, we start with a recap of the last few chapters…by Rihito, of all people. Delivered to Ohma with stilted, out of character staidness as they eat hotdogs in the rooftop park of the SS Kengan. So either this is the writer clumsily trying to recap without just doing a nondiegetic narration and finding himself unable to do so gracefully, or Rihito is delivering word for word the same lecture he was given on the subject, possibly by Akiyama or Nogi. My money's on the former, but the latter is much funnier, so let's go with that.
Anyway, in a moment of uncharacteristic caution, Rihito notes to Ohma that they should probably be a bit more concerned for their own safety. Representative fighters are rumoured to get a bunch of perks on top of their participation in the tournament, so there's no telling when someone could attack them. So, because there isn't a single original thought bouncing around in the cavernous void Rihito calls his head, he asks Ohma. What do we do?
And then Ohma is Ohma all over the problem.
Fortunately, clearer minds are present to head off the workplace massacre before it can begin. Kushida sidles up behind them to point out the obvious. Hundreds of Kengan Association members are on board this ship, including the ones just here to party. If you include their affiliate partners, secretaries, assistants, bodyguards, mistresses and other associated support staff, that adds up to about 3000 people. Take into account the ship's crew on top of that, and there's somewhere in the realm of 4000 people. There isn't a hope in hell of picking out assassins among so many, even if you do have a few braincells dedicated to the business.
Rihito's conclusion is to beat this shit out of all of them anyway. Stupid is as stupid does.
Kushida corrects him very briefly, laying out the two main methods available to fighters to protect themselves. Hole up in their room for the next however many hours, or stick together in groups. Rihito immediately takes this as an excuse to invite Kushida to his room, which is equally immediately shot down with prejudice. Rihito tries to claim he has no untoward intentions, but we all know that isn't true.
As this chicanery is ongoing, Yamashita arrives back. We've seen him here and there in previous panels at one of the refreshment stalls, and here he comes with drinks for himself and Ohma, wondering what's going on. Ohma claims Rihito's "just getting some", which I'm assuming based on his vaguely disgusted expression is sarcastic. Particularly since Yamashita's response is to idly skate over it as just business as usual. A part of me wonders if it wasn't just a mistranslation of some slang for flirting, or inept pickup game. In any case…they aren't alone. I mean, obviously they aren't alone, they're in a public space but shut up they're being watched by someone specific. Or, specifically, Yamashita is.
By Ohta Masahiko, CEO of Under Mount Incorporated, who is just now realising that Yamashita is the father of, technically, his boss. He was told by Kenzo that being noticed by Kenzo's father is…unlikely. But he is very, very, hilariously unconvinced.
Can anyone else hear the King Engine?
Ohta then proceeds to have a sweaty panic attack while his Secretary looks on in baffled concern.
I cannot tell you how much I fucking love this gag. Look at that panel, how expertly elements of Yamashita's design are tweaked just so. How it's still recognisable as a version of Yamashita while still being hilariously untrue to the real man. And it's not even ridiculous for Ohta to feel this way, he's a demonstrably anxious man by nature and has spent his career's entire meteoric rise being buoyed up specifically by the deceitful trickery of a Yamashita. Kazuo is very little like Kenzo, but that would make sense as a lie, especially given we've already had people take note of Yamashita's own unusually rapid rise through the Association!
Anyway, hard cut, new scene. Nogi and Soryuin are engaged in negotiations in the park's indoor cafeteria, a quaint little wooden spot that wouldn't look out of place in a sleepy english coastal town. Soryuin, with a dubious expression, asks Nogi to clarify that he isn't actually asking her to surrender when he asks for an alliance, is he? He clarifies he isn't, laughing at the idea she'd play second fiddle to anyone. No, he makes his own little report to the reader on recent events, albeit with a slightly different angle. He had people look into Kaneda, but couldn't dig up a single problematic thing about the man. He doesn't believe that Kaneda is here on anyone's orders, but he's very much expecting someone to start systematically clearing out fighters and replacing them with their own puppets.
Lol, get fucked bro. Or perhaps emphatically not fucked would be more appropriate.
Soryuin dismissively tells Nogi to relax. She never had any intention of playing silly buggers like that to begin with. That said, she isn't so sure about another person in the room. Kurayoshi Rino, Executive representative for the Gold Pleasure group, titters over what a suspicious person Soryuin is. And, well…
Because he's a shithead, Tomoko.
So, is anyone here actually surprised that the most openly feminine employer we've seen so far explicitly works in red light businesses, is all but called a whore with specifically derogatory intent while at the same time being drawn with fucking hentai boobshine?
If so, hi! Thank you for joining us, you must be new here.
And she's an interesting comparison to Soryuin specifically, isn't she? Both women are objectified to some extent by the framing of more or less of the panels they turn up in, but otherwise Soryuin is consistently treated with respect by the narrative. She's sharp, picking up on shit all the time, and treated as an equal by the manga's standard of manliness, Nogi. By contrast Kurayoshi is…well, the immediate target of the manga's distaste for sex workers. Called a whore for how she dresses in the same breath as the manga jiggles her about in front of the camera going "Phwoar, eh?"
My one consolation is that this scene also spends its time dunking on Hatsumi. That's always funny. Immediately after he wonders openly to the two secretaries if Kurayoshi would be his "sparring partner", she gives him a chirpy hello, as far as I can tell specifically to get Soryuin to glare him down. It's not explicit that it's her intent, but she finds it very funny when Soryuin does exactly that and he settles back down, so I'm gonna take it.
Anyway, Soryuin prods Kurayoshi about the ceasefire and the younger woman immediately agrees. Honestly, she'd never even considered sending assassins as an option. Soryuin expresses doubt over the intentions of a…vixen? Soryuin, what's with the internalised misogyny, please. That said, Kurayoshi decides the best way to prove her intentions is to point out what she has instead of shenanigans.
…Uchiha?
Now, I'm not sure the best way to prove you have no intention of engaging in assassination is to point out your pet assassin. That said, he's been in the room this whole time without anyone noticing and she hasn't had him slit anyone's jugular, so maybe having the opportunity and then very deliberately not taking it works as proof? Idk.
But that's for another time, we aren't learning Sasuke-kun's non meme name yet. Because even if Kurayoshi has no intent to engage in shenanigans, she isn't the only CEO left to meet. Not even close.
Not that we're gonna learn this guy's name either, yet. No, he's got the lights in his room turned nice and low to keep the whole place in convenient and dramatic shadows as he delivers his little speech, proclaiming the imminent death of the Kengan Association's old fashioned ways before it is born anew. With a grandiose sweep of his arm he commands his minions, Defeat the representative fighters! Claim their slots!
A newer generation of revolutionaries being an antagonistic force for a settled status quo? Yeah, that seems appropriate for this sort of story. And I say that in a derogatory way, to be clear.
Ah, but we have yet another hard cut to jump through. This chapter isn't half bouncing around the place, isn't it? This time it's a cut in time as well as space, carrying us forward to 9pm, 8 and a half hours before landfall. It seems like Ohma and Rihito have been hanging out all day, and going by the joy Rihito expresses over the Kengan offering all the food anyone onboard wants for free, they probably spent that whole time eating. Well, they're big boys with big bodies and very active lifestyles, I'm sure it's fine. In any case, Rihito decides that since they're full now, it's time to play. And by play, he means gamble! There's a casino on one of the floors, because of fucking course there is, and he wants to makes some cash. Ohma isn't interested, but he follows Rihito anyway for want of anything better to do, grumbling and sniping at him the whole time as they pass two strangers in the hallway. Kure strangers, even. A tall man, and our old friend the Obviously Girl in the booty jorts. The dude barely even glances at Ohma and Rihito, but something about them catches the girl's attention. What is it, Karla? The taller dude asks.
Well, at least we learned her name before, you guessed it, another hard cut. This time we're returning to a pair of characters we haven't checked in with for a good long time.
He's a growing boy, let him eat.
For some reason, Wakatsuki decided his talk with the junior Fighter should take place in the bowels of the ship, near the Generator rooms. But then, the subject could well merit a bit of privacy. Wakatsuki has checked in with his employer about the history of Kengan Annihilation Tournaments, and all of them have ruled that the winning Corporation gets the seat of Chairman. So yeah, Yamashita was right in his earlier assumption, if accidentally. This is a change specifically put in place in this tournament. Cosmo doesn't get it though, doesn't see the difference, but Wakatsuki is happy to explain. In past Tournaments everything came down to the individual matches, but these rules open up space for conspiracy and skulduggery. This seems to clue in Cosmo, before Wakatsuki retreats into his own mind a bit.
The only person with the power to change the tournament's rules is the eminent Chairman. But these rules are actively disadvantageous to him. Why would Katahara do this? Now, I'm not sure I agree that it's actually disadvantageous for the richest, most powerful man in the running, but the question of why he'd do it so obviously is a fair one, and one might reasonably suggest that Katahara has no intention of using these advantages. All very puzzling.
Then Cosmo prods Wakatsuki back to the real world, not a little confused as to what had him so deep in thought. After a moment's pause Wakatsuki admits his own suspicions. There's one corporation in particular he's deathly certain is going to go in hard on the conspiracy angle. Cosmo is made a little frantic by this. Who does he mean?
SurprisedPikachu.jpg
So hey, feel free to go back to that little roster of minions in an earlier image. Recognise these two? Bandage Jones and the skullcap swagger in, and can't quite believe their luck. Two fighters identified in the middle of nowhere, time to crush them and claim their spots. Funny thing, there's clearly not much coordination between them. The guy wearing the wifebeater doesn't even know Imhotep's name. But he decides it doesn't matter, and frankly it doesn't. The whole point is one on one fights, after all.
Turns out Wakatsuki had called Cosmo down here specifically to avoid this, to talk to him out of sight so they're less likely to be found. Wakatsuki admits the goof with a good amount of grace, but Cosmo is unbothered either way. He cricks his neck and loosens up, noting how bored he was getting footling about doing fuck all.
Time for a workout! He chirps, punching his right fist into his other palm, as Wakatsuki watches with a grim expression. Their foes take his lack of fear just a little bit personally. End chapter.
Well, bit of a shock going back to more normal chapters after a few of pure fight scene with almost no dialogue, isn't it? But then, this was hardly a normal chapter in terms of pacing, was it. Good lord, it was all over the place. And yet, the throughline of ideas was there, and sufficient to keep a central thread that guide's the audience's thoughts and attention. The most basic and straightforward consequences of the rules have passed, the expectations of the cast have been set, now we let the conflict of the rest of the voyage play out.
It's honestly become a pretty cool, multipurpose plot point. Simultaneously an excuse to smoothly and naturally introduce more of the cast, while also throwing in curveballs to knock out already established characters. And it's not even like it's all very well established mainstays with a couple of throwaway dudes that are obviously going to get knocked out, there's a bunch of characters we've only barely encountered. Who's going to make it to the tournament? Who knows at this point. We do have some that will obviously make it, but there's a big swathe of the roster who won't, and we've already got a baseline of familiarity that isn't safe in Himuro. It's simple, but elegant as short preliminary conflicts go.
Hah, you could sort of consider this a second set of preliminaries, couldn't you? Well, let's see who gets to strut a little and who's being sent home in an ambulance.
The funniest thing from this chapter though is the Ohta and Kazuo moment. That is gold and the author has so much more potential ammo in that particular clip - I hope the author does stuff with people who know Kazuo getting caught up in the hype to, that sounds really funny.
Byakuya news' representative fighter, Takemoto Hisayasu, is something of a legend.
At the fresh age of 45 he founded an entire school of martial arts, Takemoto style combat kempo. Going by the officiality of the panel, and the vast rows of men in gi behind him, a very successful school too. With that established, even outside the normal operations of the school, he fought in over 90 Outdoor matches, (or street fights. Eh, eh?) winning every last one. He's one of the oldest names in the business, a man of focus and strength, barely slowed down at all by his advancing age.
Welp. What a half-hearted worfing. I see the intent, to try and push the idea that noone is safe, but like…this guy has one panel to his name before this. We know who he is, but there's no attachment. This is a loss without any weight, and thus no impact. So long Oro, maybe you'll last longer in the next Street Fighter sequel.
The figure who broke the mighty Takemoto taunts Tesaki. So much for your dreams of becoming chairman. Why, at this rate your entrance fee might be totally wasted! Profoundly distressed, he screams in return. Demanding to know what the hell this guy even wants. Which implies that this guy just waltzed in and started a fucking fight. Possibly even by ambush, the scattered chairs and plates in the background could suggest a mealtime. God, that'd make the worfing even worse, if he didn't even win legitimately.
Anyway, we finally see the man himself, who dismisses the question as obvious. This man, nameless for now, chiseled and desperately pretty in a sleeveless Qipao, drops his ultimatum. Byakuya news will hire him as their representative fighter, or he'll kill the employer right here and now.
Elsewhere in the ship, in a featureless corridor, a man with a face like a poorly maintained anvil turns and glares at the font of unthinking malice approaching behind him. Inui Machizo, fighter for Umiichi Securities, snorts. How unlucky, he says, you picked the wrong guy to mess with.
It's night, still, in the park areas atop the SS Kengan. Entirely unconcerned, Kurayoshi Rino and her Ninja- uh, I mean fighter, are confronted by some greasy dude in a skull mask. He stares them down, unblinking, but Kurayoshi just muses to herself about these methods. So high handed and forceful. Who could it be, she wonders, perhaps the nonspecific "him" manga loves to throw around so much. And then, a hand is raised.
He's literally just Sasuke with more coherent motivations, I can't handle it
We return to the guts of the ship, where Wakatsuki is facing off with Bandage Boy. Or maybe standing off is more appropriate. Neither man is moving. Bandage boy is hunched over, ready to go, but Wakatsuki seems…not quite relaxed, but unbothered. He clearly doesn't feel threatened, hands in his pockets and everything. The standoff goes a little longer, and he asks Bandage boy what's wrong. Isn't he here to fight? With a verbal shrug he informs the guy that, if you're not going to make a move, then he will.
Behind Imhotep Cosmo is actually kind of struggling. He's gotten in a slugging match with skullcap, but the man's much bigger and heavier than cosmo is, even before you account for the brass fucking knuckles. I know the Kengan matches are pretty stupid about weapons, but surely he doesn't think he's going to be able to get those past inspection? Even Kaburagi had to make do with needles and his own teeth. Between all that, Cosmo's severely on the back foot, taking a huge body-blow.
Abruptly, we get a brief introduction to skullcap, and an actual name. Aku Fujio, better known as the cleaner, Agnostic Front. Which sounds like absolute word salad, but given his job of doing people's dirty work, I guess it can be wrangled into fitting. Agnostic doesn't just mean a noncommittal religious attitude, in colloquial use it also refers more generally to a lack of commitment to something. Like, a setting agnostic TTRPG is a mechanical chassis that can work for a variety of game aesthetics, it isn't fixed to a single set of ideas. Now, I'm fairly sure the writers didn't put that much thought into it, but whatever. Even accidental, it's a fair thing to talk about.
Anyway, yeah, he's an underworld wetwork oddjob sort of guy who beats people up real good, sometimes kills them, and doesn't afraid of no things. But not so unkind that he won't give Cosmo a bit of breathing room after that body blow, which he uses to catch his breath and muse on what a good striker Fujio is. But Fujio isn't as impressed with Cosmo. With a sigh, he offers to just let Cosmo go as long as he turns over his spot. Cosmo's eyes take on a peculiar, studying cast. Why do you want to become a fighter? He asks. It doesn't seem like Fujio wants to fight stronger people.
Fujio finds the question ridiculous. For the money, obviously. He's a professional, he does the job and gets paid. That's all there is to it.
Where'd those shoulders come from?
Fujio continues to be unimpressed, internally noting the change in stance as he derisively insists Cosmo not waste his time. Cosmo charges in, heedless. Time for backstory!
The manga takes a moment to remind the audience that, in this world, there are existences we call prodigies. People who master with ease concepts that take normal people years to grasp. Imai Cosmo is presently 19.
He won his first Kengan Match at 14. The youngest in history. An absolute cracker of a debut, against a man who could be described as massive even before you put him next to a 14 year old boy. It was an object lesson in his potential, an unmistakable display of prodigious talent. Cosmo is a prodigy, through and through. Fujio already knows this, of course. Cosmo's debut was a headliner, and he hasn't slowed down since, he's famed. And Fujio, being a professional, has done his homework. He has profiles on the fighting style of as many of the entrants as he could find anything on. He knows Cosmo's specialty is grappling, and was just humouring him, to put the boy in a false sense of security. Now that Cosmo is charging in, he's right where the Cleaner wants him. He pulls an electrified baton from the back of his belt, as soon as Cosmo gets within his range, that's going to hit the back of the boy's skull and he's out like a light.
Prodigy? Pfah. Bullshit. He's a kid dancing on the palm of this professional's hand. Bedtime, kiddo.
Then he whiffs.
Where did the kid go? Fujio had a perfect bead on him, what happened? How could he have dodged a surprise attack with such perfect timing?
Then Cosmo's legs clamp firmly around Fujio's elbows, and Cosmo's own elbow fixes itself around the man's trachea.
Stylised visualisation!
Cosmo has him in a Python Hold. He's done. From this position Cosmo's arm can cinch tight on the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain, throttling the flow of oxygen. Loss of consciousness comes swift, and doesn't give a crispy fried fuck how big and beefy you are. Fujio drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes, and Cosmo brushes his hair out of his face. You really underestimated the Kengan Matches. So sayeth Imai Cosmo. Or, as he's also known, The King of Stranglers.
Then a catastrophic boom rattles every bone in his body.
We've been seeing Wakatsuki for a while. We knew he was a veteran, with strong insight. We knew he has history with the Fang of Metsudo.
We didn't know what a fucking monster he really is.
This is the single greatest display of superhuman strength in the manga so far, and for me? It fucking hits. Especially with the immediate followup of his profile. And I think it's especially strong because of what it implies for the future. There is proveably at least one person in the Kengan Matches who can beat him. Potentially even two. And he's disappointed. He wasn't even going all out! He can go harder!
And I won't lie, I love his aesthetic. The strongest guys around not feeling any particular need to show off, dressing plainly and using un-flashy and exceedingly direct fighting styles, I love that shit. Wakatsuki is one of my favourite characters in this manga, and not just for the reasons you can see here. I can't wait to show you all The Wild Tiger in a real fight.
End chapter.
So yeah, the purpose of this one is clear. Deliver on all those shenanigans we've been promised, and follow the assassins as they go about their work. Highlighting shifts in power and hyping up the characters who fight off their Assassins. Heck, with Cosmo we still don't really know what he did, beyond strangle that guy. So we can mark down establishing mysteries to be revealed in the fights as well.
Not much effort has been put into trying to hide who's going to make it through, though. There's a clear difference between the guys with development and screentime, and the guys who were just given name in a token effort to not just state outright who's pack filler. And similarly for the assassins, there's a fairly obvious playing of favourites in terms of who got the lion's share of the design time. But I'm not really that bothered. The political thriller aspect of this series has never really been more than an aesthetic veneer, so this mystery being fairly limp isn't a dealbreaker. Personally I wouldn't have made all the assassins come from a single person, I'd have scattered at least one or two across other factions. Maybe even specifically the ones who fail, to make the guy behind the successful usurpations more intimidating.
And yeah, right at the end, the big moneyshot moment revealing Wakatsuki Takeshi as one of the biggest badasses in the business. A concrete shattering destroyer of bones and dreams, with the experience to back up his peerless might. And you know what? He's even stronger than he seems in this chapter.
