One Piece Volume 39

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By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

As we’re in the middle of a huge arc, it’s inevitable that a majority of the volume will be dedicated to melee fighting, as with most Jump shonen manga. So, in this volume, we see Sanji, Franky, and Sniper King taking on most of the mooks and low-level bosses of Cipher Pol, only to get utterly trashed when they finally hit the real thing. Well, I say utterly trashed, but that’s not quite true – they came close. Sadly, Robin is still in denial and self-loathing land, so she was not prepared to lend a hand in her own rescue.

We get several more intriguing tidbits on Robin in this volume. It’s mentioned a couple of times that Robin is not guilty of any particular hideous crime (something we may have gathered already given that this supposedly happened when she was *eight*), but that her mere existence is the issue. This has been dwelling on her since Water Seven, and is likely why she’s behaving so irrationally. Sniper King is absolutely correct – did she seriously expect, knowing the Straw Hats as she does, that they would simply abandon her and move on? Well, yes, she did, because she has no sense of self-worth. I loved the fact that this argument was between her and Sniper King, if only as he’s the other main cast member to struggle with hideous self issues, and it’s great to see him lay into Robin and tell her to have faith in her captain.

Speaking of Sniper King, now you all know where Sniper Island is. It’s… in your HEART. Even in the middle of a serious arc, with lots of violence and action, Oda still gives us some hysterical laughs every chapter. Paulie’s reaction to all the hot women around him (and how about Nami’s sensible, uncaring clothing change in the middle of the car? Once again, Nami is NOT your typical shonen chick). Luffy and Nami’s wonderful joint reaction while praising Usopp’s updated clima-tact (possibly the only time the two share a gag like that – Nami’s normally far too sensible). The Marines’ reaction to Zoro cutting the train. Franky’s centaur form. Wanze… in general. Luffy and Chopper’s reaction to Sniper King. And, of course, Luffy having the plan explained to him, and then just doing whatever the hell anyway. This is Luffy, after all.

And we finally arrive at Enies Lobby, and meet 3 more CP9 members. Fukuro is merely comedy relief, and designed to be irritating (and he succeeds). Kumadori is also fairly comedic, but I’ve always liked his over-the-top theatrics, which fits perfectly, as his name recalls the makeup on Kabuki actors. And Jabra is, well, a grumpy jerk, but he also screams “I’ll be fighting Zoro or Sanji later” to me. (BTW, he’s also the only one to suffer romanization issues of the group, though it’s not too bad – fans have called him “Jyabura”.)

And in the end, we get another fantastic “this encapsulates all that is great about One Piece” moment, with Luffy surrounded by Marines. “There’s 10,000 soldiers here on Enies Lobby!” “Yeah… I’m by myself. Get out of my way!”

Fairy Tail 10

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By Hiro Mashima. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Del Rey.

As Fairy Tail volumes go, this one is pretty good. There’s lots of action and people hitting things, and some fun humor, at least in the first chapter. The series still feels too much like One Piece, but there’s really little we can do about that at this point. I do wish that Mashima would learn something from Oda’s sense of pace – the stuff that happens here would have taken half a volume of your typical One Piece.

Speaking of typical One Piece, Fairy Tai;’s resident kickass swordswoman, Erza Scarlet, gets an arc devoted to her here (and in the next 2 volumes), and you know what that means. Flashbacks to traumatic childhood ahoy! Admittedly, the flashbacks are pretty darn brutal, emphasizing the horror that building the Tower was and Erza’s crappy life of childhood slavery. It’s nice to see the terrified, meek little girl pick up a sword and start to become the Erza we all know. And I’m sure that the relationship between her and Jellal is not going to be pretty.

Also in regards to Erza, there’s one big reason to pick up this volume, which is the chapter where Erza’s old-friends-now-enemies turn up at the casino to retrieve her. Erza started as an Ice Queen type, and even though she’s now a lot milder she still tends to be rather stoic, with rage and anger the emotions we’ve associated with her losing it. Therefore, seeing her trembling in fear and confusion on seeing Sho is very startling, and it works incredibly well. This is followed up on later in the volume where, after the usual shonen “We’re your friends, we will stand by you!” from the other Fairy Tail members, Erza turns to them and is crying and biting her lip. Even Gray is startled by the sudden change.

There’s also a silly omake chapter where Mirajane convinces Lucy that Natsu is about to declare his love for her. Since Fairy Tail does ship a little bit more than One Piece does, it’s theoretically possible, I suppose, but in the end it all turns out to be a misunderstanding. Also, Mirajane is evil.

Fairy Tail continues to be decent, solid shonen manga, and this Tower of Heaven arc starts off pretty well, so I’ll definitely keep reading.

xxxHOLiC Volume 15

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By CLAMP. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Magazine. Released in North America by Del Rey.

I have a very love/hate relationship with this title, which has a bunch of things I adore, but also a bunch of really irritating things. This volume in particular is a good example.

First of all, I’m not sure if you recall, but the early volumes of xxxHOLiC were actually quite funny. Yuko in particular was an endless vein of humor with her drunken antics, and Watanuki was in a constant state of apoplectic rage. It was a good thing, as the stories themselves could be quite melancholy, so the humor helped to balance things out. Unfortunately, events in recent volumes, this one in particular, slide everything to the melancholy side a bit too much. Watanuki in particular seems to have mastered the art of looking like he’s accepted the saddest fate in the world. It was actually refreshing seeing his complete breakdown in the final chapter.

Of course, there is one bit of hilarious humor right at the start of this volume. Let me quote it to you: “Although it isn’t necessary to read Tsubasa in order to understand the events in xxxHOLiC…” Isn’t that just a STITCH?

I may, of course, not be the best judge of this. I have read Tsubasa, after all. But it strikes me that anyone who’s trying to keep track of just xxxHOLiC is going to find themselves thinking this volume is rushed and doesn’t explain much. And yes, this is at heart CLAMP, Kodansha, and Del Rey trying to get you to buy both series. But I suspect Tsubasa fans who decided to skip xxxHOLiC ended up with the better deal in the end.

All that said, I did find much to enjoy in this volume. Though I felt the cooking plot dragged on a great deal, it reads better in volume format, and is blessedly resolved here. Watanuki’s dogged persistence is admirable, and he gets to the heart of the matter without any need for Yuko at all – which turns out to be for the best. And though I have issues with Watanuki and Yuko’s final scene, it is fairly gut-wrenchingly emotional, resolving the very first plot point of the series, and with Watanuki making a promise that I suspect was a bit too rash, but is entirely understandable.

And we see Himawari! I love Himawari. It must hurt to have a fandom so devoted to the two boys that they don’t even bash you, as they simply feel you aren’t enough of a threat to their couple. (To be fair, CLAMP seem to feel the same way – Domeki and Watanuki have enough Ho Yay to choke a goat.)

Most of all, xxxHOLiC is CLAMP’s mood manga, evoking through its beautiful art a gothic, melancholy world that would not be all that fun to live in, but is very nice to read about. Tsubasa was the epic crossover from hell with a plot so complicated that it makes your brain hurt, but even at its worst, xxxHOLiC gives a sense of peace. I suspect CLAMP feel the same; after all, Tsubasa is over but xxxHOLiC continues in Japan. They like to draw this series.