Second week in a row that The Elusive Samurai tells how much Matsui wishes he were drawing hentai instead.
Doron Dororon is making Heisuke about as great as Ginchiyo. I’m feeling like this one will survive only on the strength of its supporting cast.
Akane-banashi is very Tell Dont Show. Even on a chapter about Manju Kowai, a story I’m quite familiar with, I still couldn’t feel it. I’ll stick with the manga for its off-stage plot, but the performances really aren’t grabbing me.
Earthchild is at the same place it was last week. Liked what we got but have no idea what to expect.
Sakamoto Days continues to be a spanking tribute to action movies and decides to grace us with the falling-out-of-a-plane scenario.
Elusive Samurai: Tokiyuki is a ladykiller. Then suddenly, Mysterious Girlfriend X.
Really loving Akane-banashi, Akane's expressions are fantastic. I hope the writer gets confident enough in the performances to let them breath on their own rather than relying on audience commentary, but for now it works. This has been a major improvement over Ole Golazo.
Doron Dororon: Heisuke is a cool guy. Also now Dora has to address his lack of supernatural energy. Betting Kusanagi becomes an armor and sword combo.
Witch Watch is gearing up for a hectic festival arc. I'm almost positive there isn't going to be an actual sorcerer attack; it's going to be some killjoy wanting to ruin the festivities.
PPPPPP is still so dull.
Not surprised about Shugomaru. It's definitely one of the weaker ones.
Issue 13…
Front color: Dr. Stone
Center color: Chikyuu no Ko (chapter 2), Sakamoto Days, Shinigami ni Negau (one-shot by Chika Sui)
Newbies: Akane-banashi (chapter 3)
Absent: Black Clover
1. One Piece
2. Jujutsu Kaisen
3. Boku no Hero Academia
4. Ao no Hako
5. PPPPPP
6. Boku to Roboco
7. Mashle
8. Koukousei Kazoku
9. Ayakashi Triangle
10. Undead Unluck
11. Witch Watch
12. Nigejouzu no Wakagimi
13. Yozakura-san Chi no Daisakusen
14. Doron Dororon
15. Mamore! Shugomaru
16. Ayashimon
…So Dr. Stone is ending, huh. Hard to believe that in the two years since I dropped the series they got to the fucking Moon.
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Still personally on the fence about him, but I’m thinking less. Too early to tell, though getting a familiar feeling to other stories where there’s interesting aspects of the setting that however it’s hampered by focusing heavily on a bland main.
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Doron Dororon: Was thinking something closer to possession.
Edited by Cross on Feb 27th 2022 at 7:51:51 AM
Regarding Akane 3… yeah, a bit too expo-dumpy, which is a shame because the art and Akane’s characterization are really great. I’m just afraid she might be a little too good at Rakugo from the start?
I wouldn’t call Reisuke bland so far. His position is certainly unique for a shonen protag.
Edited by Lyendith on Feb 27th 2022 at 4:44:41 PM
I think the issue with Akane is that the story isn't too clear on where she is in terms of her goals, or what sort of standard there is within the setting to show her growth. I know it's still early, but in most To Be a Master story, even if they are shown to be very skilled, the protagonist still have a rival/opponent he's unable to defeat yet.
Akane wants to be like her dad, but since her dad is no longer performing, we don't know whether or not she's surpassed him and things like that. All we know is that on her first real performance everyone is wowed, and from the get-go there doesn't seem to be a clear point on where she can improve, except to get formal recognition.
He might not be a rival but the rakugo master that kicked out her dad is obviously going to be a challenge. Also, she has her dad's style but that might be used against her: "Learn your own style!" or something like that. And of course, she's a girl. No was has raised an issue with it so far but it might come up soon.
I'm mostly referring to the concern that she might be too skilled from the get-go, since we don't know how skilled the old coot is compared to Akane as she is now and what she can do to close that gap, if they're meant to be rivals.
Of course, the conflict/growth she needs going forward might be driven by other factors than pure skills, but nothing so far has hinted at anything that would hinder her progress (e.g. gender barrier? age? socioeconomic status?)
Don’t think the old coot’s skill level needs to be relevant yet. Like you said, it’s still early. These first three chapters have all been about establishing who Akane is and what she can do. The next step would be to introduce the world of rakugo she’s entering.
There are several roadblocks I can think of off the top of my head. Rakugo is traditionally a male-dominated profession, so Akane will encounter some friction there. She might have a tough time balancing school and work. Her dad might be hesitant to let her daughter pursue a dream that could crush her as cruelly as it crushed him. Akane might be skilled at evoking characters, but what if she’s tasked to tell stories that rely more on setting the mood, describing the setting, or cover topics she has little experience with? What if she needs to write her own original scripts? And Akane could be told that her style is too similar to her dad’s and she needs to find her own unique style.
Edited by fillerdude on Mar 2nd 2022 at 3:15:04 AM

Read Takopi’s Original Sin on MangaPlus, it was depressing.