makeste | *dusts off journal*

So this review is late, of course, because I've been feeling crappy for most of the week and haven't been online much (I was getting headaches from looking at the monitor screen because I was so out of it XD). But happily, I am finally feeling better (and thanks to everyone who sent healthy thoughts and well wishes ♥), so I'm going to roll up my sleeves and do some serious LJing. STAND BACK, I'M COMING IN.

First up: Catching up with this week's markedly underwhelming chapter of KHR!

1. It appears that this cover is attempting to make us go 'bawww' at the fact that Large and Lambo used to get along so cutely but have now become fierce rivals. Which might have worked, if L&L had gotten more than three panels of paired screentime before said fierce rivalry developed. Is there anyone out there who is even remotely invested in the Lambo/Large relationship? I'm thinking no. By all means, please correct me if I'm wrong.

2. Did Lambo always have this Gokuderaish ability to entertain with a host of adorable faces? I seem to recall that in most of his previous appearances, he mostly stuck to his blandly attractive "hi wink wink I'm Lambo wink wink" face (with the occasional "OH GOD WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME" crybaby face tossed in for comedic effect). Now, though, he's trying all sorts of expressions on for size. Welcome to the new world of Amano's improved art style, TYL!Lambo! Have fun with the possibilities.

And thank you, Large. Because we all completely forgot how the time traveling bazooka that was the focus of a three-year-long arc that only ended twenty chapters ago worked. It's good to have this helpful reminder.

3. The Bad News: Due to his hopeless incompetence, Lambo accidentally gave himself traumatic amnesia.

The Good News: Due to his ability to read basic situational clues, he has deduced the fact that he is in the midst of an important battle! At first this may seem like a fairly unimpressive achievement, but you have to keep in mind that this is the guy who, when he was a kid, sailed to an island with an army of serious-faced mafiosi and thought "vacation!", witnessed his bestest buddy Ryohei get dragged away to Azkaban and thought "candy!", and listened to his favorite subordinate Large announce that he was going to blood-bathe him and thought "HERP DERP PLAY WITH ME 8D." When you consider that, this development seems miraculous.

4. Okay, starting to get an inkling here why this chapter got so many lukewarm reactions from my flist. XD Large, sorry to break it to you, buddy, but you're just really not an engaging character. At all.

It was kind of adorable when you showed off your bicep in that top panel, though.

5. And the lava flame is kinda cool, too. Lambo's going to have trouble fighting an attribute like that with his lightning flame. Damn.

...And wait. It's a what. ??

Okay, normally I have no issues whatsoever with IEM's translations and indeed, prefer them infinitely to Binktopia's, but I really have to question if "hoe" was the best word to use in this instance. Is this a sumo term that I'm just unfamiliar with for some reason? Or did they really decide that the fork on his head resembled a common garden tool?

6. LAMBO. I have only two things to say about your Pride!

IT IS DUMB.
I'M PRETTY SURE YOU STOLE IT FROM YAMAMOTO.

Although, endless lols at the fact that he's been totally cleaned out by gambling five times before the age of 16. XD

7. Blah blah lightning bull, blah blah Cambio Forma. Moving on (the "moo" was amusing, though)...

8. So Lambo, you stole your pride from Yamamoto, and then you went and stole Stalfos Mode from Genkishi? Is there anything about your fighting style you haven't ripped off from another character? Hell, even your casual approach to the fight is giving me Fran vibes. And the way you freak out over ridiculous things ("GAH IT'S HEAVY o_O") is straight-up Tsuna. GEE WHIZ, IT'S ALMOST LIKE YOU WERE RAISED BY THESE PEOPLE OR SOMETHING.

9. I don't even know what happened on this page. He said he had no clue how to use his Vongola gear, started tumbling backward, and then all of a sudden went, "WHOA, LET ME PUSH SOME BUTTONS" and his helmet got wider?? The fuck.

Oh, I see. It was an accident. That explains everything.

10. Once.

Just once.

I would like to see a shounen battle that does not begin with both characters charging RIGHT THE FUCK IN in a freaking straight line. :|

Alas.

To sum up my thoughts in the aftermath of this chapter and Ryohei's fight: I don't know what jackass has been writing to Amano chapter after chapter insisting "LESS PL0T MOAR F1GHTINGS!!!!!1", but I really wish Amano would stop listening. XD

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

sometimes I wish she didn't have all the characters in the first place if she couldn't focus on them, fff

Yeah, sometimes I wish the same thing. Especially since characters then tend to disappear once their respective arcs are finished, and we never hear from then again unless they make brief cameos later on (and although said cameos are usually awesome, they also end up cluttering things up even more. Like when the Varia showed up at the end of the Future Arc and everything just got chaotic and jumbled). Plus in general, the fewer characters, the better character development--Gokudera and Ryohei's recent development in the wake of Yamamoto's injury is proof of that. But on the other hand, I really love most of the characters she comes up with, so I'm torn. Gotta take the good with the bad, I suppose.

Shitt P is such a bizarre character, it'll kill me if Amano wastes all of it by turning her into the same type of revenge-seeking miniboss that Aoba and Large turned out to be. She deserves better, dammit.

5. The stag beetle thing definitely makes more sense. Stag beetles use their horns (or I guess they're actually jaws, come to think) to wrestle each other in pretty much the same way Lambo and Large are doing now, come to think, so that's probably what it is. Kinda surprised IEM didn't pick up on that, but I guess nobody's perfect. XD

10. XD

The way it's all set up, I'm wondering if some of the characters will end up fighting twice (Gokudera and Tsuna, possibly), or if someone else will show up to take Yamamoto and possibly Hibari or Chrome's places. Either way, it's going to be interesting. That's one thing that I'm still really excited about in this arc, actually--no matter what happens, once we get up to Kaoru's fight, there has to be a twist, even if that twist is just Yamamoto himself showing up out of the blue. It's things like that that keep me from losing faith in this arc. Right now it may be a bit dull, but there's still a lot of good stuff to come. :D

It sucks when characters that barely got screen time get pushed aside, but yeah, I guess there's ups and downs to it desu~.

Yeah, I love Shitt P desu~ D8 I really hope her fight with Goku IS one to look forward to desu~.

5- Meh, maybe it's good that we have 2 translators so we don't miss things like this desu~? XD

10- It'd be really cool to see Gokudera or another character fight twice or take someone's place 8o (kinda don't want Tsuna to, mostly because I can't get over Ghost fff desu~). And you're right, the way it's set up SOME kinda twist has to happen desu~. We just have to be patient desu~ c8

If you couldn't tell, the "desu~" thing was a dare fffff desu~ alsoalsoalso CHARIZARD (desu~).

dusts off journal

no subject

oh god this comment desu~