Dear I Eat Manga,

[makeste]

Thank you for releasing your version of KHR 312 before Saturday so that I could get this post done before heading off to the Rally to Restore Sanity (FUCK YEAH 8D) tomorrow. You guys are all right!

And also, thanks so much to everyone who passed along birthday wishes yesterday! ♥ It was a good day--among other things, I got to visit baby sis's preschool to watch her Halloween parade, which was adorable and awesome. And my other sis gave me a card that played the theme from Rocky when I opened it, which cracked me up because for some reason (possibly having something to do with the fact that I am a giant nerd), all I could think of was Ryohei. XD

Anyway, let me get started with this now.


1. This is pretty much the best timing for a color page ever. Just when I was starting to get really frustrated with the way this fight was turning out, along comes the sexiest shot of TYL!Lambo I've ever seen--not only that, but somehow he actually manages to make the same armor from last week look ridiculously cool instead of just plain ridiculous. I already knew that Amano's color pages had magic powers, but now I have to check off "ability to make me forgive virtually anything" alongside "ability to make me drool until I pass out from dehydration."

Enjoy it while it lasts, folks, because on the next page, we go right back to this. Alas.


2. Oh, wow. Even though I was fully expecting this to happen (and even though I feel a little guilty for it), this page made me laugh hysterically. OH, LAMBO. YOUR FACE. For some reason I was reminded of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again.

Ooh, but he sticks the landing! Nice, Lambo. He's doing better than I thought he would. (By the way, I love Gokudera's expression on the bottom center panel. XD)


3. Oh fuck you, Large, that's totally cheating. Lambo, I am so with you on this one. Also, Large's counter-argument is one of the worst I've ever heard. "It's not cheating because it's my ability! My special ability is cheating!" ...

Makes me wonder if anyone in the Shimon family is actually going to fight fair. Shitt P, you still have honor, right? :(


4. Not much to say about this page, except 1) Large launching into a supervillain speech is 100% hilarious, and 2) that Gokudera/Tsuna "!!" shot is easily the most detailed reaction panel we've had in ages. Why can't they all be like that? /whine


5. Oh, that's what they were reacting to. Hell, I'd "!!" too.

This fight is actually starting to get interesting! How do you win a sumo match against a guy with a mountain on his back? Lambo, there's a good chance you might be completely screwed here.

And it looks like he's starting to figure that out. "It's no fun if there's no way at all to win. :/" "Oh yeah, speaking of which, I forgot to mention that if you lose, YOU GO TO JAIL FOREVER." "FUCKING HELL, YOU GUYS, NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT." "Yeah, our bad. I guess we just figured you'd kind of magically deduce it on your own, what with your entire life being one giant example of Murphy's Law and all."


6. Interesting that Gokudera and Tsuna each try radically different tactics to encourage Lambo. Tsuna attempts to scare him to death, which backfires rather predictably, and Gokudera tries to pump him up by yelling trite motivational phrases and insults at him. Which works about as well as you might expect. XD

It looks like Reborn's got his own strategy, though...


7. Yes! The "guilt trip Tsuna so that he in turn can guilt trip Lambo" strategy! Still #1 at manipulating people, Reborn. It's listed in Fuuta's book and everything.

But more important--little by little, it appears that something amazing is beginning to happen in this chapter. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may just be witnessing the emergence of Lambo as a three-dimensional character! A character with realistic feelings and reactions! A character who freezes up at the thought of facing an enemy with A FUCKING MOUNTAIN ON HIS FUCKING BACK and potentially losing and going to prison; a character who jumpily lashes out at the people who are trying to motivate him because IT'S NOT FUCKING WORKING; and most of all, a character who's scared to death of what he's about to do, but is willing to do it anyway because he loves his family. A character who knows that he's kind of a wimp, but even so, wants to be better. Wants to grow up and be a hero.

"I'm the one that wants to stay with you." You know, up until this point, I was pretty disappointed by IEM's translation this week (and last week too, come to think of it--did they get a new translator or editor recently?), but this one line completely makes up for it. Oh my God, this page made me grin so hard. AND THERE'S THIS WARM AND FUZZY FEELING IN MY HEART THAT I CAN'T EXPLAIN. ;_; COULD THIS BE LOVE?


8. "Who knows, if I don't try." Holy shit! Seriously, is this even the same Lambo?? Does anyone else have this feeling like all their hopes and dreams have suddenly come true? A long-mistreated character is suddenly having epic moment after epic moment, and developing in ways I'd always hoped he would, fulfilling the potential I always thought was there but feared Amano might never get around to showing? I can't freaking believe it.

Honestly, for me this is like chapter 294 all over again. It's like all of my characterization dreams come true fffdlkajlksjal;;s THANK YOU AMANO, BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER.


9. Damn, Large, you are one cool cucumber. "That level of attack can only injure me." I for one would not be able to say something like that with a straight face. He may have the characterization of a paper clip (if not the girth), but you can't deny the man has balls of stone.

Actually, they may literally be balls of stone. Idk.


10. So it's a good thing that Lambo has THE POWER OF MAGNETISM on his side. 8D

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING.

CLEARLY AMANO IS TAKING THIS WHOLE SUMO BEETLE THING MUCH TOO FAR. LIKE, MILES TOO FAR.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?

I DON'T CARE.

Fuck yeah, Lambo. GO AND KICK HIS ASS. SHOW THE WORLD YOU ARE THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.


God, this chapter was so much better than I was expecting it to be after last week. Excuse me while I go prance around like a fool and pump my fist in the air.

--oh, and before I forget, as per amcw177's trick, I would just like to take this moment to tell you all that I love you and would like to have your Internet babies. ♥ WE CAN DO THIS AT ANY TIME, JUST LET ME KNOW SO I CAN MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS.