1. Blue Box (22 - 27) - 91.5/100
Ah, it's so good. I'd say this is Blue Box it its best so far: nice focus on the sports action initially, but as always the main purpose is to show how those on-the-court moments affect the characters. Seeing the contrast between Taiki's loss and others' success paired with that cliffhanger in the bedroom and all the Taiki/Chinatsu moments we've gotten recently, and this is easily my favourite series in the magazine right now.
2. Sakamoto Days (40 - 45) - 90.67/100
Just as I thought it would be, this current Death Row Prisoners arc is hitting all cylinders and delivering everything I want from Sakamoto Days: excellent action, impactful double spreads that make me grin with how fucking badass they are, and plenty of nice comedic moments. Extra points for multiple characters getting the spotlight in these recent fights as well as some nice developments for Shin and Lu. Osaragi is maybe my favourite outside of the main cast so seeing her getting the time she needed and making me like her even more is just what I want. I hope the future anime adaptation of these moments do them justice because this shit is wild.
3. One Piece (1026 - 1030) - 89.4/100
A good selection of chapters covering the remaining fights of the arc, some more interesting than other (personally I'm most curious about Zoro vs King, which has gotten the least attention). The clash with Luffy and Kaito was an obvious highlight, looking forward to seeing to how what this 'climax' chapter will cover and if we are going to stick to three acts or go with five. Either way, seems like Wano's end is approaching slowly but surely.
4. My Hero Academia (327 - 331) - 88.6/100
A couple not so compelling chapters followed up by all the amazing Star and Stripe content. It's just about as epic as MHA has been since the war arc; her quirk is pretty incredible and the art continues to be amazing. The only gripe I have is that she feels like she's set up to lose, and having another badass female character be introduced only to be defeated swiftly/left with little accomplishments yet again would be... not amazing. But for what these chapters are currently worth, it's great stuff.
5. Jujutsu Kaisen (160 - 163) - 86.75/100
We're finally starting the culling game and so far it's... quite good. But not amazing. Higuruma is the most compelling of the newly introduced characters, the others I'm not so sold on. Some cool moments of action throughout and it's all very enjoyable, just hope it builds up to something monumental soon (I'm sure it will eventually).
6. Me & Roboco (58 - 63) - 82.33/100
The trend of these chapters seem to be the message of how nice and likeable the cast is. Some of the gags weren't as funny as a result but everything was pleasant to read and there were some standouts, namely the Gorilla/Motsuo chapters as well as the Gorilla popularity one. Also loved the lead colour pages and pretend cover, and Roboco's love story with another robot was probably my favourite overall. All pretty good but not quite top-tier M&R content.
7. WITCH WATCH (31 - 36) - 81.50/100
There were some real gems lately, namely the the teacher/fan artist chapter, continuing my favourite duo of the series. I hope we check in with them from time-to-time because their dynamic never fails to tickle me. I also really enjoyed the latest date with Moi and Nico. After not caring much for her character in the beginning I'm growing more fond of Nico and especially their romance blossom.
8. High School Family: Kokosei Kazoku (55 - 60) - 80.33/100
Probably them most consistent comedy series of late, even if not the funniest. The shogi storyline isn't the most joke-heavy but I'm liking the new characters introduced, the recent colour page was also my favourite of the series so far; highlights would have to be the "bullying" and Hudson chapters, lol.
9. The Hunter's Guild: Red Hood (12 - 17) - 79.5/100
The chapters wrapping up the exam were not good; we haven't spent enough time with the characters and this game being focused on for so long felt like a bad choice this early in a series already in danger of being cancelled. However! The final meta turn that the series has taken might go down as one of the best cancelled endings (we'll see in a few days). With the reveal that Velou is essentially Pinocchio (down to the name of the mayor) and the concept of appeasing a readership with recycled ideas and the 'villain' planning to just end it all for good - it's all pretty apt and savage commentary on the reality of a WSJ series being axed too soon by readers not liking the direction, and how it's tying to this version of the cure for the werewolves being a 'failure'.
Perhaps in another reality within the story this was a battle shonen that went on for a great length of time before it met a more natural end, but now that it's using this current in-world iteration as an attempt to pull the plug altogether, I'm almost more impressed that Kawaguchi managed to come up with (probably) a compelling conclusion. If anything this is more interesting than the actual story choices made up until now, with less monster hunting and instead lingering too long on the village and this exam arc, which isn't exactly a positive buuuuut having it end on this note will at least make it memorable. Either way, I'll be keen to read their future series.
10. The Elusive Samurai (33 - 38) - 78.17/100
Some chapters I enjoyed more than others, namely the verbal sparring which makes me like Tokiyuki even more. The recent chapter with that 'reveal' was quite funny, and Yusei continues to deliver effective panelling and occasionally bonkers art, so I'm entertained. Not quite as high as the previous arc we had a couple months back but this is still pretty decent.
11. Undead Unluck (80 - 85) - 77.5/100
Aside from the moments with Andy and Fuuko it's a shame to admit that I'm not enjoying this fight with Spring as much as the previous seasons. Fuuko has had more to do recently this arc and even more right now, but the way it's playing out is quite underwhelming. I'm not convinced in her powers to talk two characters into doing what she wanted in such quick succession, and now they're playing Beyblades...? I don't know.
12. Neru: Way of the Martial Artist (11 - 16) - 77.5/100
In comparison to Red Hood, this upcoming ending doesn't feel as drastic, but it's probably more disappointing that a series that had me hooked in the beginning is so tepid now. I liked the setting for the duo fight but the whole thing was very lacking in impact. I think the series biggest failure was none of its side characters really sticking or feeling important, they seem to just appear and disappear every few chapters to serve a single purpose, while the overarching story is still too thin for a WSJ battle shonen. Sad times.
13. PPPPPP (2 - 7) - 73/100
I liked the first chapter back when it came out and I enjoy the concept but this is just... not very well executed. I'm a fan of the characters designs and there are some moments that work (the titan double page was a major highlight - loved that, in fact) but for the most part it reads as clumsily made. I haven't been convinced once by Lucky's effect on the people listening to him playing either, which isn't good since that's what the series is relying on to tell its story. We'll know more in the next couple of weeks but I can't see this surviving all that long.
14. Mission: Yozakura Family (99 - 104) - 72.17/100
As it usually is with MYF, a real mixed bag. I liked what we got with Taiyo and Mutsumi here arnd there, but the occasional comedy chapter failed, and while stuff was certainly happening in the showdown with their father it's all stuff that doesn't resonate with me all that much.
15. Dr. Stone (212 - 216) - 70.8/100
I'm glad we're now in the final act but boy these chapters have been on turbo-drive, haven't they? It's an odd mix of the science being sped through so I'm not feeling as drained as I usually do by reading all the details, but it continues to become more and more ridiculous as a result, so every new invention feels next level of unbelievable. Also, how many years exactly passed in the last couple chapters? That feels like a long time to speed through through montages. Starting to look certain this will end next year at this rate, if it wasn't obvious already.
16. Black Clover (307 - 311) - 70.6/100
I might have liked these chapters more if I cared for Yuno, but he's just not someone I'm interested in. Him having star magic just feel like yet another power reveal in Black Clover that happens in pretty much every fight now, so it's lost all weight and impact. Art is still nice and I'm glad it wrapped up the third fight but looks like the arc still has a while to go until it's all finished.
17. Magu-chan: God of Destruction (60 - 65) - 69.83/100
There were some duds when it focused on scenarios that didn't do anything for me, but there were a fair few engaging chapters here. We got a nice wrap-up of a more serious relationship-driven storyline, a couple of sweet Magu-centric chapters, and I actually enjoyed the new little sister character, consider her brother is my least favourite. The rest was pretty standard stuff that I didn't find endearing or that funny.
18. Mashle (79 - 83) - 69.80/100
I did not have Mashle becoming one of my least favourite series in the magazine as part of my 2021 prediction list but here we are! In case it wasn't clear to me already, this series just doesn't hit anymore. I feel like I haven't laughed at a joke in months and even the action-centric chapters don't mean much anymore. Another sad times.
19. Ayakashi Triangle (61 - 66) - 67.50/100
The positive is most of these were action-filled chapters rather than full-on ecchi. The negative is I'm still not the target audience, and the fighting going on doesn't feel very consequential even if the story is making it seem like it is.
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