To some up the week's worth of thread topic's I missed out on:
I just got around to reading that new Hina Change series, and oh boy, that was a really sad twist to the series in the middle. I don't think I'm going to read any further past this series since it just seems way too depressing overall.
The newest batch of Jump covers seemed pretty simplistic overall, but Act-Age's still looked really nice. Saiyuki's was decent, as was Yui Kamio's. However, I agree that it definitely doesn't look like something that was drawn by its author, which could potentially hurt its sales from his die-hard fans.
I also recall a comment earlier on for series that could've used more editorial support in its story structure besides Hungry Marie, and I'd say Yui Kamio and Saiyuki fit the bill perfectly. Yui Kamio needs to pick an overall genre and stick to it, or if it wants to experiment with something more serious for an arc, transition into it more fluidly. Same goes for the developments within each chapter so they won't feel like the plots for several chapters jammed into one. As for Saiyuki, maybe spreading out the exposition gradually throughout chapters rather than having so many chapters of build-up so early on.
Shogi already being that low can't be a good sign at all. I like it better than the other 3 it premiered with, but it's strange. It's not really doing anything I like, but the overall plot is so off the rails that I pretty much can't look away. The childhood friend and the freakish bondage kid are easily the best parts though.
David-kun's final volume cover looks absolutely fantastic. I hope the author comes back with the next big ecchi romcom series. Don't get me wrong, I like most of the gags that were used in David-kun, but the romantic moments were really fantastic and well-drawn between David and Venus, and especially a few scenes with David and Mona. Even the more serious moments were drawn and paneled brilliantly.
