I wouldn't say any series had a bad chapter this week, it's always feels nice when a not-very-good bottom dweller is replaced and things feel a bit more fresh.
Great:
1. ( - )
My Hero Academia - What an excellent chapter of for All Might, and an appearance of a fan favourite villain as well. These past few chapters have reached far to tug the heartstrings and this was just as good as Uraraka's speech. It's been a while since MHA was my favourite chapter of the week.
2. (-1)
Blue Box - Loved seeing so many characters together at once. Haryu intrigues me so much, I hope if the series does become long enough that it explores more characters than the main trio that we get some insight into him and his potential love life. But for now this was another chapter of pleasant interactions and a little push in the right direction for Taiki and Chinatsu, cute.
3. (+1)
Jujutsu Kaisen - Gege really decided he wanted to do a courtroom drama manga this week. Pretty sudden change of pace and focus but I really enjoyed it, nice commentary on corrupt justice systems and how it circled back to the culling game.
4. (+3)
Me & Roboco - We're really tying together all these previous storylines into a coherent narrative? Nice. Didn't expect to get a proper backstory on Roboco, revealing she was in fact made for/participated in war. Obviously the cute gags were very funny but I liked getting to know the other side to Roboco. Looks like these characters will be recurring so I'll look forward to chapters that bring them back.
5. (-2)
Sakamoto Days - Sakamoto Days' action is so engaging and fun to read. From that practice at the start to the final spread, love where this arc is going so far.
6. ( - )
PPPPPP (NEW) - Count me on the positive end of what is sure to be a divisive series. The question of whether it will survive in the magazine is one thing (and I'm not holding out hope - too many series I've enjoyed this year have flopped) but as for the chapter itself, I loved the pace and enjoyed Lucky as a main character. Definitely prefer the art in black and white and panelled than in the cover/colour pages, I'm a fan of the overall aesthetic. It's got some very classic tropes but I like that it doesn't feel recognisably 'WSJ', especially with that ending and it not needing to feel like it ended in a rushed first chapter climax.
7. (+2)
Undead Unluck - Always love when we get flashbacks and more insight into the events from the first chapter; I didn't enjoy it as it happened originally but every time it's revisited it makes me think how much the series has improved from that bad first impression (for me at least). Love that little confession at the end, classic UU stuff here.
Good:
8. ( = )
The Elusive Samurai - Now that was really sweet. Out of this and Dr. Stone I preferred this quest for a hearty meal. Looks like this was a moment of (relative) levity before going back into something more serious again.
9. (+2)
Neru: Way of the Martial Artist - Certainly better than the past two chapters. We got a good few standout panels, and Neru and the new girl's dynamic was an improvement as well. It's pretty much dead on arrival in terms of survivability but hopefully it manages to pull a semi-covert narrative out of what time is left. Please bring back the actual main girl though, she was one of the coolest parts of the first few chapters and now she's basically MIA.
10. (-5)
High School Family: Kokosei Kazoku - Felt like all the gag serious wanted to go for a good balance of laughs and insight into their characters this week. The new volleyball player won me over by the end, cute little chapter.
Fine:
11. (+3)
WITCH WATCH - I might actually like this new character if this is the dynamic he brings to the group, got a few laughs but still feeling the effects of how poorly his arc wrapped up last week.
12. (
= )
Black Clover - That was definitely a chapter of Black Clover: starts with the conflict that ended last week's cliffhanger, jumps into a sudden /jarring mid-chapter flashback for a good few pages, and returns for another bombastic moment to finish on. At least this week was on balance one of the better chapters of this pretty routine format. Definitely care more about this villain now than I do Yuno and his hater.
13. (-7)
The Hunters Guild: Red Hood - Probably my least favourite chapter so far. I get it was all to recruit this new character, but the sudden focus on this nobody wasn't a very smart or engaging move at this point. At least it's not rushing anything quite yet.
14. (-4)
Mashle - This was decent, can't say I felt anything much from it though. That final gag was pretty unfunny, actually.
15. (+1)
Magu-chan: God of Destruction - Better than recent chapters have been for me! I like when thing get more serious with the cast and this was nicely handled, and it's carrying onto into next chapter! I don't actually care much for anyone directly involved in this interpersonal drama but it's a positive shift in focus.
16. (-1)
Dr. Stone - We traded in science for some nice double spreads and a hunt for rice, not bad.
17. (-4)
Mission: Yozakura Family - Shinzo is probably my favourite character in the series so was nice to have a chapter on him, though I did start to drift by the middle, not gonna lie.
18. (-1)
Ayakashi Triangle - Even though it's at the bottom this week it wasn't a bad chapter. In fact, it moved the main relationship along faster than I thought, and things were consequential and not just excessively horny for the sake of it.
Bad:
N/A
Also feel the need to add to the noise that this is an A+++ cover. Let's hope this and the Ame Talk shoutout gives it a boost next month.
