Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 305

(The following introduction that StrangerAtaru usually gives can not be done this time because...well, if he says anything on the chapter, it will spoil everything. So just read it be prepared for anything...in the classic Otokojuku fashion...)

Chp. 305: The Collapse of Bugen Castle!!

165.
Lord: This is my welcome to you, Toudou-sama. It’s too sudden and I don’t have any entertainment in the next castle but
Toudou: Fuffufu: it’s those guys. I want to see with my eyes at any costs the appearance of those Otokojuku brats dying a dog’s death. That will be more entertaining than anything.
(TN: I had a hard time figuring it out but Toudou did make a mention of “Notarejinu”, which has a meaning of “dying a roadside death” or “dying a dog’s death”)
Toudou: I have great anticipation for all of you.
Lord: Fu, somehow we leave you in your intentions of riding the large boat.
(TN: “Riding the large boat” may sound like a strange expression, but it is in Japanese “Oobune ni Noru”, which literally translates to “taking it easy not getting into dangerous situations”)
Lord: What is that sound!?

166.
Toudou: WH…WHAT---!!

167.
Men: Uo---!!
Lord: Wh…what thing is…is this---!!
Toudou: O…outside---!! I’ll look outside---!!
Toudou: Wh…what the---!!
Lord: Th…that’s---!!

168.
Hien: Wa…wait, st…stop Date---!! Don’t you know that I’m the real Hien----!!
Shikibu: You’re prattling!! In that case why did you miss with your senbon---!!
Shikibu: Fuffufu: you’re perfectly stuck in my art!! With this, he’s in a one-sided defensive battle! He can’t wage an attack on me!! With this, I can already see this match!!

169.
Shikibu: Die!!
Hien: Huh!?
Shikibu: Guwa!!
Hien: Da…Date---!!

170.
Hien: !!
Hien: Th…that’s………!! N…not Date!!
Hien: Wh…what---!! Th…that’s………!!

171.
Tormaaru: Wh…where has Hien actually gone to?
Togashi: Yeah, e…even if we’ve searched just like this, we can’t find him. It…it seems like this entire mansion has become a labyrinth.
Toramaru: N~~!!
Date: It’s extremely noisy outside.
Momotarou: What is that sound!?
Togashi & Toramaru: UO!!

172.-173.
Toramaru: Wh…what is th…that---!!
Togashi: A…a hole has opened in the wall and we…we can see outside----!!
Toramaru: Wh…what----!!

174.
Edajima: I AM THE PRINCIPAL OF OTOKOJUKU, EDAJIMA HEIHACHI!!
Helmet: SAFETY FIRST
Onihige: Ka ka ka, we’re here too.
Toramaru: It’s…the Principal---!!
Togashi: The…Principal is…at Bugen Castle---!!

175.
Toudou: E…Edajima----!! Wh…why are you here---!!
Edajima: Fufu, I’ve made a decision!! I’ve come to take your head, Toudou!!
Toudou: Stu…stupid, th…this thing is…!! H…how did he get from the void of space…!?

176.
Lord: Nuuu, come---!! Everyone come here---!!

177.
Lord: Fu, be at peace, Toudou-sama. With these men, there is nothing to fear anymore!! L…leave it to them………!!
Lord: Take them---!! Tear those insolents limb from limb----!!
Lord: Wh…what’s wrong with all of you---!! Didn’t you hear me say to take them---!!

178.-179.
Matsuo: Wahhaha, we didn’t hear him.
Edogawa: Remember me!?
Pharaoh: Your soldiers were sleeping towards us!!
Lord: Wh…what---!! Y…you all are----!!
Toudou: U…unawaringly!!
Toramaru: L…look---!! Ma…Matsuo and Tazawa are here----!!
Momotarou: It’s…it’s Pharaoh and Hakuhou and the others who should be fighting in different places--!!
Togashi: Th…the Otokojuku Shitennou are here too, and Wan Taaren---!!

180.
Toudou: Th…they’re all Otokojuku!! It’s a gathering of all of Otokojuku~~~!!
Lord: Nuuu, y…you all---!!
Toudou: Wh…what will you do? Whatever you do, it will be fine---!!
Edajima: Choose to prepare yourself, Toudou. Now there is no way to escape from this place!!
Toudou: He’s…babbling!!
Lord: Having come to this, I will be your opponent!!

181.
Edajima: I have no use for you, sword-fight reactor!!
(TN: The last line really was tough for me to figure out, but Edajima calls the Bugen Castle lord “Chanbara Kabure”; “chanbara” is a sword fight, but “kabure” seems to be an interpretation of “kabureru”, or “to react to” or “to go overboard” or “to be rash for”)
Lord: Huh!!
Lord: Uoo---!!
SFX: Gugya!!
Toudou: Hi!!

182.
Edajima: Well~~then, how am I going to cook you up? Both me and my students are terribly obliged to you~~~!!
Toudou: Hi…hii---sa…save me—I…I’ve been bad—i…in this way---!! If…if it’s money, I’ll give you anything. Ju…just save my life, Edajima---!!
Momotarou: Pr…Principal……!!
Edajima: Fu, I’ve given you extreme hardships.

183.
Momotarou: LET’S GO BACK TO OTOKOJUKU!!
Caption: BATTLE OF SEVEN TUSKS ARC……END
(End of Vol. 33)

TN: So...um...well...that's the Seven Tusks arc. And let me just say this: for an arc that had been a major disappointment and a major mess in trying to follow up on the Daibukai and previous glorious and brilliant moments in the series, this ending...while a tad confusing and contradictory in a few ways...was just epic. And what made it epic was just...you sort of couldn't see it coming. I mean think about it: you have Toudou and the leader of Bugen Castle preparing for Otokojuku's downfall, Hien fighting Shikibu, Momo's group running around trying to find a way to save Hien or get out of the mansion they were stuck in, the other Otokojuku student fighters somewhere else unknown in the world, Wan Taaren preparing for "something"...and then...down comes the wrecking balls. The utter way that Miyashita just broke with everything he was doing to literally throw wrecking balls into his own plot blowing it up just to get to an ending was literally and utterly mind-blowing in hilarity. For a genre that is willing to tell it's tales no matter what it does even if it has to rush any and all developments just to get them out there before it all ends, having this literally blow up out of nowhere...well, it just felt original and hilarious while at the same time...felt like something Otokojuku would do. Not to mention the mere idea that we have essentially all of the Otokojuku forces, from those stationed elsewhere fighting to the teachers, the other students (I had no idea Edogawa would even be remembered), the newly-healed Shitennou, and of course Edajima all in one place crushing everyone around them and taking prisoners (well...Toudou)...this felt like the one thing this arc was missing all along compared to all of the other arcs we've seen of Otokojuku: the comedy, the bizarreness and just the whole feeling that Otokojuku stays together not just as a fighting force...but as a school. That tends to be one aspect that gets neglected or forgotten by most fans, but Otokojuku's main concept is about loyalty and faith in friends and classmates of your school, and working together not just with fellow fighters but with everyone who is part of it. I sort of wished we had another epic moment where the classic students would be of more use like their usage in the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu or the Paaren Seiha (or even their appearance in the final battle of Momo vs. Gouki in the Daibukai), but their appearance like this here and now just felt like it made everything worth it...and seeing Toudou finally squirm and defeated makes it all worthwhile.

But as epic as this ending of the arc was, there were still a few questions I was left with even with Miyashita throwing everything away like that in this final chapter. First of all is mostly a time scenario: how long did it take for all that we saw from Edajima landing back on Earth to their siege of Bugen Castle? We saw from the last chapter that Edajima was still in space when Gobarski died...but it essentially felt like a few hours between that and this period because Momo defeated Yukinojou not too long after Gobarski's passing and the whole beginning of the fight with Shikibu that Hien had. How the heck could Edajima literally land on Earth, get to Otokojuku, organize all the students and teachers and seige on Bugen Castle in such a tiny period of time? Sure it isn't something to think too hard about but the timing did feel slightly off with how it was done. The only other question I had was....that was Shikibu? We knew Hien figured out that Date wasn't Date, but somehow him seeing the "fake" just didn't feel like the Shikibu we saw back when he did that ninja mission. Are you sure that wasn't the real Shikibu and merely a stand-in while he scouted out the other Otokojuku students? (it probably was since it did sound like him but just he seemed so generic when his face came off) The only other question I had was "why the heck did Wan Taaren go back to the school anyway?" He couldn't have anticipated Edajima's return...and he could have stayed behind to save Gobarski if he did. My only real theory here is it had to do with helping the Shitennou get up and finish their treatment...but even then the whole thing feels weird because he suddenly feels at times like he was in two places at once this whole arc. It probably was for some important reason...but we may never know.

So...with the Seven Tusks arc over...I guess I can finally give a few opinions on what we just witnessed. For the most part, as I may have mentioned before, this arc sort of felt a tad rushed or tired compared to some of the other arcs we've seen prior to this. It felt just like Miyashita was trying to keep all of the fans he had accumulated in the Daibukai arc, but at the same time keep to some of his weird roots earlier in the series and keep the series popular and relevant in a period where Otokojuku was the minority as opposed to the majority. Remember: the series started in 1985 when series like this were prominent. By 1991, this was a relic of another age and even some series that were like it such as "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" (which started around '86/'87) had changed to adapt as opposed to keeping this style. Thus, Otokojuku no longer really had the same support or interest as it would have when the series started and it just was bound to fall apart if it didn't just keep whatever fans it did have. Sure it was lucky for it's age to last as long as it did (the only series older than it by this point were Kochi Kame, Dragon Ball and City Hunter), but this wasn't a Jump it could thrive in like when it was popular. Though magazine politics aside, the series did feel like it was hurting with some of how it was trying to top itself and all of the weird stuff it did in the Daibukai...and when you try too hard, it just ends up screwing you, especially when your popularity is plummeting. So I guess here I will list the five "good things" and "bad things" that came out of the Seven Tusks arc, mostly to sort of figure in my head where it went right...and where it was utterly and completely falling apart:

The Five Good Things to Come Out of the Seven Tusks Arc
-The concept in general: it felt in a strange way like a natural progression in arc style: from a Kyousatsu arc, to a Paaren Seiha arc, to a bigger Kyousatsu as we saw with the Daibukai, to what felt like a larger Paaren Seiha with the Seven Tusks. I liked the whole idea of Otokojuku bonding together by fighting to save their Principal from space by fighting against evil assassins in weird arenas around the world and fighting in matches bet upon by underground circuits. Some of this just feels like concepts refined and improved upon by series like Yu Yu Hakusho and Flame of Recca and seemed like it was building up in a nice, interesting way...until...well...that.
-The respectful deaths: while it did hurt losing them, having the respectful, badass and awesome all out deaths of characters like Akashi and Gobarski did show there was a tad more danger compared to the last arc...where it just felt like the Chinjuu trio and Jaki were the only fatalities. Heck, even watching Togashi's supposed death was painful...sure he will outlive the cockroaches, but being gone for two volumes after that did at least give us some period where it actually felt like he was done for.
-Hakuhou: There are some things about him I can complain about, but for the most part he was the biggest breath of fresh air this arc had, particularly with him having the funniest and weirdest fights of the arc. I mean, only he could handle a guy who manipulates crocodiles...or a giant spider...or make up a super ki-disappearing attack that was merely weird camouflage. The former Ryouzanpaku kid had potential, let me say that.
-Wan Taaren: Somehow with Edajima gone, it felt weird seeing him as the new leader of Otokojuku, but it did make some sense thinking about it, even if he hadn't been seen since the Paaren Seiha. He had the trust and respect of the Principal, he knew how to run the school, plus his advance healing skills are vastly valuable to the entire school. And while I do complain about his weird "illusion" attacks at the early part of his raid on Shinken Temple, his fight with Kennou was definitely a highlight of the arc.
-Edajima and the ending: as you saw with the last couple chapters, Edajima just writes himself...and having him literally destroy everything this arc stood for just like that was probably the funniest bit Miyashita had written in a long time (at least since the Daibukai, if not the Paaren Seiha) I mean, he's just a force not even space can stop!

The Seven Terrible Things To Come Out of the Seven Tusks Arc:
-Tougou Hype: I sort of don't have too much to say about Tougou himself since having a new First-Year leader with Momo moving to his Second-Years makes sense...and I did find his lumberjack fight in the Seven Tusks arc sort of fun. But the hype he had at the start of the arc just seemed rather unneeded like he was built up...only for one real fight and fading into obscurity. And don't get me started on his fighting style: I mean its unique to fight on a motorcycle but it just feels more like a gimmick of a bad guy than of an Otokojuku fighter. It just sort of feels a bit like some other times I've seen a character get major hype at the start of an arc only to fade into nothing later...trust me having mentioned it in another series recently.
-Destroying the coolness: there were some characters who just were cool or awesome considering how they fought or appeared in the previous Daibukai arc...that just seemed to fall apart thanks to this arc. Pharaoh is probably one that feels like fell the most, going from a bizarre but insane fighter that nearly killed Momo...to, well...a Togashi/Toramaru replacement who drinks monkey pee. I don't mind Pharaoh being more comedic or weird compared to other fighters, but he just didn't feel right at all with his position in this arc. Hakuhou sort of also fell into this trap a bit with the Togashi/Toramaru bit, but at least he had two of the most epic fights of the arc. Heck, there was also Date falling for it with his fight...the less said about that fight Date had the better, lets' leave it at that. Gouki sort of fell a few notches as well from the arc.
-The Forgotten: Alright, let me just ask this: why is it that we got two fights for Hakuhou (as great as they were) and not one this arc for Raiden? Or the Gandhara leader? Or even for the returned Gekkou outside his Momo fight? And while I get Momo getting two fights...why did Hien get two outside his "fanservice potential"? Yeah...I get a lot has to do with how the series played out here but it just felt rather unfair how some characters got fights and respect and not others.
-Let's just get this over with: Probably one of the biggest problems with this arc if only because of how rushed it became is...well, a lot of fights, particularly later ones, just became too burdened by concentrating on the end of the fight so close to the beginning or rushing several chapters worth of content into one or two. As awesome as Kennou/Taaren was, the way it just skipped to the finish just sort of prevented the build-up it would have had to really fufill into something that would have just gone into the epic levels for this series.
-Gekkou the alien: Can someone tell me what the point of bringing Gekkou back was? Sure it was nice he would return after what happened in the Daibukai and should have been a cool twist...but it turned into a disaster with the way it was done, turning him into a big-eyed alien (well that's how I saw him) and controlled by a nutty Nazi. The less said the better, that's what I say.
-"Buddhist Magic": Did we really need two chapters of Wan Taaren demonstrating genjutsu without explanation? I mean in a series with so many bizarre styles that can be explained with just an entry, the way that "magic" was tried to be added into the series just made it feel out of nowhere. Sure you could say at least it was Wan Taaren and he had weird powers but...it still just feels out of nowhere no matter how you try to rationalize it.
-Toudou Hyoue: Let me just say this here and now: if the series played out right, I wouldn't have minded it. If we had a slow build-up within the organization up to the revelation that Tougou had controlled it all along, then it wouldn't have been too bad. If he wasn't such a cackling mad villain who was sliced in two and just completely out of his mind and too much like a stereotypical jerk...well OK, maybe that's impossible. But let me just say this: the moment he reappeared just to flaunt to Edajima he was behind it and all of the crap that he pulled like that felt like it was just an excuse to bring him back and make him the whole basis of every and all problems that Otokojuku had. And when he did return, it was terrible...it just felt like it threw away everything we had with no build-up whatsoever in a convoluted fashion (even if those sorts of things are typical with this series) just to make him a cackling, mustache-twirling jerk. Miyashita could have made it work...but ultimately the return and usage of Toudou in this arc utterly made me lose all respect for him compared to what we saw in the Daibukai, which was perfect and defined for how he was. And probably just a definition of all that went wrong with the whole arc in general: the rushing and the problems that just screw everything up leading to the utter mess that had to be smashed with a wrecking ball.

So, with all that said, what's left for Otokojuku? There is a whole volume left even if the Seven Tusks are done...and let me just say this, after what we just went through, Miyashita better make this final volume of Otokojuku worthwhile...but after the insane return to basics the last couple chapters had, maybe there is hope after all.