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You realize Crunchyroll anime awards are just a farce when The Elusive Samurai didn't even make it to the list of best animation. And Solo Leveling won the AOTY. Not surprising, but very disappointing indeed.

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Noragami Final Chapter Raws

It's here! It's the end! This chapter isn't numbered and is just called "final chapter", but it would technically be 109, I suppose. There's a LOT of talking in this chapter to tie up loose ends, but I also took the day off work to work on it, so hopefully I can finish it in a day, since it's twice as long as normal.

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READ NIJIGAHARA HOLOGRAPH BY ASANO!!

Inio Asano is a mangaka who doesn't need any particular introduction, however, the same cannot be said for Nijigahara Holograph. This manga is one of his works which often slips through the cracks, and is not mentioned in the same breath as say Oyasumi Punpun, Solanin or Dede Demons.

However, Nijigahara holograph has to be one of his most surreal and creative works ever. Featuring a Lynchian atmosphere throughout, the manga often makes it hard to differentiate between what's real and what's a dream in the series, especially towards the end!!

The crux of the story? Its complex themes, dream-like surrealism, and dark setting, all of which are somehow connected to the Nijigahara embarkment of the city and a girl who met with an accident.

As with every Asano manga, the story seems blunt at first, but it actually is quite complex and very deep. It took me a couple of reads to connect the dots.

Asano paints the hellscape of humanity over the course of the 15 chapters, and by the time you finish reading this, you will end up questioning what you read and also be left with a hole in your heart. It’s a slow and meticulous deconstruction of the horrors that people can experience.

The more you reread the series, the more you notice the unspeakable things hiding in the subtleties of Asano’s depictions.

Nijigahara Holograph has to be one of the darker depressing manga out there that I have read!!

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JJK 245 and the "poor writing" debate!

Higuruma's domain was supposed to be the trump card against a reincarnated Sukuna, who was now in his true form. However, things didn't play out as the fandom had theorized. Neither did we get more details about Sukuna's Open Technique, nor did we get any breadcrumbs into the Heian Sukuna. Instead, all that happened was Kamutoke being confiscated by Higuruma's domain expansion. Naturally, disgruntled readers quickly called that a poor writing decision. A straight up asspull.

But I disagree. While it has all the trademarks of a stand Gege plot convenience (Angel's existence simply to free Gojo, one minute inside Gojo's head for Prison Realm, Anti Gravity? Maybe?), I still feel Gege has not done something bad enough for everyone to complain to this extent.

So, I did a lengthy write-up explaining why Sukuna's cursed tool getting confiscated makes sense! Check it out below!! READ MORE

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Makima was an enigma while she was alive. Her death too was the same for many. However, it couldn't have been much clearer though! I mean, I can't help but think how amazingly Fujimoto concluded that arc. Making Denji eat Makima was something I never saw coming. And it perfectly fit with whatever we had seen till then in the series, especially regarding Makima's powers.

Fujimoto had established them right from the start. The final volume was simply putting together all the clues that were left behind earlier! Makima's actions and motives, the hybrids and her contract, everything fell in place perfectly! No attacks could harm Makima. She was unkillable. But because Denji only had love for Makima even at the end, it all worked out! I can't stop thinking about it!!

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The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All Manga - Thoughts

Ok so I picked up this yuri manga after it came first in 2023 Next Manga Award's web manga category. And while it basically a girl meets girl and they hang out and grow closer to each other, I still felt it had something unique to offer.

For starters this series actually began as a twitter shorts which the author put out. But it was later picked up by Kodansha for publication in April 2023. The plot of the manga is this - a high school gyaru visits a record store and develops a crush on the cashier who is working part-time there. However, she fails to recognize that this 'guy' is actually the quite and studios girl who sits next to her in class.

Two things I loved about the manga were 1. The drip 2. The music suggestions (rock music fans assemble, Foo Fighters are there in the initial shorts itself) Overall it's a nice and fluffy read, with some funny misunderstandings and the standard shoujo-ai stuff. Even within the cliched trope, it had something unique to offer. I guess I feel so because of the heavy influence of rock music in it. The art too is pretty good. There's a dash of green in the background, but then it only adds to the peculiar vibe of the manga.

Overall, this one is a great read. No wonder people are calling it one of the best yuri manga to read in recent times!!

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Takaba is wearing a burial dress!! DOES THAT MAN THINK HE IS DEAD???

Ok so Takaba is wearing a burial dress - a white kimono and a corpse-hat (the triangle like headband) in chapter 243. Check images below for references.

Does this mean that Takaba is preparing to die, or that he is actually dead.

It is highly possible that he/Gege is trolling the readers too because, the corpse hat is also known as the heaven's crown and symbolizes that a person has ascended to a higher level. Takaba had a better understanding of himself in the fight and it could be metaphorically said that he ascended to a higher state. He became enlightened? Or is he trolling the whole enlightened people trope in JJK?

Also he is wearing white burial kimono also known as the kyokatariba. Though worn by the dead, white is used to symbolize the purity here. Takaba is a very pure guy. He refuses to kill people. So could be that too.

I am trying to find reasons. Honestly, i dunno what to think and I don't want him to die. He did not even budge when Yuta chopped of Kenny's head. I mean c'mon. Who simply just lies down like that????

Also parallels?

Not my man Takaba. Not the pure funny Takaba!!!!

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What Happened To Yuji Itadori’s Arms?

If there is something that the JJK fandom has been waiting for patiently, then it is for Yuji Itadori to finally get a cursed technique of his own.

True, he is superior to a lot of characters in the manga when it comes to hand to hand combat and physical brawls. But, it felt as if every Itadori fan was trying hard to manifest a technique for him, especially because he had once dreamt of having such “super power”.

First, it was the memory manipulation technique which the fandom put its weight behind, but it was flatly debunked by Akutami. And recently, Itadori’s Soul Swapping CT has gained traction. But, it still continues to be a speculation till date.

There have been no concrete signs of him developing anything of that sort for 200 odd chapters. Despite all that, Yuji’s fans have not been dissuaded and theories still keep coming out.

And now, adding to fuel to the fire are Itadori’s arms from JJK chapter 238 (the image you saw above). Yuji’s Piccolo arms did not go unnoticed there, as a discourse started on what we were possibly seeing here. He had definitely gotten a power up of sorts.

Mind you, we still don’t know what is happening to him. But that has never stopped us from making assumptions and going crazy with theories right? Without further ado, let’s try to understand what is happening to Yuji Itadori’s arms here.

READ MORE

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Understanding the curtains/barriers in Shibuya Incident Arc:

Gege Akutami has always been elaborate in sketching his battle sequences in JJK manga. Instead of relying on the emotional weight of good vs bad, the author has in the past displayed that he is a bigger fan of tactical acumen and other technical nuances.

Be it Toji’s brilliant plan to take down Gojo in the Hidden Inventory arc, or the entirety of Shibuya Incident arc, the more you understand these nuances, the more you enjoy the battle and appreciate Akutami’s genius.

Talking about Shibuya, a major part of Geto (Kenjaku) and the cursed spirits’ plan hinged on isolating Gojo from the other sorcerers. And this was achieved by the complex curtains/barriers that were put up by them at the said station.

Without understanding what these curtains/barriers did, I believe that it will be hard to grasp the entirety of what Geto and co. had planned. And it was indeed a well thought out maneuver. 

READ MORE!

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Mahoraga's Adaptation Explained!

Considering how Mahoraga adapting to Gojo's attack played a major role in Sukuna cutting down and killing Gojo in JJK 236, I thought it would be a good time to put everything we know about the technique into perspective. Have a read and lemme know!

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Sukuna killing Gojo was not an asspull:

Okay, once it sank in that Gojo was actually dead, many started pointing out that Sukuna killing Gojo was an asspull by Gege Akutami. However, that definitely is not the case.

In this fight with Gojo alone, Sukuna proved multiple times that he was capable of pulling off something unimaginable and that's what he did in JJK 236 too.

Most of the confusing regarding Gojo's death arises because of how Sukuna's attack actually took place off-screen, and because of Mahoraga's involvement in the whole incident, considering he should have been dead.

However, Mahoraga wasn't directly involved in Gojo's death. Sukuna just used Mahoraga's slashing as a blue-print for negating Gojo's infinity and landed a fatal cut on him.

I wrote a detailed article explaining how exactly Sukuna cut and killed Gojo. Check it out below!

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Gojo's death was inspired by Yamamoto's from Bleach. Both were the strongest before being cut down by someone even stronger from the past.

Also, you can't deny the Toji parallel here. Wore the same dress, got the same ending!!

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Mood this chapter! Fujimoto is in his zone

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Good manga often come with their own share of lore. It extends deep like the roots of a towering tree. Choujin X is one of those good manga that has a very thought out and extensive lore surrounding its plot. To make it easier to keep track of everything I have created a detailed timeline for Choujin X. Please do check it out and let me know your thoughts!

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​This chapter just reinforced that Satoru does everything for his students—even healing his brain after almost dying five times and giving his all to the point where he burned himself out and couldn’t open a domain anymore.

Satoru’s cockiness has always been there, but over the course of the series it’s become clear that with age it’s become more of a facade, a brave face he keeps for his students and those around him because if he (as the strongest) isn’t worried and knows he can handle it/doesn’t show weakness, then they won’t be worried.

He does this and keeps this up because he knows that everyone puts so much faith in him and that showing weakness allows enemies to think they have a leg up in a situation (the great Gojo is weak!) and also shakes the confidence of his students who look up to him and believe he can always handle situations. And we see that played out again in this part of the fight.

He kept a brave face on, and did his best to hold on to his cocky facade so his watching students wouldn’t worry more than they already were (and with his six eyes he can likely pick up on poor Yuta’s anxiety, but I digress). Toward that last moment he still kept a brave, if resigned, face on, even while accepting that Sukuna was likely to finish him off.

So when it turned out that Sukuna fought so hard that he couldn’t open his domain again either and they are back on equal footing, his relief was palpable and he let it show. (After all, his worried students are watching, the whole world is too, but they deserve to see he’s relieved and hasn’t lost yet!)

Everything almost wasn’t okay—everything almost wasn’t okay for most of this fight tbh—so this upper hand/even playing field is a major relief and we get cocky Satoru again telling Sukuna that the kids are watching before he goes in to fight Sukuna hand-to-hand.

Idk I’m rambling and I’m gonna tag @theanimepsychologist in this in case I missed something, but I just love this chapter for so many reasons, especially how we got more info about domains and techniques and their effects on the body, but I really love how it showed us how much Satoru cares about his students, just how hard Satoru fought (even to his own detriment) for them, and how the way he presents himself even in battle is for them and partly because of their faith in him as the strongest.

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Itadori has eaten the cursed wombs! Period

Now, this is a development that might get overshadowed given how the whole thing was very subtly done. But then, if you read JJK chapter 220 again, there are enough clues to suggest that Itadori has actually eaten the Cursed Wombs. I know, I know, they are his brothers and everything. It should have made his stomach crawl. However, at this point, his desire to defeat Sukuna trumps everything I guess.

Coming back to the point, the biggest hint that suggests Itadori has eaten the cursed wombs obviously is his exchange with Choso in the above mentioned chapter.

Put it together with what he told Amai, and the answer becomes all to clear.

Also, as far as Yuji is concerned, eating these wombs was very essential for him to be able to hold a candle to the opponents he will be facing in the near future. I have written a detailed sorta answer on it, check it out by clicking the link below!

READ MORE

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These mfs know how to make grown men cry. Though Gojo still has people he cares about now, we know that his heart has a huge Suguru shaped hole in it!!

The name of the song just hits from Satoru's POV!