Slave In Utero's characters are crucial elements to his storytelling. That's not to say that other works don't employ their characters as focal points to their stories. It is to say, however, that SIU uses his characters in a unique manner that adds a level of distinction to his work. The nature of TOWER OF GOD relies upon a vast cast of characters, all interesting in their own way. These characters are introduced en mass, but with each one holding their own individualizing qualities. From these qualities, it is easier for a reader to cast distinctions and make relational connections between each character. Even new characters are made familiar by their telling characteristics, or idiosyncrasies. In this way, each character has a very specific impact on the story and usually points to future story arcs. SIU's characters then allow readers to draw broadly painted theories about their favourite individuals.
CH.374 continues to play with how readers perceive each of SIU's character. The Koon Family in TOWER OF GOD has long been a favourite for many readers. Each member of the Family feels unique, and has their own unique abilities. Perhaps the single most unifying element within the Family is their use of lightning based attacks and spear use. As one of the three main characters of TOWER OF GOD, Aguero Agnis Koon is much like his other family members. Light blue hair, sharp blue eyes, and a tendency to dress in a similarly matching colour scheme are obvious Koon Family characteristics that draw the eye. In this chapter, however, Koon strongly differentiates himself from his other family members with his use of ice based shinsoo. This change in elemental affinity is an anomaly within the Koon Family, and draws greater attention to Aguero's black sheep nature. SIU has yet to explain Aguero's backstory in full, but this subtle shift in affinity pulls his differences to the fore front in his battle against Baam's data. Baam having powered up significantly, now faces down Rak's Sworn Enemy. Unlike many other characters in TOWER OF GOD, Baam has characteristically been shown to easily extrapolate his powers. Able to easily learn new techniques by watching others use their individualized shinsoo skills has been crucial to this exponential growth. Having learned a technique taught by Edwan Koon, however, has proven to be the most formidable skill yet. As Kiseia is attacked by Rak's Sworn Enemy, Baam employs an extension of his new orb skill to heavily augment his combat capabilities as seen in his use of "Rapid Fire Shinsoo Cannon" to easily strike out at the oarfish. Strangely, Baam's use of this ability makes him acutely aware of his command over shinsoo within the Mirror World. This, in turn, allows Baam to use "Orb Spacial Control" in order to effectively incapacitate the Sworn Enemy with minimal effort. While Baam, Aguero, and Rak test out their abilities, Androssi appears to be taking her time against Phonsekal Yurure. SIU makes readers aware that this particular fight is not between Androssi and a Sworn Enemy. Instead, Phonsekal Irure, who has been largely quiet and opaque in her plot purpose in the later half of the season, comes alive in this chapter as a formidable combatant. Faced with her uncle as her Sworn Enemy, the relationships between the Eurasia Family are hinted at explicitly during this chapter. Beyond their ability to read shinsoo in their sleep, there is very little information available to readers about the capabilities and unique facets of the Eurasia Family. Given the strained relationships between the Ten Families, this incident serves to expand on one of the more mysterious Families within the Talse Uzer Story Universe. Excitingly enough, Maschenny is revealed to be exceptionally durable despite having stated Zahard's superiority to her in combat. Having tanked Zahard's orb based shinsoo skill, Maschenny is revealed to be overflowing with the strength of her "Lightning Pill" ability. Maschenny's abilities have gained a level of fame even before her reveal within the Mirror World. Presented as a haughty, and confident Princess, Maschenny's skills have been heavily showcased by Ran Koon in the past. The use of her unique spear skills and "Lightning Pill" have been instrumental in many fights for our protagonists, and in this fight she continues to live up to her legend. The sheer overwhelming quality of her skills are laid bare in this fight, and prompts Zahard to state that he must kill her in order to stop her. In SIU's blog, he discusses to some extent his reasoning for Aguero's combat style following his activation of his ice spear. SIU cites that Aguero's ice spear technique is not fully mastered, and is liable to change significantly in the future. The tactics employed by the prodigal son of the Koon Family were originally designed to be playful, but instead appear to characterize a higher level of strategy more commonly associated with Aguero. SIU has built up his characters exceptionally over the course of these events. TOWER OF GOD has rapidly expanded its cast of characters, and introduced a wide array of concepts with each new addition. The political climate of the TUS Universe is one that still has yet to fully reveal itself, but the Eurasia and Lo Po Bia Family have both proven themselves to be noteworthy antagonists over the last two seasons. Similarly, these distinctions with in the Ten Families points to a political schism, with each family forming and breaking alliances as was earlier stipulated by Elaine of the Lo Po Bia family. These same political and familiar ties have been closely aligned to SIU's overarching plot, and with Baam's own heredity in question, these factors are liable to create interesting dichotomies within the story. While CH.374 presented a variety of interesting teasers, CH.375 will be much more exceptional! With Rak's abilities coming into bloom, Andorssi's abilities still hidden, Irure fighting her uncle, and Maschenny's fight against Zahard coming to a close, next weeks chapter is sure to have something for everyone regardless of what they consider to be crucial to making an exceptional story. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH
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There are few creators in the world as affluent and capable as Eiichiro Oda. ONE PIECE stands as a testament to his capability in generating a compelling world, interesting characters, and alluring stories. The most recent chapter of ONE PIECE is, in a sense, both the best and worst chapter of the Whole Cake Island arc. I say this because while nothing of major consequence occurred, Oda has set up not only next weeks chapter, but the direction for chapters as well.
CH. 899 is characterized by strong foreshadowing, and several world building/changing implications. Readers get a sense of this foreshadowing immediately from Prospero Charlotte. In a single panel, Prospero sums up a totality of scenarios he and his family can expect upon Big Mom's consumption of the wedding cake. This cake, fortunately, has been coordinated by Sanji - a character who never trifles with food - and his companions. There is a strong dramatic irony at play in these proceedings, because Prospero is largely unaware of Sanji's disposition while we, as readers, are much more well informed. The irony herein derives a rye humor from the seriousness with which Prospero and his siblings treat the act of eating a wedding cake. Oda has noticeably type cast Big Mom as a greedy character over the course of the Whole Cake Island arc. This greed has been an important character device that has since allowed for the current events portrayed in ONE PIECE. There is a distinct lack of empathy for her children, husbands, and people living under her protection despite the trust they place in her. In Shakespearean fashion, Big Mom has estranged herself from everyone who might truly care for her. It comes as little surprise that because of her erratic moods, and current rampage, the people of her country have decided to evacuate as a method of self preservation. These factors point to a distinct shift in the balance of power, and Big Mom's crew will be the weaker for it. While these events transpire , our heroes are in much better shape with Sanji and Luffy back on board the Sunny. For the first time in over twenty chapters, the Straw Hat pirates are reunited once more. As they continue their getaway, however, Smoothie's ships have finally gotten close enough to attack the Straw Hats' ship. Saving Luffy and company at this crucial moment is Sanji's father, who struggles to understand Luffy's interest in Sanji. As he aids them, Judge lists off a number of qualities that he views as unnecessary. True to his nature, Luffy waves of Judge's quandary and instead thanks him for his help before having his ship depart. In the panel following this, however, Luffy states that Judge listed off Sanji's best qualities. It is this fundamental difference in character that allows Luffy re-characterizes Sanji's supposed "faults" as good traits to have. Having anticipated the Straw Hats movements, the Charlotte Family surrounds the Sunny and begin launching attacks at the ship. Daifuku, in particular, is able to make use of his Puff Puff fruit ability to attack a helpless Carrot. In spite of his injuries, Sanji protects Carrot as the enemies continue to close around them. Saving our heroes, Jinbe's former crew appears for one final send off, saving the Straw Hats and buying them the necessary time and distance to make their getaway. Although temporary, this group of Fishmen pirates are yet another team that Luffy and company have enamored to their cause. As was the case on Dressrosa, these pirates are liable to appear again before series end in order to ally with the Straw Hats. This chapter of ONE PIECE has proven itself to be a very heart warming one. There is a clear emphasis placed on the Straw Hats relationship with one another, and the relationships they cultivate with others. Without Jinbe and Sanji's respective connections, an escape from Whole Cake Island might have been impossible for Luffy and his friends given their current skill set. It's clear that Oda has saved his masterstroke for CH.900, but whether it will be decisive movement or a more subtle phrase remains to be seen. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH Kim Se-hun's HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR is all about escalation. One fight leads in to the next, and what little down time there is usually sets up the events for the next string of fights. What makes these fights interesting isn't the combat art, choreography of the movements, or even the skills used. Instead, Se-hun uses his combat to teach readers about Lucid Dream. Each fight develops further the world and characters that inhabit HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR. These fights then act as catalysts for plot momentum which have a tendency to obfuscate character skills and abilities. Slowly, but surely a deep mystery is built up around characters, Lucid Dream, and the real world. These factors draw in Se-hun's readers, and it is his unique literary prowess that captures my attention week after week.
There has been a lot of excitement going around in anticipation of Se-hun's most recently translated chapter. With HLW returned to his former glory, our hero is now ready to take on the powerful devil Rigos at last! Se-hun advertises Rigos' capabilities in his twenty one star ranking. Compared to the Crocodile King, Octonash, and Toadish, Rigos inhabits a completely different realm of power. It was for this reason that even with HLW strengthened once more, readers were hesitant to call the match his favour prematurely. These readers need not have word though. Even with Rigos aggressively attacking HLW from the start of their fight, HLW's decisive counters appear to put him on par with the strongest devil in Lucid Dream. The personalities of Se-hun's characters really comes out in these early moments of this battle. There is a clear discrepancy in how Rigos initially perceived his battle would go. HLW's confidence, derived from a return to his old abilities, is manifest in his demeanor. This paradigm shift builds a level of awe for HLW that was never fully extrapolated during the early chapters of the series. While readers didn't get to see HLW in his full glory during those early pages, we now have a much better grasp on what HLW's skills were like in his prime. Playing off of this wow factor, Se-hun ramps up HLW's accolades further still. Rigos, realizing the ineffectual nature of physical combat, uses his high tier ice magic next. The use of his "Blizzard" skill freezes HLW who remains surprisingly unfazed by his new predicament. While frozen, HLW reviews his current status, and makes a note of the six minute time limit on Dark's parting "Rewind" skill. He also realizes that defeating Rigos will land his team a guaranteed victory in this stage of the tournament. With renewed vigor he breaks free of his frozen condition with his "Hell Explosion" skill which inadvertently throws Rigos back with it's force. Having showcased HLW's defensive capabilities, readers are then introduced to his more offensive skills. HLW lovingly brandishes his sword in a moment that can only be described as comedic given his personality and detachment from human relationships. Rigos summons his own sword, and attempts to freeze HLW with his opening attack. HLW's resistance to magic factors into this attack and allows him to avoid Rigos' attack. In a blitz, Rigos then attacks HLW with a flurry of sword sweep attacks. HLW's response to these attacks? To stand perfectly and pick his nose. Gross. Touching once more on a note of comedy, HLW's freshness goes up one level for picking a booger out of his nose. Se-hun has always struck me as an intellectual of sorts, but it's charming to know that he's unafraid to embrace the more unsavory aspects of being human as well. The one-sided quality of this fight is most noticeable at this point. From his dialogue, there is a strong sense of weariness as Rigos prepares to use a binding skill. "The Hands of Deceased" proves to be an effective detriment to HLW. Rooted to the spot, our hero's death appears to be nigh until he shatters Rigos' sword thrust using only his forehead. Having destroyed the devil's weapon, HLW again headbutts Rigos so hard that it destroys part of his helmet and launches away from our champion. The strength of the aforementioned headbutt is such that it knocks the strongest devil in Lucid Dream through three mountains. THREE MOUNTAINS! Three mountains, which according to HLW in an offhanded comment, is not anywhere near the ten mountains that he would have knocked the devil through in his prime. Fed up with fighting Rigos, our hero uses his popular "Moonlight Slash" skill to cut the devil in half. This decisive blow, however, proves to be ineffective in ending the fight. By using a special Nightmare skill, the devil is able to pull himself together through "Nightmarization". HLW is shocked by this sudden transformation and subsequently is slapped onto the ground by Rigos in his newly powered up form. Ending the chapter, HLW activates his "Golden Lucky Coin" skill with unknown results to be revealed next chapter. HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR is a very conscious blend of comedy and combat. There is a level of intelligence hidden away in Kim Se-hun's writing that belies his comical art style. Though there are extravagant fighting scenes, and very traditional skill shouting maneuvers in play, each instance of combat plays a role in further developing the story and characters. The world of Lucid Dream is exceptionally unique even amidst hundreds of other series in the VRMMORPG genre. It is the mix of real world quality meeting in-game mentalities that make this series a very eye opening to experience. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH |
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