I wanted to blog about the WSJ scanlations last week (1st week of February), but work constraints held me back. Much to my pleasurable surprise, scanlations were early this week, so why not go ahead and rant about the most recent chapters together now?


OP 656: “Adventure on the Burning Island”

Chapter 655 and 656 of One Piece come together as the beginning of a new arc, the first one in the second half of the Grand Line, the New World. After quite an entrance...

I've reached the current chapter of the Beelzebub manga (ch. 139). The grand finale with Oga fighting Jabberwock was not so grand - it was sort of disappointing. So I suppose it's nice to see something more lighthearted and comedic, like Hilda losing her memories.

The formula, again, like many other elements in the manga, is a tried and tested story line twist that wreaks a lot of ridiculous situations. Interestingly, the chapter went from cover to finish without an over-the-top joke...

A friend of mine recommended the manga a year ago, though I haven’t been able to get around to reading it until a few days ago. I read the one shot, then happened to watch the first episode of the anime adaptation on Animax. Soon after, I started reading the manga as well.

As far as first impressions go, I would say Beelzebub has been a pleasant read all throughout. The wackiness can go a bit overboard at times, though the insanity is brief and bearable. The subtler ridiculousness...

Warning to anime-only fans, spoilers ahead.

Hunter X Hunter's manga perked up quite a bit after Killua went to his Dad to ask to see Alluka, his little sister. Frankly I'm relieved that the plot is picking up - the Zodiacs and Pariston are interesting, and Ging's antics are both ludicrous and impressive, but the best plot line development thus far in the current arc is the one involving Killua and Alluka.

I was concerned how the manga would fare without the main protaGONist....

These are the final episodes of the Japanese I series. Japanese II for advanced learning will be posted as soon as I can.


This is Japanese I, Lesson 68 of the Irasshai series. The topic covered is community. Writing practice covers the katakana: ラ、リ、ル、レ、ロ.

WorkSheet 68
http://www.gpb.org/files/pdfs/irasshai/1L68.pdf...