Pardon last week’s non-appearance of Manga Weekly, dear readers. Yours truly was involved in an Arts and Crafts project for a bridal shower. In case you’re wondering, it was a wonderful event complete with a gorgeous blushing bride-to-be, silly drinking games, and a surprising visit from a, ahem, boom box-toting pizza delivery boy. Hm. I’d love to delve further, but I digress.

Without further ado, on to the programme. School Rumble says bye-bye (temporarily); A rival says hello in Matsuri Special; Dogashi Kaden suckers in this blogger; Double Arts heads for training camp; Another ‘judge’ appears in Code:Breaker; and well-oiled wheels turn in Fullmetal Alchemist.

More after the jump.

School Rumble c.283 (final chapter)

WHAT THE FRAK IS WRONG WITH THIS LAST CHAPTER???

The uncharacteristic drama, angst, and character development in the last few chapters dissolved in a flash. True, reports on a sequel, dubbed as School Rumble Z, is in the works, but this is not an excuse to close on an extremely unsatisfying note.

Students of class 2-C&co, whilst in their old uniform, reunite inside a church in a foreign land, all in an attempt to revive Karasuma’s memory. A food fight involving pie breaks out, and the usual chaos ensues. Harima enters the fray to complete the fray. And they all live happily ever after.

Bah. Or should I say “Boooooooo“?

Matsuri Special c.9

What I thought was another throw-away character turns out to be part of the supporting cast. Maeno Mimi, our heroine’s judo rival, loses completely to Matsuri in a pro-wrestling match. Her loss prompted immediate retaliation, resulting to a potential concussion to Wataru’s head, a love-at-first-sight with Shigematsu, and a school transfer. I can picture loads of grief coming to Matsuri’s way.

First reaction to Maeno Mimi’s character design: Whoa, she looks Kimi wa Petto‘s Sumire. Unmasked, Mimi looks very pwetty. I wonder, will her looks be significant to the change of dynamics in the core cast? Or will it only affect peripheral characters? Will she be MS’s opposition character?

Dogashi Kaden c.8

I don’t want to be suckered into a sports manga.

I don’t want to be suckered into a sports manga.

I don’t want to be suckered into a sports manga.

Ugh.

Fail.

When I read the first three chapters of Hamada Kousuke’s Dogashi Kaden, I had no intention of keeping up with the rest of the series. Unfortunately, the lure of the genre was too much to resist. Week after week, I’d take a peek at the continuing pages. And at the last panel of chapter eight, I’m pumped up with an awesome alley-oop.

For someone athletically-challenged, I’m very fond of the sports genre. Or perhaps it is precisely the reasone why I am partial to them.

Dogashi Kaden features a wimpy forlorn lad with hopes of playing basketball. Since he is a shorty and, I emphasize, wimpy looking, he is stuck on the bench. Until a strange basketball manager sets her eyes on him, that is. And guess what? In the tradition of wimpy dude turns out to be potentially Great-O, our protagonist has moves. Limited, still, and raw, but moves nonetheless. And of course, this blogger eats it up.

I’m such a push-over.

Double Arts c.18

The mysterious Gazelle organization annihilates Falzen. Despite the news, our protagonists refuse to dampen their resolve. Kiri, thinking Flare as a possible solution to their dilemma, requests Farran to teach them how to fight while hands are held together.

And yay for training camp. Or so I believe is the next step. I love training chapters, otherwise known as power-ups.

Code: Breaker c.7

A new Code:Breaker, sporting two-color pair of eyes, appears. One glance at the dude and you can sell arrogance emanating from him.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to another person with heterochromia. An older female student who has quite an appreciation to Sakura’s breasts. She even names them Mii-tan and Hii-tan, right and left respectively. I guess derived from Migi and Hidari.

While I have developed fondness for, erm, cool and prettified dudes, the perverted senpai gets my vote for awesome character introduction.

Fullmetal Alchemist c.85

A huge showdown is about to take place. An ambush on the bridge; Chaos in HQ Central; A not-so-warm father-son reunion; and an evil-infested Al. Can’t you smell the awesomeness burning?

Why do I have to wait for another month (well, less than a month as of writing this entry) til another chapter? The long-awaited brotherly reunion could well be a disaster, but I’m sure we’ll be in for an action-y humor-imbued ride. That’s what I enjoy in this series. Despite the hard topics tackles, Ms. Arakawa infuses comedy, may it be physical gags or puns or witty lines, into each chapters. The tone never strays into the dark depths of pretentiousness and self-importance. And I am thankful, Ms. Arakawa.