Some thoughts on manga I read this week:

Vol. 19 of “Slam Dunk” is almost as thrilling as its previous installments.  We’re still knee-deep in the Shohoku/Ryonan match and even though the former begins the second half by six points, Rukawa shows he still has plenty in the tank to help make up that deficit.  Not one to be outshone by his rival, Sakuragi also tries to get in where he can which results in an entertaining series of successes and foul-ups on his part.  As engrossing as the action was here, it ends with more to go in the game, which makes this one of the longest matches we’ve seen so far.  It’s also a little frustrating to read through an entire volume without any real progression in the story.  Still, the action on the court is where it’s at and we’ve got it in spades here.

Now when I said that I wanted something to upset the various love stories in “Bakuman”  I didn’t mean for it to take the form of one of those ridiculous misunderstandings that you see all the time in romantic comedies.  Unfortunately, that’s what we get for most of the first half here as Kaya finds out about Akito’s meetings with Ko and Aiko and everyone’s relationship is sent into turmoil because of it.  This is face-palmingly stupid stuff, but it’s eventually resolved — through marriage! — and we’re able to get back to the far more interesting business of manga creation.  So while “Muto Ashrogi” are still struggling to develop their new series, everyone around them seems to be hitting their respective strides.  The game isn’t over for them as forces are conspiring to break them out of their slump and get them to develop the great series we know that they’re destined to create.  I’m hoping that we’ll see it soon, if only because it’ll mean that they’ll have to face an all-different set of problems for the rest of the series.