Garp and the New Power Generation [One Piece 1088]

Get you hand off my friends!

Nice going, Captain Koby! You helped save your allies. Well, all except for Vice Admiral Garp. Similar to the Worst Generation is for pirates, Oda is moving the younger members of the Navy to the forefront. They, like Egghead Island panties, are the future.

So, what does that mean for Garp? Whether he survives or not, Garp is part of the old guard and up for elimination or retirement. For now, I think Garp is alive. Remember several chapters back when Blackbeard wanted to use Captain Koby’s status to gain official recognition as the king of Fullalead? There’s gotta be a reason for that more than just going to VIP coke parties. You know Blackbeard. Ever step he takes is to further his overall goals. Becoming a king must give him access to information or an opportunity to move him toward the One Piece.

This is the worst time for a squirrel to crawl up Garp’s pants.

Blood Is Thicker Than Yuri [My Hero Academia 395]

Girls, girls, girls. Love, love, love.

Well, I, for one, didn’t love it. Before this chapter, I kept thinking how in the world Horikoshi can give Toga any sort of a happy ending when she’s a killer and terrorist. Ochaco can have all the best intentions in the world, but that same world wants Toga’s head on a pike. Horikoshi’s answer: Toga dies.

This chapter was sponsored by Delusion. Delusion: When you absolutely need a character to die a pitiful death.

Tell Me How You Really Feel [My Hero Academia 394]

I’m digging this energy.

What is it about this battle with Toga I love so much more than the other League fights so far? Spinner had that weird political commentary which, in my opinion, adds up to “Be nice to racists until they decide to stop being racist.”. Then you had Dabi’s battle that wore out its welcome fairly quickly and I just lost interest. But here. Watching Toga’s battle. It works.

The two types of students at my high school.

Grumpy Old Men [One Piece 1087]

Captain Koby, you dumb mother—

It’s you fault Vice Admiral Garp’s gonna die! Wait? Will he die? Sure, Garp’s death will help solidify the Blackbeard Pirates as a genuine world threat but that can happen just from Garp losing. And it won’t even be Blackbeard himself doing the deed, but Kuzan killing Garp would be impactful too. In any case, Oda’s got to take Garp off the fighting board and this battle will do it.

See Koby? That’s why the others don’t invite you out to play D&D with them.

Float Like A Butterfly, Stab Like A Bee [My Hero Academia 393]

I’m impressed, Uravity.

Ochaco Uraraka doesn’t have all the answers but she’s still doing her best to deescalate this dire situation. Look, I’m bored of the whole Girls=Emotional trope manga creators love falling back on but this chapter felt genuine. Like Uravity truly regretted treating Toga badly and unknowingly pushing her further down the villain rabbit hole (even if she was already miles deep) and wanting to help bring the Stab Queen back from a total implosion. Great stuff.

Uravity’s Zero Gravity quirk got a boost! Nice! It’s your classic quirk awakening moment, complete with being pushing past your physical and emotional limits. Uraraka now has the ability to become one of the most powerful rescue heroes in the world! No complaints here.

“Romance and Monster Trucks, Himiko-Chan!!”

Bram Stoker’s Toga [My Hero Academia 392]

Is Toga worthy of sympathy or does the character simply sucks…blood?

The short answer is yes, but she’s also killed people. So, yeah, she’s a villain, even if you feel sorry for her…just like most of the League of Villains.

I really don’t like the way Horikoshi holds character motivations/developments for many supporting characters until the end of the series. We should’ve gotten Toga’s full backstory years ago. Years! Now, I don’t care as much and her sob story’s being used to the same effect as Spinner and Dabi: To drum up sympathy before their defeat. It’s the same song with slightly different lyrics. It’s gotten old. Call Timberland, because we need a remix for this tired tune.

This is what a world without Karens look like

What new information have we learned from Toga’s past that we didn’t learn in the My Villain Academia arc? A few details here and there but it’s essentially the same: Toga’s parents are assholes and she had to suppress her blood loving self. Again, this was not worth waiting years to see. Now, I understand we may get more to Toga’s backstory next chapter and this might all be a recap. Even so, that’s still not good. Just full in the blanks to her missing backstory. Don’t waste my time showing stuff I already know.