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Jager isn’t screwing around, that’s for sure. It’s an understatement to say the good guys are driven into a corner right now, and at this point, I’m not even sure what Tsuna can do. It looks like he’s half-blind for the time being, which is only an added handicap in the face-off against the Vindice. This obviously isn’t a good thing since with Xanxus and Squalo seemingly down for the count, Team Good Guys need some serious divine intervention to get the ball rolling in their court again.
I’m not going to beat a dead horse by reiterating how disconcertingly weak the protagonists are turning out to be, as there still may be some sort of twist involved, most notably with Mukuro and his advanced illusions using Verde’s machine. I don’t quite buy Jager attacked and defeated the real deals just yet, even though there seems to be some evidence to suggest otherwise. It seems highly unlikely for Xanxus and Squalo to be defeated so easily even before the battle really starts – if Amano Akira wanted to emphasize how strong Jager was, he would be standing above the corpses of all the team members, hammering in the zetsubou through and through. But Mukuro is still standing, and his new skill is based around making illusions that are as realistic as possible: what is to say this isn’t an illusion? The fact Dino and Byakuran still remain as virtual non-entities in the battle is an indication things haven’t started in earnest (unless they’re so weak that the audience is just supposed to presume their imminent defeat. Please no). There’s also the fact the scenes of Xanxus and Squalo getting wounded were fairly explicit. I can’t recall the earlier arcs, but recently, Amano has gotten into the habit of “faking” the readers out; the more graphic a scene is, the more likely it is to be some kind of “trick”. As it stands now, there are too many variables to consider this a concrete development.
The timing of the battle is up in the air too, as while the battles against the lesser Vindice members can be assumed to have taken place over the course of 90 minutes, it’s not entirely clear where this round against Jager fits in the timeframe. I highly doubt only the last three minutes were allotted to such an important battle, and understanding when this battle is taking place plays an important part in guessing how big of a role Tsuna will have – this chapter has made it clear he won’t be taking part in the fight against the Jager until the very last minute. Assuming Dream Team began fighting before the last quarter, there’s obviously more to go since they have to hold out until Tsuna swoops in to save the day. If this fight started just as the Hyper Trio was helping Yamamoto and Gokudera, I’m going to have to question the logic of that development – what were they doing for the better part of 90 minutes? Talking? Having tea? I can’t imagine Dino playing exposition fairy lasted more than ten minutes, tops.
In any case, it looks like most of the answers won’t come until next week.
Note: Sorry for the delay! My posts for the next two weeks (at the very least) are also going to be a bit late due to moving – sorry about that!
I have a feeling that the dream team are all realistic illusions by Mukuro. The real dream team is lying in wait for Checkface to try something, before ambushing him. The watches may be real, though.
The last time someone lost an arm was Hibari in the future arc, and that was also an illusion by Mukuro.
Oh haha I completely forgot about that! I was thinking of when Gokudera lost his head a couple chapters ago. I knew there was one other major incident, but I couldn’t remember what it was OTL
I have to say Amano portrays their strength quite reasonable:
1st–they have only finished the ring arc–(after come back from the future) and it has only been 2-3 months. Vindice on the other hand had been around/trained(?) since Primo’s time. It only make sense Vindice’s strength/experience is higher/longer than Team Good Guys.
2nd — yes, I heard a lot of “Xanxus and Squalo are defeated so easily”, not that I want it to happen (I cried so hard seeing Squalo get punch-through), this only prove Jager is just THAT strong (Amano must have want to give us a scare), Oh God, how I wish those injurious are Mukuro’s illusion. But may be that is not the case this time, since Amano has used “illusion as fake death” soooo many times already, and it may get boring.
3rd–the “3 minutes” Fon, or Fong, talked about is 3 minutes till their (plan) arranged time, not 3 minutes till 90 minutes is over. I read the Chinese translation, it states it like that.
Oh – I was complaining about the general trend in shounen manga where the good guys always seem to take a hundred steps back whenever they encounter a new opponent, and find some miraculous way of defeating them with a super-convenient power-up (lolBleach); now KHR! has been relatively good at avoiding that, but judging by how overpowered Jager is, I’m afraid this arc will take that tried and true super Saiyan power-up route.
As for the “3 minute” thing, I tried looking for the original Japanese source to verify, but I can’t seem to LOL I wonder why the English translation doesn’t specify though, since it’s pretty vague the way it’s translated. I’ll wait and see if any other source has a different wording.
I see, haha, sorry for ranting. XD
I think their “miracle” power have something to do w/ their machinists. This is just guessing, but see here…
on chapter 386 page 3 or 4, depending on the version of subbed manga you are looking, I think they are hiding something under the 2 sheets on the ground.
XD It’s totally fine – the comment section is here for readers to do exactly that :3
Oh you might be right… they do keep mentioning Spanner, Shouichi, and that other guy (Giannini?). Maybe Talbot will even play a part in giving them some upgraded gear as well.
I don’t believe that Squalo would die JUST LIKE THAT. Come on, its Squalo! Also, Xanxus losing an arm? And that quickly? Come on..
I really hope you are right. I think Byakuran went 1st so the rest can watch Jager’s fighting style and calculate his weakness, or the best way to smash his watch. Only Jager, like Bakamochi said, “isn’t screwing around”. Jager went for the kill for real!!
Why is it squalo again? damn the guy has been owned by the ninth during the coup, eaten by a shark during the ring trials, arm was to whacked off by Zakuro in the future, was useless during the inheritance arc, and now this… a hand to the frigging chest… come on give hte guy a break hes cool and all but we gots to stop the worf.
I know, right? Poor Squalo… as if it wasn’t enough getting wine glasses thrown at him left and right Q__Q
Good to know Byakuran was there to save the day! Watch in awe as he jumps in and does…..absolutely nothing. 🙁
An acceptable miracle(way of defeating Jager without the more common shonen tropes)IMO would be to have reborn use his watch to join the fight. Of course, that makes me wonder how powerful that little Vindice, with the 8th pacifier, is.
On a side note, I’m curious at how using the watch would benefit Verde in a fight?
With Amano-sensei…I suggest you don’t overthink her writing. You’ll hurt yourself.
I reckon they are Mukuro’s “real” illusions. Otherwise the dialogue about Jager saying how real they were would be strange considering Amano-sensei’s style. This development will probably turn into a “Mukuro so strong, good guy power~!” kind of thing next chapter.
HMM
There’s always the possibility of it being an illusion..but the dialogue between Xanxus at Squalo’s dead(?) body was…just too heartbreaking tho :[
Squalo can always appear randomly alive again later on..referring to him being eaten by sharks very early in the series..