(L) UQ Holder (Ken Akamatsu's new series)

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I'm not saying he did, but he could have written this years ago with a placeholder for whatever event was most noteworthy in whatever year the chapter would be published. (Though one might argue that 2020, not 2021, was the year of the Covid. Maybe it happened a year late in Gengoro's world.)

Covid still going pretty wild in Japan to this day though

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Covid still going pretty wild in Japan to this day though

Yeah, but he talked about it like it was just starting to become a problem.

[mark1246]

With only 5-6 chapter left, I’m worried that it will end like negima where all the side characters fight will be off screen or last a few pages only. Granted I can live with that, but my only worried is that once the main bad is defeated , will all the previous characters that were under her control be back to normal or fade away due to there original age? Cause I think nagi master faded away when he was defeated back then. Cause after what happen to negi, yue, & nodoka those 3 deserve there happy ending after the suffering they went through compare to all the 3-A class girls . Cause if they just fade away, I will feel sad since those 2 love ❤️ haven’t been confirmed yet.

[Shippuu]

Isn't it sad, Asuna? Your moment of glory really was just a moment. Back to the kitchen with you where Akamatsu clearly thinks you belong alongside the rest of Ala Alba who were also demolished instantly like worthless filler fodder and Ala Rubra will probably fare no better. As funny as the little moment between Dynamis and Agali Arept was it perfectly encapsulates how Akamatsu treats Negima's cast by replacing them with inferior copies who effectively fulfill the same role and then trample all over the originals. It's disrespectful to Dynamis and makes Agali Arept feel even more pointless than he already is since he's basically Dynamis 2.0. Except Dynamis already exists and is way more amusing. I never expected the rest of Kosmo Entelekheia to put up much of a fight, but this wasn't even a fight. It was just UQ Holder striking cool poses while everything around them explodes.

I'm glad Akamatsu actually acknowledges how nonsensical this attack on Earth is by clarifying that it's Baal doing it. But is Ialda okay with this considering her fixation on a vague covenant of non-aggression against the Old World that never got a real explanation? Does she have any say or will at all? It just makes her feel even more pointless. You might as well have made Baal the primary antagonist. Not that UQ Holder is any better. Nikitis doesn't even do anything. So much magical energy that even 0.1% of it could rotate the Earth for a year and he just stands there. And Fate hasn't been relevant in ages and all he can do is hope for Clone Jesus to save them because no one in this story, protagonists and antagonists, can do anything without Touta.

Akamatsu clearly wants this to be the "final and greatest of all battles" he promised, but he already did the space asteroid thing in the happy end timeline so now he has to increase the scale of it regardless of how little sense it makes. But that's UQ Holder in a nutshell. More action, more vague bullshit like reflecting immortality nullification and blood manipulation. How does Ialda's immortality/resurrection work? These people were just destroyed. Are they clones? Are the real bodies inside Ialda's asteroid? Does the asteroid contain their blueprints so it can just remake their bodies? Why can't it make new bodies for them right now? Does it have a cooldown or something? How are they going to save them after the battle is over then? Who the fuck knows. Akamatsu tries so hard to make it epic and over the top but it's all sound and fury, signifying nothing.

PS: I love how Akamatsu throws the Gnostic term "Archon" in there as though it would mean anything in this context.

[NapoleonDeCheese]

Holey shit, this might just be the worst UQ Holder chapter ever. So much convoluted, rushed, badly set narrative, so much disrespect for every character involved new and old alike, so much cheap shock value flash with no real substance.

[devilo96]

argh..my brain kinda hurt reading the chp
the only good thing is karin tell tota that she love him(karin fans is here) after that rip my brain

wait to make use did tota really banh karin?

[mark1246]

Originally Posted by NapoleonDeCheese

Holey shit, this might just be the worst UQ Holder chapter ever. So much convoluted, rushed, badly set narrative, so much disrespect for every character involved new and old alike, so much cheap shock value flash with no real substance.

OMG, i can't believe my prediction came freaking true

Poor nodoka, yue and the other girls. like what an way for your horrible tragic life to end.

really hope the author save them in the end or something.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Shippuu

I'm glad Akamatsu actually acknowledges how nonsensical this attack on Earth is by clarifying that it's Baal doing it. But is Ialda okay with this considering her fixation on a vague covenant of non-aggression against the Old World that never got a real explanation. Does she have any say or will at all?

Ialda was perfectly fine with a huge world war on Mundus Magicus as long as she got her goal accomplished, dunno why'd she be behaving differently now.

But that's UQ Holder in a nutshell. More action, more vague bullshit like reflecting immortality nullification and blood manipulation.

Touta's been manipulating his blood since forever now, it's basically his only original ability.

[Shippuu]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Ialda was perfectly fine with a huge world war on Mundus Magicus as long as she got her goal accomplished, dunno why'd she be behaving differently now.

Because it happened in the Magic World. There is no covenant of non-aggression at play here and if Fate is anything to go by she may consider the Magic World's native inhabitants to be a lesser form of existence.

Originally Posted by Endscape

Touta's been manipulating his blood since forever now, it's basically his only original ability.

Yes, but what does it do? How does it work? What are its limits? Is it corrosive? Do they get diseases? Do they just drown? Does it wash away their sins? Or is it just for crowd control? In an earlier chapter blind samurai guy called it a blood guise technique and was all impressed about it but that doesn't tell me shit.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Shippuu

Because it happened in the Magic World. There is no covenant of non-aggression at play here and if Fate is anything to go by she may consider the Magic World's native inhabitants to be a lesser form of existence.

If she considered them a lesser form of existence she wouldn't have bothered with her plan on Mundus Magicus, would she?

Yes, but what does it do? How does it work? What are its limits? Is it corrosive? Do they get diseases? Do they just drown? Does it wash away their sins? Or is it just for crowd control? In an earlier chapter blind samurai guy called it a blood guise technique and was all impressed about it but that doesn't tell me shit.

We got an explanation for what it does ages ago, he just uses the regeneration to create a ton of blood to fight with. Sometimes he spreads it around to regenerate from specific spots of blood like a form of pseudo-teleportation, or he makes clones with it and stuff like a starfish.

[Shippuu]

Originally Posted by Endscape

If she considered them a lesser form of existence she wouldn't have bothered with her plan on Mundus Magicus, would she?

They were important enough to save but clearly ranked below humans, particularly from the old world, and violence against them was seen as more acceptable. The non-aggression covenant is part of the reason why a bunch of middle schoolers even survived the events at the Gravekeeper's Palace and why Mahora wasn't turned into a bloodbath when an entire army invaded to free Ialda, but now it's suddenly not important anymore for some reason.

Originally Posted by Endscape

Sometimes he spreads it around to regenerate from specific spots of blood like a form of pseudo-teleportation, or he makes clones with it and stuff like a starfish.

I know that. I was just wondering what the hell he is doing in THIS chapter because it looks like he's creating a spontaneous blood orgy that does..something. And the last time he used this he transformed his own body while this time his body remains intact. Seems like a lot of power for a clone. Do they also have infinite energy? Why isn't Touta making an army of clones etc. etc. It never stops.

[NapoleonDeCheese]

Much like everything else in the setting, Touta's blood manipulation works for whatever the plot needs it to, but doesn't work for the things that would inconvenience the plot at any given point.

Poor nodoka, yue and the other girls. like what an way for your horrible tragic life to end.

really hope the author save them in the end or something.

It's clear by now that Akamatsu really doesn't care about any of these characters anymore, except MAYBE for Touta and the distorted shadow of what once was a good character named Evangeline.

I doubt he even cares about his fans anymore, except for a mean to squeeze more money out of (hey, fans! Buy that incoming Pactio fanbook that will be nothing but recycled Pactio card images! Limited existences!)

So no, I'm not expecting for Yue and Nodoka, or even Asuna by now, to appear ever again. I have to assume this is a different timeline and Asuna won't be sent back to the past since Touta just sliced her without a second thought of her importance, great job, Touta.

"But her real body is in Mars sleeping or whatever!" I doubt that by now Akamatsu even remembers that and if he does he won't have the time/bother to address it.

Who knows, maybe he'll even make a point of stressing that this means the Negima Good End won't come to happen after all and have it disappearing from Dana's records or whatever so the only future they can get now is one of misery and death. Anything to kick the old cast in the teeth and caving them in all the way down the throat. Their own stupid fault for not being the UQ Holder cast of awesome immortals, right?

Hell, I'm half certain he won't even show how Rakan and Albireo are beaten and this is the last we see of them. And that if we do they'll be done in a single shared panel.

Motherf****ing Jack Rakan. Reduced to this. What a joke.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Shippuu

They were important enough to save but clearly ranked below humans, particularly from the old world, and violence against them was seen as more acceptable. The non-aggression covenant is part of the reason why a bunch of middle schoolers even survived the events at the Gravekeeper's Palace and why Mahora wasn't turned into a bloodbath when an entire army invaded to free Ialda, but now it's suddenly not important anymore for some reason.

This is exactly why Akamatsu has Baal invading. They're co-operating, but unlike her Cosmo Entelecheia flunkies, he's not gonna follow her every word, and she's compromising in exchange for the help. Besides, it's not like Baal wouldn't do it himself, anyways.

I know that. I was just wondering what the hell he is doing in THIS chapter because it looks like he's creating a spontaneous blood orgy that does..something.

...He's just creating a lot of blood and controlling it in order to attack. Nothing he hasn't done before.

Why isn't Touta making an army of clones etc. etc. It never stops.

We literally had a whole mini-arc explaining why he doesn't do that.

[NapoleonDeCheese]

Ialda is a nearly omnipotent villain who can do pretty much anything (except when she can't) and control pretty much anyone, but she needs specifically this one psycho who won't follow the course of action she'd rather be taking. Because. And apparently Eva and Negi resist her, except that they don't resist her when it comes to working with an out and out genocidal maniac like Ba'al.



The sad part (well, one of them anyway) is that the story could present a sympathetic point of view for the enemy's actions right now but by conveniently putting them in the mouth of a taunting, gratuitously cruel homicidal cartoon asshole making extreme meme faces it cheapens the whole and offers the heroes an easy moral out. It's as if Fate's Cosmo Entelecheia had made Tsukuyomi their spokeswoman.

We literally had a whole mini-arc explaining why he doesn't do that.

Didn't that mini-arc take place a few powerups ago? Why hasn't he conveniently also upgraded that along everything else he has asspulled along the way? It's not like it could make his fights any more lopsided than they already are, whenever he isn't being given a convenient Diabolus Ex Machina fix he's oneshotting any other powerhouse in a single fucking panel.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by NapoleonDeCheese

Ialda is a nearly omnipotent villain who can do pretty much anything (except when she can't) and control pretty much anyone, but she needs specifically this one psycho who won't follow the course of action she'd rather be taking.

I never said she needed him, just that Ba'al would probably have done this on his own anyways, but since he's willing to co-operate with her, she's not making a big deal of it.

Because. And apparently Eva and Negi resist her, except that they don't resist her when it comes to working with an out and out genocidal maniac like Ba'al.

Since when was their resistance something completely perfect again?

Didn't that mini-arc take place a few powerups ago?

And?

[NapoleonDeCheese]

Right, because maniacs make for the most stable and trustworthy of allies when you already have a lot of people who will follow your instructions no matter what.

This is just a plot excuse to have an easy, cheap Hate Sink lunatic in a villain lineup that is supposed to be sympathetic otherwise, much like Tsukuyomi, Quartum and the male Chao. By now it just reeks of a token Akamatsu cliche he can't shake off even when he should.

And again, much like with everything else, Ialda's control is perfect except when it isn't, and that only depends on when it's adequate for the plot or not. Nagi and Rakan were supposed to be monsters of incredible willpower themselves and yet they are portrayed as complete puppets doing whatever Ialda wants them to.

And? Touta grows incredibly more mega ultra hyper turbo champion edition with Knuckles and Dante from the Devil May Cry Series and yet he still can't make an army of copies of himself wit his infinite energy, on top of every other plot coupon he gained?

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by NapoleonDeCheese

Right, because maniacs make for the most stable and trustworthy of allies when you already have a lot of people who will follow your instructions no matter what.

Nobody wants to Ba'al to exist, but he does. Ialda can either ignore him and she's no better off than she was before, or she can at least try to make some use of him to deal with the people who are actively getting in her way.

And again, much like with everything else, Ialda's control is perfect except when it isn't, and that only depends on when it's adequate for the plot or not. Nagi and Rakan were supposed to be monsters of incredible willpower themselves and yet they are portrayed as complete puppets doing whatever Ialda wants them to.

Even Rakan proved to vulnerable to Ialda before and Nagi's resistance to Ialsa was also variable before too.

And? Touta grows incredibly more mega ultra hyper turbo champion edition with Knuckles and Dante from the Devil May Cry Series and yet he still can't make an army of copies of himself wit his infinite energy, on top of every other plot coupon he gained?

The series already put a cap on the clone thing and you're complaining that they're sticking to that limit?

[NapoleonDeCheese]

All I'm saying is that Ialda's capacities, and everyone's for that matter but mainly Ialda's, are terribly inconsistent, arbitrary and adaptable to whatever moves the plot at any given time.

A broken character has to be broken consistently and not just when it suits the story. Dana is terribly broken but she at least makes up for it by skipping most of the story because of a relatively good in-character reason (not being interested on interfering one way or another). That's problematic to some degree too (since plots that hinge on a cast member simply not wanting to solve everything in a snap despite being able to are always unsatisfying to some level) but at least it makes her feel less badly written than the characters with direct stakes who can't help but showing the storytelling consequences of the powerscale's lack of balance.

Akamatsu has made both sides of the equation so broken that by now it's extremely difficult to have a fair and truly exciting fight. At the levels the characters are playing at now every fight is a curbstomp in one direction or another depending on who's got the current plot shortcut/trump card in play at the time. This chapter is the most egregious example so far.

Watch the next chapter being about Chisame being pulled in with some insane sudden hax to help Ikkuu fight Santa (and never acting like Chisame at all) only to be killed in two panels by Santa after he asspulls his next trick card with even more broken badly justified new hax, after which he makes some lame wisecrack, and so on...

Every conflict in this feels that way.

What point is there on even bringing old faces back if they won't act at all like the characters fans remember and cared for but like generic goons with brief appearances, only to be then killed down like an afterthought?

Also, from the Doylist perspective Ba'al still has no real reason to exist. The character is not charismatic, has no good chemistry with anyone, even in his own side of the conflict, fulfills no function that another existing character couldn't fulfill and better, is badly developed and one dimensional, and let's be honest here, we all know he won't get a good exit, much like none of the other characters currently vying for panel time. When freaking Asuna, who has been here since Negima's first chapter and has had years that should have been spent on proper lore and character buildup, is pwned and unceremoniously killed off in a two page spread, what chance is for a Johnny Newcomer (in terms of comparative manga panel time) whose role is to make ridiculous faces while gloating on how he's destroying innocents to have a satisfying closure?

He's the major leagues version of the male Chao, another character who was there just to be repugnant, take room away from more deserving characters, and then to be dispatched ignominously and forgotten in a rush.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by NapoleonDeCheese

All I'm saying is that Ialda's, and everyone's for that matter but mainly Ialda's, are terribly inconsistent, arbitrary and adaptable to whatever moves the plot at any given time.

I won't speak to anyone else but Ialda's motives(I'm assuming you mean motives here) don't seemed to have changed much.

In fact, the whole Infinite Empathy thing makes more sense as an explanation to me than Ialda deciding to effectively kill billions of people instead of going with a solution even a 10 year old could dream up.

Also, from the Doylist perspective Ba'al still has no real reason to exist. The character is not charismatic, has no good chemistry with anyone, even in his own side of the conflict, fulfills no function that another existing character couldn't fulfill and better, is badly developed and one dimensional, and let's be honest here, we all know he won't get a good exit, much like none of the other characters currently vying for panel time. When freaking Asuna, who has been here since Negima's first chapter and has had years that should have been spent on proper lore and character buildup, is pwned and unceremoniously killed off in a two page spread, what chance is for a Johnny Newcomer (in terms of comparative manga panel time) whose role is to make ridiculous faces while gloating on how he's destroying innocents to have a satisfying closure?

I honestly feel Ba'al exists to be the villain because Akamatsu didn't want Fate and Negi to have to be, not that it really makes it better.

[NapoleonDeCheese]

No, sorry, I actually meant capacities, not motivations.

It IS grating that after so many years in RL seeing the character causing war and strife then we're told that the character is the way she is because the war and strife among humans make her suffer, but if one clenches one's teeth and resorts to the 'ultimate ends and means' mantra it can be let slide, I guess.