Needless

[shadowii]

Originally Posted by arkhangelsk

We are up to the would-be Volume 10 now.

Spoiler for Vol 10:

Officially, Mio managed to get contact with Setsuna and Zebetto sometime during the night. Setsuna apparently "persuaded" Rin to move in, and Zebetto cut a deal w/ BQ to allow him to keep the body.

Of course, it makes no sense by our worldview, but then, normal (even anime-normal) logic rules for "Face Heel Turns" have been going mad since Volume 8

Spoiler for Vol 8 for those few who really hadn't found out yet:

When Mio joined in.

A reason is symbolically attached, but by our worldview (even watching an anime) would have considered entirely inadequate, yet no one (even Cruz) seems to be the least bit bothered.

I guess the author is just going down the path where if you need something to happen plotwise regardless of its absurdity, just have it happen. Don't even try to justify it because it'll make you look worse. In Suspension of Disbelief all we can say is that the zeitgeist in the BS is just ... different...

Thanks for the correction. On the volume 8 spoiler: Do you not like that that happened? That was one of my favorite parts. And needless does go from seriousness to absurdity and vice versa with a flip of a page. Thats why i dont like the anime as much its sticks to the comedy far more than the seriousness. Also

Spoiler for needless chapter 56:

Where do you think saten is now? He wasnt at the villains council meeting. The hat guy (is his name really Hatfield) was instead

[arkhangelsk]

Originally Posted by shadowii

Thanks for the correction. On the volume 8 spoiler: Do you not like that that happened? That was one of my favorite parts.

Oh, I liked it. In fact, I actually wasn't that interested in Needless before - I wasn't much into shounen type fighting and 4 continuous volumes, even with gags occasionally inserted was too much for my sensibilities. Volume 8 actually brought me back.

The fact I loved it though, doesn't mean I can't be objective about it and say that even counting the fact Mio's a ditz and all, it doesn't really make much sense, even by anime / manga standards.

And needless does go from seriousness to absurdity and vice versa with a flip of a page.

Considering Ch70, I'm hoping it'll shift to absurdity for a bit in Ch71, which should be coming up in another 21 days + 3 days before the RAWs so that's 24...

Thats why i dont like the anime as much its sticks to the comedy far more than the seriousness.

Count me as one that liked the manga better for similar reason, plus frankly, Mio's voice stank. The others I don't have an opinion.

Spoiler for needless chapter 56:

Where do you think saten is now? He wasnt at the villains council meeting. The hat guy (is his name really Hatfield) was instead

Not enough data for even a guess except he's on an autonomous hunting op. Whether he's actually doing his assignment or taking the opportunity for some "individual work" is unknown.

[Dragonkid11]

Another question...

Spoiler for Possible spoiler?:

I was just reading about one of the extra chapter which is about how Archlight meet Ruri(I think I forgot her name...),suddenly,a thing pop in my mind...WHERE THE HECK DID HE GET THAT TENTACLES ABLITY?

[kenjiharima]

Arclight already has that ability from the beginning as seen in the flashback of Needless when Gido talked about cloning of the Second.

[pirateking]

Where do you think saten is now? He wasnt at the villains council meeting. The hat guy (is his name really Hatfield) was instead

Spoiler:

In volume 8, it was mentioned that he was sent to hunt down potential new Needless members for Simeon based on "the list" stored on the data inside the pendant which Aruka took from Cruz. What was inside "the list" was not explained but Aruka said the list of names were "special". So he was pretty much going around doing errands for Simeon while the others take care of Arclight's healing.

That data was the reason for Simeon to hunt down Cruz and put out wanted posters for him in chapter 64 because Simeon believed the other half of the data containing the decryption codes were with Cruz. (It was revealed the data Aruka stole from Cruz in vol 7 is only half of the data)

[shadowii]

Thank you pirateking i was wondering about this for weeks, but i think you should edit the post to put a spoiler warning on it.

Spoiler for needless:

I thought it was the list of all resistance members. By the way what is the name of the woman who told the other villains this? and is the Hat guy suppossed to be the new Uten?

Also i been looking at the picture when Arclight says he has all the powers of simeon with those people standing behind him is it just me or is the man standing a little in back of ruri one of the monks from the first volume 0 story?
http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/re...9?t=1251666001

[pirateking]

is the Hat guy suppossed to be the new Uten?

Spoiler:

Mio said that Hatfield had combat abilities which could rival the four elite kings, but Hatfield was shown to be following Aruka's commands as he keep calling her "Aruka-sama". If Saten's actions were any indication, Arclight might be looking for replacements for the elite kings or find more powerful subordinates since he himself is heavily injured.

[shadowii]

Originally Posted by pirateking

Spoiler:

Mio said that Hatfield had combat abilities which could rival the four elite kings, but Hatfield was shown to be following Aruka's commands as he keep calling her "Aruka-sama". If Saten's actions were any indication, Arclight might be looking for replacements for the elite kings or find more powerful subordinates since he himself is heavily injured.

Spoiler for needless:

On that note, do you think they have Blade? Because i havent heard them mention him at the meeting and its suprising that they wouldnt be looking for him harder than ever with Arclight in that condition. He was already falling apart before he even fought blade, how much time could he possibly have left now? Also, If Hatfields not Uten now, what about the other new character in that meeting was she calling Ruri and Aruka master too? And they knew before the protagonist got to the Hatfields town that Mio was helping Cruz?

[pirateking]

Spoiler:

Hatfield encountering Cruz and co. is a coincidence because the subordinate who was attacked by Mio in chapter 65 reported to Hatfield about the assault. Hatfield was surprised by the presence of killer girls in the town so he personally went over to check it out. Aruka was interested in the news and accompanied Hatfield to the town as well. Hatfield went to the town with the intention of wiping out the townfolks for their incompliance, finding Cruz there is a bonus for him.

what about the other new character in that meeting was she calling Ruri and Aruka master too?

She only talked to Arclight, so theres no way of finding out.

do you think they have Blade?

Arclight and co. did not mention anything about him. Maybe, maybe not.

[arkhangelsk]

Originally Posted by pirateking

Spoiler:

Mio said that Hatfield had combat abilities which could rival the four elite kings, but Hatfield was shown to be following Aruka's commands as he keep calling her "Aruka-sama". If Saten's actions were any indication, Arclight might be looking for replacements for the elite kings or find more powerful subordinates since he himself is heavily injured.

Though he does seem to have the raw firepower to be one of the "Four Elite", no.

Spoiler for Vol00-2:

Unlike the other 3 positions, Arclight does not select a "best player" for the Uten position, but more in honor of the "Junior Division" hoping to bring him up.

So the best youngster is selected and he may be set aside even if he survives and makes no big mistakes simply because he's getting out of the age zone. Kafka was pretty young when he was shown to be the Uten in Genesis, and the new Mr. Magic who died young is well...

It is vaguely possible our Hatfield was an Uten - we hadn't seen the competition when he was young but his fragment is probably l33t enough to be a hot contender at least (if that is, he had enough power so "Rain laser" wasn't a water gun when he was young), but now he has to compete for the 3 remaining slots, no Uten for him...

[shadowii]

Originally Posted by arkhangelsk

Though he does seem to have the raw firepower to be one of the "Four Elite", no.

Spoiler for Vol00-2:

Unlike the other 3 positions, Arclight does not select a "best player" for the Uten position, but more in honor of the "Junior Division" hoping to bring him up.

So the best youngster is selected and he may be set aside even if he survives and makes no big mistakes simply because he's getting out of the age zone. Kafka was pretty young when he was shown to be the Uten in Genesis, and the new Mr. Magic who died young is well...

It is vaguely possible our Hatfield was an Uten - we hadn't seen the competition when he was young but his fragment is probably l33t enough to be a hot contender at least (if that is, he had enough power so "Rain laser" wasn't a water gun when he was young), but now he has to compete for the 3 remaining slots, no Uten for him...

wait Kafka was an Uten? and where did you find volume 00 anyway?

[kenjiharima]

Originally Posted by arkhangelsk

Though he does seem to have the raw firepower to be one of the "Four Elite", no.

Spoiler for Vol00-2:

Unlike the other 3 positions, Arclight does not select a "best player" for the Uten position, but more in honor of the "Junior Division" hoping to bring him up.

So the best youngster is selected and he may be set aside even if he survives and makes no big mistakes simply because he's getting out of the age zone. Kafka was pretty young when he was shown to be the Uten in Genesis, and the new Mr. Magic who died young is well...

It is vaguely possible our Hatfield was an Uten - we hadn't seen the competition when he was young but his fragment is probably l33t enough to be a hot contender at least (if that is, he had enough power so "Rain laser" wasn't a water gun when he was young), but now he has to compete for the 3 remaining slots, no Uten for him...

I agree with this.

Though I wish there were more hints about the OTHERS were abouts rather than the author taking the time to take things or link the vol.0 manga to the current storyline.

[shadowii]

Originally Posted by kenjiharima

I agree with this.

Though I wish there were more hints about the OTHERS were abouts rather than the author taking the time to take things or link the vol.0 manga to the current storyline.

Eve will be back soon enough and i think seto and solva will show up on there own time, I'm just wondering where Gido and Momiji are. If Momiji thinks he's lost his comrades again I can see him falling into depression and being influenced by someone.

[arkhangelsk]

Spoiler:

The entire idea was to take them out of the picture for a bit so Cruz can GROW.

[shadowii]

Originally Posted by arkhangelsk

Spoiler:

The entire idea was to take them out of the picture for a bit so Cruz can GROW.

And find them eventually.
But anyway speaking of Cruz's growth, if Kami Imai decides to go with the easy way out and gives Cruz a power do you guys have any you'd prefer he get. For me the only one i think might work would be is if he gets a fragment which does not give him any powers but lets him make other Needless stronger for a short time. Like an enhancement ablity or something.

[kenjiharima]

^
For me I don't want Cruz to have any powers at all, but giving other Needless powers for a short period of time would be great to see. It's like a power to be used by other people instead of yourself. Selfless act Cruz will be in if ever has those powers.

If Momiji thinks he's lost his comrades again I can see him falling into depression and being influenced by someone.

Making Uchida a temporary baddie would be great to see and I hope he'll have more special moves when he returns.

As for Gido the oldman I hope he's not dead yet...it's too bad to pass off a great scientist character, but probably he's still alive since if he can survive Momiji's Vucan Shock Ignition, a little explosion won't kill him also.

[arkhangelsk]

Originally Posted by shadowii

And find them eventually.
But anyway speaking of Cruz's growth, if Kami Imai decides to go with the easy way out and gives Cruz a power do you guys have any you'd prefer he get. For me the only one i think might work would be is if he gets a fragment which does not give him any powers but lets him make other Needless stronger for a short time. Like an enhancement ablity or something.

If "God" is just going to go down the Fragment route, he might as well give Cruz a real ability. Boost (or healing) magics provide very little room to use in developing character, much less than him doing either the fighting or thinking. Even "Shield" would be better.

I doubt we will be seeing Cruz's fragment at all. Certainly not this round. Hatfield's power seems set to a "Stronger, but not quite unbeatable with what we know they have" level, rather than the "So Outrageously superior that we are already all waiting for the deux ex machina..." level. It will be a waste to burn this setup with Cruz's New Fragment.

Anyway, I'm optimistic that this author will solve Ch71 and 72 in an honest manner. If he doesn't, however, Cruz getting a fragment is quite frankly near the bottom of my list of typical deux ex machinas authors might employ in these situations.

Spoiler for Long rant here:

It is below reinforcement, of which the most likely candidates would be Solphia and Zeto (at least they are linked canonically). But my personal favorite scenario for reinforcement, though unlikely because the author almost explicitly excluded the possibility, would be Setsuna and Kuchinashi. It would be interesting to see them fight a serious enemy that they weren't already Plot Destined to lose to. As I said elsewhere, given what Hatfield has demonstrated so far, unless he pulls a I am Not Left Handed it would seem that the Trio could take him without too much difficulty.

But then, this author deploys reinforcements properly - near the beginning, not the last minute cavalry. Remember that Blade did call Sophia and Zeto before he broke into the building - if he had managed to control himself he might have had their assistance from the start, not about 1/4th of the way through. So having arleady reinforced once he won't do it again for this round, I think.

Among the New Powers in A Pinch series, I'll actually prefer Mio to get a new power. Crackpot? Well, sure the fact that Mio is like 60-70% of the reason I follow Needless is part of it, but IMO "God" actually laid two exploitable lines if he goes down this path:

The obvious line is that Mio is said and shown not to take fighting very seriously so far. So there's a potential power increase scene there.

The second is is more crackpot:

Spoiler for Crackpot Speculation:

One can argue Power is not really a fragment at all. They say "Power" is one of the Missing Links, but how is it special? She has super-strength ... but how many Needless are out there who don't have some super strength (and the reinforcement required to avoid their hands breaking)? Even Setsuna, who's specifically said to lack strength, can easily form craters with humans, and Eve did kick the bear out of her hands. Sure ... she may have more of it, but surely quantity isn't everything (Ruri's Psychokinesis was precious back when it was only powerful enough to "move a fan that is slightly beyond her muscle power"), especially when it is associated with a lack of ability to do much else.

Another peculiarity of "Power" is that it is always on and has to be controlled whenever Mio wants to do ordinary things (like grabbing hands without crushing them), not something that is "loaded" into action like most others (though Arclight "loads" it when he uses it, and is actually weak enough to bleed when Mio rams him in Vol3). This is, however, presumably similar to the Needless natural strength without ability.

From that point of view, far from having a Missing Link fragment, you can actually re-interpret Mio as a Needless who's either doesn't have a true fragment, or it hasn't been really active yet.

Which of course means ... in shounen, it'll wake up right about now... w/ character growth...

If Mio was a protagonist, I'll be waiting for this to happen (the former subvariant), but she isn't. If they DO play this it suggests her "promotion". It is one of the reasons I like watching her - moe airheads are dime a dozen but the fact she's not a protagonist makes it harder to determine how it'll play out.

Besides, as I said, I'm really looking for the author to play it honest.

[shadowii]

That is a great theory, i just feel the need to point out the Needless is Seinen not Shounen.

[Wrath88]

Maa, as for how Setsuna can hit hard enough to make craters, it's about cumulative momentum. Take for example One Piece, when Foxy uses his slow beam, and all the subsequent hits build up. Another example would be Samurai X's Sano, he learned some technique that's about hitting twice near instantaneously so as to create a really destructive force.

Or we could just go with the idea that this is ACTION series, therefore impossible things can happen as laws of physics are ignored.

[shadowii]

Anyone know where one can read Needless volume 0 II
http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/re...0?t=1251836789