Medaka Box [Manga]

[Rejuvenation]

Chapter 51 Translation

Chapter 52 Translation

Originally Posted by Last Carpet

I'm pretty sure Kumagawa will be Zenkichi's opponent, we can see if he really is good enough to protect her from there. Medaka lost to him once before, so fighting him again would probably produce the same result. And her actually beating Kumagawa is highly unlikely. She lost to him before, only for him to return and have her beat him?

Yeah, right.

Be careful, as this is how you set yourself up for possible disappointment here. This is like saying Luffy wasn't going to win against Crocodile because he lost(twice!) to him before. Or Ichigo not eventually winning against Grimmjow and Ulquiorra because he lost to them before. This is shounen we are dealing with and especially WSJ. All things considered just like I said people shouldn't be surprised at Medaka being the one to fight Miyakonojou people shouldn't be surprised if she is the one who has the showdown with Kumagawa. Considering the translation of the hospital scene, that just adds more weight to the possibility.

[Last Carpet]

Originally Posted by Rejuvenation

Chapter 51 Translation

Chapter 52 Translation



Be careful, as this is how you set yourself up for possible disappointment here. This is like saying Luffy wasn't going to win against Crocodile because he lost(twice!) to him before. Or Ichigo not eventually winning against Grimmjow and Ulquiorra because he lost to them before. This is shounen we are dealing with and especially WSJ. All things considered just like I said people shouldn't be surprised at Medaka being the one to fight Miyakonojou people shouldn't be surprised if she is the one who has the showdown with Kumagawa. Considering the translation of the hospital scene, that just adds more weight to the possibility.

Ok....I admit that's a good point.

Zenkichi did swear to protect her from people like Kumagawa. If Medaka beat him it would just seem like a lie. If she does go head to head with Misogi and win, then odds are Zenkichi will leave. If she proves that she doesn't need protection against the "Born Loser" then there's really no reason for him to be beside her.

She's said before that she needs him by her side, but we've all seen that it really isn't true.Oh sure, Zenkichi's "in love" with Medaka but is that enough to make him stay? I don't think she's the type who'd lose on purpose just to help Zenkichi's pride and self esteem. Not that she could if she tries "When it's time to win, Kurokami Medaka wins". And it's not like she's ever considered his feelings in the first place.

I predict this will probably end badly whichever way it goes.

[frubam]

So what's been Shiranui(sp?)'s role in the story thus far? She was my fav char by leaps and bounds.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Last Carpet

Ok....I admit that's a good point.

Zenkichi did swear to protect her from people like Kumagawa. If Medaka beat him it would just seem like a lie.

And Vegeta said he'll surpass Goku because he was the Prince of Saiyans, what a liar yeah

[KLGChaos]

Lol, I find it funny that even Shadow-skill said that Nishio isn ong-winded, confusing and annoying. I think this may have been better suited to Light Novel form like he's used to. It reminds me of Bakuman when Hattori said there was too much writing in Takagi's stories for a Jump manga. That's probably one of the reasons why it's got bad ratings, but decent tank sales. The kids who read WSJ and vote get bored with all the dialogue, while the older crowd who can handle the wordiness buy the tankbons.

Honestly, after reading the translation for 51, I sort of pity Medaka, with the way she crushed everyone's spirits without meaning to. I still don't like her, though.

[Rejuvenation]

Originally Posted by Last Carpet

Ok....I admit that's a good point.

Zenkichi did swear to protect her from people like Kumagawa. If Medaka beat him it would just seem like a lie. If she does go head to head with Misogi and win, then odds are Zenkichi will leave. If she proves that she doesn't need protection against the "Born Loser" then there's really no reason for him to be beside her.

She's said before that she needs him by her side, but we've all seen that it really isn't true.Oh sure, Zenkichi's "in love" with Medaka but is that enough to make him stay? I don't think she's the type who'd lose on purpose just to help Zenkichi's pride and self esteem. Not that she could if she tries "When it's time to win, Kurokami Medaka wins". And it's not like she's ever considered his feelings in the first place.

I predict this will probably end badly whichever way it goes.

I tend to make my fair share of them.

Of course she needs him by her side. Hell, Zenkichi is entirely to blame for the current Medaka a good number of people in this fandom hate because he is the one that gave Medaka her purpose for living and fueled her ideology. Zenkichi also helped to stop her from killing Unzen while in Perses mode and when she thought Zenkichi died she broke down and started blubbering like a baby. Then there is the fact that Zenkichi helps ease her loneliness in some capacity even if he is just a normal guy.

She does need him, just not in the way a lot of people seem to want or are expecting.

Originally Posted by frubam

So what's been Shiranui(sp?)'s role in the story thus far? She was my fav char by leaps and bounds.

She is the wild card in this story. But her recent contribution was getting back up for Zenkichi and the others so they could hurry down to the lowest floors and stop Medaka's brainwashing.

[KLGChaos]

Originally Posted by Rejuvenation

I tend to make my fair share of them.

Of course she needs him by her side. Hell, Zenkichi is entirely to blame for the current Medaka a good number of people in this fandom hate because he is the one that gave Medaka her purpose for living and fueled her ideology. Zenkichi also helped to stop her from killing Unzen while in Perses mode and when she thought Zenkichi died she broke down and started blubbering like a baby. Then there is the fact that Zenkichi helps ease her loneliness in some capacity even if he is just a normal guy.

She does need him, just not in the way a lot of people seem to want or are expecting.



She is the wild card in this story. But her recent contribution was getting back up for Zenkichi and the others so they could hurry down to the lowest floors and stop Medaka's brainwashing.

It's not her ideology that makes me dislike her. It's her dominant, tyrannical, hyprcritical, petty and overall personality that make me dislike her. Heck, she's even called herself several of those names.

And I miss Shiranui. She was the most interesting character in the manga and she's barely been seen in the last 20 chapters.

[Last Carpet]

I've been thinking about the Flask Plan Arc, and had the weirdest thought.

A group of abnormals are trying to artificially create more people like them. The school is an experiment and the students will be guinea pigs for it. Now let's drop that for a bit, the 13 Party, the Plus 6, the entire Flask Plan and look at the opposite side of the spectrum.

Normals, they produce average results, have average strength, speed and capabilities, have average intelligence, everything about them is average. They have to work, to go to great lengths to achieve what they want. And sometimes (all the time in Kumagawa's case) they fail get disappointed, and give up

While an Abnormal person can produce crazy sick results in everything they do, they don't even have to try. They don't know what it means to fail.(Excluding Medaka considering her mindset)

There's a whole new possibility to and Arc here. Imagine a group of Normals who want to wipe out Abnormals. That sounds like a good idea for a new arc to me. And picture Zenkichi, the normal (suspected Abnormal) who can keep up with a high level Abnormals. That would catch someone's attention.

I wonder if that idea has crossed Nishio's mind?

[KLGChaos]

Originally Posted by Last Carpet

I've been thinking about the Flask Plan Arc, and had the weirdest thought.

A group of abnormals are trying to artificially create more people like them. The school is an experiment and the students will be guinea pigs for it. Now let's drop that for a bit, the 13 Party, the Plus 6, the entire Flask Plan and look at the opposite side of the spectrum.

Normals, they produce average results, have average strength, speed and capabilities, have average intelligence, everything about them is average. They have to work, to go to great lengths to achieve what they want. And sometimes (all the time in Kumagawa's case) they fail get disappointed, and give up

While an Abnormal person can produce crazy sick results in everything they do, they don't even have to try. They don't know what it means to fail.(Excluding Medaka considering her mindset)

There's a whole new possibility to and Arc here. Imagine a group of Normals who want to wipe out Abnormals. That sounds like a good idea for a new arc to me. And picture Zenkichi, the normal (suspected Abnormal) who can keep up with a high level Abnormals. That would catch someone's attention.

I wonder if that idea has crossed Nishio's mind?

Well, in the One Shot, which may apply some of it's logic to this, Zenkichi says that Medaka doesn't know what it's like to fail. You've seen her attitude that there's no geniuses and that anyone can do anything if they try hard. In the OS, she literally tells people if they want to win a race they just need to "run faster", even though it's probably impossible for them because they don't have her abilities. She's never really lost at anything and can literally do anything, so she doesn't know what it's like to actually fail. You can counter with the Kumagawa argument I suppose, but we really don't know enough about the circumstances yet to make a full-gone conclusion.

[Westlo]

Back to the bottom you go Medaka, cya Yotsuya and lol @ both Shonen Shikku and Metallica tanking already, at least Metallica was ranked, WSJ just threw in Shikku in the bottom 5 before ranking lol. Has not been a good last 18 months for WSJ as far as establishing new series with only Bezzlebub, Kuroko and Medaka. At least their 2008 series are going strong, (sans Pysren) Bakuman could be pushed to 500-600 thousand opening week after anime, and Mago and Toriko could be at Gintama/Reborn level.

Issue 31 Bottom 5:
Shonen Shikku
Metallica
Psyren
Medaka Box
Yotsuya (out)

[KLGChaos]

I had a feeling Yotsuya would be gone with the announcement of a new series starting this week. Surprised Metallica tanked so quickly considering I thought it was OK and fit with the Big 3 genre-wise (maybe that's the problem... with those three, any series that are even somewhat similar are instant fodder).

Guess people weren't too fond of "Medaka Chan II". Maybe it'll pick up next week when they rank some chapters with some actual story (the fight between Medaka and Zen). We'll see.

[Sol Falling]

w00t, what the heck, three chapters at once. Scans up to 52 are out now, and man, even if I've never been much of a fan of Zenkichi or his relationship with Medaka, I gotta say but damn do I love how that just ended (chapter 52 that is; the Medaka-brainwashing plot thread, etc.). I think Nishio just managed (lol, well it was a bit more than a month ago, but still) to corner the one issue/hypocrisy I had with Medaka from the very beginning and address it with some of the most epic developments imaginable. I completely agree, at the most human level: if you're out to make other people happy, or live a meaningful life in the first place, you damn well better start with yourself.

I dunno how this revelation of Medaka's abnormality will work out plotwise or 'shounen battling'-wise, but the idea of being able to do anything you see somebody else do both was used pretty brilliantly in the developments of these chapters and fits impressively seamlessly into the greater themes of the story as well--the ideas of abnormal genius, effort, hard work, failure etc. What's great about it is that it takes Medaka's abnormality out of the somewhat battle-oriented context of the Flask Plan and the other character's abnormalities and puts it in the more general context/idea of genius, of natural ability which you have or don't have, of failing and being surpassed or being different from others. I think Medaka's dilemma and the kind of person she is is now something which is universally understandable to people: the question of how one relates to others, and even lives, beyond the chasm of natural ability; as a matter of life. And in the service of that, the contrast which has been set up with Kumagawa, who with these chapters seems to have already been set up as an incredibly powerful epitome of negativity, of the failure and worthlessness not only of himself, but the world and humanity in general, is incredibly compelling and simply classic.

This chapter has me hyped. Some really good stuff here. But of course, even without sitting here and looking at the themes and progress of the story like this the ending of chapter 52 was just simply viscerally and so inherently satisfying. Medaka faces off the King again, finally back on her feet and fighting, but the words she throws on at the end finally feel so real and clever: it's time to kick ass, but of course, she'll also "make you happy".

[KLGChaos]

Well, a lot of what we're seeing is supporting Kujira's theory that an abnormals personality is what drives their abilities. Here's some examples:

Medaka-- Despite the "Make everyone happy" purpose that Zen gave to her, which, I honestly think is impossible for Medaka to accomplish, as there will always be those who are unhappy, if you have to look at her original, underlying personality. She's obsessed with being perfect, and that shows in her powers with how she absorbs other people's abilities to "complete" herself and even eliminates the flaws from them.

King-- His personality is arrogant and he believes he should rule over everyone, so he has the power to control minds.

Last Carpet-- His personality has an overwhelming urge to kill people, so he gained the power to hide weapons everywhere in case he feels the need to assassinate someone.

Kumagawa-- I don't think anyone here honestly believes he's a normal person. His whole personality revolves around the fact that there's no puprose in life and people are worthless, which is why he fails so catastrophically at everything he does (though, I have to argue that failing at everythig is thoroughly impossible-- after all, he suceeded in beating that girl and he manage to become Student Council President). The question, is, what exactly is his abnormal power and how does his personality and failures play into them.

This is all theory, still, though, as some of the abnormals personalities are difficult to match to their powers-- either due to not really knowing their personalities (like with Hard Wrapping) or not really knowing what their powers are (like Unzen).

Of course, the big question is, where does Zenkichi fit into all of this? Something tells me that if he ever becomes abnormal, his power will have something to do with his obsession with protecting Medaka.

[aahhsin]

leaving zen normal is fine with me. I thought the way Medaka returned was a bit anti-climatic. Then again MB doesn't really follow a shonen formula with 10 training chapters or 20 chapters for a single battle.

Anyone catch Maguro "I'm going to destroy the world!" when he thought he lost his two sisters? That's some good foreshadowing right there.

[KLGChaos]

57 spoiler:

Spoiler:

Haven't seen the raw yet, but I guess it involves 13 pages of talking between Kumagawa and the chairman, with the chairman afraid of Kumagawa. 14th chapter, Shiranui walks into and is unafraid of him. Then she gets a call from Zenkichi and either yells at him or talk excitedly. Medaka is apparently unhappy Zen is talking to her and has her number. Then it ends with Shiranui talking to her grandfather.

Why does Medaka only get angry at Zen when Shiranui is involved? Is it because she knows Shiranui is a better character than she is? >.>

But still... So much dialogue. Nishio should just turn this into a light novel and stop pretending it's a manga.

[Rejuvenation]

Spoiler for Raw 57:

Definitely appears to be an illusionist or at least capable of screwing(hahaha) with a person's mind somehow. Really look forward to the explanation for his abnormality if it hasn't been already.

Kumagawa has gotten so bad ass that he even has the chairman sweating buckets. Whatever he appears to be planning or advocating even the chairman believes its extreme. Even more interesting is that Shiranui didn't seem to have any problems in his presence. It should be a great day if she ever takes a central role in things.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by KLGChaos

Guess people weren't too fond of "Medaka Chan II". Maybe it'll pick up next week when they rank some chapters with some actual story (the fight between Medaka and Zen). We'll see.

Yeah it picked up.

Originally Posted by mangahelpers

Issue 32 Bottom 5:
Sket Dance
Psyren
Metallica
Kuroko
Shonen Shikku

Issue 33:
Lead CP: Nurarihyon
CP: Oumagadoki Doubutsuen, Reborn, Nurarihyon (spin off)

[KLGChaos]

That's because this is the type of stuff people want to see in the manga. Nishio's at his best when he's telling a story... Action is NOT his thing (especially considering how bad his action-based one shots were).

[Iron21]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Yeah it picked up.

Finally.

Shonen Shikku and Metallica aren't doing to well. Don't know what's going on with all the new series.

[Rejuvenation]

Originally Posted by Iron21

Finally.

Shonen Shikku and Metallica aren't doing to well. Don't know what's going on with all the new series.

They aren't doing well against the left over 08 hits and the rising 09 series on top of the big 3, Reborn, Gintama, and whatever else I may have left out.

This has worked in cycles in the past few years. The last real window of opportunity for a series to really make some kind of impact in terms of staying power has mostly closed. That window being last year and lucky for Medaka it was in the right place at the right time to help it survive as long as it has.