This issue includes chapters for Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, Bleach, Stealth Symphony, Toriko, Nisekoi: False Love, and World Trigger. There’s also a preview for My Love Story!!, as well as a one shot crossover story for Nisekoi: False Love and My Love Story!!

For the series that carried over from previous issues I’ve read, I tried to put a little more focus in my write-ups about the progression of the story from the previous chapter. I will warn you that these write-ups will more than likely contain spoilers.

Of course, you can always check out Weekly Shonen Jump for yourself by subscribing to the digital publication at VIZManga.com.

Naruto CH:680

In this chapter, Kaguya creates a lava flow, and Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura are able to keep themselves from falling into it. Sasuke tells Naruto that the world will come to an end if either one of them is killed, and that only Naruto’s six paths power of light and Sasuke’s six paths power of shadow can seal Kaguya away. Kakashi and Sakura fall toward the lava, and Naruto saves them. Meanwhile, some of the characters who had been trapped by the genjutsu are freed and they head to where Naruto and the others are. Kaguya declares that she will reunify all chakra once more, and she launches an attack on Naruto and Sasuke…

And the story keeps getting more and more intense! The stakes keep getting raised, but can they be raised much higher than they are now? And how much longer can Kishimoto stretch this story out? I’m looking forward to reading the next chapter in order to find out.

Hunter x Hunter CH:343

This chapter sees the Zodiacs calling one of the Hunters who is currently studying medicine, and they arrange for him to come with them on their journey to the Dark Continent as part of the medical team and that he can earn academic credit for the practicum experience. Meanwhile, Gon is visiting with a guy who looks rich, and the two have a heated discussion about the upcoming journey. Also, a Hunter has gone in search of Kurapika, because his presence is being requested for the trip to the Dark Continent, and as a way to convince him to come, the identity of someone who has caused offense to his brethren is revealed…

Admittedly, I don’t have much of a frame of reference to go on right now, since I only started reading Hunter x Hunter when it returned to the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump recently. Because of that, I’m still trying to learn the various characters’ names and information about them. What I picked up from this chapter is the fact that more is being done to get ready for the trip to the Dark Continent, and that someone is out for revenge against someone but had no idea who to exact revenge on… and it appears the Zodiacs have the information he needs. I’m hoping that I’ll start to better understand everything that’s going on as I continue reading the series.

Bleach CH:584

In this chapter, we see that the attack that was launched against Ichigo at the end of the previous chapter didn’t work. His opponent’s arm is blown off, but one of her companions has a healing ability and is able to repair her arm. As she’s about to go after Ichigo again, she and her companions find themselves being impaled by beams of light shot off by new arrivals onto the scene. Unfortunately, these original attackers still live. All of the enemies declare that whichever one can kill Ichigo will have all the glory. However, something happens at the end of the chapter that surprises Ichigo…

This is a chapter with only a minimal amount of action, and the battle and story arc really don’t progress. At this point, it feels like Tite Kubo’s trying to stretch out this battle as long as he can in order to keep the Bleach manga going. Hopefully we’ll see a little more progress in the next chapter.

Stealth Symphony CH:016

This chapter opens with a flashback of Jig from 10 years before the start of the series. Jig has returned for his sister’s birthday, but a guy who lost an eye due to Jig’s dragon heirloom wants to get revenge. When Jig has a confrontation with them, he gets violent and kills the guy and his friend. He has no memory of what happened, and the orphanage director tells him he did nothing wrong.

In the present time, Hank wants more information on Jig’s wings, especially since he’s noticed that Jig’s injuries heal so fast. We learn the wings are actually an eggshell, and that the heirloom will allow Jig to be reincarnated as a certain dragon. Jig also transforms and starts attacking Slice. Alice goes to Jig’s room and she finds a lot of writing on the wall about becoming a dragon, and also notices letters with a “not at this address” sticker on them.

This chapter provides more background on Jig, and we learn that his sister, who he has been writing letters to since the beginning of the series, died in a fire that was set by the guy who was out for revenge. Their parents also died in the fire, and Jig was the only survivor. We also learn that the orphanage director was nearby, watching Jig’s attack on Slice. At this point, the tone of the series has changed quite a bit from when it first started. And now that Jig is starting to transform into a dragon, it’s going to be interesting to see how the story will be progressing from this point.

Toriko CH:281

In this chapter, Toriko and most of the others with them are drunk, and they are approached by Brunch. Brunch takes them to his restaurant, Tengu Castle, to give them some yetea in order to help them sober up. Once they’ve sobered up, they tell Brunch they need to meet a man called the Daruma. They learn Daruma is deathly ill, and that he’s at Kappa Hot Springs to recover his health. Mappy bursts in and says there’s a problem, so Brunch and the others go to the hot springs to check on Daruma. Instead of being on his deathbed, it turns out he got a little excited after seeing the women’s side of the hot springs. They discover that Daruma is being cared for by Atashino, the gourmet surgeon who had been part of a group going after Acacia’s full-course meal. They discover someone else from that trip is there, and Toriko and the others are told that he’ll talk about what happened 18 months ago and how to capture Acacia’s salad…

This chapter has a focus on learning a little more about the Gourmet World, and there ends up being a bit of a focus on Daruma. I’m very curious to hear the story of what happened 18 month ago in the story, since those should be events that took place before I started reading Weekly Shonen Jump in March 2014. While I’m starting to understand this series a little better, I’d still appreciate getting any additional backstory to help me to gain an even better understanding of what I’m reading in Toriko.

It should be noted that Toriko will be off in next week’s issue of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Nisekoi: False Love CH:126

In this chapter, Raku has a date with Chitoge, and Yui insists on tagging along. Yui sends Raku to get some lattes from someplace that’s a little ways out. After he leaves, Yui talks to Chitoge. Yui starts asking questions, and when Yui asks about Raku and Chitoge pretending to be dating, Chitoge accidentally confirms Yui’s suspicion. Yui then asks if Chitoge still has a crush on Raku. Yui tells Chitoge she had a crush on Raku 10 years earlier. Yui also admits to Chitoge that she’s in love with Raku, and other members of the harem just happen to be nearby and hear this. Yui declares that she’s not going to let Chitoge beat her when it comes to Raku. Onodera also declares that she’ll fight for Raku.

This chapter is important for progressing the harem part of the story, since Yui threw down the gauntlet big time. There’s now going to be a major three-way fight between Chitoge, Yui, and Onodera when it comes to Raku. I’m sure the other potential love interests will eventually get sucked into this fight for Raku, but for right now, the focus seems to be on these three girls. And hopefully at some point the locket part of the story will eventually come back into play again.

World Trigger CH:064

In this chapter, Yuma launches into an attack against one Lord Hyuse. Lord Hyuse’s companion fires something at one of the C-rank trainees, and Osamu is able to protect the trainee. Yuma activates a trap to capture Lord Hyuse, but it doesn’t hold him long. Yuma and Jin come up with a plan to fight the two Neighbors. Yuma chases Lord Hyuse up to the sky and fights him there. A battle between Jin and the other Neighbor is just getting started when the chapter ends.

We’re still working our way through the same battle that goes back to at least March 2014, if not before then. Unfortunately, since I missed the character development from earlier chapters, I still have a hard time knowing who is who, unless their name just happens to get mentioned in the chapter I’m reading. I’m hoping this story progresses soon and gets to a point where I can truly get some more character development and get a better feel for who these characters area.

Nisekoi My Love Story!! Boys’ Side

This is a crossover story that features characters from the Nisekoi: False Love and My Love Story!! manga series. Raku goes somewhere to meet up with Chitoge, and he encounters Takeo. They work together to save a cat that’s in distress. Unfortunately, they end up getting stuck in the process of trying to rescue the cat. They’re both meeting up with girls and are trying to find a way out of the hole and meet up with their respective girls before they worry. Raku manages to make it out, but is so startled when he sees Takeo’s girlfriend he falls back in. She, along with Chitoge, Onodera, and some of the other girls in Raku’s harem work together to try to get the two guys out of the hole.

This was an okay crossover story. However, I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had familiarity with My Love Story!! It might have worked a little better for me if the preview for My Love Story!! had been placed before this crossover story in this issue of Weekly Shonen Jump.

My Love Story!!

This is a preview for the shojo manga series, My Love Story!!, which is being released in print and digital formats on July 1, 2014. While it doesn’t say it anywhere, I would assume that this is the first chapter of the series. In the chapter, Takeo recalls all the times he’s been in love with girls, but they like a popular boy named Makoto Sunakawa. However, after each girl told Makoto they liked him, he would turn them down and make them cry. It turns out that Takeo is friends with Makoto. While riding home on the train, Takeo notices a guy who looks like he’s about to grab a girl’s butt and he intervenes. He takes him off at the next stop, and Makoto and the girl come with them. When the groper says something offensive to the girl, Takeo punches him in the face. Unfortunately, a cop was there, so he ends up being suspended from school. One day at home, the girl (Rinko Yamato) comes to Takeo’s house to thank him for his help. Takeo realizes that he’s in love with her. Rinko accidentally leaves her phone there, and she calls from a payphone, and they arrange to meet up so he can get it back to her.

After reading this, I can say that on the one hand, it kind of feels like there’s a typical shojo story and setup here. However, I also can see some potential here for this story to be something more than a typical story. I found myself really liking Takeo by the end of the chapter.

Additional reviews of Weekly Shonen Jump:

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