16 replies to this topic

[Yaomo]

because this manga needs one too
or actually just because i want to post silly thoughts without spoiling too much on the front page

what if something happened between shibatora and that rapist kid...
no manga can escape my stupid yaoi thoughts, sorry
wouldn't shibatora suddenly become a criminal...? since he's older, and we know he can defend himself if he wants to. so if he doesn't defend himself, wouldn't that mean he wants it to happen with a minor?

[Comadrin]

Good point, Takayuki, but adults can be raped by children (actually not that rare for underage males to commit rape on adult women, often in groups), so it would still be rape. I read of a case about two years ago where a 9th grade teacher was raped by four or five of her students, and she was not prosecuted. They were, and did their time in juvenile detention. This did happen in the US, but I know that it is common in parts of Europe and Africa, so I imagine it happens in Asia as well.

Anyway, latest chapter (76) just came out. We see Officer Takatora's winning ways once again making friends and influencing people. Although it's a little bit clichéd by now, it has a good message, and is still a good read. The one character I never cease to get tired of is Shibata's senpai in the juvenile division, the dude with the page boy haircut and glasses. He has an incredibly lousy personality and is completely wrong for juvenile work. It is people like him that send recidivism among juvenile offenders to an all time high. It's not that young law breakers need to be coddled, but his attitude of "You are all scum, even if you are only cutting school to go shopping," is the kind of thing that would convince most young people that it is "Us against Them," and harden their delinquency. He also gets furious whenever Shibata triumphs and saves someone, and displays an unholy glee when Shibata is sent into a dangerous situation, as though nothing could be funnier than having his junior passed around like a canapé at a rape party. There is something definitely wrong with that dude. If I was his superior, I would make him dress in drag, and go arrest middle aged men looking for an easy pickup. He wouldn't even have to cut his hair, and the prospective customers could also be charged with having execrable taste.

[Comadrin]

Just read chapter 87. This last arc had some heavy psychological stuff going on. The part about comparing internet behavior to mob behavior was interesting, and made a great point. The main reason I read on and post on Batoto is that, while I've come across a fair amount of disagreement in the forum posts, I haven't come across any flame wars or totally inappropriate comments in the forums. A certain level of civility allows for a real discussion, rather than just insulting and cursing another poster. Having gone on a number of social and science forums, I can attest to the viciousness of some people's postings. The anonymity effect definitely has some bad side effects, with lots of raging psychopaths effectively coming out of the closet under its' cloak. Good social commentary in this last arc.

[Comadrin]

Chapter 95 just came out, and this has been shown as a darker arc than the ones before it. This is the first time we have seen a closeup of a viciously murdered teenaged girl's face, and we have two girls brutally raped and murdered. The murderer is also a real crime artist, although if the girl was raped, it is almost impossible to remove traces of the perpetrator's DNA from her body. The criminal in this one is a worse than "Kuma" from the maid cafe arc. Also, the two scumbags who were trying to auction the girls off are significantly worse than most of the earlier villains from various arcs. I also noted in the table of contents that a later chapter is something on the order of "Shibatora Snaps." I hope it doesn't affect his career, whatever the outcome of the "snapping" is. Considering the nature of the crimes, if I was a kendo artist of the mc's calibre, my takedown of the criminal would be painful and permanently injurious beyond what he considers possible.

Also, while this arc has several adult criminals, it is the first one where something happens to a juvenile offender that is way out of proportion to their crime, and doesn't have the juvenile offender, after seeing the error of her ways, become a helpful follower of Shibatora and a productive member of society.

I haven't been able to match the face on the last page of this chapter (the psychopathic murdering rapist) with any certainty yet, but he does look somewhat like the jerk who was taking pictures of the two girls and got his ass kicked by our hero at the beginning of the arc.

Edited by Comadrin, 31 December 2012 - 08:23 PM.

[Comadrin]

Hey, come on, folks. This "latest chapter discussion" is turning into a monologue by me. Someone's gotta have something to say!

I should have guessed it was someone connected with the police, as he knew exactly who the two girls were and how to get to them. I thought at first it was the jerk with the chip in his tie, but he wouldn't have had all the info on the girls and what they saw. Our hero is now going to the rescue, so I am looking forward to some wild pen kendo action. This dude needs to go down.

One thing that still bugs me about this manga is that Shibatora does so well, and catches so many bad guys doing extremely difficult impostures and using excellent detective skills, yet his "senpai" in the juvenile department still treats him like dirt. This is the guy that hangs out at pachinko parlors looking for kids skipping school, so he can bully them to his heart's content. As a cop, he's as useless as mammaries on a male hog, he's a trouble maker in the office, and he is a sexist asshole to boot. Yet this liability bullies his subordinates and spends all his time taking the moral high ground. Makes me think the mangaka is telling us something.

[Comadrin]

Whoa, chapter 97 just out, and it looks like Shibatora is about to go postal all over the IT scumbag. Hope he doesn't get himself in trouble. I know where he's coming from though, as that sort of crime is beyond unforgivable. I can't think of anything more difficult than being a cop and a decent person and having to treat excrement like that with due process.

[Comadrin]

Man, with the latest chapter, I hope it was only the hoods that were violating the poor girl and not Fujiki. I find rape, especially gang/torture style to be a crime I am incapable of forgiving. I can see why it would make the younger Tora really snap.

[Luni]

Poor Comadrin, talking all by himself...

Phew, it wasn't Fujiki who raped her in the end ! Though I'm now curious as the rest of their story. From the few flashbacks we've seen so far there will be more bloody events... And maybe we will get to learn the origin of Tora's power ?

I used to think that it was due to a near-death experience, maybe an agression by fellow youths ? That would have certainly explained his will to put children in the right path, having already seen the worst they can do. But with the latest chapters it seems that Tora is just this righteous by nature

Any other theories folk ?

[Yaomo]

i think tora-chan just wants to save as many as possible before it is too late. crimes committed in their youth can be forgiven if they quit early enough. he comes off as innocent and rather naive, but i think that's just a side effect of having overcome extreme darkness and despair without losing himself to bitterness and hatred, since it seems he knows better than anyone else what it is that these youths really need in order to become functional and happy members of the brighter side of society.

[Comadrin]

Wow, so Rika is a new gold member of Shadow Business as well. I want to think she's trying to find out what's going on, much like Tora is, at least I hope so, as I always liked her. I'm just hoping Mura doesn't show up as the mastermind of it all. It doesn't seem like his style, besides the fact that I liked him too. Even if she's part of it, giving him away would probably seal her fate as well. Looks like future chapters should be interesting. The mangaka really knows how to throw a cliffhanger at us that'll keep us wanting more!

[Comadrin]

Glad I was right about Rika's motivation for being a "gold member." My prediction (which has a definite percentage of being wrong) is that they are going to order Shibatora to do the killing. I foresee some total ass whupping on the scumbag members of this nefarious organization, especially if Fujiki and Mura get involved. Those two tend to go off even more easily than Tora.

[Comadrin]

Oh man!  I'm hoping that Tora is in time for Rika, but it doesn't look good at all for her.  The last few arcs have been a bit darker than before.  If she's killed, I really see Fujiki and Mura getting a little crazy.

[Keiryon]

Jesus, Shibatora is getting darker and darker by every chapter. I mean it never was a joyful manga, but it always kept some kind of innocence, and a strict line that it won't cross.

These last few chapter have gone way past that line.

 

Still, can't wait till the whole Shadow Business "arc" gets uncovered.

[ZeroCals]

Jesus, Shibatora is getting darker and darker by every chapter. I mean it never was a joyful manga, but it always kept some kind of innocence, and a strict line that it won't cross.

These last few chapter have gone way past that line.

 

Still, can't wait till the whole Shadow Business "arc" gets uncovered.

 

Yea. I just created this account because I was about to post something very similar to what you said.

 

It amazes me the direction this manga has started to go in: killing off juvenile characters (that are dear to the protagonist), having some of those victims be sexually assaulted before their murders, and displaying the casual disregard of life on some of the juvenile offenders'.

 

Dark stuff indeed.

[Luni]

Finally, time to strike back ! That was really well done from the author, I was so sure that Yuuji was the next to fall. What a relief this chapter was !

[Noname Otakugami]

Dropping bodies like flies!

 

Let's make a pool! Who's next?!

 

I have when authors rely on deaths to create fake emotional responses. As if you couldn't create something good without killing people.

 

 

Disgusting.

[Keiryon]

At this moment I really expect, that the author will finish this manga up after this story arc.

How the f' could you not end it after a story arc like this, when it is so much bigger and "over the top" compared to the other, shorter, story arcs.