I hadn't been rating the volumes of this series as I caught up on MangaPlus the past few days, but I'm rating Volume 23 just to say the waterslide fight in Chapter 200 was great!
The Shin flashback kind of goes on too long at the end of another fight in the present day, and X's master plan as revealed later in the volume sounds silly in general but also redundant when a villain in Kill Blue had a similar plan. I don't remember which happened first, though. Either way, turning Japan into America by giving everyone guns is somewhat "edgy" but also... we don't kill people THAT much here. So I doubt the Japanese, who are overall kind of nicer than Americans, would (pun certainly intended) jump the gun like that.
Also, idk if I thought of this before, but Sakamoto's fighting style is kind of a lot like Jackie Chan's in his Hong Kong movies set in the "present," like Police Story. Both guys use found objects to fight, rather than rely on conventional weaponry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Things get pretty complicated in this volume. Shin and others (Sakamoto's gang) bust out of the prison and save Atari. Meanwhile, Uzuki reveals his big plan and pretty much legalizes crime. That way the age of assassins will come back. Somehow he thinks this is will of Rion whom he loved (I guess?). The Order joins up with X and Sakamoto's team also gets stronger with another addition (after my man Kindaka). It's going really well so far!
OH SHIN. OH TARO. OMG. shin's backstory was so good and how things concluded with his father and how sakamoto was there for him. like it has been THEIR STORY and i love how it was progressed so much. sakamoto coming to save him like UGH. outside of the emotional core of the volume... THE SHIT THE ORDER AND UZUKI'S GROUP IS DOING IS WILD. like dawg what does sakamoto doooooo
So we finally get X's big plan and it reminds me a lot of Joker's plan from the Dark Knight as he like the Joker in the movie wants to prove how vile the world really is. And it is pretty effective and I was shocked about what the Order does as I want not expecting that kind of thing happening. This I hope sets up the final arc as it feels that is where the series is going next.
Chapter 201: You sure got big... Son of a... Why? Why couldn't you say it out loud? Now it's too late! Stupid old jerk...
Chapter 202: Live.
Chapter 202:
Chapter 203:
Chapter 204:
Chapter 204: We considered our options and decided that The Order is best off teaming up with X.
Chapter 205: Once upon a time, there were multiple assasin organizations in Japan. The JAA emerged as the most powerful thanks to government collusion. Journalists, scholars, and activists who criticized the government, powerful opposition candidates, members of the ruling party who stirred up controversy, and bureaucrats and law enforcement officers who learned too much about state secrets... the government used the JAA to disopose of those elements. In exchange, the JAA received exorbitant subsidies and privileges. They were funded by defense money, classified public security spending, funds transferred under the guise of official development assistance, and dark money from corporations in bed with the government. Thus, the JAA evolved into a legal, government-sanctioned assassination organization. But killing begets dependency. At first, the government used the JAA for its own purposes, but before long it become dependent on the JAA and ended up bending to the JAA's will.
Chapter 205: They say that on average, people have a serious desire to kill another person three times over the course of their lives. I'll provide every citizen of this country with a gun and three bullets. Use them however you wish. There will be no criminal penalties.
Chapter 205: Article 23 of the JAA bylaws says the killing of bystanders is prohibited. In the new JAA regime, that's a thing of the past. Do you understand what that means?