Story & Art: Hajime Komoto
Translation: Nova Skipper
Lettering: Eve Grandt
If you give a Mash a creampuff…
What They Say:
Abel talked a big game about bloodlines and magical prowess. He saw himself as the apex predator and Mash as the helpless rabbit – but now the hunter has become the hunted.
The Review
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Attempting to turn the tide of battle, Abel pulls out his strongest puppeteering magic. Mash is instantly turned into a doll, and Abel assumes the fight is all but finished. Abel continues to run his mouth, likening Mash to a rabbit in a wolves’ den. Abel reaches into Mash’s pocket expecting to pull out the golden visionary coin, but instead, he pulls out a golden creampuff. Confusion turns into pain, as Mash regains his human form and slugs Abel right in the mouth.
But how did Mash break the spell? A small narration explains that Mash’s body reacted with a spinal reflex. I love this detail because it takes a well-known narrative tool for shonen battle manga and uses it to great comedic effect. Whereas a series like Hunter x Hunter uses its narration to explain an intricate ability or give perspective to an incredible feat, Komoto uses this technique to make a joke about Mash loving creampuffs. All the while, Love is still watching in disbelief (her straight-man routine to Mash has been a treat the last few chapters).
Abel has no time for games, let alone creampuffs. He plans to end the fight with his Secondth level spell, Harm Puppet. But once again Mash miraculously avoids being petrified. Love provides us with the play-by-play: this time there’s no jokes, Mash applies an excellent split-second strategy to cut the invisible puppet strings and counter Abel’s spell. Mash taunts Abel by sending his rabbit comment right back at him. Mash destroys the Harm Puppet and Abel finally starts considering that maybe he wasn’t the alpha dog all along. And just to solidify that fact, Mash gives Abel a devastating piledriver to end the chapter.
In Summary:
Mash vs. Abel was a fun fight, but I’m honestly more intrigued by what’s to follow. The Magia Lupus have been the focus for a while now, and I honestly thought their leader would pose more of a threat to Mash. Maybe it isn’t over yet, but if it is, where does our Creampuff Crusader go from here?
Grade: A-
Source: Shonen Jump app, Manga Plus app