Synopsis: A quick rundown goes over the 42nd Final Debarkation Exam that Velou and his fellow Hunter applicants must pass – in a manner similar to the game 'Cops and Robbers', they must avoid being captured by the 'cops' Grimm and Debonair, and if they're able to not be in 'jail' at the end of two hours, they pass. They're allowed to use whatever tools or weapons they wish, though killing is forbidden. Debonair, who dumps water on herself to cool down after fighting the giant manta ray, further adds that if you do end up arrested, a free robber can tag you to set you free. She also says that she and Grimm won't leave the roof for the first five minutes, giving them a head start to run and hide as needed. The applicants wonder how in the heck they're supposed to get away from someone as strong as her, and she says she can practically hear the gears turning in their heads. She declares a start to the exam, and many of the entrants, including Tylty and Mylty, begin running. Six applicants, including Velou and Bonkers, stay where they were standing however, surprising Grimm and the fleeing applicants. Velou says that running right now is a bad idea, to which the others remaining agree. He says there's something contradictory about the test, and just running away for two hours probably won't work, so he wants to confirm something if he can. Tylty shouts back that it won't matter what he confirms if he gets arrested, and Velou asks him to come free him if he does, to which Tylty objects that there's nothing in it for him. Merrio says there is however, as if Velou has the same idea as he does, they might all be able to pass. Debonair is impressed by their thinking, but Velou says they're not sure yet, so Mylty and Tylty should run if that's what they think is best. Merrio asks Bonkers if he's thinking the same thing as he and Velou, and Bonkers agrees that it's probably 'something like that'. One of the other applicants, a large robed woman named Migael Gagia, tackles Velou in a hug and praises him for having so much courage and facing this test so bravely, even after going through all of the harsh training at such a young age. She proclaims that someone will surely rescue them, and that God will grace them all with divine protection. As Velou introduces himself and tries to get free from her hug, the other applicants at their sides react in various ways, and Mylty and Tylty decide to run after all. Debonair says that she can tell the six applicants that stayed are planning something, but she won't ask them what: she'd rather they show her what it is through action. She tells them they still have three minutes left before her and Grimm begin their attack, so they can use that time for a strategy meeting if they'd like. Velou thanks her, and Grimm accuses Debonair of spoiling them. Debonair says that they're thinking for themselves and making decisions based on those choices, which is harder than it sounds. The test is designed to see what they can do, so she wants to let them do just that. One of the applicants, a girl named Porschen “The Juggler”, says they need to make their plan quickly while they still have time, cutting off Merrio as he tries to introduce himself. Velou says that this test has felt off to him from the very start. It's supposed to test their ability to become Hunters, but the requirement is not getting caught, as if they were prey themselves. As such, he thinks there has to be something else going on with the exam. As such, what they really have to do is... The three minutes pass just as Velou volunteers himself to do 'that part', as it was his idea after all, and Debonair announces that they're about to get started. Velou says that he knows there's still some stuff they couldn't figure out, but asks everyone to go along with the basic ist of it all. Debonair and Grimm move out, with both women looking incredibly imposing especially Grimm who says this will be a 'massacre'. One of the six applicants, a man named Nulo Xao, says he'll occupy the instructor, while Migael and Porschen say they'll all give it their best shot. Xao takes a secret elixir he calls Liufeng Xiang, which allows him to yell and produce a shockwave of wind that blows the approaching Debonair back. Porschen then uses a long wire and her flying circus wire arts to ensnare both Debonair and Grimm, pinning the former's arms against her body while grabbing the latter by her wrists. Bonkers takes the initiative to jump in and aim a powerful punch at Grimm, but Grimm and Debonair ask them all I they really thought a dinky rope would stop them. As Debonair begins to burn through the wire, Grimm delivers a powerful knee into Bonkers' armored chest. He manages to take the blow, but says that they're wrong: They didn't think this would stop them at all, as Velou goes on the attack. Flashing back to the three minutes that the applicants were making a plan, Velou says that what they really have to do is make it so that they can't be arrested. Bonkers thinks that's obvious but the real question is how. Porschen and Migael both agree that it has to be 'that', annoying Bonkers who doesn't quite get it yet. Velou says it's the special rule they tacked onto this test, and Merrio says it was likely added so that they would catch the contradiction – either that or it's a trap. He explains that a normal game of cops and robbers would never make for a proper test due to how much better the two Hunters are, so they added a weakness expecting the applicants to find and exploit it. Merrio thinks their best bet is to do just that while planning for a way to counter the Hunters' response to said attack. Velou says that if they handle this like any other fight, they have very little chance of winning, but they all have reasons why they need to become Hunters. Back in the present, Porschen notes that the rope was just a distraction, as she counts five sets of handcuffs, saying that as they thought, the Hunters have a way of getting more. The plan: go after the handcuffs! As Migael and Xao rush Debonair and Debonair's sights set on Porschen, Velou reaches out for the handcuffs. Review: This chapter managed to go in ways I expected, while also going in ways I didn't at the same time. We were introduced to the concept of Cops and Robbers, complete with handcuffs, as a test last chapter, and at that time, I thought the deal was going to be them realizing that they couldn't avoid getting caught and thus the loophole was about 'who's in jail at the end'. I even wondered if maybe Velou would pretend to put up a fight only to allow himself to be captured first so he could get a better look at the cell's interior, leading to him allowing everyone to escape right at the very last second. Instead, the crux of the test is the handcuffs, which I'm not entirely sure how to feel about. It's nice to be caught off guard and not know exactly where the story is going to go, but at the same time, it seems to be going for a more difficult setup than may have been warranted here, especially with the series being on the ropes right now. One can only hope this gamble will pay off in the end. Beyond that, the rest of the chapter is chiefly about introducing us to more new characters, and showing at least a little bit of what they can do, or at least what their personality is like. It's hard to say how many people will pass at this point in time, but I'd wager a guess that at least most, if not all, of the six participants that take part in Velou's plan are probably a shoe-in. The one's I'm not sure about are Tylty and Mylty, who do run instead, as well as a bald eye-patched man shown off in one panel who apparently also ran. Since they're not taking part in the big plan, they seem more expendable at the moment, but then again, Velou does say that if this plan works, they might all pass. If that happens, we could be seeing a fairly large size of new members for the guild, which could be both good and bad. A big part of the strength of series like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are the size of their supporting casts, but over time that also becomes a bit of a weakness. When you have too many characters milling about, it can be hard to fulfill the wishes of fans of any given character while also being true to the story. It can also make it easy to run out of character archetypes and start repeating yourself, something that will be really noticeable if all of the characters are still hanging around all of the time (something One Piece manages to sidestep fairly well by having much of it's background cast change from arc to arc, with only the main crew or other characters related to a major story continuing onward immediately). We can only hope the author has all of this in mind right now. It's really just the five characters (three of which are new) that remain alongside Velou and take center stage this time however, and almost certainly secure focus and a likelihood of their passing the exam. First up is Migael, a robed, religious woman, who's build certainly seems to fit right in with the likes of Grimm and Debonair. Hell, it's a wonder they don't pass her right then and there actually. Sadly, we don't get to see what she's capable of in this chapter, we only get a glimpse at her overbearing motherly and devout personality. If I had to wager a guess, I wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a mage type character of some kind, not necessarily capable of magic – that could be something that's exclusive to witches in this world – but with charms and the like. Secondly, we're introduced to Nulo Xao, a man who seems to be a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicines and remedies, some of which can even be used in combat. We don't get a lot of his personality this go around sadly, so it'll be interesting to see more of what he's like as time goes on. Third and finally, we're introduced to Porschen and her wire abilities. She's probably the most evenly balanced of the new characters, as we get to see what she can do as well as a little bit of her personality. She looks like she might not be that much older than Velou, but she's already quite skilled and can control wires pretty handily, enough so that she manages to get the drop on two skilled Hunters. She also seem sto have a somewhat serious personality at least when it comes to getting things done, but the look on her face while in battle suggests she might have a battle-loving side as well, though probably not to the degree that Debonair does. Sadly, while the new characters are introduced, we still don't get a ton on what the characters introduced before-hand can do. Sure, Bonkers is a tank, but we don't really know how strong he is at combat yet. And Merrio? All we know about him is that he seems to be quite the intellectual, and he's afraid of leftovers. I was really hoping we might get to see more of what he's capable of this chapter, but with the exam still going on, we might get to see him, Bonkers, and Migael all take a little more part in the action next time around. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 10
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Synopsis: The giant werewolf in the water rises up as it speaks to the mayor of Velou's village. It calls him by name, Hech Horlock, and says that while his goal is the same as that of the Red List, he is no friend of theirs, merely a convenient tool they've chosen to use. He further chastises him for 'editing the script' by adding Dodou and the others, saying that it's because he did so that they had to step in and fix the errors he caused. Horlock tells him that what's done is done so there's no use complaining, and Cinderella yells that it's because it can't be changed that they're furious. She notes that Grimm isn't stupid and will surely have noticed, and if she reports it to the guild, they may even find out the truth about the hamlet. Cinderella thinks that could be especially bad for Horlock as he used to be a member of the guild. She admonishes him for what he's done as well, accusing him of having many other options he could have used and instead only 'wasting page space', while asking him just what it is he's trying to do with Velou's story. Back on the Ironworks, ten weeks have passed since they departed towards the guild headquarters. Tylty is helping Velou study about different types of golems when Bonkers suddenly pushes his way into their room with his things, saying that as of today they're roommates. A second man named Merriopios comes in behind him and explains that four candidates are assigned to a room, and both he and Bonkers lost their three roommates so they've been instructed to move in with Velou and Tylty to conserve space. Merriopios tells them to just call him Merrio, but as Velou introduces himself, Merrio begins to freak out at the sight of food sitting on a table. Merrio explains he suffers from a phobia of leftovers, and Velou and Tylty quickly eat the potatoes to calm him down. Merrio instantly calms down and asks if he can take the lower bunk, and Velou marvels at how there are all kinds of people living in the world. Later that night, Velou collapses into his bed while Bonkers and Tylty agree that the instructor really gave it to them today. Merrio comments that it's only three weeks until the debarkation exam, and Velou can't believe it's almost time. The Ironworks final debarkation exam is a test to determine who gets to get off the boat and join the hunters guild. Those who fail have to remain on the boat and keep training for the entire three-month trip back in the hopes that they'll do better next time. Remembering that both Tylty and Bonkers have been through these final exams before, Velou asks if there's any advice they can give him. Tylty says that the exam changes every time so there's not much to say, but Bonkers adds that it's usually some kind of practical exercise. Tylty further cautions that they're not aiming to graduate a certain number of people, and it's entirely possible that nobody will pass, as has happened before. He also warns Velou that the final test is so harsh that it makes the previous three months look easy, so he needs to be prepared for anything. The day of the debarkation exam finally arrives, and with three hours to go until they reach their destination, Debonair announces their final test: Cops and Robbers. Velou has no idea what this is, but Merrio and another candidate explain that it's a game children play that's a lot like tag. Debonair says that the rules here will be basically the same with one major twist: they'll be using actual handcuffs. Everyone else will be the robbers and she'll be the cop, and everyone that she catches and handcuffs will be put in a cell on the far end of the deck. Debonair warns them that this is a test to see if they're worthy of becoming Hunters, so they should all resist as hard as they can in the time limit of two hours, as anyone who's in the jail in the two-hour mark fails. She cautions them that just running and hiding won't be enough, they'll need to use everything they've learned in the last three months if they want to pass. Velou starts to think to himself that this test almost seems too easy with only one cop, when Grimm – now back in her adult body again – says the same thing, and says that she'll be joining in as a cop as well. Debonair is excited saying that they haven't fought together since 'incident 38', but Grimm says this won't qualify as a fight, only a one-sided beat down. As the exam is about to kick off between the two 'cops' and the 30 'robbers', staff on the Ironworks call for an emergency over a telegram they've just received from the Magmatha Royal Military. It seems the military had engaged a target that changed course and is now on a collision course with the Ironworks line, the target being a Kraken class 'sea butterfly #13', aka a Tidal Manta Ray, a gigantic manta ray that's bigger than the Ironworks itself. While the candidates start to fret about the creature's size, Debonair calmly says she'll handle things. Everyone wonders how she'll do such a thing alone, but Grimm says she'll be fine before revealing that Debonair is like her and has also suffered a witch's hex. In her case however its a curse of heat, with her body emitting scorching levels of heat and burning everything around her. As some of the Ironworks staff bring Debonair her 'furnace armor', she takes only the limbs this time, as Grimm explains that through strenuous training, Debonair managed to subdue the curse and has taken control of it as a weapon. As Debonair starts to heat up, everyone is hit with waves of heat, with Grimm saying that it's only out on the open sea that Debonair can go all out due to how hot things get. Debonair launches herself at the Tidal Manta Ray, chastising it for interrupting the exam before launching a 1500 degree Fahrenheit Bullet Punch. Scalded but alive, the creature starts to go another direction as Debonair waves goodbye to it. She lands and announces that they can get back to the exam now, imploring everyone to fight her, while the candidates mentally plead to do anything but that. Review: This chapter seems to be setting up the finale of the Ironworks storyline as it were, and while I'm excited to see where things go from here, I'm also a little worried. While I'd normally wait to talk about this sort of thing until towards the end of the review, it's somewhat brought up right at the start of this chapter, so we may as well dive right into it. With the giant werewolf that I'm still not entirely sure if it's meant to be Lycaon or not giving Horlock an earful, we get a lot of almost fourth-wall breaking talk about 'editing scripts' and 'adjusting stories for coherence' while 'jerking characters all about'. Heck, there's even a comment about 'wasting page space'. In universe, this is talking about whatever it is that Horlock is attempting to do with Velou's fate, as apparently it wasn't part of the original plan for him to have to deal with Dodou and Naranoia, and maybe not even the mayor's wife either – though what was going on with her becomes a whole other debacle, knowing what we now know about the mayor. In the real world though, this whole scene sort of comes off as a meta commentary for what's going on in the real world in regards to this manga. Despite a pretty strong start and a growing cult fanbase, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood hasn't been doing too hot in the internal Shonen Jump ranking as of late. In fact, it's been trailing behind most of the other heavy hitters and even some of the other manga that aren't doing the greatest, which admittedly boggles my mind, but I'll try to keep my own personal preferences out of this as much as I can. While I don't know for certain what Japanese fans have been saying about the series, Cinderella's comment about page space seems to fit with what I've seen some folks make comment in the west as well, and that's an issue of pacing. Some readers have felt that the series has been moving too slowly, or at least that it had been during the opening chapters of the series. This isn't really a sentiment I agree with, but I can at least sort of see what they're seeing – it took five whole chapters, a good majority of what will likely make up the first collected volume, before Velou's village was destroyed. Compare this to a similar opening premise of Attack on Titan, which also features the main character losing his home from a monster attack – in AoT, it only took two chapters to decimate a village. That said, Attack on Titan was a very different kind of series right from the start, especially considering it was a monthly serial rather than a weekly one, and wasn't in Shonen Jump. No, a more fitting comparison to be made would be to look at a few other major Shonen Jump titles. By chapter 5 of Dragon Ball, we've only just met Oolong and are barely a fifth into the first story arc. By chapter 5 of Naruto, we've only just met Kakashi and Naruto and his teammates haven't even officially been declared genin yet. For Bleach, Ichigo has barely started his Soul Reaper activities and we've only just met Orihime. In One Piece, Zoro hasn't even joined Luffy yet. In all of these hit series, the story has barely even gotten started by Chapter 5. A whole other discussion could be made about the nature and limitations of shonen, especially Jump, storytelling, but it's clear from even a cursory glance that the slow building that Red Hood has been doing isn't something unique to it. One could argue, however, that all of those examples I've brought up are old, as even Bleach is 20 years old now. Well, let's look at a more contemporary example, My Hero Academia. By chapter 5 of MHA, Deku has been given One-for-All, has successfully used it to pass the UA entrance exam, and we're being introduced to his classmates for the first time. ...Huh. I'll be honest, I didn't go into that comparison at first expecting such a stark difference, but there IS quite a bit more achieved by chapter 5 of MHA than there is in Red Hood, or any of their SJ predecessors. So, what can we take from this? Is it Shonen Jump and it's staff that's less lax on how long it takes to get to a certain point in a series nowadays? Or is it the fans themselves that have come to expect more from a series in a certain amount of time? I'd wager a guess that the answer is somewhere in-between. That said, it does seem like things have changed quite a bit since the old days where it could take chapters upon chapters to get anywhere in a story really, which is honestly kind of a good thing. Some stories definitely do spend too much time lingering in a specific storyline before finally getting to where they're going (ironically, these same accusations ended up being levied towards the final arcs of Naruto and Bleach, and there are entire discussions over how long it takes to get somewhere in Dragon Ball and One Piece at times). Some stories however benefit from a slow build, and I feel like Red Hood might just be one of those series. Only time is going to tell however if it's going to be afforded that time or not. I for one certainly hope that it does. That's enough about the nature of Shonen Jump storytelling for now, let's get back to the actual scene that spurred on this discussion so we can finish up with it and move on to the rest of the chapter. As mentioned before, it's made very clear that everything that's happened up until this point has been by Horlock's choice, not that of the Red List. Their goal is the same, but it seems they disagree greatly about how to get there – that or, Horlock's plans with Velou are something entirely separate from their shared goal, at least in their eyes. This makes the question of what exactly the Red List is up to all the more intriguing. Our only hint prior to this is that they want to live as well, and that they seem to be planning on making enough of themselves that humans can't possibly exterminate all of them. Why would Horlock, an apparent former member of the very guild that hunts them, be helping them in that cause? And if he's really helping them, why is he setting Velou up to become a great Hunter and presumably fight against that cause? It's only a theory for now, but I expect the idea is for Velou to eventually learn to understand the minds of both the Hunter and the Hunted, and eventually be the lynchpin that causes some sort of peace between the two. This would fit with Grimm's words about there being nothing inherently evil about werewolves being how nature designed them, and with Velou himself witnessing that some werewolves mistreat each other while others seem to care about their comrades. He's constantly getting his eyes opened as to what the world is really like as of now, so I'd imagine it's only a matter of time before he meets a human who is just as despicable, if not more so, than any werewolf, further challenging his worldview. But again, that's just my own personal theory as of now. The rest of the chapter, while not nearly as deep and potentially meta, plays out enjoyably enough and keeps the story moving quickly – another reason I suspect the author may have turned up the dial on the story's speed as a result of feedback. Since the last chapter, even more candidates have left the Ironworks of their own volition, and by the time we get to the final test, there are only thirty of them left, a small amount of what they started with. While we only barely got to see the training itself, it's clear that everything Debonair is putting these people through is extremely tough and only the best of the best even makes it this far, making the low passing rate of the final test that much more terrifying. Before we get to that final test itself though, we're introduced to another new character this time, in the form of Merrio. He's a rather bland looking character if I'm being honest, certainly not near as striking as Bonkers or even Tylty. His fear of leftover food is a little out there too. It feels a little too try-hard in trying to introduce a quirky character honestly, and while I give the author credit for coming up with a quirk I've never heard of before...fear of leftover food? Seriously? The character being named likely means he'll be sticking around for a little bit though – at least, now that we've gotten this far into the trip, that is – so maybe he'll prove himself to be more interesting with time. The final test itself is one that works great for where the story seems to be heading next. The entire trip aboard the Ironworks seems to have a very similar goal to that of Roshi's training over in Dragon Ball – it's entire purpose is to make the characters going through it toughen up rather than them actually learning anything in particular from it (though we do get hints of actual teaching here and there, what with Velou reading up on various types of golems, another new creature we now know exists in the Red Hood world). Ergo, it makes sense that the final test would be proving yourself in some form of mock combat against Debonair, the one who gets to make the final call as to whether or not you get to leave the ship and join the guild. For her part, Debonair seems to really enjoy the prospect of seeing what everyone there can do – she definitely seems to be the battle-hungry sort of character. That said, the test itself, while definitely being stacked against the candidates – especially once Grimm joins up – is probably going to come down to something more than strength. Now that we've seen what an absolute beast Debonair and her heat powers (something I did wonder about potentially being hinted at last time) are, there doesn't seem like there's any way for Velou or anyone else to prevail. There might just be a hint in the wording of the test itself however – 'everybody who's in jail at the two-hour mark fails'. Nothing says they can't get captured and try to break free somehow, thus earning them multiple attempts at not being caught, or even a way to pass at the very last second. It would take one heck of a mind to come up with this in the middle of combat however, and if anyone on the ship has been shown capable of thinking that laterally, it's Velou. I think he's likely got this test in the bag, maybe even by the end of the next chapter or the one after that at the latest. Guess we'll just have to wait and see though. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 9 Synopsis: Velou marvels at the size of the camp fortress, the Ironworks, and is immediately greeted by Debonair Diamond, a tall, muscular woman who serves as the conductor/instructor for the Ironworks. Grimm catches Debonair's attention and says she has three camp hopefuls if they can handle them, and Debonair says there's no passenger limit at all. She recognizes Tylty and Mylty as people who have failed the exam before, but invites them aboard anyway, shaking hands with Velou and warning everyone that they depart at noon. As she rushes off, Velou notes that her hands felt abnormally hot. It's explained that the camp fortress Ironworks is a mobile training center whose only passengers are those hoping to join the Hunters Guild. Candidates board at Borderport, the only station on the travel line, and then make a three month trip back to the guild headquarters – if they pass the training program over the next three months. Only those who pass Debonair's regimen are allowed to reach the guild, and she spends the three months making everyone build their bodies and minds, all while teaching them the basic skills they'll need as hunters. At noon, a final status of the Ironworks is checked before they start their voyage, and Debonair speaks to all of the passengers, reminding them that their destination is Site Citadel, the location of the Hunters Guild HQ and an island that's not on any map. There are no stops along the way, and anyone that wishes to leave may do so at any time, but while they'll be given a boat, they'll have to row all the way back themselves in shame. In the first training room, Velou asks Tylty and Mylty about the training since they've been through it once before, but their talk is interrupted by a large man with an iron jaw, Bikjoe Bonkers. Bikjoe harasses the twins about not having tried the last time, thinking they'd have given up after failing before that. Tylty retorts that they were scouted for a job, but Bikjoe scoffs and asks if Velou is their little brother. Bikjoe introduces himself to Velou and says this is his fifth shot at camp, which makes him Velou's senior, but Velou quickly realizes that means Bikjoe's already failed four times in that case. Bikjoe gets annoyed and says scrawny people like them don't have a chance in the first place, and if they want to get an edge, they need to bulk up like he has. He then turns and gives the same advice to an old man, and ridicules him for even trying at his age. Velou asks what age has to do with it, and the old man named Bremen reveals that his family was taken by a werewolf, so he wants to become a hunter to get revenge for them. While Bikjoe laughs and walks off, Velou introduces himself to Bremen and tells him that they've got that goal in common and that age doesn't matter, and the two shake hands with Bremen wishing him luck. Debonair speaks to the crowd and keeps her words short, telling them that the regimen at the camp is a simple one: they're going to train their bodies, minds, and hearts to their peaks. A montage is shown of various training methods – pull-ups, weapon assembly, tightrope walking, pulling carts, cooking, and cleaning – while she reminds them that she's not going to baby them, and will knock them down as much as possible with the expectation that they pick themselves back up. She encourages them to leave if they need to – a sight that Velou notes some taking advantage of as time passes – but says that if they give their training their all, then over the next three months they'll turn their squishy bodies into steel. And indeed, Velou notices his body starting to gain musculature in the mirror. A week into the training, Velou is exhausted and almost unable to eat, even though Debonair tells him he's doing good and offers up her own special meal regimen for him. Velou forces himself to eat, but much as Tylty and Bikjoe cautioned him, he ends up throwing it back up, with Velou cursing himself for wasting food and the life of the fish themselves. Hearing a splash, Velou looks out the window to see another boat leaving the Ironworks – this time it's the old man Bremen, and the two exchange saddened looks as Bremen begins to row away. Back in the mess hall, Bikjoe too notices that he hasn't seen Bremen around lately, and says he knew he wouldn't last. Velou returns however and takes his seat, wolfing down all of the food that Debonair gave him, thinking that he doesn't have time to feel down, resolutely reminding himself that he's going to become a Hunter. On a small island a short distance away, three beings watch the Ironworks pass by. The witch Cinderella, sitting atop a massive werewolf's head, asks the unseen third being if they think Velou will get stronger. She cautions them not to get their hopes up, as Velou is merely a stand in that doesn't have what it takes to be a star, no matter how much they set the stage for him. Everything is riding on him regardless though she thinks, and she turns to the third person, revealed to be the thought-dead mayor of Velou's Kasoka village, telling him that he'd worked so hard to raise him too. Review: Well THAT certainly ended on a bombshell, didn't it? While this chapter doesn't have quite the same level of questions being asked as a certain previous chapter, nor does it have the same level of lore dropping, it's solid enough in it's own right and still gives us quite a bit to chew on. Let's start off with something I'm not a fan of with this chapter though, that being Kawaguchi's paneling in regards to showing what's going on around Velou. They've been pretty good about this sort of thing so far, and maybe it's just me, but this time around there were a couple of times that I didn't realize something due to how it was explained or shown to me. The main case is with the Ironworks itself, where I for some reason was under the impression that it was more-or-less a ship – a gigantic, box shaped ship, but a ship regardless. That said, as it turns out, it moves along a gigantic railway system that goes over the water, rather than it actually sailing. While neat, this wasn't really explained very well in my opinion prior to it being shown, and it also kind of hurts the idea of the guild headquarters being on an island that can't be found. Seems like it'd be a simple matter of following the rail if you ask me... Secondly, there's the giant werewolf (which I'll come back to later on) and the island at the end of the chapter. The way the werewolf's head is positioned, I had to do a double take at first to see if the island was an island at all or if it was just part of the werewolf's body, but based on it's shape I don't think that could be the case at all. There's also a panel where we see what appears to be toes poking out of the water far ahead of it's head, so I guess the werewolf is just lounging in the water and resting it's head against the island, or something? Again, maybe I'm just not processing what my eyes are showing me right here or something, but it's the first time I've had that problem with this manga, so it felt like it bears mentioning. Other than that though, the rest of the chapter was straight-forward and fun, especially with the introduction of Debonair, a character that probably settles the author's preference in women: he likes them big, and he likes them strong. Respect. It's through meeting Debonair that we start to get more of a picture of what the Hunter's Guild is like. To gain entrance to the guild you have to prove yourself strong first and foremost, and it seems like beyond that there's no real criteria to meet for the first test other than making your way to Borderport. Anyone may apply, be they male or female, young or old, and you can seemingly apply as many times as it takes until you pass or eventually give up. While this makes it seem easy on the surface, it's made clear quickly that this training is quite tough, and very few people pass. I mean, we already saw what the twins were capable of last chapter, and they failed last time – it's clear that this isn't a test that just anyone can pass. Debonair seems like she's going to be a fun character though, and I hope she ends up sticking around even once they reach the guild. As stern as she is about the training's toughness, she seems to really want everyone to pass if they can muster it based on her remembering those who tried and failed before, and how she seems to be fairly supportive of Velou. There's a bit of a mystery to her as well, with Velou noting her hands being abnormally hot – a hint of her power, or perhaps of something going on with her body like with Grimm's small stature? - so whether she sticks around much longer or not, there's definitely more to her than meets the eye. There are also a number of other unnamed Ironworks staff briefly shown in this chapter, and while they all have unique designs from one to the next, none of them jump out at me as characters we're going to be focusing on, so for now they're just something to keep in the back of our minds lest they do turn out to be important somehow. No, the other two characters introduced in this chapter that merit some discussion are Bikjoe and Bremen. Bikjoe is the character that's likely to be sticking around for a bit longer if I had to guess, as he seems to be filling the 'big, dumb oaf' role that any shonen worth it's salt is bound to have somewhere in it's roster. He certainly seems like the kind of character with way more bark than bite anyway, though it's going to be interesting to see just what he is capable of if he does end up making the cut this time. That iron jaw – if it really is his bottom jaw and not just part of his clothing – almost definitely has some sort of story behind it, I'd wager. Bremen however is a bit of a mystery, as I can't help but wonder if there's more to him than what we get in this chapter. He's introduced as a seemingly kind enough old man who has a thirst for vengeance due to his family being taken by werewolves. At the absolute least, he serves as an analogue for Velou, showing that people of all ages might have reason for wanting to become a Hunter, as well as being someone else who knows loss at the hands of these monsters. We don't really know what Tylty and Mylty's backstories are, to say nothing of the brash Bikjoe, so having someone with so much in common with Velou, someone that he makes a connection albeit briefly with, along for the ride makes sense. But then, he doesn't make the cut. He's unable to keep up with the harsh training of the Ironworks, and leaves of his own accord. This makes a great emotional throughline with how much Velou is going to have to grow and change to overcome this challenge. ...But is that all Bremen is? I could end up barking entirely up the wrong tree here, but I have a theory – not one I'm completely on board with myself, but one that does seem worth mentioning – that I'll be getting into in just a moment, so bear with me folks. At the end of the chapter, just as Velou's resolve is renewed, we get the scene with Cinderella, a giant werewolf, and of all people, the Mayor, watching the Ironworks go by. What in the holy hell are THESE three characters doing just lounging around so close to Velou's current location? The giant wolf doesn't appear to be Lycaon that I can tell – if he is, he's curiously rather silent this time around – so there's at least one other werewolf of somewhat comparable size out there. Cinderella appears to be playing some sort of board game that looks like a weird mix of chess and tic-tac-toe against nobody in particular, and the Mayor seems to be writing a letter. What. In. The. World. IS. This? Don't mistake my words for anger either, because I am absolutely loving this wild turn of events so far, and I can't wait to see what's going on. Now, this is where my theory comes in – what if Bremen was the Mayor in disguise? Hear me out. The pair don't really look that much alike outside of both being old men, their facial hair, outfits, and even their noses don't seem to match one another's. But this is a series that's already established itself as taking place in a world with magic, not to mention the Mayor is now seen being buddy-buddy with Cinderella – it's not that far out of left field to assume that such a disguise would be pretty easy to achieve with magic. And seeing as how it would have been a fairly innocent spell with no ill intention behind it, it may not have been picked up by Grimm or Debonair or anyone else at the Ironworks, even if they had the capability to detect magic. There's also a few other curious points of evidence for this theory. First, Bremen says a werewolf 'took' his family. He doesn't say that one killed them, just 'took'. This curious word choice could be alluding to how his wife was actually turned into a werewolf, and how the events that resulted from that caused him to lose his village, as well as Velou who is now charting his own course in life. Both that statement and his statement asking Velou and himself to both give their best are seemingly bolded for emphasis as well. Finally, the reveal that the mayor is even alive at all only comes after we see Bremen leave. This could just be how the chapter played out, but it's also possible that the reveal was only possible once “Bremen” was out of the picture, the disguised Mayor having made sure Velou was going to do his best and that he was going to be okay for the time being. Again, I'm not 100% on board with this theory myself, since even with the evidence presented, it makes an awful lot of assumptions about what's being provided to us here. I could be on to something, or I could be so completely off base that it's not even funny. Only time will tell, I suppose, as the only thing we do know for sure is that the Mayor is alive, and there has to be something more going on than what we've even seen so far. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 8 Synopsis: In a brief flashback, Velou remembers using the mayor's axe ever since he was young, primarily to split firewood. He assures the mayor that he can take over that job from him to repay everyone in the hamlet for all that they've done for him. The mayor agrees, with an odd look on his face, saying that from now on, Velou will be the one to... Velou is suddenly shook awake by the shaking of the vehicle he and Grimm are riding in. Grimm is looking through a book and tells him he was moaning in his sleep, and Velou simply says that he was dreaming. Looking out from the cart, Velou sees the wide open land and sea as the strange contraption they're riding on, a Tractor Hermit Crab named “Amber” (essentially a giant hermit crab with a cart for it's shell), as they head for a town right at the entrance of the Hunters Guild, Borderport. Velou marvels at a what he thinks is a giant walking tree, but Grimm dismisses it as simply a giant that's passing through. It's been one week since the events at Kasoka Village, and Velou swore that he would become a Hunter so that he could go out and hunt werewolves to protect the scattered villagers. Grimm surmises that he's decided that to protect them he'll have to protect the whole world, a notion she says sounds more like a child's dream than anything else, but it's good enough for now. She promised to take him to the guild, and Velou stares down at the mayor's axe as he promises himself that he'll never let another disaster like that happen again. Grimm knocks on the window of their cart and tells the driver, Tylty, to stop so they can have breakfast. As they eat, Grimm asks Velou if that axe really belonged to the mayor. Velou says it did and was for cutting firewood, which makes Grimm all the more surprised he was able to cut open a werewolf's stomach with it. Velou explains that winters in the village were harsh, so he spent plenty of time cutting firewood for everyone, resulting in him knowing very well how to handle an axe. Grimm says that that does explain a few things – splitting firewood is very efficient for building strength, and she's even heard that there's a kingdom somewhere that uses it as a training regimen for new knights. Velou for some reason takes this to mean that it was his bond with the villagers that helped him defeat the werewolves, and Grimm simply says that's one way to look at it, sure. She thinks to herself however that it wasn't just that. She still suspects the axe is made of wolfonium, and wonders why the mayor had something like that. The village also attracted the attention of the Red List, targets the guild has labeled as 'kill on sight', and it was Lycaon, the alpha werewolf, and his partner Cinderella that showed up no less. Between all of that and Velou seemingly receiving knight's training, and her of all people being called in to eventually lead the boy to the guild...what was really going on in that hamlet? Velou interrupts Grimm's thoughts to ask her about the plan to exterminate all werewolves that she mentioned before. He's interrupted however by the driver of their cart who is now serving them breakfast, Tylty, who says it's way too soon for that, as only full guild members get to to hear about the plan. He starts to say it's way too soon for someone like Velou to think about getting accepted, only for his younger sister Mylty to hit him from behind. She tells him to just serve the food, and apologizes to Velou, saying that her brother gets a sharp tongue with people he trusts, a fact that Tylty denies. Mylty notices something in the distance coming towards them, and Velou again marvels at the sight of an Armored Crab, a species of giant crab that uses it's foamy spit to stick various things to it's body as armor. Tylty says this one has a tank stuck to it's shell, and Velou has no idea what that is. Mylty asks Grimm what they should do since it's alone and not firing at them, and Grimm says they should be able to leave it be as Armored Crabs are usually timid and harmless. The road they're on leads to the outskirts of the bay however, so they should lead it back to the wild. Without warning however, the tank's cannon turns to face them and fires, destroying their crab's cart. Tylty says someone must be piloting it, and Velou looks closey and spots a smaller crab coming out of a human skull sitting on top. While Tylty and Mylty are shocked that Velou can see something so small so far away, Grimm explains that the smaller crab is a Plier Crab, a clever creature with prehensile claws that loves to eat humans. She permits the siblings to use force and asks them to take care of this for them. Velou asks what they should do, and she says for him to watch and learn, also deciding that this is a good time to explain her body to him. She puts it simply, saying that a witch placed a hex on her and turned her body into that of a child's. When on the hunt, she can use an item called a Layer Clock to transform into an adult, but it only lasts for three hours and can only be used once a day. Once used, she's also entirely spent and unable to fight for a while. She's not worried however as Tylty and Mylty should be more than able to deal with their current threat. She's quickly proven right as Mylty is able to shoot through the tank's small visor and ricochet the bullet around inside, forcing the crab to crawl back to the top of the tank where Tylty waits. Tylty praises the crab's shot, before cutting it to pieces with a pair of short swords, saying that it's not personal, it just picked the wrong targets. Velou is amazed to see that it's not just Grimm, all the guild's Hunters are amazing, but Tylty explains that they're not Hunters at all. He and his sister both flunked out of the training camp that they're now taking Velou to, and now they work doing odd jobs for the guild. Tylty says about two hundred people apply for each camp, and out of those only about three or so pass, as only those who can survive the harshest training earn the right to join. As Velou frets about whether or not he can pass something that the siblings failed, they come upon a large, cube-like building with silly monster faces drawn on it, built above the water. As they explain that this is the Ironworks, the guild's mobile research facility, a large muscular woman ponders how many will survive this round of recruitment? Review: After the massive amount of worldbuilding presented to us in the last chapter, it makes sense that this one would take things a little bit slower. That said, we're still presented with a good bit more information on this world and how it works, while getting things moving in the direction needed for the next story arc. Right off the bat, we're treated to the reveal that this is a world full to the brim with monsters and fantastic creatures, not just the aforementioned werewolves and witches. Dragons were previously mentioned to have been wiped out, but there are still giants and monster-sized crabs. It's a little weird I admit to see Velou marveling at these things given the way he's been up until now, but I guess his ire is directly towards werewolves after all. To be fair, even after one attacked, he hasn't really been shown to be all that gung-ho about taking out all the witches. The crabs in-particular are utilized in an interesting way, as we're shown three different types of them that all have a different relationship with humanity. The first, the Tractor Hermit Crab, is used as a tool by the guild, seemingly showing that in the right hands at least, some of these monsters can actually get along just fine with humans, and can even be beneficial to have around. Only time will tell of course if this is a trait unique to the Hunters, or if general populace in other areas outside of Kasoka are able to use creatures like this. The second, the Armored Crab, is a big creature that could be dangerous, but is generally more afraid of people than people are of it and can be safely lead out of the way of human territory. It's not helpful, but is seen as more of a nuisance really than a threat. The third however, the Plier Crab, is a dangerous creature that despite it's small size will happily kill and eat a person – heck, it even uses a skull as it's home! I could be wrong, but I suspect that the reason we get three different species of the same animal is to show a greater degree of difference in human/monster relations than what we've had so far. Will we see more creatures that help out humans in some way? Probably, if I had to guess. Will we even see some monsters that fight on the side of humans? Well...that one's a little harder to put money down on. While we do get at least one mystery answered (for the most part, and I'll touch on that in a bit), there are plenty more mysteries that still remain, particularly the true nature of the Red List. Grimm's suspicions about Kasoka Village and Velou grow further as well, as there's still the question of how an axe likely made of wolfonium ended up in such a place, and why Velou was being taught to use it in a way that amounts to knight training elsewhere in the world. Was the mayor, or perhaps even Velou's parents, from this distant kingdom originally perhaps? I don't think we'll get everything answered anytime soon, but I have a hunch we'll get something more soon enough, because I'd imagine Grimm is probably going to take Velou's axe from him to have it examined at some point once they're at the guild. The characters of Tylty and Mylty aren't as fun as Grimm and Velou are, nor are they as interesting as any of the werewolves we've had thus far, but I don't think that's their point. I think they exist mostly to show us just how rigorous a Hunter's training really is – if these guys are this good just from the training they got, but still didn't manage to pass, then that says a lot about these tests. And especially considering the little tease we get of who's going to be giving the exams at least at first...whoa mama. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 7 Synopsis: As the newly arrived witch floats in the sky next to the gigantic werewolf, she remarks about all the bumpkins staring up at them. While Velou and the villagers freak out about what they're seeing, Velou questions how a werewolf could be so huge. Grimm, seemingly horrified and like she knows something, tells Velou to take the villagers and run. As the giant werewolf loudly reassures the villagers that he's not here to eat them at the moment, just to check on his sons, the witch spots Grimm and points her out to the wolf, calling him Lycaon, and the both of them recognize her as 'Grimm of the Hundred Cannons'. Wasting no time, Grimm leaps into action with a chain, saying that she doesn't care why they're here, all werewolves have to die. Lycaon says her response is worthy of her name, and swings his fist so hard that a shockwave destroys much of the village. Grimm, anticipating this, used the chain to gather together debris and form a ball and chain, slamming the spiked debris ball into the werewolf's head. While the wolf is hurt, he tells Grimm it's time to stop buzzing around like a gnat, and swings another fist, much harder and faster than the previous one. Velou is shocked that such a large creature can move so fast, but to both he and Lycaon's surprise, Grimm is alive, having taken the blow from behind, though clearly the worse for wear. She tells Velou again to run and get the villagers out of here, and Velou starts to comply. Lycaon is impressed by Grimm's strength, but just then, her body starts to smoke. Grimm laments that time's almost up, and the witch mockingly asks 'Grimsey' if her magic spell is about to wear off. Velou stops upon hearing those words, and Lycaon notices at last that it's not Grimm he smells the blood of his sons on, it's Velou. Lycaon bends down to talk to Velou, saying that Dodou's regrets in particular are clinging to Velou's spirit, proving him as a warrior. While the witch sighs saying that Lycaon's doing it again, Velou picks up a hoe and brandishes it at the giant wolf, vowing to give everyone time to escape. He tells Lycaon that if he's talking about familial revenge, then that's a feeling he knows all too well. Much to Velou's surprise, the gigantic wolf merely laughs before standing tall once more. He applauds the youth for wanting to take him on with a simple farmer's tool, and says that killing a werewolf at such a young age is no small feat. Out of respect for Velou's bravery, Lycaon doesn't plan on eating him right now. Instead, he'll wait until Velou is a true warrior, and he'll look forward to savoring the taste of his blood at that time. Grimm tries to tell Lycaon that they can't leave, but Lycaon tells the witch that his sons are dead so it's time for them to go home. The witch whines that she hasn't gotten to do anything yet, so Lycaon asks her – revealing her name to be Cinderella, the Ashen Witch – to light a final bonfire as a signal pyre for his sons' journey to Valhalla. The witch readily agrees, and uses her wand to set off a fireworks like spell that lights the remaining buildings of the village on fire. As Velou tries to find some way to put the fire out, a villager drags him away towards the lake, all while Lycaon loudly chants something in a foreign language. Before they can leave, Grimm (now reverted back to her child form) asks Cinderella a few final questions. She refers to Cinderella and Lycaon as 'direct retainers', and wonders why they'd come all the way to such a remote location just to check on two minor flunkies. Between that, the axe, Velou himself, and how attracted werewolves are to this place, she knows something must be going on, and asks them what they're really after. Cinderella scoffs and says that instead of answering that, she'll give Grimm a message to take back to the guild: the Red List is on the move again. She tells Grimm that they can hunt and kill as many as they want, the list will only get longer because they want to live as well, and someday, there'll be too many of them for humans to handle. With that final message spoken, the pair disappear. A short time later, Velou and Grimm sit overlooking the destroyed hamlet. Grimm says that her mission was an utter failure, and as agreed upon in their contract, she'll return the fee the mayor paid to Velou. Velou tells her to keep it however. He laments that Kasoka Village is no more, with many people missing and the confirmed survivors moving on to search for new homes. Velou angrily reiterates that he'd sworn to protect them all, and he failed. Grimm says that she'll call in a new hunter and reinforcements to search the area for the missing, and once that's done, she'll be leaving. Velou at last asks her to take him with her when she goes, saying he's ready to go to the Hunters Guild. Review: *deep breath* Ho. Ly. CRAP. There is a LOT to unpack from this chapter, and let me start out by saying that this is absolutely the best chapter the series has had since it's start, possibly blowing away even it's opening chapter. There is clearly a lot of world-building going on here, most of which we can only begin to speculate on as of now, but I'll do my best to reign in my excitement and analyze or theorize what we do have to talk about here. Right off the bat, there's a notable difference in Grimm's reaction to seeing these two compared to how she reacted to the previous werewolves. Whereas before she was confident and pushed Velou to stand and fight, here her immediate reaction is to tell him to run. It's made very clear throughout the chapter that she knows more than she's letting on about these two as well, so it's not just that she can tell these guys are in another league – it's that she knows exactly how dangerous they are and that Velou isn't anywhere near ready for them yet. The main spotlight of the chapter is on the giant werewolf, Lycaon. That name looked familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it at first. One short Google trek later, and I was reminded that this was the name of a character from a famous Greek myth. That Lycaon was the King of Arcadia who, after deciding to test Zeus' divinity by feeding him one of his own sons, was turned into a wolf by the enraged god. This could simply be the author pulling a somewhat known werewolf related name into the mix, or it could potentially be something more than that. Don't forget, the series has established that nobody knows what exactly causes a person to become a werewolf. The series itself also brings up the idea of it tying back to a curse, so what if it's exactly that? Instead of being a witch's curse however, it could be a curse from a god. Not Zeus himself per say, but a series original god. At the same time though, what if it IS Zeus? Lycaon does bring up the idea of Valhalla, the resting place of great warriors from Norse myth, later on in the chapter. Maybe it's not so crazy to think that the likes of Greek and Norse mythology exist in a much more real fashion in the world of Red Hood. Or maybe the author has just done his research and is pulling in names that he thinks fit and also sound cool. Either one is possible, and either way I wouldn't be too surprised to see the likes of Romulus and Remus or even Fenrir (who may also have inspired this gigantic wolf Lycaon, come to think of it) at some point. In addition to the lore behind his name, Lycaon also serves as an excellent showcase of just how big the world outside of Kasoka Village is, at least in terms of strength. Sure, Velou has proven himself to be a capable fighter, and he's even killed a werewolf (and aided in killing another), but he's got a long way to go before he'll be able to tangle with the likes of Lycaon. Heck, even Grimm seems like she's barely able to keep him at bay, and there's lots of things to suggest Lycaon was far from going all out here. To make matters worse, Grimm later refers to both he and Cinderella as 'retainers', which means that they're both only servants to someone – maybe even multiple someones – even stronger than they are. Needless to say, it's a good thing for both Grimm and Velou that Lycaon seems to operate based on some sort of warrior's code, or they would have been completely annihilated right here and now. With all of the great things that Lycaon brings to the table, it's unfortunate that his counterpart Cinderella doesn't get quite as much attention. She seems to be the 'brains' of the duo, as well as the one that can use magic, but for now that just amounts to her noticing Grimm and bringing her to Lycaon's attention, and serving as their means of coming and going. Her naming scheme doesn't really bring anything else interesting to the forefront either, as it's of the same mold as Grimm's own name – which actually, now that I think of it, does bring something interesting up, but I'll touch on that in a moment. We're also treated to a spell by Cinderella, showing that witches do use wands in this world. Yay for more minor lore building, I suppose. It's through both Lycaon and Cinderella together that we start to get a better picture for just who Grimm is as well, though a lot of it is still kept really vague for now. She's apparently a well known enough Hunter for both of them to recognize her by name and sight, though that could simply mean that they've encountered each other before as well. Grimm's apparent nickname is 'Grimm of the Hundred Cannons', and though nothing is shown or explained why she's called that in this chapter, I'm almost wondering if it has something to do with her ability to continually pull guns out of her case. It seems like it either has something to do with that, some past event she was a part of, or an ability of hers that we've yet to witness. One mystery that's been at least partially solved though seems to be Grimm's true form being that of a child, and her adult body being achieved through some sort of spell. Which leads to a new theory I have in regards to Grimm – she herself is a witch, or connected to witches somehow or another. Perhaps she's only half witch, or is descended from witches, or something of the sort. There's a few reasons I'm starting to think this, first being that she can use magic, something that thus far seems exclusive to witches. Secondly, there's a moment where Cinderella refers to her as 'Grimsey'. This could be nothing, but between Cinderella being who first notices her and this informal, familiar way of talking to her, I sort of get the feeling they know each other pretty well. And finally, there's the fact that they both share fable based names. Perhaps there's a naming scheme going on here, akin to the ones Toriyama uses in Dragon Ball, and all witches have fable-related names? Only time will tell how right or wrong I am on any of this. Cinderella also ends up dropping some one more piece of world-building on us before making her exit, namely the 'Red List'. It's not made entirely clear what this is, but with the context given, I'd wager it's some sort of organization made up of witches, werewolves, and perhaps even other creatures, all fighting to try and make more of themselves so that they'll be able to rule over the world instead of humanity. It's name could even come from an actual list that the Hunters guild has – a list of monsters that need to be exterminated by the Red Hood, ie the Red List. The notion of this being a battle for survival between humans and supernatural creatures raises a lot of possible moral questions that the series could explore with time. Perhaps humans aren't as blameless as we'd think in how things are – perhaps this world had something similar to our world's Salem witch trials, and the witches went into hiding and are now striking back. A similar sort of bad history could exist for the werewolves as well. If this does become a thing much further down the line, it'll be really interesting to see how Velou, with his rather rigid sense of justice, responds to it. As many questions as this chapter answers, it raises so many more theories and leaves even more questions, some of which we've had since chapter one, still unanswered. If these two are retainers, who or what are they retainers for? Why does Kasoka Village seem so important, even now that it's been wiped out? What language was that that Lycaon was chanting as the village burned, and what was it he was saying? What is it about Velou that interests Grimm so much? And just what is the deal with the mayor's axe? All of these questions will probably be answered in the future, but I wouldn't expect many of them to get resolved in the next chapter. It's clear the author is setting up for the long game here, and I hope they get to see it through. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 6 Synopsis: As Velou vows to take down Dodou for good this time, the werewolf struggles to find a way out of the smokescreen that Grimm caught him in. He ends up relying on his impressive hearing, the one sense the cloud couldn't take from him, to find her on top of a nearby rooftop. Dodou attacks, but Grimm dodges by jumping to another rooftop. Dodou mocks her for not taking his level of hearing into account, bragging about being able to hear anything and everything that happens in the village – including hearing the sound of Velou pulling the trigger on the gun! Dodou turns around in time to block the shot with his massive arms, and though it claims it hurts, it doesn't seem to do any real damage to him. He mocks them for using Grimm, the bigger and stronger of the pair, as the decoy for the smaller Velou, and says he's the real hunter, they are but his prey. Grimm responds by telling him to come kill her then, though he should try healing his wounds first. Much to Dodou's surprise, the gunshot on his arms isn't healing. Seeing that he's confused, Grimm decides to explain. Due to a werewolf's high healing abilities, there are but two sure ways to kill them: the first is to burn them, which prevents their regeneration; and the second is to injure them with a particular kind of metal. Dodou guesses that she's talking about silver, but Grimm says that's not the real answer. While silver does slow a werewolf's regeneration, it's far too light to pierce a werewolf's hide. So instead, they use a special metal called wolfonium, which has the same properties as silver but is heavier and harder than lead. She continues explaining that this also required a special gun to fire such a bullet, and pulls out her own Chekov series rifle, only for Dodou to reach out and bend it's barrel, rendering it useless. Dodou thanks her for rambling long enough for him to think things out. If all that's special about the bullets is that they're made of wolfonium, then all he has to do is not get hit by any more of them. He thinks Grimm will be more fun to kill, so he decides to turn his attention to the kid first. To his surprise however, Velou has left a decoy at his original position, and Dodou can't smell where he's run off too even though his nose is clearing up. Grimm says there aren't any kids here, and shoots Dodou in the leg with another gun she pulls from her case, though regrets it as she remembers she wasn't supposed to shoot. In a flashback to their previous conversation, Grimm explains to Velou how wolfonium works, while also cautioning him that due to Dodou's large size, it'll be hard to inflict a killing blow on him even with the material. Velou thinks and asks if the gas in her gas shells is flammable. She says it is, though it will sink out of the air very quickly. That's all Velou needed to know to come up with a plan however. Grimm reveals that everything about the plan was designed to distract Dodou from their real plan, and maneuver him over onto the chimneyed roof they're now on. Inside the house, Velou has picked back up his musket, and when he fires it into the gas shell filled chimney, a torrent of fire erupts out of it and engulfs Dodou, burning him alive and even splitting his body in two from the force. Stepping to the ground, Grimm finds Velou lying on the ground, somewhat burned himself, and congratulates him on his plan of using the gas shells to turn the chimney into a cannon. It was a rough plan that almost killed him, but it got the job done without shedding any tears or blood from the villagers. Speaking of, the villagers then arrive and ask Velou if he killed the werewolf. Velou confirms it and apologizes for destroying one of the houses and damaging the others around it, but one of the villagers grabs him in a hug and thanks him profusely. Various other villagers all speak up, thanking him for his warning and his fighting, and apologize for thinking of him as just a kid when he's definitely grown up. Suddenly, two smoky portals appear in the air just above the village. A witch on her broomstick floats out from one, while a gigantic werewolf, far bigger than any of the three so far, steps out from the second. The witch comments that Kasoka Village is way more in the boonies than she thought, but the wolf seems pleased with how fresh the air is. As the witch brandishes her wand and comments about all the bumpkins watching them, narration (presumably of Velou's) comments that they'll never forget what happened that day, when everything they knew was turned to ash and many lives were lost...and the day that they became a Hunter. Review: If I hadn't already been impressed enough with first chapter a few weeks ago to feel like I wanted to review this series, then this would have been the chapter that would have convinced me in the end that I had to. The previous two chapters set the stage for this final encounter perfectly, and it's absolutely paid off in the end. Once again, I have to give Dodou some credit. He's not nearly as dumb as I previously thought he was based on our first meeting with him. He's still not particularly smart, but he does know how to use his werewolf abilities to their greatest potential, whether that's the ability to heal, or even just his god-level hearing. You'd almost wonder if his hearing is that good though, why didn't he overhear them talking and making the plan on the roof – they weren't even that far away from him! I guess the idea is that he's easily enough distracted to not always be paying attention to what he's hearing though, a fact supported by how easily Velou is able to escape from him while Grimm has his attention. Again, he's just LESS stupid than I initially thought. I don't know if burning a werewolf is traditionally one of the ways you can deal with them, but it's believable enough that that would work considering burning anything alive is liable to kill it, so sure, that checks out. I was admittedly caught off guard by the wolfonium reveal though! Ever since chapter one, I've been expecting a big reveal that silver is a werewolf's weakness, but now this chapter comes up with it's own new element to somewhat discredit silver. I feel played, but in the best way possible. It's likely Kawaguchi knew everyone was expecting silver, so he went against our expectations while also broaching the matter of silver itself in the same explanation. It might feel needless, but it shows off what sort of tricks they might have up their sleeves as a writer, so for that I give them kudos. I suppose there is something to the notion of 'was wolfonium needed when silver bullets are already a classic staple?' though. Just because the misdirection works well for me, I can see it not meriting the creation of a brand new element to do basically the same thing for others. I'd be willing to bet another reason it was done is probably because the description of silver as too light and weak to be used as a weapon is somewhat accurate, but I'm not a scientist, so I wouldn't know for sure. Someone call Senku, we need his expertise here. Misdirection really is the main theme of this chapter when I break it down. Immediately following Grimm's wolfonium exposition dump, things turn right back around to looking like they're still in danger, and that it was all for nothing. And in a way, it sort of is – the wolfonium, despite having all of the focus in the explanation, isn't what's going to save the day here. It's the other method, of burning, and to be more precise, it's exactly what Grimm told Velou their greatest weapon against the werewolves were, their minds. At the end of the day, it's Velou's brain that kills the beast. I'm definitely getting the feeling that this is going to be a major theme for his character moving forward. There is one thing I have to kind of criticize the chapter for though - Velou's brains are all well and good, but we're treated to yet another flashback scene, this time to something that had JUST happened moments prior. While narratively it works better to show us it this way so we're just as surprised as Dodou when it's explanation time, it doesn't change the fact that this is at least the third chapter to give us a flashback like this. Hell, the first chapter may have had one too and I'm forgetting it at the moment. Now with the chapter's end implicating that this entire story may itself be a flashback, it's looking like the author might be relying on them just a little too much. Hopefully they don't become distracting over time. Going back to the silver/wolfonium debacle briefly though? We still don't know if one of those is what the axe is made out of and that's why it's special. We also still don't know what was up with Grimm's child form in the first chapter, a form we haven't seen her in since. Given the extended amount of time she's seemingly spent in her adult form rather than reverting, I'm beginning to think the adult body really is her true form. If that's the case though, what was the point of the child form? There has to be something. The villagers finally accepting that Velou's grown up now is a nice sentimental moment, but once again that misdirection rears it's ugly head, and HOW. The series' opening narration told us that witches existed, but I didn't think we'd be seeing one so soon. I also didn't figure we'd be seeing a werewolf that towers over buildings. This thing is MASSIVE folks, we're talking something straight out of Attack on Titan or something. I'm almost more interested in it than I am the witch, between it's size, the scar it has over one eye, and the fact that it's wearing clothes (where do you find a tailor willing to make clothes that big?). The witch definitely changes things the most though as there's nothing in Velou's arsenal that Grimm has introduced him to so far that will help him combat a threat like this. Based on that narration though? I don't think they're winning this fight either way. Talk about a time for Shonen Jump to go on break for a week, huh? Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 5 Synopsis: With Dodou held at gunpoint, Velou thinks back to the earlier conversation he had with Grimm. She forewarned him that the two werewolves they're now hunting would be younger and nastier than the old one they already hunted – these werewolves still have all their teeth, as shown by the marks left on the mayor's bones. She suspects that at least one of them will try to slip in amongst the villagers who will hide in the meeting house, so they'll use them as bait. Velou is outraged at such a risky plan and declares that he won't let anyone else get eaten. Grimm agrees, reminding him that she's currently under contract to keep the villagers safe, but says only Velou will be able to pick out who the werewolf is due to his familiarity with the villagers. She loans him one of her own guns, despite Velou's arguing that he already has one, as hers will actually kill a werewolf. She warns him to be careful though as it has a mean kick. In the present, Dodou admits that Velou found him, but so what? He'll just make a temporary retreat and come back later – since he's a werewolf, it's easy for him to kill people whenever he wants. As Dodou reveals his true form, Velou shouts for everyone to leave, and Dodou says he'll start by killing him. Velou tries to fire the gun but fails, and Dodou knocks him through a wall. Velou's takes some damage but is glad to have the werewolf's full attention, but Dodou just taunts him. A sudden noise catches both of their attentions, as a greatly injured Naraoia is suddenly dropped on the ground between them. Grimm appears, and Velou is horrified to see that she used the steeple bell to fight the other werewolf. Naraoia warns Dodou that Grimm is crazy, but Dodou rips out one of his brother's fangs rather than consoling him, chastising him for failing at his job. As Velou watches, horrified, Dodou continues to chastise Naraoia, saying that he never liked him and if he's going to be this useless, he may as well be dead. As he tries to hit his brother with a boulder off the ground, Velou tries again to fire the gun but is stopped by Grimm. Dodou simply laughs, saying that bullets don't work on werewolves anyway. He decides to inform Velou about what makes werewolves so strong and superior to humans: the true nature of their ability to transform back and forth from human form to werewolf. He explains that it's more than a way to hide in plain sight, transforming involves their muscles changing shape entirely and regenerating each time they tear, which is how they heal their wounds so fast as well. To demonstrate, Dodou cuts himself all over his body with his claws, and explains that every time a muscle tears and is healed, it's made bigger and stronger than it was before. He proves this by becoming a much larger wolf after healing all of his wounds. He concedes that werewolves do have one true weakness though, the heart, a fact he demonstrates by ripping out Naraoia's and crushing it into pulp in front of him. As Naraoia dies, Velou is enraged. Dodou merely laughs, remarking how he's seen that look on plenty of human's faces right before he ate them. Grimm tries to get Velou to calm down, but he demands to know why she didn't let him shoot. She explains that it would have been pointless, as one of them killing the other just makes their job that much easier. Velou declares that he can't forgive Dodou for what he's just done, and that killing your own family is despicable, but Grimm counters this by saying they were going to kill both of them themselves anyway. Dodou grumbles that he's getting hungry and prepares to attack, but Grimm clouds the air with some gas shells and escapes onto a nearby roof with Velou. Velou is still enraged, but Grimm forces him to stop and listen. She's going to allow him to kill the werewolf all by himself, and reminds him that he was the one who said he'd protect the hamlet once she was gone. He has to come up with a plan, and she'll assist as needed, but it's going to be his job to get it done. She cautions him to give up on anger and thoughts of justice, saying there's no point to such things. A hunt is merely a battle of wits between the hunter and their prey. Now is the moment for him to become a true Hunter. Review: This chapter had a lot more action than the last one, bringing it way closer to being as entertaining as the first chapter. It's clear that the author is building upon what the previous chapter brought in to really make this one that much stronger, so I'm really excited to see what they'll bring to the table next time, which I'm betting is likely the conclusion of this particular storyline. With continued flashbacks to the conversation Grimm and Velou had in-between chapters 1 and 2, it's clear that Kawaguchi is going to heavily favor this sort of non-linear storytelling for this series. While it's easy enough to follow now, I can't help but worry a little bit that it could get a little out of hand as the series progresses. We've seen countless times how this sort of thing can be done wrong in manga, so let's just hope this doesn't become another case study for that down the road. It's amazing the sorts of things you might miss when you first read a chapter of something, at least if you're me. For starters, I didn't even catch that the old lady werewolf in chapter 1 didn't have any teeth, I was too distracted by how bizarre looking her monster form was in the first place. Secondly, and to rectify a mistake I made in the last review, I didn't even realize that the gun Velou was holding Dodou at gunpoint with wasn't the musket he had before. How I failed to notice this is beyond me considering the two look absolutely nothing alike, but hey, I'm not a gun guy. That's gonna be my excuse and I'll have to run with it. I will try to be more careful about that sort of thing in the future though. Speaking of guns though, it's interesting that their ability to kill werewolves is broached from two different angles in this chapter. Grimm asserts that her gun can kill a werewolf whereas Velou's musket can't, but Dodou later claims that guns flat-out can't kill werewolves. I'm still placing money on this all leading up to a reveal of a werewolf's truest weakness being silver, as that would allow both of these statements to be true in that it's the special kind of bullet that kills them, not the guns themselves. It would also help loop around back to the mayor's axe and why it's so special too. I said last chapter that Dodou came off way less intelligent than he thought himself to be, especially in comparison to the mayor's wife who managed to hide in plain sight for an undetermined amount of time. While that's still true, he also proves himself to be more than that this time around: he's a total and complete bastard. We had hints of how he was only using his brother as a means to an end last time, but it's nothing compared to the cruelty and lack of compassion he shows him this time around. The build-up to his ultimate betrayal is very well done as well. At first, it could be taken as an exceedingly cruel way to demonstrate his explanation at how werewolf regeneration works, but in the end, he's just enjoying cutting up his brother before ultimately killing him in an extremely cruel fashion. Needless to say, it's going to be very good catharsis to see him get his presumably next chapter. Velou's horror at this act of fratricide is another way we're shown how much his world view clashes with that of Grimm's. While Velou's outlook is somewhat treated as that of a child's, one who hasn't killed before and doesn't know how warped the world outside his little hamlet likely is, I can't help but feel myself drawn a little more to his way of thinking than I am Grimm's. What Dodou did is fundamentally cruel, regardless of if they were planning on killing both werewolves themselves or not. That said, Grimm does make some good points herself, such as needing to focus rather than let anger take control of you when in a battle situation such as the one they're now in. I'm hoping that, as the Velou character grows, he manages to take some of those aspects of her methodology into himself, but hopefully without losing what makes him him. We get a brief explanation as to how the gas shells Grimm uses work, and I think the author might just be a fan of Usopp's plant-based weaponry post-timeskip in One Piece. It's going to be interesting to see what other kinds of tools the Red Hood guild has at their disposal. Now with all of the weight of the fight placed squarely on Velou's shoulders, I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what sort of plan he has in mind to take Dodou down. Grimm does offer her help for him to pull off whatever plan he has, but I wonder if he won't take her up on it, at least initially, so as to prove a point about protecting the village all on his own. Guess I'll find out soon enough. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 4 Synopsis: Picking up where the last chapter left off, Grimm asks Velou if he'd like to become a Hunter. She claims that the guild she's with has a plan to put an end to werewolves altogether, but to do it they'll need all the Hunters they can get. Velou is intrigued, thinking that he'd like to be part of such a grand plan, but says that he can't. He doubts that such a thing is even possible, and worries that if he becomes a Hunter, he'll just be sent all over the land and leave this hamlet he grew up in unprotected from further attacks. He also still doesn't trust Grimm and the mysterious way she took on an adult's body. Grimm rationalizes that if she can win his trust and guarantee the hamlet's safety, Velou will have no reason not to join her, so their course is clear. Elsewhere in the woods, a pair of werewolves named Dodou and Naraoia are discussing the death of the werewolf that had been posing as the mayor's wife, Mialli. Naraoia weeps, but Dodou scoffs at her for having used such an old trick anyway, even if she had been nice enough to share her human meat with them. Dodou says it was going to happen eventually anyway due to her age, and that the time has come for youngster werewolves like themselves to take over. He points out that the remaining villagers are off guard and think it's safe now, making them vulnerable to another attack. The village is ripe for the picking too, as it's remote enough that other werewolves aren't going to care about it. Dodou cautions his brother that while he's stupid, he's strong, so all he has to do is follow Dodou's plan, and they'll soon have more human meat than they know what to do with. A short time later, the huge Naraoia attacks the village from the front, distracting the villagers who all run to the meeting house to hide, save for the man who rings the warning bell. Inside the meeting house, Dodou has taken on his human form and is pretending to be a villager as well. He knew that the townsfolk would gather together in a shelter if they were attacked, and the Hunter would also be distracted by Naraoia's attack, leaving Dodou free to lead some of the humans off with some sort of lie – the perfect plan! Outside, the villager who remained behind to ring the bell is still at it, annoying Naraoia who turns his attention to attacking him. Grimm suddenly pops up behind him, asks if she can borrow the bell, and despite the man's objections, takes it and slams it viciously into the attacking werewolf's head. Inside the meeting house, Dodou's plan runs into a sudden roadblock when Velou appears with his musket. Dodou wonders if this is a second Hunter since he seems to be looking for something, but is unconcerned, thinking that there's no way for him to be picked out of the crowd. To his surprise however, Velou soon has his gun pointed at the back of the werewolf's head. In a flashback to the beginning of the chapter, Grimm tells Velou not to look but that they're being watched by two more werewolves before asking him to take her back to the village secretly. On their way back, she explains that wolves are territorial creatures, and usually a village is kept by one werewolf as it's territory. When that werewolf dies however, sometimes other nearby werewolves will try to take over the now free territory. She says that Velou should be able to pick out the second werewolf with ease however. With a gun pointed at the back of his head, Dodou questions how in the heck the boy could have found him. Velou explains that everyone in the village took care of him after his parents died, so they're all like family to him, so much so that he'd recognize any of them at a glance. Dodou though, he's never seen before in his life. Velou boldy proclaims that the village doesn't need any more werewolves here, and proudly declares that they're going to hunt them down and protect this hamlet. Review: While I don't know that I'd say this chapter was anywhere near as strong as the first chapter, it's still an incredibly satisfying read and definitely sets out to build upon what the first chapter set up, in a somewhat slower fashion perhaps. I don't mean that as a critique against it at all either – most of the biggest Jump titles usually have a little bit of a slow build, to get readers used to the world, characters, and types of adventures the series is going to be showing you, before throwing you into the real meat of the story. In this story's case, it does show to give us a better look into what kind of hero Velou's really going to be, which is good because if I had to wager a bet, I'm thinking he's going to eventually be our main lead with Grimm taking more of a backseat role as a mentor. Heck, I almost wouldn't be too surprised if she gets killed off by the end of the opening arc of this series, just to serve as a showing of what Velou could be like once he's fully trained. Based on how popular she is already though, that could backfire if that's the eventual plan. Considering I've already seen some fan art of her floating around after just TWO chapters, I'd say that people like their tall werewolf slaying lady. *looks at Grimm again* ...Who am I to judge? At any rate, this chapter as I already said shows us more about what makes Velou, well, Velou. He's a different type of person than some of your more upbeat Jump hero characters, the likes of Goku, Luffy, or Naruto. He's closer to the same archetype as Ichigo, Deku, or for a non-Jump example, Eren from Attack on Titan, at least very early on. It's not the thrill of adventure, or even the hunt in this case, that gets Velou going when it's time to fight. For him, it's all about protecting those he cares about, and I could easily see this eventually expanding to wanting to protect others because they two have people they care about or care about them. It's going to be really interesting to see how he develops moving forward. Grimm meanwhile remains just as mysterious as she was in the first chapter. While she remains in her adult form for the entirety of it's run, it's still not made clear if this or the child form we were introduced to her in are her natural state, if this is something unique to her, or if it's some sort of Hunter based-skill of some sort. It could be just about anything really, though I'm still hedging my bets on it being some sort of power-up based around putting your body at it's peak. Then again, it could be entirely the opposite – I've seen some mention that the author, Yuki Kawaguchi, is a former assistant of Kohei Horikoshi of My Hero Academia fame. While I don't know for a fact that this is true, the art-styles are vaguely similar enough that I could believe it, so perhaps Grimm is in an All-Might sort of situation where her adult form is her 'true' form, but she has to reserve energy in a smaller form at times to maintain it. Until we get more info, the sky's the limit really. Something else left entirely unexplained for now that I find extremely interesting is the plan the Red Hood guild has for eliminating all werewolves. That's quite the bold claim, since as Velou surmises, werewolves are people first so as long as there are people, there will be werewolves. There's also the fact that, as the chapter once again reiterates, nobody knows what makes people turn into werewolves. So how in the heck does the guild plan to put a stop to something that they don't know how it starts? Once again, there are a few possibilities here. For one thing, maybe the world at large doesn't know what causes werewolves, but the Red Hood guild does? It's logical enough that a guild focused on hunting down the creatures may have learned something that's not common knowledge yet. There's also the fact that the way werewolves work in this series has already shown itself to be a little bit different seemingly from the way we traditionally think of them, so there's limitless potential for an answer when you start skewing the original rulebook itself. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Grimm says the Hunters already wiped out dragons hundreds of years prior, though it's somewhat unclear if she means Hunters in general, or specifically her guild, the Red Hood. Either way, the Hunters clearly have experience with eradicating a much tougher species of monster, so they really might have something up their sleeves yet. One other moment worth mentioning, albeit a small one, is Grimm telling Velou to keep the mayor's axe, even describing it as 'precious'. In the previous chapter, she already noticed something about it that we still haven't been made privy to ourselves – my leading theory here is that it's made of silver, another classical werewolf weakness. Is it more than that though? Does it just happen to be made of silver, or did the mayor specifically have one made of the material solely for the purpose of killing werewolves? In that case, was he a former Hunter himself? Or, possibly, are Velou's murdered parents more than throwaway background characters – maybe the axe originally came from them, and they were Hunters. If that's the case, we're definitely setting a precedent of the Hunter and the Hunted switching off very often. That's enough thinking about the unknown for now though, let's switch back to something that we do know, and that's our new pair of antagonists, the werewolf brothers Dodou and Naraoia. Compared to the sneaky, manipulative werewolf we had last time, this pair is...less impressive, frankly. But I think that's kind of the point. Their existence and dialogue, as well as some additional werewolf lore we receive, seems to indicate that the mayor's wife may have been a werewolf for some time now. She was the one ruling over this area, so no other werewolves dared enter her domain, save for this pair of lone wolves that she seemingly took pity on. That in of itself is interesting to note, since it fits with her outwardly human appearance of a kindly old lady, just here it was towards others of her own kind. So do the wolves keep some aspect of their former humanity after all, even if it's only in terms of personality? So far, this pair seem to be the terrifying qualities of the previous werewolf, but split into two and diminished by quite a bit. Whereas Mialli was cunning and sly while also being big and strong, Dodou has the brains to an extent while Naraoia has the brawn. Neither of them apart is as good as she was even in her old age, and honestly it sort of seems like even together as a duo they're her lessers. It's hard to comment purely on strength between her and Naraoia, but his incredibly dense nature kind of makes it a moot point anyway. In the case of Dodou, while he certainly came up with a clever plan on the surface...he really didn't think it was possible for someone to question who he was if they'd never seen him before? This was already seemingly a small village and one that's lost a number of folks in recent months, a stranger like him was bound to stick out like a sore thumb. So much for being smart, eh? I said this chapter wasn't quite as strong as the first, and I stand by that, but like with our werewolf duo this time, that seems to be the point. It's here to show off our lead characters a bit more and get us more acquainted with the world, and I'd predict the third chapter will likely follow a very similar pattern – especially since there's at least some possibility the story's not entirely done with this pair of werewolves at all. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 3
Synopsis: The tiny hamlet of Kasoka Village is under attack by a werewolf in their midst. It's already managed to kill and eat all of the village's adult hunters, and the remaining villagers are in despair, wondering what they should do. A young boy named Velou, who lives in the village, proclaims his intent to hunt down the werewolf, but nobody places much hope in him. After all, what can a young kid do against the monstrous power of a werewolf? The mayor of the village, a large bearded man who wields an axe, says that if things keep going the way they are, they'll be left with no choice but to abandon their homes and move. With little choice left, the mayor has sent a request to the Hunters Guild, asking them to send one of their strongest Hunters to save the village. Everyone questions how the mayor managed to pay for this when they're so poor and the Hunters are rumored to be nothing more than money-grubbers, but the man laughs and reveals he sold his house and all of his sheep to pay for it. A week later, the Hunter arrives, and everyone is distressed to see that it's a little girl. The girl introduces herself as Grimm, and demands half of her payment up front. Velou accosts her for only seeming to care about money, and she boldly declares that Hunters aren't trying to be heroes: they simply sell their wares the same as a florist or carpenter, and their wares are their ability to deal with monsters like werewolves. This outrages Velou more, but the mayor holds him back while his wife reveals to Grimm that Velou's parents were eaten by a werewolf years prior. The mayor took in the boy and raised him after killing the werewolf, and now the boy looks up to the mayor and wants to be strong like him, so when someone like her shows up and is seemingly only interested in money, it offends him greatly. The mayor however agrees to her deal, saying that accepting the money is accepting responsibility, and asks Velou to show her to the mountain hut while everyone else packs their things in case they do have to leave. On the way to the hut, Grimm suddenly asks Velou to instead show her a way back to the village that won't let anyone else know they're coming back. She could smell and feel the presence of the werewolf earlier, so she's certain rather than it living in the woods, it's someone in the village. Velou objects saying that once a werewolf eats human flesh they can never be human again, but Grimm says they're capable of transforming to at least look like their old human selves. To werewolves, humans are food and while many try to hide it and fail, eventually retreating into the wilderness, many are able to hide their true nature long enough to devour everyone around them. Velou can't believe one of the villagers could possibly be the werewolf as they're all good people, a notion that gives Grimm pause. Their discussion is interrupted by a loud scream that Velou recognizes as the mayor's voice, coming from the direction of the mountain hut. Grimm tells him to go back, but he says she'll need a guide to get there through all the cliffs and streams. It's all Velou can do to keep up with her and shout directions as they run, and he reiterates his belief that the werewolf can't be one of the villagers because all of them are good people. This time, Grimm calls him out on this thought process. She asks him if he ever feels guilty for eating meat, or even plants? The circle of life is life eating other life, and for werewolves that can only survive by eating people, it's no different. She cautions him that when they get to the source of the scream, he shouldn't expect either heroes or justice there. The pair stops when they come across a puddle of fresh blood on the ground and the mayor's axe. The blood leads towards the mountain hut, but something about the situation seems off to Grimm. She pulls out a Hunter accessory called a Hound's Muzzle, which can determine the scent of blood and bones and tell where they came from. The device picks up the scent of werewolf, and Velou says the mayor must have fought the werewolf with his axe, a theory that Grimm agrees is likely. Either way, they'll find their answers inside the hut. Once inside, they find a pile of human bones, but no werewolf. Suddenly, the voice of the mayor's wife calls out to Velou, and tells him that the mayor is the werewolf. He sensed the pair of them coming and escaped out the window. Grimm says the blood they found must be the mayor's then, and turns to check out the blood and bones further, asking Velou to watch over the mayor's wife. Something doesn't sit right with either Velou or Grimm however, and while Grimm's device discovers that the bones as well as the blood belong to the mayor, Velou asks the mayor's wife how such a large man could have escaped through such a small window, much less one that's still covered in cobwebs. Realizing the ruse is up, the mayor's wife begins transforming into her true werewolf state and attacks Velou. Velou is only saved by Grimm, who now has the form of a tall adult woman, pushing him out of the way. Grimm says it all makes sense now that they know the identity of the werewolf, and why the blood, bones, and axe were all left in such obvious places to distract them. The werewolf turns out to be much larger than she expected however, and she tells Velou to hold his breath as she uses another Hunters tool, a small pipe called a Pocket Chimney, to blow ashes all over the room and create a smokescreen for them to escape. As the pair runs, Grimm says she could use some help to take down such a large werewolf, but Velou balks and suggests they ask back at the hamlet. Grimm says there's nobody left there who could help, only him. Velou is too scared to fight something that even the mayor couldn't kill, but Grimm roughly asks him if he wants to die. She explains that even horses and cows don't sit still and let themselves be eaten, they fight back with their weapons. Humans don't have horns or thick hides, so they have to fight back with their greatest weapon: their minds, a tool Velou has already proven is invaluable when he noticed discrepancies in the old lady's story. While they were busy talking however, the werewolf has caught up with them and viciously attacks, taunting them the whole while as it grabs hold of Grimm. As the monster swallows her whole, Grimm warns Velou to get as far away as he can. Continuing to taunt Velou, the werewolf says she's going to save him for last and make him watch as she eats everyone else in the village. As she picks him up in her mouth, she says that all human efforts to stop them are useless, as they always get eaten in the end. Enraged, Velou uses his musket to prop open the werewolves mouth, and fires upward through it's jaw while proudly declaring that human's resist precisely because it's not useless at all. As Velou falls back out of the monster's mouth, he recalls a conversation he had with the mayor just after he'd sold his house and sheep to hire the Hunter. The mayor told him that possessions can be re-built or re-bought, but people only get one life, and he wanted to use his to protect the village for as long as he lived. Swearing to follow the mayor's example, Velou picks up his discarded axe, and cuts open the werewolf's stomach, freeing the devoured Grimm. Grimm is confused how he managed to pull something like that off, and wonders if the axe is... Velou says they can work together to kill the werewolf now, but Grimm says it's unnecessary as her plan, for the most part, is working out. She uses a grappling hook to get them out of there just before the werewolf discovers the bomb Grimm left behind in it's stomach and explodes. Velou prepares a makeshift grave for the mayor, and Grimm says she's surprised Velou stood his ground rather than running. Though he's crying, Velou proclaims he's never going to run away again, and will instead stand strong, as he was taught by the mayor...and by Grimm. Impressed, Grimm asks Velou if he's ever seen a dragon. Velou says of course not, since dragons only exist in fairy tales, but Grimm objects saying that they did exist long ago. It's been five hundred years since the last dragon was killed by Hunters, and they will continue to fight on until werewolves, witches, vampires, and all sorts of other monsters also become nothing but myth. She then asks Velou if he'd like to become a Hunter himself. Review: First off, apologies for such a long-winded synopsis, but there was a LOT that needed to be detailed here so that I could talk about the chapter, and the beginning of this series, properly. The chapter was also a whopping 55 pages, and much, much denser dialogue wise than what you'll usually find in the likes of Dragon Ball, so it's probably only natural that the summary would run a bit long actually. Right up front, I have to say it: I love werewolves. I've always been fascinated by them more so than any other stock horror movie monster, and it's long been disappointing to me to see them languish in popularity in comparison to the much more bland and over-done vampire archetype. So for a manga to start up, fusing werewolf mythology with the world view of the likes of Red Riding Hood and Grimm fairy tales? It's like it was made for me. Enough gushing about the idea itself though, let's tackle what this opening chapter itself brings us. Admittedly, the opening scene of the series could probably be seen as being pretty basic for the type of story you're expecting. A village under attack by a monster, they have to send away for help from someone stronger, a young boy who's just on the cusp of becoming a man but nobody takes him seriously because he's still a kid: stories of this type truly are a dime a dozen, but part of the reason it keeps cropping up is because, when done well? It truly can be ridiculously engaging. Perhaps it's for this reason though that the artist chose to open the chapter first with a pair of pages that would get elaborated on at the end of the chapter, so as to catch your attention right away rather than waiting until further in to get the story's hooks into us. The series is already clearly planning to set up a stage for all sorts of monsters and creatures to pop up over the course of it's run, as vampires, witches, and dragons are all namedropped as well. The chapter makes it quite clear that dragons are considered a thing of the past, but I can't say I'd be too surprised if we later found out that wasn't 100% the case and there was at least one left somewhere. If the chapter and the world it develops is weak in one area so far, it's that it might be a little too vague on the exact details of how werewolves come to be. It's lore brings up the idea that nobody knows, and even suggests it could be a plague, a curse, or even a witch's hex. Nowhere does it bring up the idea of a werewolf biting someone and the bitten later turning into a werewolf, which is pretty standard werewolf mythology that everyone is familiar with. Between that and our big bad wolf for this chapter turning out to be the mayor's wife, I can't help but wonder if there's some subverting of expectations going on here. I'll get a bit more into why I feel that is shortly. While the character of Velou isn't the strongest draw just yet, it's hard not to immediately be drawn in by the character of the mayor. He seems like an all around good guy, even willing to give up everything he owns and his own comfort to try to save the village he loves. What's not to like? He comes across so likeable in fact that I spent a good portion of the chapter expecting him to turn out to be the werewolf. It seemed like an obvious setup, make us like the guy, only for him to either A) turn out to be the monster himself, and he only calls in a Hunter to he can keep up the act a bit longer; or B) he's realized he's the monster and wants a Hunter to come in and put him down for good before he kills again. Either option seemed pretty likely, just depending on if the author wanted him to be a complete monster or a tragic heroic figure. The latter turned out to be true, just not in the way I'd been thinking at all. Velou might be a little bit bland at first, but Grimm is immediately interesting, and I'm looking forward to learning more about her and the Red Hood guild as the series progresses. Are more of the members little kids by appearance but actually adults like her? Or is she not actually an adult at all, and merely has some ability to make her body take on it's peak performance form (ala Genkai from Yu Yu Hakusho)? Is it something else entirely? The chapter doesn't give us any answers just yet, but for now that's a good thing. It keeps us wondering, which will hopefully keep people reading. It'll also be interesting to see what lead Grimm to have the outlook on life that she does. While she raises good points about how, for monsters like werewolves that can only survive by eating humans (a curious point is brought up saying that they can't process other foods, something that's new to werewolf mythology as far as I'm aware), it's not inherently evil for them to do what's need to survive, I can't really say I agree fully with her ideal of only doing what's right for money. She's not wrong in that people should be paid for their services, but in the case that this service is literally saving lives, it can definitely come across a bit scummy to focus on the money first and foremost. Given how she seemed to be impressed with Velou's urge to protect people though, maybe she has her reasons for believing the way she does, or perhaps she doesn't believe it completely herself? Only time will tell. When Velou and Grimm find the axe and the pile of human bones, I expected it to be a set up, but not for what setup it really was. I was expecting the axe to have been left behind to make it look like the mayor had been attacked and killed; I even expected the blood they found to truly be his, but perhaps he'd bitten himself to leave behind blood to fool them with as well. It all still fit with my working theory that he was the monster all along. But that all went flying out of the window the second they get inside the hut and find the mayor's wife. Even without an eerie panel of her voice saying 'Belleau' in an attempt to say 'Velou', the minute I saw her I realized that, much like the villagers, we the readers had been deceived all along. Once the reveal of the mayor's wife being the werewolf is made, it all makes sense...but also doesn't, but intentionally so for the latter I'm thinking. You're probably asking the same thing I am, how did the mayor not notice his wife getting bit by a werewolf? But again, a bite causing a werewolf is distinctly not mentioned in the lore here. It's either something that the world, seemingly even the Hunters, don't seem to know about; or that's not how it works at all in this world. This fact alone threw a wrench into my earlier theory, without my ever truly realizing it at all: I assumed the mayor had been bitten back when he slayed the werewolf that killed Velou's parents. But if the source of a werewolf isn't a bite at all, if it's something else entirely, then there goes one of the easiest ways to check if someone's infected or not. It's an interesting, and horrifying, notion, and one I'm looking forward to seeing developed further. That said, there is one little wrinkle in this logic: the mention that werewolves can't eat anything but people. It's easy enough to explain why the mayor, a man who's killed at least one werewolf himself, hasn't noticed his wife's change into a monster, but how in the heck did he not notice her suddenly not eating dinner anymore? Weird. Finally, we come to the werewolf itself in this chapter, and woo boy, is it weird looking. Some people will probably be turned off by the look of the monster in this series, as it fits neither the standard wolf-man design or a bigger wolf-beast lycan design, nor is it simply a big wolf. It's...really, really weird looking. It's jaw unhinges, it's body contorts, it's gangly, it has googly eyes that are almost cute yet remain horrifying when coupled with the rest of it's body – it's unlike any werewolf design I've ever seen, and puts me more in the mind of the weird, abomination like creatures you'd see in the likes of Stranger Things or something. It takes some getting used to, but there's enough creepiness to the overall effect of it that I can't help but be excited to see some other mythological monsters re-imagined by this artist. I'm almost hesitant to start reviewing a series that's just started right out of the gate, because as anyone that's been a fan of Shonen Jump for a time knows, it's a crapshoot whether a series will last and be successful, if it'll be dead on arrival, or if it'll last a while and either fizzle out or just never really catch on the way the author hopes it will. Series that you like end too quickly, while series that you don't like somehow go on to become major flagship titles – it's a constant process. I'd like to think this series' premise holds ample room for growth and exploration that will make it sure to be a hit, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 2 My original plan for this blog was to only focus on one series at a time, and that still holds true...for the most part. I'll still be doing bulk reviews only for Dragon Ball for the foreseeable future. But when something as interesting and promising as The Hunters Guild: Red Hood starts up, oh man – how do I NOT talk about it? Beginning a new series in Jump is always risky. There's the chance of it not taking off, no matter how certain you might feel a series is going to be successful. But other times, you might be looking at the very beginnings of an immensely popular franchise in the makings, and that's definitely the feelings I'm getting from this one so far. So, in addition to my Dragon Ball reviews, you'll soon find reviews for The Hunters Guild: Red Hood here as well! I'll be reviewing the chapters weekly once I have the first two chapters reviewed and posted, so there won't end up being the same sort of backlog as what there'll be for my normally planned reviews. And if you haven't read the first two chapters yet yourself, what're you waiting for? Head on over to Shonen Jump or get the Shonen Jump app and prepare for one heck of an opening chapter. |
About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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