Cover
art by Kazue Kato
Shonen Jump secret revealed—the piece of art on the cover is what is called "key art" in house. Key art is used for all kinds of stuff—covers, ads, banners and more. Some manga has a lot of key art, while others hardly have any. Why am I telling you this? In case, you're thinking "Hey! I've seen that art before!" You may have, because Blue Exorcist is a series that doesn't have an abundance of key art. In any case, it's still some really nice key art. There's no denying that!

Blue Exorcist
by Kazue Kato
This chapter of Blue Exorcist has caused a bit of debate in the office. I, for one, enjoy the "non-demon battling high school antics" style chapters in this series, because I believe it gives the manga balance. If it was just non-stop demon battling, that might get a little repetitive. So genius mangaka Kato Sensei smartly puts in chapters that are funny and break up the tension a little bit. And this chapter is funny! Rin and Shima are trying to get dates to the Student Music Festival at "Mephyland." I want to go to Mephyland. Oh, there's also a funny reference to a hit American TV show in the chapter. 

One Piece
by Eiichiro Oda
Ha! What a chapter of One Piece! This is one of the best chapters I've read in a long time, and that's saying a lot since it's been nothing but awesome since they arrived in Dressrosa. As the massive tournament battle for the Flame-Flame Devil Fruit heats up, we're introduced to a ton of crazy new warriors. Some you've met before, but most are new—including one based on a legendary professional wrestler! I'm guessing he wrestled in Japan at some point, as many pro-wrestlers do. Anyway, the chapter sets up the upcoming tournament in a way only Oda Sensei can—introduce a ton of crazy-looking super tough guy (and girl) characters. It's absolutely mind-boggling that Oda Sensei seems to never run out of great character design ideas. His imagination seems to be endless! This fight is going to be epic! 

Bleach
by Tite Kubo
The flashback about Ichigo's father and mother's backstory continues! His father Isshin is having a tough time fighting an extremely powerful mysterious black Hollow. I have to say, it's really cool seeing Ichigo's dad in action. And there's a lot in here that explains a lot of the earlier manga plot points. Interesting stuff! 

Naruto
by Masashi Kishimoto
It looks like the flashback of how Madara and the First Hokage met is finally winding down. And what a flashback it's been! Even though technically the whole thing is a history lesson, it's not boring for one second. They should hire mangaka to make history as exciting as this! Every kid would know everything about the founding fathers, and their epic ninja battles. Or non-ninja battles. Anyway, I love the lore of Naruto, so this could have went on forever as far as I'm concerned, but it looks like we're going to find out if all this talk has swayed Sasuke's opinion at all. 

World Trigger
by Daisuke Ashihara
The battle with the llgar takes a turn for the worse when Kitora activates its defense mechanism, which causes it to target the highest concentration of humans and crash! Now Yuma must find away to keep this from happening, but without Kitora suspecting his power level! I like the idea of a hero in a manga having to keep his powers secret. It adds another layer of tension to the battles. 

Nisekoi
by Naoshi Komi 
Based on all the chocolate Raku has to eat because of social pressures and Japan's interpretation of Valentine's Day, he's going to be twenty pounds heavier in the next issue. Seriously. I love chocolate, but even I have my limits! Then again, I don't have the problem of multiple hot chicks trying to bang my door down. I guess it's tough being a manga character sometimes! 

One-Punch Man
story by ONE, art by Yusuke Murata
Another hilarious chapter of One-Punch Man! I now understand why Murata Sensei was so impressed by ONE's webcomic that he wanted to redraw the manga. It is seriously funny. In this chapter, a bald bunch of buff baddies known as the "Paradisers" are determined to destroy the rich and create a utopia. Saitama, being bald, doesn't like the fact that they're stealing his signature look. It's gonna be a battle of the baldies! Chrome dome versus cue ball! Winner gets a free head shine! Or something like that...

Dragon Ball
by Akira Toriyama
Bittersweet chapter of Dragon Ball. The mighty Raditz has fallen, but at the cost of Goku's death. I really like the way both characters die. Raditz, like a true warrior, and Goku with a smile on his face, knowing he's done his best. It's handled well. I also LOVE the image of Vegeta sitting on an alien planet eating a bug guy. I don't know why, but that always cracks me up. Actually, it would be so cool if they made an entire DBZ movie just out of Vegeta and Nappa's conquering of that planet! How fun would that be to watch? 

Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration
by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Wow, what a cool battle! Kenshin takes on the psychotic Jin-e with Kaoru's life on the line. There is some absolutely breathtaking art in the chapter. I've always like Jin-e, and this retelling of his character makes me like him even more.

Extras: Hanami Fan Art Contest page (please enter, we need more entries!), Naruto Design Contest page, Author Comments. 

This was a great issue, and a big one! Please leave your comments below! We love to discuss (and sometimes argue about) them on Monday mornings!

by Urian Brown