Needless – Chapter 93

Needless returns this after a month off due to health issues with mangaka Imai Kami.  And the return of Needless means the continuation of these two impressive battles, presented in a rather unique way, as well as some interesting and opportune moves by Arclight.

First off, it’s great to have another chapter devoted extensively to fighting, especially since this is the most involved Disk has been in combat ever in the series.  Recall how weak she was as a fighter during the entire Simeon Building arc and compare that to how she is now.  Her new body, weaponry, and courage are amazing.  The one disappointment here is that it happened so suddenly and we never got to see Disk transform and grow the way we are seeing Cruz do.  Hopefully she continues to contribute after this fight but I have a feeling she’ll revert back to one of the better gag characters once she rejoins Blade or Cruz.

Blade certainly is frightening, showing off two new fragments in this chapter that were never used before by him.  Bionic Compressor was only a matter of time, after learning it from Rin during the Bloody Rain arc, but Power was a twist.  It makes sense, especially since he and Mio were together for so long but they never actually showed Blade memorize Mio’s fragment.  Seeing him use Power was something completely unexpected but a nice addition to his set of memorized fragments.  Blade also used Speed and Heat Absorption, so he seems to have quite an arsenal of fragments to use on whoever faces him next.

The presentation style of the fight, showing both fights on every page, is something rather distinct way to show two fights going on at the same time.  It was really confusing at first, having to go back and reread it to figure out what was going on.  And I was lost at why it was happening this way until the point where they both connected.  It makes sense now but it was strange trying to read it for the first time.  Going back and reading just each fight works fine, though, so at least you can go back and read it that way if you want but the end point isn’t nearly as impressive then.  And that end point is my favorite moment of this chapter, so I guess it worked out well.

Should be interesting to see what the Japan Self-Defense Force does now that they’re deployed.  They’re going to be participating in the Needless Hunt now it seems with that announcement at the end.  I am kind of curious to see if the setting will shift back over to Blackspot or stay in the City.  I could see it going either way but I figure that it will stay in the City since that’s where Blade and company are looking for Arclight and Simeon.

Can’t wait to see what happens next.