Arc 9: Completed.
Well, it took me some time but I finally picked up the Sanyou arc and finished it.
I'm not going to lie this arc felt slow as hell for some reason.
But to the goodies.
The introduction of Mouten and Ouhon turned out to be one of the best decisions Hara could think of ( learn how to introduce rivals from him Oda you piece of shit).
Each with their own personality. But everyone with the same goal. To be the Great General under the Heavens. I'm not sold on Ouhon too much. I've seen people saying that he is cool and all but for now he looks like a daddy complex dude with a stick deep down his ass.
Mouten on the other hand got my attention since the beginning. I like laid-back characters like him since he is not just all goofy and games. He can make up for his laid-back personality on the battlefield. His strategic capabilities are very impressive and dude is only Shin's age. He will be a massive gem later on.
Renpa intro was pretty solid. I say solid because I was mega-hyped for his introduction and yet he came with such a small army. I knew he will rock the battlefield and have hype moments which he did but I definitely felt like his intro was a little reduced not to overshadow the other characters.
The temporary promotion to the 1000 man unit for Ouhon, Mouten, and Shin was amazing. Finally getting to see Shin leading a group of more people. Always appreciated.
Shin vs Rinko is one of my favorite 1 vs 1 in this manga as of now. The sheer intensity and stakes during this fight were fucking amazing.
My two favorite panels:
Ousen and Kanki. The two hidden beasts of Qin. Ousen's tactics are really impressive although I would love him to have more field action.
Kanki is wild as fuck. His title lmao "Beheader" dude is fucking crazy. No wonder Mougou got this far having them under him.
Yeah, Mougou. I may say something wild but I didn't really care much about him. Is that wrong? He had this backstory and all but it all felt like it was forced. This whole fighting with Renpa and him being a Great General. Dunno maybe his tactics and process of thought didn't click with me.
Renpa's interactions with Shin were nice and I really loved the twist that was added to Shin's goal.
Renpa's presence during this arc was a double-edged sword. Because on the one hand it was a saving grace for this arc and on the other hand his presence really put the likes of Kanki and Ousen in the shadows.
Overall fantastic arc but it could've been a little better.
More to come.
TBC..........