Yūma Kuga 2

Long summary
Well, after the events of the previous chapter with Neighbors and bullies, it was now time for Osamu to rise into a lead role. What did he have in mind? Well first, it seemed he needed to address Kuga’s otherworldly moral ethics. Sure, he hasn’t been doing anything wrong for the sake of self defense, but to always resort to violence wasn’t something that Osamu could stand for or even want to see. Before he could finish laying down the rules for Kuga, the same set of bullies we saw yesterday stormed the rooftop demanding a pricey usage fee. I did laugh at how Kuga takes everything literally, almost believing it, but of course Osamu immediately tells him its not true. I do wish the bullies would be named as I’m starting to grow attached to him and the Black Usagi shirt (guessing Usagi means rabbit) was kind of cool/cute. Unfortunately, it is probably an attachment out of sympathy as first he had his foot crushed last chapter and now, yet again, faced with pain in his foot from that powerful stomp. Poor guy just can’t catch any type of break around Kuga.Border implementing memory control practices is a bit suspicious. Why go to such lengths to keep people in the dark about close encounters with Neighbors? Everyone hears the alarm when they appear and such, but why do they need to be memory wiped if they are so close to it? Could Border have a few ulterior motives and not be wholly peace loving human defenders and mavericks of justice? Fortunately, the memory manipulation seemed to be a bit weak as by that one physical encounter Black Usagi managed to at least regain some memory of what happened to his foot the previous day.Kuga’s past is intriguing and one in which needs more exploring. All we know is that he seems to be some parts Neighbor, has a Trigger ability coming from the other side, and lived in wartime conditions. The discussion of the Gate appearing in Mikado seemed to trigger some memory in him but the conversation turned to something else so he never did address it. Could he have something to do with that incident and Border? And speaking of Border, their Guidance Beacon to make the Gates appear in the immediate vicinity of their base is ingenious. Now if they could have the technology to address why they continue to appear and to stop it, that would solve many issues. Unfortunately, the Beacon seemed to have faults as two Marmods appeared out of the zone. Will Osamu show us his Trigger abilities or will Kuga have to save him again?The plot progression feels fast and mixing things up with the day to day school aspect, and bullies and classmates with the mystery of Neighbor and Border really makes this feel fresh and fun. Kuga’s faces never get old or feel overused and the slight comedy moments make it fun. Really likable start to this manga and we can only hope it stays popular to last a long time in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Characters in order of appearance

 * 1) Osamu Mikumo
 * 2) Yūma Kuga
 * 3) Ms. Mizunuma