Mission: Yozakura Family

I think it's pretty interesting to see how far Taiyo has come. He just casually stops a chonk of falling debris twice his size with one hand and can reassure scared people that they're going to be alright in the middle of a collapsing base.

Compare that to the Taiyo of five years ago who's actively being alarmed by the spy weirdness and runs away from Kenzi's parents.

Yeah, usually when a Shonen manga protagonist becomes a dad and an established badass who is a legend in-universe, it doesn't happen until the sequel manga starring Spin-Offspring.

The material post Time Skip almost feels like a whole new manga.

Edited by M84 on Jun 6th 2023 at 12:28:01 AM

Also, we finally have a first look at Ai post time-skip, and she is still smol.

Oh hey, there's Ai! Still little in the way of actual interactions, but at least we've acknowledged that she and the maid are still in the story.

To steer the conversation away from just short reactions to the manga, what do you think it does well and doesn't do well? And what do you think of its So Okay, It's Average reception?

Edited by reppuzan on Jun 6th 2023 at 6:51:17 AM

That is mostly based on people reading the early chpaters, since this series took a little bit to find its footing. Similarly to how people could disregard The Dnager of my Heart due to the protagonist being "creepy" at the start, I feel people didn't pay much attention to this series, since the start was more comedic, and it wasn't until later that the action elements also became a draw.

At least, that's what I think other people thought about the series early on, since by the point I started reading it, it was already past that point, and I also really love the comedy here, so it wasn't really a problem for me.

This feels like a very "mid" manga that has lasted this long because it's competent at what it does, if not amazing. It's never really gotten the level of attention the likes of Chainsaw Man does, but it's held in there nonetheless. Hell, it's outlasted much more notable manga series that were eventually culled in the grinder of SJ.

And I do have to give credit to the dramatic shift in characters after the timeskip. I always thought we were in the final arc, but now it looks like it's just the beginning of part 2.

Alpha and Hifumi decide to help their creepy uncle track down Nanao. They almost immediately regret it.

Doesn't this feel a bit early for field trips, though? I feel like the twins have just started to get used to life in school.

The pacing does seem a little speedrunny, but then they need to check in with all the uncles and aunts and I guess with Shion, Kengo and Futaba they already got as much as they can out of the school setting, narratively speaking.

New chapter: Nice to see Kyoichiro's usual "creepy uncle" stick give way to some genuinely heartwarming moments thanks to some good advice from his beloved sister.

...Only to make a sudden 180 at the end, rocket straight past creepy and right into fucking terrifying.

Seriously, I think the scariest thing is Kyoichiro massacred all those bounty hunters because he was in a good mood — a great mood, even. He acted like he was doing them all a favor as he reduced them to giblets.

I think this is the first time we've seen a Yozakura kill someone.

Sure, it's been alluded to in the past, but this is the first it's been on screen.

It just goes to show how severe Kyoichiro's protective instinct is and how the Yozakuras have needed to defend themselves from the vilest members of the criminal underworld.

In other news, I really liked this chapter. It truly shows all sides of Kyoichiro's personality. He's a Creepy Uncle, sure, but his weirdness is rooted in sincere and profound affection for his newest family members. He loves Alpha and Hifumi and is incredibly supportive of them in general, to the point of wanting to be hovering over them at all times (not unlike how he was with Mutsumi at the start of the story).

Then the moment the twins are in danger, the switch flips and Kyoichiro is back to being terrifying. His wrath here is rooted not in pettiness like he is with Taiyo, but boiling rage that anyone would dare come after his niece and nephew. And it's made creepy because of how eerily calm he is when we've seen him pissed at those who've hurt his family.

And that Tranquil Fury and Dissonant Serenity is punctuated by massacring the bounty hunters in front of him with barely a thought.

The Mood Whiplash just works for his character.

Edited by reppuzan on Jul 24th 2023 at 6:29:32 AM

Finally, Alpha pointed out that the big sister thing doesn't make sense because they're the same age! I keep seeing twins in anime being categorized as older/younger based on who came out first, and it's so weird to me since it's only a difference of a few minutes. Are there any actual twins — or even friends of twins — that can tell me if this is a real thing?

I mean, it's basically irrelevant. But kids are kids and siblings always love having something the one-up each other.

It's a real thing, but it only ever comes up when one twin — usually the older — is being an ass.

Last two chapters: The twins make up, Kyoichiro learns how to appeal to them (don't try so hard, just be honest), and the RPG section of the family retrieval arc is over.

Newest chapter: Alpha and Hifumi are all growed up! ...Thanks to drugs. I like the twins interactions here:

Alpha: You know we only look grown up right now. The actual future Hifumi will probably be even more of a crazy psycho-bitch than she is now.

Hifumi:...Yeah, that's a good point.

And so Taiyo's status as the Only Sane Man comes in handy when he's the only one mature enough to not have any dirty secrets in the past five years to be blackmailed with.

Oh hey, character voice trailers are dropping.

Taiyo's VA is Reiji Kawashira, the OG VA from the voiced comic, rather than Natsuki Hanae, who voiced him in the Special Drama.

Including two of his family members starting love cults behind everyone's back. He's actually flattered that his wife started one focused on him, because he is a Top-Tier Anime Husbando.

Even his own kids have developed very quirky personalities despite only being four. Heck, even the rest of the Yozakuras think there's something odd about the twins.

I like how Alpha covers Hifumi's eyes because he doesn't want her getting any ideas.

Edited by Dracoblade on Sep 24th 2023 at 9:26:01 AM

The author has done a good job of preventing the twins from being Kiddie Kids, with their intelligence and maturity being explained by the Super-Intelligence that comes from Yozakura Superpowerful Genetics.

Though even by Yozakura standards they are prodigies. Being able to walk and talk at a month old is extraordinary even for a Yozakura, as is (in Alpha's case) being able to remember stuff that happened right after he was born.

Not to mention that they're both fluent in French to the point that they can navigate Paris entirely on their own without any aid from Kyoichiro. Alpha can also compete with Shion to an extent despite the vast gulf in experience and both twins alarm Kyoichiro and Nanao with their firepower when working together.

I'm surprised at what Shion was blackmailed with, and not the fact that she went on a date with a 13-year-old when she was 19-20.

Hey, looking at the last page of the latest chapter, it seems some characters will make their reapperance at the wedding: Headband invisble boy, the woman that is Kyochiro's friend and leader of a group (I really have problems remembering right now), the guy from the same organization that was a bit of a rival to Taiyo for, like, 2 chapters, mini-grandma from the user-submitted spies chapter (plus a couple of other spies from that chapter), and more.