We open this chapter exactly where the last one left off: with a whole lot of maimed and dying clowns screaming and thrashing around.

"We have been cut off from our Kishin-sama's madness?!" Moonbeam exclaims.

Kid grins like a happy little badass. "It's working!!"

"BEGIN COUNTERATTACK!!"

Meanwhile, Ox and Kirikou pose dramatically as a team, because shit just got real.

"Even though we stopped their infinite propagation ability, there's still so many of them," Kirikou says. "If we try to fight them one at a time, there'll never be an end to it."

"You're right," Ox says. So he lowers Harvar and charges straight at the clowns. "I'll cut a path straight to the center of the enemy army!! Kirikou, please follow right behind me!!"

One page later: "LIGHTNING KING DRILL!!"

And then because Ohkubo knows full well that we are all gonna be hella disappointed if we get through this chapter without seeing Kirikou punch something so hard that it explodes into a huge fireball, one more page later we get: "ARM FORCE EXTREME TWIN!!"

Which is the return of Kirikou's attack from chapter 34, and also a pun on Aphex Twin, who also performed under the stage name AFX, which happens to be the abbreviation of Kirikou's attack ("AFX*T") written in the same word bubble.

Man, that is like a goddamn pun ouroboros right there.

So, Ox and Kirikou have just smashed a shitload of clowns into dust, and they're standing around posing like badasses, when all of a sudden---

oh noes

oh my god you guys holy shit look behind you

OH NOES

and then holy shit there's a FUCKING GIANT WALL OF FIRE that suddenly reduces those things to carbon

and then Ox and Kirikou are just like, huh, a giant wall of fire.

Next page: Damn that is a sweet panel of Kim looking incredibly badass.

Aw, Ox is already blushing. "Kim!"

And then, SMACK.

"Why does your head look like a cueball again?!" Kim shouts at Ox. "You know I was willing to let you keep those stupid horns, but you said that you'd let the rest of your hair grow out too!!"

"This is how I show my fighting spirit... Before I even realized it, I..."

So like, his hair just fell off when he changed into his old uniform, or something? Man, Ox might very well be the only person in the world who shows his FIGHTING SPIRIT by spontaneously HAVING ALL OF HIS HAIR FALL OUT. Yikes.

Or maybe he just shaved his head while he was changing into his old outfit without even realizing what he was doing. I dunno.

Meanwhile, Kaguya is surrounded by screaming and dying clowns.

Look, it's another White Rabbit. "It would be most unfortunate were circumstances to continue like this," he says.

"Agreed."

Meanwhile, Eruka is perched on top of Tadpole Jackson, watching the battle unfold far, far below her. "Every clown has now been encased within a Soul Protect," she reports. "Soul Protection complete."

"We witches have completed our duty here," the fox witch says. "From this point onward, it's Shibusen's job to take care of the Kishin. We have no reason to stick with you through to the end."

Kid looks up at her. She glares back down at him.

Finally, Kid smiles at her. "You saved us! Thank you."

"I merely abided by the decision made by the Witch World," the fox witch says. (I refuse to use Ohkubo's own translation of "Witch Villager" here. Call it the Witch Society or the Witch World or whatever the heck you want, y'all. Because "Witch Villager" is all sorts of nope nope nope nope nope in my book.) "I still cannot accept you. Any of you," the fox witch continues. "We're withdrawing now." She looks down at Kid one last time. "But since we did help you this much, be sure to defeat that kishin."

"Leave it to us," Kid says.

Meanwhile, Free is tearing apart clowns left and right.

Eruka approaches Grandmother Witch nervously. "Grandmother Witch-sama... We won't be returning to the Witch World with you right now. We will stay behind here."

I'm not sure who all is included in Eruka's "we" (definitely Free, definitely Kim, maybe Risa and Arisa as well...?), but Grandmother Witch acknowledges Eruka nonetheless. "Nyamu."

Meanwhile, Maka and Black Star are kicking ass!

Meanwhile, Moonbeam is having a lightbulb moment. "We shall never stop their momentum as long as we continue to fight individually," he says. "Kaguya-domo."

"Sheesh," Kaguya says. "When you say it like that, it sounds like you want to become one with me or something."

And suddenly Maka just, like, comes running straight the fuck up to the White Rabbit that's standing right next to Kaguya and Moonbeam. "HEY, CLOWN!"

"This is no time for nitpicking Moonbeam's language!!" White Rabbit says. "They're coming!!"

"DIE!!" Maka screams, swinging at them.

Oh whoops, I forgot that those three can all fly. Apparently so did Maka.

SUDDENLY

CLOWN COMBINATION POWERS, ACTIVITATE!

lol oh my god Ohkubo what the fuck IS that thing?!

Somebody really should tell Ohkubo that crotches don't work that way.

But Maka is all like, okay, enough of this bullshit, she's not going to be one of those dumbasses who just stands around watching silently while her enemy undergoes a massive power-up. "FALL!!" she shouts at the flying clown-monster-thing, sending two of Soul's comandeered moonbeams toward it.

Welp, it looks like scissors cut paper, paper covers rock, and tentacles crush moonbeams.

"We won't let you get near Kishin-sama!!"

So Maka fights this thing for about a page and half when

SUDDENLY BLACK STAR!!

"Hey, it looks like I finally found one with some fighting spirit!!" Black Star says, grinning happily.

So he charges right at this thing

but then tentacles become

uh

a giant cannon

and

oh shit

"Black Star!!" Maka shouts.

Aw, come on, Maka. If there's one person who can definitely survive being shot out of a gigantic tentacle cannon, it's Black Star.

(please let this happen please let this happen please let this happen come on Ohkubo IT WILL BE HILARIOUS)

But Black Star's all like, nope, not gonna get shot out of a giant tentacle cannon today, watch this badass shit. "SHADOW STAR SECOND FORM 'MOONLIT NIGHT LEAF'! Give 'em hell, Tsubaki!!"

There's that big boom we've been waiting for.

And then Black Star whales on the clown-monster for two more full pages.

"To be able to inflict such damage with merely a kick..." Stein observes. "His kicks alone are as powerful as cannon blasts."

And in the next panel--

Oh goddammit Ohkubo, really?!

The clown-monster is completely wrecked and missing bloody chunks all over its body, EXCEPT FOR ITS BOOBS AND CAMELTOE, which of course are completely undamaged. "Aaaaah!!" the clown-monster wails. "They can see all the way inside this unladylike body~~"

Well, that's one way of putting it.

And now here comes Maka to finally put an end to this clown bullshit. "You're the last one, Clown!" she says, swinging her scythe. "DEMON HUNTER!!"

Down comes the scythe blade.

"I'm opening up--" the clown-monster screams as Maka literally slices it in half. "Kishin-samaaaaaaa forgive meeeeeeeeeee--"

Two pages, full black. Ba-dum.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of a very deep abyss, Akane is still having a terrible, terrible hair day. "It seems like there's no way to climb any lower than this," he says.

"So this is the kishin's hiding place..." Sid says.

Yeah, uh, that's kind of obvious given the next panel, which shows that Asura has a very distinct aesthetic that he prefers for his interior decorating.

(Well, SOMEBODY'S had an awful lot of time on his hands. I guess even madness gods cowering terrified at the bottom of deep dark moon-caves have the urge to swag up their hiding places. Huh.)

Meanwhile, Gopher and Noah are there too, standing around and doing nothing.

Meanwhile, inside the Book of Eibon! "We have waited long for this, haven't we, BREW," Index says. "The time has come to finally make the kishin ours."

Oh hey would you look at that, Ohkubo finally remembers that the BREW exists! Also, Index is apparently REALLY DETERMINED to remain a relevant plot point in this story.

Goddamit Ohkubo, stop trying to make Index happen. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

Meanwhile, back to Sid. "Can you sense his presence, Akane? The kishin is here."

Yeah, uh, y'all are also surrounding by gigantic signs that might as well say "HEY GUYS KISHIN ASURA LIVES HERE" I mean he did redecorate the moon-cave and all.

Two more pages, full black. Ba-dum.

Our heroes are standing on a barren moonscape, finally devoid of clowns. "Whaddya know," Kirikou says. "Accumulate enough dirt and you can make a mountain." (I know that sounds weird in translation, but it's actually an old Japanese saying that's roughly the equivalent of the English proverb "many a little makes a mickle.")

"Yes, but... All we did was finish what they started," Ox says.

"They" apparently refers to Stein and Spirit and the other adults. "That was damn hard," Spirit says, "but at least now we've opened up a pathway for our survival..."

Dramatic wind blowing! "Maka... Can you feel that?" Kid asks.

"This feeling... I've felt it before." Maka stares intensely at the moon's gigantic moon-nonstrils.

Note: This panel would be a lot more dramatic if Maka weren't staring intensely at a pair of gigantic moon-nostrils.

"It's Kishin Asura," Maka says. "And Crona."

Oh look.

There's Crona.

Two more pages, full black. Ba-dum.

And then two more pages: eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes

And then two more pages: EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES EYES

BA-DUM.

Asura.

And with THAT image, this month's chapter comes to an end.

So for those of you keeping track at home, eighteen pages in this month's chapter contained no dialogue at all. And of those eighteen pages, eight of them were nothing but black ink. And yet I can't begrudge Ohkubo for barely drawing a full chapter this month because goddamn were those black pages used effectively and HOLY SHIT was that an awesome way to do the build-up to Asura's appearance. DRAMATIC BUILDUPS: THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.

Say what you will about Ohkubo, but the man sure as hell knows how to use blank pages effectively.

PS: This month's Gangan mobile goodies are Maka icons for your phone!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

YES ASURA FINALLY REAPPEARS AGAIN AND IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT 78 CHAPTERS

I'm glad Ohkubo still has that special ability to effectively use blank pages and panels to emphasize the horror mood and tension. He used it effectively for the first clown encounter and before BJ's murder and I'm so glad he used the same buildup for Asura cause it just fits SO WELL. Job well done, Ohkubo.

Also thank goodness the clowns battles are finally over. Any more of them and I would have gone insane.

Thank you for the recap and translation!

You're welcome!

And yes I am so fucking happy that the damn clown battles are FINALLY DONE. Hopefully now we can move on with the story.

YAY!

Ox and Kirikou being badass! Maka being genre savvy! Black*Star being Black*Star! Clowns being dead! Asura and Crona being there!

eeee

"CLOWNS BEING DEAD" is the best part as far as I'm concerned! FINALLY.

THIS THIS IS WHY I STICK WITH THE SERIES. I agree 100000%, he does know how to do a dramatic buildup. And FINALLY ALL THE CLOWNS ARE GONE! With awesomeness from the shibusen kids! Even not seeing it I can tell the battle was just epic! (thanks witches!)

I jinxed it, didn't I? I said it was coming to the end, and everyone forgot about team fail and index, and now Ohkubo is determined to bring it back. I should have never said anything, shouldn't I? *is shot again*

PS- I totally understand the not using Ohkubo's grammar thing. My best friend is an english major and I (force her) ask her to beta fanfiction for me, and if I ever wrote a sentance like that, she would cry. And it's awful- the sound of an english major crying. Thanks for not making the englsih majors out there cry.

Yeah, I feel kind of bad being all like "okay yes I know that this is the official English term as decided by the author himself but FUCK IT it's bad Engrish so I'm not going to use it." But, uh, I'm doing that anyway. So yeah.

(And yes, it's chapters like this that are the reason why I still stick with the series, too!)

SO INTENESE.

Oh gosh, and now that Asura and Crona finally showed up... I can't. All the possibilities! I think Crona kills kishin, but it could be the other way around! Maybe Maka deals with Crona alone, and the rest of Spartoi deals w/ the kishin? Maybe Crona doesn't just kill Asura, but becomes the next kishin too? Orrrr maybe Crona saves Maka from the kishin heroically, dying in the process (like in the anime when they fought Medusa, but dying DYING)?

Now that the clowns are out, everything seems a whole lot more interesting!!

Also, I'd like to say "Index, GTFO" but after all this time... I kinda hope Ohkubo uses him to drag on the story just to see my beloved characters a couple more years Q_Q

Anyway, thank you so much for the recap, for explaining all those puns in one, and sorry for this extra long comment! But I'm just so exited!
Oh, and high five for knowing when Ohkubo is doing something RIGHT! Ten black pages aren't a big deal when something is, seriously, SO INTENSE.

Now that the clowns are out, everything seems a whole lot more interesting!!

Understatement of the year, man. :) And I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for the recap! it was informative and hilarious as usual!
I am SO GLAD the clown fights are over, finally we can focus on the real villains.

You're welcome, thank you, and I totally agree!

Oooooohohoo! This is getting intense.

Thanks so much for the translation! ^^

You're welcome! ^__^

Sounds like we got a chapter that's moving things along. It's been a while! Thanks so much for the recap and the fabulous commentary!

You're very welcome, and thank you!

I know right?! It's been forever since we finally got a chapter in which plot points were actually resolved!

Now if we could get a ban on expositional dialogue to go with that plot line evolution, I'd be lacing up my happy shoes!

So, that boob clown is finally dead. Some part of me feels dirty saying that I'm relieved someone is dead.

LET'S DANCE!

It's okay, I'm glad she's gone too. She was nothing but a one-note joke, and after the joke gets dragged on for over a year's worth of chapters I think it's safe to say that we've all gotten pretty sick of it by now.

Thank you so much for translating this the clowns are dead we got to see Crona and the others eeeee. You know when you said CLOWN COMBINATION POWERS, ACTIVITATE I was like ha ha Ohkubo actually did it for a month I've been thinking that he might combine the clowns into some kind of super ultra mega clown lol. And I love how Ohkubo did the pages with the eyes very avant garde. When I got to the first blank page I listened to I Am The Poison from Nurse With Wound (it fits). Tezca Tlipoca mentioned a four way fight to the kishin their being crona,index, the DWMA and Arachne which Giriko foreshadowed she survived. Asura has ligament reasons to be afraid now. Theirs so many possibility's cant wait for the next chapter. Thank you again!

Soul Eater Chapter 102: Bury my heart in the nose of the moon.

BA-DUM.

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