The Eastern Edge

Right off the bat (ehem), I must admit that I have no clue what's going on with Billy Bat anymore. I tried following it, and even aspired to providing commentary and historical context on this blog, but the story is going off in more directions than pedestrians crossing the Shibuya scramble, and I just don't have the patience for Urasawa's notoriously irregular schedule. As a serial, Billy Bat is a disaster so far. In fact, I'm beginning to worry that the way Urasawa stumbled across the finish line with 20th Century Boys has carried over into Billy Bat. I hope I'm wrong but I'm worried.

However, whether Urasawa's grand plan will begin to reveal itself and make me ashamed for ever doubting him, or if I'm in for the biggest let down since Jodie Foster's father was at the end of the wormhole in Contact, remains to be seen. I still hold out hope and will see how it goes as the tankobon come out.

Even though I've long since abandoned the serial, every so often Billy Bat appears with Vagabond in Morning and I have a quick look at what's going on. Well, today is Thursday and there is a Vagabond episode this week, so that means I bought Weekly Morning. This week's issue has the latest Billy Bat, which, of course, I didn't read because the episodes on their own now make about as much sense as a Japanese government policy speech. But skimming through it was worthwhile because of this gem on the last page;

Genius!

However good or bad Billy Bat ends up becoming, there's no doubt that Urasawa will still have his moments!