March 10th, 2015 
AstroNerdBoy ユーキューホルダー! Manga Review
UQ Holder Chapter 72
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Santa and Kuroumaru surge to attack Hoodie, but she avoids them, moving past them to attack Kirie. To Hoodie’s surprise, Kirie avoids all of Hoodie’s attacks. Santa observes that Kirie’s eyes are those of a gamer who stayed up all night trying to beat hard game on a difficult level.
Kirie continues to avoid Hoodie’s attacks, then gives Santa the signal to attack. Santa blasts Hoodie away to where Kuroumaru is waiting. However, Hoodie quickly recovers and defends against the attack. Kuroumaru uses a Shin Raikouken finishing attack from the Shinmei(ryuu) school. However, Hoodie appears untouched by this attack and decides to end the fight, saying she’ll consider this her way of saying hello, then she disappears.
Touta wakes up at the home he stayed at with Yukihime. He looks for Yukihime before finding her outside under an umbrella being held by a man, about to get into a sedan. She tells him that he was just a substitute for the man she loved, then gets into the car. The man and car driver turns out to be Fate, who flies off.
Touta’s friends from school arrive, but they leave him because he’s a monster.
Touta is about to give pursuit, but he’s grabbed by Hoodie, who accused Touta of just being a monster who won’t die.
Touta wakes to see Kuroumaru looking at him. Kuroumaru explains that they are in Afro-san’s attic and that Touta’s injuries are pretty severe, thanks to whatever Hoodie did to him. Kirie and Santa come in, causing Touta to realize they saved him. He then apologizes for them not seeing him at his best.
Thoughts/Review:
Well, I didn’t get my wish to see Hoodie beat the snot out of Kirie, Kuroumaru, and Santa. However, considering Kirie is in the group, that’s not unexpected.
Santa’s remarks on Kirie’s eyes being like a gamer who’s been playing a very hard game all night long implies that Kirie has likely gone through a ton of resets in order to memorize Hoodie’s moves so as to avoid them.
Further to that, I note Kirie has a flame at her finger. I wonder if she’s doing instant resets on the spot, thereby not having to repeat quite so much. I may be reading too much into that though.
I do find it interesting that while Santa has an effect on Hoodie, Kuroumaru’s massive attack failed. I don’t remember if Asuna’s magic cancel ability also applied to techniques or not. However, Hoodie may have the ability to cancel techniques like Kuroumaru’s, but not psionic attacks like Santa has.
So why did Hoodie leave? Stalemate. Having failed to take out Kirie, whom Hoodie rightly saw as the weakest link, Hoodie used discretion and simply exited the field for a time to gather more info and plan her next attack.
Touta’s nightmare, combined with his other recent experiences, will hopefully end his airheaded stupidity about blindly doing whatever just because he’s the immortal Touta who can master anything (save magic) on a whim. I suspect he’ll have some recovery that needs to be done before he can do anything else.
Assuming that’s the case, I’d love for Akamatsu-sensei to do some character work here. Kuroumaru could have a flashback story to tell Touta so that Touta could better understand Kuroumaru and relate it to his own situation. Ditto Kirie possibly. I doubt I get my wish since Akamatsu-sensei is always pretty loathe to go too deep into character backgrounds and such in order to allow him plenty of wiggle room for future stories.
I know a lot of you are wanting this to go to the tournament, but at the moment, I don’t see how that happens. Although Hoodie is not “chaotic evil” (to borrow D&D alignment classification), as demonstrated by waiting to attack Touta when he was alone and by her setting up a barrier to keep others out (which apparently didn’t work on Kuroumaru and company), she still wants Touta’s hide. In my mind, one doesn’t say, “Hmmmm. This crazy bitch is out to kill me. I think I’ll go fight in a tournament now and not worry about her. Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
Of course, I could be wrong about this. The logic could follow Hoodie possibly being lawful evil, thus not wanting to harm innocent folks, thus Touta could get into the tournament and win. I think Hoodie is observing them even now, and is going to look for that moment to hit Touta when he’s alone again, or at the very least, away from his friends and allies.
In the end, this was a pretty enjoyable and interesting chapter. We’ll see what happens next.
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[…] Here is some SPOILER info for the upcoming UQ Holder chapter 72, courtesy of 2ch. (My review of UQ Holder chapter 72 should come out Wednesday.) […]
I presume Hoodie will enter the tournament, I also assume that the Negi who entered the tournament is a clone too.
I found Touta’s nightmare about Eva and Fate to be really weird, I understand that he feels like Fate is stealing her from him, this is probably the longest he’s been separated from her, but it was weirdly represented.
I hope to see Kuroumaru and Santa enter the preliminaries, maybe even Kirie as a support-type.
I hope Ray makes magic apps for Santa and Kuroumaru, I feel like that’s why Akamatsu introduced him, also it would be a good advertising opportunity for him since we know they’ll make it far into the tournament.
Also, I hope to see Karin and maybe Ikkuu, especially Karin. If Eva is entering the tournament then she’ll want to be near her and I believe Ikkuu won’t want to be kept out of the loop so he may enter too.
Maybe her clothes is the reason why kuromaru could not harm her.
About the clone thing . It is only now but i think akamatsu will later have a new truth about touta. Maybey is touta and hoody the secret children of negi or touta is negis brother
Considering Touta is four years old I think it’s safe to say he’s a clone, but I do think there’s going to be something special about him compared to the other clones, probably whatever is making the magic apps explode.
I think that “something special” is that Touta has an anti-mana ability, whereby he cancels mana with explosive results. That would make him far more dangerous than Asuna ever was.
Anything is possible at this point, but considering Hoodie had some form of magic cancel to try to kill Touta, one suspects that Hoodie was using that to cancel Kuroumaru’s attack.
To what end? If her goal is to kill Touta, entering the tournament doesn’t further that goal. If anything, it exposes her to Touta and his friends, allowing them to study her and find a weakness to defeat her.
The whole dream is symbolic of Touta feeling alone and isolated. To me, it represents him having to come to terms with the reality of his current situation rather than the happy-go-lucky approach he’s been involved with to date, whereby he denied the reality of things.
Maybe. However, Afro may have been introduced to further explore Touta’s anti-mana element.
I suppose it doesn’t make sense for Hoodie to enter the tournament :p
But the tournament is a year away so we may get new developments before then
Tournaments are a pretty common shonen trope and Akamatsu does them well, Negima’s Mahora tournament was really well done, so I’m looking forward to it.
It’d be really interesting if someone from Kuroumaru’s past appeared in the tournament, we know Kuroumaru was experimented on so I’d like to explore that.
Or maybe Kirie, we know she’s pretty old and wealthy, it’d be nice to explore that too.
We definitely will be exploring Karin’s backstory, like the XIII tattoo, but I feel like that’s a while away.
A bit off topic, Astro, have you considered reviewing Seven Deadly Sins(Nanatsu no Taizai) while I was reading it, it felt like a series you’d like.
It doesn’t make sense to me, but apparently, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
For me, I’m over tournaments. I had no problem with the Mahora Tournament, and the one on the Magic World took a secondary place to Negi training with Jack, so I was OK with that. However, the thought of another tournament where Touta can rise above just wearies me. It isn’t interesting to me, even though I know it is a shounen cliche.
I’ll put it on my (long) list of titles to check out. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
That’s an interesting view. It looks like not only Kirie has save-load function, but she also has save state-load state.
Quick save/quick load. 😉 But yeah, she did appear to have something along those lines.
beautiful chapter!
Astro: Myself astro, I think also, this story will bring Tota and Kuromaru. After all kuro went through almost exactly the same psychological phases than Tota, when he became immortal, and he really was rejected by his clan! He will surely help Tota, to recover psychologically and overcome his shock.
Not to mention that now that he knows Tota is in the same situation as him and goes through the same trauma, he will surely cease to feel inferior in relation to him or doubt his own potential (I recall that in “super-zombie mode” he surpassed widely Tota, in strength and speed!) and finally gain confidence in him, perhaps even protect Tota a time. ^^
For the tournament, I do not see it as being impaired, firstly because it is in 1 year and other hand because I see Tota (after a malaise phase of course) bounce (with help of Kuromaru?) and want to prove his existence by doing what he does best: fight.
Dominic: I have already said, but I would find it absurd that finally making Tota is the true son of Negi after that, especially taking into account all the elements that we had before, which proved that he was a clone in began with her actual age, 4 years). The only interest would have to satisfy the idolaters of the 3-A desperate to take that one of them is the Negi children’s mother, and cryed learning sterility of Negi. Except that, not only it is much more logical with respect to its immortality (the fact that he continues to age a certain time is just a THEORY launched by Albireo, theory I personally have always found doubtful) but also nothing prevents him from marrying still a member of the 3-A or even, to have “carnal relationships” (huh Over-Master ?^^), he prevents ONLY to have children by a naturaly way.
Finally, Akamatsu had the courage to do as he pleased and do not blindly obey his fans. It would disappoint me a little bit if he came back (but I will always love UQ-holder huh? I specify lol)
A brother of Negi? That could work and be interresting but firstly again the date of birth does not stick (and even if Tota had actually turned 14 the brother theory would be always absurd, Negi has over 65 years! And even if Nagi seems having preserved his youth due to the influence that, in this timeline, the life-maker has apparently managed to kept him for 65 years, I can not see a lifemakerised Nagi, finding the time to do an illegitimate son. And even if Tota was born naturally, he was born seven years after the lifemaker left the body of Nagi, but have sealed Nagi and Negi on Mars before returning to his first and real body. And again I do not see Nagi to have a child in her situation alone with his son and the most evil immortal mage, theire true nemesis lol.
Besides I like this theme of the clone, it still allows the protagonniste a story that proves to be a clone of experiencing interesting psychological trensformations and ask real existential questions. To remember this is the same kind of metamorphosis has suffered Luke Fabre in “Tales of Abyss”.
And then all the explanation that justifies the possession of the magia-erebea by Tota, falls overboard if he is not a clone of Negi.
After maybe Tota is a clone created a very special way and that there is a bigger secret behind his birth. It is very possible.^^
Yes it is a nice turn but we know from negima a way to stretch time. I do not dislike the clonetheory but i will say there are hundrets of posibilitys
The only problem is that Akamatsu-sensei is often loathe to do a lot of background material to flesh out the character. We still know very little about Eva. We learned very little about Asuna other than her lineage. (And I was so hoping that after Fate captured her, we’d get to see the teen Asuna sit and have a talk with the child Asuna, where the teen Asuna would see more stuff from her forgotten past, but which allows her to come to terms with that past and explain why she was able to not succumb to it.) There’s a whole lot about Negi’s past that we never learned. I could go on and on and on.
So while I’d love to see Kuroumaru’s past explored by a chat with Touta, I can’t see Akamatsu-sensei going down that route. I would LOVE to be wrong here.
OK, so they have one year to deal with Hoodie and hope nothing else comes up in terms of UQ Holder business that they need to take care of.
It has been the largest beating that Touta has received in a fight until now lol
I think that the hooded can be a clone of another person, I think that she can’t use the Magia Erebea because she had told something about her Magia Erebea, by example, she can have the control about it 100% or something
I don’t know the reason about Evangeline “abandon” him knowing that Touta is in danger, besides she should know that he isn’t going to stay in UQ Holder a year
It would have been better if she had told him the truth from the beginning because now he can think that the hooded is right about “He never will be anything” or “He never been anything”
Karin must be waiting Evangeline in UQ Holder, Fate and Evangeline must have gone to register to the tournament at the other end of the world because they have not yet arrived XD
And Touta doesn’t understand either, which is why he had to face that in his dream.
Knowing Eva, she may have been the one to encourage Santa, Kirie, and Kuroumaru to help Touta while she stands to the side and watches what he does. She may well be seeing if the chick she rescued can fly on its own, and if it can’t, well that’s life.
At the end, Do I see Touta’s harem, which happens to be one male, one female, and one in the middle! Lots of variations! XD
On your question, despite the name, Magic Cancel also worked on Ki which is what techs Shinmeiryuu uses. Her sword could block Rakan Ki attacks, and when Godel first met Negi and they start a fight in the streets of Ostia, Godel uses a Shinmeirtuu attack on fake Asuna (Shiori). He is surprised it even hit her, as he was expecting it to be cancelled.
I thought that attack worked because Shiori didn’t manage to copy Asuna’s ability?
That’s what he’s saying. If the real Asuna had been there, Godel’s attack would have failed.
*lol* That does seem to be the case, though there could be a second female in there. 😉
Thanks for the reminder about Godel. I’d forgotten about that confrontation and his surprise.
It was a real treat to see the True thunderlight (Raikouken), Maybe kuro being sent to kill Eva was more of a gambit than a suicide mission(to be generous).
After all this was the move that setsuna used to finish her fight with Eva, it’s the second strongest shinmei-ryu tech after Tsukiyomi’s Isshun Sengeki: Nitou Kokutou Samidaregiri, although it may just be a corrupted shinmei Tech.
Kuroumaru certainly has been well trained, but against Eva, Kuroumaru would not have succeeded. I’m not sure how Touta skunked Kuroumaru so easily other than Akamatsu-sensei making him overpowered, but for me, that event alone says Kuroumaru had no chance.
On a very interesting art tidbit, becuase absolutely random speculation holds more water in this series than any other. That white haired/hallowed Touta could be Touta’s Raiten Taisou:Magia Erebea aramourment design.
At what level do you think Touta and Kuroumaru currently are compared to Negi and Setsuna?
Touta is below Negi, only because (1) he doesn’t have the battle experience and (2) he can’t cast spells.
Kuroumaru is at least at the level of Setsuna, but I suspect that since Setsuna was officially still in training and Kuroumaru was not, Kuroumaru is stronger but lacks confidence.
You know, i was thinking abut the anti-magic thing. Isn’t that ability of Asuna? Technically Touta’s assumed great Aunt? That was her ability and she was known (in her school days with memory block) be a bit of a baka ranger. Certainly pegs Touta as relative. I think he really is a clone of some kind, i always though that having read the entire series couple of times. (I have free time…) She properly be aunt via clone is considered to be a “Son” if he has more than one parent. Worse he human engineered improved version of Negi meant for fighting. Hoodie maybe a alternate version of Negi, a clone sister perhaps or worse actual descendant of Asuna, but i don’t think she is.
Asuna had magic-cancel/nullification. Magical attacks targeted at her could be nullified by her. However, she wasn’t 100% magic cancelling, as ingested magic could still affect her, Shiori was able to knock her out, and Negi could magically teleport her (and cause her breasts to enlarge).
Touta’s “ability” appears to be anti-mana, the energy used to cast spells, so I don’t think Asuna comes into the picture.
I think the way round having all this plot and then still having a girl from 3-A win Negi, is to have Negi be waiting for Asuna to come out of the seal, and their little whispered convo at the end of Negima implying it’s not her would’ve been a deflection to save her skin. Then after he’s rescued, his plot from Negima will probably tie up right at the end of UQH.
Of course, they’d have to toss the 100 years sealed Asuna from the happy timeline back over to the 130 years sealed timeline, which is pretty harsh, but they can’t really have two Asunas running around. As long as she doesn’t do an Arika.
I wonder if Magic Cancel is particularly dangerous for Kuroumaru? He’s a magical being, though they’ve clearly found some ‘solid body’ way round that. It would complicate his being able to help Touta if Hoodie’s sword can straight up erase him. I can’t remember if Asuna used MC in combat in Mundus Magicus – her accidentally killing people with it might have been an extra reason to sideline her for that whole plot.
And being able to replicate Magic Cancel weapons en masse would definitely lead in to an awful war on Mars, since this is the Mars War of Independence route, methinks? Does Hoodie need royal genes spliced in to use it? (I think of her as imouto-chan haha)
Angst ahoy!
I don’t think any magic canceling or anti-mana abilities will harm Kuroumaru. Hoodie’s replica sword wouldn’t expel Kuroumaru because even though Kuroumaru is youkai, Kuroumaru isn’t a summoned entity. I don’t think Kuroumaru is from the Magic World either.
She did from the moment they showed up. At the gateport, she used her ability to prevent those giant pillar things from crushing some of the party. Later, she used her abilities to nullify the anti-army trap set for Setsuna and Kaede. She never used her abilities to remove people except when plugged into Fate’s “machine.”
Thanks for the clarification. I do think Kuroumaru is from Mundus Magicus though, because he’s demihuman and his profile Santa hacked said he’s from Tougen, Inverse Mars, same thing right? Though I haven’t considered the terraforming…
We’ll find out in 5 years or so ^_^
You are right about Kuroumaru’s birthplace. That doesn’t mean Kuroumaru is an illusion. Kuroumaru’s tribe may have well originated on Earth or they might be otherwise “real” since they are youkai (as I understand it).