It is not often that we get a Choujin X chapter every week. So it definitely calls for a celebration when Ishida blesses us with three of them.
Just like the previous one, Choujin X chapter 30.2 released within one week of its predecessor.
Chapter 30 ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, with Azuma too going into a chaos state in a bid to defeat Yubiko. However, the last panel showed Hume searching for Tokio, and that’s what Choujin X chapter 30.2 focuses on.
This was majorly a battle oriented chapter, with Ishida’s trademark unconventional paneling and art.
The cat and mouse game:
Tokio and Hume’s cat and mouse game takes up a major chunk of the latest chapter.
Tokio’s plan to buy time seemed to be working fine till chapter 29, as he evaded and frustrated Hume. But come chapter 30.2 his actions seemed futile, knowing that Kagomura ran into his own share of troubles and never made it to Azuma.
From what I have seen before in Choujin X, Tokio does come up interesting ideas to outsmart his opponents, but he doesn’t always succeed in executing them, not till the end.
This too was one of those instances.
If Azuma and Yubiko were the ones to go berserk in the previous chapter, it was Hume who blows his top in Choujin X chapter 30.2.
And judging by the way Hume beat Tokio to a pulp, there’s quite a difference in power between a pro choujin and a trainee. Our scaredy vulture stood no chance.
I loved the art where Hume loses it and attacks Tokio headlong. It perfectly portrays chaos and craziness of that situation.
I am also a bit concerned about the number of times Tokio has found himself on the brink of death. If this continues, he might be well on his way to lose sanity and humanity, being more of a Hume than a Sandek.
It’s interesting to see that Tokio was still able to value the life of others over his even in the face of sure death, thanks to Hume brutal bashing. But this statement only brings Hume back to his senses, and we come to know the real reason why he is searching for the beast choujin.
This reveal in chapter 30.2 totally changes the dynamic of how I interpreted Hume. Mother, and in extension Hume, seem to be working to prevent a large scale catastrophe from happening in Yamato. And though his methods are questionable, Hume MIGHT be working towards the greater good here, or so he believes.
I also happened to string together a couple of details about Hume’s ‘mother’, and I will be writing a separate post to piece together her identity.
A smokey reunion:
When Tokio is at the end of his rope, a savior enters again. No points for guessing, because….. it’s Ely Otta. Again.
Tokio being fished out by Ely, whenever he finds himself in a spot, has become a pattern in Choujin X. She is Tokio’s prince charming. Being carried like a princess all but proves my point.
But, more on Tokio and Ely in the next section of the analysis. Now, we focus on the other reunion that happened in Choujin X chapter 30.2.
After having evaded Chandra Hume in chapter 2, Ely comes face to face with the person who turned her life upside down. It’s evident that Ely has not forgiven Hume for what he has done, and it calls for an interesting matchup.
In her eyes, Hume is a turd. Everything is a poop reference with Ely. Even the new attacks she come up with in chapter 27 were ‘turdy’.
In his eyes, she’s his “darling successor”. Really?
Ishida has dropped hints at Hume not being a pure evil character. He could have been seriously considering taking Ely under his wing. That raises a lot of questions about Hume’s faction and their goals.
Why does he need a successor? To continue doing mother’s bidding? Or just to pass on his powers to someone?
However, the only thing Hume is concerned about right now is ‘abducting’ the beast and taking him to mother.
Ulterior motives aside, the clash between Ely and Hume will be an interesting one.
With a half-dead Tokio by her side, does she stand a chance against a deranged ball of smoke? Probably not. However, this could also call for a berserker moment of Ely.
Though I think she is someone who would not lose her head so easily, the expression on her face when she barges into Hume makes me a little uneasy on that part too.
Personally, I am looking forward to more of a hilarious showdown between to them, similar to what we saw in chapter 2.
It is also interesting to note that both Tokio and Ely are done giving Hume the chase, and ready to face him in a proper fight finally!
Figuring things out on our own:
“We gotta figure things on our own, yeah?”
This might just be a small dialogue that Ely tells Tokio in Choujin X chapter 30.2, but it reverberates with what Tokio’s character arc is going through at the moment.
He did manage to break free of his reverence for Azuma, but his goals were still tied to the latter in the end.
If ever a day comes where Azuma goes berserk again, Tokio wanted to be strong enough to stop him. This is what drives him currently. But, as Kagomura points out in chapter 28, he is still living his life shackled to Azuma, and that is limiting.
It is quite evident that Tokio has to figure out something that motivates him and gets him going. Find a reason that will make him give his all.
Ishida said in an interview he wants to dig deep into why his characters wanted to fight and use their abilities, and he seems to be doing that perfectly.
The usually confused Tokio, is able to keep a calm head whenever Ely is around. I don’t know if Ishida is aiming for a potential romance between these two, but I believe Tokio is going to revisit this theme of having to figure things out on his own a lot more in the future.
He is learning to give his all, even if it is conjunction with others, Ely and Azuma that is, at the moment, but all of this will eventually help him figure out something on his own.
Tokio is someone who cares about the people around him, so I wouldn’t be surprised if chooses a goal that aligns with this side of his character. That would also be similar to the goal that Sandek has, and would propel Tokio to be a proper keeper in earnest.
What are your thoughts about Choujin X chapter 30.2? Did you find any interesting tidbits in the chapter? Let me know them in the comments below!