Batuque - Vol. 18 Ch. 157 - Real Freedom

[UnderworldBlues]

ending was a bit rushed overall but Toshio managed to tie everything nicely, this has been a great ride. Thanks for translating this series.
I'm really gonna miss Tetsuman.

 

[ThatGuy]

Does this mean we can have Usogui 2 now?

 

[Zhou]

Thanks for all the translations. I do agree that the home stretch was rushed.

 

[Doomroar]

Well you know an axe is an axe there's worse ways to end a series, and he can always make an omake for the final volume showing us what BJ has been up to after facing the boss, I think he could have spent some pages in that instead of that silly fight in the church

I agree with the other comments Usogui was way better

I like it, but WHY did Jyungo suddenly go to Brazil?
haha oh well
thank you team duwang for scanlating this great manga!

Since Jyungo became a mafioso people are assuming that he became the leader of Malandrage Kartel and ended up absorbing both Lanca and Bandeira (why is he now baiting Ichi to go after him in Brazil, despite leaving her side and becoming a mega mafioso? No idea, maybe he is still running away and Ichiri's mom is mayi g cupid? Meh)

But none of that matters because we know that in Usogui Baku will become the boss of MK

So anyway that's the excuse for why Machado could be in Brazil, and we can then just assume that BJ and the boss died offscreen, and ignore the whole subplot with Ichiri's dad since they never meet, the guy was a dead beat, and is mostly a plot device than a character

After writing this I am not even sure I want an omake, 10 extra pages wont change much, I guess the most cost efficient way to actually wrap things up would be to have Ichiri talk with her mom, and call it a day, she does some tourism in Brazil then goes back to Japan to live her life

 

[danbellucci]

I liked Batuque a lot more.
Usogui felt kind of soulless. The thing that felt weird every time you finished an arc and someone died was when you realised that the MC was risking the lives of his friends and causing his friends to be killed for no reason other than because he wanted to feel the thrill of gambling.
He has basically no reason to want to be the head of the organisation beyond that, and for that reason he causes the person who has been his bodyguard for 10 years to die.
And then even all the referees start trying to kill each other and inflicting maiming injuries on each other just because they want to be able to watch the MC gamble for his life against his best friend with brain damage.
Why would they do that? It doesn't feel like you're reading about real people.
There's no real dramatic reason for any of it.
Also the fighting scenes kind of felt tacked-on to the gambling scenes.

Batuque on the other hand had a lot more heart and soul.
The tower arc had a really cool finale though.

 

[belkrax]

So nice. I liked it, it did feel like the last chapters where somewhat rushed especially the Boss vs BJ fight, but I still enjoyed it alltogether. The revelation this happens in the same universe than Usogui makes me wish for Baku to meet Icchi. Imagine Ogun Tetsuma dealing with Usogui BS lmfaoooo.

 

[belkrax]

I liked Batuque a lot more.
Usogui felt kind of soulless. The thing that felt weird every time you finished an arc and someone died was when you realised that the MC was risking the lives of his friends and causing his friends to be killed for no reason other than because he wanted to feel the thrill of gambling.
He has basically no reason to want to be the head of the organisation beyond that, and for that reason he causes the person who has been his bodyguard for 10 years to die.
And then even all the referees start trying to kill each other and inflicting maiming injuries on each other just because they want to be able to watch the MC gamble for his life against his best friend with brain damage.
Why would they do that? It doesn't feel like you're reading about real people.
There's no real dramatic reason for any of it.
Also the fighting scenes kind of felt tacked-on to the gambling scenes.

Usogui on the other hand had a lot more heart and soul.
The tower arc had a really cool finale though.

I think the "self heart to heart" scene during the air poker match where Madarame speaks with himself and admits that ultimately, down to the core of his being, he is not thinking about his allies, friends, or goals, he merely just wants to gamble, is a fantastic scene shedding light to that. One might not like it because he is selfish, but its down to the core of the series and addresses that he is putting lives on the line for the sake of winning. Not winning anything. Just winning.

 

[RyoSaeba]

Honestly I liked it, I understand why it may feel a bit rushed to some readers or with questions left to answer but I still like it, not everything has to be laid out there for you at the end, it leaves room to imagination or even a possible sequel in the future.

 

[PringleHunter]

Did you guys notice the necklace on p33?

 

[ResidentEvil05]

as a brazilian i loved this series, so awesome

 

[Moonbunne]

We don't have the usual wrap up like Usogui so I'll try to list the things I can tell

Spoiler

Icchi: back to normalcy with friends and adopted family
Pedro & Arona: normal life
Birth parents: still alive, hopefully together
BJ: new boss of Lanca, absorbed into MK
Siblings: get along well (beetle boy didnt kick the bucket) Amoroso: probably working with MK from within Bandeira, which is why he's involved with Jyungo
Gangs: absorbed into MK
Yakuza: idk probably swayed by Icchi and got what they want so they left Jyungo alone
Rei: somehow in bronzil 7-1, Icchi sandbagged to make her happy
All in all, a lot left to interpretation but I'm ok about it. The roda scene was a pretty ingenious way to have everyone show up

 

[JBreezy]

Man the ending was rushed and it shows, jyungo vs legba ending so suddenly, BJ vs the Boss lasting like a chapter and a half, Icchi didn't even care about his dad dying on the street. But it was still good enough, i liked Icchi connecting with her half siblings, it taking place in the same world as usogui is a nice touch too.

Imagine Ogun Tetsuma dealing with Usogui BS lmfaoooo.

I think he could handle the lower ranking referees but he would lose to anyone nearing the middle numbers, not to mention how he wouldn't even touch the top brass like Yakou, Kadokura or some defunct enemies like Bai Long and Jonglyo

 

[Ren4president]

That was a ride; thanks for translating.


I was so worried whether the ending would be good, I’m glad to say while the ending wasn’t as I hoped it’s still more than satisfactory

ALSO EDDIE GORDO😱😱😱

 

[Woodchipper]

Man the ending was rushed and it shows, jyungo vs legba ending so suddenly, BJ vs the Boss lasting like a chapter and a half, Icchi didn't even care about his dad dying on the street.

I think it's not rushed per se but rather that Sako sensei was completely burnt out. I gotta look for the tweets where he talked about it.

I think he could handle the lower ranking referees but he would lose to anyone nearing the middle numbers, not to mention how he wouldn't even touch the top brass like Yakou, Kadokura or some defunct enemies like Bai Long and Jonglyo

I think Tetsuma could do quite well, but the higher ones are monsters beyond monsters when it comes to fighting, especially anyone close to Kyara's level.
I think though if given enough time and additional combat experience, he could easily beat his way into high mid or low top tier. Problem is that he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd actively try to climb the referee ladder.

 

[belkrax]

Man the ending was rushed and it shows, jyungo vs legba ending so suddenly, BJ vs the Boss lasting like a chapter and a half, Icchi didn't even care about his dad dying on the street. But it was still good enough, i liked Icchi connecting with her half siblings, it taking place in the same world as usogui is a nice touch too.

I think he could handle the lower ranking referees but he would lose to anyone nearing the middle numbers, not to mention how he wouldn't even touch the top brass like Yakou, Kadokura or some defunct enemies like Bai Long and Jonglyo

He is definitely not top tier. I can see him beating Douji though.
But Im sure he has potential to be far stronger. He is kind of like a young delinquent-days kadokura.

 

[RealistMysteryMan]

Thank you for translating such a wonderful series!!

 

[LilithRaven]

I'm sorry but that ending fucking blow. So many things left unanswered is the dad actually dead ? He doesn't get to reunite with her at all he just gets killed off in the most anticlimactic way ? No actual scene of Ichiri meeting with her mom properly ? Jyungo who was implied to have gone down a darker path nothing came out of it and there's more. It's just unsatisfying all around giving the build up we had like is that scene at the end even real or just some imaginary thing. Feels like sequel bait for a part 2 that may never come out

you aren’t the only one that feels like this was extremely rushed :/, like wtf? especialy the end with meeting Jyungo again T^T way must great manga end like this? rushed and unsatisfing!

 

[LilithRaven]

I like it, but WHY did Jyungo suddenly go to Brazil?
haha oh well
thank you team duwang for scanlating this great manga!

0.0 real question! way is he in Brazil?!?!?!

 

[0DvGate]

Like I said japanese can't ever end their manga properly, a beautiful conclusion but not a satisfying one.

 

[JensVide]

Oh, so Bernado Joker became on of the so called "vices". I guess Batuque sets up a continuation of Usogui, well I'm not sure if I want that though. I think Sako wants to do something completely different next, which is probably for the best.
Thank you Team Duwang for the translations and bringing these great series to an international audience.