Dark Gathering - Ch. 60 - Divine Majesty

[gamria]

We jujutsu kaisen now

Funny you say that, since I've seen a fair number of Chinese readers remark this series as the "True" Jujutsu Kaisen - less fisticuffs, more clashing of curses and sorceries

 

[dive123]

Thank you very much for the chapter

Y'know, seeing yayoi's "smug bad kids" squad got panic like that somehow satisfying. They probably knew how does it feel like to be hunted(by yayoi), but this might be the first time they felt being totally outclassed

Let it be known to them all, what it means to challenge the myth!

 

[Cashini]

oooh cmon >: O
still curious will they succeed kill that demon or not, better summon all shin megami tensei mc :v

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[TrueGoddessReincarnation]

We jujutsu kaisen now

Its not even 90% as gay.

 

[Ink_Tide]

This was all the standard "bad shounen pacing" tropes.

1. "Here's a badass attack! And it looks like it was effective!"
2. Never mind. It was completely pointless.
3. "Here's another even more badass attack! And this time it definitely seemed to be effec-"
4. Never mind. It was completely pointless.
5. "Oh no! Things look hopeless! That was all they had!"
6. Never mind. Here's a convenient exposition dump.

It just makes it so that you can't take any moment in the fight seriously because the author goes all Lucy With The Football when it comes to the effectiveness of literally any attack.

I've mentioned this exact thing before, because it happens particularly frequently in this manga. In fact I mentioned it in the last chapter's thread.

I've become a little less outright annoyed by it, and more... apathetic towards the entire work. Naturally, it's a common writing trope because people do "fall for it", especially if they have enough time between releases/instances to forget the narrative patterns but not the plot itself (such as, say, a month or more). It's the kind of thing that becomes much, much more obvious with a binge read. Lucy with the football really did work as a (yearly) gag, after all.

Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying this kind of pacing, and it is somewhat telling that the reply "disagreeing" with you was describing the very narrative structure you're complaining about in a more positive tone (i.e. the trope fitting is objectively true; how a reader feels about it is subjective). It's enjoyed by people who either aren't thinking about the narrative structure of the work as a whole (which is fine), or simply aren't concerned with the implications that last minute reversals of multiple fights have on the stakes/tension of other fights (also fine).

Someone like me, on the other hand, who's autistically looking at the patterns in narrative structure, will see the reversal coming for the entire fight, potentially chapters ahead of it happening, and thus be less invested in the current tension. I've seen the rubber band snap too many times. For people who do notice or care about that, it's a kind of tension building strategy that only really works a few times (or at least when used infrequently enough to not be predictable) - boy who cried wolf and all.
For me, to get and keep real tension, sometimes a story really does just need a fight that goes one way, and ends that way (stalemates included). Or at the very least has less abrupt, less last-second changes in 'victory/defeat inertia.'

 

[Asiandesu]

Not sergeant still kicking let my guy die lmao

 

[beansbunko]

omfg can this god die already 😭
I reread the previous chapters and he isn't even the biggest big bad, there are still more SSS rank haunted spots that they haven't even got to yet and I'm kinda over seeing them fight this little boy with a bob for so long

I wanna see the new ghosts

 

[gamria]

I've mentioned this exact thing before, because it happens particularly frequently in this manga. In fact I mentioned it in the last chapter's thread.

I've become a little less outright annoyed by it, and more... apathetic towards the entire work. Naturally, it's a common writing trope because people do "fall for it", especially if they have enough time between releases/instances to forget the narrative patterns but not the plot itself (such as, say, a month or more). It's the kind of thing that becomes much, much more obvious with a binge read. Lucy with the football really did work as a (yearly) gag, after all.

Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying this kind of pacing, and it is somewhat telling that the reply "disagreeing" with you was describing the very narrative structure you're complaining about in a more positive tone (i.e. the trope fitting is objectively true; how a reader feels about it is subjective). It's enjoyed by people who either aren't thinking about the narrative structure of the work as a whole (which is fine), or simply aren't concerned with the implications that last minute reversals of multiple fights have on the stakes/tension of other fights (also fine).

Someone like me, on the other hand, who's autistically looking at the patterns in narrative structure, will see the reversal coming for the entire fight, potentially chapters ahead of it happening, and thus be less invested in the current tension. I've seen the rubber band snap too many times. For people who do notice or care about that, it's a kind of tension building strategy that only really works a few times (or at least when used infrequently enough to not be predictable) - boy who cried wolf and all.
For me, to get and keep real tension, sometimes a story really does just need a fight that goes one way, and ends that way (stalemates included). Or at the very least has less abrupt, less last-second changes in 'victory/defeat inertia.'

On this subject, while I won't deny that the battles of this series have a predictable beat to them, I myself can accept them because they're vehicles facilitating what's my main attraction regarding this series: catching ghosts then siccing them onto other ghosts, wielding horror story powers for your side.

I enjoy Kondo-sensei's take on the typical horror stories and urban legends; I enjoy watching Yayoi logically plan her hunts for these illogical beings; I enjoy seeing the ghosts and curses that were menacing our trio get unleashed onto other ghosts and curses instead.

For this last one, it's fun to see what the ghosts' potentials are. If the typical battle manga beats enable said potential to be drawn out for us readers to see, then I find them acceptable. At the very least, they've induced thoughts in me like "it makes sense for this Graduate's design to have such powers!" or "now this is what a fight against a deity, a milestone boss ought to look like".

One could say that because the battles contribute to the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of the series (important for supernatural stories), whether they are predictable or not isn't a big concern.

 

[stainx]

omfg can this god die already 😭
I reread the previous chapters and he isn't even the biggest big bad, there are still more SSS rank haunted spots that they haven't even got to yet and I'm kinda over seeing them fight this little boy with a bob for so long

I wanna see the new ghosts

Bro is literally a high rank god and you think hes weaker than some humans turned ghosts in haunted spots

 

[BalrogDeMorgoth]

I like how the God fight like a DBZ character instead of a Ghost. Really shows the disconnect and fit his 'Military God' role. A lot more straightforward.

It also make it very funny to see people complain about 'tropes' when it's literally the first time we get a character who fight like that and turn the entire fight into a rythme game in the manga.

 

[ABC4524]

omfg can this god die already 😭
I reread the previous chapters and he isn't even the biggest big bad, there are still more SSS rank haunted spots that they haven't even got to yet and I'm kinda over seeing them fight this little boy with a bob for so long

I wanna see the new ghosts

If my prediction is correct, it'll take another 10 or so chapters to wrap up the Kyoto arc for good (4-5 more chapters for the God fight, 3-4 more chapters for Kuubou and the Replaced to make an appearance, and around 2 more chapters to deal with Ai's family circumstances). So you'll have to be patient for just another year

 

[bikan69]

first half is like a "I'LL BE THE ONE WHO WILL DEFEAT YOU!!!" typical shounen battle, with movement, strength, technique, and whatnot

but the second half bring the surprise to every single character, human and ghost, to a point where they're not smiling at all — hell, they're SHOCKED. and then it's closed with escalating the tension to a challenge they have never done before, it's rightfully doubtful that they could even do it: work together to time all the curses exactly at the same time and hope that it will work, somehow

that's something i can appreciate. it's more than merely (a bit) mindless battle sequence

 

[tinhoccoso227]

Page 13, the Sinner did a Boros move, kicking the god to the moon 🌙
I find it funny that the High Priest was so pissed that the veins were about to pop.

 

[NIB]

I really loved the confused faces of those 7 after that attack and the one who calls himself God didn't take a single scratch.
Next chapter: we go full RPG.

This was all the standard "bad shounen pacing" tropes.

1. "Here's a badass attack! And it looks like it was effective!"
2. Never mind. It was completely pointless.
3. "Here's another even more badass attack! And this time it definitely seemed to be effec-"
4. Never mind. It was completely pointless.
5. "Oh no! Things look hopeless! That was all they had!"
6. Never mind. Here's a convenient exposition dump.

It just makes it so that you can't take any moment in the fight seriously because the author goes all Lucy With The Football when it comes to the effectiveness of literally any attack.

Can you please read a proper and decent shonen instead of shitty ones? Also, this trope happens occasionally, but instead of other stories, I've noticed that in Dark Gathering they use brute force first and strategy later, which doesn't usually happen in a shonen.

 

[EFMD]

I really love the pace and suspense here. I'm really curious now to how they will deal with the aftermath since all 7 graduates will keep getting powerful. Well, knowing that at least 4 of them are willing to comply, the other 3 will still be a pain to deal with altogether. I also don't know if they will kill the God or capture the God.

But I'm willing to bet that after this arc, they will hunt or strenghthen the graduates and the final arc will be the showdown with Baby God.

 

[v_Genocide]

PEAK🔥🔥🔥✍️

 

[beansbunko]

Bro is literally a high rank god and you think hes weaker than some humans turned ghosts in haunted spots

Girl if this is not the last arc in the series obviously he's not going to be the most powerful 😐 did u forget about the embryo god thing and the dead mum?? it was literally foreshadowed in the manga from the very start so take it up with the mangaka lmao

If my prediction is correct, it'll take another 10 or so chapters to wrap up the Kyoto arc for good (4-5 more chapters for the God fight, 3-4 more chapters for Kuubou and the Replaced to make an appearance, and around 2 more chapters to deal with Ai's family circumstances). So you'll have to be patient for just another year

Honestly I'm ok with the kuubo/replaced stuff and stuff about Ai, I just much prefer horror over action so the super long shonen-y fighting is not very interesting to me lmao 😔
Thank u for ur prediction, I have something to look forward to now

 

[SmaugEldritchdragon]

Isso não é mais um Pokémon fantasma, é a porra do Dragonball Z

eu de It's more like you Yu Yu Hakusho

 

[Connoisseur_Ryan]

Hope this mf is as strong after being captured 😭