Building up to a new arc and more closure with Senku's dad.

OMG

Soooo, I tried to put this volume on hold and only one library had it. Volumes 14 and 16 got sent to me but 13 never showed up. Turns out something happened to it - either they can't find it, or it was damaged, and now it's not even in the catalog. I ended up signing up for the Shonen Jump Viz app so I could stop waiting on holds (and I can also read One Punch Man, and some other stuff).

Volume 13 was more about getting ready to infiltrate the Treasure Island village and go after the petrification device. Good stuff.

The only redeeming quality this volume possessed was the final chapter where we get more from Senku's dad and Senku reminisces about his relationship with him. That's it.

And no, I'm not going to continue with the series to see if it "gets better" after this arc. I am well aware that most series have less than stellar arcs, but the difference is that those arcs didn't out right OFFEND me. This one most definitely does, and I wouldn't even want to reread the series if I completed it knowing that I would have to reread this arc. I don't hate myself that much.

For those curious as to why I'm dropping the series after this specific volume, here's a brief itemized explanation:

1. The main villain, the Master, is a horribly one dimensional misogynistic male character that is honestly an insult to male villains. Seriously, it's like Inagaki couldn't think of a better, more nuanced way of writing a misogynistic male villain so he just relied on extreme cliches. Also, all of the males with authority act like misogynistic assholes, which is such an unsubtle way to make the audience hate them and it makes me want to vomit.

2. I don't mind female characters having to switch from being a physical fighter to a spy, I think that makes them more well-rounded, but the fact that the only tomboy has to become a "girly girl" to do so is insulting. This is made even worse because the two people who are giving her the most advice are BOYS. Great way to reinforce the idea that girls have to ask boys/men for advice on how to be more appealing to them, totally not sexist at all!

3. Going off of two, what makes this worse is that this is a series that debuted within the last decade, creators should well past the point of putting such problematic messages in their stories, especially creators for Shounen Jump, the most reputable manga magazine in Japan.

4. And before anyone says, "well, this is for boys! Girls/women aren't the target audience!" you're right on a superficial level, but quite frankly girls/women should be represented properly REGARDLESS of whether their the target audience or not. Target demographics are not an excuse to make any group seem lesser than another.

Those are my thoughts boiled down as concisely as I can. I'm dropping this series, I have no regrets doing so, but if this volume didn't bother you and you want to continue reading, don't let me stop you. Do what you want, but I'm done.

I'm more in love with Kohako than ever

Byakuya scenes always make me sad

4,5