Take Kaiju No. 8 (vol. 9); as a monster fighting type story, there’s plenty of battles, and power ups and close calls and close calls. With a major kaiju attack underway, and things looking grim, a handful of the heroes are trying out new more powerful equipment for the first time. Kikoru and Hoshina are both using super rare specialized weaponry for the first time that are made from kaiju remains, one bit of which (Hoshina’s) remains somewhat sentient. Kikoru’s belonged to her late mother. The trope with this kind of thing would often involve sudden power-ups and relief from those currently fighting as they are saved by the incoming newly powered up hero. That’s still sort of here, but there’s enough history and struggle visible that the power-up is more earned, and the mental challenges are a little more present, making the two characters a little more interesting. This is either setting up a longer battle sequence, or at least can elad into a longer term arc of some sort.
In Komi Can’t Communicate (vol. 27), the high school rom-com emphasis runs strong, but both Komi and Tadano kind of struggle to articulate to themselves and each other what exactly they want from their partner (how/when/if time for first kiss), which makes some of the other hijinks a little more interesting. The group gaming session is actually kind of interesting based on it being a Midnight Werewolf sort of situation where there’s two opposing teams, one of whom is sabotaging the other, but no one knows for sure who is who, and the group can vote someone they think is a “Kemposter” off the spaceship (as in, ejection into deep space). Tadano but more Komi trying to navigate both the group activity and the deception involved is actually kind of interesting for the possible character development that they both rather need. The Naijimii bits need to go; I really don’t even care if that character can be seen as queer rep; they are irritating and pointless and either self-absorbed to the point of toxic, or just too oblivious. This volume loses a point or two though for including one of the worst romance tropes ever, the little sibling fetish, in this place, it’s a classmate who needs attention for everyone and that’s how they get it. Komi’s making progress to the 100 friends (loosely defined though) mark, and she and Tadano are actually starting to get a little real.
The Apothecary Diaries (vol. 9) is adding a bit more tension to the main challenge facing Maomao of figuring out what’s with the now maybe connected attempts at violence via poisons over the past several volumes, and maybe there’s something to do with the yet to be seen foreign ambassadors now visiting the palace. There’s some stinky mushroom business, more teaching some of the other servants reading, and some new friends, one of whom is a bug geek the way Maomao is a poisons geek. Maomao seems to be getting the gras of how the politics of the palace work, although the obviously not entirely random hypothetical mystery brought to her does not seem entirely relevant (at least not yet), she’s at least starting to realize that ther may be something else to the mystery that’s kind of been in the background for a while, so while no progress yet, there is good promise for that to come soon.