The eighth volume of Sankichi Hinodeya’s Splatoon manga wraps up the adaptation of the Octo Expansion, ultimately bringing new groups of characters into the fold. It is also business as usual for Team Ridiculous Blue.
This volume contains chapters twenty-eight through to thirty-one, as well as a bonus chapter.
Front cover of the eighth volume of the Splatoon manga, featuring Specs and Goggles
It’s time for the Splatfest, a Turf War where teams must split up and battle against one another! Team Blue is divided into a “Funny Man” team versus a “Straight Man” team. Who will face who? Plus, a bonus story featuring Splattershot Jr.!
The Octo Arc concludes in this volume of Splatoon, and it is a pretty close approximation of what happens in the actual Octo Expansion of Splatoon 2 – except from the part where there are multiple Inklings and Octolings working together. The game itself is a single-player campaign, but the manga gives something for everyone to do.
Pearl and Marina still have the same role as in the game, though. It is nice to see them outside of their usual commentator roles, even if it is only for one chapter.
After the Octo Arc concludes, Octolings start joining in on Turf Wars. Of course, the new Octoling team – Team Eight – participates in a Turf War against Team Blue. Team Blue are still just as ridiculous as ever; not even going through the events of the Octo Arc could put a change to that.
After a couple of more or less typical Turf Wars (well, as typical as the ridiculous Team Blue gets, at least), we get to the Splatfest. For the first time in this manga series, Team Blue is split up and put on opposing sides. So we get the usual ridiculousness spread out over two teams, and their first match of the Splatfest is quite a spectacle.
During the events of this volume, a new team is introduced: the Rank X team, who surpass even the S4 team. Seems that they might be the next major opponents Team Blue will face, particularly with the announcement of the Square King Rank Battle Cup.
The bonus chapter focusing on Splattershot Jr. is about a newcomer Inkling participating in his first Turf War – and it is Team Blue who is there to guide him. Safe to say that Splattershot Jr. has something of an unconventional introduction to Turf Wars.
Sankichi Hinodeya’s Splatoon manga continues to be an enjoyable read, with this volume returning to more typical fare after the conclusion of the Octo Arc. Team Blue are just as unpredictable as ever, leading to some pretty amusing situations.
Rory Muses 