The ninth volume of Sankichi Hinodeya’s Splatoon manga focuses on the Square King Ranked Battle Cup, bringing new and familiar opponents for Team Blue to overcome. We also get a change from the normal Turf Wars, as the ranked modes: Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker and Clam Blitz, are the ones that the teams will be competing in.
This volume of the manga contains chapters thirty-two through to thirty-five.
Front cover of the ninth volume of the Splatoon manga, featuring Goggles
You won’t believe who has joined Team Blue to fill in for a missing teammate so they can compete in the Square King Ranked Battle Cup! Get ready for a whole new arc featuring some mixed-up new teams! Blus, a bonus story featuring Emperor!
Team Blue – with one different member from usual – joins the Square King Ranked Battle Cup, and it probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that they remain as ridiculous as ever.
In this volume, they play a Tower Control match followed by a Clam Blitz match. Their opponents are serious about claiming victory, but of course Team Blue approach the ranked matches in their inimitable style.
It seems that being unprepared for Team Blue’s ridiculousness tends to be the downfall of many a team – though, then again, how could anyone know what to expect against Team Blue?
Their new teammate manages to fit in perfectly with Team Blue, which might be somewhat unexpected considering how they were before.
On that note, the one team that stands above all in the ranked battles is introduced in this volume. They are Team X-Blood. Yet another team that takes the game far too seriously, and looks down upon those who are in it for the fun.
That seems to be a running theme for the Splatoon manga – and I guess you could say sports manga in general. It is not the first time that this manga has had a team like that, so I suspect that X-Blood might go down a similar route.
X-Blood’s match against Team New Emperor is quite the contrast to the usual antics of Team Blue. Without Team Blue actively participating, the ridiculousness gets turned right down. I guess a more serious match every once in a while is no bad thing.
It is nice to see the ranked battle modes get some attention in the manga. It did manage to get through almost everything else before it got to that point, but here we are. Team Blue still have some fun stuff going for them.
Don’t really think much about Team X-Blood at the moment, though, because they don’t seem to really bring anything new to the table. Though considering the effect that Team Blue has had on their opponents before, I suppose someone needed to be introduced who takes an almost too serious approach towards the game.
Still, there is some decent enough stuff in this volume.
Rory Muses 