the flow of this volume shows how Endo is intentionally spacing out the big story beats with smaller moments of character development and humor. he is juggling three or four different genres (almost) flawlessly and it’s really impressive. and I like that this series isn’t 100% big plot all the time with very artificial comedy breaks in-between arcs, which is a hallmark of shonen. the slower pacing means that there are chapters I don’t care about very much, but the ones I do feel like special treats. I’m VERY excited that we have a Yor-specific mini-arc introduced at the end of volume 7. it’s a great chance to fill in her backstory and give her character a little space to individuate. I’m sure Endo will blow it because his track record with Yor is garbage but it’s good for my headcanon! also the opening chapter and the first encounter with Damian Desmond (the big bad maybe?) went great, I’m chuffed. some stunning art in this one, too.