Astral Buddy Manga Chapter 016

"Strong" (強く) is the 16th chapter of the Astral Buddy manga, released on December 27th 2018.

Synopsis
Yumiya Iruka was hospitalized after the deadly failed experiment that took place in Ideal, while her sister Rakko, seemingly left traumatized by the neglect of responding researchers, watched over her. Meanwhile, at Ideal, Kihara Noukan visited Shundou Toshizou to warn him about the loss of life that took place during the experiment in his facility and the other actions he had been taking. Toshizou did not take Noukan's so-called "last warning" seriously, but he was later blindsided by his Board member financier backing out, which was thanks to Shokuhou Misaki making a deal with the Board member.

Iruka soon regained consciousness and immediately ran off to catch up with Junko who was newly discharged from the hospital. The two sisters then made their vows: Iruka promised to Junko to be strong enough to protect someone, while Rakko, overcome by the feeling of being worthless and left behind, promised herself to be stronger "to hunt down a true friend" and find her place. Meanwhile, Junko vowed to be stronger so that nobody will be sad again.

At the present time, Yumiya Iruka wakes up at a hospital, where Shokuhou Misaki waits for her.

Major Events

 * Ideal is dissolved.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Yumiya Rakko
 * Yumiya Iruka
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Hokaze Junko

New Characters

 * Kihara Noukan
 * Shundou Toshizou
 * Unnamed Female Academy City Board Director

Abilities

 * Rampage Dress - Hokaze Junko

Locations

 * Academy City
 * Clone Dolly Ideal

Trivia

 * Approval by the Academy City Board of Directors is required for promotion to Level 5.
 * Given that Shokuhou is wearing her winter uniform, the final scene is set after the uniform switch-over on September 30th.

Referbacks

 * Kihara Noukan warned Shundou Toshizou that the city's ruler is not as generous as himself. Shundou was killed later by Noukan because he ignored the warning.
 * Two female members of the Academy City Board of Directors who are afraid of aging and compete over methods of staying young are mentioned by Shokuhou Misaki. One is the member who runs Tokiwadai Middle School. The other is Yakumi Hisako.
 * Although not confirmed, the unnamed female director might be the grandmother of Unabara Mitsuki, who was previously mentioned as the director of Tokiwadai Middle School.

Cultural References

 * is one of the darkest substances known, absorbing up to 99.96% of visible light. The name is the compound of acronym and the shade black.