Kakuriyo volumes 6-11 summary… and a reflection

Ōdanna & Aoi, art by Laruha

I've copied this post into my new Kakuriyo blog. Visit me there for more Kakuriyo articles, including chapter translations.

This post contains the summary of Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi volumes 6-11 (Vol 11 is the Gaiden) per Amazon Japan. SPOILERS of course, so don't read it if you don’t want to know how the Kakuriyo stories continue. The summary does spill the bean of a very important aspect of Ōdanna and Aoi. However, the descriptions don’t spoil you that deep, because you still won’t know some mundane and important things, e.g. Ōdanna’s favourite food, his real name, and the reason for the events that take place in Vol 7-10. Oh, and you won't know whether Ōdanna would kiss Aoi or not, and if he would, when.

Beforehand though, I’d like to make a short observation about some Kakuriyo haters. Perhaps “hate” is too strong a word, but I cannot help using that word whenever I come across some blogs/websites that consistently shred Kakuriyo to pieces. I won’t name the blogs here, but if you google “Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi”, it’s likely you’ll find 2-3 blogs that constantly pick Kakuriyo to the bones. 

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi impressions

Ōdanna & Aoi, Kakuriyo second ending theme
(titled "Shiranai Kimochi" by Nakajima Megumi)

I've copied this post into my new Kakuriyo blog. Visit me there for more Kakuriyo articles, including chapter translations.

I stumbled over Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi ("Bed and Breakfast for Spirits", かくりよの宿飯) anime 2-3 weeks ago when I was looking for any jidaimono (period drama) anime on Anime Planet. It was recommended to me because I love Natsume’s Book of Friends. Out of curiosity (and because I like Kakuriyo’s visual & period-setting), I checked it out. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Kakuriyo isn't set in the Edo period despite the costumes. Instead, it's actually set in our current time. However, Kakuriyo is set in a parallel dimension called the Netherworld or Kakuriyo, a dimension where ayakashi live. We know the basic story: the girl Aoi was promised to be the bride of the Oni Hachiyo called Ōdanna (basically means "The Great Master") after Aoi's grandfather got drunk and got entangled in a big debt in Ōdanna's inn (called "Tenjin-ya"). However, instead of just marrying the oni to pay off her grandpa’s debt, Aoi decided to work off the debt, though the sum is quite massive (JPY 100 million, which is about AUD 1.3 million!). The rest of the anime shows the resilience of orphaned Aoi and her great way of winning friends through her food. As someone who loves and cooks Japanese cuisine (I'm not talking just sushi, I'm talking about the real washoku dishes), loves period-setting and love a nicely-paced anime (by “nice” I mean, the way Natsume Yūjinchō is paced), I truly appreciate this anime.

‘A Dance in the Rain’ – an Otogi Zoshi fanfiction

Mansairaku and Minamoto no Hikaru (Otogi Zoshi 2004)

Minamoto no Hikaru’s fingers played her flute expertly as a beautiful dance scene unfolded in front of her. Fleetingly, she recalled how she wasn’t expecting it – at all – when she ran out of her house in despair earlier, in the rain, after receiving the shocking news that her father wished her to return to her pre-magatama maiden life. Deep inside, she understood why he wanted her to stay at home. He had lost his son Minamoto no Raikō a while ago, he certainly didn’t wish to lose his only daughter either. But the daughter herself wasn’t ready to give up her freedom, certainly not after she collected two sacred magatama stones and was unexpectedly grounded due to her being deemed “underperforming” by the two main ministers.

The Minister of the Left and Minister of the Right were indeed quite a challenge for her. She used to think that she served a noble cause by collecting magatama stones, yet after witnessing firsthand how self-serving those two ministers, she grew disheartened. And what was this mightier-than-thou attitude from Abe no Seimei, the Palace Onmyōji?! Unceremoniously brushing her off after she almost lost her life during her quest to obtain the water magatama, in service of her country! Hikaru started to believe in what Watanabe no Tsuna said, that the Onmyōji and the court weren’t to be trusted.

"A Thousand Years of Longing" - An 'Otogi Zoshi' fan-fiction

Mansairaku and Minamoto no Hikaru (Otogi Zoshi 2004)

Mansairaku watched as the short-haired girl skipping along the pavement, the hot summer sun made her sweating more than she normally would.

A drop of sweat fell on her  left eyebrow; still thick as a summer bamboo bush as he remembered it. Casually, she brushed the sweat away and continued walking, skipping along the pathway.

How come a girl skip so lively in such a hot summer day, Mansairaku wouldn’t understand; not that his body was particularly disturbed by the extreme heat of this particular summer. After all, since his tenure as Tenkai, he hadn’t felt extreme cold or extreme heat for centuries now, hence his indifference in donning the black coat since the turn of the century. He chose the coat more of from the practicality viewpoint, for it obscured him from the curious eyes of passer-by, though indeed there were women - and men - that would glance at him every now and then, mostly admiring his look, though some of them would also retreat after sensing his immense loneliness.

Amazon’s “Happy Marriage?!” review

In which I applaud the main leads and some of its supporting cast, but lament the remaining cast and some badly enacted scenes...

I stumbled upon Amazon’s Original Happy Marriage when, like most of us these days, I flicked through Amazon, Netflix and other streaming services, trying to find a new series to watch to kill the lockdown time. It was a mixed bag in the first place, but I’m glad I stick to it and watched till the end. At least I can say that I like Dean Fujioka, though I think he’s a better musician than he is an actor (like Lee Jong-hyun a better musician than an actor, but both ikemen are still lovely to watch). But I also found Shirasu Jin, an actor about 22 years old who I think should be cast alongside Okada Masaki soon enough due to his acting talents. Oh, and Seino Nana is a darling actress as well here!

Anyway, “Happy Marriage?!” is a tale about a sales girl who was rescued from her poor living condition because a rich man offered him marriage. Sounds like a Cinderella story? You got that right.