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.

Pisces Albafica should have been in the Saint Seiya canon

The first time I laid my eyes on Pisces Albafica

Appearances can deceive us indeed.

It was what happened to me when I first saw Pisces Albafica (魚座のアルバフィカ) in “Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas” anime on Netflix. Albafica’s first appearance (and soon to be the last as well…) in The Lost Canvas was when he battled spectres Griffon Minos, Niobe and the gang. Albafica appeared in the middle of a red rose garden, perching beautifully on a rock, his white cape billowing behind him.

The billowing cape made him look like a beautiful Batman sans the fear factor. In fact, Albafica was so beautiful that the spectres were just staring at him agog.

Lord Shiva goes anime!

Wow! Anime is surely booming since the last few decades, and with that, cultural/spiritual anime as well. And - as an avid Shiva lover - I'm very pleased to find out that there soon will be an anime about Lord Shiva.

Yup! Last June, Toonz Animation India, a company that was commissioned to make the animated X-Men by Marvel, declared that they are making an anime about Lord Shiva, Ruler of Animals, the Great Cosmic Archer, the Yogic Lover, and He who has melted my heart (well, Shiva has 1,008 names altogether, beat that, Batman and Superman!).

Here's the excerpt of what Animationxpress said about the production titled 'The Tales of Lord Shiva'; click here for the complete article.

After the mythological flick The Return of Hanuman, Trivandrum based Toonz Animation India is coming up with a 2D mythological television series titled Tales of Lord Siva. The series is targeted at all age groups and in particular at children in the age group of 9 to 12. The studio is currently in talks with major broadcasters.

"We will begin broadcasting in English and plan dubbing in other languages soon. We are looking at broadcast in India, as well as places in Asia such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malayasia, etc." Creative Director for Tales of Lord Siva, Renju Ramesh told AnimationXpress.com.

The series, based on incidents from Lord Siva‘s life, has been conceived, designed and directed entirely at Toonz. The 22x13‘ picture book animation series will have two or three short stories every episode. A group of 40 to 50 artists are working on the series which is expected to be on air within the next six months. /.../

The visuals in the series are enhanced by powerful music and rendition by renowned Hindustani classical singer-composer Pandit Ramesh Narayan who is a beloved disciple of Pandit Jasraj. The show has generated a lot of interest from national production houses and broadcasters.

Wheee! In six months since last June... meaning that it should be ready by the year end, or early next year! Hopefully so; I can't wait to see it! Here's the sneak peak from Toonz Animation channel from YouTube, enjoy!



Oh, but while waiting for 'The Tales of Lord Shiva', we can also enjoy this other one below. Another anime titled 'Shiva, the God of Love'. Man, I LOVE the title! Watch for His eyes as He meditated on the snow. He was quirking - so damn funny and cute! Om Namah Shivaya...



Pic: Lord Shiva and Lady Parvati, copyright by Toonz Animation India

My two favourite manga girls!

I just got warped back to my childhood when I loved watching certain series of manga. Not that I don’t love them now… just pretending not to have time anymore :-D

But this week’s ‘contemplation’ dragged me into Sailor Moon Universe again, and I remembered that I used to – and still – love Rei Hino, the Sailor Mars! (FYI, Sailor Pluto (Setsuna Meio) and Sailor Saturn (Hotaru Tomoe) are my other fave Senshi). But actually, the first manga girl I ever love is Oka Megumi of the Voltes V series. I first saw her when I was just a teenager, and I fell in love with her and her long green-blue hair (and her pink bow!). I think she’s amazing, pretty, and she’s great; having excelled in Japanese martial arts, including ninja stuffs. I have to ‘fess that I would love to buy an action figure of Megumi. Too bad that the Voltes V lines was drown over the Voltron merchandises, though Voltes was much well-packed and well-written than Voltron (I can’t even buy the English-subtitled DVD for Voltes!).

So I pondered why I love those girls. I know at least that Megumi inspired me to grow my hair long and Rei taught me to keep them long (though never as beautiful as those gorgeous manga girls). But why do I love them?

Perhaps… because they are a blend of uniqueness. Take the gorgeous Rei Hino, for example. Rei is a Shinto priestess (gotta love that red hakama!). Yet, her spiritual living does not reduce the excitement of a young girl with sharp snappy tongue who will often, and with most unlady-like fashion, bugs Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) to no end. But take note: Rei is also a loyal friend and a warrior who would give her life to protect Usagi.

Hey, have I mentioned that Rei’s gold tiara with red gem resembles Wonder Woman’s tiara? And her red heels and red dress just echo Diana’s signature colour? Love it, love it, love it! I know what to wear for the next Halloween party. Sailor Mars.

And what about my first manga girl: Oka Megumi? This wonderful site mentions that: “Megumi is an energetic, lively, and lovely girl. She always wears red ribbon on her greenish blue hairs. Megumi is trained in the secret way of Ninjutsu and she becomes a Kunoichi (female ninja). She can fight using various kinds of weapons, like long sword (katana), chained sickle (kusarigama), but her favorite weapon is the throwing star (shuriken).” Plus that she’s also well-informed and well-practiced in traditional arts. Superb girl! Not to mention her lovely red boots and skirts.

Gosh, I love Rei and Megumi! They can kick ass, but they’re also very much into traditional knowledge and spirituality. Lovely. I guess, that’s why I love them so. They are the Japanese Wonder Girls.

Pic 1: Rei Hino Sailor Mars, from Wikipedia

Pic 2: Oka Megumi Voltes V, from Voltes V Shrine

Pic 3: Rei Hino Sailor Mars, from this site

Pic 4: Oka Megumi Voltes V, from Voltes V Shrine