Minekura Kazuya - Saiyuki Reload, vol. 07
Thu, Aug. 10th, 2006 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterLots of spoilers!
I keep writing up Saiyuki because I keep reading it in different formats. The first time I blogged the chapters that were to become vol. 7, I was reading the scans right off Zero-Sum, which meant that the art wasn't all filled in, and I was squinting at the furigana on the screen.
This time, I have the shiny volume in my hands, and oh, I stroke it for it is beautiful. Beautiful, I say!
Thankfully, vol. 7 is more fighting and less talking, which means I don't have to puzzle through quite as much Japanese.
Also, I am going to try to keep my reaction somewhat more coherent than my original reaction, which largely consisted of randomly typed letter, "eeeeeee!," "OMGOMGOMGOMG" and a whole lot of capital letters.
So.
Um.
Oh, who am I kidding? My reaction is still "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" even after reading it two or three times already.
I just... GAH!
The Gojyo-Hakkai interaction, from Gojyo deciding not to try and stop Hakkai from taking off his limiters, to Hakkai's flashback of Sanzo telling him that taking his limiters off would expose him to the Minus Wave. Youkai!Hakkai. Youkai!Hakkai. And, of course, Youkai!Hakkai.
And the expression on Gojyo's face when he finds Hakkai lying on the ground kills me. Just... kills me!
But despite the bulk of the volume being on the Seiten Taisei-Youkai!Hakkai confrontation, the part that I love the most is that it feels like the beginning of a good, meaty Sanzo arc. Because really, Sanzo totally lets down everyone in the ikkou in this volume, and even though everyone in the ikkou complains about Sanzo and questions his decisions, I don't think he's ever let them down like this before.
There was the bit in which he decided to go on without Gojyo, which was a let down, but I think it was less so than this. That time, it was Sanzo being Sanzo, grumpy and misanthropic. This time, Sanzo just freaks and loses it completely. He's not even reacting normally; he's shooting at nothing, he runs off because he thinks it's Ukoku's plot, he cannot let go of Goku even to let Hakkai treat him. I think Sanzo's brain just totally shuts off, because he can't deal with it.
And... I don't think he's ever done that before. He knows how to deal with the Seiten Taisei, he can deal with Gojyo being shot and etc. I don't know if it's the fact that it's Goku, or that it parallels Koumyou's death, or the flashback to crow feathers, but Sanzo just breaks.
And he leaves the ikkou! (insert much wailing)
And he leaves Goku.
And.... gah. That moment when Goku realizes that Sanzo isn't there when he wakes up? GAH. I don't think he's ever come back from being Seiten Taisei without Sanzo (or Konzen) there. And you can see he's still trying so hard to understand, to figure out why Sanzo left; he's still got faith that Sanzo will come back.
Then of course, there's the very interesting conversation between Sanzo and Hazel, in which Sanzo finds out that Hazel knows about Seiten Taisei and wants to know how.
Then the shot of Ukoku... dundunDUN!
I foresee much Sanzo angst in the future. I am so looking forward to this.
It's just... every time I think Minekura can't top a past arc, she does.
I keep writing up Saiyuki because I keep reading it in different formats. The first time I blogged the chapters that were to become vol. 7, I was reading the scans right off Zero-Sum, which meant that the art wasn't all filled in, and I was squinting at the furigana on the screen.
This time, I have the shiny volume in my hands, and oh, I stroke it for it is beautiful. Beautiful, I say!
Thankfully, vol. 7 is more fighting and less talking, which means I don't have to puzzle through quite as much Japanese.
Also, I am going to try to keep my reaction somewhat more coherent than my original reaction, which largely consisted of randomly typed letter, "eeeeeee!," "OMGOMGOMGOMG" and a whole lot of capital letters.
So.
Um.
Oh, who am I kidding? My reaction is still "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" even after reading it two or three times already.
I just... GAH!
The Gojyo-Hakkai interaction, from Gojyo deciding not to try and stop Hakkai from taking off his limiters, to Hakkai's flashback of Sanzo telling him that taking his limiters off would expose him to the Minus Wave. Youkai!Hakkai. Youkai!Hakkai. And, of course, Youkai!Hakkai.
And the expression on Gojyo's face when he finds Hakkai lying on the ground kills me. Just... kills me!
But despite the bulk of the volume being on the Seiten Taisei-Youkai!Hakkai confrontation, the part that I love the most is that it feels like the beginning of a good, meaty Sanzo arc. Because really, Sanzo totally lets down everyone in the ikkou in this volume, and even though everyone in the ikkou complains about Sanzo and questions his decisions, I don't think he's ever let them down like this before.
There was the bit in which he decided to go on without Gojyo, which was a let down, but I think it was less so than this. That time, it was Sanzo being Sanzo, grumpy and misanthropic. This time, Sanzo just freaks and loses it completely. He's not even reacting normally; he's shooting at nothing, he runs off because he thinks it's Ukoku's plot, he cannot let go of Goku even to let Hakkai treat him. I think Sanzo's brain just totally shuts off, because he can't deal with it.
And... I don't think he's ever done that before. He knows how to deal with the Seiten Taisei, he can deal with Gojyo being shot and etc. I don't know if it's the fact that it's Goku, or that it parallels Koumyou's death, or the flashback to crow feathers, but Sanzo just breaks.
And he leaves the ikkou! (insert much wailing)
And he leaves Goku.
And.... gah. That moment when Goku realizes that Sanzo isn't there when he wakes up? GAH. I don't think he's ever come back from being Seiten Taisei without Sanzo (or Konzen) there. And you can see he's still trying so hard to understand, to figure out why Sanzo left; he's still got faith that Sanzo will come back.
Then of course, there's the very interesting conversation between Sanzo and Hazel, in which Sanzo finds out that Hazel knows about Seiten Taisei and wants to know how.
Then the shot of Ukoku... dundunDUN!
I foresee much Sanzo angst in the future. I am so looking forward to this.
It's just... every time I think Minekura can't top a past arc, she does.
(no subject)
Fri, Aug. 11th, 2006 03:04 am (UTC)And I think he leaves for two reasons. The first is the most obvious--to get out and find the person who would harm Goku. (And you have to admit, it'd be really shocking. There you are, talking with the person you've been friends with for so many years, and you're talking about ressurection and what not, and BAM. Suddenly speculation becomes an actual issue.)
The second is because he needs to get away from Goku and the rest of the ikkou and reflect on his feelings. I'm sure he's rather shocked to find just how deeply Goku's injuries bother him. I bet he hasn't admitted to himself that he cares about someone now as much as he cared for hsi master. (or more?) And I'm not sure he's prepared to deal with that realization yet. So he left. So yes, he's left the ikkou down, but I kind of think it's also because....
....Goku needs a chance to grow up, without Sanzo always there. Goku has been Sanzo's shadow for years and years, and as you said, every time he's awoken from Seiten Taisei, Sanzo has been there. But now, Goku's naturally maturing, and it appears his memories are slowly coming back, and I think Sanzo needs to not be there. A person can't grow if there's always a crutch there. I think Minekura deliberately took Sanzo out so that Goku can mature. In the arc (Burial?) Where Goku is separated and fights Kou after saving the village, I think we find him a little more grown up.
haha, sorry for my pontificating! Just thought I'd add my two cents. :P (You're the only other person I know who's gotten her hands on s. 7)
(no subject)
Fri, Aug. 11th, 2006 07:22 am (UTC)I didn't mean the whole "letting down the ikkou" thing as a criticism of Sanzo, oops! I meant it more as an indication of just how deeply Goku almost dying affected him, just how deeply it shook him. Gah. Minekura is so good at the angst.
I LOVE that Goku gets shot right after he says that nah, really, he'd rather not be reincarnated, because of course Sanzo is thinking that, and... oh, the heartache.
I think when Sanzo first runs off, he's less contemplated and reflecting and more just in sheer panic. In my lovely Sanzo/Goku world, it's because he has just realized how important Goku is to him and how attached he, muichi motsu guy, has become to this one person. And I think that totally freaks him out, and all he knows to do is to run away.
My personal speculation is that he keeps going with Hazel and Gat because he's still not up to confronting the ikkou again, especially not Goku, which would be a lovely parallel with Goku being afraid to confront Sanzo after going berserk in vol. 6 of Saiyuki.
I think it'll be a really cool thing for Goku (so much Goku love! SO MUCH!), and I have no doubt that he'll mature. Sometimes, I think Goku is actually the most mature of the ikkou, which is rather scary. And I think Sanzo will have to confront adult!Goku when he comes back, and it will be interesting.
But oh, the Sanzo angst potential!
Minekura is so evil, and yet, I love the pain so much.