Yami no Matsuei, ep. 01-03

[oyceter]

I ended up watching the first DVD of Yami no Matsuei instead of finishing Samurai Champloo like I intended because a friend came over, and we squeed muchly over the crack that is Yuki Kaori (I am currently on vol. 15 of Angel Sanctuary and completely confused as people suddenly acquire quadruple identities and I can't keep all the long-haired angels apart) and my Minekura artbooks.

Also, I figured episode 22 of Samurai Champloo was probably not the best of places to start her on the series.

It was a little odd watching YnM after my Samurai Champloo spree because the difference in production values is so large. Also, there is painful digital video game music whenever Tsuzuki calls on his powers and dukes it out with someone.

My friend insisted that YnM is a cross between X and Count Cain/Godchild, which I think makes sense, given the existence of YnM/Cain/Sweeney Todd crossover potential.

Thoughts on the characters:

Tsuzuki - he is cute and looks like he should brood but loves dessert. I adore him already because of his passion for sweets. I also like him because he's so fond of Hisoka.

Hisoka - he is small and grumpy with a Tragic Past involving the Sakura of Doom! How many more capital letters can I fit in? Obviously he is a refugee from X. This is even more obvious in the visuals, when he's kidnapped and restrained just like Kamui!

Muraki - he is insane. He disturbs me.

And since I can't find any more Saiyuki fic that I like and haven't read eighteen times already, I now want YnM fic. I'm going through untrue_accounts's entries as I type! Well, maybe not quite as I type. But close enough!

I can sort of see the hot enemy slash potential that Muraki brings to the mix, but seriously, he disturbs me. A lot.

Comments

[untrue-accounts.livejournal.com]

OMG you are reading all my favorite crack! My brain spins just thinking about it.

One of my very favorite things about Angel Sanctuary is how [spoiler][/spoiler]! I think it may come second only to how [spoiler][/spoiler]

I actually plotted out an X/YnM Hisoka/Kamui crossover which I will never write because it is way too depressing. (And also, what with the plot, much too much work.) Pretty big-eyed boys and their resonating dysfunctions. It is so sad.

And yes, I see the Tsuzuki/Muraki but I have no desire to write it because it freaks me out.

I first became addicted to YnM fic via boniblithe and ranalore's crack_van recs, so that is a good place to start.

[oyceter]

You have indeed sicced your crack on me!

When I discovered spoiler #1 I just started shaking my head and laughing, because of course he is [spoiler]!

And I very much liked Sara for a bit, but it's dying down again because everyone thinks she's irresistable again.

Muraki totally freaks me out.

[untrue-accounts.livejournal.com]

The really scary thing is that spoiler #1 is foreshadowed very early, only there is no way a reader could realize it, because spoiler #1 is so ridiculously over the top even for manga. This is why I love Kaori Yuki so much.

I like that Sara [spoiler][/spoiler] (and in fact I read it almost as a direct response to the obsessive pair-bond desires in X), but yeah, she is very much the Girl.

[oyceter]

Now I want to reread to see the foreshadowing for Spoiler #1! Woooow.

And obviously, I need to post a spoilery write up of this so I can discuss it with people.

[seajules]

YnM, yay! My Hisoka love is pure and deep and true and if you check the fannish website, the link for which I can send you again, you will find all kinds of Hisoka-centric stuff.

[oyceter]

I have been checking out the fannish website already, thank you! ^_^

[seajules]

Okay. *G*

::not nervous at all, no::

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

There is a lot of quite good YnM fic out there, but much of it will be spoilery until you see the end of the anime. I have a couple drabbles, but avoid them till you've finished it. The last arc, the Kyoto arc, is my favorite and has some very beautiful Kyoto scenery.

I like Tsuzuki and Hisoka, and also Tatsumi because he is uptight and has glasses, and I seem to always like those characters in anime.

[oyceter]

Doh, ok. I'll go look for those after I finish the series.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Muraki creeps me out. Personally, I generally dislike enemy slash (unless they're antagonists-not-really-enemies, like the Kougaiji ikkou), and ten times more so when it involves a psycho sadistic serial killer rapist.

Muraki has a friend you haven't met much who has a major slashy vibe with Hisoka and would normally be the sort of character I like very much (no, no glasses, it's a different archetype), but I cannot get over him being buddies with a psycho sadistic serial killer rapist.

[oyceter]

Antagonist-not-enemy pairings I can do, but not when said enemy is freaking insane serial killer who raped you or your partner or plays horrible mind games.

Also, the whole "I will kidnap and torture people you love so you will pay attention to me" schtick is not sexy. Disturbing and creepy and stalkery, yes. But so not sexy!

[the_rck]

I don't know your taste in fics, but I've got some Yami no Matseui fic recs on my website. Most of them will be very spoilery (or confusing) until after you've seen the whole series. I don't tend towards any particular ships, so I rec a lot of different things. http://www.therck.org/yamirecs.html

There are some crossovers between X and Yami no Matsuei. I know I've rec'd at least one on my crossovers page. http://www.therck.org/crossovers.html

Of course, no guarantees that our tastes will match at all.

[oyceter]

Cool, thanks for the links!