Minekura Kazuya - Saiyuki, vol. 01-09 (Eng. trans.) (reread)

[oyceter]

Really, this is just an excuse to use my shiny new icon! Yay ikkou love! Yay Sanzo waving a gun around!

I noticed more random and fun things this time around! I adore Minekura and how she sneaks these little things in.

Spoilers for all of Saiyuki!

- Kougaiji rescues Yaone from being taken away to Hyakugan Maoh. Imagine, in another life, she might have met Kanan!

- I am totally amused that Kami-sama called Gojyo "Mr. Red," largely because Dokugakuji befriended Kougaiji because Kougaiji reminded him of Gojyo. And the "kou" in "Kougaiji" means "red." And Dokugakuji and Yaone both call him "Kou" (though I wonder how that works in Japanese).

- I love that the Gaiden references start out much, much earlier than I realized! Kanzeon calls Sanzo "Konzen" in vol. 2 after she sucks Gojyo's blood (um... yay?) and obviously feels some affection. I completely forgot about the Nataku bits. So... did he not quite kill himself? Huh? And I just love love love the one page spreads of Tenpou, Kenren, Konzen and Goku standing around when Kanzeon talks about them, or how she keeps watching over them. Ahhh, I am such a sucker for backstory!

- I also absolutely love that Goku looks exactly like Gaiden!Goku when he's in the cave, down the the exact same clothes.

- I wonder if Sanzo would have turned out much more like Konzen had Koumyou not been slaughtered in from of his eyes.

- Pretty much everything that has to do with Goku in a cave for 500 years, calling out for someone he doesn't even remember, completely breaks my heart. I especially love the small snippet of kid!Gonou freaking out the nun, kid!Gojyo feeling unwanted, kid!Kouryou being confused, and Goku realizing he's lonely after playing with the bird. And then... Kouryou says he'd never answer someone who called him, then he lifts his head, thinking he hears something. Gah. Me = reduced to incoherent wibbling.

- I also like that Yaone's name is "Eight Hundred Mice," which matches the eight in Hakkai ("hatsu" -- the "tsu" becomes a small tsu when combined and forms the double letter for "kai").

- I must have read the books entirely too quickly the first time through, because I didn't like vols. 7-9 as much as vols. 4-5. But now, I adore them, particularly Hakkai being silently pissed off at Sanzo for leaving Gojyo behind, the slamming of the coffee pot, Goku being sad that everyone is off, and all that. And of course, all of them beating the crap out of Gojyo when they finally do reunite.

And the mahjongg game!

- It was really fun rereading, because when I first read the books, I didn't really care about any of the characters until vol. 4, which is when I began to violently adore Hakkai. I just liked Sanzo because he's a pissy bastard. And I didn't really like Gojyo until vol. 5 and the Kami-sama arc. It took me forever to warm to Goku.

Now I feel like shaking my old self and yelling, "How could anyone not warm to Goku?!?!"

He's just so happy and undamaged, considering that he was locked in a cave for 500 years, and he's got his head screwed on straight, unlike the others. And he cares so much. I adore him getting out the mahjongg set and making everyone play, and that proud little smile he gives Sanzo when Sanzo decides he's not going to be beaten anymore.

- Saiyuki mahjongg! Man, I so, so, so wish I had the raws for the mahjong chapters in particular, because I really wanted to know what they were playing! I think I know most of the combinations they're talking about, but I'm not sure because I'm not familiar with the Japanese names (fannishly taught me the really cool complicated way of playing mahjongg, and I love it!). But Sanzo's final winning hand is indeed the highest you can get. I peered at the page and checked out all the tiles just to make sure. Ah, mahjongg! How wonderful you are! You even revitalize the spirits of sarcastic, cynical monks!

Oh man, this is bad. I now want to make everyone else talk about Saiyuki as well, or write fic, or something, because I am just that hooked.

Comments

[octopedingenue]

It's been a while since I read the early volumes in order, but is the timeline really as close as that? (I can't remember if Yaone ever says specifically how long she's been with Kougaiji.) Kou takes Yaone away from Hyakugan Maoh because the Maoh already has a reputation for raping/killing his kidnapped slavegirls, so it's clearly something he does a lot--it never even occurred to me that there might've been a situation of the Maoh going "Got a nice tasty youkai slavegirl en route to me--darn, she got taken away! Guess I'll go kidnap this human girl named Kanan instead." I definitely think there are obvious parallels between Kou/Yaone and Hakkai/Kanan--with Kou being able to save Yaone from both things (rape and suicide) that Hakkai couldn't save Kanan from, and the connection Hakkai felt for (and the audience feels for him) Kou and Yaone because of that (which gives a really nice and unusual Kou/Hakkai connection that's interesting and surprising because they're dissimilar characters who interact directly very little). Are we really supposed to think that the thematic parallels are actually literal parallels, and Kanan is dead because Yaone is alive because Kanan was switched for her?

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

it never even occurred to me that there might've been a situation of the Maoh going "Got a nice tasty youkai slavegirl en route to me--darn, she got taken away! Guess I'll go kidnap this human girl named Kanan instead."

As far as I can tell that seems to be someone's fanon interpretation that's not borne out anywhere in the manga. Hyakugan Maoh has a reputation for taking women, raping them and killing them (I believe the Japanese says 'eating' but it's been a while since I read the manga.)

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Hey! It is my very own cracked fanon interpretation, though I would not be at all surprised to see it elsewhere. It is the kind of cracked fanon interpretation fans come up with, after all.

I thought what was unusual about Kanan is that she was human--that Hyakugan Maoh had a reputation for keeping his depredations to youkai--but I may very well have imagined that. I will try to look for evidence for, against, or completely nonexistant when I get home.

[oyceter]

Mmmm, cracked fanon interpretations.

Damnit. You know, this means I have to reread the entire series again! How dreadful. ;)

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I thought... Hyakugan Maoh had a reputation for keeping his depredations to youkai

I see no mention in the manga. All Kougaiji says in v.2 is that he 'plays' (moteasobu) with beautiful women as if they were toys, and when he tires of them he eats them. Nothing about where they come from. When used in connection with a woman moteasobu has the sexual meaning of 'have one's wilful way with' ie rape, but I think it's a bit of a euphemism- Kougaiji being tactful in the presence of a woman. as well as one of Hyakugan Maoh's intended victims.

In v.4 ch 19 the villagers say to Gonou that they had no choice but to give Kanan to the youkai. 'Anta mo shitteru darou' - you probably know about x, you must have heard about x- x being 'onna kari no hyakugan maoh no ichizoku'- hyakuganmaoh's tribe that go on 'woman hunts.' The villagers here are human, meaning Hyakugan Maoh's depredations are well-known to humans as well as youkai. I took that as evidence that he preyed on humans and youkai equally.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

oyceter and I both came up with the same idea independently upon re-reading the series, so I would call it a variant interpretation rather than fanon. It went right over my head when Yaone mentions it the first time, because we've never heard of Hyakugan Maoh at the point, and when he's mentioned later as Kanan's kidnapper, I didn't recall the name. But when I re-read the series, I went, "Hey! That's the same guy! I wonder if..."