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Minekura Kazuya - Saiyuki Reload, vol. 08-09 (Eng. trans.)
I barely remember volume 8, which acts largely as a bridge between 7 and 9, to provide enough time between Sanzo leaving the ikkou and their reunion so that the reunion is meaningful. I was glad that we get a female character, but sad that she serves as shorthand for Goku's interest in the female sex.
But volume 9! Oh! I am still not interested much in Hazel as a character, but as a misguided villain, he's great. The Burial arc type flashback for him made me fear for and fear him, and oh, Ukoku really does corrupt everything he touches, doesn't he? I think Goku would understand that the point isn't that the plant dies, but that it lives before it dies. But I love all the mentor-student relationships, the rabbit in the moon and the crows in the sun, the ever-present darkness battling forever with the memory of the moon and the rising of the sun.
I love muichi motsu and killing the Buddha and the patriarch but not dying before your friends, running from life when it is too much to bear only to find a hand reaching out toward you at the end of the road, the same hand that you once lifted out of bondage and out of solitude into a world of grumpy priests and not-entire-sane comrades. Just.. the hands! Oh, the hands!
(Though I had a hard time figuring out if it was Goku, because his old frilly wristband things have now lost their frills. But it couldn't have been anyone but Goku, not really.)
I love that it had to be now, that it couldn't have happened before, because all of them had to abandon the group, had to lose their sanity or their hope before Sanzo could, that Sanzo could climb out of rock bottom because he had helped the rest of them find their way as well. Because it's no longer his ikkou, but all of theirs, and because of "Who cares?"
This was so worth the wait.
But volume 9! Oh! I am still not interested much in Hazel as a character, but as a misguided villain, he's great. The Burial arc type flashback for him made me fear for and fear him, and oh, Ukoku really does corrupt everything he touches, doesn't he? I think Goku would understand that the point isn't that the plant dies, but that it lives before it dies. But I love all the mentor-student relationships, the rabbit in the moon and the crows in the sun, the ever-present darkness battling forever with the memory of the moon and the rising of the sun.
I love muichi motsu and killing the Buddha and the patriarch but not dying before your friends, running from life when it is too much to bear only to find a hand reaching out toward you at the end of the road, the same hand that you once lifted out of bondage and out of solitude into a world of grumpy priests and not-entire-sane comrades. Just.. the hands! Oh, the hands!
(Though I had a hard time figuring out if it was Goku, because his old frilly wristband things have now lost their frills. But it couldn't have been anyone but Goku, not really.)
I love that it had to be now, that it couldn't have happened before, because all of them had to abandon the group, had to lose their sanity or their hope before Sanzo could, that Sanzo could climb out of rock bottom because he had helped the rest of them find their way as well. Because it's no longer his ikkou, but all of theirs, and because of "Who cares?"
This was so worth the wait.
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And of course, in classic Minekura fashion, that great significant moment is followed by the hilarious conversation where Hakkai is like, "You could have broken his neck."
Minekura = GENIUS.
I've been doing the good bits reread of Saiyuki this week, and it just makes me so happy. The symbolism and imagery is so rich that everything has multiple layers of meaning, tying back to previous arcs and episodes or even all the way back to Gaiden.
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And oh, the HANDS!
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Hazel as a character kind of bores me, but I find his story interesting. I think that why I had problems with Vol 8 was that not only was there the eternal wait between volumes, but it was also, as you point out, largely a bridging volume.
Now, is there a freakier power than Ukoku's anywhere out there?
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But yeah, I like Hazel mostly in how he acts to illustrate relationships between other characters and as an antagonist.
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Yeah, of course I loved it :) The parallels between Sanzo & Hazel were a bit obviously stressed, but it was nice to see that Hazel's slowly coming back around to how he thought before Ukoku messed him up.
And I love how Sanzo is forced to realise that he's holding onto the idea of not holding onto anything :)
(eee, Nii's post-it about Gaiden!)
I love and hate Minekura for making me have little life epiphanies through manga; I'm not thirteen, dammit! But Ukoku's explanation of how a person is the end result of how other people see them - very profound (if twisted for Ukoku's nefarious purposes).
I really want to know what Ukoku wants to get out of all this (specifically,rather than "the next rising sun". He says he regrets not killing Goku, but if he had, he'd be having less fun now. Horrible man!
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And I love how Sanzo is forced to realise that he's holding onto the idea of not holding onto anything :) -- yes, exactly
But I didn't catch this part -- Ukoku's explanation of how a person is the end result of how other people see them -- I need to go back and find that.
I think Ukoku wants chaos and anarchy. The fact that his scroll, stolen, is the unmaking one is key.
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I think so, but more than that, I think he just wants unmaking and destruction. Just because I get the sense that the ikkou isn't totally averse to chaos and anarchy, as long as it doesn't result in serious harm. Ukoku, though, just wants to... erase.
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I totally missed Nii's post-it! I have to go back and check now!
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Those were the parts that totally made me want to cry. Sanzo admitting so frankly that he was humiliated and disgusted with himself, and then when Ukoku's basically mocking him for being pathetic, the whole Ikkou going "Who cares?" and talking about how they've all seen each other at their most pathetic...baw. That was beautiful. ♥ Totally worth the wait, yeah. I too was decidedly underwhelmed with volume 8, but this more than made up for it.
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I love that it had to be now, that it couldn't have happened before, because all of them had to abandon the group, had to lose their sanity or their hope before Sanzo could, that Sanzo could climb out of rock bottom because he had helped the rest of them find their way as well.
This. Yes. And I think that's the other half of the reason their reunion is not like Gojyo's reunion with the ikkou (the other half being things are just too dire for the usual level of bullshit, though they still squabble over 'catching' Sanzo).
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Oh man, I love watching Sanzo fall apart. And it's even better because we've had to wait so long for it.
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Yes. Yes.
Oh this was too good
(Anonymous) 2009-03-16 03:02 am (UTC)(link)A couple things to address:
The revolving themes in the series are absolutely breath-taking. The story is so vivid it's frightening. The crows and rabbits really add to it all.
The bet between Ukoku Sanzo (Dr. Nii) and Komyou Sanzo is definately a mystery, and probably the major line of the plot. Gyumaoh has never been the true storyline or the true enemy. Nii is the true enemy, and everything he does is in relation to his bet with Komyou. Like Sanzo is to Goku, and Komyou is to Sanzo, Komyou is also to Ukoku. If you want to learn more about this, I strongly suggest watching the Saiyuki Burial OVAs. Those are heavily influenced by Minekura herself, the stories identical to the graphic novels.
As for what the "next setting sun" is, that's anyone's guess. Here's mine: Sanzo. The bet is around him. There's nothing else that has remained consistent between when the bet was made and what is going on now and to whom. It has to be Sanzo. Keeping in mind also, that Komyou and Sanzo are both keepers of the scriptures of darkness and light, and are thus Sanzo's who are to combine these two features in every aspect of life. While Ukoku is the holder of nothingness, which fits him creepily well. Also throughout the series Sanzo has been referenced as the sun, characterized by his golden hair. So "next setting sun" could have a lot to do with him. As to what the exact prize is and what the bet is, I couldn't tell you.
Nii is pretty awesome, I'm not going to lie. Before he attended a Buddist temple at the age of 17, he had already acquired a Ph.D. and achieved several other high statuses. The line that Komyou tells him is that he's simply a predator waiting for something bigger to come along and eat him. Nii agrees with this reasoning, and kills the former Sanzo of the Muten scripture. Komyou was the witness to Nii's commemoration as a Sanzo, but the chakra never appeared. Nii is not a fake, he's simply a heretic.
And I don't know why no one likes Hazel. Just like the rest of the guys of their problems, he also has his. Also if you've noticed: Sanzo-purple, Hakkai-green, Gojyo-red, Goku-yellow, HAZEL-BLUE. I thought that was pretty cool. And he's just so cute.
The reason why Minekura doesn't write females is because most of her publishing/stories are yaoi, and if not directly yaoi, they have very heavy malexmale overtones. She dislikes women in her stories, especially as love interests.
That girl, for Goku's love interest/contact to outside world, could've been better done. The whole 'relationship' they had going was a little forced and somewhat shoe-horned in there. I mean, the only person in the world who really matters to Goku is Sanzo. Sanzo's the one who named him (500 years ago, ref. last ten episodes of Saiyuki first season) and the one who saved him from his imprisonment. Sanzo also instilled words of strength, even if unintentional. I will admit that without Sanzo there in the group with them, Goku finally had a chance to 'see with eyes unclouded' at the rest of the world, what real struggles were occurring and how real people were suffering. Nothing was softened in explanation for him, and he had to witness the atrocities first hand. That did come across rather well.
Re: Oh this was too good
Like Sanzo is to Goku, and Komyou is to Sanzo, Komyou is also to Ukoku. If you want to learn more about this, I strongly suggest watching the Saiyuki Burial OVAs.
I'm not watching the Saiyuki anime, largely because I like the series art too much and don't like the animation as much. Also, the Burial arc stories are all in Reload as well.
I am reading Sanzo as the setting sun, given that he has been referenced as the sun throughout the entire series.
The reason why Minekura doesn't write females is because most of her publishing/stories are yaoi, and if not directly yaoi, they have very heavy malexmale overtones. She dislikes women in her stories, especially as love interests.
Yes, but even yaoi doesn't mean the mangaka has to exclude women or to write badly characterized women, as can be seen by Fujiyama Hyouta and Konno Keiko and Yoshinaga Fumi, all of whom write sympathetic women even in their yaoi works. I also have a problem with authors who do dislike women in their stories, whatever the reason. The women don't necessarily have to be love interests, and limiting them to that role is demeaning.
Volume 10
Re: Volume 10