#DMDP Update

[shazzeaslightnovels]

October 2023

(Series: Fate/Strange Fake | Artist: Shizuki Morii)

The fall season is packed with interesting shows and I've ended up watching more series than I usually would. I'm behind on a few of them but I'm trying to let myself be okay with that. I haven't watched any new JJK episodes since the last update. I'll catch up to it eventually but I'm waiting until I hear that Nobara and Maki have had some quality screen time. I also have nothing new to say about Pokemon Horizons. It's still a delight that I look forward to watching every week. As for everything else...

After-school Hanako-kun (2 eps) - a gag spin-off of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun. I enjoyed the original Hanako a lot so I was looking forward to seeing the return of the characters but I haven't enjoyed this one much so far. I don't think I've laughed once so far which is not a good thing a series of shorts focused on comedy. At least the episodes are only 10 minutes long but I'm disappointed that this isn't better.

Dead Mont Death Play Part II (2 eps) - I enjoyed the first half of DMDP but I can't say the return of it has impressed me much yet. It's fine but I'm not really intrigued by any of the new plot points or characters and I'm struggling to remember what I enjoyed about the first half.

Frieren (7 eps) - really good and worth every bit of the hype. I love this exploration of the elf character and how an elf would view time and relationships differently to how humans view them. The fantasy world is so beautiful, the story is engaging, and I love the characters. Probably my favourite show of the season so far.

I'm in Love with the Villainess (4 eps) - I've read the first 4 volumes of the manga for this and the light novel has been of my wishlist for a long time so I was excited about it getting an anime adaptation and it's good so far. I mostly have the same thoughts on the anime as I do on the manga: the character drama is really engaging but the world building is meh. But the anime does bring something new the table with some amazing voice acting. Yuu Serizawa and Karin Nanami are perfectly cast for Rae and Claire, respectively, and make all their interactions even more fun to witness. Some gags that I didn't find funny at all in the manga made me laugh in the anime due to the impeccable comedic timing. The animation is a bit disappointing at times but it's such a fun ride that I can't be too mad.

Spy x Family 2nd season (3 eps) - Spy x Family is back and it's still really good. Like with the first season, I don't love all of the plotlines but the ones that are good are really good. This show is comforting and I'm glad it's back.

The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Part II (4 eps) - while I thought the first part of this season set up a lot of good intrigue, it's in this second part that I'm starting to get really engaged in the character drama and story. I'm so invested in what's going to happen with Philomela and I'm excited every week for the new episodes. It also helps that the OP this time is incredible. In a season with a lot of strong openings, it may be my favourite.

List of Reviews:

Fate/Strange Fake 6

Danmachi Eiyuutan: Argonaut 2

Hamefura 13

[lovewhump]

New dmdp update but there's still no Katashiro on sight.....

Saimyouji feels kinda cool here tho

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chs 51-53 Thoughts

DMDP Chapter 53 came out today, (Friday / September 4, 2020) and I didn’t post my thoughts on Chapter 51-52, so I figure this post can be some sort of amalgamation wherein I talk about 53 and reflect on 51-52 together, somehow. These last few chapters do warrant some sort of reaction post, considering what’s happening...

Hm, but how to handle this? You know what, I’ll start by reflecting on the warehouse showdown with the Agakuras and Xiaoyu (etc), since that’s contained to 51-52 and not 53.

Warehouse (51-52)

So, I jokingly bet five bucks that Imbi might show up to protect Xiaoyu, you know, older sister vs older sister (Majiri) type shenanigans, but that did not come to pass. Probably for the best, since it would have been a bit much to suddenly give Imbi a whole visual debut as a character; having her for now be a possessive sister helping Xiaoyu off-page is totally fine.

We have names for the other two sisters: Kana and Dahlia Agakura. I like their designs quite a bit, so I’m glad we got their names early.

Majiri severing Xiaoyu’s right forearm was something. I’m definitely expecting Misaki’s “let’s exchange info about ourselves later” exclamation to Xiaoyu to pay off, but it remains to be seen whether Takumi will be included. I mean, he witnessed enough that it’d be futile to try leaving him in the dark.

Momoya is “seventh from the bottom” in terms of strength (?), but this “puts him in about the middle.” Of what? Nuclear siblings?

Momoya laughing even while down...gotta give it to him, he seems to have accepted his loss well. His injuries ehhhh not so much; the laugh turning into him coughing up blood was a good moment. Fatal-if-untreated injuries...

Majiri catching a pry bar between her teeth is... I mean, who does that? Would like this justified, please. She “might be even stronger” than Polka, muses Misaki, but I’d like to know, you know, how.

Habaki, Comps 3, and Fire-Breathing Bug

I’ll talk about the #51 flashback to Iwanome and Saimyouji more in MISC, but I must say, it’s great that the manga is finally starting to tackle FBB’s ‘deal’ with regard to ‘function’ (mechanics?) and motives. Granted, the motives were ‘teased’ mostly in Chapter 50; it’s with these last few chapters that we’re getting some idea of how FBB works.

“One, but not one.” Since we’re being shown the ‘emitters’ as viewers, we know for a fact they are being used somehow. The details are more up in the air, but of course they are. I like that FBB’s actions are being filtered to us through Iwanome’s perspective as much as they are being ‘shown’ to us visually.

Having Iwanome try to rationalize analyze possibilities and amend his understanding of who and what FBB is in real-time lets the reader do the same without necessarily confirming Iwanome’s theories as fact. Earlier, with Chapters 51-52, he was understandably redefining FBB as ‘just’ a group--since he did not witness, like the reader did, the past times when it seemed like FBB was possessing people, like the three officers with Know.

But then Chapter 53 shows us Iwanome actually questioned those officers on what happened, which pleased me immensely for his character (showing his thoroughness) and also as a plausible boost for him ‘making the connection’ like he does. He reassesses again to account for the possibility FBB is some sort of hypnotist--and while we cannot yet know if ‘hypnotist’ is precisely the method, it’s still a believable educated guess.

These chapters really reinforce Iwanome’s characterization as a thinker, if not an overthinker. His instinct in improbable situations is to analyze what’s happening; rather than “act first, think later.” The Lemmings incident was our first major example of it, and I really like this aspect of his character.

He can be careless with technology, he acts loud and frat-boy flamboyant at times, but this guy really falls into the brainiac camp.

But this isn’t supposed to be a “Rev gushes about Iwanome” post. Whoop.

Habaki doping up in Chapter 52 sure did happen. What kind of powder is that? I do feel for Iwanome regarding Habaki’s betrayal, since I’d welcomed him having one (1) ally in the police force circa Chapter 30....but I guess Habaki was corrupt his own way.

Oh, right, and he turned out to be a total piece of trash, actually, what with the Soara Habaki illegitimate daughter reveal. I do think we should’ve gotten a hint of this daughter before 53, though I guess I can’t remember them showing Habaki at his own desk before... maybe a wallet photo opportunity could have worked.

It’s not as if the #53 flashback (wherein Habaki uses his daughter to relate to Iwanome’s pain) wasn’t a solid ‘bonding moment’ addition to further make the betrayal hurt, I just think the “surprise! she’s alive!” deal and present ‘father-daughter fight” might have benefited from at least one earlier indication that Habaki had a child.

Soara herself seems cool, though. Her design really reminds me of Aging, what with the buff muscles, sports bra, six pack, toothy grin, “Greek statue” build...did I mention the muscles...and I had been intrigued in 52 by the panel in which she and the child debuted.

Speaking of that chapter 52 scene...how about that sorcerer bearing the Byandy emblem, fellas?

Or Habaki’s line earlier in the chapter: “Before long...he will bore a hole” (to this world). 

Would be nice if we could have a name for this sorcerer, soon. Obviously powerful, what with the lightning control (would it be too early to assume this sorcerer is good with weather in general?). Belongs to the Bastard Children of Sabaramond group. Aware that labs are conducting human experimentation that’s tantamount to “basically slaughtering people.”

Of course, we reasonably wonder what exactly this experimentation has to do with the BCoS, who/what/where/why/how etc.

My mind swiftly returned to the Chapter 50 teasing about FBB and “everlasting revenge”--pardon the speculation, but could FBB’s revenge have something to do with the experiments? If Soara was the first case to survive, then subsequent survivors would have to be pretty young, so it is likely FBB (the, uh, ‘source’ or ‘original’) would have been a test subject? Perhaps people FBB cared about were kidnapped as test subjects. Or maybe Bug just objects to the experiments in principle.

“He will bore a whole.” The question, of course, is who? (and what/when/how/why....)

I was right about Yatsu and Tozawa showing up. Two other Comps-3 members did as well (thanks to Yatsu)--I wonder if they or any other members of Comps-3 will get names?

Yatsu saving Tozawa’s life by sweeping his feet out from under him was good. Now to see whether Tozawa’s “I owe you one” will become relevant later. I’m not sure I like where the “Tozawa opens his eyes” in response to Hosorogi’s name, “Tozawa suggests he and Yatsu split up,” and “Tozawa places a call” panels are going...

...We already had the fakeout with Yatsu as the traitor (not) earlier, with ringing phones and Tozawa frowning at him panels; do you want me to be suspicious of Tozawa now too, Narita? I’m going to deliberately not think about those panels.

The guard smiling and shooting himself in the head was A Scene. I know it’s late, but surely others in the building would have heard that gunshot?

Misc

That flashback in Chapter 51 to Iwanome and Saimyouji’s conversation about gamma knives and detective work was interesting. Interesting both from an information standpoint + possible explanation standpoint, and as another Saimyouji scene. Saimyouji’s quip about corpses and Iwanome’s deeming of him as ‘nasty’ sure contrast with the past chirpy “gamer and fan of the occult” Saimyouji scenes. What’s his deal, Narita.

The “Solitaire of the Clouds” panel in 51 was funny has heck and I do not tire of Solitaire whatsoever. You’d think his whole “I have...NO PLAN” shtick might get old, since things tend to work out for him, but he’s such a good improviser and he’s not necessarily totally without backups that it has yet to get exasperating.

The sorcerer brings up Habaki making an “emergency call to HQ,” which I assume is referring to the call with Higuro. Is Higuro really part of the BCoS’s core?

Two figures are watching the sorcerer watching the Habakis fight from a distant rooftop; rather, the taller figure has some sort of (I assume) monocular or telescope trained on the sorcerer. Gee, who could those two be.

The height difference made me think of the Horojiima siblings, but I dunno why Clarissa would send them to this rooftop; she doesn’t know about the sorcerer or anything, so if it were the siblings I would assume they were on the rooftop for another mission.

The Horojiima snipers don’t seem that likely, though, so I dunno...maybe other members of the BCoS? Other members of Agakura? Heck, maybe the taller one is Lemmings doing his ‘day job’.

It felt like a long wait for this chapter because it was--almost a whole month this time, compared to the last release waits--so I hope it won’t be another month this time? Oh, wait, if longer waits means Narita is taking more time right now to focus on, oh, I don’t know...say, Baccano! Vol 23...then scratch what I said; I’ll wait forever.

Where will Chapter 54 start, though... I guess I can’t rule out the chance Narita will skip back to Misaki, Takumi, and Xiaoyu (or even Sayo & CG), but right now I guess I want to know most who those two figures are (and who, exactly, the sorcerer is as well as the child). The Habaki fight is, eh, taking place...I wouldn’t be too surprised if Habaki ends up becoming a test subject instead of dying at Soara’s hands?

Or maybe, depending on what Narita has planned with Tozawa, it’ll start with Tozawa’s call (or its consequences)...damn, the Yatsu fakeout has left me antsy and suspicious. I don’t want Tozawa to be a traitor, but I’m not sure I’ll enjoy being faked out twice. If I’m seeing fakeout flags where none exist, though, that’s on me. Habaki turning out to be not-so-great is already a blow to Iwanome and the reader, but Tozawa turning out to be shady at the same time? Ough.

I do want to learn a lot more about the BCoS, the “bore a hole” to Earth teasing, and am otherwise reasonably curious about the sorcerer, Soara, and the child...so yeah, would like more along these lines.

It’s odd that I haven’t brought Corpse God up much, but he’s been sitting out this event and there’s been no sign yet that this will change. Maybe once Misaki returns with Takumi and Xiaoyu, we’ll see set-up for CG being proactive in the next, er, ‘arc’, but I guess the question on a lot of our minds is whether or when CG and this sorcerer who bears the Byandy emblem will meet. CG isn’t super versed in elemental magic, from what 52 indicates, but could he perhaps somehow realize the elementals are currently being eaten/manipulated?

Anyway, I’ve spent enough time on this one; time to post and move on.

[pfpanimes]

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[infopangan]

Bekerja Berbagi Berkah di Bulan Ramadhan Bersama Delta Merlin Dunia Properti Perusahaan yang berada di bawah naungan Delta Merlin Dunia Properti (DMDP) yakni Fave Hotel, Hartono Mall, Hartono Trade... Update: JITU NEWS Indonesia - Berita Nasional, Politik, Peristiwa, Pangan, Energi, Air, Dan Gaya Hidup

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 50 Thoughts

Do I have time for this type of post? Not really. But it’s been several chapters since I did the last one, and I don’t want people to think I’ve given up on DMDP chapter reaction write-ups. Hopefully I can keep this short.

cue laugh track

I’ll try, I swear. For reference, the last chapter reaction I did was for Chapter 44 back in March.

So we meet three of Momoya’s sisters at the beginning of this chapter, and the one whose full name is invoked at the chapter’s end--Majiri Agakura--I just want to point out Fujimoto put a sketch of the panel with her back to the panel’s camera on Twitter.

In the run up to July 3, by the way, Fujimoto was releasing a DMDP character sheet on Twitter every two days to promote a Tsugimanga vote (in which DMDP was a nominee); we got seven sheets. I hope he does another run of them.

The panel of Majiri speaking “...Agakura Family” reminds me of that one panel with Arius Sabaramond in Chapter 36. Both panels put Majiri and Arius at a tilt, putting focus on their smiles while hiding their eyes out of frame. And both Majiri and Arius have hoop/loop earrings, though Arius’ are much larger.

I don’t know if this is just a case of “me reading too much into things” or if there is a deliberate visual parallel between the two panels?

What with the Agakura / Sabaramond apparent link...

Crowd of FBBs are singing Furusato, per the last chapter

The secret cell phone going off during Sorimura’s visit is pretty convenient, eh?

As amusing as Sorimura’s “act first, think later” ‘no plan’ plans are, alongside how they often actually work out for him, I do wonder if/when we’ll see his no-plan shtick properly backfire.

He’s found himself in tricky situations before, like with the rooftop encounters, but he’s always managed to escape. Will he always, though?

The caller turning out to be Grocer didn’t blindside me (heh), but it hadn’t crossed my mind and in retrospect it should have.

Jirotarou’s whole, “why do you think he has so many liberties in solitary confinement” was the nail in the coffin. Pretty much, “oh wait, damn, that makes sense.” I’d just figured Grocer had paid them off since he’s, you know, a merchant from an old family, but actually offering his services in exchange does sound like him.

That Jirotarou now knows about Iwanome’s contact with Hosorogi via the Grocer? That got me. Some part of me was thinking Iwanome’s conversation would come back to bite him in the ass later, what with Hosorogi previously lamenting Iwanome’s lack of caution/understanding with technology, but not this...soon?

Yeah, Grocer’s involvement is the cherry on top.

Is the call log just going to be a record of how long the call was, or is Grocer going to hecking give Jirotarou a whole damn transcript?

The whole bit with both Jirotarou and Sorimura recognizing Hosorogi’s name is classic Narita. Sorimura still doesn’t know much about Hosorogi beyond ‘missing inspector’, but he remembers the name from when he namedropped it on the roof in Ch. 32.

Was Jirotarou expecting the info about Habaki’s calls because they’re in cahoots, or because he already had his eye on Habaki...?

“I want Tsubaki Iwanome’s cell phone number” // I mean, okay, sure, +1 for unexpected Sorimura requests, but is Sorimura totally overlooking the fact Grocer just indicated he wiretapped Iwanome’s call?

I guess Grocer didn’t indicate Iwanome was using his own cell phone. Come of think of it, if Iwanome has a ‘work phone’ and personal cell phone, which is Sorimura asking for?

“Sabaramond is the name of the information channel I hired / coincidence that they share the same last name of Higuro”

Iwanome presses X for Doubt, but Habaki protests it really is the name. On the one hand Habaki is no longer trustworthy (sad times, I was endeared in previous chapters by Iwanome’s gratitude toward him), but his reaction seems to be genuine.

I guess Higuro has picked up the information slack following Takumi’s betrayal, but Higuro is just one ‘cog’ in a greater organization. Agakura, Sabaramond...

Policemen and pencil-pushers all approaching the meeting room zombie-like, mixing singing Furusato with “I heard it” and “Sabaramond...”

...culminating with pointing fingers at Habaki to accuse him of being Sabaramond’s bastard child. Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen FBB ‘possess’ (take over? infect?) the police; his introduction in Chapter 17 has him do the thing with the police escorting Know.

Meanwhile we have FBB’s rain-gear crowd surrounding the hideout with Momoya in it; I’m not sure if these guys were also muttering about Sabaramond, but Majiri definitely seems to take their presence as an accusation of Momoya as a ‘bastard child’--an accusation to which she takes offense.

This would appear to strengthen the Agakura - Sabaramond bond suggested thus far, no?

Curious that the words stopped burning into the wall when the crowd stops singing. Have team-MC inside spotted the words yet?

“All I will do is pity you. Pray for you. For your everlasting revenge.” hm. HM

Majiri’s sisters don’t seem to be in the know re: the people in rain-gear, but Majiri says they could call them friends. Also that there’s no use meddling with them; there’s no end to them no matter how many you stamp out.

And so the chapter ends with “wriggling and swarming, the infestation comes to light...” and the FBB policemen converging on Arase and iwanome.

So that line from Majiri, the  “All I will do is pity you. Pray for you. For your everlasting revenge” line...the lines are spoken over two panels: one of children burning behind a crosshatch grid...a grate? Grill? Cage bars? Prison? / the second panel displays a burnt doll and perhaps a burnt arm peeking out from under collapsed debris. What clothing is the doll wearing? Could be a clue as to when the event happened?

Well, talk about hints. If we take this at face value, is the conclusion to draw here that Fire-Breathing Bug desires ‘everlasting revenge’ on “the bastard children of Sabaramond” for whatever happened to those children?

Or are the burning children an example of the Bug taking revenge?

I’m not sure about that. FBB seemed to dislike the idea of someone as young as Corpse God being recruited by the BCoS, right? 

Though, he seems to have infiltrated the police despite hating the BCoS, who may be or at least are intertwined with Agakura, who may have connections to the corrupt police force, so who knows. Not that infiltrating the organization you hate isn’t conducive to one’s plans.

Anyway, Majiri. If she’s the Agakura who personally severed Xiaoyu’s hands and feet (which seems, uh, likely)...and she’s about to enter the hideout and collect her brother... imminent Agakura - Xiaoyu reunion round 2?

...Why do I have a sudden suspicion we may meet Xiaoyu’s older sister Imbi soon?

I mean, Momoya’s dynamic with his older sisters / the way they seem to be...possessive of him strikes me as perhaps having something in common with Xiaoyu’s relationship with Imbi--what with Imbi coming across as possessive / super protective of Xiaoyu.

I’m just saying, if Imbi shows up out of the blue to procted Xiaoyu from the very Agakura who delimbed him, somebody owes me five bucks.

Now, FBB...although the last panel of this chapter shows the FBB-guys surging at Iwanome and Arase, I’m half-expecting they’ll ignore our good duo for Habaki, though Iwanome did technically bring up Sabaramond first so hey, maybe he’ll not go totally unnoticed. Iwanome and Arase coming out of this relatively unscathed / next chapter showing the Bugs going for Habaki instead seems like something Narita might pull, but I hope the sense of danger doesn’t dissipate.

It’s possible Iwanome and Arase will try to save Habaki if FBB seizes him, since he’s still the chief and Iwanome probably can’t forget all the good Habaki did him so easily. Interfering with the Bug could mean danger...oh, and now that I think about it, surely Sorimura and FBB being in the same building will mean something, no?

That is, if/when Jirotarou is contacted about a situation unfolding in xyz corridor with Iwanome / Arase / Habaki, I’m sure Sorimura would be interested in what’s going on. Hell, if Sorimura decides to give Iwanome a call as soon as he has Iwanome’s cell phone number, which seems like something he might do, we can assume he’d hear the FBB people singing in the background. What he’d choose to do then...? Who knows.

Corpse God has been sitting this chain of events out so far--’this chain of events’ being the Takumi fetchquest, as far as he’s concerned--so I’m thinking if he’s going to be involved at all in this plot sequence (rather than sit this chain of events out entirely), now’s the time. If Imbi doesn’t show up at the hideout for a duel (or one vs three fight) of “possessive older sisters,” then Corpse God making an appearance seems within the realm of possibility. Takumi’s “we might be a little late” and “she saved my life” remarks may have piqued his concern.

(Or maybe, if the FBB crowd decides to regroup and enter the hideout anyway / if Takumi notices FBB’s words on the wall, a call from Takumi about what’s going on might spur CG to the scene.)

I think I speculated in a previous reaction post that Corpse God actively defending Xiaoyu might be a way to bring Xiaoyu around to him, so yeah--this seems like an opportunity for CG - Xiaoyu relationship progress.

Speaking of progress...the question ultimately is, “What is this sequence of events progressing toward?” What plot progress is being made? Right now Narita is drip-feeding tidbits on Sabaramond’s group, Fire-Breathing Bug, and Agakura. We’ve learned Habaki is colluding with Higuro / Sabaramond’s people. Sorimura - Jirotarou interaction has revealed Jirotarou’s utilization of Grocer and wiretapping > Jirotarou and Sorimura now aware of Iwanome’s contact with Hosorogi.

Right now this means more to Jirotarou than it does Sorimura; if Sorimura establishes a direct line of contact with Iwanome, however, another thread in the web is forged. Eightport has informed Yatsu of Habaki’s treachery--we might assume Yatsu tells Tozawa about this, and ah, maybe Yatsu and Tozawa will go looking for Habaki and find Iwanome and Arase in trouble. Both are pretty physically competent, so they might be able to help.

Whether the situations with FBB are defused, however Majiri + sisters’ pickup of Momoya plays out, whatever happens, I just hope this sequence of events is leading us to some major information illuminations or plot thresholds. We had a bit of a wait for this chapter, so fingers crossed the next wait isn’t as long.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 44 Thoughts

Chapter 44 was released on March 6, 2020; this time my reaction post is late because I forgot to write one! I’m sure the void won’t mind.

By far the most intriguing thing about this orphanage flashback (read: the only really standout thing) is Clarissa’s appearance and involvement. Long hair, medical eye patch...is that a school uniform? Makes me wonder how old she is here. My first instinct regarding the eye patch is that this flashback may be occurring not long after whatever issue w/her left eye became an issue, too... 

Assuming we’re going to get more Misaki-Clarissa flashbacks in the future (and likely Hosorogi-Kuraki flashbacks eventually), “we’ll see.” Still, I really want to know how old she is in the flashback. If 18/19 or thereabouts... her kindness toward Misaki is honestly sweet at a glance, she comes across as quite gentle. Seems like this isn’t her first visit to the orphanage; has she been going there to cheer up/play with the children?

...Possibly...! At the same time, depending on where she is in her “path to leading a freelance murderfuntimes agency...” ...Either Misaki will end up her first recruit for her eventual freelance murderfuntime agency, or Clarissa has already been visiting the orphanage with such agency plans already on her mind.

It’s been a month since the last chapter, so it took me a good couple of minutes to remember why Misaki’s shirt had been cropped into a crop top.

I do remember feeling wry over Takumi’s situation and wondering how long the rescue operation would take. That Misaki is thrown off the van in this chapter is therefore a bit gratifying, since I was half-expecting she’d be able to successfully tear into the roof on a first try or something.

On the one hand I like that Misaki is finding the act of rescuing someone genuinely enjoyable (it occurs to me this is a natural follow-up to or natural character ‘growth’ following her protecting the Shinoyama twins during the estate arson!). 

On the other, I’m a bit surprised that the thrill of “challenging someone way scarier than [her]” is this late an experience/realization; has Misaki never challenged someone (she considers/ed) “way scarier” than herself before, or is this only the first challenge that gave her a thrill? 

(What does that say about how she may or may not have regarded Arase...? And what about that past encounter with Lemmings? Hm, I need to reread those chapters.)

I said this elsewhere, but I hope the manga will clarify vampire origins a bit more. Are all vampires ‘evolved zombies’ like Misaki, or are there other ways of becoming/being a vampire? (I hope for explanations because wiki).

Also snrk at “Vampire Myrcadia Lulula, local feudal lord” and “her husband, gardener.” Not a snrk at the husband, who looks lovely, but at Narita.

If I’m not mistaken, those are...scars visible under Takumi’s undershirt/tank top, right? Yeesh--y’think they’re all from the same source, e.g. one large burn on his back? (I admit my brain immediately went to a certain Baccano! character who has a large burn on his back among countless other scars). 

My first thought was that these scars must be from the forced double suicide attempt, and I think that’ll continue to be my working assumption until proven otherwise.

(On an entirely unrelated note... Up until now I thought the visible shoulder strap of his tank top/undershirt was simply attached to/a component of his shirt. Welp.)

What exactly have they bound his wrists with? Cords?

“As soon as I’ve gone through the data on it.” / Surely Takumi is the type of person to put some effort in protecting his phone’s data...

“I hear he can’t even hold a decent conversation without that headset on.” | and I hear the Takumi angst well doth run deep, and may run deeper still. The real question of course isn’t ‘how deep doth it run’ but ‘when will the well well over” and we get that sweet sweet emotional crisis.

Or: “So, how long until Takumi’s visor is forcibly taken away from him?” I know we’re all thinking it, and be “we” I mean myself and the void. I’m not necessarily expecting it to be removed here--because an author might well want to hold onto that card for some future arc--but...

...I gotta say, Takumi is holding out somewhat admirably here considering he’s terrified, injured, trussed up, face-to-face with Higuro...granted he may also be in a bit of shock by this point, but the point here is he hasn’t yet reached a breaking point, so I’m just waiting now to see to what extent Narita will strain Takumi’s ‘strong front’.

I’ve been somewhat hesitant to outright assume Agakura is Momoya’s family name despite him being a family member of the Agakura, but I think Higuro referring to him as “Agakura-san” can be taken as a favorable sign this is the case.

Oh, I thought “Crazy Bones Kagura” was the name of a person, not a motorcycle gang. Eh, maybe the gang got its name from a person...

If I don’t get the full story with Higuro’s current deal soon, I swear...

When I first read this chapter I didn’t think twice about Takumi’s shock re: Xiaoyu, but thinking about it now... wouldn’t Takumi have looked into Xiaoyu’s background once it was confirmed Sayo and Xiaoyu would move into Polka’s/Clarissa’s building? I mean, he did look into Polka’s past...

...wait, I’m an idiot, obviously he’d already researched Polka back when Misaki was supposed to murder Polka. Stupid. So maybe Takumi’s not actually someone who researches every person he meets...

Mm, well, even if Takumi did try to look up Xiaoyu, how much information would there be on an assassin from an assassin family (and one whom the Shinoyamas subsequently used in their experimental cyborg research at that)? Takumi’s good, granted, but...eh, I’m spending too much time on this.

I don’t know why I wasn’t seriously expecting Xiaoyu to be involved (involve himself) in this situation, but I should’ve definitely considered it more than I did. Specifically because Momoya is involved (i.e., continuing the Higuro-Takumi / Momoya-Xiaoyu ‘reunions’), that is; I think I can get a pass for not predicting Xiaoyu’s initial plan to bug Takumi’s place...

(Actually I am now wondering whether I’ve been misconstruing how Xiaoyu’s ‘eavesdropping’ ability works. I think I’ve been assuming something along the line of “enhanced hearing” / ‘radio-tuning’-esque, but what if Xiaoyu’s ability is dependent on listening devices after all? That would nerf his ability a bit...

(Either way I do think range must play some sort of role; that is, it could very well be Takumi’s apartment is ‘out-of-range’). I guess I’m glad Xiaoyu’s involved because I’d probably be disappointed if this situation (arc?) didn’t include a direct Momoya-Xiaoyu interaction in the end. 

A Misaki & Xiaoyu team-up vs Momoya is suddenly sounding likely...

...Very likely, because I say so and because I’m not sure either of them could ‘defeat’ Momoya on their own at this point in time: Misaki simply going off last chapter; and Xiaoyu because trauma. I mean, to be entirely fair to Xiaoyu, this time around he’s a cyborg with actual experience under his belt (he ran into Momoya on his first job, don’t forget). On the other hand, him being shaken by the rooftop showdown, his uncomfortable confrontation with Taipei, him putting his hand to his shoulder this chapter...these are all reminders he’s brittler than he wants to be.

Moreover, I suspect Takumi may not be the only person Misaki ‘rescues’ here--her epiphany about ‘the joy of rescuing others’ this chapter seems significant enough to me, and Xiaoyu’s solo chances against Momoya fraught enough to me, that I’m left feeling like this is set-up for Xiaoyu needing to be ‘rescued’ in his own fashion. Perhaps he will be the first to ‘tangle’ with Momoya, and perhaps something will go wrong--perhaps he will freeze instead of fight, perhaps he will fight but immediately be on the defense instead of offense...

...and perhaps Misaki will swoop in and save his hide, whether by intercepting Momoya or literally carrying Xiaoyu out of Momoya’s range (however fantastic a range it is, surely her wings could outfly it). Xiaoyu might resent her for it, if he isn’t losing his mind over how/why she has wings. (Then again, he’s a cyborg?! Maybe he’d be slightly less fazed than I’m assuming). He might ask her what she’s doing. He might certainly distrust her, just as he distrusts fake!Polka.

The thing is, Xiaoyu is technically a fake(!) himself. A fake!butler, for instance; he is a butler-in-training/he does carry out a butler’s duties, but this work is still ultimately ‘cover work’ for his ‘true’ work as an assassin/bodyguard. (God, what if someone like Taipei were to mockingly call him a fake human? I guess that could be something for him and CG to weirdly bond over, someday...) 

The thing is, Misaki is pretty damn good at sussing out ‘fakes’. All right, technically other killers / underworld denizens etc., but the point stands. Just as Momoya instantly pins her as a killer, she sussed out Know as suspicious when he was undercover. I think there’s a very, very good chance she’s known Xiaoyu is no mere butler all this time--so much so I’m questioning why I haven’t thought all this over sooner. She must have (at least partially) figured Xiaoyu out already.

Now--now I’m thinking she’s going to reveal to Xiaoyu she’s known all along (during or after she ‘rescues’ him?), and I’m thinking Xiaoyu, shocked, will demand to know why she’s kept quiet all this time. Why hasn’t she said anything? Or, has she already ratted him out to fake!Polka--have they been toying with him all this time? Why has she now helped him out, despite knowing everything?

And Misaki... I can see her citing her newfound enjoyment of rescuing people, of course, but I’m hoping the ‘fakes’ angle will be addressed in some respect here. There’s the fake!butler angle, but there’s also the fake!son angle (except Misaki being able to suss out assassins doesn’t mean she’d be able to deduce all of Xiaoyu’s deeply-rooted insecurities and yearning desires regarding ‘best son’ position, so, scratch that thought)... maybe Misaki’d have some personal contribution as well...

...but then there’s trust, too. If Misaki has kept silent about Xiaoyu all this time out of some kind of trust (e.g. if CG trusts him, she’ll trust him--or, Xiaoyu hasn’t done anything so far, so...), and if she expresses that trust to Xiaoyu now--well, heck, that might shake him up. 

Ooh, and then there’s the fact this (hypothetical scenario) isn’t necessarily the ‘first’ time Misaki’s rescued him--does her intervening in the Taipei confrontation count? Quite possibly yes.

Anyhoo, change of subject--I brought up Misaki’s wings a bit earlier, but it occurs to me that her ‘swooping in’ here would also mean revealing she’s ‘not human’ to Momoya and Higuro, and...well, if that’s a card CG is willing to put into open play than so be it; I’m just not 100% sure if it’s one she should be revealing so soon. It may not occur to her that she perhaps should. Oh well.

I could probably continue rambling (not only on the Misaki-Xiaoyu front but also the Higuro-Takumi front; also, the “dangit I want more Iwanome” front), but this post is long and the void will either be indifferent to that fact or dislike it; either way I need this post to end so end it I shall.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 41 Thoughts

This chapter released in Japan on January 4, I believe, but it’s only out in English today on January 7. (To be fair, YP may very well consider the first week of the New Year a vacation week or lax week; I’m just glad we didn’t have to wait a week for it).

Thoughts/reactions under the cut. 

(On an unrelated note I’ve refined--or at least I think I’m slightly more confident in--my Hosorogi theory, but I guess I should make a separate post about that.)

“To: Hosorogi, Recipient: Tsubaki Iwanome” / Uh... if Iwanome is the recipient, shouldn’t the email be from Hosorogi? YP? Guys?

Hm, it may be too early to speculate...but as soon as I saw the email I was questioning whether Hosorogi actually sent it. I don’t have a good reason why; for now we may as well take it at face value.

Ah, this must be the basement room where Hosorogi was murdered. But no Hosorogi... Well, of course Iwanome wouldn’t be holding out hope that Hosorogi is alive (”there’s no way he would die so easily”) if he had discovered hosorogi’s body, so that makes sense.

I think I always assumed someone besides Iwanome ‘discovered Hosorogi’s body’ in the torture building--but now I’m struggling to remember if they ever actually said the police found Hosorogi’s body or if he was presumed dead after being missing for so long. Gotta reread.

Ai-ai-aye, okay--rather than Hosorogi being taken to the room and killed there, he was perhaps killed there and his body thence removed via the secret passageway? I’m surprised I’m fuzzy on the details re: what’s been said about his death. Gotta reread.

Ah, so my prediction was correct: Corpse God has used necromancy to carry Nishida’s body into the secret passageway. Granted I tossed out all sorts of other possibilities alongside this one, but this was the first one! However, I was wrong in assuming CG would use the new invisible hands technique; I’m not sure why I jumped to the hands technique considering we have literally seen skeleton corpses doing housework before?

Probably because I’ve seen the hands technique more recently than the skeletons in the manga.

Mm, given information is one of many commodities Joker sells, I’m not surprised he’s keeping an eye on the situation; he’s probably been monitoring the building since the rooftop incident at the very least if not since Solitaire’s first visit to the place, and knowing Narita probably for even longer. (You wanna bet five years ago?)

That light-haired policeman’s facial design..it’s just barely memorable enough that I wonder if we’ll end up seeing more of him. Something about the eyes.

Oh right, Takeru told Taipei and Bao to hang around Polka’s building in Ch.37 because he wants them to bring in Solitaire. He may have warned them to mind the police, but these police are definitely not what he had in mind, ha ha. Oh, irony.

Bao is communicating with an earpiece...where is she watching this from? Somewhere close enough she can observe with the naked eye, or is she using tech similar to how Takeru monitors with drones?

AHA, the Corpse God did know about the secret passageway in advance--he discovered it when using necromancy to search the premises the night of the rooftop incident. I had been wondering whether CG already knew about the secret passageway...man, should’ve assumed he might’ve discovered it that night. That makes a lot of sense. 

Actually, come to think of it, I remember wondering if Hosorogi might know about the secret passageway and if so whether he might be able to inform CG of it...but huh, it sounds like...Hosorogi might not know about the passage after all?

I guess it’s possible he might have been unaware prior to his death, but even if he was killed in the room and his body thence removed via the passageway--would he not have noticed via spirit-form/seen them remove his body?

Hold on, I’m forgetting that new spirits often seem to be confused when ‘waking’ and have delayed recall. Perhaps Hosorogi only ‘woke up’ or ‘came to his senses’ after his body was removed.

So earlier in the chapter I didn’t realize Takumi was holding the shark sleeping bag--I thought he was walking in it to hide his identity, which was incredibly funny for reasons I can’t explain. Alas, I was mistaken.

“It’s the same as five years ago” / Uh, have the police officers outside been discussing the room’s emptiness or something?

Psht hold up, was “a baseball cap” Higuro’s idea of a disguise up until now? Maybe as a face obscurer for cameras, sure, but was he. Was he not considering running into people on the streets. W h a t.

Oh I thought Arase killed those eight SotS guys? Didn’t Takumi say Arase “took [them] out” back in Ch7? But it’s true that ‘taking someone out’ doesn’t always mean killing them, and on second thought a police officer killing eight gang members (not out of self-defense?) isn’t the smartest action. (Also it could have certainly looked like Arase killed them, in Takumi’s eyes).

I was right, looks like Taipei is indeed a Lei Family member (increasing the chance Bao is one as well). Oof, he’s nastier/meaner than I thought; at the very least, I wasn’t expecting him to have some sort of superiority complex. Lording himself over Xiaoyu as his superior, dismissing non-family members as rabble... no, wasn’t expecting that.

Gotta hand it to Misaki’s spatial awareness; she probably noticed Xiaoyu peeking around the corner as soon as she was outside.

Momoya: *concludes Misaki is ‘no amateur’*

Me: At what?!

Momoya: “She’s probably killed...at least ten people.”

At killing. Right. Amazing how he clocks her as a killer on distant sight.

So does Higuro recognize recognize Misaki as one of Clarissa’s people, or has he at least heard rumors about the killer Zaki (i.e. rumors about a young brunette assassin or something)? Maybe he knows what kinds of assassins Clarissa hires.

Before taking a look at Misaki he says “no way, It couldn’t be your family...” Was he guessing “that girl” might be with the Agakura? Bit weird when Momoya just asked “who’s that girl”--unless the Agakura are big enough that Momoya might not know all of its members.

Okay so the first time Imbi texted Xiaoyu she seemed a bit over-protective but I didn’t think too much of it, considering Xiaoyu’s situation. It was almost sweet. THIS text, though... yeesh. She’s actively watching him? She immediately retaliated against Taipei as ‘proof’ of her love? Um. oh boy.

“She’s no amateur” / yeah we get it, Taipei, we know, we get it, you’re not the first. Arase pegged you as a killer on sight and smell. I guess killers just have ‘killer-radar’ or something. Sure.

Misaki is a shrewd one, make no mistake.

“So it really is a den of thieves.” Is this a callback to Takeru calling the police a “pit of vipers” in Ch37? Though here it sounds like Taipei is extending that to Polka’s group too, or the building, or Shinjuku itself.

I know I’ve complained about brought up this manga’s pacing before--I’m pretty sure I’ve opined this current situation is proceeding at a slower pace--and this chapter felt like an inch of progress was made, aha. While I was reading it, at least. The pages where Momoya and Higuro are commenting on all of the players involved did read a bit like a ‘player summary’, so to speak, and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Not necessarily ‘for the players to make their moves’, because moves are being made and character conflict setups are being set up just a little more. This chapter gives us...

...the successful hiding of Nishida’s corpse, so score 1 for Polka’s team--but what next? The police are still searching the building and are going to monitor the neighborhood cameras, but CG can’t exactly hide Nishida’s corpse in there forever. Or can he? Would a decaying corpse’s smell reach the basement room? What if the police find the passageway? (If the corrupt members know about the passageway, what if they contact Ikeuchi with ‘blueprints’?)

...confirmation that the Joker and Takeru(’s people) are monitoring the situation;

Confirmation that Taipei is with the Leis, establishment of history with Xiaoyu and therefore setup for potential future conflict or tension between the two. Also serves to stress Xiaoyu’s current situation a little more; his current bodyguard job is important to the Leis too, not just Shinoyamas.

Momoya and Taipei are both now alerted to Misaki’s ‘non-amateur’ status (and Misaki conversely at min. aware Taipei has a connection to Xiaoyu). Will Taipei have Bao investigate Misaki? If he informs Takeru of the encounter I’m sure Takeru would want to know more about her.

It might be a bit too early too tell, but Momoya’s interest in Misaki makes me wonder if this chapter is setting up a potential fight between them.

Higuro suspecting Misaki as one of Clarissa’s people may complicate his situation a bit; meddling with CG’s crew thus means meddling with Misaki means potentially meddling with Clarissa, and he sounded wary of her.

I suppose the Joker’s prediction that “market prices for assassins will be on the rise” is likely correct, so this might be setup for plot elements to come. Say, the Agakura likely still need a sniper now that the Horojima siblings have sod off. Maybe these increased prices will delay finding a replacement...or maybe the Joker will hook them up with an ‘affordable’ sniper after they pay an information fee, if they get into contact with him. (It’s quite possible they know how to contact him and know about him, right? He has a reputation, after all.)

Would Joker be willing to sell the Agakura an assassin/information on an ‘affordable’ assassin? Ehhh I guess for the right price, yeah; it’s not like we’ve seen him have certain principles or lines-not-to-cross or blacklisted clients. Yet.

(The Joker did also say the ‘Shinjuku market’ will be a wreck so perhaps he means assassin prices will go up in the Shinjuku market specifically... I don’t think the Agakura are based in Shinjuku since Momoya and Higuro have to head there, so would they necessarily be browsing the Shinjuku market? If they want a sniper based in Shinjuku, maybe.)

I guess it’s worth asking why the Shinjuku market will be a wreck and why he thinks assassin prices will increase due to the Sakuradamon branch “making moves.” The whole market, or just the assassin market? Ah, wait, black market--the presence of Sakuradamon police might make black market dealers more hesitant to shift goods (or make it more difficult for them to operate). Assassins might raise their prices due to ‘increased risk’ (e.g. harder to assassinate with increased police presence/with Sakuradamon poking around). Wonder if the Joker is predicting that one of the police’s moves in particular will cause a price increase.

(Hm, very random/wild thought, but could Joker also be thinking another assassination attempt on Solitaire is on the horizon? Solitaire implied the police ordered the assassination attempt on him, so heck, maybe Shinjuku assassins are also thinking the police might want to try again. I don’t think this is what Joker was thinking, though.)

I’m not sure why this was so long despite this chapter only inching the progress along... People are making their moves, but they’re still all kinda holding their breath. Lots of people monitoring the situation, readers included. Lots of people who may have to tread more carefully, which could mean the slower pace will continue--but if one of them doesn’t set off a snowball situation soon, maybe a troublemaker will.

Once again, way too many words and way too much time was expended; it’s 3:40 PM and it shouldn’t be--did I really spend 1-2 hours writing this? Oh dear.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 42 Thoughts

Not hot-off-the-grill thoughts, since I’m posting this on Jan 21 and YP published their translation on Jan 17. Four-day-old leftover thoughts, delivered anyway because I for some reason decided to make DMDP chapter reactions a thing and keep up with it I must.

Well, and because I still want to. Also because an anonymous person left a ‘comment’ on the DMDP Wiki chapter 42 article/summary I wrote saying how it made their heart race in excitement to see what’ll happen next; seeing their enthusiasm for the chapter and how much they were/are looking forward to Ch.43 was, how do you say...nnnn, nice? Motivating? Anyway.

I’m 80% sure that when I glanced at page 1 I went--”Wait, what about Eightport’s second client?” ...so having my question answered on page 2 was vaguely satisfying.

That she managed to rope her boss/the chief editor into being the second client guinea pig is also vaguely funny. On the one hand the Chief wonders “about the kind of person who’d use her own boss as a guinea pig” (reasonable)--but in the end he’s the kind of boss who’d agree to it, it seems, so maybe it wasn’t unreasonable for Eightport to ask. 

He’s also the sort of editor/journalist who recognizes a story too good and/or important to entirely ignore, so I’m guessing he agreed to come partly to get a read on “Polka” for himself; get a gauge on the story potential and to what extent Eightport’s hunches are rooted in reality.

I was also going to suggest he partially came out of concern for her, but nah--his request here for her to hand the case over to the more veteran reporter “Himura Atari” is a direct reaction to the abnormal police situation at a building the police have a history with. He might have thought there was potential to be concerned; in any case, he was right.

I wonder if we’ll end up meeting this Himura Atari or if he’ll just remain an occasionally referenced name.

I don’t particularly like or dislike Eightport, but I’m bothered that I don’t know her age. She’s clearly not incompetent and this is her third year at the company, but I assume she’s under thirty (let’s say 21 or 25)--she’s very much the “ambitious/headstrong young visionary” reporter archetype that is so often set up for a nasty fall...

I just deleted a whole paragraph clarifying/expanding on my opinion on Eightport so far because it threatened to be two paragraphs and I don’t have the time today to rewrite two paragraphs for half an hour.

“If anything else comes up, I’ll give you first dibs on exclusive news.” / Um, ‘anything else’/’news’ related to the fortunetelling case, or just a random juicy story in general?

“I’ll make him the center of this case if I have to!” / Snrk. Sounds legit.

“I’ll make him the center of this case if I have to!” --Narita, on any given character at any given time.

something something everyone’s the central figure in Naritaland, main protagonist yadda ha

“Great Detective Sharkolumbo” / The sad thing is Sayo could be making that up on the spot or actually referencing some fictional media in DMDP and I have to assume it’s the latter.

All this time I thought she simply sent Xiaoyu out to buy shark merch and groceries. Maybe there were hints re: the gemstones out there, but if I noticed them I forgot them in the interim between chapters. I’m not bothered, since the jewels were unexpected in a good way. 

“Hey look, things that may help to progress the plot!” ha

Also good as a character moment for Sayo. I have no doubt her room and board are a non-issue--like, Rozan wouldn’t send her there w/o ensuring money for food and maybe the extra strain on utilities, and she’s not an official tenant (right?) so it’s not as if she’s paying Clarissa rent. If she is, I assume raw gemstones aren’t uhh, acceptable legal tender (I mean, I suppose Clarissa would know someone--probably the Grocer--who could turn those gemstones into cash for her, but c’mon).

Anyway hey! Proaction! Contribution to the plot! She was never really an active obstacle to the plot since she pretty quickly learns of and accepts the fake Polka, and I wouldn’t call her ‘pure sharkomic relief’ or ‘deadweight’ given her serious conversation with Misaki--what she’s always had is the potential to be a useful ally of Corpse God, given her wealth and Shinoyama status, and this is the first time she actively uses her resources on his behalf.

I hope the CG’s plans for the gemstones do come to pass (i.e. that her actions weren’t for nothing), and I hope this isn’t the last we see of her taking the initiative/taking action for a while. 

This time around she used her wealth on his behalf...so maybe next time it’ll be her voice/power as a Shinoyama that lends “Polka” critical support?

In a way that might already be indirectly coming to pass, since Xiaoyu now knows Sayo knows “Polka” is an impostor. If Rozan’s vouching for the fake Polka wasn’t enough on its own to thoroughly sway Xiaoyu, given how much Xiaoyu venerates him (ah, except that might be precisely why Xiaoyu wasn’t immediately singing a new tune), maybe Sayo vouching for CG as well will be important.

Narita while I’m glad you’ve let us know the Grocer is keeping tabs on the police situation and now knows about the gemstone situation--uhh how many more updates on the Grocer’s own information updates will it take before it becomes relevant? I suppose someone will come along to request the Grocer’s services eventually--though it might be neat to see the Grocer reach out to someone first.

Oh lordy lou, Xiaoyu knows about the corpse in the basement passage.

Ey, Urai made it back to Youtoukorou in one piece. He seems scared enough of potentially, uh, no longer remaining in one piece that I wonder if he’ll try begging Clarissa to let him stay in the bar--maybe in whatever that shadowy room from a few chapters ago was? Might think it’s safer to stay in a place regularly inhabited by contract killers then go home on his own.

On the other hand I assume the police are keeping an eye on Youtoukorou...wait, but Urai doesn’t yet have a reason to be afraid of the police, I think.

anyways Nishida’s decapitated corpse huddling next to Urai on the floor in the same shivering pose is oddly sweet and possibly one of my favorite panels of the chapter. 

Takumi bolting at the sight of Arase, godspeed. Good to know the building has a back entrance or something one can slip out from; I mean, it would be weird for a building not to have a back entrance, but...never mind.

I’m not a bad cook at 23, but I envy Xiaoyu’s cooking skills at 19. I also seem to remember that he retrieved a single portable burner/hob from his bag the morning after he and Sayo arrived to cook an egg...and the kitchen area as seen in the one panel in this chapter doesn’t look very equipped (at least from that angle)...so did he somehow accomplish all of that with just a burner, some steamer baskets, and either a pot or wok or both or...

It might take longer to cook with a single burner but since steamer baskets are usually stackable he might at minimum have been able to steam both batches of dumplings at once in a wok while----while-- why am I spending so much time on this.

Takumi fleeing was the right call, given that Arase is definitely looking around for him... oh right, Arase has extra motive to do so now that he’s made the Higuro-Takumi connection. Wasn’t he looking forward to running into Takumi that morning? I have a memory.

I...really like that Iwanome crouched down to look “Polka” in the eyes.

“the policeman shouldn’t know about that symbol” | HE STRAIGHT UP LEAPED TO HIS FEET AND YANKED YOU FORWARD BY YOUR ROBE TO ASK WHAT YOU KNEW ABOUT IT

“Oh yes that was a totally normal and understandable reaction from someone who knows nothing about the symbol. Under no circumstances could that have implied he knew anything whatsoever.”

...

Oh hold up, I forgot for a hot minute there that Corpse God never actually saw what Hosorogi drew for Iwanome.

Seriously. Go back and check Chapters 24-25. In Ch24 the Corpse God admits it was too dark for him to make out what Hosorogi had drawn (I assume due to the veil?), and in Ch25 he asks Hosorogi what he drew but Hosorogi demands a 1 million yen fee (before saying it has to do with one of his ‘lingering attachments’)--CG never pressed him on that.

In other words please ignore the capslock yelling above. 

If the CG had at any point cause to think Iwanome knew remotely anything about the symbol he obviously would’ve done something about it already, jeebus. And if he’d actually witnessed Hosorogi drawing the symbol for Iwanome then that would’ve been the point anyhow, i.e. the point where he’d go what the fuck how do YOU know about this and the manga would have proceeded very differently.

Amazing how basic one’s logical reasoning is when one has more than two brain cells. Oof.

"Polka. Polka! What I wrote down for this detective before... The truth is--!”

I think I described this moment in the wiki article as something along the lines of, “Hosorogi realizes too late the consequences of his own secrecy and attempts to alert...” and I stand by it, though I admit the “realizes too late the consequences” bit might be borderline presumption.

I think it’s a reasonable interpretation of Hosorogi’s uh........body....language...here. He remembers the moment when Iwanome grabbed CG by the next, goes “...Ah?!” and I assume this is him remembering CG doesn’t know why Iwanome reacted that way, that he never told CG what was on the paper.

Him attempting to tell CG the truth first is him anticipating the consequences here--of CG missing information that Iwanome is acting on, probably anticipating that CG will later be none too happy with him for keeping his own knowledge secret, etc.

Oh God it’s 5 PM, don’t tell me I’ve spent the last two hours writing this post.

“You’re in touch with Hosorogi somehow, aren’t you? If possible...can you let me see him?” OH NO Iwanome is far too earnest here for me to handle oh nooo

I’ve been a bit ambivalent about Iwanome clinging to hope that Hosorogi just has to be alive--one the one hand I’ve wanted to go, “Iwanome, really--you’re in denial; aren’t you supposed to be level-headed--my guy, really...” but on the other it’s a bittersweet and human thing to have faith in someone and simultaneous denial, and at the very least seeing how much Iwanome believed/believes in Hosorogi and clearly respected him/thought highly of of him has been touching.

In fact it may not even be that Iwanome necessarily spent these last five years 100% convinced Hosorogi was alive--possibly he may have spent them in that mix of resignation, hollowness, denial buried under reluctant acceptance that Hosorogi is gone in some capacity... albeit with that denial very shallowly buried. He’s so eager to think Hosorogi’s alive; he jumps at the chance to say Hosorogi is still alive; not to downplay the symbol/message’s significance to him (i.e. how they’re something ‘only’ he and Hosorogi should know about), I agree they’re not not easily explained, but still. He clings to that hope so readily, so tenaciously.

The earnestness of his top panel on page 19 though...hhhh oh the pain. (It’s earnest, right? Or is it just me? Am I reading his expression/plea wrong?) I immediately recalled the language used during the fortunetelling session--where CG describes the loss of Hosorogi as a heavy scar/injury/wound that has left Iwanome one-winged--and...I guess the earnestness I’m seeing in him now makes that strong metaphor all the more visceral.

Hosorogi’s death isn’t something he’s healed from, he has never gotten over it, in losing Hosorogi he has (I extrapolate) lost a mentor figure/guiding hand/model of strength to emulate and rely on/be supported by or support in turn. He continues to follow in Hosorogi’s footsteps five years on despite having become a leader (of Comps-3) in his own right.

I could probably go on (and likely will if/when Narita gives us more insight into young!Iwanome and alive!Hosorogi) but I have spent far, far too much time writing these last several paragraphs and this post in general.

“We’ve come too far...for lies to work on me now” | Oof this is a great line to leave the conversation at, would make for a nice emotional thrill/beat in an anime episode, I love it and hate it, please deliver on the rest of the conversation ASAP.

I am excited for a potential turning point in Iwanome and CG’s relationship so far/new chapter in their understanding of each other probably even more than I want to see the fallout of Hosorogi keeping secrets. Big question is whether we’re actually going to get a Hosorogi-Iwanome reunion or if Hosorogi will be against them communicating. For reasons.

Is that

Is that a shark head on Takumi’s shelf in the background

I didn’t notice it the first time I read the chapter but now I will not unsee it

WHY

Maybe it’s merch/memorabilia...? If so I wait for it to come up in conversatoin with Sayo.

Ah, here we go. Higuro--and Momoya--have made contact with Takumi. Nicenicenice. The question ultimately wasn’t if they’d meet (though I asked that question too), but when. Glad it was sooner than later.

What is Momoya holding? His sword? Doesn’t look too much like one...

The questions now are: what do Higuro and Momoya want with Takumi--and what Takumi will do in response.

Specifically whether Takumi will promise to do whatever they want/confess any info they need through his tears (just like he did with Arase, when he sold his and Higuro’s fellow SotS members out) --or if he’ll stand his ground and say he won’t betray his friends

Of course Takumi might very understandably go from standing his ground to “tearfully promising to do what Higuro asks” should Momoya threaten his life sufficiently; hmm, what if he stands his ground even then only for Momoya to then threaten Xiaoyu or his other ‘friends’? 

Higuro might see that as some amount of evolution as a person, i.e. going from someone who’ll cave to threats to save his own life to someone who caves to threats to protect his friends’ lives. Ah, the power of connections.

Mm, you’d think Higuro would consider the Shinoyamas to be pretty powerful connections. Would he think there’s a risk of pissing off the Shinoyamas should he ‘do’ something to Takumi? But even then, his own connection to Takumi is too good not to use.

Anyway should Takumi end up promising to do whatever after a few threats courtesy of Momoya, it would still leave the possibility of him ultimately siding with the CG.

That’s the thing, isn’t it: Takumi’s ultimate connection isn’t to Polka Shinoyama, it’s to the Corpse God. A very powerful connection that Higuro doesn’t know about--yet--but one that might make Takumi think twice before cowtowing again so easily. He has no such allies in Sons of the Styx (I assume); now he does. Higuro thinks twice about messing with people who have powerful connections--Takumi has one backing him up this time.

If I remember right Higuro believes the most powerful connection is one based in love (I think?), though, so CG’s connection to Takumi wouldn’t be worth that much if CG didn’t care for Takumi ‘that much’. (He cares enough to consider Takumi a friend, so that’s not a problem, but Higuro might not assume that. Takumi wasn’t the type of person up until now to make love-based connections; why would he start now?)

I could probably continue this line of thought but it’s 6 PM and I shouldn’t.

I should actually just stop here, but wait what if someone in CG’s crew calls Takumi’s cell phone about what’s going on w/Arase and Iwanome? (or what if Arase somehow calls him, oof). Taking that call while Higuro and Momoya are watching might be good for some suspense.

I do actually have to stop myself here otherwise I’m toast (I’m already toast); at this point I’m just spitballing any number of ‘things that could possibly happen’ and anyone can do that. It’s 6:05 PM. I still want to finish that paper by tonig...eh, midnight...or at least a completed draft of it.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 43 Thoughts

Chapter 43 was released on Feb 7, 2020, but I’m posting this on Feb 10... Not because I was waiting for it to be released on Kindle or anything (*cough* it’s still not available to buy on Kindle; I caved and bought it via ComiXology instead), but because I couldn’t muster the energy for a thoughts post yet.

Before we dive under the cut, I want to give a shout out to the anonymous person who left a comment on the DMDP Wiki’s Chapter 42 article ten days ago; in their comment, they speculated two guesses as to what Corpse God would use all the gemstones’ magic for. Their first guess turned out to be correct. I fully admit to wondering at the time why they’d think such a thing--now that I’ve revisited Volume 1, I see the idea had actually been planted there!

To be explained more specifically somewhere under the cut.

In due time, of course. These posts always start from the chapter’s beginning.

Y’know, Vol 1 wasn’t the only volume I revisited in light of this chapter. As soon as I reached the panel revealing the full contents of Hosorogi’s fortunetelling paper, I immediately consulted Volume 3; on the first page of Chapter 24, there is in fact a hint of scribbled kana peeking out from underneath Iwanome’s hand.

I’d forgotten that the symbol wasn’t the only thing Hosorogi wrote down on the paper, but it’s gratifying to see this was visually evident from the start and not a retroactive ‘reveal’/information insert.

The readers out there who noticed and never forgot that visual detail in the Chapter 24 panel must have been waiting all this time for the reveal of what Hosorogi also wrote...

Now that we know, though, it does beg the question of why Iwanome didn’t seek out the ‘key’ as soon as he could following the initial fortunetelling session. Eh, then again, he immediately had his hands full with the dirigible incident and subsequent Sorimura investigation team reorganization, the meetings, the rooftop showdown; these would understandably keep him busy. 

That, and--as this chapter indicates--he’s been trying to suss out Polka first (Hosorogi did tell him not to trust anyone) and been, I think, more emotionally invested in the prospect of seeing Hosorogi again than following Hosorogi’s instructions. 

Chapter also reminds us Iwanome needs to tread carefully given the corrupt police are alert and could catch wind of suspicious movements, so fair enough. The location Hosorogi has indicated may be under surveillance.

Meanwhile, I’m emotionally a little put out that the Iwanome-Corpse God interactions I was hoping for/anticipating (e.g. secrets spilled, relationship shift) have been put off for a future time (dagnabbit), buuuut I get how it’s not that simple for either party. Tread carefully, trust carefully.

That said! We still may get something similar with Hosorogi and Corpse God; I mean, Hosorogi was about to tell him the truth about what he wrote on the paper. Will Corpse God ask him what he was going to say, or will Hosorogi come clean outright without being asked? (I guess he might chicken out and re-delay the truth once again, but still--surely this close a shave should have shown him what kinda consequences his secret-keeping has).

I was a bit confused as to whether Takumi or Higuro was speaking the line “When Arase...you went on the lam...” At first I thought it was Higuro speaking, but now I think it’s Takumi.

As soon as I saw Higuro twirling the pen between his fingers I was immediately reminded of That Durarara!! Scene and immediately expected Pen-Stabbing to occur.

I kinda wish Higuro hadn’t twirled the pen so that the action would have been all the more abrupt. I know, I know, I’m only saying that because I’m familiar with That Durarara!! Scene (and not all readers will be).

"Pain is good. It dulls a person’s judgement.” / I mean, yeah, but torture often begets unreliable information so maybe reserve judgement yourself, Higuro.

“All the people associated with your building” / well this definitely would include Clarissa and company...

I’m...a tad concerned about the quality of Higuro’s (employer’s) plans re: the building associates... Framing them for murder so as to ultimately leave them with nothing...? Okay. I’m ‘concerned’ in that there’s a risk the scheme/the wider scheme will end up some degree of convoluted and unconvincing, but I suppose that risk is inherent to all plots with conniving masterminds concocting twist plans.

Also, re: “How did you manage to hide the body?” ...On the one hand I guess Higuro may have no reason to think the building residents wouldn’t know about the secret passageway (though what about Clarissa? Would she know, considering she’s the building owner?)... on the other hand, shouldn’t the passageway at least cross his mind as a possibility? Maybe he’s wondering ‘how’ given how little time they had to hide it.

Oh wait, right, given that the others were interacting with the police (before and after the evacuation) then--yeah, it’s understandable Higuro would wonder when and how ‘they’ (+’who’) managed to hide the body under the circumstances.

The last time we saw Misaki fight was during the Shinoyama estate arson (vs Know), right? I think?

“So the Shinjuku mediators...” I mean. Are you that surprised?

(Page 15) I’m not seeing things, right? Momoya blows her crowbar with his wrist, right? And his wrist isn’t broken, right? Either he has abnormal strength, abnormal physiology (beyond the height and eyesight), or both. Well, probably both.

I’m pretty sure all of Misaki’s deaths so far have been abdominal trauma, right? The previous times were impalement, this time her torso has been cleaved in half. Sheesh. Is this going to be a continuing trend, her death-via-abdominal trauma?

Aw, Takumi called out her name before he passed out. At first I thought he passed out from the pain, but upon a closer look I realized Higuro was holding a shot of sedative (or something).

“Now war is definitely going to break out...” Aka what you didn’t want to happen, right? On the other hand, trying to ruin/sabotage the lives of the people associated with the Building seems like a surefire way to antagonize Clarissa’s crew/Shinjuku residents on good terms with Clarissa.

How big is that duffel bag, anyway?

It was only in revisiting Chapter 35 that I realized Momoya was visible in that chapter’s last panel... At the time I thought (the character I’d eventually know as Higuro) meant an opening for a single sniper, but now I guess that opening was meant for Momoya/kept solo with Momoya in mind.

Annnd oi vey, Corpse God used the magic from the gemstones to evolve Misaki from an Undead to a Vampire Larva. And this is where I give up on the bullets and just focus on the vampire thing/the anon prediction from earlier.

That’s right; the anon who commented on the Chapter 42 article guessed that CG would use the magic to either a) turn Misaki into a vampire or b) summon the spirits who’ve maintained their contracts with him over the years. Their first guess was on the money, and it wasn’t one I would’ve made. Like I said, I wasn’t sure what had put the notion into anon’s head in the first place.

Then I revisited older chapters, since I remembered some living room scenes wherein CG + Misaki + Takumi brought up vampires--and in Chapter 6, Takumi says to CG, “...you’d be able to turn Misaki into a vampire if you just had the magic, right?” 

CG replies, “That’s why I should prioritize replenishing my magic over saving up money.”

So...yeah, ‘turning Misaki into a vampire’ was actually something not only spitballed by CG and Takumi ages back but something CG seemed to actually want to do, at some point. Good memory, anon. If anything, this chapter has certainly made me sheepish about what details I’ve retained and failed to retained over these past many months/years. Will have to reread more to see if they indicated at the time why vampire!Misaki was a desirable thing.

As for vampire!Misaki...I’m ambivalent? The cynical/dreary side of me wants to sigh and say, “Typical/Of course,” (especially re: that “I always was a monster line”), but the Vamp! side of me is thinking, Heck yeah, bats bats bats bats so I’m hopeless, is what I’m saying.

So...looks like that Misaki vs Momoya fight may continue yet. I almost don’t want her to successfully rescue Takumi since ‘the enemy’ actually keeping Takumi hostage for more then, say, an hour promises some suspense; still, if she does recover Takumi now then we have to assume he tells Clarissa about Higuro, and Higuro might be in an even stickier situation with his boss than he is already. And it’s not like Takumi would be hunky-dory once recovered, given his injured thigh and the mental/psychological hurt of it all. 

It also occurs to me that, theoretically, Misaki’s actions now (assuming they lead to a clash with Momoya and, if not a crashed van, some dangerous driving) pose further risk to Takumi’s health. If Higuro ends up crashing the van, or if Misaki tears through the van...Takumi stands a chance of being caught in the crossfire.

Oh dang, right, he’s also in a duffel bag right now. What if, post-hypothetical van crash, some other folks came along and snatched the duffel bag while the chaos played out? Not that I’d know who or why--I admit it’s a bit farfetched--but it’s not impossible. 

Basically I stand to be potentially disappointed if Misaki successfully recovers Takumi within an hour or two of him being a hostage, but I also acknowledge that it’s not guaranteed to be disappointing if that does happen. 

Since Clarissa has deemed this part of town dangerous, I’m wondering if she doesn’t have some of her own people out scouting/monitoring the streets right now? Takeru should have some still, for that matter.

Anyway, I’m going to end the post here since I have other things to do today. Why do these always take me at least an hour to write? So cumbersome...

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 39 Thoughts

Volume 4 is set to release in Japan in under a week, oh boy. I aim for this post to be a short reaction post, this time around--and yes, every time I say something to that effect the actual content is never as short as I hope to be--but I mean it this time! A) Because I have important work to do for tomorrow; and B) because this chapter doesn’t substantially move things along and really doesn’t need the usual excessive commentary I am wont to do.

(Seriously, do need to get back to work; let’s get this over and done with).

Hey, opening color pages! Only one’s an actual manga page, though; two of them are just a double spread for the chapter ‘title’. Momoya’s shirt is striped yellow, huh.

Brunet crumbles-under-pressure bartender has been granted a name: Urai! Finally. It’s so much easier when they have names, Narita.

Seeing your decapitated head in front of you sure is one way to knock some sense into you, eh?

From what I remember with Suzuka, ‘retaining consciousness’ is an issue for spirits; CG said it was ‘incredible’ Hosorogi retained his consciousness for five years without help, and said Suzuka had already lost half her consciousness... Anyway, Nishida’s case seems to indicate spirits (or at least, some spirits) don’t realize they’re dead immediately upon ‘waking up’. With that in mind...

...I wonder if some spirits never recognize that they’ve ‘become spirits’? 

I also wonder what state Hosorogi’s spirit was in when CG found him. Nishida’s spirit is still decapitated, the faceless servants were faceless...so I assume Hosorogi’s spirit reflects his body in death too?

Wow, CG is acting so much more collected than he was ‘yesterday’ (in-manga). So if he has time to prepare he’ll do pretty well; it’s just when he’s put on the spot that he flounders. 

I’m actually a bit reminded of Misaki’s genteel demeanor at the Shinoyama luncheon? Her calm, refined act was similarly unexpected.

Aw, I like Urai. I didn’t peg him to be this...meek? diffident? until these last couple of chapters but I support him.

To be fair, CG has only been to Youtoukorou a few times and I doubt he interacted with Urai at length; I can see how he might not recognize him. Misaki, though... Could she be pretending not to recognize him?

Despite appearances, Misaki isn’t unobservant. She picked up on Know’s behavior during the twins’ visit, for example, and remembered him later on. Given that Takumi says “he can’t talk about Clarissa’s bar in front of the journalist,” isn’t Misaki acting in accordance with the same ‘rule’?

Then again, maybe Urai really does leave ‘zero impression’.

Wait, didn’t Takumi have the same exact “I’d be screwed” vision Urai has this chapter? Hah, running joke.

 Where did Momoya kill Nishida, then? Honestly.

Man, I actually opened Chapter 3 just to see/in case Urai was actually drawn there from the start. Nope. This is a “we’ve got to take the author’s word for it” situation, oh well. 

Nishida has blond hair/light-colored hair, just like the bartender in that Volume 2 insert panel. Comparing their bangs isn’t doing me any good, but I’m still going to say they’re the same person.

Momoya eating...shark-themed sweets? Of course. Had to insert a shark somewhere, eh?

So. Not a very eventful chapter at a glance, but it’s still slowly moving pieces into place and leaves us with “What’s next on DMDP” questions.

The most important thing is that the police have (we assume) been alerted to Nishida’s corpse and that Momoya and Higuro want them to find it. At least, I’ve inferred Momoya wants [the police] to find [Nishida’s corpse] because they’re watching the police from a distance--but I suppose it’s possible Momoya means another ‘them’ and another ‘it’. But where did they put the corpse? Last chapter I was thinking Momoya and Higuro were going to enter the torture building via basement and leave the corpse there, but it isn’t clear at all what building the car is outside...

...hang on. Did Momoya actually pack both body and head into the duffel bag? Or did he leave Nishida’s head behind/somewhere else? If that’s the case, the police might have found one but not the other--and if the other is in the torture building...

“Let’s hope this time..they’re able to find it easily.” / This time. What was last time, and is it important? If ‘last time’ is referring to Hosorogi’s murder five years ago, maybe this will involve the torture building after all.

Moving on... Other questions: will CG say outright that Nishida was killed; what will Clarissa do next; where is Xiaoyu; who is Eightport’s second client and will we even get to see them...

Since Urai does know “Polka’s secret,” and since Nishida’s missing, I wonder if Clarissa might send her employees to check on Urai’s safety. Also, how did Higuro and/or Momoya get Nishida’s phone number? Okay, I’m sure there are any number of ways--info broker, underground connections--but hmm...

...Nishida has a ‘dark and shady’ past, you say? Would it be too ‘out there’ to wonder if he’s a former Sons of the Styx member whose phone number Higuro still had? Well, a bit; you’d think Nishida would’ve changed his phone number, and for Higuro to still have it & know Nishida works there...it’s a bit much. On the other hand, Urai hasn’t actually mentioned Nishida by name yet, so Takumi doesn’t know who’s dead...

...On the other other hand, isn’t Higuro all about ‘connections = love’? Yes, he means strong/powerful connections, and yes, he personally hesitates to mess with people who have powerful connections, but A) that’s why he has Momoya and B) Nishida having connections would be the whole point.

i.e. Higuro has a ‘weak’ connection to Nishida who has more powerful/important Youtoukorou connections; Higuro uses his own connection to draw Nishida out, and uses Momoya (his powerful connection) to kill Nishida; Nishida’s death tugs at the strong Youtoukorou bonds and pulls Youtoukorou into motion...as well as the police (it seems) and unexpectedly or not our group as well.

(And Nishida’s death is tugging at Urai now, in this very chapter. This is a Narita work, all right.)

Er, but of course Nishida may very well not be an ex-SotS member; that was pure speculation. Anyway--if Nishida’s remains are in the torture building, it sure would be inconvenient for the police to show up during the fortunetelling proceedings. Them doing so might prevent the second client’s appointment...but any further speculation would depend entirely on whether the second client is a rando or important as well, and I surely don’t have time to go down every possible path. This is meant to be short.

Fujimoto tweeted a cropped photo of what looked like a WIP manga panel containing Arase and Iwanome--the latter holding an umbrella. If this is for the next chapter or, uh, next-next chapter (and I assume so since it’s rainy weather this chapter), then it seems Iwanome and Arase might end up involved.... I assume they’ve either accompanied the police or they happened to walk past...the...

...Say, Iwanome did say he wanted to visit “Polka” at least one more time, right? What if he and Arase are on their way to see “Polka” now...and are surprised to find a police car in front of the premises? I sure do love rampant speculation. Hope the wait for next chapter isn’t too long. Better not make this too long, first...

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 37 Thoughts

Chapter 37 released on October 4, and I’m posting this several days after the fact, so--sorry to the 2.5 people who read these for my lateness. Been adding to the draft on and off when I’ve had time/energy.

Reactions + Thoughts under the cut. 

A tabloid named the “Weekly Dry,” huh... That’s another shot for the ongoing Narita drinking game I play by myself. Alone. You too can play it all on your lonesome. Anyway--is it a tabloid or newspaper? The chapter uses both terms.

“Neither does the real Polka!” hah, something something ‘teenagers’

But...should we also be thinking, “Neither does Misaki?” I speculated last chapter that maybe “Eightport Kochou” was a pseudonym and the reporter was in fact Hagane, because 1) What kind of name is “Eightport” and 2) I thought Misaki and Eightport seemed chummy enough...

...but in light of these first few pages, ehhh that could just be Misaki being Misaki--chipper and happy to be easily excited.

“Self-narrating to escape reality” HAH x2; Takumi, never change. 

*mumbles around pipe* ah yes...a ‘comic’ line, you will say, gentlemen, and dismiss it--but is it not, I argue, a telling insight into the author’s subconscious, sirs and sirs... Narita cannot escape ‘escapism’, nor can I escape the weight of my enormous galaxy brain intellect...

Hold the phone; I was having a lark just now (I was), but...is DMDP not already actually escapist by being a reverse isekai

something something ‘didn’t Corpse God recently recognize that he essentially ‘ran away’ from his homeworld and the Bad Deeds he committed’ and ‘can we look at that through the lens of escapism in more detail’

Er...while you hold the phone, I’ll just. Hold on to that inchoate idea for the time being. You call me, I’ll call you.

Man, it’s not like CG tends to be a paragon of composure when he’s put on the spot, but I think this is the most ‘on the spot’ he’s been so far; that is, he’s not usually this tongue-tied and paralyzed.

Takumi: *calls Eightport out on taking CG’s photo without his consent*

Me: this is why you’re the freaking man

Eightport: *calls Takumi out on using drones to take photos w/o consent*

Me: oh DAMN

Also me: Takumi puts a protective/silencing hand on CG’s head and keeps it there for three pages....yes good where can I subscribe for more of this exact kind of content

Seriously though--that’s a good page right there. Takumi’s consent remark certainly sounds morally noble and pointed (and so one has an inclination to applaud him for it)--but it isn’t and we really should know at once that it isn’t because (as Eightport essentially points out) it’s hypocritical as hell, and Eightport immediately highlighting the hypocrisy via threat/semi-blackmail is thus its own mix of satisfying and ‘ooh shit’ (’ooh shit, she’s not all talk and may be a match for/of the same ilk as Takumi’)

Still, even if one can’t praise or cheer on Takumi for having a high ground he doesn’t possess, I think one can also appreciate the remark for other reasons: it’s an example of how quick-thinking and shrewd he can be. There’s a bit of a relativity bias, of course, since one is subconsciously contrasting his level head to CG short-circuiting next to him, but even then we can take it as yet another example of Takumi’s importance to the group beyond his l33t tech skills.

...I shouldn’t be spending this long on one page in the reaction section. Bullet reactions are supposed to be short.

Hmm, so Takumi would be in hot water if Eightport started looking into Clarissa? Big as her reputation may be, I suppose it’s a reputation known moreso in the underworld and police eyes than in ‘regular society.’

Takumi survived a forced double suicide???? What? We’re going to learn more about his past, right???

So the “Sons of the Styx” gang is the one I assume was busted by Arase--if I’ve got this right, he ended up joining the gang at some point after his company was taken over by adults/the forced double suicide?

Chief editor has an eyepatch over right eye + vertical scar behind it...for some reason, I’m reminded of Narita’s middle school OC whom he eventually turned into the ringleader of the circus Claire was in (if I’m remembering the details I’m thinking of correctly)

Yeaaah, so “Corpse God” really is his bonafide ‘fortuneteller name,’ psh.“The police might actually be involved with Solitaire’s attempted assassination!” / well, that is what Solitaire was heavily insinuating in his broadcast... I guess Eightport decided to look into that as well.

“My company knows to respect others’ privacy!” (unlike you??)

“I knew it! Everything’s connected!” Wait ‘til you realize it’s because you’re in a Narita story.

Snrk yeah, I was wondering when FBB’s wall message would be acknowledged. “I hit the lottery so hard, I’m actually a little freaked out” is a good line/reaction here.

Sayo just bodychecked Misaki with her shark sleeping bag (or huge plushie?), oh my lord. “Daily shark wrestling” you wish

Two things: What is Lemmings’ “main job?” and “How should we interpret his pause?” Yochigi interpreted Lemmings’ pause as him thanking Takeru, but I dunno...could very well be that we’re just supposed to assume she’s right up until Narita calls us/Yochigi out for assuming and reveals Lemmings’ pause wasn’t entirely positive. Maybe he was hesitating; maybe this ‘main job’ is something Takeru expects him to do but he has second thoughts about.

Won’t really know until we know what the main job is; seems like it’ll at least involve rough physical activity.

Hey, we finally have names for the two ‘killer-guards’ who work for Takeru! Taipei and Bao. (Are the rest of their names too much to hope for? Though, given their line of work, maybe they only go by one name).

“Get in touch with the main forces of the Lei family and go after Solitaire...” Now I do recall that the Shinoyama and the Heilei are in cahoots, so that’s normal--but I’m now also curious as to whether this suggests Taipei is a Lei/came from the Lei family. Wouldn’t be too shocking, I guess, to have more than one Lei directly working for/under a Shinoyama like this.

"Pit of vipers” / man, everyone seems to be on the same page with this metaphor for the police; can I add this to a DMDP bingo card yet?

“I may ask him to withdraw” / Whomst??? Iwanome? Or does Takasu have a mole within the Shinoyama Family? Or...no, I won’t freewheel for now. Think I may have to reread certain chapters.

“My intuition’s telling me...that in this building...something interesting’s bound to happen...!” smash cut to headless Youtoukorou bartender corpse

(So...did Eightport stop outside the building Youtoukorou is in? Whatever)

Welp, RIP bartender-kun. Obviously can’t be Clarissa, so it’s probably that male bartender with short brunet hair we’ve seen manning the bar now and again. Weaker possibility is the blond man seen in that bonus comic between Chapters 10-11 in Vol 2, since he’s wearing what looks like a bartender uniform (could just be apron over white shirt thoug) from the side. Can’t think of any other contenders based on the staff illustrated so far.

Er....so this means the ‘visit’ to Clarissa/Shinjuku mediators wasn’t intended to be a diplomacy visit after all...right? Unless Momoya’s just decided to do his own thing...although, wait; he’s acting like he only realized the [deceased] was a bartender after looking at his Youtoukorou bar business card--so did he also not know the guy worked for Youtoukorou before killing him? Why would he kill him otherwise??

The room background isn’t detailed at all, but near the corpse are a couple crates and a barrel--could be the bar’s storeroom? If so, then Momoya must have known he was killing a Youtoukorou employee, yes? Maybe the card said ‘bartender’ on the other side--come to think of it, surely one would assume bartender from the clothes alone...

...Okay, focus. At the end of the day, mistake or not, a Youtoukorou bartender is dead: I doubt Clarissa will forgive her employee’s murder so easily. Again, what’s Agakura’s aim? (And again again, is Momoya acting in accordance with it)? 

I speculated last chapter that those Horojima sniper siblings would (I presumed) be involved in whatever is going to go down between Agakura and Clarissa’s agency--but that speculation was very diplomacy-oriented, i.e. it assumed the ‘visit’ would at least involved one face-to-face meeting between Momoya + pal and Clarissa’s people. Now that this has happened...well, a face-to-face confrontation might still happen, but I’m now considering more, uh, conflict-based interactions. Specifically--if the Agakura manage to full their recently-open sniper position in record time, I’m wondering whether we’ll end up with a sniper battle down the line. The ex-Agakura Horojima siblings vs whoever their replacement is.

OH wait--I’ve just remembered that the “Grim Reaper” urban legend/troublemaker is rumored to be one of Clarissa’s people. It’s been a while since Grim Reaper was last mentioned, and they still haven’t been formally introduced--given how dangerous Momoya seems to be...y’think there’s a chance the ‘Grim Reaper’ may go up against him if he continues going after the family?

Speaking of last chapter--I wonder how long Narita will take to elaborate on “Crazy Bones Kagura?” I specifically wonder this because at least one person has been searching things like “CRAZY BONES KAGURA” and “kagura” on the DMDP Wiki and I’m sorry, man--I know nothing!

Part of me wants to wildly speculate as to what Lemmings’ ‘main job’ might be, but there are so many possibilities/scenarios I could throw out there that it would be fairly unproductive. 

Hmm, I was so caught up in the possibility of Taipei being a Lei himself that I didn’t stop to properly digest Takeru’s order. “Join up with/contact the main Lei forces and go after Solitaire,” huh? How soon is it for me to assume Xiaoyu’s going to learn about this development? I’m definitely assuming he’d learn about it from Imbi specifically; the question is what he’d do with that information. Well, the first question would be whether Imbi would be aware that the order came from Takeru, but for now we’ll assume yes. He might keep the info to himself, depending on how much or how soon it might have ripple effects on Torture Building Squad. And/or when he has that ‘heart-to-heart’ with Corpse God, which might only end up happening after [BADTIMES(TM)] happen.

(I think I’d be a tad skeptical if Xiaoyu went and had a heart-to-heart with CG so soon after the phone call; Xiaoyu’s beliefs and confidence may have been shaken, but deeply-rooted mistrust, paranoia, resentment, and near-obsession are hard feelings to shake entirely that quickly. Right now Xiaoyu is vulnerable, and if one more big thing were to happen--say, a reunion with Momoya, wherein--hypothetically--Xiaoyu’s trauma leaves him at Momoya’s mercy, only for Corpse God to protect him--that might just be what gets him spilling his heart out.)

(Not literally.)

(Think Czes’s roof scene with Isaac and Miria in the GPR arc.)

Getting back to Taipei’s mission--well, all right, if Taipei + members of the Heilei’s main forces are going after Solitaire...and the police are also still going after Solitaire...are we going to see the factions rubbing elbows (or breaking elbows) down the road? I’m of the mind we at minimum may see Taipei and Arase crossing paths (and clashing), given Arase’s “I think they might be killers / they smelled like me / an absolute scumbag” remarks on Taipei and Bao at the Shinoyama mansion; that’s the type of sentiment that’s primed to be eventually relevant.

I really should just hold my tongue on Jirotarou’s scene since I’m still not clear on which “him” Jirotarou means....but: okay, so in rereading the page again I’m at least more confident in saying Takeru = nosy rat and “they’re” = the Shinoyamas, especially given the preceding page. Just as the police are aware of the Shinoyamas/Takeru, Takeru is aware of the police--so yeah, actually, I’m going to double down on my previous paragraph. “Depending on what happens,” Jirotarou says...so: what happens with the Solitaire case, then? 

I--ah. Ah. I’m a silly person: Takeru ordering Solitaire’s capture absolutely poses a problem for the police! The Shinoyamas successfully ‘capturing’ Solitaire (details irrelevant for now) would, for however amount of time, mean Solitaire wasn’t and won’t be able to be captured (or killed...at least, easily) by the police. That’s no good on its own, but consider what Takeru might want done with Solitaire after their ‘talks’ are concluded...that is, consider this following scenario:

Let’s all presume Takeru, just as he ordered Taipei to capture Solitaire alive, will order Solitaire be released alive. Imagine, if you will, that he decides to make it a public affair: whether through an initial leak or a public performative act, he announces to Japan that he/Shinoyama Security captured Solitaire where the police could not--and despite the harm Solitaire has done to his company, he and the Shinoyama Family (like the good public citizens they are) will be relinquishing Solitaire to the police.

The news alone would be highly embarrassing for the police, whose continued failure to capture Solitaire has already made them a bit of a laughing stock; having private citizens succeed where they could not? Humiliating. (Throw in a callback to Takeru’s convo with Iwanome).  But how’s this for a cherry on top: Takeru makes sure the ‘prisoner custody exchange’ is also publicized--and a mere minute after the police ‘take possession’ of Solitiare, Solitaire easily escapes their handcuffs and the premises in full view of the cameras.

(Again, details aren’t important, but in case Takeru’s hypothetical actions need more explanation/rationale: either Takeru and Solitaire came to some sort of...deal which led to the publicized custody exchange fail; or Takeru, having some idea of Solitaire’s skills, deliberately arranged the exchange on the expectation and hope that Solitaire would (likely) break free.)  Solitaire escaping police custody a minute after entering it? Shinoyamas: 2; police: 0. 

Now, then. Returning to Takeru’s comment that the “police are following our movements...” For Jirotarou to know about Takeru’s newly ordered pursuit of Solitaire (I have to assume that’s what this is about), well... I doubt that information could’ve come from just any old corrupt cop tailing Takeru’s movements. I’d earlier thought Jirotarou might’ve meant Iwanome when he said “I may have to ask him to withdraw,” but...ah, to hell with it--maybe the ‘him’ is a spy or mole within the Shinoyama Family? Someone working directly for Takeru? Someone who...

...who...

....

Hey, crack theory time. Just for funsies, not for...serious...ies. Hey, what if Lemmings’ “main job” is with law enforcement? I mean, his ‘main job’ apparently involves a risk of being ‘beaten up...’ and we did see him inside Shinjuku station in Chapter 8... and it’s possible he overheard Takeru’s orders outside the door or already knew about them....

......annnnd I accidentally clicked a link before I copied the next several paragraphs I wrote, which means I’ve lost those paragraphs and to be frank I don’t feel like writing them all out again. Maybe I have enough energy to summarize them...

TL;DR: the idea of Lemmings being a police mole/’him’ has a lot of holes in it (why would Jirotarou want him to withdraw and from what; how much would Takeru even know; I’d have to explain all the other times Lemmings clashed with police; etc) and yeaaah let’s not take that crack theory seriously, mkay?

TL;DR something something “hey, remember the possibility of Jirotarou being with the Agakura? What if he was the one who ordered Momoya to ‘visit’ Clarissa et al in Shinjuku and was thus considering that he may have to order [Momoya] to withdraw--but something something ‘what exactly would Momoya be withdrawing from [the ‘visit’, or Shinjuku entirely] and why; not enough info.

TL;DR All the talk of Lemmings and Clarissa reminded me that the Misaki-Lemmings interaction during Lemmings’ wreckage of Youtoukorou has yet to be formally illuminated in canon, and I was going to say something about ‘revisiting the early chapters’ with the aim of considering Lemmings’ intentions and whatnot before misclick happened.

It’s late; I have many things I need to do and I desperately need someone to tell me that making reaction/thoughts posts super-thorough and overlong is not necessary, obligatory, or expected (or even wanted). For the sake of everyone’s sanity, I’m just gonna...put this post out to pasture.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 38 Thoughts

Hello, hello hello. Yesterday or thereabouts I saw Narita confirm a previous statement that Chapter 38 would be out on Nov 1st (in his cover reveal tweet for Volume 4, finally, I was waiting for that), so you bet I kept checking this morning to see whether the YP translation would be out today as well... 

...Went to new class afterward, spent a few hours at career/network fair immediately afterward; checked again as fair was closing up--saw YP chapter was out, scrambled to buy and download, skimmed on the spot--then stayed for drinks until building closed, followed brand-new acquaintance on bike until we split ways, made my way home in the rain... and here I am. 

Have reread the chapter now I’m home, and hoo boy... some of the speculation I speculated the last two chapters did turn out to be right--too bad in more than one case I dismissed the ‘right’ points as the weaker or unlikelier of the possibilities I envisioned! I need to have more confidence in the ideas I spitball, I really do.

It’s now 12:30 AM (got sidetracked), so I suppose I’d better just save writing up a wiki page on Chapter 38 for tomorrow rather than do it tonight.

Short-haired brunet bartender is alive! He was my likeliest bet for ‘deceased bartender’ mainly because we’d seem him more than we’d seen the blond bartender-uniformed guy from that one comic in-between chapters...

...but no; it looks like ‘Nishida’ is the murder victim instead. It’s not too much for me to assume Nishida is the blond bartender still, is it?

Also...it seems Nishida wasn’t murdered at Youtoukorou after all, then, yes? “Check on Nishida-kun’s apartment for me,” Clarissa says. Hrmhrm. So the ‘visit’ Momoya was to pay Kuraki...hasn’t happened yet, after all? Or does that murder still count (after all).

Hat-kun has a name already? “Higuro,” that is; don’t know if/when we’ll get the rest. And we finally see his face... a suspiciously friendly countenance, he has.

“And the client who asked this of me” / Okay, so client = police, right? Right? Momoya is affiliated with the Agakura (his ‘family’ as this page states), and in previous chapters it’s been insinuated this organization has corrupted the police, so... police person wanted this? Hrm.

“The girls,” Agakura exploration when, again? (Please don’t turn this into a harem, please, oh please.)

Oho, so Momoya thought they’d be going to/making use of the building where Solitaire visited yesterday (aka the torture building)? Interesting.

“Five years” | Yes, all right, I know, DMDP; every time I hear five years I think of Hosorogi’s death, so rest assured I am thinking of that time now. 

So...okay, hold up; is Higuro’s plan to access the basement of the torture building through this building and dump the bartender’s body there? “Hopefully the passage is still intact,” he says.

...Was. Was Hosorogi’s body transported to the torture building through this route five years ago too?

And if they are doing the above plan...

Ahem. “Agakura-san’s people” now wait just a minute; I know Momoya said ‘family’ so it is possible Agakura was literally a family name... and again, I pretty much considered the possibility back when we first heard Agakura’s name mentioned... but is it both the organization name and the name of the current leader, then?

That is, I’d assume Momoya’s name was Agakura and then assumed it was his family name...perhaps it is? Or perhaps ‘family’ is a figure of speech, here. Momoya Agakura...maybe?

“Our sponsors have a lot of clout, but I’m just a junior member” / I though Higuro was a member of Agakura, but perhaps I was wrong?

Higuro used a key to open the door; how did these three guys get in? Another way? Or perhaps the door was unlocked before...or perhaps...

Oh Lordy lou, Mr. “I believe connections are love” Higuro.... smiling benignly at these three lowlifes like that... I am troubled.

I am also reminded of Tick, if only because Higuro seems to be making a big deal out of the connections between people.

Higuro’s “I do” response to “I hope you have a friend in the funeral business” is great and all, but I’m more distracted by the guy straight up declaring, “No, we don’t” (have anyone who loves them so much they’ll risk they’d risk their life for them). You’d think the guy would take offense (I guess thinking he’d consider the question is a bit much given the situation) but nope, he straight up says they don’t.

OhgoodLORD Higuro shot him through the mouth sideways

Ohhhh m’goodness.

Ohhhhhhh sweet mercy.

And there he goes shooting the others in their torsos--did he just shoot maimed-mouth man’s back when the guy is already curled up on the ground??? 

I, I mean. I realize the sideways shot through the mouth alone wouldn’t be enough of a ‘fatal wound’, Higuro’s clearly shot him like his friends so that he’ll die along with them, but yeesh.

“Wouldn’t it have been quicker to just shoot them in the head at this range?” Flashbacks to the Gandors shooting the Three Stooges (Dallas and c).

Well never mind, Higuro went and shot them dead on the spot anyway. Overkill, he says, and I suppose it is given the location is hardly used (it seems) and the guys evidently have no one who will miss them...but if that’s all the case, perhaps he could have left it to chance by leaving them to die slowly. He didn’t, though, so thanks for putting them out of their misery, I guess.

‘Undertaker’ friend who practices without a license... Gee, that doesn’t remind me of Shinra at all (though Shinra was a doctor, not an undertaker.)

“I’d just go into hiding for a while again,” Higuro says...

“See? Told you the world was ending. After all, a lowlife like you...is freely roaming the streets.” Pot, meet kettle??? Momoya looming over Higuro  with his shadowed smile/sharp expression contrasting Higuro’s own steady smile and open expression...mm, and don’t forget with Nishida’s duffle bagged corpse in his (Momoya’s) arms... yeah, yeah, pot meet kettle. But with that pointed out...

...should we be thinking Momoya might actually hold that against Higuro (why), or is he just making what he considers and honest observation? Probably the latter. I assume the salient takeaway for now is the demeanor contrast.

“This world is on the brink of a new dawn.” Yeah, I’m going to return to this and previous bullet after bullet reactions are done.

“Entire organization was decimated” -- cuts to Comps-3 -- Arase in YP promo cover for this chapter --- uh uh uh HOLD YOUR HORSES

(Several pages later) SONS OF THE STYX

Son of a bitch, he was involved with the same gang Takumi was.

Returning to Comps-3 -- hey, Yatsu’s not wearing his sunglasses. I mean, they are indoors, but didn’t I see him wearing sunglasses indoor before? Ah well.

Cripes, I’ve gotten blood on my keyboard, hold on.

Right. Iwanome wants to see “Polka Shinoyama” one more time. Guess that’s no surprise. 

Snrk. Okay--if you go back to my Chapter 36 thoughts, you’ll see that I ultimately figured it was more likely that Arase recognized Momoya rather than Higuro (name unknown at that time)--but that I did consider Higuro as a ‘twist’ option instead. Welp, it was Higuro after all. Arase doesn’t even know Momoya, it turns out.

(So perhaps Momoya drew his eye in the crowd at first, at which point he then saw Higuro and recognized him.)

So Iwanome recognizes Higuro too, at least as a familiar face.

Misaki and Corpse God practicing their smiles... CG’s ‘camera’ smile is everything I didn’t know I wanted.

CG: *remembers himself freezing on the spot*

CG: I’m counting on you, Takumi. (Hah.)

Takumi: I just hope we don’t have to deal with any more trouble. (Famous last words.)

Son of a bitch, Higuro was the former leader of Sons of the Styx.

Well, Eightport’s whole “Takumi’s backstory is interesting but there’s another story I’m after right now” bit last chapter just got a whole lot more wry in retrospect. I thought perhaps Narita would hold off on Takumi’s past until later, but NOPE looks like his past is going to come back to haunt him a lot sooner than thought.

So. Higuro. I suspected this in Chs 36-37 from what we could make out of his hair, but yeah--he’s surely the same guy at the very end of Chapter 35 who says “there’s only one opening within Agakura.” So have I misunderstood him this chapter? Is he or is he not with Agakura? I thought he was, but... well, I’ll reread the chapter again after this, and if I’m still not sure, I expect future chapters will clarify.

So. Higuro. His “new dawn” line, coupled with that expression contrast panel and just...his comportment throughout the chapter...his steadfast, sure smile... he has the air of a man who lives true to certain convictions, certain beliefs--strong, unwavering faith in certain ideas or ideals that lends him a mental strength over his (self-proclaimed, implied physical) weakness. I could be wrong, here; this is only the one chapter, after all. 

Nevertheless, he already seems like someone whom Takumi wouldn’t have an easy time ‘countering’, so to speak. It occurs to me that he could have stopped being SotS’ leader before Takumi joined the group, but even if that were the case I fully expect there to be a connection between Takumi and Higuro regardless; this chapter certainly wants us to make that connection.  

On that note, remember how Momoya recognized Xiaoyu in a recent chapter? This means that both of our arrivals to Shinjuku--Momoya and Higuro--are blasts from two of our core group members’ pasts: those of Xiaoyu and Takumi. I speculated before about how Momoya might serve as a catalyst for Xiaoyu’s relationship with CG and co. changing (etc), but this? This is double the emotional trouble. 

I can see it now; Momoya and Higuro are acting together, doing something or another, and when they’re finally seen by our core group--Xiaoyu and Takumi cry our their respective names at the same time, prompting concern from CG et al. Now, as for how soon something like that will happen...?

Well, it may very well depend on what they’re going to do with the body. If they plan on accessing the torture building via the basement (which may be the case, since they’re avoiding the rooftops where the (Takumi’s) drones are) to dump Nishida’s corpse there, they might deliberately be trying to implicate the building’s residents in Nishida’s murder. Might. Not clear yet how much they know about the residents (our team)--or if they’re aware the building’s occupied at all, for that matter; it’s been five years since Higuro used the passageway, and neither live in Shinjuku so it’s also possible they legit don’t know the building’s now in use. 

(Oh shit, they might do if/when Eightport runs her story on the fortuneteller.)

(Remember, the torture building did use to be a place where people were killed/bodies were dumped. Like Hosorogi was killed. Hey, if Momoya and Higuro dump the body, and someone from our core group finds it later... nah, it might be a bit much to think Xiaoyu could recognize Momoya’s handiwork from a decapitation alone. Might give him Momoya vibes, at least. Hm, would CG, Misaki, or Takumi recognize the corpse was a former Youtoukorou employee?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Takumi has installed cameras or has a drone on stand-by or something in the basement (assuming they can access it on their end), which means Momoya and Higuro would be caught on camera, which means ‘momoyent of recognition’. Corpse God could also have an eyeball spy or two down there, maybe, though I can’t be sure... I mean, after the rooftop incident he’s probably still wary of more rooftop intruders...but no one’s tried to invade from the basement yet, eh?

Nishida’s murder is going to cause all sorts of things to happen, I tell you. Hosorogi’s been keeping quiet on certain things, but I imagine that Clarissa taking action (perhaps going on the offensive) will eventually warrant him taking action as well, whether out of fear for her safety, or in an emotionally intense situation... Then there’s the police’s motives to question... 

Anyhoo, my wild (’for funsies’) prediction is that the Grim Reaper troublemaker turns out to be Higuro’s ‘undertaker’ friend because ehhh seems legit. Something something Black Butler.  ....Though, forging connections between names and occupations aside, ah--I can’t forget that the Grim Reaper is (or is rumored to be?) ostensibly one of Clarissa’s crew...at the very least, that’s what’s been suggested so far. So if my off-the-cuff prediction were actually true...

...Honey, a storm’s coming.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 36 Thoughts

I kinda thought this chapter was going to be out on Sep 13 (it released on Sep 20) for a couple reasons, but at the same time getting Chapter 36 only a week after Chapter 35 was perhaps a little too good to be true. Getting it two weeks after is a nice treat anyway, so I’ll take what I can get.

In other DMDP news, Young Gangan’s tweet announcement of this chapter release also announced that Volume 4 will be released in November! Already looking forward to its cover reveal, which I assume will be next month; anyone wanna bet on which character will be featured? I feel like Solitaire isn’t a bad guess given his prominence in the dirigible incident/chapters I assume the volume will cover...

Speaking of volumes: the Yen Press release of Volume 3 is still projected for December--so, a month after the JP Vol 4 release. Given that Yen Press has been releasing the DMDP volumes every sixth months or so... I’m thinking we may not get the English edition of Vol 4 until June? (But please prove me wrong and release it sooner.)

Anyway. Chapter reactions/thoughts are under the cut and include: extended paragraphs on Xiaoyu that I should maybe just copy into their own post; appreciation of a potential cynical streak in Izliz (I want to know more about her); and the belated realization that ‘Hagane’ means steel.

Armed people wearing gas masks? Congregating underground? I’m getting flashbacks to Metro: Last Light.��

Also...Goose’s speech to the Lemures in Baccano!, c.f. the speaker referring to himself + the group as “not people” but “spend rounds.” 

Who are these people? What’s their main unit’s goal? The last chapter ended on an Agakura namedrop, but somehow I doubt these guys are the Agakura...

"We are not inferior to Agakura’s boys” / It’s nice to be validated. Nor are they inferior to the Heilei, or “the followers of Crazy Bones Kagura...” Okay, Heilei I recognize....Kagura who, again? I can’t recall hearing the name before. Kinda echoes ‘Agakura’, doesn’t it? Enough that I wonder if Kagura has something to do with Agakura.

Oh hey, that’s the panel which was used in the chapter promo tweet. This guy’s character design definitely maybe me go ?! when I saw the promo image, which I suppose was why they picked the panel as the preview panel...

I think he killed these guys with his bare hands. As one does.

“At least you guys...remarkably...proved you weren’t inferior to Agakura.” In what way? Also, seems like Extra(TM) Tall Man is with the Agakura himself.

“The girls” took out the group’s main unit without casualties in five seconds?? Who are these ladies and when do we meet them???

“Momoya” is our tall guy, it seems. Annnd big surprise, his new job will be based in Shinjuku. Question is whether the ‘visit’ he’s supposed to pay Clarissa (who else could the mediator be) will be a...let’s say, ‘diplomacy’ visit or something more bloody.

Otherworld flashback. “Utsuro Juuza” is the third ranked sorcerer, says Izliz--hey, I recognize that name; I’m pretty sure she said it during the flashback to the empire’s collapse. I also remember it being one word (”It’s as Utsuroju(u)za said”) though...

At first I thought Sabaramond was referring to Corpse God when he said “in terms of ability...you should be standing in my position,” but I feel like it’s more likely he means Izliz. 

Speaking of Izliz, I want to see more of her apparent cynicism streak. I’m not prepared to say she’s necessarily a ‘cynical person’, since I don’t know enough about her yet and she’s also being pretty encouraging by saying the Corpse God can rise to tenth-rank (though, to channel Carol, i have to ask “out of how many”) despite having no magical talents...but she may at least be cynical when it comes to things like court politics.

Speaking of Sabaramond, oof that character design tease; I wanna see his design proper.

I want to make a Narita joke about Sayo’s shark antics but I may just save that for a separate shitpost.

CG says it’s definitely possible Sabaramond could’ve extended his lifespan, but Sayo doesn’t think that’s as important as the possibility of CG having an ally... ah, but is she thinking ally = Sabaramond himself (if he still lives), or that the “bastard children of Sabaramond” could be an ally?

The real Polka got a whole reaction panel to CG’s angst...important how? Maybe we’re gonna hear his take on the situation later.

Meanwhile, looks like we’re going to hear the Rozan-Xiaoyu convo this chapter after all.

See Xiaoyu literally says “something invisible was obstructing Lemmings and the other man” only for next panel to show the news photo of the arms and smoke. And then, “There was definitely SOMETHING there, I know it...!!” Did Xiaoyu end up seeing the large arms or not??

Oof, this conversation is a tough one for Xiaoyu (tears in his eyes!) but it’s one he needs to have. Rozan’s absolutely right on the money throughout the talk, and I think the gentle-but-stinging insinuation that Xiaoyu in distrusting fake!Polka is therefore not putting his trust in Rozan is a pretty apt point. 

(I was several bullet point paragraphs deep into Xiaoyu talk when I decided maybe I should move those thoughts to the post-bullet points section. Continued there.)

Just because I have bad eyesight doesn’t mean I think it’s possible for an ordinary human to be able to spot Xiaoyu at such a great vertical and horizontal distance as Momoya has. This guy has abnormal height, abnormal eyesight...I suppose we’ll learn how else he’s abnormal soon enough. On that note, I suddenly fully expect there to be a Momoya vs Lemmings match-up in the future. I don’t know how or why it’ll happen, but such a match-up is begging to happen nonetheless.

His cap-wearing companion...is that the person we saw on the phone last chapter? The backs of their heads seem similar...

“Shinjuku is Kuraki’s territory” but you don’t want to attract attention...kinda hard not to when Momoya has, what, at least two feet on everyone else. (Also, you can’t be expecting to take Clarissa totally by surprise, can you? Nah.)

Welp Momoya’s the Agakura guy personally responsible for de-limbing Xiaoyu! I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you. Their eventual (presumed) reunion is going to look like a David vs Goliath rematch. But will David’s cyborg enhancements and extra combat experience be enough to give him a chance at victory...?

We should assume it’s Momoya whom Arase spotted, right? He’s not gonna be able to spot Xiaoyu, and while the companion could perhaps be a ‘twist’ reveal...the companion was about as tall as everyone else in the crowd; Momoya is tall and stands out, so... “It couldn’t be. Could it?” Well, how many guys that tall are walking around Shinjuku...

Top likely guess is that Arase is familiar with Momoya from his yakuza/criminal days, but I suppose there’s also a chance he encountered Momoya during his later undercover operations. Arase’s been in Iwanome’s narrative shadow ever since Iwanome stole the story spotlight from him, so maybe he’s going to get some new spotlight soon?

Ah hey, it’s that journalist from the end of Chapter 35. Her business card is... wait, does it really say her name is “Eightport Kochou” or is CG just misreading it? Though, Takumi has a non-too-pleased moment of recognition...

This reporter and Misaki are awfully chummy. Enough so that my first reaction was to think, “Is this Misaki’s friend Hagane-chan?” Eh, I’ll bet a dollar she is. Dunno about you, but “Eightport Kochou” sounds like it just might be a pseudonym. Just perhaps.

Also, it only recently occurred to me that “Hagane” means steel; lest we forget, Misaki was heiress to Sakimiya Steel until her parents were murdered. I don’t...know what I’m supposed to do with this information? Should I consider it notable? Hagane’s name is first mentioned before we learn about Sakimiya Steel but that’s not what I’d call foreshadowing. Hm...

Right...thoughts. I have those. I guess I’ll start with a continuation of those Xiaoyu thoughts I started writing in the bullet points:

Xiaoyu’s vendetta against both Polkas is mostly a selfish one (he’s been jealous of real!Polka’s filial relationship to Rozan for years), but he has to some extent also (I think) convinced himself he’s acting for Rozan’s sake (fake!Polka must be a threat somehow, must have ulterior motives; Rozan will be better off without someone masquerading as a Shinoyama).

But...dismissing Rozan’s order to protect the fake!Polka was an act that essentially dismissed Rozan’s judgment and authority, even if Xiaoyu didn’t realize it at the time. I get the sense one of the reasons he considers himself to be Rozan’s true (’ideal’) son is because he (I suspect) conceives of himself as being ‘truly devoted’ to Rozan in every way. The real!Polka couldn’t possibly revere or respect or value Rozan in the same way Xiaoyu does, right?

Except if Xiaoyu were truly devoted to Rozan, if he respected and revered and valued Rozan in the way I guess he’s been perceiving himself as doing--if he gave Rozan the respect and service he believes Rozan deserves--then he surely should have respected the order to protect fake!Polka instead of assuming he knew better than his beloved master.

I’m not saying this all because I’m advocating for blind loyalty; I’m spending several paragraphs on this because it looks like this conversation is going to spark some overdue self-reflection on Xiaoyu’s part and yeah, yeah, he needs this. He has spent so much time preoccupied with being an ‘ideal’ (’ideal son’; ‘ideal servant’; ‘ideal guard’; at least, that’s my take on him at this time) that his self-awareness has (at least as of late) perhaps been awareness of a ‘self’ he’s constructed in his mind...

...but Rozan has prompted him into ‘real’ self-awareness now. I won’t be surprised if Xiaoyu’s self-confidence takes a bit of collateral damage, if it hadn’t already during the rooftop showdown, and I’m not sure if Xiaoyu will be able to suck up what pride and paranoia he has left and go have that “heart-to-heart” with fake!Polka right away. 

Do you think Xiaoyu remembers much of Momoya? Whether the trauma etched Momoya into his memory or blocked him out, I’m guessing Xiaoyu’s going to be experiencing some fear either way when he and Momoya inevitably cross paths again...but if they cross paths within the week or something, Xiaoyu might be in just that bit of a more brittle metal state than he already would be. 

Speaking of Momoya... I think Agakura is the name of the organization, yeah? “Within the Agakura” from last chapter indicates as much. I think the phrasing of a couple lines just tripped me up on it; at any rate, ‘Agakura’ doesn’t appear to be an establish Japanese surname or anything. I was half-expecting Momoya’s name to be Agakura, somehow...

But that’s all pablum. Last chapter saw those ex-Agakura (or at least, ex-Agakura associate) sniper siblings asking Clarissa for work, so I’m fully expecting the snipers to be present/relevant/brought up when Momoya pays his own visit to Clarissa soon.

I’m not necessarily expecting the visit to be about the siblings’ departure (since the Agakura guy didn’t seem too concerned by it), but it wouldn’t make sense to not involve the snipers in Momoya’s visit somehow. If they’re not present for his arrival, they’ll probably have some opinions on Momoya to share with Clarissa at minimum; Momoya himself might comment on their departure if he cares to do so.

Initial impressions of Momoya? I like his character design, but you knew that. His barehanded violence reminded me a bit of Claire (as well as his chattiness and self-assurance in being the cream of the crop), but I also got vague Yakumo vibes from his abnormal sight/height/abilities maybe? 

I don’t want to pin anything down about Momoya with only his debut chapter to go on--and I’m not sure I’d be able to pin down Momoya if I tried. He appears to afford ‘respect’ to his opponents (he says he’s impressed and respects Xiaoyu for surviving; he appears willing to consider or acknowledge opponents’ skills), but I can’t say how sincere that respect is (and if sincere, in what respect; e.g. could be more along the lines of Claire’s ‘gracious’ “you’re good; not as good as me, but good by ordinary standards” type of praise).

For now, I guess I’m just going to hope Momoya isn’t going to be a character along the lines of, say...Amaya from the “As the Gods Will” manga. I’m at the very least curious to see how he fits into Agakura, exactly; whether he cares about the group’s main goals or if he’s in the group for other reasons (in before ‘because I get to kill people”). 

As for the chapter ending... my initial response to “She says we’re going to be in the news!” was a somewhat snarky, “What, more than you’ve already been?” but I realize Misaki probably means the fortune-telling shop...uh, ‘local business spotlight’ style. Er, not that the journalist isn’t clearly interested in whatever happened on the rooftop (since she was in the rubbernecking crowd)...

...so I’ll grant the journalist probably at minimum wants to interview CG about the incident last night (”did you witness anything? Do you know anything about it?”). Still, I can see the ‘eyewitness account’ interview having a secondary purpose of business advertisement; the journalist might try to convince CG to be interviewed through such reasoning. 

“You let me interview you about the incident, your fortune-telling shop gets free exposure! Paranormal activity at a building with a grisly past, and on a fortuneteller’s doorstep no less? Everyone’s gonna be talking about it! ‘Hey, you think this guy is the real deal?’ They’ll be queuing down the streets!”

...Or something like that. This is all pure conjecture. This is all also way too many words for a simple Chapter reaction post, and too much time to spend on such a post at that. 

(PS: I remember Fujimoto tweeting about having to come up with at least three new character designs, and hoo boy if the cast numbers aren’t continuing to increase. Once again, I wonder how far Narita has planned head for this story.)

[agallimaufryofoddments]

DMDP Chapter 33 Thoughts

Why, no, I definitely wasn’t refreshing various sites for the YP release all day and every day since the chapter was released in Japan...

Again, the tag I’ve been using for my chapter release reactions/thoughts is “DMDP Update” for those who want to blacklist or are, somehow, somewhere, actually reading these.

I knew from reading the chapter description that the chapter would begin with “two key players in CG’s past” discussing CG on the Byandy Peninsula...turns out those key players are Romelka and Izliz/Easlies.

"Romelka Rimelka” and “Izliz Swordflail,” to be precise. That’s right, we were just given both characters’ full names in one swoop.

I say ‘to be precise’ except ‘Izliz’ is spelled ‘Easlies’ not only in the short story from Volume 2, but in this very chapter, the very next page after we get “Izliz Swordflail” in her formal introduction box?

“...in a different manner from you, Easlies-san...”

This is a wiki editor’s personal nightmare

So Romelka’s a ‘key player’ in CG’s past, huh? I mean, they were both super high-ranked sorcerers in the empire so it makes reasonable sense. 

Also, ‘Swordflail?’ Amazing. Guess we can take this to mean Izliz/Easlies != Sabaramond, so I’m back to thinking Sabaramond is the imperial family.

What on earth is that on Izliz’ back. Was it hidden behind all her hair? Or, considering that the bony...tail/extension of Izliz’ hat is curled around it...is it appearing via the circle? 

It looks like an upside-down...humanoid creature (it shushed Romelka with its hand). Pointed ears, stitches on arm, black fingernails and I do believe its mouth is stitched shut. 

Soo...given that Izliz is a necromancer, and given that the skull mask/helmet she wears could potentially be replacing her head entirely (if she’s also undead like CG)... is that her original ‘self’? Just a wild thought. Could be so so wrong.

Romelka’s chatty, peppy personality reminds me a bit of Pirie from Vamp!.

Back to the rooftop in Shinjuku...

Xiaoyu immediately puts distance between himself and Lemmings, realizing at once this is the bad news urban legend.... 

One of three people that the Heilei were given strict orders “never to interfere with?” Who were the other two?

Someone named Agakura was responsible for the loss of Xiaoyu’s limbs per Ch22, but Xiaoyu’s father’s remark that “it was purely bad luck” Xiaoyu ran into Agakura makes me wonder if Agakura was really one of them. I have no way of knowing right now, since I have no idea who Agakura is; Ch22 is the only time his name has been mentioned.

The other two... mm, the Grim Reaper, maybe? Or Clarissa? Though, since the Grim Reaper is supposed to be one of Clarissa’s people, they might just be lumped in as a sum package. Anyway, all this speculating is getting me nowhere

Me at Chapter 32: “I feel like there’s some sort of chance Sorimura might actually try to claim Lemmings was part of his plan...”

Sorimura this chapter: *acts as if Lemmings was part of his plan*

He really went there, hoo boy

He’s even offering Xiaoyu a chance to surrender and run, that cheeky bastard

Lemmings: *Looks Sorimura’s way*

Sorimura: *record scratch, freeze-frame on face* Uh-oh. Is this how I die?

Another genuine laugh-out-loud moment. Sorimura does work real magic as far as I’m concerned. 

I was rambling musing about why I find Sorimura so amusing/fun last chapter, but this moment highlights another reason why he can be a bit endearing--he’s aware of the possibility he might die. No matter how cool and seemingly able he is at pulling off cool illusions and dodging attacks, one does see him sweat from effort/nerves/etc...”Is this how I die?” is funny and simultaneously shows he’s not someone who’s never considered the possibility of his own dea...th

oh my God

I’m Ladd Russo

A-anyway

Xiaoyu: holy shit it’s Lemmings, a powerful monster whom my family said never to interfere with

Xiaoyu, two minutes later: *throws three blades at Lemmings back*

A moment of bravery or stupidity? You decide

Oh shit, last chapter I hadn’t even considered how Xiaoyu and Lemmings are both working for two different Shinoyamas

I didn’t even ask myself whether Xiaoyu might know Lemmings works for Takeru?? Or whether Lemmings might have something in mind regarding Xiaoyu?? I’m so ashamed

I guess it’s no surprise Takeru makes sure his agency people know who Rozan’s/the family’s bodyguards are. Ah, but it seems Takeru hasn’t given anyone in the family details on the agency members. 

“But Lemmings may have been sighted at the fire” I mean...

Takeru ordered Lemmings not to harm Rozan’s bodyguards no matter what they do to him, o heck

Lemmings took three blades (kunai?) to the back and casually flexed them out, nice

I’ve been wondering about the specifics of Xiaoyu’s gloves! When the fingers extended in the previous chapters I was having a hard time defining what was going on. Were the fingers extended claws, talons, etc? That sort of thing

In this case the fingers seem to be razor sharp ‘bindings’ (sharp enough that they should ‘cut through’ people, though they don’t on Lemmings), which Xiaoyu can ‘electrify’ (send electric currents through). 

The face Sorimura makes as he questions how it’s possible for Lemmings to do what he just did... I think this is the most out of sorts we’ve seem him to date. 

“The way I see it, everyone in my immediate vicinity is on my side” Sorimura you prime bullshitter

ooh, that blackness/that strange feeling...Corpse God time, yes? Yes?

I almost didn’t recognize Yatsu standing in profile, welp

“Umbrella: Watch Out For Fires” .....

....Raincoat, not umbrella. I assume the text was copy-pasted but someone didn’t notice or forgot to change ‘umbrella’...

This along with the Easlies/Izliz spelling confusion in one chapter...kinda helps demonstrate why I’m guarded about this series’ English release 

I mean, maybe ‘Easlies’ is actually spelled differently to ‘Izliz’ in the original Japanese and it’s not just a mistake on the English end...maybe...

Anyway. Raincoat Bug is acting just like an ordinary high school girl here. Almost as if it switched into ‘ordinary civilian mode’. It acted like an ordinary girl when it got its fortune read too, of course... 

And it/she even calls over her dad Toyomaru as backup/to corroborate the missing dog story. I’m still getting slight hive mind vibes; I’m reminded of how Saika soldiers act when the Saika control wears off and they resume normalcy. Or how Baccano!’s hive minds ‘act like’ their vessels vs when they’re clearly speaking ‘as themselves.’

i.e. as a Naritaverse fan I see this, I see this girl and this father and instinctively consider the possibility that both are the same consciousness

Oho, but what’s this--Corpse God is listening in and is sure the girl and man “aren’t telling the truth” --aka they’re actively lying. 

So probably not a hive mind scenario where the hive mind recedes and lets the vessels’ consciousnesses resume control. If this is a hive mind scenario.

It could be more like Spring-Heeled Joplin from Etsusa Bridge after all, something I’d brought up briefly last chapter but didn’t think about too much.

Corpse God not only has little eyeballs spying nearby from a nearby post/tree/wall, he’s got disembodied ears listening in. Did he manifest them as soon as he noticed the presence downstairs was in a hurry? I could see him taking the precaution to have spies (wait a second...literal eyes and ears) stationed all around the building.

“The color of the [girl’s soul]” and the “color of [Sorimura] on the roof” are ones he recognizes as those of the people who asked him about the sigil during the fortune-telling. Recognizing people by the colors of their souls? Handy.

Again, CG makes no recognition of Umbrella Bug’s presence, so...where is that Bug? I’m going to ask this every chapter.

“The sanctuary...will have to be expanded a little” ooooh

OOOOOH

The black cracks/tendrils of magic are both framing the panels and cracking out of the first one, spreading underneath and around them. NEAT please do more with this idea and more ideas like it

That’s right; the panels where Xiaoyu/Lemmings/Sorimura get that chilly feeling also had thick, inky borders. Aka magic/necromancy.

“Corpse God is usually a very good boy.” How old is Izliz, again?

“He becomes someone entirely different on the battlefield...” implicit similarities to Shagrua intensify

“He has almost no sense of independence. He devotes all of himself ot those he considers his kin. Perhaps that’s why....his ‘synchronization’ with the dead is at a higher level than even mine.” Synchronization, eh? Hm.

“...He doesn’t mind taking the blame for anything,” said over a flashback panel to the imperial prince/boy-emperor and silhouetted individuals. Hmmmmm

“But when the “place where he belongs” is disgraced...he...the Corpse God...doesn’t know how to show restraint.”

So I guess his home base is a designated ‘sanctuary’, which to me has a magical connotation here alongside “place where he belongs, safe place with friends, etc.” That is to say, in deeming a place a ‘sanctuary’ it’s looking like the CG probably will use magic/necromancy to...fortify? Mark? Protect the place. Like with the eyes and ears keeping watch at the perimeter.

“Will have to be expanded” --hrm, but different to how the labyrinth expanded, right? Right?

The last panel....ooooh the last panel....ooooooooOHHH

Hands at the windows. Hands in a [post? pole?]. Shadows of hands on the road. 

Fingers crossed (heh) that the next chapter will go all out with creep factor. This? It has potential. Pray, continue. I’ve been ready, Fujimoto, please do go wild with the macabre/horror/creep potential of necromancy at any time. 

This chapter was a tad shorter than the last one. It also came out on the quicker side; took less than a month. On the one hand waiting a month between chapters kills me, but on the other hand as a Narita fan I’m a veteran of the waiting game. If this is a prelude to a longer than average chapter, I’ll take it.

While this chapter did spend more time building up the Corpse God--what with giving several pages to Izliz and Romelka conversing about him and all--the last panel does seem to be the immediate prelude to some CG action, so hopefully next chapter will see that action taking place.

What do you mean, “Isn’t that the same exact sentiment you had with the last chapter? With its dramatic ending double spread of the CG gearing up for action?” I can’t hear you. Speak louder......if you....would.

The rooftop situation meanwhile progressed a tad, but not by much--but again, we’re seeing things happening in different places simultaneously (Narita shenanigans), and this and the last chapter have made it clear the key “mover and shaker” of this situation will be the Corpse God. Whatever he’s doing will undoubtedly influence the rooftop confrontation, so really everyone --the characters and us, the readers-- are holding our breaths for CG’s next move.

Once the Corpse God gets going, I imagine both the rooftop group and the street-level group will be propelled forward (story-wise/situation-wise, action-wise) in their own rights.

Edit: Forgot to comment on this, but... the short story of Volume 2 ended with Shagrua encountering Izliz and Romelka on the Abandoned/Byandy Peninsula, where Romelka and Izliz’s conversation is taking place. Is this conversation happening before they encounter Shagrua? After? Are we supposed to know?

Oh wait--I nearly overlooked the fact that Volume 3 has been out in Japan since April, and Volume 3 presumably has a short story continuing where Volume 2′s short story left off. It’s possible that story answers my question. Unfortunately the Yen Press release won’t be out until December...

Edit x2: From Volume 2′s short story: “It was a woman adorned in clothes like those of a dancer [...] Shagrua couldn’t tell her age, but from the little skin she bared...”

Little skin? Little? I assume she’s wearing the same outfit we’ve always seen her in, right? Little skin she bared? We have very, very different ideas of what constitutes little, Shagrua. 

Edit x3, like a day or so later: I’ve been writing up a Chapter 33 article for the wiki, so I’ve had the chapter open in front of me for the last 10-15 minutes and I just realized

The dad ‘Toyomaru’ who arrives to pick up the raincoat-wearing Bug

is carrying

a black umbrella

...dear lord how can I be this BLIND

Now, what little we can see of the folded umbrella doesn’t seem to have kana on it--but we can only see a little so...what do you wanna bet 

that that umbrella, when unfolded

has “Watch out for fires” written on it.

Howwww did I not immediately ask myself whether the ‘dad’ was the thin umbrella-carrying Bug, the first panel he’s in puts his hand carrying the umbrella into the foreground focusssss...and, and while you can see both his and the girl’s heads in the next panel they’re so far away you can really only make out the hair and basic outlines of facial featuresssss...

Even if it’s just a red herring the fact that I was oblivious enough not to fall for the red herring/notice the red herring in the first place still smarts. @me please pay more attention I’m begging you