#Shadow of the Fox

[exhausted-undead]

so like. shadow of the fox fandom r y'all still around

if not, then this is hakaimono (or at least how I saw him while reading) - he's an oni, a smartass, and also really fun to draw, and he's from that book series! check it out if you're into YA that's actually original and delves into Japanese mythology:D

anyway here's my art:

[nikittysan]

Fanart for Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

this was SUCH a great series! With an epic, heart wrenching amazing ending!! I adore all the characters 🥰

[hufflepuffhabs]

Guys, I just finished the Shadow of the Fox trilogy, and I'm not okay

[tempii]

"Master Isao taught kindness and patience in all things, especially when one was injured. "

Hey, sooo here is my first post

Yumeko and Master Isao

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[sayonn]

I just want to show you a sketch of my version Yumeko from " Shadow of the fox " Julie Kagawa (and little gif huh) 🎏💮

[a-linearis]

random #002

i need to reread "The Shadow of the Fox" trilogy by Julia Kagawa because DAMN OKAME AND DAISUKE just ahhhhhh

Tbh, just all of it, all of it. The folklore, the perspectives, Hakaimono (especially him and Yumeko at the end from what I remember), the fights, all of it.

It was an experience, and I loved it.

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Shadow of the Fox

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2018

Genres: fiction, fantasy, mythology, romance

Blurb: One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish, and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn. Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half-kitsune, half-human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief...until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain, and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple's greatest treasure: one part of the ancient scroll. There are many who would claim the dragon's wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival...but he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart. With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko's secrets are more than a matter of life or death; they are the key to the fate of the world itself.

[darknight1192]

[mistwraiths]

4 stars

I actually liked this way more than I originally thought I would starting out on this book! This is a beautiful, lush, sweeping fantasy involving a half kitsune and a shadowy samurai with a demon sword on a quest for a temple and a scroll, and gathering the most unlikely allies along the way.

Originally, I was a bit frustrated with how slow the story, the plot was. The book features a ton of traveling, and mostly only that,That, our main two characters Yumeko and Tatsumi being waylaid by demons and witches and other things hunting them for the scroll at almost every stop. Travel a little, fight stuff, treat wounds, repeat. The whole plot is to find this Master Jiro and go to The Steel Feather Temple. And by the end of the book, we barely find Master Jiro. Not to mention, there is more going on, but the main focus for us is Jiro.

I thought I'd be more frustrated but the more I read and the more I sat with this when I finished, I decided I really didn't mind! Because the journeying to get to know the two main characters was good, and the Japanese mythology we get is fascinating. And slowly, we pick up more characters.

Yumeko is a delightful character, slightly mischievous but ultimately a genuinely good, kind girl who has never experienced the world beyond her temple. She's kind and good, but not at the expense of being stupid or reckless. She's naive but not annoying. I just love her a lot!!! And the fact that she's kept up her lies very well, keeping the scroll hidden, is just good.

Tatsumi, I like but not completely obsessed with, and he's a little of the typical tortured, broody excellent warrior. He's a little bland in my opinion, but he's been raised to have no emotional connection, to be a tool only. You do feel sorry for him. I can definitely see the building relationship with him and Yumeko, but I liked that nothing really happens yet.

I love that Yumeko is pretty much responsible in gathering all the allies. Omake, the ronin, I like however his constant talk of him being a wild dog and other comments grow repetitive quite quickly. Daisuke is very interesting and I want to know him more since we don't super get a lot of time with him. And Reika was a good character I liked immediately and hope we see more of her.

I did like the extra character Suki to see what the bad character is doing. Suki's death was a shock in the beginning for sure.

I loved the overarching plot to with the Dragon rising and the Master of Demons, and two another shadowy figures in the background. Once the story gets to the capital, things really start to pick up. That ending too and the epilogue was very good and made me look forward to the next!

Overall, a very good Japanese fantasy!

[littengamer909]

themb…,,,,

[exhausted-undead]

so ik this fandom is literally nonexistent but here have some soul buddies

[calista-222]

Same old (uh young?) Sonic 👍

[pink-pages]

Shadow of the Fox

This book has been on my to-read list for about a century and a half and I finally got around to reading it. BOY, AM I GLAD I DID!!!! I'm going to try to make this review as spoiler free as possible, but seeing as I have specific opinions on the ending, that may be a bit difficult. I'm just going to issue a spoiler warning for the entire review.

One of the things I absolutely loved about Shadow of the Fox was Kagawa's writing. Her descriptions, particularly the descriptions of the settings were so fucking fantastic that if I closed my eyes, I probably would've been able to trick myself into thinking I was in Iwagoto. Her descriptions of people were also brilliant, I just had a hard time imagining the clothes. I don't know much about what kimonos and other traditional Japanese clothing look like so I just kept imagining Yumeko in a hanbok (which is Korean and therefore from the wrong culture entirely).

The pacing of the book was also pretty nice. It started out with a bang, like, first chapter and there's already an army of demons. That was pretty nice because it really hooked me in and kept my attention through the next few chapters of exposition (you know, the part where the author sets up the plot and introduces the characters which is kinda necessary but also not terribly exciting). Then when the whole adventure started, it was pretty much one thing after another. It was a good mix of epic action scenes and scenes centered around dialogue.

Characters

Yumeko: I FUCKING LOVED Yumeko. Some of my favorite quotes in the entire book (I prefer funny quotes to profound ones) were made possible because Yumeko did not understand sarcasm. One of the things that I loved the most about Yumeko is that she didn't fall into the damsel in distress category (which would've been easy considering her lack of experience of life outside the temple) but she also didn't fall into the inexplicably a warrior category (you know, put the girl with absolutely no training against an enemy and suddenly she's got a black belt in Capoeira). She was able to hold her own and even save Kage Tatsumi (the infamous demonslayer) on occasion and she did that through things she had already mastered (her illusion magic, for example).

Kage Tatsumi: Ok, so, I must admit, I wasn't as fond of Tatsumi as literally everyone else who read this book but that's not because he's badly written or anything, it's because I rarely love the dark-past emotionally-constipated mysterious-badboy type characters. I did love his levels of badassery though. I guess I just wish we could've seen more personality although I suppose the whole point of his character is that he's not SUPPOSED to have a personality.

Okame: He was definitely the character I had the most fun reading about by far. Okame was hands down the funniest and I think he added a lightheartedness to the squad that was severely needed. I also always appreciate an archer. Personally, I think archery is cooler than swordplay. I also think his character as compared to Tatsumi brings up some interesting points. He's constantly talking about being an honorless Ronin as opposed to Tatsumi who is a Samurai and abides by the code of bushido but that begs the question of what honor really is.

Taiyo Daisuke: My favorite character!!! I swear, Kagawa created this man specifically to make me fall in love. I mean, a young nobleman (who's actually noble and not an asshole) with pretty features and long silver hair. Yes, please. Aside from the fact that he's totally my newest book boyfriend, I also think that Daisuke is the purest character in a way. He's the only character who's not either keeping secrets/decieving/misleading the other characters (Yumeko and Tatsumi) or in possession of questionable morals (Okame). Of course, that also makes me a bit anxious because he seems to0 good to be true

Reika: She may have come in a little close to the end, but I still consider her to be pretty important. Reika is another one of my favorite characters. She's a shrine maiden, not a warrior, so she's probably not embarking on many dangerous missions. Still, she does not hesitate to do extremely dangerous things to protect the shrine. Reika is the character I respect the most.

Lady Satomi: The big bad. I didn't have any huge opinions on Satomi and interestingly enough, I hated her more for abusing her waitstaff than for, you know, sending an army of demons to steal a magic scroll and attempting to kill the main characters multiple times. She was a worthy villain but there was nothing about her that really stood out to me

I said at the beginning of this review that I have opinions on the ending. I really loved that Tatsumi gets possessed by Hakaimono at the end because I was dreading the moment Tatsumi uncovered Yumeko's lies and carries through his orders to kill her but with Hakaimono possessing Tatsumi, that heartbreaking moment never actually happened. Yeah, I know that also means that one of the most dangerous demons Jigoku has to offer is now running around the mortal realm in the body of an elite warrior, but at least Yumeko and Tatsumi don't hate each other.

I do have a bone to pick with the epilogue, though. I feel like Lady Satomi's death should have been more dramatic. She does all this crazy evil badass magicy stuff but in the end, she's just stabbed in her bed chambers?! It's just a bit underwhelming. At the same time, though, I understand why Kagawa had her killed that way. She was too powerful to fight head on, so having a character sneak in and assassinate her was probably the best way to ensure that she died.

[rapidhighway]

so much good stuff in this episode, i had to redraw (don't tag as ship)

[smallpwbbles]

They need to make that scene from the first movie come full circle or its a WASTE