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kaix-maxi · 5 years

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why you should love izumi iori

i’ll try my best to put all the events in chronological order, but forgive me if i can’t,,, ok so ‘WHY SHOULD YOU LOVE IZUMI IORI??’ time for me to start yelling about why you should!! it’s just got part 1 spoilers aka if you’ve watched all of the anime already, you’ll already know everything i’m about to mention! spoilers that go beyond the anime/ p1 has been separated with me boldly italicising area where spoilers begin to start so keep an eye out for that!

one, he absolutely loves his brother, izumi mitsuki, it’s so obvious, he wants the best for him! his dream was for mitsuki’s dream to come true, and he only became an idol just so that mitsuki was also scouted by takapro,,, LIKE DO YOU SEE IORI BLUSHING IN THIS GIF??? the izumi bros are so wholesome

plus there was this one time in a rabbitchat where they were doing a play and mitsuki had to sacrifice himself for iori, and he was like “yeah, i’d totally do it in real life situation too! i’m his older brother after all, i love iori!!” and iori was literally just like “nO >:((”

and he literally wants to disrupt mitsuki as less as possible?? like tamaki was asking iori for the ‘birds and the bees’ talk, and he was like “please ask osaka-san or nikaidou-san” and when tamaki was ike “why not mikki?”, iori’s just like “i don’t want you to bother nii-san with this kind of talk”

plus he will never mince his words regardless of who he’s talking to, unless it’s his beloved “nii-san”,,, please look at him attacking the (random) man with the screentone hair (this was right after the dude dissed idolish7)

also, i totally headcanon that iori has a little brother inferiority complex! he thinks rokuya nagi would’ve been mitsuki’s ideal little brother,,, i can’t find the 4koma manga panel but there was a moment of where nagi hugged mitsuki from behind and they were happy together, and then when iori hugged mitsuki from behind, mitsu’s just like “iori,,, are you ok??”

plus iori was full aware that he doesn’t really allow himself to be spoiled by mitsuki, especially because he doesn’t know how to!! he wants to be there to support mitsuki, and gets super upset when they get into a fight lmao,,, i have hereby dubbed izumi iori as a brocon (also shown in this post)!

there was this one fight where mitsuki came back from failing an audition again so iori’s just like “rather than trying to appeal them with your energy, how about you try focusing on your appeal of being cute??” and then that sparks a whole fight where mitsuki blows up at iori saying that iori should stop focusing on his dream of being more like zero and focus on his (iori’s) dream instead, and that even though he wants to debut as an idol, he wants to do it with his own personality, not one that he’s manifested to become an idol! this makes iori extremely upset because he’s like “i’ve been trying to make my brother become someone he’s not,,,”

also, have this,,, iori tries his best to be a brother that mitsuki will love!

two, he will never admit he loves cute things. the reason as to why he likes cute things (which i find really adorable) is because of the family bakery ‘fonte chocolat’! apparently, it’s got some pretty cute designs and stuff for the cake so he grew attached to that while he was growing up i’m guessing?

anyways, he was steaming at tsumugi for throwing out his cute magnets, and then when she was able to buy a whole set of them again, he was like “i’ll accept it since you went through the effort of buying it, it’s good to recycle after all”,,, like please,,, why do you still deny it?

iori,,, have you seen yourself in your ‘day off’ rabbit chats? he goes on rambling to tsumugi about these super famous paintings when he’s actually just at a pet store and looking at a cat, and when tsumugi messages him, he’s like “stop, you’ll scare it away” and she’s like “i’ll scare the painting away???” iori please,,, this is ridicuclous -cries for iori- ALSO,,, i like to think that the only cute thing he’ll admit to loving is his brother. he’s so worried about his image,,,

speaking of a person’s image, do you remember the rabbit hoodie that mitsuki always wears? iori was the original owner! it’s in a 4koma manga panel (i promise if i can find it, i will throw it here right away) where iori wore it once and was thinking “this doesn’t suit me at all” and he sees mitsuki wearing a more formal-like attire (who’s thinking “this is kind of baggy...”) then they just stare at each other, and then switch clothes, SO THE RABBIT HOODIE IS ORIGINALLY IORI’S!! he loves cute things so much,,, therefore, please appreciate iori, he’s making mitsuki look absolutely adorable (it’s this hoodie btw)

three, he helps out with management alongside tsumugi, he’s also a part of why idolish7 is so successful!! his dream now is for idolish7 to reach its full potential and become super amazing, just like how zero was!! iori is super observant as well, please don’t forget that he was the first one to notice riku’s heart condition

four, there is like,,, no filial piety when it comes to this one! have you seen him think when tsumugi was like “only 3 of you will debut”? after the audition, he was literally scheming this whole thing in his head “if you fail nii-san, i’ll make a claim, destroy your reputation and make sure your agency goes down”, like do not mess with izumi iori unless you want to die. AND when riku’s like “iori! i’m older than you so you should respect me”, iori just downright refuses like an absolute savage

five! he’s super concerned about others even if he doesn’t present himself that way! when riku just put his hand on his chest before a concert during this one time, iori freaked out and zoomed straight to him, thinking he was going to get an attack! also, remember the music festival? he screwed up because he was so worried about riku getting an attack!

and honestly, he’s so good,,, remember when he told riku he was a bomb? originally, he didn’t expand on it but then later he was literally just like “you’re our bomb. it doesn’t matter which way you explode. if it comes our way, we’ll do our best to defend ourselves”!! he’s literally telling riku he can screw up ([because of his respiratory disorder] but try not to riku) and if he does, then everyone else will save him

six! iori has an extremely sensitive body take notes fanfic writers LMAO!! sorry i’m not trying to imply anything dirty so he’s ticklish about everywhere according to mitsuki! mitsu literally says that he kept on tickling iori when they were kids and he just went overboard during this one time, where tiny iori started actually crying because of how much he was being tickled!

seven! take note ioriku fans iori has the strongest faith ever in riku’s singing ability, more than anyone else i’m pretty sure! in fact, to him, he considers riku’s singing ability to be able to ‘cast magic onto the audience’ and it makes “the stars fall" LIKE LOOK AT THESE THREE MANGA PANELS and you will see what i mean

also, have you seen him when he’s just woken up?? he looks absolutely hilarious (do you see that high key judgemental stare?? nah, it’s just iori waking up and trying to get used to life)

from now on, it’s nothing but SPOILERS so beware!!

remember when riku couldn’t even concentrate on singing and dancing anymore (part 2 i think?),,, i don’t exactly remember how or why, but then it happened! (lol) as a result, idolish7 was starting to go downhill and everything was turning from bad to worse, so tsumugi was like to iori “i want you to be the new centre of i7 temporarily until riku gets better″ and iori just noped outta there, he’s like “it’s got to be nanase-san. if it’s not him, it’s not idolish7″ but when push came to shove, he came back to tsumugi and was like “ok, i’ll be the new centre of idolish7"!

“Perfection Gimmick” is one of the songs where iori is the centre and “Restart Pointer” is when riku returns back to being the centre of i7, hence the reason as to why iori turns back and smiles in riku’s direction i guess in the MV!!

and to conclude because i’m literally getting laggy from how long this post is! a gif of izumi iori, please appreciate him!

#idolish7 #izumi iori #appreciation post #why you should love izumi iori #i7 #ainana #izumi bros #i love him so much

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maiji · 6 years

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Process and wip images for A House That Holds Long Limbs (Part 4)

Previous process and wip documentation: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Read the pages for part 4 here (full complete version will be linked from YYH North Bound master post)

This is a rare glimpse into how I tackle action scenes!! It’s rare because I rarely do it. Action is honestly one of the hardest things for me to draw, and as I’m sure I’ve said here many times before, I have the utmost respect for shounen manga artists whose works are steeped in them. It’s a really impressive skill to be able to do it well - to create a cinematic, dynamic sense of motion that doesn’t dissolve into visual confusion and incomprehensibleness.

This was as interesting for me to document my thought process as it hopefully is for you to read and discover what the heck was going on in my head (a big honking mess, that’s what). There was much screaming and crying while working on this hahaha.

Aside from Hokushin’s beautiful face (lmao), Part 4 is packed with things I don’t usually draw. Specifically: action, things taking place in the dark, and corpses. For things taking place in the dark, I heavily referenced the dark room rounds from the tournament for Genkai’s successor in volume 4, because it involves action and Togashi used practically zero screentones in it and I didn’t want to either. For the dead rokurokubi, I looked up photos of skulls and drew on my memory of various horror comics I’ve read, like Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. (At one point I also googled photos of rotting skulls, but TBH I didn’t really want to spend a lot of time looking at detailed photographic references of corpse and decomposing bodies for obvious reasons, especially as I usually work on these comics late at night before I go to bed. The last thing I need is for images to get stuck in my brain when I’m sleeping.)

The rest of this post focuses mainly on action and redrawing things.

Script

The original script for this section actually ran a little further in the story than what’s shown here, but in order to convey the sequence effectively, I ended up stretching a number of key moments out and have booted the later ones to be completed for Part 5.

Thumbnails

In the thumbnails above, you’ll notice quite a few are redraws of the same page as I struggle - pages 31-33 repeat immediately in the rows after, page 37 was attempted three times, etc.

Page count growth

A script of 8 pages turned into 10 pages at the thumbnail stage, and then ultimately netted out at 12 pages in the final version that was posted. As you can see, effective action sequences generally take me more pages than I think they will. With an exception (documented below).

Thumbnailing/storyboarding things out should theoretically minimize the page count creep! But because I tend to treat my thumbnails as such a loose stage (to avoid later disappointment when I can’t recreate it as nicely in the final page), I rush through them. Unfortunately, action sequences require me to think a lot more carefully through the scene as a director - staging the shot and the experience of the motion and coordinating people’s limbs and all the items in the scene more carefully and whatnot than, say, just a couple of heads talking. So inevitably, when I rush to get ahead to the finished pages, that’s when I realize it doesn’t flow as well as I was imagining (or not really imagining it).

As a result, the actual “live” pages turn into constant mental checks and runthroughs of the panels, realizing it’s not flowing as well as I’d like, and restarting. By restarting I mean mentally reenvisioning the sequence, sometimes quickly doodling alternate thumbnails (I didn’t bother in this case, so I have no alternate examples from after I started redrawing), and erasing and redrawing and adding pages. I guess I could probably avoid this if I just stop and put more time into thinking through the thumbnails… but it seems like I end up revising no matter what. So, constant juggling forever.

The evolution of the key action sequence

In my head, the main sequence was:

Hokushin lands.

He gets up and feels something in the dark.

He discovers the rokurokubi corpse.

He turns around to discover a swarm of hands in the dark!

Ahhh hands!! Ahhhh!!

Then he gets sealed and stringed up. End action sequence, back to people standing - or hanging out, I guess - and talking.

I roughed out my panels and pencils for all the pages following my thumbnails instead of doing one page at a time, because I’m impatient and also tend to think of all the pages as a wholistic narrative and then drilling down to the details on each page (big to small perspective).

As I went back over each page and detailing the base pencil art more, I began noticing more issues with the flow of the action and the pagination. Things started really shifting and changing at point 4. Here’s essentially how my thinking played out as I drew:

He turns around to discover a swarm of hands in the dark! - WAIT he just sees the corpse and then turns around? I should have him sense something is behind him first to get you more into his head and experience. OK, insert another panel of him sensing and whatever. THEN he can turn around. This is also good because I can erase the panel where he’s turning around and give the first panel a bit more room so I can draw more of his body in the first one and make his startled falling back motion a bit clearer.

HANDS!! AHHH HANDS!! - Wait, I have hands coming from BEHIND him and don’t effectively show that before they just appear to grab his hair. Which I suppose they do, but when I review panel flow it seems jarring, like a poorly directed cut and something was missing. Let’s try adding some hands behind him in the panel where he looks shocked. Never mind, this looks dumb and he looks dumb and basically seems even more like an afterthought. Ooh, better idea: let’s have him dodge the first wave of hands. That’ll be kinda cool and more interesting. And then he can land and be like OH SHIT MORE HANDS FROM EVERY DIRECTION

Ahhh hands!! Ahhhh!! - Hmm, maybe I should add a page here to better capture his dodge sequence. So the panels will be hands, dodge, and then the next page is he lands, then he realizes there are more hands behind him. How crouched down should he be? I guess in the later pages I basically drew him in a practically fully upright position… eh.. Working this out...

*starts drawing extra page* … Mmm, thinking about this again, no. It stretches things out too much. Now it feels like he lands, the new page adds an extra pause that could be interpreted unconsciously as he thinks he’s ok, then he gets attacked by hands from behind. But that’s ridiculous because he’s a rokurokubi, he KNOWS the hands can come back around or whatever, and he’s a good and cautious fighter, the extra pause doesn’t seem to fit. Thinking this through, basically I need it to feel faster - he lands (typed “he hands” there first time around haha), and he doesn’t have a chance to react again before it turns out hands are coming from all directions. So, I’ll keep it to the one original page and draw the reaction to the sound of the hands coming from everywhere. Done. (one of the few instances where I reduce page count in an action sequence)

Oh yeah, I forgot about his arms and legs getting sealed. Er, add another page. OK done.

For comparison, below are photos of the pencils for pages 35 and 36 before the above process:

... and after:

Redraws

I generally try to avoid redrawing an entire image/page from scratch if I don’t have to. Even if I don’t like the overall drawing, I’m still terrified of effing up the parts that turned out OK the first time around. However, sometimes you gotta know when to cut your losses and start anew and save yourself time and grief (I’m definitely still learning how to know lol). I do have a few strategies to ease my mind - I often take photos of something before I proceed to the next step or change direction (which is where many of these wip photos come from). This helps calm me down because at least now I have a reference for what it was before I took the leap of faith to move forward. Another option is to just leave it and draw on a completely new blank page.

Page 37, where Hokushin is getting his head pulled back by the hands, was an incredibly rare instance of the pencils for a page turning out almost exactly how I wanted on the first try, so I was loathe to redraw or adjust it. This means I basically forced myself to shuffle things before and after to accommodate not having to change it.

On the flipside, page 40, where the shot backs away so you can see Hokushin tied up with the hands, is one I full-on redrew from scratch. I was having a hard time with his pose and how all the hands were wrapped around him and how everything was actually working. I wasn’t happy with the drawing the first time around, but inked it anyways to see if I would like it better the next morning (sometimes this works, to wait and look at it with a distanced frame of mind). Spoiler, I didn’t lol. However, the process of inking the entire thing helped me better hone in on what parts I liked and didn’t like, so when I sketched it out again I was better able to adjust.

This photo shows the original (with the words REDRAW :/ at the bottom), a sketch I did trying to figure out his posture and where all the hands were/how the wrapping actually worked, and then the pencils of the redraw.

Final miscellaneous things

The end page of Part 4 is once again a last minute addition that resulted because I was facing a blank page (again!) after adding the page where Hokushin gets his arms and legs sealed. I changed the spoken line multiple times. First it was a line that’s been pushed to the upcoming part 5, then it was the “You certainly found my “treasure room” quickly” (that’s on the previous page). In the end, I just wrote a completely new line for it. It seemed to work better with the panel and closing off this part at a good point.

Last but not least, I somehow broke my pen inking this part lmao. Fortunately it’s a Muji pen so I only broke the tip off the cartridge somehow, probably in my intense scribbling/shading at some point. It’s not super clear in the photo but if you look closely at the point you’ll see this thin line coming out of the tip of the pen - it was this metal filament that basically scratched the paper without any ink coming out. I had to make an emergency run to two Mujis, neither of which had the black refills, so I ended up just buying two pens with similar thicknesses. Worst case scenario, I would have just inked with my blue cartridge, since the scanning would turn everything black and white anyways... the original pages would have just looked weird.

Phew! Hopefully it worked out and isn’t a totally incoherent mess!

#yu yu hakusho #comics #fanart #hokushin #wip #process #drawings #yyh north bound #art by maiji/mary huang #action sequences #redrawing #art supplies

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getoffthesoapbox · 7 years

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[VKM Spec] Tackling VKM 9|10

I was encouraged enough by what I saw in VKM 10 to write down my thoughts on what I’m seeing for the story and for VKM 9 and 10 in particular. This post will be slightly different from my previous chapter reviews; I’ll be covering topics of interest in random orders rather than going through the chapters step by step (mostly to avoid revisiting VKM 9 as much as possible).

For anyone who hasn’t seen the raws or translation (is this even possible at this point?) they can be found here courtesy of @alldempretties.

I’m still displeased with the direction Yuuki’s character has taken, and I’m not comfortable with Zero and Yuuki’s relationship as it currently stands. However, I am encouraged by Zero’s response to the new status of their relationship, and I see some potential in the new twist on where Aidou’s research is taking him as well as in the broader themes of the timing of VKM 9 &10 in general and Yuuki’s interior monologues about Zero in particular.

If you’d like to read more, and if you don’t mind a healthy dose of Yuuki criticism, please feel free to read below the cut. (Fair warning: I have no filter in this post. Tread with caution.)

On Zero

I won’t dwell too heavily on Zero from VKM 9. To summarize, I was appalled at how he was treated narratively in VKM 9. Here’s a list of my main points of contention:

Zero’s faith in his relationship with Yuuki was slowly and steadily worn down by Yuuki’s inability to communicate.

Zero had no choice but to accept he’d only have a place in Yuuki’s heart if he accepted the preposterous condition that Yuuki loved Kaname “too” and could do so even as she loved Zero.

The ban on Zero expressing impatience or concern about their relationship was so high Zero could barely broach the subject without Yuuki clamming up.

Yuuki tells him she won’t let him go nor will she give him anything. This is just....more on that later. The fool accepts this.

Zero spends fifty years hoping that the fact that Yuuki held his hand once meant that someday he’d be able to have a relationship with her. This guy held onto this like a lifeline while nothing changed.

Zero lived alone in a dreary little apartment for 50 years that Yuuki never once visited.

On top of all of that, the way Hino handled VKM 9 is truly horrifying. Zero’s narration steadily becomes more and more depressed, to the point that even when Yuuki is confessing to him (in a moment which should arguably be the light of his life) his interior monologue is still depressed and Hino doesn’t even give him a proper reaction shot to show how happy he is that he’s finally moving forward with Yuuki.

Hino made damn sure that nothing in that chapter was positive for Zero. It’s clear that even after Yuuki asks for the restart, he doesn’t believe anything will change. (Hence why his reaction to her announcement is to humor her rather than to lift her up and celebrate.)

VKM 10 fortunately steps in to mitigate a bit of the frustration I felt in VKM 9. It’s clear from VKM 10 that my interpretation of Zero’s reactions to Yuuki in VKM 9 were correct: he doesn’t buy this “restart” and he’s not okay with Yuuki not clarifying what she means. But Yuuki’s announcement had freed him from the oppressive silence he’d been suffering under during their “unofficial” years. This as far as I’m concerned is nothing but good.

It’s clear Hino’s promoting Zero as the “hero” and the character we’re supposed to root for. Yuuki has several interior monologues this chapter about Zero’s smile and how it would be nice if things didn’t get worse again for him. Hino’s also taking the time to remind us of Zero’s hidden good deeds, and to point out that he still has many secrets Yuuki knows nothing about because she hasn’t taken the time to support him or get to know him. I think it’s pretty clear now that VKM is Zero’s story at this point, far more so than Yuuki’s or Ai’s. Likely that means he’ll have to suffer more before things get better (more on that later).

On Yuuki

Honestly, I’m about as displeased with Yuuki as can be possible for any character other than Kaname. The only reason Yuuki’s not farther down in my good graces is that she hasn’t murdered anyone yet. Kaname still wins there.

VKM 9 confirmed Yuuki is the worst of the Kuran traits at this point, with none of her original personality’s graces. She has put Zero in a hellish limbo on purpose. I know most people will forgive Yuuki anything because of what she went through, and I personally was willing to forgive her anything as well so long as she wasn’t being deliberately malicious. However, she is. I draw the line at open maliciousness.

She throws Kaname in Zero’s face constantly.

She won’t let her relationship with Zero move forward and won’t explain why she won’t.

She won’t clarify her feelings.

She allows him to make the most horrible assumptions about her feelings without seeming concerned about it at all.

I found her “confession” in VKM 9 to be a complete joke. She spends half the time talking about wanting to become one with Kaname and then says “Well, you can make me smile, Zero, so I guess we can go out for real now.” Like, wow. Talk about making it look like she’s settling for something she feels she “owes” Zero because he’s been “so good” to her.

VKM 10 does very little to dispel this idea. In fact, it bolsters it. We get a scene of Yuuki talking about how Zero started smiling when Ai entered his life. Ai his enemy’s child. Ugh. (I love Zero and Ai, but Yuuki acting like it’s totally cool that Zero’s happy about this just drives me up the wall.) This girl has the nerve to wish for Zero’s smile, but at the same time drives him into a depression confirmed by the chapter before? What a load of crock.

Then we get a random scene where she’s yet again thanking Zero for “putting up with her” and “supporting” her. Like I don’t know about you, but that’s not very romantic. That sounds like obligation and settling to me. Zero deserves better than that.

This is all further reiterated in the final scene of the chapter, when Yuuki clearly has “no plan” for their dating. The obvious “next step” for them is to have a real romantic relationship, but she’s still unwilling to verbally say that to Zero. She’s also still unwilling to tell him she loves him.

Until Yuuki can clarify her feeling and stop trying to have her cake and eat it too, I can’t support her. I can’t even root for her, no matter how many side couple parallels Hino does for her. Zero may have no standards, but that’s not the case for me. Which brings me to....

On Zero and Yuuki

As far as I’m concerned, VKM 10 confirmed to me that we are now paralleling Kaname and Yuuki’s relationship in a way I never wanted for Zero and Yuuki. VKM 10 is basically the equivalent of Night 49 from the original series, complete with an unsettling and disturbing bite at the end.

In my honest opinion, Yuuki seems to be trying to recreate her relationship with Kaname with Zero. Who knows why she’s doing this. But the way she acts as soon as they enter Zero’s apartment is eerily similar to how uncomfortable she acted around Kaname in the early Kuran Manor chapters. I don’t know if this is deliberate paralleling on Hino’s part or just a sign that Hino doesn’t know what a real relationship looks like, but after 50 years of being together there’s no reason for Yuuki to be acting like a 17 year old fool. She’s a 70+ year old woman at this point. Wanting an “innocent” relationship with a man she’s made wait for her for 50 years is insane.

The double standards Yuuki has for Zero and Kaname get on my nerves. When she “made” Kaname wait 10 whole years in his enormously long lifespan, she felt so responsible that she sacrificed everything she herself wanted for the loser. Then she turns around and makes Zero wait 50 years with his finite lifespan and doesn’t show a hint of remorse or concern or even apology for what she’s put him through? And I know, detractors would say Zero could have left at any time, so yes, I agree, it’s Zero’s fault. But the Yuuki I liked from the first arc of the original series would never have treated Zero this way, and I resent it mightily.

Yuuki refusing to clarify what “restart” actually means is highly reminiscent of her behavior with Kaname in Night 66. She wants to hold onto this man, and she knows that Zero, like Kaname, needs more than what she’s been giving him. Zero was just more patient than Kaname.

The one good thing about this “restart” is that Zero isn’t taking it at face value. He actually fishes for information this chapter, which is a good sign (and healthy). He’s trying to find out what she means, what the new parameters are, and where she wants to go. He gives her full control, but guides her away from her self-recriminating impulses. This is a good start, and is at least somewhat healthier than what Yuuki and Kaname did in Night 66 and Night 89. Zero’s at least trying to open some of the unspoken things between them, and move their relationship forward.

Yuuki’s discussion about the bracelet is laughable. She wants Zero to smile peacefully while she’s one of the reasons he’s not. Unbelievable. The bracelet scene basically drove home to me that Yuuki feels responsible for Zero’s smile, and that she feels obligated to help him out with it. This isn’t something you do for someone you love. It’s something you do for someone you feel grateful toward and obligated toward. Basically, Yuuki’s now in the same position with Zero that she was in with Kaname and I do not approve.

And worse, I’m deeply disturbed by the final scene in VKM 10. Hino used the screen tones from the Kaname/Yuuki scenes in Night 49 and 89, both of which had very bad outcomes. She’s also using the frustration screentones of Zero from back when he was pining for Yuuki at the very end of the bite scene. Yuuki still hasn’t told Zero she loves him, or that she wants a physical relationship with him now. Yuuki’s face at the end resembles the expressions she made in Night 49 and Night 61, when Kaname was pushing her to give him physical relief. She’s “giving in” to obligation here. She’s not expressing her pleasure, as she did in Night 87.

Zero jumping her is concerning to me. I’m afraid that he’s hoping she’s ready to give him the love he’s been waiting for/craving, and is just going to get more of the same old same old. Honestly the fact that Hino used the pining screen tone at the end worries me more than anything. I suspect we’re going to find out Zero hasn’t been satisfied with Yuuki’s blood for a while.

It’s all incredibly foreboding. For a happy Zeki coming together, I’d expect a lot of white screen tones and happy faces. I just find the whole scene too reminiscent of Kaname and Yuuki for comfort, and I expect this is going to blow up badly.

On the Side Couples

I just can’t be bothered. I don’t give two shits for the side couples. I do find it absolutely ridiculous that it takes Rima 50 years to get up the courage to be in ONE play. Like, lady, ever heard of plastic surgery? Or make up? Or wigs? *sigh* Whatever. These vampires are all stupid, end of story.

Aidou and Yori are the worst couple in the series, and I’m relieved they’re over now. I don’t know why Hino was obsessing over them. Thank goodness Aidou can revert to his original sexuality now.

On Ai

Ai’s whole storyline has been completely discarded for...what? Seriously, what is the point of bringing up this journey of discovery for her if she’s just going to get Night 86′d like Zero did? Honestly I’m so sick of Hino’s loose ends and her inability to tie up characters’ story arcs. We have no clue why Ai went to sleep, or if she struggled all that time with her love for Zero, or anything! We have not a single idea! She went from being a character to a plot device again! I just! Cannot! Even!

On Aidou’s Cure

This is the only item that made me come back to this story. I am thrilled at what we have going on here. Aidou has basically caught up to where Kaname was when he stopped his research, and he’s found what likely Kaname already found but never wrote down--there’s something “special” about cursed twins like Kaien.

I think Kaname was two steps ahead of Aidou even in this, so here’s what I think is going to happen:

Aidou is going to attempt Cure V1 using Kaien as the extra component. It will fail.

Aidou is going to realize that Zero is a potential component for Cure V2. The cure will likely require Zero’s death because of how messed up his genetics are at this point. This will also fail because Yuuki will stop it.

Aidou will be at a loss until Ren is born, and Ren will ultimately be the key to the cure (combination of Zero and Yuuki) without a sacrifice being necessary.

This is obviously my theory about the Ren Cure that I mentioned in one of my earlier posts. The reason I think Kaien is a red herring is because:

There’s an ominous dark cloud is over Aidou’s head when he makes his new research discovery at the start of his scene in VKM 10. Hino usually uses this screen tone when something ominous is going down. What Aidou has discovered is likely not initially good for our heroes (though ultimately it will be.)

Takuma specifically mentions wanting to resurrect Kaname, which means if the cure succeeded this early on he could have been resurrected.

We’re only 80 years into the 1000 year timeline.

Kaien’s not a main character and is actually a semi-villain.

If Kaien is the cure, it makes Kaname’s sacrifice look really stupid because he could have just finished his damn research instead of making Yuuki miserable.

This story is Zero’s story (as we know from the original detested previews for VKM 1), and we have some huge loose ends to tie up about why Kaname was interested in the Kiryuu twins and why his plans “began” with them, according to Takuma.

A huge amount of emphasis is placed this chapter on Zero’s smile “continuing into the future” and Yuuki wishing Zero could have peace. The fact that this is juxtaposed directly with the cure research says Zero’s suffering isn’t over yet.

All in all, though, I win no matter how the cure comes about:

Win #1: If Kaien is the cure, then Kaname looks like an idiot and Yuuki chooses not to bring him back until Zero dies for reasons other than the cure.

Win #2: If the Zero/Ren cure is true, all the damn loose ends from the original series will be tied up and Zero will regain his Vampire Knight title!

I will happily sacrifice a thousand Zeki Happily Ever Afters for the Ren Cure, Zero Light, and/or Kaname Scrooge theories (preferably all of them) to be true! =D

On Where We Go From Here

I do feel VKM 9 and 10 are linked back to back for a reason. Yuuki’s wishes for Zero’s smile ring hollow when placed beside the previous chapter, where we watch her drain the life out of him and him struggle to keep his head above water with false hope. I don’t think this is by accident, and I think careful readers will keep this rather dark trajectory in mind as we move forward.

I see Zero and Yuuki going one of two ways at this point:

Yuuki loves both ending: Zero accepts whatever crumbs Yuuki throws at him. He accepts the status quo of not having a physical relationship with her for another 400 years. Eventually Yuuki feels bad that she’s not giving him sex, so they have a one night stand and she gets magically pregnant again with Ren. She never clarifies her feelings and we have both of them being lukewarm “happy” for the rest of their lives. (Bonus!: Kaname resurrects Yuuki in the future only for Yuuki to “realize” that she always loved Zero now that she can’t have him. Kaname accepts that Yuuki’s heart will be forever torn and they live out their 80 human years miserably ever after.)

Zero gets the fuck out ending: After realizing Yuuki’s “restart” means jack, Zero gets the fuck out. Yuuki either gets her shit together and clarifies her feelings or she gets Isaya to lobotomize Zero again so she can have her cake and eat it too. Alternatively (and better), Zero begins believing that Yuuki really does want Kaname more than him, and when Aidou offers him the opportunity to sacrifice himself to become the cure (which in turn will allow Kaname to be resurrected), Zero decides to take the plunge for what he thinks is in Yuuki’s best interest. This would require Yuuki to actually choose between the men and figure out what she wants finally. (This would be my preferred ending honestly.)

On Kaname’s Absence

Before I close, I wanted to comment on Kaname and why I’m much more comfortable with his role in the story now.

I was initially concerned after VKM 7′s reveal of him wanting to resurrect Yuuki that Hino might be going that route. But we’ve now had three chapters with no return to Kaname, which means he’s not a main character--he’s just a character with loose ends to be tied up. Zero is our focal character, and the one we’re supposed to root for. His suffering is what’s being emphasized, not Kaname’s.

I suspect we’ll likely return to Kaname soon now that Zeki is together. Kaname digging into his past is necessary to coincide with the Yuuki reveals, after all.

In The End

If you made it this far, congrats. I salute you. You’re either thinking along the same lines as me or a glutton for punishment. Bless you either way!

P.S. - My askbox is open again. ;) Shhh, keep it on the D/L!

#vampire knight #vampire knight memories #vkm spec #vkm speculation #zeki #nope #vkm chapter review

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talesfromsomeday · 7 years

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GSNK - Please Select a Present

Read on AO3 | Series on AO3 Series: Alternate Route (Part 2) | Title: Please Select a Present Fandom: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun | Pairing: MayuMiko (Platonic/Greyromantic [QPR]) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Fluff Summary: Mayu is rather suddenly made aware that Mikoshiba's birthday is on Valentine's Day, and sets out to find a gift for him. Author’s Notes: I'm sorry this is a day late! I wanted to finally follow up on my first fic and post something for Mikoshiba's birthday, and this is what I came up with. ------------ “Oh, Mikoshiba...” Nozaki started, swiveling his chair to face the table Mayu was huddled at between Mikoshiba and Sakura. “Your birthday is coming up, is there something you want to do?” Mayu’s head popped up in a rare moment of reflex, startling Mikoshiba, who just barely managed to stutter out an answer. “I-I didn’t really think of anything... I thought you would be busy planning for your notes and research...”

“Ah, that’s true. There’s a lot of new chocolate displays this year,” Nozaki nodded, touching his chin. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make time to celebrate, Mikorin!” Sakura chimed in, an almost scolding tone directed at Nozaki. “Most of the research and note-taking is only during school anyway. We’ll have plenty of time after!” “Y-you really don’t have to worry about it! It’s fine!” Mikoshiba insisted. “It’s awkward to be out on my birthday anyway...” “Well, if you really don’t want to...” Sakura replied quietly. “Maybe we can do something the day after?” “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” Mayu finally said. “Is it Valentine’s?” Everyone stared at him, except for Mikoshiba, who was fidgeting with his pen and staring at the flowers on the page in front of him. “You didn’t know?” Nozaki finally asked. Mayu shook his head. “Ah. Well, yes, it’s Valentine’s Day.” “Poor Mikorin...” Sakura wiped a tear from her eye. “Hey! Don’t make fun of me!” Mikoshiba accused, finally moving into motion again to point an annoyed finger at her. “Well, we can plan something for the day after,” Nozaki said. “Try and think of something you want to do.” Everyone went back to working on their portions of the manga, and Mayu laid his head back down on the table and watched Mikoshiba’s hands carefully tracing ink in the shapes of flowers. It was only after Mikoshiba and Sakura went home for the night that Mayu got up from the table to pull insistently on his elder brother’s sleeve. “Hm? What is it, Mayu?” “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” “Oh, did you want to come along for the celebration?” “Yes, but... a gift...” “I see! Yes, you two are pretty close, you should definitely get him a gift!” Mayu could tell by the glint in his eye that his brother had some ulterior motives, but he couldn’t really be bothered to care too much. “You could get him chocolates! Or flowers! Wait, are flowers too romantic? What about a confession letter?” Mayu frowned at him. “No, you’re right, that’s too much.” “His birthday,” Mayu emphasized. “Hmm... you’re right that Mikoshiba doesn’t like Valentine’s Day much… so it would probably be best just to focus on the birthday part.” His brother held his chin and shut his eyes in thought. “Something heartfelt and not too romantic...” Mayu wondered why “not romantic” was even being mentioned as a qualifier, but chalked it up to the unfortunate date of Mikoshiba’s birthday and didn’t question it further. As the minutes stretched on in silence with no new ideas, Mayu debated going home. He ultimately decided he was too tired, though, so after Nozaki suggested he ask Sakura for advice and returned to working on his manga, he curled up on his futon in the corner to get some rest. --------- “And everything has to be pink, you know? Always pink and covered in ribbons and stuff! It’s so embarrassing!” Mikoshiba buried his face in his hands as Sakura awkwardly patted his shoulder in an attempt to console him. “Don’t worry, Mikorin, we’ll do something fun for your birthday so you’ll forget all about all the pink, okay?” The only response she got was something that sounded distinctly like a muffled sob. “Oh, Mayu-kun!” Sakura quickly waved as she saw the boy walking down the hall towards them. “Sakura-san, can we talk?” A confused look crossed Sakura’s face, but she nodded. “Sure, is something wrong...?” Mayu shook his head, then turned and started walking away, towards the stairwell. Sakura gave Mikoshiba another quick pat on the shoulder, assured him she’d be right back, and rushed to follow after Mayu. “What’s up, Mayu-kun?” Sakura asked once they had gotten into the stairwell and out of earshot of Mikoshiba. “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” Sakura’s face lit up. “Oh! Are you going to do something for him? You should get him chocolates! Or flowers!?” Mayu sighed quietly to himself and wondered when exactly his brother and Sakura would finally get together. They sure had a lot in common, at least as far as he could see. “His birthday,” Mayu emphasized again, feeling tired from repeating himself. “Oh, right, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to do a Valentine’s thing, would it...? But I’m sure there’s something else you can do!” Mayu frowned. “D-don’t worry, Mayu-kun! If you need help, I’ll help you! We can go after school and look for something!” Mayu wasn’t sure how well it would work out, but he wanted his gift to be a surprise, so he couldn’t ask Mikoshiba directly. Though it would certainly be tiring, Mayu didn’t think it could hurt, so he agreed to a meeting place with Sakura and left for class. After the long day of school, they met up in front of the building and decided to head in the direction of the nearby mall. “So, Mayu-kun, how were your classes today?” Mayu considered the question. “I slept the best in math today.” He nodded slightly. “Uh, I think you’re supposed to be paying attention…” Sakura said. “Ah, but what about gym?” “We played basketball...” Sakura’s face brightened. “Did you score any points?” Mayu considered it. “Brother is better at basketball than me,” he finally said. He could tell Sakura was now questioning whether he had actually tried or not, but he didn’t feel the need to argue in his defense. “I see,” she said. “Are there any sports you like besides judo?” Mayu tried to think about what other sports existed, finally landing on one he had tried as a kid. “Archery?” “Ah, I think that suits you! It requires a lot of strength, but you don’t have to move much.” Mayu nodded slightly. It was something he wouldn’t mind doing again, though practicing two sports at once seemed like it would be too tiring. His train of thought was interrupted when he suddenly became aware of a familiar presence nearby, and he turned to find his brother hiding behind a nearby tree. “Hiding” was really being generous, as the thin twig of a tree was barely wide enough to hide one arm, much less his whole body. Still, the older Nozaki looked startled when Mayu lazily pointed him out, drawing Sakura’s attention. “Oh, Nozaki-kun! What are you doing here?” Though Mayu could tell by the slight twitch in her eye that she already knew, she still seemed perfectly happy to see him. “I—I needed some supplies from the art store!” He quickly lied. “Nozaki-kun, if you wanted to come along you could have just asked.” Nozaki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and finally moved out from behind the tree to join them, and the three of them started walking again. It wasn’t too long before they arrived at the mall. Mayu felt a wave of tiredness as he stepped into the busy building, but he valiantly fought the urge to yawn. “Okay, commence Operation ‘Get Mikorin the Perfect Gift’!” Sakura declared, clenching her fist. “Operation ‘Gift’,” Mayu agreed with a surprising amount of energy, which was to say, with a voice he recognized as slightly more emotional than monotone. “Ah, yeah, that’s a bit shorter, huh?” Sakura laughed. “Mayu is very good at shortening things and coming up with acronyms,” Nozaki nodded. “Doesn’t it get confusing though, since he does that all the time?” Sakura questioned, then shook her head. “No, never mind, that’s not important right now. Mayu-kun!” She turned back towards him. “Where do you want to start?” Mayu shrugged with one shoulder. “That’s what I figured,” she said dejectedly. “We could go to the art store,” Nozaki suggested. “Nozaki-kun, we both know you were lying, so how is that supposed to help us get a gift for Mikorin?” “I was only partially lying, I really do need some supplies,” Nozaki said seriously. “Okay, fine. We’ll go to the art store while we try to think of a better choice.” With their destination agreed on, they set off in that direction. Nozaki busied himself loading a basket with screentone sheets while Mayu hung around with Sakura, who was browsing the oil paints and brushes. “Do you ever draw, Mayu?” Sakura idly asked, thumbing through a cup of brushes. “Yes, for judo.” Sakura gave him a weird look. “Why would you need to draw for judo?” “To teach my team moves. I practice because they focus better when I draw things they like.” “What sort of requests do they make…?” Sakura asked suspiciously. “Well, they always want me to draw girls…” He paused. “They have specific tastes, I guess.” Sakura looked even more suspicious. “…would you show me sometime?” She finally asked, her curiosity about the content plain on her face. Mayu figured she was probably also wondering if he could draw as well as his brother could. “One of my classmates made a blog to collect them,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Here.” He opened up the webpage and handed the phone to her. “It’s surprisingly girly,” Sakura commented to herself. “Do you do all the drawings on a white board? That’s gotta be tough!” Mayu nodded. “Wait, ‘MayuMayu’...? Where have I heard that name before?” She considered it, scrolling through the pictures and squinting at the screen. Mayu wondered if she had spontaneously forgotten his name when she suddenly jumped, a bright blush appearing across her face. She hurriedly shoved the phone back into Mayu’s hands. “Wait here I’ll be right back!” She almost yelled, scrambling out of the aisle and leaving Mayu standing there confused. He briefly considered following her but decided it would be too much trouble and went back to looking at the myriad of paint colors. He’d find out why she was acting so weird eventually, no point in expending the energy on it now. She returned after several minutes of hushed voices floating over from the next aisle, smiling innocently but still blushing a little too much to really sell it. They went back to their shopping, but Mayu did not miss all the furtive glances she kept sending him. Once Nozaki had retrieved all of his needed supplies, and Sakura had splurged on a few new brushes, they finally left the store and promptly realized they had forgotten to think about where to go next. “Well, Mikorin collects figures right? We could go look at the figure store,” Sakura suggested. “Yeah, that makes sense,” Nozaki agreed, nodding. Mayu also nodded his agreement, and so the three of them set off to look at figures. “I forgot that it’s a little bit intimidating,” Sakura said as she stepped sheepishly inside. She turned towards Mayu. “Do you know what series or characters he likes? There’s a lot of choices…” They started to wander around the store, Mayu pointing out the figures that he recognized from Mikoshiba’s collection. By the time they had circled the whole place, it was clear to all of them that identifying the series or favorite characters was not the issue; it was finding a figure from any of those series the store stocked that Mikoshiba didn’t have. “W-well, it doesn’t have to be a figure! I’m sure there’s something else so let’s keep looking!” Sakura turned to lead them out of the store, accidentally bumping into someone who was standing behind her. “Oh, sorry—” She stopped suddenly as she realized who it was. “Oh, Mikoshiba,” Nozaki half-greeted from behind her. “M-Mikorin!? How long have you been standing there?” Sakura squeaked. He ignored both of them in favor of groaning pathetically. “Not again…” He covered his face with the hand that wasn’t cradling a large figure box next to his hip. After a long minute of silence, he finally looked at them again. “What are you guys even doing in here this time!? Is Nozaki planning to buy a figure to mutilate again? And why is Mayu with you!?” “Sorry, Mikorin! We were just looking around,” Sakura said, holding her hands up defensively. “Although, now that you mention it,” Nozaki started, “it still wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a figure for reference.” Mayu could practically see the steam coming out of Mikoshiba’s ears at the comment. “Out! Out! If you’re not going to respect the figures then just leave!” He summarily kicked both of them out of the store, leaving Mayu standing in the aisle, looking at the back of Mikoshiba’s head and the box that was still in his hands. “Are you going to buy that?” Mayu finally asked, pointing at the box. Mikoshiba finally turned back to him, his cheeks slightly flushed. “I was thinking about it, but I don’t have enough money right now…” “Can I see?” Mayu asked. “Huh? Oh, uh, sure…”Mikoshiba sheepishly handed him the box. Mayu took it and examined the figure more closely. It didn’t seem as incriminating as the one that he had been holding the last time Nozaki and Sakura had seen him in the store, or at least it didn’t seem so based on the description his brother had given him of the incident. The figure was of a girl with short, pale pink hair, wearing a somewhat short skirt, a button-up shirt, and a green hoodie. She also had a small pixel spaceship hair clip in her bangs and a cat-shaped plush backpack on her back. Mayu really had no idea who she was or what series she came from. “Cute,” Mayu finally commented. Mikoshiba seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.“Right? She’s one of my favorites from this series! But the price… it’s normal for a prepaint statue but it’s a little more than I can afford right now...” Mayu’s eyes finally settled on the price tag on the front of the box. It was a little over ten thousand yen; he didn’t really have enough money for it either. He briefly wondered if pooling their money would be enough, but he didn’t think that was any way to get someone a birthday present out of the blue and quickly gave up the idea. He handed the box back. “Maybe for your birthday?” “It’s too embarrassing to ask my parents for something like this! But maybe I’ll get some money or something…” Mikoshiba said, looking at the figure sadly before putting it back on the shelf. Mayu suddenly had an idea. “Mikoto-san, do you want to come with us?”“Huh? Why? No, I mean… what are you guys even doing here?” “We just wanted to hang around,” Mayu lied. Mikoshiba eyed him suspiciously. “You wanted to hang around?” He asked skeptically. Mayu shrugged. “Brother was going so I couldn’t go to his house. I decided to come along.” Mikoshiba didn’t look entirely convinced but he dropped the subject. “Alright, well, I guess I can go with you? Since we’re all here? Where were you guys planning to go next?” Mayu shrugged again. “Haven’t decided.” “Okay. Well, I guess we should go get Nozaki and Sakura, huh? They look a little antsy out there.” “Gossiping?” Mayu suggested, looking at the pair outside, leaning close together with their hands hiding their mouths. “Probably,” Mikoshiba said dryly. They finally turned and headed out of the store to meet Nozaki and Sakura. “Why didn’t you kick Mayu out too?” Nozaki grumbled. “Now, now, Nozaki-kun, I’m sure he has his reasons,” Sakura chided with a knowing tone. Mikoshiba seemed to pointedly ignore her implications. “So, where do you guys want to go?” He asked. “Oh, are you coming along, Mikorin?” Sakura asked, her eyebrows drawing together. “Mayu asked me to come…” “Oh,” Sakura said, giving Mayu a questioning look. “Alright then! Why don’t you pick, Mikorin?” “Why do I have to pick?” Mikoshiba groaned. “Hmm… how about the game store?” Sakura discreetly looked to Mayu for guidance, and catching his tiny nod, agreed. “Okay! Let’s go!” “I didn’t know you liked games, Sakura?” Nozaki questioned. “I don’t play them often but it’s fun to look around!” She shot him a “please play along” look, which he surprisingly noticed and heeded. “Ah, okay. Then let’s go!” They finally headed off. “Maybe I should play a game sometime too? Dating sims are kind of fun. At least that one we played was.” “Well, you are always complaining you don’t have any hobbies when you finish your manga early…” Mikoshiba said. “But then we’ll probably just end up drawing more doujinshi...” “Doujinshi?” Mayu questioned. “Ah, when Mikoshiba made me play the game, we got really attached to this side character named Tomoda, so we ended up drawing a doujinshi where he gets his own love story with the—” “Nozaki!” Mikoshiba quickly cut him off. “I’m sure he’s not interested in what it’s about!” “With who?” Mayu prompted, inadvertently ignoring Mikoshiba’s attempt to end the conversation. “With the protagonist,” Nozaki finished before Mikoshiba could stop him. Mikoshiba covered his eyes with one hand. “They pulled an all-nighter to finish it; it was little shocking the next day when I saw it,” Sakura added. Mikoshiba covered his face with his other hand. Mayu wondered to himself why Mikoshiba was so embarrassed about it, but decided not to question further. “We’re here,” he finally said, which made Mikoshiba reluctantly uncover his face. “They have a display for Girls Princess 4! I forgot it was coming out this month!” He suddenly exclaimed, eyeing the display in the front window. “The tenth, huh? That’s this Friday,” Nozaki said. “Crap, that means I can’t buy it yet!” Mikoshiba finally rushed inside the store to look at the promotional stands, and Mayu followed slowly after. “And I can’t preorder it either because I’m short a little bit...” He added with a depressed tone. “Ask for your birthday?” “It’s a gal game, though! It’s embarrassing!” “Hm,” Mayu hummed noncommittally. “I really hope I get some money so I can buy all this stuff...” Mikoshiba whined, turning the display game case over in his hands. Mayu watched his fingers twirling idly, then noted the price on the box. It was three thousand yen; that was certainly a price he could manage. With a plan decided, he touched Mikoshiba’s hand gently. “I’ll be back.” He looked around for Nozaki and Sakura, found them in one of the corners of the store, and walked over. “Sakura-san.” “Hm? What is it Mayu?” “Can you do something for me?” --------- Mayu knew it couldn’t have been easy, but Sakura managed a lot better than he himself could have, he was sure of that. It was finally Mikoshiba’s birthday; Mikoshiba had declined going out until tomorrow, but had (happily, Mayu hoped) allowed him to visit. Staying at home kept him more or less safely insulated from all the pink and hearts and romance outside, which Mayu knew he would appreciate, and which he himself was a little happy for, too. Now, the two of them were huddled together on Mikoshiba’s bed as Mikoshiba showed him what his parents had given him for his birthday. “And they told me last week that they were going to give me some money too, so I wanted to go and preorder Girls Princess 4, but somehow I couldn’t get down there to do it? Every time I planned to go, Sakura appeared to ask me for help with something, it was weird!” Yes, it could not have been easy for Sakura. Mayu definitely owed her one. He pulled his bag into his lap and opened it. “So I never got to preorder it... I think I’ll go down tomorrow and see if they still have some cop—” Mikoshiba fell quiet suddenly when he caught sight of the game case that Mayu had slipped carefully out of his bag and held out to him. “I asked her to keep you,” Mayu admitted. “Sorry.” Mikoshiba stared at the case for several moments, then looked at Mayu, then back at the case again. He did it several times before Mayu moved the case a little closer to him, trying to encourage him to take it. Mikoshiba’s hands finally lifted, gently taking hold of the case. “You bought it for me....?” “Happy birthday.” Mayu smiled softly, and a slight blush appeared on Mikoshiba’s face. “T-thank you,” he said, his head falling onto Mayu’s shoulder to avoid the younger’s gaze. Mayu gently patted the back of his head. “Shall we play?” He suggested. Mikoshiba sat up again. “Yeah! But you have to pick your own love interest this time!” Mayu smiled again “Sure.” Mikoshiba smiled wide and got up to put the game in.

#gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun #gsnk #mayumiko #mikoshiba mikoto #nozaki mayu

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chibivesicle · 4 years

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Golden Kamuy chapters 229 & 230: the passion of lovers and Ienaga’s impossible goal.

These two chapters are show a lot of different things going on around Inkarmat’s pregnancy.

On the surface it is about Tanigaki “rescuing” Inkarmat, though most of his rescue is a bit of a hot mess, but hey, he rescues her with spirit and passion! That must count for something.

We finally learn more about the inner workings of Ienaga’s own mind and that Tsukishima will stop at nothing to prevent anyone one else from being happy.

229 starts with Tanigaki riding a horse in search of Sugimoto with Tsurumi’s orders to kill him. It alludes to some hilarious adventures for another time and we get a page long monologue of Tanigaki thinking about what he should do.

This is the first time in a long time we’ve had a monologue from Tanigaki. To me as a reader (well a reader and avid re-reader of the manga) this is a reference back to his sniper battle with Ogata. I find it interesting that he concludes that he’s not a cold blooded enough man to kill Sugimoto, yet he had no problem wanting to kill his best friend and he did kill Kiro in revenge. Yet, it is clear that he thinks fondly of his time spent on Karafuto with Sugimoto. He then begins to rationalize why he shouldn’t kill him - Sugimoto would just be too hard to kill - so I really get a vibe of “Why even bother?” from him.

He further thinks that Asirpa certainly won’t cooperate with Tsurumi if he killed Sugimoto and then he realizes that Tsurumi would still find a way.

He again states he’d just make Asirpa unhappy and he still hasn’t brought Asirpa home to Huci. So, it looks like no matter what, Tanigaki is still wrapped up in this concept of returning Asirpa to Huci in thanks for her assistance to helping him recover.

He does conclude that he can keep looking for Asirpa with no intention of finding her but that doesn’t give him a time line he wants.

I do find the layout of the next page to deliver an emotional punch for Tanigaki, his head is bowed down as he grimaces and sweats as he realizes if he runs away he won’t be able to see Inkarmat or their child as they are held hostage by Tsurumi . . . so he wonders while two seabirds fly by if his only way to see Inkarmat again is to do what Tsurumi says.

I wonder if the seabirds are a reference to this from chapter 154 when Youichirou dies as Hijikata returns his part of a puffin beak that his Ainu wife had given to him. As he dies, his wife appears before him and a puffin takes flight.

The next page has a pair of puffins flying off into the distance.

I’m guessing since Tanigaki and Inkarmat are a Japanese-Ainu couple and the former hitokiri, Youichiriou and his wife were the same, this is calling back to the two of them as a mixed race couple, depicted as seabirds.

The chapter then shifts to Ienaga talking to Inkarmat about her pregnancy and gives the additional details that Inkarmat is about 9 months pregnant. As Ienaga continues, she makes it clear that she could never have what Inkarmat has - and in her mind she is close to perfection. Based on Ienaga’s belief that when her mother was pregnant she was close to perfection reveals that the portrait that was in the hotel was not one of her, but of her mother. She wanted to be as perfect as her own mother was when she was with child.

Interestingly, she refers to the fact that her mother would reach perfection after she had given birth and held her child - and she’d look just like the Virgin Mary.

This is an interesting direction to go as a Japanese character has again made a direct reference to Christianity - though Ienaga’s own mother was clearly not a virgin, since she was a child at the time or did she see her mother as perfect and returned to a status like that of the Virgin Mary due to the entire feel of the situation? If Ienaga was telling herself this as a child, I wonder if she was raised in a Christian household . . . Of course Ienanga’s mother did not reach that perfection as she miscarried due to a fall. Inkarmat finally opens her eyes after hearing this, as they had been closed up until this point while talking to her. Ienaga then awkwardly asks Inkarmat if she can deliver her child - Inkarmat has returned to her closed eyes as she hesitantly replies that she’d be delighted as she saved her life. Breaking the seriousness of Ienanga’s almost confession, she also asks if she can eat the placenta due to its nutrients.

Later that evening Inkarmat’s room is opened by an unknown individual revealed to be Tanigaki!

And with a large two panel page, Tanigaki embraces Inkarmat and she looks up at him beaming as she tells him she’d know he’d come back for her. The screentones get about as shoujo romance looking as possible for GK (which isn’t that much) as we get our long awaited reunion of the mixed race couple.

This scene affirms that Tanigaki and Inkarmat love each other. They are important as an example of a Japanese-Ainu couple and that they love and respect each other.

I think for the Japanese readers this is a big fucking deal. It is a realistic model of a mixed race couple (as there would be many people of this background in Hokkaido) and it depicts them in a positive fashion. With this happening it sets off a series of events that show the spirit and passion that Tanigaki is willing to go to for her. Again, as we see Tanigaki’s actions, I really think that they are to beat the readers head over with the fact that he’s doing all of this for her and their future child.

How did Tanigaki find out where Inkarmat was moved to? Well, Inkarmat was already several steps ahead of him and left a postcard as a means for him to find her without any other information. She had befriended a child, whose father was also at the hospital and relayed the message to Tanigaki, a lewd bear. The postcard shows Otaru, so he knows that she’ll be in a hospital in the city.

To stick to the theme of the passion between them, he reveals that he’s failed in his job to return Asirpa to Huci, that he’s a useless man, so all he can do is run away. He can’t run away alone, he wants to do it with Inkarmat and his unborn child! His eyes are all sparkly and expressive.

Inkarmat then reveals that she passed along the information in the hopes that he’d come to rescue her so she’s prepared to face a dangerous situation with him! She replies blushing a little on her cheeks as she smiles with her eyes closed.

So the two of them are prepared to lose it all, but as passionate lovers they will go down together! How romantic. Again, this really gives me a vibe that it is intended to emotionally connect with the Japanese readers specifically - as much as I’d like them to be happy, this entire situation is just crazy.

Tanigaki tells her that they must hurry as he saw Tsukishima on his way to take a bath. Of course, just like in Yubari, Tsukishima notices that something is off, there is a random horse tethered to the gate outside, tipping him off that someone has come to the hospital. Ienaga is shown at the window likely noticing Tsukishima turning around to check out what is happening.

They nervously wait as they hear someone’s boots on the second floor and they walk by Inkarmat’s room. Tanigaki stands ready at the door with the pistol that Tsurumi gave him to try to kill Sugimoto with. The man stands at the room and then turns away. As it appears to be silent Tanigaki then begins to open the door to lead Inkarmat out. But it is a terrible decision as Tanigaki is knocked in the head by the swinging door kicked open by a man with a handgun as well and barefoot.

Tsukishima then easily kicks the gun out of Tanigaki’s hand and has him at gun point as he reveals that if Tanigaki is there than he must be disobeying Tsurumi’s direct orders. This immediately reminds us of Ogata and Tsukishima’s stand off in Edogai’s house in Yubari.

Tsukishima immediately adapted, with Ogata he simply put the bayonet on a rifle and attacked, while with Tanigaki he took off his shoes to be silent. Just like with Ogata, he’s making this about disobeying Tsurumi’s orders.

Looking completely dead on the inside and outside, Tsukishima makes this about Tanigaki’s choice. Yet, Inkarmat jumps in front of him to protect him as Ienaga is listening in the hallway.

Inkarmat calls out Tsukishima’s sense of personal justice and tells him if this is what he thinks is just, that he should kill her first. Inkarmat’s eyes are wide open for her as she flat out tells him what to do if he’s implied to be this broken.

The zoom into Tsukishima holding the gun, the stress lines under his eyes, the dark shaded screentone, it all makes him look so lost. He’s so far gone into the depths of Tsurumi’s own hell that all he can think about doing is following orders and taking long baths. The fact that Tanigaki waited for Tsukishima to leave must imply he does take longer baths than normal and it is no longer a cat-Ogata thing.

Before Tsukishima has the chance to show us whether not he is willing to kill Inkarmat, Ienaga is able to grab him from behind and inject something into his neck. She tells them to run as Tsukishima glances back at her. As the tension increases it shows the final page of the chapter. Ienaga is shot twice in the chest as the syringe falls from her right hand. The bottom shows that Tsuskishima was able to shoot as Tanigaki’s hand is on his grabbing for the gun and Inkarmat is in total shock.

It is pretty clear that this will be the end of the “survival road” for Ienaga. I find it to be a good plot twist, I’m not expecting any sort of redemption for her, as she was a convict for pretty obvious reasons. What I like about this is that it throws Tsukishima off his game as his man to man battle with Tanigaki has just begun.

I don’t have a summary for 229 or highlights, instead I’ll continue on with 230 as the action continues.

And does it continue! 230 starts with Tsukishima getting the upper hand on Tanigaki! He headbutts him, causes Tanigaki to fall back, knees him in the gut and is able to press himself on top of Tanigaki and almost is able to shoot him point blank in the head. Tanigaki is only able to barely push the gun away and the bullet lodges itself in the floorboard!!! Only then does Tsukishima begin to collapse. The bulging veins on his face show how hard he’s fighting to stay awake.

He then passes out on Tanigaki, as Ienaga informs them that he’ll be out cold for 2 hours and that they should escape.

Let’s pause for a minute here. In canon we know that Tsukishima is a solid solider, he’s the smallest enlisted man and likely under 5ft tall based on my Ogata height estimate (see this tumblr post:https://chibivesicle.tumblr.com/post/182623470572/just-for-fun-determining-how-tall-characters-in).

In this instance, Tsukishima almost beat Tanigaki who is canonically one of the tallest and largest Japanese characters! Just look at the title page from chapter 140. Tanigaki is even taller than Koito who is quite tall as a Satsuma man.

What Tanigaki and Tsukishima’s fight shows us is that Tanigaki is a terrible fighter, especially at close range! And here I thought Ogata was the worst based on how we all know he got his ass handed to him by Sugimoto even though he used every trick in the book to try to escape. I’m sorry Tanigaki but I’m going to have to take the title of “worse close combat character” from Ogata and give it to you. The set up of this fight is so similar to that of Ogata and Tsukishima in Yubari. Ogata knows that Tsukishima takes long baths, he avoids him by sniping Maeyama, steals the rifle bolts and gives himself the most optimal situation possible. What we can now add to that is that after Tsukishima kicks him and steals the handgun, Ogata is already diving behind the table to put distance between himself and Tsukishima and is able to fire his rifle without exposing himself to Tsukishima. Ogata damn well knew that if he were in close range of Tsukishima he’d be fucked so he immediately put himself at more of an advantage.

From the start Tsukishima has been playing Tanigaki. He tricked him by taking his shoes off, hit him with the door, and managed to own him at hand to hand combat. Tanigaki may be a veteran, but it is clear that he lacks any sort of knowledge in hand to hand combat. Think back to his fight with Kiro on the ice floe; yes, he was able to stab Kiro, but he barely won that fight, he got tricked by Kiro and was knocked down for some time. With him down and out, Koito got caught up by both of Kiro’s traps, the grenade with the flint and how Kiro hid his tracks.

This most recent fight just solidifies it for me that Tanigaki can think about hunting, but when it comes to strategy and fighting, he’s at a total loss. Tanigaki you were almost killed by Tsukishima!

Ienaga then tells Tanigaki that Inkarmat is about to become perfect so that he cannot miss this. Inkarmat, very pregnant really dominates the page as she looks down at Ienaga, with a mix of sadness and likely a touch of fear. She is only able to say “Ienaga. . .” before Tanigaki grabs her from behind and pulls her out.

This then leads to the very clever title page as Ienaga lies dead upon the floor. As the blood from her wounds pools on the floor it gives the illusion of her own body being pregnant and the blood even forms a halo around her head. Is this to imply that she’s a martyr for the cause to save Inkarmat and Tanigaki? Who knows.

All we can observe is that her body reflects the perfection that she could never have had based on basic human biology.

As Tanigaki and Inkarmat walk through the hall they run into Koito in his yukuta, likely awakened by the commotion. He’s got small pistol and he’s point it at them but looks pained and awkward.

Tanigaki jumps in front of Inkarmat and Koito then begins to sweat, he’s unable to say anything as he has stress lines under his eyes and he’s clearly biting his bottom lip as he’s unable to say anything. Until he reveals that he’s clearly lowered his right hand with the pistol and simply tells them to go.

He’s still sweating and stressed out but it looks like he has a sense of dedication to his decision. Tanigaki looks absolutely shocked while Inkarmat has her fox face behind him. As they leave the hospital he can’t help but wonder why Koito would have done that. Inkarmat, states it may have to do with her fortune telling for him while he was still in bed due to his injury but the fact that she’s sweating makes me think she’s either throwing something out there or she knows more than she’s willing to state at the moment.

What is most revealing is what Tanigaki then says as they ride away on the horse. Tanigaki mulls that there is “no way” that Koito would have let them go for something so “minor”. He then follows up with it not the Second Lt. Koito that he’s “known until now.”

I find Tanigaki’s interpretation of events to be a bit odd, almost like to downplay everything. He calls the event “minor” - hello Tanigaki, you just disobeyed Tsurumi’s direct order and you knew that Inkarmat was being held hostage and broke her out of the hospital. I’m not sure where the “minor” aspect comes in. I’d say this is a “major” event. Really, he should be surprised that he let them go for something so major as well all know that Koito takes things very seriously, when they are a big deal.

His follow up of the “Koito I’ve known until now . . .” Tanigaki’s only experience with Koito was on Karafuto where he oscillated between being a pain in the bum bon bon, think of the wolverine attack, tea with the lighthouse family, circus pettiness, but at the same time Koito communicated with Enonoka well, despite being a bit oblivious fought against Kiro very well in hand to hand combat and as we got with the volume updates, was able to get up after Ogata knocked him down/out and was ready to chase him down.

I wouldn’t say he’s the most observant of characters when it comes to other humans, but hopefully he at least make a remark to someone to pass on the info that Koito let them go.

As they ride off a bullet wizes by the horse and we can see a light from a single window in the hospital. The next page reveals Tsukishima had fired a rifle at them as he then discharges the empty before he collapses. It is quite clear that Ienaga’s injection was not enough to knock him out for 2 hours!

I also hope that Tsukishima didn’t realize that Koito let them go and didn’t shoot him either . . . . I’m guessing Koito is smart enough to have hopped back into bed and pretended to be asleep as the rest of the lights in the hospital are dark.

Tanigaki is able to check in with Inkarmat to make sure that she’s okay. Realizing that she needs to rest, he apologizes for going to fast on the horse and finds an abandoned building to stay in. He starts a fire and Inkarmat notices that he’s bleeding from his head, to stop the bleeding he pulls out the head scarf that Huci gave him during his sniper battle with Ogata.

This is clearly a symbolic action. Tanigaki has been wounded by another member of the 27th and he has returned to being the deserter who lived with Huci and this time he’ll protect Inkarmat instead of Huci and Osoma.

His facial expression is so similar to the one he had with his sniper battle with Ogata. In a way I think this is symbolic of him also finally starting to think about what he’s doing since so far he’s just been really lucky. They wouldn’t have made it out if it weren’t for Ienaga and Koito.

I think this means that his “matagi” senses are back as Inkarmat points out he’s bleeding pretty badly from his leg, but with all the adrenaline of the escape he didn’t notice and he must have been grazed by the shot by Tsukishima. And now that he’s back to being a matagi, he realizes how bad the situation is, he follows the trail of blood and again almost gets shot by Tsukishima as he glances out the doorway.

He tells Inkarmat to go out the back door and he still has the small pistol as he tries to shoot close range. Of course he ends up shooting through the hood of Tsukishima’s coat as he drops down to tackle him again showing extreme skill in hand to hand combat. Of course this works since Tanigaki is so large and he slams him back into the floor - the second time that Tsukishima has the literal upper hand on him. He then pummels him in the face several times when Tanigaki finally shows his strength.

Likely due to his will to live and his need to protect Inkarmat and his child he is able to pick up Tsukishima and toss him through a door.

He pulls up the rifle and finally strategically backs away with the rifle ready. But Tsukishima is missing. He runs around to the back, checks for Tsukishima and thankfully, Inkarmat already is prepared with his backpack and the horse as distance away. He sprints to her, gets her onto the horse as he then begins to ride away. Of course, since Tsukishima wasn’t under the pile of wood from the broken door he was clearly waiting. He calmly shoots Tanigaki in the upper right shoulder as they ride away.

So all in all, Tsukishima has still been getting the upper hand. However, Noda very clearly makes sure that things will begin to change to his favor. He’s made it far enough out of the city that he’ll be able to use his matagi skills to their advantage. Tanigaki, the matagi, now is in the mountains, with a rifle and he’s finally in his element so to speak. He knows he’ll be able to lose Tsukishima based on his experience with Ogata and Nikaido.

Of course he’s still bleeding and Tsukishima is following the trail in the snow. His facial expression in the second panel is terrifying. His pupils rolled up into his eye sockets, his face is shaded stress lines under the eye and a crazy screentone in the background! Of course it is broken up by Inkarmat gasping as Tanigaki panics that someone has caught up.

Inkarmat reveals that her water has just broken as she looks at him with wide eyes and he looks equally panicked as well. There is a shot of some trees and then we see his hand stoking the horse and he is apologizing to it. He thanks the horse for all that is has done and he is truly sorry. Again, I see this as Tanigaki the matagi thanking an animal for its help in his escape.

And his matagi escape becomes obvious. Tsukishima is in a bamboo grove, the first way to cover your tracks from the snow and he’s following blood on the leaves. It leads him to the horse, which Tanigaki had cut to leave a blood trail to shake Tsukishima’s pursuit. Hopefully, this threw them off of his trail well enough as Tanigaki is sprinting as quickly as possible will trying to encourage Inkarmat that she’ll be okay.

I have to admit his encouraging words to her are very moving and again, I think this is really to make it clear to the readers that they are a loving and supportive couple (although they haven’t been making the best decision since he tried to rescue her . . .).

Tanigaki passionately yells out that everything is going to work out. Inkarmat blushes and beams as him as she holds on tighter! He looks exhausted, sweating, bleeding and huffing as he holds her and she has such a softness as she looks up at him a little nervous.

And with this, Tanigaki runs to the last place he went to after his sniper battle with Ogata . . . he has returned to Asirpa’s kotan and Huci. With Inkarmat in his arms.

All he is able to do is say sorry and that he’s back.

Ok. So let’s hope Huci will be able to safely deliver Inkarmat’s baby and hopefully someone is able to help Tanigaki with all of his wounds.

This has the whole full circle theme going on as he ran away from home by leaving Huci to find Asirpa due to Inkarmat’s own words and now he’s back to her with Inkarmat. I hope Inkarmat is able to apologize to Huci as well as tell her that Asirpa is okay.

I also really really hope that no one figures out that he’s there - no way in hell is Tsukishima going to let him go. It is clear that Tsukishima has a thing about traitors to the 27th as he fought with Ogata as he tries to figure out what Ogata’s reason is. The two of them end in a stalemate as both know their strengths and weaknesses. Ogata knows Tsukishima must be alive as no one found his body in the mine.

Overall, what do I think of these events?

1.) Tanigaki and Inkarmat’s love for each other is solidified. As I really stated before, I think they are to serve as a positive and hopeful model for a mixed race couple and their child is symbolic of that.

2.) The tiger curse. We know that Tanigaki will suffer the wrath of Kiro’s tiger curse, killing him in revenge for stabbing Inkarmat. Tanigaki’s entire rescue and escape plan was a total shit show. He got beaten up twice by Tsukishima and was assisted by Ienaga, Koito and Inkarmat. He was shot at least twice as well and will take some time to heal. Is this just the beginning of the curse? How else will this play out. It is supposed to give one a life of misery - not just some moments.

Tanigaki is no real soldier, Nihei read him so well, he is a hunter. A hunter who ended up misplace in the army due to his obsession for revenge that wasn’t even warranted that lead him to another revenge quest with Kiro. I think Tanigaki’s only way to escape his future of suffering is to truly remove himself from the military and his army past. Is the scarf a sign of him willing to give that up? Or will he still be stubborn.

Tanigaki is also acting like a more obvious example of the situation Sugimoto is in. He did all of these crazy things for his love of a woman. Sugimoto started his quest for the gold for Umeko, yet she isn’t even in Hokkaido.

3.) Tsukishima is almost inhuman. He’s unstoppable in his quest to stop Tanigaki. I had hopes that on Karafuto that Tsukishima would break free of Tsurumi, but as the manga has advanced, Noda has made it even more clear that Tsukishima is thick within his own love of Tsurumi and his obsession to dedicate every thing he does to him, even if it eventually does kill him. Why? He’s got absolutely nothing to lose. He made this so clear to Koito when Koito approached him that evening.

The fact that Tanigaki was motivated by his love for Inkarmat likely made this worse for Tsukishima. The thoughts of his fiancee when Inkarmat asks if she could find something for him means that it was fresh in his mind recently. Furthermore, even if Tsukishima would deny being jealous, it is clear he is of the fact that Tanigaki had someone to come home to and he likely thought that Tanigaki only deserved her if he completed Tsurumi’s mission to kill Sugimoto. Tanigaki didn’t do that, instead he came back to rescue her and I really don’t think Tsukishima can take it. It is like the fact that he followed all the rules and nothing worked out in his favor. In contrast, Tanigaki has deserted them twice now and he gets to rescue the woman he loves who is also still alive!

I am really worried about Tsukishima - he really was one of my favorite characters but if he keeps things up, Koito is gonna take his spot!

4.) Koito has changed. Oh yay! Finally, we are starting to see the results of all of the events on Karafuto. Ogata broke the sweet lies that Tsurumi had spun for Koito and now he’s putting the pieces together.

It is unclear what this will mean for Koito. Did he pretend to be asleep? Say that Ienaga also drugged him and he woke up after everything happened. It was clear that there weren’t many people in the hospital so it is possible. Or did he even know what Ienaga said and came up with his own plan.

Koito has essentially betrayed Tsukishima - as we’ve seen, Tsukishima doesn’t like betrayal in the 27th. Or will Koito use Tsukishima’s departure as a chance for him to escape the hospital and go in search of others involved in the hunt.

Koito also has part of the tiger’s curse, will his suffering be the fact that he will have to fight Tsukishima? He’s a man whom he despite his clingy attitude, really does care about due to how much Tsukishima had helped him so far in the army.

This is pretty much all that I have. If the drama gets stepped up e.g. the 27th comes to Huci’s to try to punish Tanigaki, I have a crazy theory.

The best way would before Tanigaki to be saved - saved by Ogata! Ogata has a soft spot for Huci and preventing Tanigaki from either being recaptured or killed would be a great chance for Ogata to really stick it to Tsurumi. Oh man that would be great and it would also be a parallel to his original sniper battle with Tanigaki at Huci’s when Ogata thought that Tanigaki would expose him to Tsurumi.

I would then love for Ogata to lecture Tanigaki on how poorly planned his rescue of Inkarmat was and to boast based on his own showdown with Tsukishima and then to kindly remind Tanigaki how he escaped from them in Russia!

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #tanigaki genjirou #inkarmat #Ienaga Kano #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #tsurumi tokushirou #sugimoto saichi #asirpa #kiroranke #ogata hyakunosuke #huci

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chibivesicle · 4 years

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Golden Kamuy chapters 227 & 228. Brutality and more brutality.

Ah chapter 227, the conclusion to the flashback of Usami and his backstory with Tsurumi. I’ve been dreading Usami’s backstory since he was introduced since I knew it was going to be dark and yes, this chapter delivers in spades. With a title of “Partners in crime” it is clear that Tsurumi will work with Usami to deal with the death of annoying boy.

Tsurumi rushes in to examine the other boy as we see a distorted and focused face of Usami as his foot hangs in the air over him. At the end of the last chapter he had just kicked him in the throat and now he’s returning to a position to perhaps strike again as Tsurumi is able to reach the dying boy.

Tsurumi physically pushes Usami aside as he kneels down to examine him as he tells him to stop. Usami looks a bit confused and we can see in his expression that he’s likely fine with continuing to make another “final” blow.

It is clear that his “friend” is done for. He’s drooling as his windpipe is likely crushed and his eyes have begun to roll up into his eye sockets as he drools making terrible noises.

Tsurumi seems honestly surprised, his eyes are black but unusually round. He’s speaking as he tries to rationalize what is happening, by asking “What have you done?” which in this case is clearly a rhetorical question from Usami’s standpoint. Usami knows that he’s done - he’s struck a fatal blow.

When Usami finally responds, he’s back to a smiling through the gloom face eyes closed as he tells Tsurumi that he didn’t want to do it. And then he quites what Tsurumi says back at him. The final panel as Tsurumi glances back towards Usami. God, that deadpan expression, the unsettling screentones. Tsurumi has switched from being a normal human being to now what I see as an amoral and hyper-rational observer. By time you reach the next page Tsurumi’s facial expression is much more normal - i think this shows that he’s turned back on his charisma and charm outwardly but on the inside, he’s like a cold observer recording whatever happens next to understand things from an almost mechanical perspective.

Just look at how cool and collected he now looks as he starts to speak that “if only he had known . . .” and it becomes clear when he says “best friend” Usami immediately goes from calm to anger and rage. We as readers could tell that his friendship was rather one sided. Usami saw him as obstacle between him and Tsurumi, well in his case as an obstacle between him and Tokushirou-san. He only went along with his friendship when it meant he could sleep over at his house to be closer to Tsurumi.

Youthful teen boy friendship didn’t mean anything to Usami, all he cared about was having more time to train with Tsurumi. Usami in a rage shouts additionall important information. That Tomoharu’s father is an important member of the Army’s 2nd division e.g. the one that included many men from Niigata. This of course is why during the Sino-Japanese war Tsurumi and Tsukishima were also a part of the 2nd division.

And it becomes this rage shouted declaration of all of the things that Tomoharu could have that Usami couldn’t - go onto to be an officer, serve with Tsurumi and even the fact that he looked down upon Usami b/c his family was poor. All of these things Usami says he can forgive them e.g. overlook them. But what was unforgivable was the fact that Tomoharu was given a pep talk from Tsurumi. That he was certain that he could have strength of feelings that are stronger than Usami.

Since Usami overheard his pep talk he became very upset that he would tell Tomoharu that his feelings would be stronger than Usami’s and he could defeat him.

And it is overhearing this that Usami’s eyes changed color. It is in part jealousy and a need to be recognized and affirmed by Tsurumi that makes him snap. These words are what allowed Usami to come to the conclusion what he would do during the match.

And this monologue by Usami wraps up with his need to be recognized and for Tsurumi to call him his number one. It is so fundamentally important to him since it was all that he had. He didn’t have wealth, he clearly doesn’t derive strength or support from his family even though it is clear they are very loving.

Tsurumi again is just observing everything. He’s just watching, listening, and most importantly recording all of this into his mind. Finally to calm him down, Tsurumi goes on parent auto-pilot. As a reader you can tell that he’s barely there, he’s going through the motions. I can’t help but even here he’s just doing what he thinks will get him what he wants without risking too many things.

He hugs a Usami and he tells him that he’s sorry - he expected Tomoharu to give up - not keep fighting. It’s clear he’s trying to to get him to calm down as he’s still panting and riled up on emotions. Tsurumi with an almost detached look tells him that he’s still is number one. And with that magically Usami beams and blushes as he smiles with his eyes closed. He’s relieved but I hope (or get the feeling) that smiley eyes closed Usami is a bad sign. What is most remarkable is when Usami asks if “it is dead?” Not he, but it.

Usami still with his eyes shut and smiling tells Tsurumi that they are partners in crime . . . was he reaches out to grab his arm. Tsurumi isn’t even looking at him, we see him glancing back behind himself as his brain is sorting out how to deal with this. We get another focused and deadpan Tsurumi before he then turns to tell Usami they have a story to explain things as he looks at his horse.

The cover up is that the horse kicked him and he died as a result. His father became enraged and shot Tsurumi’s horse.

The flashback in the flashback ends and Tsurumi and Usami are now speaking in that part of the yard. Usami has now picked up his statement of it being a sacred place - as he continues to explain that it is the first place he killed a person. The box seems to depict his inner thoughts - that this is where he lost his virginity.

It is interesting that Usami has connected killing with sex, as far as the story has shown, he didn’t lose his actual virginity, but he lost his killing virginity.

Sometimes, we will use this to describe someone doing an activity for the first time as “losing their _______ virginity” but since there is a jack the ripper like serial killer/convict on the loose - I bet Usami sees this in a bit more of a twisted fashion than say, losing your Ikea virginity.

Usami seems very solemn as he reflects on this and the inner dialogue box stresses that this is a secret shared only between him and Tsurumi - which makes it so special and precious to him.

The two page spread has a lot of stuff going on in the panel. I have to admit, even with the sheer brutality of the events - the top of the two page spread does have a gravitas to it as Usami has a level of respect for the place - as though it really is a sacred religious place to him. It is almost as though he is worshiping by visiting it almost daily and reflecting on the events - for 2 years!

The bottom then reveals how Usami is seduced with Tsurumi’s sweet lies. Usami tells him that Takeda informed him since Tsurumi’s horse was the one that killed Tomoharu, his important 2nd division father wanted Tsurumi out of the 2nd division. Usami tells him that he’s figured out that Tsurumi covered for him even though it hurt his career.

What is interesting is that Tsurumi makes a little “heh” as he smiles and replies to him with his eyes closed. He states it is “true” that he was indeed demoted for this reason.

He then goes on to state that being demoted and sent to Hokkaido is fine with what he wants to do. Tsurumi’s eyes are barely visible and his face is covered with the screentone that always indicates some sort of inner turmoil, thoughts or something. This is a similar screentone that was use for Ogata in chapter 165 Flag Bearer as Ogata questions Yuusaku’s feelings about doing the dirty work of warfare and guilt on the battlefield.

There is something about this hatched style of screen tone. To me it really indicates emotion underneath the character’s face. The character outwardly seems calm but underneath are a roaring slow/low boil of emotions. I know that I’m a screentone nerd, but Noda really uses them so well to transmit information to the reader!

I just think where there are very “energetic” screentones used to shade faces it is telling us something more than regular shading.

Anyways, the page wraps up with Usami beaming/blushing “in love” with Tsurumi as he tells him it would be a waste to lose a person as interesting as Usami from the world. This demonstrates that he has “won” over Usami through his actions and he tells him that he will be waiting for him to join the army in the 7th division. So we see one of the many sweet lies of Tsurumi to get him a man he can use in the future.

The flashback then returns to Tsurumi’s original conversation with Takeda as he is discussing the military and how humans learn to kill despite being adverse to it. We learn that Tsurumi was, as I had hypothesized, observing Usami’s reaction to Tomoharu for research purposes and he kept that in mind while fighting in an actual war. He witnessed a situation where Usami was driven to kill without concern in a non-military context. This was something for Tsurumi to ponder deeply and determine how to apply this to soldiers in a military situation. Which is exactly what he did. His ultimate conclusion - the love of a subordinate for a commander.

The dramatic reveal is him surrounded by all of the men whom he has manipulated into doing terrible things for him by making sure that they loved him in some way.

Tsukishima becoming his right hand man. Using Usami has his aggressive killer who without hesitation can react to a situation and end up on top. Koito who adores him and wants his praise and recognition. And Ogata, the wildcat who no one liked but were clearly shocked by his defection.

Now, I’d like to pause here. Many people in the fandom immediately panicked and freaked interpreting this panel as proof that Ogata is working for Tsurumi.

I am going to throw out the idea that this panel highlights how Tsurumi worked with many of these men when they were young and impressionable; he gave them some sort of love, attention and validation that they lacked in their own lives. As soldiers, obviously they would have to kill for him and he wanted men who were both loyal and dependable but able to do very hard things.

Yet, out of all of these characters, Ogata is the one who escapes. Tsurumi may play a long game, but you don’t order your own men to shoot a defector in the head once you get his accomplice. Tsurumi has stated he doesn’t know what Ogata is thinking - he just knows that he may have created a worthy foe. Tsurumi doesn’t gain anything by Ogata defecting - he’s met with suspicion by other groups like Hijikata and Sugimoto so he’d be a terrible mole. His alliance with Kiro made sense and he likely knew that when they were attacked at the border it was Tsurumi who tipped the Russians off. Why else would he have wanted the code from Asirpa so desperately when Tanigaki and Sugimoto caught up? Well and his own self validation from Asirpa too. He immediately knew the only way that would happen if if they were now working with Tsurumi. He had to escape from them on Karafuto and sow the seeds of doubt in Koito to destabilize his faith and love in Tsurumi.

What we also see from him is that Tsurumi’s spell doesn’t work on him anymore. When he killed Hanazawa, Tsurumi and Tsukishima thought that they had delivered what he wanted to be happy and keep working for Tsurumi. Whatever little emotion Ogata expressed to others in the 27th, most people read him to be loyal and he would not have been predicted to defect. But Ogata did.

Personally, Ogata still working for Tsurumi goes against all of his behavior in the manga to date and fits perfectly with Sugimoto becoming a tool for Tsurumi in his attempt to “rescue” Asirpa and get 200 yen for Umeko. He’s suspicious of Tanigaki, Sugimoto and we know now Ariko. The concept of Ogata being a mole for Tsurumi just doesn’t make sense there are too many crazy factors for it to work out and Ogata has too much emotion invested in the deaths of Tamai, Okada and Noma. It is almost as though he felt like he was responsible for commanding them and they died either by Tanigaki’s hands or Sugimoto’s (indirectly via bear). Merdopseudo has a great theory that Ogata was the brains of the rebellion, but due to his personality and position as one of Tsurumi’s inner circle, he came to an agreement with Tamai and made sure that Tamai was the face of the rebellion since he seemed like a good guy that people respected.

This has become long winded, but I want to make it clear that most of the evidence to date about Ogata would indicate he’s working for his own goals and they are against Tsurumi in some way. It is clear based on his conversation with Hanazawa (that Tsurumi did not hear) Ogata questions the very nature of the concept of love and if it even exists. For Tsurumi to wield power over him with love it would imply that Ogata believes in that love. It is clear that when he killed Hanazawa (and likely didn’t have a choice in the matter) he was already questioning love and if it matters and that he didn’t love Tsurumi despite following orders. Ogata sees that a child lacking love is missing something fundamental but getting love from Tsurumi wasn’t enough for him to feel love and validation from him.

The next page has an information box, giving actual evidence to the power of love within soldiers and their relationships with commrades in arms as well as performing for the love of a commanding officer with a montage of how he seduced Tsukishima, Koito and Ogata (interesting use of Ogata killing Hanazawa but this is from Tsurumi’s POV). Tsurumi then address the question of guilt and killing. And now Ogata’s conversation with Yuusaku makes so much more sense. So in this flashback between the Sino-Japanese war and before he is stationed in Hokkaido with Tsukishima coming with him as a Russian translator, he recognizes the power of guilt. With his experience as a commander he then knows that he must use the power of love to overcome guilt and simply perform the dirtiest job.

This directly refers back to what happened in chapter 165. Ogata does his best to deliver Tsurumi’s lines back to Yuusaku. Yuusaku was taught by Hanazawa that soldiers will feel guilt. As a result of this guilt, a member of their group must remain guilt free - Yuusaku, the flag bearer who stays pure in every aspect of the word. Therefore, Yuusaku’s entire existence is to help the mental health and morale of those around him by compensating for their sins and guilt. This Hanazawa theory contradicts everything Tsurumi’s chosen men would have taught themselves to cope. He is to help alleviate those feelings and in a way cleanse them through his actions.

This is such a moving scene as Ogata appears deadpan and he argues back to Yuusaku that no one feels guilt. They act as though they do, as he’s likely done many traumatic things under Tsurumi’s command by this point in addition to his own childhood trauma. The only way he can keep his worldview from cracking is to reply that “everyone is the same as me”. Yet, the swirly and turbulent screentones indicate that is not actually how Ogata feels. Ogata is emotionally stunted or immature - he’s never been given a chance to develop them. So we see a swirl of emotions as he clearly questions his own statement but doesn’t know what to do with it yet. What he does is he recognizes the purity and icon status of Yuusaku and then superimposes that on Asirpa. That is what lead to his meltdown on ice - how some men in power use their children as pure icons while Tsurumi uses love to create the ultimate sinner - a soldier willing to do acts that make hell shudder. Ogata has had enough experiences and he thinks enough the he’s likely trying to rationalize events and since he sucks at emotions doesn’t quite know what to do with them.

Based on his fever dream with Yuusaku, I’ve always read that he feels guilty about killing him - not because he’s his brother, they did not have a brotherly relationship and Yuusaku was 100% unfair to him. I think he feels guilty b/c he killed one of his own comrades who albeit misguided, was trying to help his unit in his own (flawed way that highlights the injustice of the way the military was organized). Ogata’s own background was too complicated for Tsurumi to truly understand him. He has a lot of similarities with Tsukishima and Usami but it is clear that he thinks far more than the other cast members.

Tsurumi then refers specifically to Usami again with the concept of sheep. Most men who join the army are sheep. They will follow orders but aren’t carnivores. Some men though are dogs among the sheep, their job is to guide the flock and defend them. Since dogs are rare, when one finds a dog you must make sure to take care of it.

The next page reveals that one of those dogs is Usami. He’s a fiercely loyal dog willing to kill without remorse or guilt. These men are able to lead other soldiers by a sort of soft power presence. So someone like Usami is critical. The page then shows that Usami and Kikuta are tracking down the killer and Usami will know how he is thinking. He will return to the scene of the crime since that is how he thinks. Just like Usami returned time and time again to the scene of his crime despite he fact that Tsurumi was away a the war. It is interesting to note that Kikuta has the most rational response to Usami’s statement that the killer is not a thief - his victims are poor and lack things to steal in the first place. Yet Usami goes above and beyond to highlight it is how the man things and he knows the mental process well. . .

What we learn from here is that Usami is just like the Ainu dog that the Japanese owner had. He might be loyal but he will kill if jealous! Be careful of what you’ve made Tsurumi!

The chapter then shifts back to the hospital where Nikaido, Inkarmat and Koito are. Koito is clearly up to some childish antics, by stealing his prosthetic hand and hiding it under his covers. It is pretty obvious from the start Koito has it, but Inkarmat uses her clairvoyance to detect it. Koito looks shocked when she indicates it is coming from the direction of Koito nispa (but really Koito you were holding back a laugh by snickering!). Tsukishima is unimpressed by her basic skills of deduction and Koito is too smitten with her to realize she’s just wanting to make some money off of him. I kind of like that Koito is just like Shiraishi with Inkarmat. He’s a bit gullible with her yet it also indicates that Koito has a more playful side we’ve never gotten to see, which is obviously present in Shiraishi. I think Koito needs to let loose a little with all that he’s been through.

Of course Koito asks Tsukishima if he wants Inkarmat to find something for him and he immediately thinks about his fiancee - whom he still doesn’t know what happened to her with all of Tsurumi’s sweet lies. His reply is clear - he doesn’t want her looking into anything for him, so he doesn’t owe her favors nor is on her side.

In a way his reply makes it clear that he’s telling Inkarmat what her situation is, without actually saying it outright. I don’t know if Tsukishima is doing this on purpose or not. By stating that there is a side, he’s shown that Inkarmat as friendly and fun that she may be, she shouldn’t get ideas into her head about taking advantage of them.

Inkarmat shows her street-smarts in he next statement. She knows with Koito and Tsukishima with her, Tanigaki is back in Hokkaido, but he can’t visit her. She concludes that she is a hostage of Tsurumi and Tanigaki has to do something while she is trapped. She catches on a lot faster than Tanigaki who needed Tsurumi to phrase things several different ways before he understood what was happening when he told Kikuta that he’s a Matagi. Tsukishima turns his back to her - essentially giving her the answer she was looking for.

The chapter then ends with Nikaido unable to get his chopsticks out. The whole reason Koito stole it was because he couldn’t take Nikaido playing with the chopsticks. Instead, he put some youkan inside. Sei Kobiyama noted that youkan is made with red bean paste, agar and sugar.

With Koito being from Kagoshima and a Satsuma elite, it means he comes from of the few places in Japan that had a regular supply of sugar from the Ryukyu islands. A part of the power and wealth of the region was based on having a source of sugar under their own control, but the people who cultivated sugar were treated like slaves at the hands of the Satsuma elite.

It can also be noted that if the people were unable to deliver sugar, they would be left to starve by the Satsuma rulers as they would only trade rice for sugar. As an interesting aside, the sugar farmers adopted alternate food sources to prevent death by starvation, including learning how to treat cycad tissue so that it could be safely eaten by removing all of the deadly phytotoxins.

Check out this article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200106-how-a-plant-saved-a-japanese-island In my previous post about Koito and Kagoshima, I had a chance to visit the Shimazu family estate and combined with the information from Sei Kobiyama, this powerful family enjoyed the sugar they “grew” under their harsh leadership.

I guess it would be the equivalent of some rich European person putting fancy chocolate in the hand. . . . not that they realized that Nikaido likely grew up in a family that couldn’t afford the youkan [chocolate] in their day to day life.

I’d guess that Koito got the Youkan from his father at some point in time, spoiling him and trying to get him to cheer up after saying that he was just pathetic. I mean if my parents gave me some fancy chocolate, I’d be happy.

Overall, chapter 227 is important as it shows us how Tsurumi has learned to form his core group of soldiers, ones that he can make sure that they will do whatever he needs to get done. 1.) Usami is proven to be the most “natural” of the 4. His emotional connection to Tsurumi and need for validation from him is what allowed him to separate himself from the guilt of killing. Honestly, I don’t see Usami ever doubting Tsurumi, but he should be careful of his jealousy. 2.) Tsukishima was carefully nudged along with Tsurumi saving him from death row. What I still want to know is how did his father get the news that Tsukishima had died in the war? Did Tsurumi send him fake information knowing it would “release” him from the control of his terrible father and the hope of his love for the only person he cared about?

3.) Koito was a bonus in the quest to win over his father. Tsurumi was able to “rescue” him thus winning over his adoration and again a desire for Tsurumi to validate him through praise for his actions. Koito is now at a crossroads. Tsukishima revealed enough information about Tsurumi’s sweet lies that Koito is now caught between not getting in trouble and being killed by Tsukishima yet still trying to resolve how little control he had over what Tsurumi was doing to him.

4.) Ogata at some point in time was under Tsurumi’s spell. He makes statements all the time that seem to come from Tsurumi, killing one’s parents to move forward, not feeling guilt, but he frequently contradicts them looking for acceptance and validation from others. Hanazawa rejected him and Tsurumi thought he had pretty much secured Ogata’s loyalty for this act as indicated by Tsukishima. Instead, we get one of the few Ogata inner thoughts where he recognizes that Tsurumi is trying to manipulate him with praise. We know by that point he isn’t under Tsurumi’s control.

Out of these four, Koito and Ogata seem the most likely to break free of Tsurumi’s sweet lies. What I think will be the challenge is for Koito to do so - escaping from Tsurumi’s control was clearly difficult for Ogata and I think he had to bide his time for the right change.

Onto chapter 228, which I think ties together nicely with 227.

It starts off low key enough. Vasily is at the lead, his figure just a shadow before them. The fact he isn’t clearly visible really highlights he is not a member of their group. He just happens to be a Russian sniper who is going the same direction as them.

They have procured another horse which Asirpa is riding and Shiraishi is walking along with her. This reminds me of their time on Karafuto as she rode what ever transport animal was available while Kiro, Ogata and Shiraishi walked or skied alongside.

Sugimoto is lagging behind a bit and we see his arm is still in the sling. He notes that it is becoming foggy as he glances behind them. The chapter also updates us that they are in the Sorachi River area, checking in with local kotans to try and find our Pirate convict.

Both Asirpa and Shiraishi are the voices of reason, with the incoming fog, it is best for Sugimoto not to be trudging along with only one functional arm. They suggest returning to the kotan they just left and wait for the fog to clear.

Sugimoto shrugs off their concern (come on man, they are trying to help you out here) and becomes distracted by a bird chirping. The chapter title page reveals a tiny little bird. The title is shima-enaga, and the bird is called a pixie of the snow as it chirps!

Sugimoto then goes into full teen girl speak as he starts talking to the bird which has an injured wing. He quickly bonds with the adorable little bird. Oh look the bird has a broken wing just like how I have a broken arm healing in a sling! We are forelimb injury buddies. Sugimoto then gushes at how adorable it is and it is known as a species of the long-tailed tit native to Hokkaido. He then goes into Asirpa information regurgitation mode. You are a upas cir, a bird that marks the start of winter and snowfall.

He then asks Asirpa for affirmation of his statements to realize they got ahead of him and it is even foggier. He quickly becomes separated from them and then slides down a steep slope and with his one functional arm is unable to climb back up. Asirpa and Shiraishi try to find his tracks but he wandered through a bamboo thicket which makes tracking near impossible despite all the snow.

Sugimoto immediately checks in with the bird to see if it okay and it becomes clear that he’s stuck as long as it is foggy. He’s upset that he’s lost and he’s gonna have to take care of himself all alone - until the bird chirps and he feels like he needs to not hurt its feelings and recognize the bird is with him.

The next few pages establish Sugimoto explaining to the bird how they are going to take care of themselves in the wilderness. They will find a nice place to sleep for the night that is protected, collect the right type of firewood and a whole list of things that he learned from Asirpa.

At the end of day 1, Sugimoto is glad he knew what to do and he’s confident that he’ll be okay by himself for the night with his new little birb friend.

He’s got a nice light in his eyes as he speaks fondly of Asirpa and how he’s only been able to get this far with her help. I think he’s really speaking things he wouldn’t be able to tell another human but since he’s with a bird - he’s able to express these feelings with less hesitation. It really reminds me of when Sugimoto was monologuing to Vasily about how Asirpa cleanses him. Again, Vasily’s understand of Japanese is minimal as far as we can tell so Sugimoto confessed his feelings to the one human who couldn’t respond back.

The next page is Sugimoto explaining how to make wilderness survival dango and he even shares some of his dango with the bird that he is already referring to as Upashy. He’s positive as he tells the bird to eat up and that everything will be better tomorrow and they will be found. He even says goodnight to the bird which chirps in reply. He even made a little nest for it with his scarf!

What this shows is that by the end of day 1 in the “wilderness” Sugimoto has befriended the bird, named him and is acting like he’s another person with him - not a bird with what would be a fatal injury in the wild.

Day 2 has Sugimoto hearing a noise thinking it is Asirpa but instead finds a brown bear print and he tries to ready himself but with only one functional arm he’s stuck. He gives us more bear information - and we now have them coming out of their winter hibernation - for the overall timeline, it means it has been around a year since the hunt for the gold for Asirpa and Sugimoto began.

Sugimoto continues talking to his feathered friend about bears and it is an excellent transition about the unfairness of warfare and the military industrial complex. He makes the observation that since older men are lazier or more self observed, it would be best if they fought in wars . . . as they wouldn’t try very hard to fight. He tells Upashy that wars are a waste in regards to what they do to young men. Young men how have futures which get cut short.

Upashy really doesn’t care, but appreciates the dango to eat. For the first time in a long time, Sugimoto thinks of the photo of Toraji, Umeko and their unnamed child - and that a young father should have had to die. That it is outright wrong for him to die. He becomes more hesitant as he speaks . . . leaving behind . .. such a good natured wife . . . and he trails off unable to continue.

Again, our little birb friend is the witness to Sugimoto’s confession about how he feels about things. The last chapter was about how Tsurumi was trying to find the perfect soldier and in this chapter, Sugimoto critiques the role of older men like Tsurumi leading young men off to die. The difference is that Tsurumi wants men who are alone. No family. No one to return home to. Nothing but their love of Tsurumi. They are ideal since there is no one else to worry about. Instead, Sugimoto focuses on the men who are the “sheep” that Tsurumi refers to - they have a flock to return to. They aren’t ideal soldiers due to all of their commitments. Their families, friends and lovers. They don’t want to kill and they don’t want to feel guilt and return home with that.

These two chapters are such a perfect contrast and they highlight how a subset of the population feels as though it has the right to control and manipulate others for the glory of war and their own ambitions.

Also to note, by this point, Sugimoto has allowed Upashy to perch on his hat as he waits out the fog. The chapter then advances quickly, day 3, still fog - then a week has passed since Sugimoto became lost. He’s filthy, he looks like a wreck, his face is dirty and all of his clothing as well. What is so well drawn is how the status of Upashy improves over time while Sugimoto becomes worse. When I say improves for Upashy, the bird goes from a normal size, to fatter and to really fat by the end of the week. Sugimoto! You’ve overfed your bird friend!

Since the bird can’t fly it isn’t going to burn the usual number of calories and due to the sendentary nature of being spoiled by Sugimoto it has become a plump little thing. I am not familiar with bird metabolism, so I’m not sure if this is 100% accurate, but visually the bird is well fed. Sugimoto is now having a conversation with himself about the fog. He asks if it will stay foggy forever and then replies there is no way.

He then seems to think that Upashy said something. This is indicated by the “huh, what’s that?” and he states that Upashy is telling him that they should have left their location while they still had food. Only then does the bird reply with a chirp.

The bird is clearly overweight and fattened up by this point as it chirps. The response to this is Sugimoto channeling his inner cat. Since he fed Upashy the dango as well (which made him/her quite plump) Sugimoto accuses the bird of being equally guilty in their situation. He then threatens to pluck the feathers of the bird and eat it. His eyes look very cat like (Ogata like) as he stares down at the bird, his pupils smaller and focuses on the bird. The bird responds by chirping excitedly (concerned) and then Sugimoto smiles as he closes his eyes telling him that he’s kidding. With chapters 226 and 227 having Usami smiling with his eyes closed and Tsurumi smiling with his eyes closed I think it is clear that we are to read Sugimoto’s expression the same way. That he’s covering up his dark and violent thoughts by pretending to look happy.

Feeling more normal, Sugimoto declares that they are going to survived and make it off the mountain. And then he thinks Asirpa will fix the bird’s broken wing as well. Which makes me wonder - why didn’t Sugimoto try to make a little sling for the bird when he first found it? Only Asirpa knows how to help in this situation? We get a loud stomach gurgle of Sugimoto and his emotional declaration of fact that he’s Sugimoto the immortal. And then he just looks lost.

And then the next page is a full page spread of Sugimoto plucking the feathers off of the dead bird. Before he can even speak he just makes a noise of “Fweeeeeeeeeeh and I’m sorry . . . I’m so sorry” his eyes are deranged, they are erratically drawn adding to a level of emotional turmoil and distress as he prepares the bird. Thankfully, we don’t know how he killed the bird, but I’d guess he broke the neck or something like that. He’s sweating profusely but it is hard to tell if he isn’t also drooling over the idea of eating Upashy.

The panel as he prepares and cooks the bird is well done. The wiggly test bubbles show how emotionally unstable Sugimoto is at this point in time. As the bird has gone from a fluffy cute bird to now looking like sparrow yakitori. We don’t get to see his face as he is cutting the bird’s carcass and skewering it on a stick to cook. To add to the shock factor the page zooms in on the skewer going through the eyes of the head. The middle panel zooms out as he remarks that he think it looks right.

Finally, we get to see Sugimoto’s face. His eyes look a way we’ve never seen them before. Not white nor black before he kills a human. Instead, they have irregular swirls, his face is filthy as he states his going to eat everything and make the internal organs into citatap. He delusionally then states that upon eating the small bird, that he’ll have his energy back and then he is getting out of there.

The final page has a completely broken Sugimoto about to take a bite into his yakitori with Asirpa in the background. Upon eating the bird or after eating it or about to eat it, he let’s out an inhuman howl. Asirpa is happy to hear his voice and the light shines down around her. She’ll find him and everything will be okay.

So this chapter was crazy intense - just as brutal as 227! The theme of the impact of war on humans is continued and we got rare glimpses into Sugimoto’s mind unfiltered.

This highlights how Sugimoto finds it much easier to harm fellow humans but he still struggles with killing animals. My first thought was, if Asirpa found the bird, she’d either want to kill it immediately, or use it as bait to catch a larger animal. Sugimoto tried to bond with the bear cub. Here he tried to bond with the bird. He’s more than willing to eat whatever Asirpa catches and prepares but he’s always reluctant to do the dirty work himself. I feel like this is some aspect of him being a regular Japanese guy, he’d eat meat no problem but he doesn’t prepare the meat, he just consumes it. He’s never resolved his conflict with this. I think about how Tanigaki and Ogata are two characters who grew up hunting and dealing with the logistics of things. They don’t make it a big deal, they respect the animals or offer them to others.

Yet Sugimoto clearly links killing the animals as something that he doesn’t do since he’s a nice guy and the animals are cute.

His interactions with animals and humans who can’t understand him are how he confesses his true feelings but without an honest dialogue or analysis of them. He takes advantage of these situations to express things he feels unable to express to maintain his tough guy attitude. The problem with confessing your problems to Vasily or a bird is that you can’t be challenged to self reflect on these things. There is even the added level of confessing how he feels about Toraji & Umeko to the bird and then killing and eating the bird! Almost as though he literally put his feelings out there, destroyed them and ate them to remove the evidence!

I wonder if this shows that Sugimoto may have learned the logistics of how to be an Ainu in the field but keeps his Japaneseness when it comes to hunting and how he acts. He breaks down and eats the bird, but we get no indication he intends to properly send it off. Even though he’s been traveling with Asirpa for about a year now, he still can’t get over the “brutality” by which she kills some of the animals that they eat.

His mental state is a precarious one - what I got out of this chapter is that Sugimoto is an extrovert who doesn’t do well by himself. At the beginning of the manga, Asirpa was alone. I think Asirpa could go back to being alone but she prefers the company of others. I wonder if Sugimoto is someone who needs to be alone and be alone with his thoughts. I do think he needs to talk to another human who will both listen to him but also challenge him to examine himself. However, he also needs to learn how to accept himself. As he lays these emotions and feelings out before a bird he’s still making it so that he doesn’t have to examine them himself - he told the bird.

With Usami’s flashback there is a lot of overlap with many parts of Sugimoto’s past that we know. I think on purpose, Usami’s flashback is going to lead into further examination of Sugimoto. We saw how Usami killed another out of jealosy. We just saw how Sugimoto killed a bird out of both desperation but also out of this need to realize that the bird was “stealing” food from him. We know that Sugimoto learned how to kill and fight like a demon on the battle field. What was the event that flipped that switch in him? He didn’t have someone like Tsurumi to lead him, but he clearly is a soldier that was more of a dog than a sheep. Was this linked to Toraji? What is this feeling of guilt around Toraji linked to? It is time for Sugimoto’s past to be examined, he’s just been stuck repeating his own mantra to himself even if it hurts him, and all of those around him. This chapter reveals a vulnerable side of Sugimoto that is never shown to a fellow human. For him to heal and move on with his life he’s going to have to have acceptance and forgiveness from other humans - not birds.

I hope that Usami’s flashback and Sugimoto’s bird dinner will lead to some more complex examinations into what makes Sugimoto the fighting demon that he is.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #Usami Tokishige #tsurumi tokushirou #ogata hyakunosuke #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #asirpa #Shiraishi Yoshitake #sugimoto saichi

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chibivesicle · 4 years

Text

Golden Kamuy chapters 231 & 232.

Hey all, here is my belated and likely as little bit shorter than normal summary. I’m taking the weekend off from dealing with work related stuff but I’m still off dealing with the constantly changing situation here. We start off with Inkarmat about to give birth with the assistance of Osoma’s mother and huci. I wondered why Osoma’s mom doesn’t have a name but if I recall all of the Ainu names in the manga have to not belong to a living person (I think from an interview with Noda) to be respectful, so I’m guessing it is trickier than normal to keep coming up with appropriate and proper names for the Ainu characters. This might be a good work around for the time being for Noda.

And the title page for the chapere tells us that is is birth and that Huci is the most seasoned midwife possible and that she was also Asirpa’s midwife. The title page also has the quote that “Purpose is handed down from heaven.” sticking with the central theme of the manga included in each volume of the manga.

The title page also makes it almost look like Huci is blessing someone perhaps linked to Asirpa. Tanigaki then being the dude that he is decides to leave Inkarmat in their hands as he uses this as an excuse to slip away and find Tsukishima.

In a way this is both in and out of character for him. It is in character for him to run away from emotional moments and duties but it is out of character for him to steal Sugimoto’s tagline that he’s immortal.

Inkarmat is clearly the smarter of the couple, he first off tells him to NOT fight or attempt to fight Tsukishima and then she flat out calls his bluff telling him that he’s not immortal and that he should run away by himself. She likely observed Tsukishima enough during her time at the hospital that she knew he wouldn’t give up and that if they want to be safe Tanigaki should draw him away.

It really doesn’t matter as soon as he leaves the house, he gets his ass handed to him by Tsukishima. He’s pushed back into the house and Tsukishima approaches everyone. Tanigaki again repeats similar actions in regards to what happened to him with Ogata as he sees it to be his job to protect who ever is there e.g. Huci and Osoma, now Huci, Osoma’s mom, Inkarmat. . . .

Tanigaki perplexes me - he’s one of the cast members who is more than willing to throw himself in the line of fire to protect women and children, but he’s also the most likely to run from his responsibilities. Why is he a hypocrite? There must be something more to this . . . I’m just still not sure what it is.

Tsukishima simply and in a deadpan fashion tells him that he’s been making the “wrong” choice for a long time now.

He distances himself from Huci and Inkarmat by referring to them as “this woman” and “that old lady” and that it is because of their influence over him he did not come back to the 27th. This makes a lot of sense from Tsukishima to be so weird about things. He has no fiancee to return home to and to family. He sees that he has no choice but to return to the 27th as it is all that he has.

Just as things are about to escalate Koito rushes in on horseback. He’s still wearing his yukuta from the hospital but threw on his boots and officer’s coat. Tsukishima doesn’t even look at Koito as he asks if Koito followed him to see if they would escape. And Koito firmly tells him that he can’t see what good would come from killing Tanigaki and Inkarmat. He points out that Tanigaki isn’t their only way to find Asirpa and that they should let them run away.

And here Koito is being incredibly logical and reasonable! They don’t need to reply on Tanigaki. Yes, Tsurumi sent him to find Asirpa but Koito is seeing the bigger picture, one that Tsukishima currently can’t see. Koito tries to reason with him that making a threat that you can’t follow through on is meaningless. Tsukishima then finally turns and threatens Koito with his pistol while keeping the rifle focused on Tanigaki and Inkarmat. He makes it clear that his threat to Koito from Karafuto is real. The zoom in on Tsukishima with his veins bulging out, the extreme stress lines under his eyes the chaotic screentone. He creepily asks which side the 2 lt. is on and follows it up with the fact that he learned he was used by Tsurumi that he now has joined the traitors.

The final panel shows an equally stressed out Koito where we can see a very distinct frown and stress lines as well as a rather messy screentone behind him. I really see that Koito is concerned but he seems more in control that I’ve seen from him. There is something about how he’s drawn here - I can’t quite put my finger on it but he seems more mature and determined. And I know that Koito can be a pretty determined guy but - but he’s different.

The next page then seals the deal for me. A full page Koito giving Sergent Tsukishima an order! Koito tells him to lower his weapon as it is an order! Koito has finally decided to take charge as he should as a second lieutenant. Time and time before we’ve seem him defer to Tsukishima and now he finally takes command.

He follows up with the fact that he’s going to watch both Tsukishima and Tsurumi to the very end [of this hunt for the gold].

Bam! Oh man, I have been waiting so long for Koito to take the initiative and use the potential leadership skills that he’s been keeping dormant. This is just such a satisfying page and turn of events.

The shock on Tsukishima’s face really brings it home. The little second lieutenant has finally grown up and he’s actually thought things through. I love the half light dark shading on Tsukishima’s face as he turns to look to Koito.

Furthermore, Koito uses Tsukishima’s own words to support his argument and where he stands in regards to Tsurumi. What has changed is that Koito will now be using his own judgement to analyze what Tsurumi is doing and not following orders blindly. I know this is a translation into english, but using the concept of justice gives Koito’s thought process more backing. He’s showing that he is a just and fair man, not someone who blindly follows orders and he is worried about how if he does something unjust he’ll have feelings of guilt and regret.

Therefore, Koito is letting us know how he intends to lead men, something he was sent to Karafuto to learn and I think he learned part of his beliefs during the Karafuto trip.

The next page is quite sad, Tsukishima admits that he has nothing to live for, so all he can do is his job - his job for Tsurumi that makes him unredeemable. He’s seen and caused so much death that Tsukishima doesn’t care anymore - he’s the empty shell of the man he once was and Koito tells him, his mentor that it isn’t true. Koito’s figured out that Tsukishima must have thrown away something so massive that becoming the inflexible right hand man of Tsurumi was all that he could do. Tsukishima is so many different emotions as Koito hits the nail on the head. His lips are puckered implying he’s biting them or holding something in as we can barely see his eyes.

Tsukishima finally shows us the face of his fiancee, smiling at him as her hair blows in the wind. He’s finally facing what he misses the most and his largest regret. He appears to tremble as he says Inkarmat’s name.

A completely broken and defeated [by himself] Tsukishima begins to ask her if “that girl is she. . .” and Inkarmat starts to move to give him an answer.

However, her fortune telling is interrupted by a contraction.

Tsukishima has given up - his barriers have been broken and he’s just a man who hurts and is in pain.

Osoma’s mom then is able to interrupt their conversation of sorts and orders all the boys to do her bidding to assist with the birth. The chapter then returns to Ainu culture 101, as elements of birthing are covered as they collect items that are used in childbirth. Koito, Tanigaki and Tsukishima are pretty much whipped into shape as they assist in all sorts of things, collecting straw, babysitting, collecting mugwort etc etc.

I personally saw this as a few pages of the tough men all being put in their place and dealing with the bigger picture - the fact that Inkarmat needs their help to give birth and that it is more important than any of their own self-imposed problems. I think the three of them standing outside of the house really get the point across. Tanigaki can’t look at either Koito and Tsukishima.

It really doesn’t matter since Tsukishima just had his own break down as he sits lost in his own thoughts while Koito stands firm with the lighting and viper’s child.

Inkarmat then safely delivers the child and the chapter ends. I think it really caps things off that the “miracle” of birth supersedes all of the shit these guys have been dealing with.

Chapter 232 continues where we left off with Inkarmat and Tanigaki. Of course now that Inkarmat has safely delivered their child, it is time for the - you guessed it - penis jokes!

Tanigaki gets all teary as he tells Inkarmat that she was great. His eyes are teary and sparkly as he thinks that the stump of the umbilical cord is a large penis - Tanigaki dick joke number 4,368 (ok, I jest). This then allows him to realize that he’s got a daughter as he becomes a complete teary mess.

His blushing and tears confuse me - I can’t tell if he is proud or disappointed of the fact that she’s well a girl. Sometimes, I just can’t get a handle on Noda’s sense of humor - but I think he’s disappointed . . . since the vast majority of east Asian men would want a son. But then Tanigaki isn’t 100% normal. I’m totally over contemplating this and I lack the cultural context to really get it.

Koito and Tsukishima confront the man from the 27th who was supposed to be watching out for Asirpa. Catching him re-handed and clearly hungover Koito is able to scare him into shape telling him to get his “shit together” and to report things are normal pretending like he’s doing the man a favor (and the dumb nobody interprets as such).

Osoma sees Tanigaki, seems surprised but then quickly returns to playing with another kid. She has moved on from her “crush” on him and Tanigaki seems a bit hurt as she moves along. Tanigaki needs to realize he doesn’t need a relationship with a child like Osoma, he’s got his own daughter now and Inkarmat to be with! Yeah dude, I get it, but time to be a real dad, not a fun uncle type.

At the same time Tsukishima asks Koito about his behaviour on Karafuto before they met up with Tsurumi again. Tsukishima asks him if he was “faking it” which Koito pretty much confirms with his statement that Tsukishima is “free to interpret it . . . - pausing - whichever way you like”.

As Koito says this we see another new facial expression from him, one of calm and again more maturity. Koito likely wasn’t comfortable or proud of what he did, but he was smart enough to know what to do - to con Tsukishima so to speak. Being a bit deceptive likely goes against Koito’s own feelings - I think it gets him closer to say someone like Ogata, a man who he always thought was running a long game con, but may feel a bit differently about him since Ogata told him the truth.

Koito then becomes more serious as he tells Tsukishima what he’s thinking. He doesn’t think that Tsurumi’s personal goals would be to sacrifice his men for his own wealth or power. He hints at the fact that Tsurumi would be motivated by a goal that is not so simple so to speak. He then asks Tsukishima it he has any idea - at first Tsukishima wonders if he lacks a “true goal” but then he realizes something.

As he has been Tsurumi’s right hand man, there is a flashback where he noticed that Tsurumi had someone’s finger bones when he’s been alone in his office.

He asks Koito if he’s seen the finger bones and Koito asks whose bones? Tsukishima then determines that maybe it is something else and he drops the idea.

As the topic drops off, Koito instead tries to cheer up Tsukishima and inspire him to follow him as a commanding officer. And that they should follow the more typical military mindset. Again the chapter returns to awkward Koito humor where he tries to modifiy his picture of Tsukishima with a half Koito face with Tsurumi to inspire Tsukishima.

With these post-birth events, I’ll now turn to this chapters title page here. This is a transition/summary title page. All the different groups are shown with their overall intentions. Tsukishima and Koito are looking for Asirpa for Tsurumi. Tanigaki and Inkarmat don’t have a direction implying they are leaving the immediate action. Sugimoto, Shiraishi and Asirpa are after the pirate, while even though Vasily in their group, he’s out for Ogata. Hijikata’s group is both looking for Asirpa and the Jack the ripper convict and Kikuta and Usami are also looking for him.

It is all one giant ball of confusion [cue love and rockets] but highlights so clearly that Vasily is not a part of team Sugimoto. I think Noda really wants to make it clear that Sugimoto’s game plan of the enemy of my enemy is my friend is likely going to backfire. Really he should just put out and ad “Russian snow leopard seeks Japanese lynx for kitty sniper games.”

The more I look at this page the more mis-matched teams I see, Kikuta and Usami has a fragile feel - likely more than just general dislike but true distrust. Ogata is back on team Hijikata but only out of convenience and the rest of his group is also a mess with Ariko caught between him and Tsurumi. Such a major theme of the groups in this manga is how so many aren’t actually good - they just serve a purpose for the short term but ultimately are playing different long games.

Now back to the chapter - 1 week later Tanigaki and Inkarmat leave the kotan with their daughter. Koito orders them to head south and to avoid running into any men from the 27th. Tanigaki is back to wearing Ainu garb to likely blend in and not draw as much attention back to traveling with Inkarmat.

As they are about to leave, Inkarmat offers to answer Tsukishima’s question about his fiancee, but now thinking more clearly he tells her that there is no need. All this tells us, the reader is that he’s come to some sort of peace and understanding with his actions. This is good, but we still don’t know what he has found his calm with in regards to his questions about her fate.

As they ride off after waving goodbye to Huci, Tanigaki very shakily says how he feels about Huci and his connection with her. That he was saved by her again and that he’s always receiving her help, but his statement implies that he thinks he has never helped her back.

Inkarmat looks up at him softly, she’s blushing a little and there is a sparkle in her eye as she seems to think about what he’s said. Does Inkarmat think that Tanigaki saved her? That he doesn’t see his actions when he does help others? That he’s too hung up on owing Huci? I think here we see that Inkarmat is the more mature one again and that she will likely support him despite the fact that he really likes to make a mess of things even though he thinks his intentions are the best. I wonder since Tanigaki is just such a manly man that Noda wants him to be juxtaposed with strong women? Just throwing that out there.

The action then shifts to Sapporo with Kikuta and Usami on the search for our Jack the ripper convict. It is clear there is tension between these two men as Kikuta tells Usami to not do anything rash and that it is their job to just scout out the killer. As he’s demonstrated that he’s a clever one, he immediately wants them to change clothes to blend in with the civilians as they suspect that Hijikata’s entire group will be there and it would not be a fight that they could win. The more I hear from Kikuta the more of a similar vibe he gives off like Ogata. He thinks things through and is not impulsive or emotional when it comes to performing his duty.

As Kikuta and Usami walk right by Kirawus and Kadokura, the unlucky former prison guard officer finds a small coin on the ground blocking him from Usami’s line of sight. Usami then wonders if he did hear Kadokura . . . . but immediately writes it off as Usami is certain that Kadokura died in Abashiri.

Kirawus then comments that it must be a lucky day for Kadokura which is actually the truth. We all know that if Usami actually spotted him he’d immediately go after him and try to kill him again.

This missed connection ups the tension that their small scouting party will indeed cross paths with Hijikata’s and the convict.

Not only that but it is clear that Ogata is thinking in a very similar fashion to that of Kikuta. Ogata knows that the killer will go to the red light district and the police will also be looking into the case. Add onto that the fact that soldiers from his former division would be also there for “fun” likely means Tsurumi isn’t far behind.

Ogata then asks Hijikata if “you guys” dress up as peddlers again. This is interesting since when Hijikata did dress like that, it was when Shiraishi was captured by the 27th and and when Kiro was in the group while he was with Sugimoto, Asirpa and Ushiyama. I get the feeling that Ogata is making it very clear that he is not a part of Hijikata’s group while also teasing him a bit.

I’m personally dying for more Ogata action in these recent chapters, but I have to just accept this page. At least it is a good bang for your buck page as Ogata says a lot in those 3 speech bubbles.

What will be interesting is the fact that Kikuta and Ogata are thinking the same thing - as we know that they were both “Russian” kidnappers for Tsurumi in 1902 and realize they need to look for the convict discreetly.

But what I really think is the most important is that Ogata is making it abundantly clear that he’s only doing what serves his goal currently and that he is doing his own thing and that he’s confident enough to flat out tell Hijikata. He’s not one of his underlings, he’s not afraid of him, that he’s got his own thing to do. He’s also likely even more suspicious of Ariko knowing him and how Tsurumi operates.

The action then jumps to Asirpa, Sugimoto and Shiraishi in the Sorachi river valley.

They are doing some recon trying to find any people looking for gold dust and with unusual tattoos. Shiraishi is looking at the viewer - or maybe Vasily? I do find it interesting that Vasily is not in the picture. Or interesting is not the right word - I think is is important that again he’s not a part of their group unless Shiraishi is relying information to him?

The random Ainu man confirms that such a man has been seen and Sugimoto has his immediate murder eyes/scarf combo. Meanwhile Asirpa looks on at him rather coldly.

Sugimoto is more than ready to skin Boutarou and I just get the feeling that she’s ready to accept it as part and parcel of working with Sugimoto. . . .

The next page is a full page of Boutarou riding a horse holding a revolver looking dashing and sexy. it is clear he’s going to be both a charming and formidable convict.

Yet, this information is not the man who is being discussed. Instead, we are back to the idea of a peddler - that sells candy in a town. The last two pages have a very bizarre looking peddler who says that he’s selling candy. He looks like he’s giving candy to a kid but instead give him coal. The man is wearing a toque, has braided hair and a cloth over his face has he is laughing at the disappointed boy.

He then leads the disappointed boy off into the woods away from the mining town telling him he knows things much better than candy. And the chapter ends with the creepy man in a toque leading the boy out of town. Yay! Now we have another creepy man who isn’t our Jack the ripper nor our sexy Boutarou the pirate! Where is this going?

Overall, the second half of this chapter is a catch up/set up chapter. We know were everyone is and where they are going and who is going to encounter who in a matter of time.

Here are the most important parts of these two chapters.

1.) Tanigaki and Inkamat are out of the game for the time being. Yes, they are running off into hiding and for the time being they are out of the hunt. I suspect they will get involved again but not in the immediate future. I still have a gut feeling that Ogata will have to save Tanigaki - likely from Tsurumi.

2.) Showdown in Sapporo. Usami’s eagerness will likely clash with some of Hijikata’s group. Ogata and Kikuta are calling the same shots - will they meet and talk vs just shoot at each other? I have a feeling that these two groups will shift in the quest for the serial killer.

3.) Pirate hunting and a crazy peddler. Sugimoto and Asirpa are closing in on Boutarou. Is he independent of the crazy peddler or are they related? We know that he has men working for him that are somewhere. I’d guess he would start to build his faction to get involved in the group. I suspect that Vasily will cause some sort of issues, he’s no closer to finding Ogata who is in Sapporo.

4.) Tsurumi’s true motivations are revealed. The finger bones pretty much are the dead giveaway for Tsurumi’s motivations. They are linked to the death of Fina and Olga when he was a spy in Russia. As soon as everyone saw the finger bones, pretty much everyone I know went back to chapter 179. After Tsurumi held Olga he wrapped and laid her on Fina, who is missing a right pinky finger. And he then burnt down the photo studio as he leads town.

What is more interesting is how Tsurumi feels about this. I see several different possibilities.

i.) Tsurumi is guilty that it is his fault, he sent them away but they came back worried about him.

ii.) Tsurumi blames Wilk, Kiro and Sofia for what happened even though he assisted them.

iii.) Tsurumi blames the much larger system - the imperial Japanese government and a likely person who sold out his cover (someone in the 1st?) and Tsarist Russia making the partisans due to their poor treatment of the ethnic minorities in the far east.

Or is it all of these? I think we will need to see a bit more of his actions to get a good idea of what is driving him at heart.

5.) Koito finally grows up as a leader. Koito handles the Tanigaki-Tsukishima situation excellently. I really liked this part, he’s showing that he is not just some blind follower of Tsurumi and as it has been implied is an intelligent guy who has his own moral compass. He’s taking the time to think critically of things. Really hoping for him to talk to Ogata again.

That’s all I have for now.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #asirpa #Shiraishi Yoshitake #vasily #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #tanigaki genjirou #inkarmat #huci #tsurumi tokushirou #Usami Tokishige #warrant officer kikuta #kadokura #kirawus #hijikata toshizo #ogata hyakunosuke

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