#yoko komori

[sol-em-gemeos]

[kuronekkosan]

[b3crew]

REVIEW | "Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand" | B3 - Boston Bastard Brigade

When we’re young, dealing with new circumstances and surroundings can be a challenge. Sometimes it leads us to become accustomed to these new things; other times, it can make us question the whys and hows of this world of ours. For Tokiko, the main focus of Yoko Komori’s 2013 graphic novel Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand, it’s a little bit of both. And from this new experience of hers comes both sad realization and happy opportunities.

The story begins with Tokiko and her father moving to a coastal town. Her mother is absent, an odd thing considering the two have moved to her birthplace. While taking a look around, Tokiko finds herself by the seashore, as she reflects on an incident from when she was four. Back then, she almost drowned, but — according to her — a merman saved her. Coming back into the presence, she meets Yosuke, whose looks awaken a feeling of sadness in her heart.

With her mom missing-in-action, Tokiko seeks to find something to fill the hole in her heart that was made by that absence. While dealing with that, she also does her best to get along with her new classmates, as they attend school, buy candy, and play at the beach. But there’s something about Yosuke that drives Tokiko closer to him, and it has plenty to do with the merman that rescued her. On top of that, it appears that there’s a great secret being kept from the kids about the town itself, one involving a deity.

A lot of Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand focuses on Tokiko going back-and-forth between the past and present. She thinks of her mom and her delicious breakfasts, but also knows that things weren’t too happy between her parents. While she misses her dearly, it quickly becomes apparent that the mom didn’t play as strong a part in her life as she thought. It’s why she finds it easy to move to a new place with her dad, without leaving any hint to the mom as to where they went.

Click here to read the rest of the review!

[equinox-86]

Noctis Character Profile

"Greetings. Kaminashi's top Vampire Hunter squad at your service. Please report any sightings to HQ immediately."

C a n y o u h o l d h e r h e a r t ?

Most of the info listed here is still a work in progress :P Some things might change. Note that Noctis is very cold in the beginning but gradually warms up to the vampires, which results in forming strong connections and friendships later on.

General

Kanji: アエクアリス・ノクティス

Romaji: Aekuarisu Nokutisu

English: Aequalis Noctis

Also known as:

Pyromaniac, Jirai-Onna, Alcoholic, Chichinashi, (and many others, by Ayato) Bitch-Chan (by Laito) Livestock, Lilith (by Ruki) M-Neko-Chan (formerly by Kou) S-Neko-Chan (currently by Kou after witnessing Noctis kicking Ruki and Yuma in the balls during MB's Prologue) Drunkard, Punk, Mesubuta (by Yuma) Lilith (by Azusa and Karlheinz) Woman, Vessel, Bloodbag (by Carla) Chew toy (Shin)

Her Nicknames for the DiaBoys:

Ayato: Ayarou (Ayato + Yarou) Laito: Netorare/Cuck Reiji: Megane/Four-eyes, Mom (jokingly), Old man Shuu: Old man Ruki: Ojou-Chan (jokingly) Kou: Gigolo Yuma: Gorilla (due to his strong physique), Meathead Carla: Old man (jokingly after getting along) Shin: Cyclops, Eyepatch-bastard, Ankle Biter, lap dog Most of these nicknames aren't in use anymore or used jokingly after More Blood and Dark Fate.

Personal Information

Age: 18 (Physically)

Status: Alive

Race: Demon/ "Lilith" ( She is from a demonic species higher ranking than a Founder.)

Gender: Female

Height: 5'3

Hair Color: Black (natural) and Fuchsia (dyed)

Eye Color: Blood Red

Occupation: High ranked Vampire Hunter, 3rd year Student at Ryoutei Academy

Relatives: Unknown

Hobbies: making cocktails

Favorite Food: Alcoholic Beverages

CV: Yoko Hikasa

A mysterious figure with an unusual name. Affiliated with the church lead by Seiji Komori, Noctis was sent to the Sakamaki Mansion under false pretenses as a "Sacrificial Bride" in order to ruin Cordelia's plan and gain the Sakamaki brothers as allies for the sake of the assassination of Karlheinz, as well as to stop future women to be sacrificed to vampires. Unable to bear the thought of dooming his adopted daughter Yui Komori, Seiji forged a plan to train and send a powerful demon whose memories he took, to doom the Vampires. If Noctis were to die as a result of the plan, he would feel no guilt, as she is not human. She believes she is human, as she spent her time living among them.

Personality

Noctis is a very calm and patient person, who could snap fast if someone acts unreasonable. She's very defiant to the vampires and doesn't tolerate their abusive behavior towards her, often engaging in physical fights with some of them. The mistreatment results in her getting dependent on alcohol and she is sometimes seen drunk during school hours in HDB. Despite appearing like an honor student at first glance, Noctis tends to engage in delinquent behavior. Despite of this, she is a responsible person that manages to complete her tasks decently, such as supervising Ayato and Laito to make sure they do not to cause trouble at school under Reiji's order. Noctis likes to throw sassy remarks at the vampires. She often gets in unnecessary trouble for running her mouth. She takes joy in teasing Ayato and Shin, who are quick to lose their temper, which she finds humorous. Noctis' has a resting face which makes her seem cold and serious, but it is easy to get a reaction out of her. She keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself and rarely shows compassion towards the vampires as to keep herself safe and not give them an opportunity to use her weak points against her. Rather than showing pity, she gives them advice from a rational perspective. She's very analytic and observant. Laito managed to break her cold barrier by constantly toying with her emotions for his own amusement, mainly enjoying the new expressions she makes by provoking her and putting her in situations that would cause her to show fear. His little games of psychological manipulation slowly resulted in Noctis showing more emotion and eventually warming up to the Vampires in More Blood.

Appearance

In most outfits, Noctis is seen wearing a heart choker on her neck and on her thigh to make biting more bothersome to the vampires. It serves as an extra protection measure.

She is always carrying a lighter with her.

Relationships

WIP

Trivia

With her drinking habits, Noctis developed spitting fire using alcohol and a lighter as a special skill.

Noctis hates cranberry juice as a result of drinking it too much to restore her iron levels.

When Reiji nags her too much, she jokingly starts calling him "Ossan" (おっさん) meaning "old man." Here, she refers to him or any other vampire as a grandpa due to how old they are.

Opposite to Yui, Noctis is a demon with a "human heart." Due to her memory loss, she was treated like a human by the church and learned their morals and values.

Noctis has a reflex that causes her to punch what causes her fear. For example, If someone were to jumpscare her, they would get punched by accident.

As a result of sharing a roof with 6 men, Noctis started to adapt manly speech mannerisms, such as using "ore" instead of "atashi" when referring to herself.

[nanairoarts]

Cowboy Bebop Opening and Ending Theme Credits

I had someone ask about this on YouTube and figured I may as well share the information here too.

テレビシリーズオープニングテーマ: Tank! 作曲/編曲:菅野よう子 演奏:シートベルツ 原画:そえたかずひろ　小森高博　後藤雅巳　今掛勇 作画監督:川元利浩 後藤雅巳 演出:渡辺信一郎 コンピュータ処理:レアトリックチャッピィ テレビシリーズエンディングテーマ: THE REAL FOLK BLUES 作詞:岩里祐穂 作曲/編曲:菅野よう子 唄:山根麻以 演奏:シートベルツ 原画:逢坂浩司 作画監督:川元利浩 演出・渡辺信一郎 コンピュータ処理:レアトリックチャッピィ

TV Series Opening Theme: Tank!

Composed/Arranged: Yoko Kanno Music: Seatbelts Keyframes: Kazuhiro Soto, Takahiro Komori, Masami Goto, Isamu Imakake Animation Director: Toshihiro Kawamoto & Masami Goto Director: Shinichiro Watanabe CG Effects: Raretrick, Chappy (Chappie? This company does not appear to exist anymore)

TV Series Ending Theme: THE REAL FOLK BLUES

Lyrics: Yuho Iwasato Composition/Arrangement: Yoko Kanno Vocals: Mai Yamane Music: Seatbelts Keyframes: Hiroshi Osaka Animation Director: Toshihiro Kawamoto Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe CG Effects: Reatrick, Chappy

[jariten]

May-July 2023 roundup

Okay little by little preparing for regular posting on this blog to resume and thought I'd start with catching up on the roundups!

Midori no Uta by Taiwanese Yan Gao, who first garnered attention for illustrating the original Japanese edition of Haruki Murakami's Abandoning a Cat: Memories of my Father, tells the story of college student Lü after she moves to Taipei for university. There she spends less time on academic pursuits and more on music live shows. She then meets Nanjun, an amateur musician who shares his love of music with her. This leads her on a trip to Japan to look for the band Happy End's album Kazemachi Roman, which leads her to an instant love for Harumi Hosono and his music, and her first infatuation as she grows closer to Nanjun. This is maybe the first Taiwanese comic I've ever read and I loved every second of it. The Japanese translation was really great. Beautiful naturalistic cityscapes and I really adored how Lü's emotions were depicted. Everything Yan Gao was referencing was very interesting too. I love a college coming of age too. I really really hope someone takes the initiative to license it and that she gets another tankobon out soon.

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori was also a lovely little coming of age, although at an elementary school level. I really want even more understated but impactful stories like this on the english market and I'm really happy this one got licensed despite its age (it first came out in 2013). And speaking of more understated stories, Frieren by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe is soooooo good. Def a worthy comparison to a series like Delicious in Dungeon with how it is an earnest fantasy that decides to approach the staples of the genre from a novel perspective, altho I love how the atmosphere and tempo is completely different, really recommend for anyone who likes more low energy or relaxing stories. And PLEASE anime fans please watch the adaption when it premieres this fall!!!

I also in this period really enjoyed reading Ai ga Areba Ii no da by Ikuemi Ryou. This year I've read so much text heavy manga so reading one with a lot of silent panels and textless sequences was so refreshing, and really moved Ikuemi up on my priority list, I'm really looking forward to reading more.

Yoko to Tora by Fuyuko Kurosaki was another fun surprise in the sense that honestly when I pick up 4-koma on a whim I don't expect too much (Making Azumanga Daioh my first kinda set the expectations too high), and its no Azumanga but I still found myself wanting to recommend it. Imagine if you will a world where cats are plushie shaped and have the general intelligence of a child meaning they can understand and make themselves understood to humans without speaking, they go to school, and have friends they like to hang out with. This is the world of Yoko and Tora and all of their friends. Much like Chiikawa its the little world building details that elevate it from just another cutesy comedy. But don't get me wrong it is a cutesy comedy.

On a whole other track, Keimusho no Naka by Kazuichi Hanawa (licensed as Doing Time back in 2004), was a really fascinating depiction of life in prison as told by a man who had to do time over illegal weapon possession charges. The vivid details of the interior of the prison and the oppressive routines they had to endure from the people who run it was very enlightening. Not to mention Hanawa's artistic talent is like, crazy to me.

I'm still not making promises but posting on here is something that I want to do, so I'd like to ask if there's a preference to consistent posting (queue running consistently over the span of weeks) or if occasional sporadic bursts (queue runs inconsistently or just for a couple of days at a time) is fine too

[whereistheonepiece]

2023 Books

Originally I wasn't going to share the books I read this year on here, but then I changed my mind lol. It's convenient for me.

Read

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Family of Origin by CJ Hauser

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Komori Yoko

Luster by Raven Leilani

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Fluids by May Leitz

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Convenience Store Woman by Murata Sayaka

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Memorial by Bryan Washington

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Strike the Zither by Joan He

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend by Peter Ackroyd

The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang

The Third Hotel by Laura Van Den Berg

Dune by Frank Herbert

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Hell's Paradise by Kaku Yuji

Dungeon Meshi by Kui Ryoko

Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan

Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire

Healing Your Inner Child: Re-parenting Yourself For a More Secure and Loving Life by Natasha Levinger

Witchcraft Therapy by Mandi Em

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice In Her Head by Warsan Shire

Celtic Mysticism by Tracie Long

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Men in the Off Hours by Anne Carson

Ongoing

One Piece

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun by AidaIro

Dai Dark by Hayashida Q

Gokurakugai by Sano Uto

Witch Hat Atelier by Shirahama Kamome

[nanimoshitakunai]

Tired of romance but still wants some? Try this one for a change...

So, yeah...let me explain my title ahahaha

For like I even lost count on how many years it's been already, I lost complete interest in romance genre...movies, tv shows, anime, manga, music, whatever, and I've been running away from romance ever since bc I'm like ''jeez please do something new, why is it always the same story over and over again it's so tiring, exhausting, and boring for havens sake's change!!!'' and well, I kinda got that change with this anime. Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Josei or The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is an anime and work about a descendant of a Yuki-Onna (aka a Snow Woman) called Himuro who has cold powers and works at a company (no idea what they do there), and has a female colleague called Fuyutsuki who is just a normal human. The thing is, this series show two types of coldness that are just in the appearances: the 1st one's Himuro's powers - whenever he has strong emotions and feelings he snows or freezes, either himself or his surroundings; the 2nd is Fuyutsuki's personality - since she was young people called her cool and/or cold because of the way she acts, speak, and the vibe she gives off. But that's all in the appearances as I said before bc these two are basically the warmest people ever! Himuro's cute, sweet, serious but considerate, and a nice person. Same goes to Fuyutsuki but she's also very caring and lovely (she's very loved by her coworkers too)! And well, this is a romance story as well so...Himuro meets Fuyutsuki and falls in love for who she is and, it takes a little but she also falls for him BUT they're both adults who never had romantic experiences in their lives before so they're also discovering how to act around each other and discovering their love! The other 4 people on this poster are 2 other couple, Komori a Yoko (Fox Spirit) descendant and Saejima a normal human, and Katori a Phoenix descendant and Otonashi a normal human. Komori has ears and a tale like a fox and also loves tofu - she likes Saejima and he likes her back. Katori has small wings, has a power to make small fireworks wherever he is and a "resurrection power" that it is not literal haha - he likes Otonashi and even though she may not admit it, she likes him back. The story is mainly about Himuro and Fuyutsuki but it's also nice to see the other 2 couples work their love and also witness Himuro and Fuyutsuki's love, even trying to help them whenever they can.

There's only one season that debuted this year with just 12 episodes but it is SO DAMN NICE for someone who wants something else than just normal romance and it is a SO DAMN CUTE ANIME!!!!! When watching it I was always like "damn just be together" but also "DAMN THEY'RE SO CUTE AND THEY'RE LEARNING AND THE RESPECT!!!!! AND THE REACTIONS AND CUTENESS I'MMA DIE" AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA I really think this is kind of a different romance anime, if I'm wrong I'm sorry but it's the only romance I did watch in I don't even know how many years now and loved it from the bottom of my heart. If you'd like, give it a chance and hope you like it!

Thanks for reading and watch this cuteness if possible :3

[worldcomics51]

Jpop annuncia l'uscita de Il paese di sabbia e di scaglie azzurre

J-Pop Manga ha annunciato l’uscita de Il paese di sabbia e di scaglie azzurre (Aoi Uroko to Suna no Machi), un’opera di Yoko Komori, al suo debutto nell’edizione italiana. Questo affascinante volume unico, caratterizzato da un elegante formato 15×21 cm con brossura e sovraccoperta, sarà disponibile nelle librerie, fumetterie e in tutti gli store online italiani a partire dal 24 luglio.

[jamesdavisnicoll]

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori

Fourteen-year-old Tokiko returns to the small town where she is convinced a merman once saved her life. Merfolk do not exist or so adult assure her. What actually happened ten years before?

[sol-em-gemeos]

[kuronekkosan]

[booksformks]

Manga Review: Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sandby Yoko Komori 5 out of 5 stars Tokiko moves with her dad to her grandmother’s town along the coast. Tokiko remembers that the last time she visited the ocean when she was only four years old, she was saved by a merman when swimming and she had started to sink. Now it is years later, and Tokiko is convinced that mermaids are real. Although the town has a…

[hisuirt]

Manga of the Month: Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori We are trying out a new format for manga of the month . . . a podcast! Learn more! Read a free preview! Get it! Join our Discord!

[reversethieves]

Manga of the Month: Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori We are trying out a new format for manga of the month . . . a podcast! Learn more! Read a free preview! Get it! Join our Discord!

[ljaesch]

Manga Review: Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is an omnibus release of the two volumes that were released in Japan. Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand Written by: Yoko Komori Publisher: Shueisha Inc. English Publisher: VIZ Media Release Date: February 21, 2023 The main character of the story is a sixth grade girl named Tokiko Aoyama. She and her father are moving from Tokyo to a village by the sea to live…