Inuyasha Manga: 362 Jail Escape

Oh hell yeah! I LOVE a good prison break! I do have a physical copy of this comic, too, so I tried to review it a little yesterday while my internet and cell service were down. It didn't quite entertain me ENOUGH to put the complete comms blackout out of my mind, though. I live out in a semi-rural area, and all my neighbors are at a physical workplace during the day, while I work full time from home, so being unable to text or call anyone or talk to anyone in the area is a tad frightening, what with the possibility of emergencies happening that I couldn't call for help with. Me alone at home plus down internet/cell service is a quick recipe for generalized anxiety, and I couldn't even relax when my husband came home with the car, because I had to drive around to try and find SOMEWHERE that had connectivity in order to belatedly inform my employers why I dropped off the face of the planet for a few hours. 

No one's quite sure what caused it. The prevailing ideas are someone crashing into a cell tower or a transformer. These things certainly WOULD cause enough damage to warrant a full 19 hours of continuous repair work by technicians, because that's about how long it took for service to be restored at last. I just wish it would have happened on a weekend, when I don't have to worry about work.

If the warden just lets you out, are you truly escaping, though?

Hakudoushi asks Kagura if she wants to know who and what Goryoumaru is, as if goading her into opening that grate to examine him properly, the little weasel. Goryoumaru himself watches the exchange through the grate wordlessly, waiting. Kagura says that Naraku told her NOT to let Goryoumaru out, wondering what Hakudoushi is up to now. Hakudoushi smirks, concluding that Kagura is afraid of crossing Naraku. Chances are, he wouldn't even care about her reasons for that, even if he HAD heard about the consequences she's already endured. 

Kagura just frowns at him, so he's forced to resume the conversation himself, offering her ONE bit of information: it won't benefit Kagura to follow Naraku's orders and protect Goryoumaru. He turns to leave, telling her to think carefully about what he's just said to her. She scoffs at his back as he climbs the stairs out of the prison, contemplating how it SEEMED an awful lot like Hakudoushi was actually encouraging her to betray Naraku. As if that would benefit her any MORE to listen to Hakudoushi, lol.

She sits with her back to the grating, which is brave of her with the youkai devourer in the cell behind her, and wonders yet again why Naraku has locked Goryoumaru up. The tendrils from Goryoumaru's arm approach the grating and are shocked when they touch it, which I guess is why she feels pretty comfortable turning her back on the prisoner, as she asks herself if this is benefiting Naraku in some way. She then remembers the exact wording of what Hakudoushi told her earlier, and it gives her pause. 

What a difference wording makes. 

Goryoumaru is still poking at the grating with his arm-tendrils as Kagura turns to look at him again, recalling that time Hakudoushi APPARENTLY beheaded him, and the fact that the baby, Naraku's heart, was there in the same place. Goryoumaru suddenly decides to speak, asking a surprised Kagura to CHOOSE. He asks her if she'll die serving under Naraku or use her will to break free of this prison with him and live longer. How MUCH longer he conspicuously leaves out. 

Sweatdropping and cursing him in her head, Kagura asks Goryoumaru what he wants her to do. 

Girl, do NOT fall for this garbage. 

Kagura catches the implication for her to break the statues, taking out her fan.

The Rakan statues shatter, and a phantom wind lifts Goryoumaru's hair, the tendrils of his demon arm shooting out and waving wildly. 

Dammit Kagura!

Good thing we cut to a hilly landscape during the day, because I didn't want to dwell in how disappointed I am in Kagura. Inuyasha and company are in the remains of a ruined village, arrows sticking out of broken carts and scattered detritus. Sango suggests it's the work of bandits, and Miroku agrees, saying that it looks like it's been several days since the attack happened. But Kagome makes her own suggestion that this might not have been done by regular bandits. She indicates a strange semi-circular chunk taken out of a nearby thatch roof, saying something blew away that part of it. 

Later, Miroku asks a couple of old villagers about their rumor about bandits carrying some strange weapons, and they affirm that these bandits have been attacking villages in the area lately. Sango asks what kind of weapon they're talking about, but one of the men says that though he asked some of the survivors about it, they could only say it was a bright strange thing. Inuyasha and Kagome look on curiously from the sidelines. 

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Sango asks Miroku what they should do about this, and Miroku says that while he's concerned about it, he's observed that the sun will be going down soon, and it would behoove them to go find some safe shelter for the night. He defers to Inuyasha for confirmation, but Inuyasha says he's fine going after these bandits. Kagome says that they can't, she and Shippou reminding him that tonight is a new moon, Shippou in particular emphasizing that Inuyasha transforms into a wimpy human on this night and everyone will have to protect him. Real subtle, kid. 

Inuyasha casts an annoyed look into his periphery before grabbing Shippou from Kagome's shoulder and stretching the cheeks of his little face as far as they'll go. The kid can barely protest through his stretched mouth, while Inuyasha asks him if the word "wimpy" is supposed to refer to himself. Seems he's gotten past the stage where he's worried about randos learning about his little secret. 

Cut to nighttime, another strangely empty building, where the crew is sleeping soundly, save Inuyasha, who sits against a wall in a corner behind Miroku. 

Big WHOOP, dude. Do you know how many things concern me on a daily basis? 

Inuyasha perks at a question about what's up with him, Miroku casually suggesting that he can't sleep while he's human because he's scared. Inuyasha immediately gets defensive about the way Miroku is speaking to him, but Miroku shushes him. He sits up and asks Inuyasha if he's hearing something suspicious too, the sounds of soft hoof beats from beyond the door. Sango, Kagome and Shippou all awaken to it as well as it gets louder. 

A narrow sky transition panel takes us into the village where a couple of men are yelling into houses for everyone to get up, because bandits have come.

I see something familiar with the guy on the right. He uses it in the very next panel, in fact, shooting a blinding light at a group of villagers who dive out of the way of the blast. 

Miroku and Kagome have gone outside to assess the commotion, the latter stating that the flash of light is coming from the direction of the village. Inuyasha hurries to catch up with Miroku, asking for confirmation that the bandits have attacked it, but all Miroku does is command him to stay behind with Kagome. Oooooh, look who's in charge now. Inuyasha barks at him to wait, but Miroku has already hopped on the transformed Kirara with Sango, who calls back to Inuyasha that the two of them should be enough to solve the issue. 

Narrow sky transition panel to where a huddled group of villagers are cowering on the ground before an advancing horse. Its rider chuckles that this is all GREAT fun, the light shooting weapon at his arm glowing ominously. 

Hope she knocked some sense into this guy.

The babbling villagers gape at the intimidating flying saber-toothed cat sweeping in front of them, and Miroku hopping off to assure them seriously that everything will be okay now. The guy Hiraikotsu hit upside the head seems to have recovered from the light blow, and asks who the hell these challengers are. I love it when Hiraikotsu tears straight through youkai, but can't even give a human a concussion. This guy turns to the guy who fired the first light beam, telling him to waste the newcomers first. He's only too quick to comply, raising that very familiar weapon on his shoulder with a gleeful giggle. Sango and Miroku are shocked to recognize right away the Goryou pots that Goryoumaru's little child soldiers were carrying around up until recently. Couldn't say WHY this is surprising to them, considering there were plenty of clues that this is exactly what they were going to find. 

Back at the current base, Inuyasha turns to Kagome and asks if Miroku and Sango aren't a bit late. She tells him that they only JUST left, implying that maybe he should be more patient. It's never been is strong suit, of course. Internally, Inuyasha curses, irritated with just sitting here. Or nervous, but there's no way this kid would want to use THAT word, even in his head. 

Ugh, why couldn't you just STAY beheaded?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Goryoumaru's storyline has become so convoluted and his motivations so bizarrely obscure that I'm not sure RT even knows what she's going for here. I appear to have no real memory of this part of it, despite having read this story three times prior to this, which probably says something about the quality of it and how difficult it is to integrate into the wider plot. I guess we'll only know for sure once I've put down my thoughts on it, but in the meantime, I have a few questions. 

Why would Kagura listen to Hakudoushi in ANY respect? This is the little brat who has been a Naraku favorite since his "birth", and has abused her every chance he's gotten. She clearly doesn't trust him, wondering what he's up to because it's natural for her to assume that his untrustworthy ass is attempting some kind of subterfuge. So what in the actual hell is she doing going ahead and letting Goryoumaru out of his cell at his suggestion? It would make sense for her to release him if she concludes that doing so might sabotage Naraku and his plans in some way, but she doesn't need input from Hakudoushi OR Goryoumaru in order for her to make this calculation, and in fact it should count AGAINST it in order to hear from either one of them. They admitted to her that Goryoumaru is an asset, so we SHOULD be seeing her weighing whether the danger to Goryoumaru outside the cell is enough that she can risk setting him free so he can stumble into death, not just being overcome with curiosity about who and what he IS to Naraku.

Which brings me to my biggest question: if Goryoumaru is an ASSET that needs protecting, precisely WHAT does he need protection FROM, and under WHAT circumstances COULD he be released? Did Naraku have a PLAN for when this guy was unleashed on the world, or is his freedom more of a liability, like Kagura's? I doubt that there IS even a plan, but since I can't seem to remember, I guess I'll just have to take the arc as it comes. 

Again. For the fourth time. Ugh.

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 062 The Second Round Begins!!

Ready or not, I suppose. While Team Urameshi might be in a tight spot strength-wise, I don't know if I'm particularly concerned about their ability to pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat. It's not as though we haven't seen them do it before. Wish I could say the same about certain upcoming battles on THIS side of the screen, which look somewhat promising, but I've stopped trusting my lying eyes in that regard. No matter how things tend to LOOK, there always seems to be a confluence of stupidity that grips everyone involved and disappoints the shit out of me. 

But at least I can count on fiction to satisfy my desire to see the triumph of good over literal demonic forces. 

Wait, did I miss several things? 

A close up on a couple of the mourners shows that they're quite familiar - the guy with the ponytail and the one with the forehead scar whose battle Kurama observed with such dreadful admiration are here, but they're actually EXPRESSIVE. They're literally lamenting that their bedridden master could have been saved with surgery they couldn't afford, and all I can say is: welcome to the club, boys. They apparently owe their master an awful lot, for his taking them in and raising them and teaching them disciplines of the body and soul, the last of which would seem like a bit of a red flag in another story that didn't revolve around some more specific examples of such. Granted, those examples aren't exactly NOT abuse either, soooooo...

The guy with the forehead scar insists there must be something they can do, but the master, though he's touched by their heartfelt regard, asserts that he's not all that important. He asks them if they're all ready, and the fair-haired kid flat out denies the need to be ready, saying the master needs to get better, whatever it takes. 

Suddenly, the guy with the chin from that very same team Kurama was watching, Ichigaki, appears and promises to cure the master at no cost! A little too generous to be true, but these disciples are desperate, making themselves the BEST marks. Right on cue, Ichigaki says there is ONE condition, as there ALWAYS is, and while one of the disciples asks what it is, another says it doesn't matter and they'll do anything. Ichigaki points out the very three Kurama saw in battle and asks if they'd be willing to take part in a little experiment of his. 

Cut to Kuwabara sitting up and scratching the back of his head sleepily in bed. A trailing bit of dialog from Ichigaki leaking out into reality for him a moment, him saying that the aforementioned experiment is nothing too complicated and punctuating this with a phlegmy chuckle. Kuwabara mutters this is a weird dream. 

Later, he's telling Yusuke about this, and Yusuke hums that the name Ichigaki sounds rather familiar. Does it? Do you think you might have read it somewhere before and somehow interpreted it as ANOTHER name? The topic shifts to Kurama and Hiei not having returned to the hotel room yet. As the boys drink a couple of canned soft drinks for breakfast, Kuwabara scoffs that he thought Hell would reopen as an ice rink before those two ran off. His expressions are so VERY colorful, lol. Yusuke sets down his drink and turns a confident smile on Kuwabara, asserting that they'll turn up. 

As they're on their way, someone stands in their way and greets them with congratulations for their performance in the first round of the tournament. Once again, Yusuke's powers of recognition can't be beat, identifying the voice and STUPID pacifier of the speaker, though he looks quite a bit older. Koenma affirms that it's him, his human world version anyway. Or his rave version. Yusuke is absolutely gobsmacked that this is Koenma after all, then after a little freakout, tells him he humanizes pretty well, but he asks if Koenma can't DITCH the most juvenile part of his getup. They engage in a little fourth-wall bullying as Yusuke tells him the READERS are freaking, and Koenma responds that it's too bad for them. Little does Yusuke know that we've already seen and gotten used to this version of him. 

Too bad your little announcement was further ruined by your own feel next to your face, Koenma. 

While he's here, Koenma DOES want to talk about that egg he gave Yusuke a while back though. Yusuke reacts with confusion, adopting a clueless kitten face (whiskers, ears, and everything) and scratching his head. Koenma loses his absolute SHIT as he shouts in Yusuke's face the reminder that the egg was SUPPOSED to hatch when he came back to life, and when Yusuke makes a noise of recollection, gets pissy about THAT too. Man, he is TOUCHY today. 

Vein popping and sweatdropping, Koenma mutters that it's "out of sight, out of mind" he supposes. Well, what do you expect, when the egg DIDN'T hatch when Yusuke woke up? Koenma quickly reviews with Yusuke the circumstances of his revival, which were quite a bit sooner than planned, because body and soul had to be in tune with each other and the intersection of those two lines was quite LONG. Koenma informs Yusuke that, as a result, the egg returned to the underworld unhatched, but it's STILL growing, drawing on Yusuke's soul energy to do so. We see the egg in a little nest near a pillar in a dark room, pulsing slightly, while Koenma concludes that its hatching is now immanent.

Once it does so, whatever hatchling emerges...

... Is Yusuke still in danger of being devoured by it as well?

Naively, Yusuke declares that this is great, and the wait must have been worth it then. A still annoyed Koenma mumbles that's right, clearly giving up on re-explaining the whole thing to this dense kid. He changes the subject to ask how Yusuke's training with Genkai is going, if he's getting good practice in the meditative arts. Through a grimace, Yusuke says that he's actually still working on the basics of reiki, having progressed to making explosive bursts of aura and focusing them on a target. Sounds like what you've been doing this whole time, kiddo. Silently, Koenma descends even DEEPER into his irritation that Yusuke has "progressed" to the most basic of basics, and supposing that Yusuke really only responds combat experience. He thinks that perhaps this highly biased tournament might be just what the doctor ordered, ironically. 

Continuing to march down the corridor, Yusuke invites his teammates to go and win this thing with him, so he can watch that egg hatch. Kuwabara silently bets that Yusuke has forgotten entirely that he can't use his Reigun. There's a high probability, I agree.

We cut to a wooded area outside the arena, where Hiei is standing with arm outstretched in the trees. Someone asks him if he's okay, and he glares into his periphery where Kurama sits perched on a nearby branch behind him. Hiei affirms he's fine and asks the reason for the question in the first place, prompting Kurama to respond with yet another question about whether Hiei really intends to keep fighting with only one good arm. Echoing my own thoughts, Hiei basically says he doesn't have much of a choice, and that Kurama knows as well as HE does that NONE of them can escape. 

Can't even take a walk in the woods here without someone trying to erase you, apparently. 

Back inside the arena, the simply UNPLEASABLE crowd complains about the teams that are presented below are incomplete. Indeed, Ichigaki and his three human fighters fall short of the prescribed five members, and Yusuke's team is just him, their "mystery" teammate, and a grimacing Kuwabara at the moment. It's disturbing to Kuwabara that these guys they're facing are STRAIGHT out of the dream from which he woke just a few minutes ago. 

Koto instructs both team leaders to step forward for the short initial conference on how the battle/s will take place. 

Do I dare to imagine that this dude is making a joke about his OWN stature here? 

Ichigaki holds up three long fingers, asking if Yusuke will accept a single match that is his three against theirs. Yusuke says he doesn't see why that shouldn't happen, but asks if Ichigaki himself will be sitting out. With his phlegmy chuckle, Ichigaki says he's just the team advisor and an alternate, and he expects his "dear" boys to do the fighting. Yusuke gives him a critical look, and Ichigaki starts explaining how demons generally think humans are poor fighters, but he knows different. He calls humans like Yusuke and his boys quite talented, capable of becoming excellent killing machines when properly trained and CONDITIONED. 

Just in case this heavy hint didn't get his message across, Ichigaki blurts that he has a DREAM to create the ultimate biological weapons, perfect slaughter machines that will do his bidding without fear or question. Seems like more of a nightmare to me, but I'm not a little worm who can't do their own fighting, so what do I know? Ichigaki indicates his three fighters behind him, who he calls prototypes, and he had to pull a few strings to get them, but it's been worth it, and this battle should be a fine one. 

Yusuke is glaring when he asks Ichigaki if he's DONE already. He IS talking an awful lot, which gives me the impression that he won't have much of an opportunity to exposit like this LATER. Ichigaki says he's ALMOST finished, also expressing an interest in Yusuke and Kuwabara specifically, asking if Yusuke cares to make a little bet. 

I feel like that would have been the natural next step anyway. 

Ichigaki turns around and walks off, chuckling again that it's a bet. He thinks this is falling in line fine with his simulations, and Yusuke's team has only a one in fifty chance of winning this match without Kurama and Hiei. But before he can fuck off to the sidelines, the "mystery" teammate has come to stand beside Yusuke, suggesting they make this a bit more interesting and do a Battle Royale style thing. Hm, I thought that WAS what was being proposed in the beginning. I guess I just assumed, and you know what they say about people who do THAT. 

Pausing a moment in his retreat, Ichigaki appears to make a few new mental calculations. When his brain dings and the figure comes out to be an over 99% chance of victory for him, he wears a VERY disturbing grin as he turns toward them again, like he's trying desperately not to laugh evilly and give away the game. Instead, he does one of his phlegmy chuckles and says his team accepts. Man, I very much doubt those guys on your team can decide what to have for DINNER, let alone how they would like to fight in this thing. 

I've never met a man who makes all his decisions based on statistics who wasn't devastated a good majority of the time. 

Meanwhile, Kuwabara is thinking that the shrimp boat "mystery" teammate has a good point, because they can all cover for each other, especially Yusuke. Clearly he's still brooding on Yusuke's disempowered Reigun. Anyway, he hopes they can grab a comeback victory from this particular strategy. Still, he mumbles with his usual grimace that reality is shaping up to be a lot like his weird dream. Hate it when that happens. 

The "mystery" teammate says that she's seen the three opposite combatants before, much to Kuwabara's surprise. She tells him they're students of a well-known martial artist, great men and loyal to their master, and unwavering in their training. Seeing them here like this seems like a very sad devolution of affairs for them. Kuwabara says that this lines up with his dream, and declares Ichigaki must have brainwashed them in some way, making them fight against their wills. This idea certainly corresponds to the completely blank looks the opposition is giving Yusuke and company. 

Koto announces the beginning of the match. 

No hesitation. No fear.

The guy with the forehead scar flies at them with hand raised, calling out his "Hound Claw" attack. Yusuke is thinking of blocking left and kicking right, but the "mystery" teammate calls for he and Kuwabara to jump back, to both their surprise. They do just as she commands, though, just as the claw is coming down. Forehead Scar creates a crater in the platform with his blow. The one with the mustache immediately raises his own hand to pick up where his fellow left off. 

Is that the stadium wall? This isn't exactly the clearest panel.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Real cheeky of YT to put HIS forgetting all about his egg subplot onto his main character there. Granted, I don't blame him; the egg was kind of half-baked as an idea to begin with. I'm sure there were reasons why he had to speed up Yusuke's resurrection (my money's on the editors and publishers aligning the comic to trends in the market), and a natural byproduct of that is the egg getting lost in the sudden shuffle. And hey, props to him for remembering and tying it back into his main story line so it doesn't just end up a dangling dead end. 

The way Kuwabara's psychic dream acts as a kind of focal point to the chapter is interesting, and how it shapes his attitude toward his opponents should give the fight more emotional weight than it might have otherwise had. Yeah, it's not difficult for Yusuke or the "mystery" teammate to see that these guys are not fighting of their own free will, but while Yusuke just seems angry on their behalf, and there's a detached sadness in "mystery", Kuwabara is the one who can manage true, deep empathy with these guys. It's the difference between a reluctant "putting them out of their misery" default mode, and an actual attempt to bring them to their senses and save them. Which will make the match all the more difficult for Yusuke's team, because that's bound to be a much more challenging task. 

As for Ichigaki, he sure does belong at this tournament, perhaps more than ANYONE else. He has something in common with the organizers: exploiting others' labor for profit and personal gain. I thought it was a bit funny that he tried to pass it off as a compliment that humans made good killing machines if they're properly programmed. Like the owner of a mine praising his miners for digging in the dark so well for him. 

Inuyasha Manga: 361 Concealed Feelings

As much as I advocate for being honest and open about one's feelings, I do HAVE to admit there are times when it's best to keep them close to your breast. For instance, if you would needlessly or cruelly hurt someone else by letting some nasty opinions fly, it's probably not worth it. If something is otherwise not your business and no one asked, everyone would be better served if you just kept that shit to yourself. That being said, I recognize that we're on the internet, and it's kind of the whole point to scream your weirdest and most controversial notions into the digital void, my own blog being a prime example of such behavior. Considering how many subreddits there are devoted to confessing things and getting advice on how to deal with feelings, I'd say this medium is probably the WORST place to try and keep any of your feelings secret. 

It's like the very OPPOSITE of Las Vegas in here. 

I have no doubt that this kid's terror is concealed behind his mask of possession, but that's a different, non-autonomous issue altogether. 

Inuyasha is peeved by the fact that he can't just kill the youkai outright since it's possessed the kid, deeming this "hitoukon" a pretty annoying youkai. We all have our little tricks for survival, don't we? Inuyasha perceives something coming up behind him and looks over his shoulder to call out Kohaku for following him, citing his untrickable nose. Unless the plot demands it be fooled, of course. 

Kohaku pauses in a nearby tree, and Sango looks down to also identify her little brother from her perch on Kirara. Inuyasha shouts his assumption that he's on the pursuit under Naraku's orders, questioning if this mere annoyance of a youkai is really THAT special. Kohaku glares, keeping his negative answer silent, as well as his explanation that he NEEDS to save Daichi and return him to his father's side.

He tosses the weighted end of his chain at Daichi's flying form with a grunt, and it sails past a surprised Inuyasha and wraps around the child's ankle. Sango thinks on Kohaku with some disbelief, but that's AS she's already reaching under one of her shoulder compartments. She's still got a job to do after all, and she IS a professional. She tosses what looks like some kind of power into Daichi's face. 

Hard to believe a creature that large was crammed all around this kid's eye.

Kohaku watches with alarm as Daichi begins to fall, but Sango barks at Inuyasha to take care of him. Inuyasha catches the poor kid by the ankle carelessly, asking Sango what should be done about the escaping hitoukon. Sango catches its fleeing movement out of her periphery and curses, wheeling Kirara around and shouting that she's going after it. At least Inuyasha is holding Daichi in a more comfortable cradled postion, but he complains about being left behind to babysit. I SHUDDER to think about him trying to actually care for a kid, lol.

Inuyasha turns at the call of his name, and sees Shippou mounted on Kagome's shoulder while she runs to him, as usual, and Miroku has lifted Daichi's dad onto his back to carry him along too. Wasn't his ARM hurt? Why does he need a ride? Apparently, Miroku is none too pleased about how HEAVY he is too. Is this mountain peasant too FAT for you, Miroku? 

Once Daichi's dad is sitting on the ground and Daichi has been deposited into his lap, the others loiter around them as father asks his son to hang in there. Daichi eventually opens his eyes and after a confused pause, identifies his dad's face looking down on him. 

I don't blame the guy, I would be bawling too. 

In the nearby trees, it appears Kohaku has been sitting and listening. At the very least, he looks back over his shoulder before he jumps to the next branch, offering a silent apology to the father and son duo he got mixed up in all this. He's not willing to just let the hitoukon go, and apparently he doesn't trust his sister to take care of it either, despite the massive head start she got on him in pursuing it. 

In a field of waving tall grass and sparse trees, a wild boar steps up on a rock, its left eye surrounded in that now familiar hitoukon scarring. Its beady eyes narrow right before A sickle soars through the air and straight into the boar's affected eye. Kohaku is, of course, on the other end. Wow, was it really that easy this WHOLE time?? As Kohaku looks on the writhing hitoukon pinned under the point of his sickle in the boar's cheek, he wonders at the apparent fact that his sister DIDN'T catch it before him. 

A voice says that since the hitoukon are weak to anti-youkai poisons, it'll wither away soon. 

And you're having bacon for dinner. It's a win-win. 

Sango asks Kohaku why he's not leaving, and whether he was trying to save the father and son. He remains silent, overtly cautious, though Sango concludes that he's a nice kid after all. Redemption from committing and supporting mass murders is just a small good deed away, it seems. Sango clings to this small bit of evidence that her brother hasn't lost his human heart, despite his working under Naraku. 

Meanwhile, Kohaku is thinking that he REALLY can't afford for anyone to realize that his memory has returned, including (maybe ESPECIALLY), his sister. He has to continue to pretend he's being controlled in order to proceed with his ultimate goal of slaying Naraku, so when Sango takes a step toward him, starting to extend a hand, he tells her firmly to stay back. At last, he SPEAKS. Sango halts, sweating as she withdraws her hand to her chest again. 

Yeah, that's right kid, explain yourself. That DEFINITELY doesn't indicate an active, thinking, independent mind. 

When Sango calls out to him, appearing to lunge in his direction to stop him leaving, perhaps, he snaps at her not to follow him and tosses his sickle at her. She blocks the attack with Hiraikotsu, calling after him to come back as he runs into the surrounding forest. He does not, and she kneels in the grass in devastation. 

Later, when the rest of the group catches up to her and she's asked by Kagome about why she let Kohaku get away, she murmurs that she doesn't know how she'd handle Kohaku even if she restrained him, hanging her head. She voices her continued understanding that Kohaku's heart is still controlled by Naraku. It's not as though Sango hasn't tried that before, after all. 

Kagome argues that Kohaku was trying to save Daichi and his father, and Sango agrees, but she's still very wary about taking her initial thoughts about Kohaku returning to normal at face value. You know what they say:

Or perhaps in this case it's more like bitten so many times that you can't help but flinch whenever someone leans in for a kiss. 

Returning to innocence was never an option, no matter WHAT Enigma says. 

Kohaku is still convinced he has to finish off Naraku with his own hand. He recalls what Kagura told him about the youki crystal providing a clue to the location of Naraku's heart, the color of it vanishing whenever one gets close, but he notes that this hasn't happened ONCE since he got the damn thing, including now when he takes it out to examine it as he's running. Hope he's at least keeping ONE eye on the road, because even walking through the woods can be a hazard when you're not watching where you're going. Ask me how I know. 

The kid can't help but impatiently wonder where in the WORLD Naraku's heart is. 

Cut to the prison building on the jagged mountainside, where a number of youkai are slithering through the grate keeping Goryoumaru in his cell. 

Apparently imprisoning him wasn't enough. But at least he's making lemonade. Little tendrils come out of his demon arm and seize the pieces of youkai the light youkai killed, drawing the debris into the arm like tongues into a mouth. A glow emits from the arm as it consumes the youkai, Kagura watching from the other side of the grate. After acknowledging his taking in of the youkai flesh, Kagura asks just what the hell Goryoumaru is and why Naraku locked him up. She doesn't bother to add another question as to why Naraku releases the youkai Goryoumaru hunted into his prison over and over for Goryoumaru to consume. One query at a time is a good policy. 

Why should she do that when she can just have a civilized conversation for answers? 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Kohaku's not much better at this spy thing than Kagura it seems. His explanation and the way he lashed out at Sango with the demand not to follow him just SCREAMED that he is absolutely conscious now. He was doing well for a little while, keeping his speaking to a minimum and not doing anything overtly indicating sentience, but there at the end he kind of lost it. There's a possibility that all his flashbacks shook his resolve JUST enough to try to communicate his consciousness to his sister while he doubled down on his role. He acknowledges that he can't go back to Sango, can't return to how things were, but there's no doubt still a part of him that longs to reach out for those human connections again. After all, why else would he have agreed to stay the night with the father and son in the first place?

It's very much like how Sango herself reflexively reaches for any kernel of Kohaku's humanity, as her rational mind rejects that he can be free of Naraku. To me, it's really obvious from Kohaku's behavior and little speech that he's back to himself again, and Sango herself admits that she too thought he was behaving fairly normal at first. But she doesn't offer any evidence that he's actually not, because her skepticism has nothing to do with evidence and everything to do with the fact that she couldn't stand to find out that he's still under Naraku's thrall again. Who can really blame her, when she's had her hopes crushed over and over? It's clear she's trying to protect her feelings and sanity from another shock, just as Kohaku is trying to spare himself the heartache of a fantasy that he'll be able to return to his sister's side. 

Tragedy though it is, there is some wisdom in their resistance to their fondest hopes and wishes. You can never go back home, at least not as you remember it, and everyone to some extent understands this fundamental truth of life. When eventually their reunion CAN happen, an entirely new reality will have to be built, an entirely new relationship. Going back to the way things were is an absolute impossibility, so at least they're right about THAT part. 

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 061 Top Eight Line-Up!!

Since I moved into my house, I've had a bunch of ideas in my head about what I wanted to do with it to make it more MINE, but lacked the clarity of vision to actually get them done. Finally, after a lot of thinking, planning, prioritizing, and SAVING, I've gotten started. The first thing I've decided is that I need my office to be a bit more private. There was a big open frame that didn't really keep the space separate from the living room and kitchen beyond, and I wanted a door in there. But not just any door.

Yeah, I went all out and had a hidden bookcase door installed! On the right side third shelf, there is a book latch that you pull out to open the door, and my office is just beyond. It's more practical than you might assume, because it's providing us with SO much more shelf space - we were running out, and our favorite books were really overflowing from our existing bookcases. I just figured, why not kill two birds with one stone and combine new shelves and a door? 

As for the giant window that you can just see the edge of in the picture, I've hung a wool blanket from a native artist over it, but I'm not sure what else to do with it yet. I'll find inspiration somewhere, I'm sure.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the big tournament with all this home improvement excitement. I'm informed by the first panel of the chapter that it's Day Two, and Yusuke's team is off doing their own thing because they're not fighting at the moment. 

This guy sure was though. Yikes. 

There's a dude on the losing team with some branching growths out of his head that resemble twiggy antlers, except that there are more than just a pair. He's expressing relief that the match ended at 3-0 before he had to compete, because he seems to have concluded that he wouldn't have stood a single chance. His head snaps backward, a blurred limb smacking him hard enough to send what looks like a tooth flying. 

I don't know, even if I were a minotaur, I would think twice about challenging a guy with THAT chin on him.

But the minotaur MOOs and charges the opposite team, yelling at them to "very much die". A stunning vocabulary. A guy with shaggy, fair hair twirls what looks like halos around his wrists and fingers, declaring the attack he's going to use with them "Angel Chakram". The other guy from before with the forehead scar says his attack is "Hound Claw". Yet another dude with a dark ponytail and mustache remains silent as he snaps his fingers. 

The minotaur punches, but the kid with the halos jumps up behind him and slashes his left arm clean off with the one in his hand. The second guy punches right through the other arm, eliciting a scream from the minotaur. Then, as the minotaur is bleeding through both stumps of his arms and teetering in disbelief and shock, he's approached by the guy with the ponytail, who starts to gesture rapidly. 

Your team sure isn't looking all that thrilled about it, chin-guy.

Kurama is standing on a walkway ringing the stands and arena below, identifying three human auras in that team. I'm sure it's not a surprise which three are the humans. He looks thoughtful, arms crossed, as he questions why ANOTHER team would use humans. He ends up betting that those guys are NOT here of their own free will, and looks downcast, melancholy at this personal conclusion. 

Meanwhile, someone's telling Keiko something doesn't make sense - it's Botan, both she and Keiko sitting facing one another on a BIG hotel bed, big enough for them to be separated by a fair amount. Despite both girls wearing PJs, the bed looks professionally made and unrumpled. Botan elaborates that the thing she doesn't get is why Keiko hasn't gone to see Yusuke, since she said she was going to clobber the guy. After a heavy pause, head hanging, Keiko says she doesn't want to interfere. Botan protests that Keiko's presence couldn't be a distraction, and it could only INSPIRE Yusuke, but she looks on with pity as Keiko says that if she sees Yusuke, she might tell him to stop. With a sad little smile, she points out that Yusuke looks actually HAPPY in his element, not at all like that angry and sullen young man he was a short time ago. 

Is Botan gonna tell her that this is the same guy who almost accepted his death without complaint at the beginning of this because he didn't think anyone would miss him and he had no future?

Botan DOES look sad as she says Keiko's name, but before she can press the issue or say anything more, a clearly intoxicated Atsuko pops up and says Keiko is sweetly standing by her man and she reminds her of herself. I'd like to hear THAT story. Usual cigarette hanging from her lips, Shizuru appears to be a bit tipsy too, and to have thrown an arm around Botan as she tells her to go ahead and drink up because she'll allow it just this once, in a very intimate FLIRTY kind of way. ShizuruXBotan? I'd be WAY more down with that than what we got in the ANIME for Shizuru, that's for sure. 

There's a call to drink to the victory of Team Urameshi, but Shizuru darkly says her brother had BETTER win his next match, or ELSE. Yikes. 

Elsewhere, in a copse of trees, a sneeze rings out. It seems to have come from an irate Kuwabara, whose nose drips as he angrily asks Yusuke what he means that his Reigun is kaput. Face all bandaged up, Yusuke looks critically at his forefinger, saying that it seems to be the case. Kuwabara dismisses this, as though he wasn't JUST freaking out about it a moment ago, saying Yusuke is just beat from yesterday. He tells Yusuke that his own body hurts all over, though it's not as bad as it had been before. But Yusuke denies that's the case for him, admitting that though he was pretty exhausted after firing four shots in one day during training, and his Reigun didn't have much oomph, but he's unable to summon ANY aura now. Kuwabara looks serious as he says that this isn't good, and Yusuke expresses some curiosity as to WHY this happened to begin with. 

A voice from behind him says that it's because that split-second decision he made sucked him dry. 

... So time to load up on calories? 

Yusuke and Kuwabara stare at their "mystery" teammate for a moment, and then lean in to have a whispered conference nose to nose. At least, I ASSUME it's whispered, even though YT used THOUGHT bubbles rather than speech bubbles. You see, Kuwabara admits he had thought the masked teammate was Genkai, but her voice is WAY too young to be hers, and demands to know who this actually is. Yusuke echoes Kuwabara's confusion, because he TOO had assumed it was Genkai, but now he's not sure what to think. You guys are SO SIMPLE. 

The "mystery" teammate glares at them a moment, then continues her stroll, advising Yusuke not to use his Reigun until he's fully recovered, or he'll ruin his arm, much like someone ELSE they know. 

Oh buddy, you done fucked up REAL bad. 

Back in the arena, Koto is announcing the fourth match of the day, and the final preliminary round, which seems to get Kurama's very uneasy attention. The winner of this one will fill the final slot in the top eight, and then lots will be drawn for the final order of battle. Of course, the winners of the previous tournament are given a special welcome by Koto, Team Toguro represented by the junior brother in his placid expression and sunglasses himself. 

Surely that assessment doesn't include your brother? 

One of the guys holding a long weapon expresses some disbelief, and the big one in the back with the axe asks if Toguro wants to go five-on-one. Toguro responds that they could do that OR make it a process of elimination, it doesn't much matter to him. Laughter erupts, and the general impression that Toguro's one tournament win has gone to his head goes around the arena. It's agreed that the match will be five-on-one, with the supposition that this is quite a risible development. Koto asks Toguro if he's sure about this, and he says he's pretty sure, asking her to stay sharp as well. No doubt so she can report accurately on how he smears these guys across the platform. At least that's what I'm assuming he means. 

Koto announces the beginning of the match, and the spike-collared one with the hammer raises his weapon over his head with a roar. Toguro says that he respects this guy's courage, promising to give him 45%. Wow, almost HALF, nothing to scoff at. He bulks up, then, with a splatter of blood, he not only punches through the hammer-guy's torso, but he also SOMEHOW takes out the head of the guy that was lurking behind him. Then he turns to the guy with the axe and smirks, saying that this isn't a great day for the big guys. 

Wait, how did this dude even suggest the five-on-one match if his mouth is all sewn shut?

The other two on the team are slaughtered quickly off-panel, and Toguro with his frown and bloody fist is declared the winner, his team to fill the eighth slot. A stony-faced Kurama thinks on how amazing that kind of power is. 

Info boxes tell us that the final eight teams congregate and start preparing for their upcoming matches, which are to be determined by "fair lottery". The quotation marks aren't my addition, they are in the text, which suggests that there's something LESS than fair about the lottery. Yusuke reads off a piece of paper that they're up against Team Toguro, and Kuwabara grimaces at that paper over his shoulder. He says he's not the least surprised, quite convinced already that the lottery was rigged, or he's a snow macaque. Either way, he's in danger of being CULLED. 

Uuuuhhhhh, can Yusuke not read this tournament tree? It shows they're going to fight Team Ichigaki. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? There's quite a bit going on in this chapter, and everyone seems to have their own lurking insecurities. The only ones who aren't expressing any sort of SPECIFIC issues are Kurama and the masked teammate, but that doesn't mean there's nothing going on with them. Kurama is looking pretty impressed with the competition, but not THRILLED to have to face them. As for our mystery teammate, her voice makes her identity far less assured for Yusuke and Kuwabara. I guess they must have been pretending not to have their ideas about who she was this whole time, because they seem genuinely shocked that it's not Genkai's usual voice coming out of the mask.

Yusuke and Hiei appear to be in a real pickle with their conditions; both of them are going to have to hope for not only a delayed match, but also that their less-to-uninjured teammates are able to stretch as long as possible until at least Yusuke can fully recover. Hiei's situation seems to be much more dire, given that the current prognosis is permanent damage. I still have my doubts that this is actually the case, but for now, it does beg the question how he's going to proceed in the tournament with a bum arm. Hopefully he's got something else up his OTHER sleeve. 

Keiko's resignation to let Yusuke just DO this with no pushback is... a little bizarre to me. Granted, her protests, in the form of beatings or lectures alike, wouldn't make one iota of difference. The fact of the matter is that Yusuke doesn't have a choice, having been in too deep the moment that Toguro decided he was going to "invite" him to the tournament. But Keiko doesn't know that. She knows NOTHING, as usual, and I feel like she should have gotten the opportunity to learn all this through her confrontation with Yusuke. That would seem a bit more organic than Keiko just kind of shrugging and citing how happy Yusuke seems when he's getting the shit knocked out of him. 

I ASSUME that the tournament tree is mistranslated in the last panel, because in it, Team Urameshi and Team Toguro are about as far away from each other as POSSIBLE. I mean, I know Yusuke isn't the most intellectual of guys, but he didn't strike me as downright ILLITERATE!

Inuyasha Manga: 360 Memories of Father

My memories of my father are largely good - he's a fun-loving guy who is always looking out for opportunities at entertainment. When I was growing up, he had his own auto repair shop, because cars are just something he seems to intrinsically understand. If I'm not remembering spending my Fridays in that dusty, dirty shop (until we moved to the city, my rural school operated Monday-Thursday from 8am to 4pm with the notion that kids would be helping their parents with their rural work on Fridays), I'm recalling him racing dirt bikes and making funny voices and flatulent noises with his mouth. Now that he's on the older side, he's not racing those bikes anymore, but he still enjoys his street bikes and general outings to festivals and the like. Super chill guy, for the most part, so I try to remember HIM when I need to calm the fuck down all my compounding anxieties. 

Ah, the same old travel configuration.

Kagome confirms that she can sense a Shikon shard, and deduces that Kohaku is nearby. Inuyasha says that it's not just Kohaku, but a couple of other humans he can smell ahead too. Oh, so his nose has dropped its weird bias from the last chapter then? Miroku asks aloud if Kohaku is with someone else, while Sango remains silent and surly. A drop of sweat on her forehead. No doubt she's concerned about a repeat performance of the castle, even if on a smaller scale.

A narrow sky transition panel brings us back to the small house, where Kohaku and Daichi's dad are still sound asleep under their common bedclothes, the space Daichi left separating them. A close-up of Kohaku's sleeping face, brows a little drawn down, indicates the next panel is from inside his dream. A man is looking over his shoulder and shouting that someone got hurt because they weren't paying attention, and demanding they go away, because they're in the way. 

Not a very patient man, is he?

He's striding toward them in the next panel, Sango identifying him over her shoulder with a mild statement of fact. Stepping up into the room, their father asks brusquely how Kohaku's injury is, and Sango informs him it's only a graze. He sternly takes Kohaku's bandaged arm into his hands and briefly examines it, stiff and detached as he says that's good. Classic embarrassment from losing one's cool a moment ago.

Sango is somewhat brazen when she tells her father that he doesn't have to HIDE coming to see his son. He responds that he has to set an example in front of the others. An example of authoritative parenting, I guess? He looks at Kohaku and asks if he understands, clarifying that he doesn't hate him and he's not angry with him. Smiling, Kohaku affirms that he gets it. 

In the present, a voice in the darkness asks what's wrong, if he can't sleep. Kohaku looks over to where Daichi's dad is leaning his chin on the heel of his hand, propped on an elbow. Even though he didn't get and answer to his previous questions, he follows up with another about whether his wound hurts. Before an actual conversation can be had, Daichi's dad hums as he perceives a shadow passes into the room. Now he's asking his son what's wrong, because Daichi's standing there at their feet, his sickle raised. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that thing over his eye is what's wrong. 

Gaping in alarm, Kohaku lunges forward, knocking back an attempted blow on the dad by the possessed Daichi. As Daichi teeters backward, Kohaku silently identifies the possession issue, barking at Daichi's dad to stay back when the man calls to his son in confusion, leaning forward. 

Daichi leaps forward for another attack, but is intercepted by Kohaku again, sickle against sickle. Kohaku pushes Daichi back and over, swiping the possessed boy's weapon out of his hand with his own, and taking it firmly in hand so it can't be snatched back, at least not easily. Daichi lays on the straw strewn floor, wide eyes staring out blindly, and his father hurries toward him with a horrified shout. He leans over the boy and stares at that strange pattern around his left eye, though Kohaku tries to warn him about Daichi's ongoing condition. 

Apparently, a cleaver has been just left on the floor, conveniently in reach of the youkai controlling Daichi. 

That'll teach you to leave sharp implements lying around!

A horrible memory flashes before Kohaku: his father and others beheaded and stabbed by his own sickle, blood flying. Tears spring into his wide eyes, a too-late scream to his father locked in his head. 

Meanwhile, Daichi's dad has fallen back, hand hovering over his wound, stuttering his son's name. It seems to be all he can say, really. The youkai possessing Daichi raises the cleaver again. Kohaku comes out of his PTSD flashback just in time to stammer a command to stop and leap forward to intercept the blow once again. 

Daichi's dad haltingly asks WHY his son is doing this, and Kohaku twists to shout at him that Daichi is just being controlled. Again, he remembers throwing his own sickle into his father's throat, but Daichi is looking blankly up at him and he manages to keep his focus on the current question at hand, asking himself what he can possibly do to drive the youkai from the boy's body. 

Me when I'm fleeing the scene of my extremely cringe behavior. 

Certain that this is the youkai trying to flee the scene, he throws the weighted end of his sickle and chain, and it wraps around the boy's ankle, yanking him back to the ground. Before the possessed Daichi can get back up to either run or attack again, Kohaku straddles him to hold him in place. But his sickle is still held up and visible, to the Inuyasha group bursting onto the scene from the trees. Sango sees Kohaku holding a boy down with his sickle raised and understandably calls out to him in panic. Kohaku looks up at her, identifying her in his head but uttering no more than a noise of surprise in reply. 

What's more, Sango looks beyond Kohaku and Daichi to just outside the house, from which Daichi's dad has sat himself, his arm still bleeding. Sango turns a heated glare back onto Kohaku, starting to accuse him of causing the injury, and though Kohaku WANTS to tell her she's wrong, he doesn't actually articulate himself. 

Sango swings Hiraikotsu from across her chest, demanding Kohaku let go of the boy, and Kohaku jumps back out of the giant boomerang's way with a grunt, off of Daichi. 

Not SO angry that she continues to attack Kohaku, Sango asks him if this is another commend from Naraku. Uh, my good miss, why would Naraku order Kohaku to attack a couple of random people on the side of a mountain? Kohaku remains silent, still playing the mute puppet. 

Dammit, right on his existing bite!

Sango gapes in disbelief, Kagome calling out to her about the child and Miroku finishes her trailing statement that the child is possessed by the Hitoukon. Daichi jerks upward into the air, his father crawling forward, yelling after him. He calls to the strangers around him to please save his son. When Inuyasha lurches forward after Daichi, Shippou asks from Kagome's shoulder what's going on, but Inuyasha just answers with a scoff. He says that they should just try to grab the brat, and he'll drag the youkai out of the little shit himself. Inuyasha appears to be closing in on Daichi anyway, but Sango urges him not to get violent from Kirara's back, warning that he won't be able to extract the Hitoukon by force. 

This puts Kohaku in the mind that his sister knows how to get rid of the youkai.

I mean, does it LOOK like the guy is doing alright? 

Suddenly, Kohaku declares that he's going to save Daichi, running off himself. Kagome is shocked, in disbelief over Kohaku actually seeming to express an autonomous thought. 

Girl, are you STILL blaming Kohaku??

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The way Daichi moves under possession is exactly the same as a victim of Yura would have allllll the way at the beginning of this manga, but as nice as the reminder is, I'm not much of a fan. It made sense with Yura, what with the way she used her hair as strings to pull and yank limbs like puppetry. The theme of this hitoukon youkai is WAY off of that kind of movement, so it doesn't make any sense. I understand Daichi has to move in that way to make him more difficult to catch, but it's really awkward when the idea at the base of this is grass roots rather than something that could more easily and believably be used as puppet strings.

That aside, I feel like Kohaku's PTSD and his guilt around the memories surrounding his father are deep and sincere in their portrayal. It was to be expected that he might start seeing some parallels when Daichi injured his father, but his reminiscences start long before that moment. The young boy carrying a sickle just like himself and his father seem to have struck a chord, even though they don't seem to resemble each other in personality much. Given Kohaku's memory of his father being rather harsh with him for appearance's sake only to apologize later, Daichi's father seems much more laid back and chill in comparison. Regardless, it's only natural that Kohaku would think back on his own interactions with his father while he's accepting the hospitality of a father and son. It is, after all, one of Kohaku's defining characteristics lately that he committed patricide under some unique circumstances that he's still trying to work through mentally. ANY father and son would do the trick, but there's got to be something about hanging out with them and even sleeping next to them that would trigger a few sensitive memories.

It's sad to me that her suspicions of Kohaku run so deep at this point that she can't even feel proper relief when it's clear he's not to blame for a particular tragedy in the works. I understand WHY, mind you - it's still an open question to her why Kohaku would be here in the first place, so she can't know for sure if he's in some way responsible, and I suppose in a certain way he IS. But it shows just how little faith she has now that he might at some time be coaxed back from Naraku's influence that she moves from shock that he's actually fighting off an attack rather than the attacker straight to thinking that he and Naraku are probably the cause of this whole mess to begin with. Won't even allow herself the slightest HOPE that Kohaku is innocent this time.