Stray Saiyuki thoughts

[louiselux]

Stray thoughts about the latest Saiyuki chapters:

The last time someone nearly got them all killed it was Gojyo, and Sanzo punched him for it. It was Hakkai and Goku at risk back then as well (I'm thinking of the gourd).

Also, Gojyo does CPR! You have to wonder where he learnt that.

Why *does* Sanzo run away - is he in shock?

Hakkai's actual youkai weapon is his vines. I love this idea hugely, but not sure why. Maybe because it's such a surprise? It's better than centipedes at any rate, as emungere pointed out. Also, has he been secretly been practising?

The echoing of Be There: Hakkai lying face down with his face hidden in his arm, just as Gojyo first found him and then later with the two panels of them looking at each other. Gojyo's hair covers his face, which has the effect of cutting everyone else out and making his smile into something intensely private between the two of them, which is possibly why it's so affecting.

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[hibem.livejournal.com]

Even a Worm has been like, this showcase of private 58 moments. There was them in their hotel room, talking about Hazel, and the zombie wife rant... Their relationship is like this refuge from the danger and trauma and banality of the whole journey, and she's really been playing that up.

And, did you notice the thing with Hakkai's eye? First of all, she's obviously been planning the right-human-eye thing since at least Volume 5, which just, :worships: . In the last chapter, Hakkai's false eye looked really fake, flat and dead. The youkai eye was carrying all the emotion, and there was her little trick with the reveal, giving us the 3/4 view of the left side of Hakkai's face and later giving us the close up of the eyes.

Jeez, maybe I should make a whole post about this, because, yeah.

So, in this chapter, the first time we see Hakkai's left eye only when he's fighting ST at first, right up until Gojyo grabs him on page 23. Now look at page 24. Right eye, right eye, right eye, and the way expression returns to it in the last panel? :shivers: (Not to mention how Gojyo can get him back with a touch, a look, and the refusal to flinch away. :squee: )

And then, finally, check out page 36. First, we see both his eyes in the top right, but for the first time since he changed, they don't look significantly mismatched. Then, we see his left eye in the panel where he's smiling up at Gojyo, but instead of looking all scary and youkaish, it's a really, really close mirror of looks we've seen from him in the past, soft, tired, but something like normal. :melts: That look is just so gorgeous, wah.

Conclusions: Minekura is brilliant and evil, and is doing all this on purpose to drive us insane. :worships her more: