Latest Saiyuki Reload chapter

[louiselux]

Still coughing, still at home on the sofa. But I have cake and am hatching a sort of semi nano plan with emungere so that is nicely distracting.

I read the latest Reload chapter on radiofreebanri though. Mmm Ukoku.



So Minekura-sensei has taken a turn away from the main plot again (which you have to love her for ... and it's all about the journey, anyway, right? Yes. And does anyone really want it to ever end?). Anyway, she tells the tale of what happened to Hazel's beloved master all those years ago. What happened? Ukoku happened! Yes, it's all looking very familiar. There isn't a translation yet, so I can only really guess at what's going on.

Hazel and his master Filbert seem to have pretty much the same sort relationship as Koumyou and Kouryuu. One day Filbert brings home a stray sanzo priest he found wandering in the countryside, which in itself makes me wonder what Ukoku was doing in... wherever it is. I know Hazel has a southern US accent in the Tokyopop translations, but he seems to live in a small European town. I can only assume Ukoku's on a worldwide quest for more and better knowledge.

All through this story there are several frames of crows eating mysteriously dead bodies and other various gory dead things.

Hazel has almost exactly the same creeped out reaction to Ukoku as Kouryuu does, at first. But Ukoku seems to be invited to stay and he lies around on the couch (yes, Filbert has a nice comfy couch) reading, and also you can see him beginning to lead Hazel astray. Ukoku makes a little plant grow up fast just by waving his hand over it, but then it dies down almost instantly. I can't tell if he's invoking the Muten sutra or not, or if this is some other power he's developed, because he clearly has a wide repertoire of badness.

And then soon after Hazel and Ukoku find Filbert dead on the floor of the study. So I wonder if in the next part Filbert is actually brought back to life? Because when Ukoku and Hazel meet in Tougenkyou years later, Ukoku is surprised to hear the Filbert has died.

I don't really have any more thoughts on this, apart from that Ukoku is really very pretty and the art style of this chapter seems to be an improvement on recent ones.

Comments

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee! Semi-nano with Eli! *eggs you on*

I have been avoiding the latest posts of RFB because the art has been bugging me, but I shall check it out now, full of hope and glee! <3

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentioning this, LJ didn't forward to my flist so I didn't even see it until now, Grrrr.

Anyway, this is really interesting (and Ukoku is so hot in his evolness). I can't stand the grown up Hazel character, but this really makes him a lot more sympathetic, or at least chibi Hazel is. I don't think anything will redeem grown-up Hazel for me.

But you really get a sense of how far back Ukoku started working on his chess game, and how carefully he picked which pawns he was going to use (and corrupt). Grown up Hazel thinks he's a player, but even though he's a Bishop, he's just another pawn, really. It will be interesting to see if Hazel ever really does anything useful and/or redemptive with himself. It may be hard for him to do so now, since Gato did his thing. At least the ikkou boys know they're pawns, even if they don't much appreciate it or like it. But it is about the journey, like you said, and Hazel is apparently on one as well, so we'll see. :)

[saiyuki-ikkou-1.livejournal.com]

I can only assume Ukoku's on a worldwide quest for more and better knowledge.

Oh, Yes... he's certainly on a quest for something.

Evil has never been so goood. XD

[emungere.livejournal.com]

I can't believe she's named them both after nuts. Although. Appropriate!

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Somewhere at the back of my mind, one of the sutras "governs the light that is known as evolution". Is that the Seiten or the Muten? I think it must be the former - which means poor old Koumyou is already dead at this point.

FWIW I think Ukoku's aim is to turn people away from belief - in anything, not just religion. He hates people not seeing the darkness that envelopes him. He wants to turn Sanzo, but Sanzo's difficult because he has such a strange way of believing. Hazel's easier. He has a structure that Ukoku can corrupt. Kind of like the Romans. Don't they say the Romans found it much easier to take over countries with some kind of government than countries? (And the link there is problem only apparent to me. Although if you're on benylin, you might see it too!)

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Oops - and my point about evolution is that Ukoku was putting the plant through accelerated evolution/growth.

[inksheddings.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm not sure if Filbert is actually dead. Hazel seems distraught, but not as much as I would have expected. And it looks like they put him in bed, and his face is uncovered, and I have no clue really. *g*

But yeah, it all looks very familiar, and though I'm not particularly a Hazel fan he sure was a cute kid. Plus I'm curious to see what happens next.

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

Just what I thought!

I can't think of Hazel without "Son of a Preacher Man" playing in my head :)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Somewhere in the back of my head is a post about Hazel, Sanzo, and Ukoku as foils to each other. This chapter brought it out all the more.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It's a shame about the weirdness of the art in the past year. I put it down to Minekura being ill and using a lot of assistants. What did you think of it?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Hazel is as oblivious to Ukoku's manipulations as he seems? if so, he's got quite a shock coming. I have to admit that I find him more sympathetic as the series goes on, because he doesn't seem an innately bad character, more just young and misguided. I like how his view of youkai is changing too, since meeting Sanzo and the others.

Ukoku seems to have a long game in mind - it's very intriguing!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

He's on a quest for trouble! He's good at finding it too.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Me either! It's definitely his song.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

No, I like your reasoning a lot. I suppose the converse is that Ukoku's actions only make Sanzo stronger and more resistant, as he comes to understand what it is that's important to him. But maybe Ukoku understands that too - he knows all about loss, after all. I do see all his actions as self destructive, moving towards the nothingness he seems to crave.

The timeline thing is interesting - if it is that evolution sutra, then Koumyou is already dead and Ukoku has his sutra, which strongly suggests he did in fact have a hand in killing him.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oh, right! That would explain it, if Filbert has just collapsed and is not dead.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

You should write that!!

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I do see all his actions as self destructive, moving towards the nothingness he seems to crave.

*nods* It's almost as if he's so scared of falling into that nothingness, he'd rather just get it over with.

if it is that evolution sutra, then Koumyou is already dead and Ukoku has his sutra, which strongly suggests he did in fact have a hand in killing him.

Is there any real doubt that Koumyou is dead? He surely wouldn't have put Kouryuu through all that agony just to teach him strength and non-attachment? I shall think very poorly of Koumyou if that proves to be the case.

(FWIW, I've always believed that Ni incited Koumyou's murder. He might even have done it his own self. Sanzo remembers a youkai attack - just as Hazel remembers a monster attacking Filbert - but that might be their minds (or Ni's) playing tricks on them after the trauma).

Doesn't Gyumaoh's side have three sutras? They started off with one when they caused the Minus Wave (presumably Ni's) and then they dug up the desert Sanzo's one - which I assume Lady G is also keeping pretty close tabs on. But at a later date, we see Ni ripping the head off one of his bunnies and taking yet another sutra out - which I took to be Koumyou's. Although I guess the first one might have been Koumyou's whilst Ni kept his own hidden. Deciding which, depends on what game he's playing, I suppose. Assuming that the first one had some part in creating the Minus Wave, I think it was probably the Muten (as it controls 'nothingness' and the youkai went pointlessly crazy). If the Seiten rules over Sanctity, it would be a great weapon in any showdown between Good and Bad - possibly loading the odds firmly in Bad's favour.