Dressing up and Ukoku's brain

[louiselux]

puddingcat came to Reading yesterday to get fitted for her coat of many buttons, so in the afternoon I met up with her and her dressmaker friend Claire and landlady Laura. We hit up the John Lewis haberdashery and Fabricland and a couple of shoe shops and now I feel so enthused about dresses and fabric and shoes. I can't wait to see puddingcat's coat - she showed me the pattern and it's a sort of pirate frock coat with panels and huge cuffs.

I'm thinking of commissioning a dress from Claire too. I just have to decide on what I want: either something 60s style in a simple A-line/shift dress style, or a full skirted 50s style dress.

Also, when we were randomly chatting about stuff, puddingcat made a really interesting point about Nii - he's a sanzo monk, so can he really be so evil? Is he really going to suck Sanzo into his black hole of doom and destroy him, or is he just teaching Sanzo something, but doing it in a particularly nasty way? Maybe he is working to the greater good. Innnnnteresting.

puddingcat compared him to Kanzeon Bosatsu, who isn't exactly pleasant in the way she goes about things. She didn't have to let Goku be imprisoned in a cave for 500 years after all.

I like this idea, because it balances Ukoku's character somewhat. Also, I don't know if Koumyou was actually such a nice person. Discuss.

Comments

[acantabloom.livejournal.com]

I guess I always assumed (based on Journey to the West) that Goku was imprisoned for 500 years specifically waiting for Sanzo/Konzen. I wonder what would have happened if he had been released into the world without Sanzo freeing him, and it might not have been pretty, because Goku is very, very dangerous.
With that being said, Kanzeon definitely isn't nice, and most of the other Saiyuki characters aren't either, or at least, they try not to be.
It never occurred to me that Nii might NOT be the major villain in the series, but that would certainly be a very interesting twist. However, Nii was behind Kami-sama, manipulated Hazel, and did a whole bunch of genuinely nasty stuff, which is a long way from being just "not nice".
I think Koumyou knew exactly what Nii/Ukoku was, and from Burial it seems like they were sort of friends in a way. (Or they could have been friendly enemies--it's hard to tell) And the fact that Koumyou understood Ukoku and still basically supported him as a sanzo is a pretty clear sign that Koumyou was "not nice" either. Right now, Koumyou is probably the most elusive and mysterious character in Saiyuki (I really, really want more info on him)...but to see in the most recent chapter that he died intentionally/willingly was nice confirmation, because I had always imagined it to be that way. Now the question is, did Nii/Ukoku plan Koumyou's death, or was it outside of his calculations?

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

It never occurred to me that Nii might NOT be the major villain in the series, but that would certainly be a very interesting twist.

I've been wondering that too-- if Nii's just a midboss after all.

Now the question is, did Nii/Ukoku plan Koumyou's death, or was it outside of his calculations?

I've always thought of Koumyou's death as a Queen's sacrifice to protect the King. Which with Nii playing chess all the time works pretty well for me.

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

I'm reconsidering all this after remembering that Nii doesn't have the bindi :) Possibly it was wishful thinking...

I'm not sure there *is* a "Big Bad" in the series. I think Kanzeon is doing things with the long (long, looooong) term future in mind, while Nii is living for the moment. Both of those could result in making life crappy for Sanzo etc.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Good point!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, chess analogies. I like that.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It never occurred to me that Nii might NOT be the major villain in the series, but that would certainly be a very interesting twist.

Indeed. I don't know, I kind of think he is though.

Koumyou is an enigma wrapped up in a mystery! Maybe Minekura will take pity on us and give us some more backstory for him. I find it intriguing that characters have said the Sanzo reminds them of a young Koumyou, because it makes me think Koumyou was not always the zen master, but far more volatile. It gives me hope for Sanzo too.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Hells, I have no Sanzo icon

I think there are hints that Sanzo-- if he lives so long-- might Koumyou out a bit. We see him under, really, tremendous stress-- he doesn't seem so volatile in the flashbacks of life at the temple. Koumyou grabbing Kenyuu's arm so tight it leaves marks always had a bit of Genjo in it to me.

And I've noticed, balding or no, Sanzo's hair keeps getting longer. Trivial, but in Minekura's world a little visual thing can mean a lot.