Saiyuki Reload vol 8 and a fic

[louiselux]

Heyyyy, I got Saiyuki Reload vol 8!

I found this volume very powerful, I think because of Goku's real grief and rage at the end, which helps him define what he is doing and why.

Also, I found myself staring at the drawing at the front of Gojyo and Hakkai and Goku (and Pippi!) and some of the youkai townspeople, and thinking how happy they looked. It's like a little glimpse of an alternative universe where they actually fit in. Also, Gojyo turns out to be Mr Practical and organises fixing the cart, which I like to see as a tiny allusion to Kenren's caretaking skillz. But they don't fit in with the youkai town, as Hakkai says to Gojyo when they're alone, they don't fit in anywhere and perhaps that's the reason why they're on the journey. Goku and Sanzo don't fit anywhere either, do they?

Hazel's amulet of doom get's broken! Which means Gat will die. I forgot the part where Gat comes along and tells Sanzo to look after Hazel for him. It's hard to tell what Sanzo think of that, if anything. I just don't know what to think about Hazel, although I was glad to see that he was made to see how the humans used him to kill Pippi's brother, as a way of beginning the final attack on the youkai town.

I love the theme of this whole volume, of not knowing who to fight for, or who draws the line between right and wrong. Also, that some people will die and kill others in what they believe to be a just cause. athena8 makes an interesting point that she didn't spot the similarity between Pippi's actions and suicide bombing. I didn't think of it in those terms either, I think because Pippi's actions seemed understandable to me, at least partly.


Also, I wrote somefing: Night Vision, Gojyoi/Hakkai, R, for the saiyuki_time prompt 'sight'

Comments

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

athena8's post is locked :(

I love Gat's request to Sanzo :) I think it was Mosh to whom I said that Sanzo's expression was very much "Oh crap, not another one...".

[athena8.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorry! I locked it because these were comments from Minekura's mobile site, and apparently there's a notice asking people not to repeat its contents in other blogs.. But what was mentioned there is that Minekura says she by no means justifies suicide bombing. It was a comment that threw me for a loop, since I had never seen it that way to begin with!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oopsie, I didn't notice it was locked. In that case shall I not link? I'll edit the post anyway.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I hadn't either, and then I was describing the whole storyline to my husband and he was like, 'lolz, Middle East complete with suicide bombings,' and I went, 'no, wait it...well, okay a little...'

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yes, that fits perfectly.

[athena8.livejournal.com]

Awesome, I guess they ship it along early for preorder! I was gonna go to the bookshop next week to take a peek. ;)

This really was a very powerful volume, and I'm quite fond of how Goku's character has been developed over his brief time in the village. Hazel's also done a lot of growing up!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Yes, they both have indeed. I wonder what's going to happen to Hazel, now that Sanzo has been charged by Gat to protect him. Could be interesting. :D

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I think Sanzo was basically telling him to fuck off, though-- "No one can shoot that gun for you" = "Hazel's your problem, buddy."

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. I think you're right. Sanzo says outright that he can't shoot it.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I didn't get that until I read it this time-- which is, lolz, the third presentation/translation I've read. But I do think that's what he's saying. "Don't ask me to carry your burden."

[moshesque.livejournal.com]

It must've been really strange for the guys to be in an environment where they're not considered taboo, or feeling like they have to defend themselves all the time. Those chapters made me feel a little bittersweet. :)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Me too, and to be somewhere where they're welcomed for their powers. That getst to me such a lot.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

That whole sequence just hurt.

[eyesofshinigami.livejournal.com]

*GASP* You lucky dog! *whines* I want it noooooow. Sure, I've seen the scans and stuff on saiyuki_manga but I bet that doesn't hold a candle to actually having it in your hand. We waited HOW long for this?

That volume is going to be amazing. I can't wait! *grins*

♥♥♥♥ And your Night Vision was a great story. ^__~

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I know! I almost had a wee fit when I saw it on the shelf, and could hardly believe my eyes. :D It's so great having it to read in book form.

Thank you so much! I'm really pleased you liked it.

[eyesofshinigami.livejournal.com]

I guess I should mosey down to my bookstore and see if they've got it yet. >_> Now, if we can just wait for Salty Dog V to come out...

^______^ I really enjoy your writing. I ♥ the way you write 585. *swoon*

[/fangirl]

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Awww, thank you! I'm really thrilled you enjoy my stuff. :D

There's a Salty Dog V? Guh. *wants*

[eyesofshinigami.livejournal.com]

^_____^

Yeah! It comes out sometime in July...I can't remember the exact date. >_> But I want! *grabby paws*

I GOT RELOAD VOL 8! Oh, it was so much love. ♥ Bittersweet and beautiful.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

There is nothing like having the book in your hand, with real words. And I love the fan translations, but I like having the consistent voice of the official translation, even when I don't necessarily like what they did (I am so terribly sad 'full throttle narcissist' wasn't there.)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yeah, I appreciate the fan translations hugely, but having an actual consistanr voice really makes me happy. I also notice so much more reading it on paper, in one unbroken read. A chapter that might have seemed baffling or weak before often becomes a lot stronger.

[trensaddiction.livejournal.com]

I like the way volume eight highlights the importance of journeying for that group. It's like the lack of geographical direction translates into a lack of clear moral direction as well, and the uncertainty and how they all deal with it is fascinating.

I also cannot help but wonder whether not being viewed as monsters feels more uncomfortably unfamiliar than the habitual prejudices they're faced with in every other town they visit. After all, it's not like Hakkai wanders around without his limiters, even now that he presumably could, so in a way they're all still clinging to their differences and setting themselves apart - a conscious choice, rather than a purely situational inevitability.

Sadly, I still don't like Hazel, for all that I'm coming to really appreciate Gat. XD

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes good point. It's interesting that they almost die in the desert in the beginning, because they are so lost - metaphorically and literally.

Yes, it could be that being in a place where they could live without harassment, at least from youkai, unsettles them as much as human prejudices. Maybe they are attached to the idea that they are something to be feared, even? Interesting.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Gat makes Hazel seem so childish. Which is one of the reasons I love him so.

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

I picked up the Japanese version last week when I was in NYC - they have a great book store. I initially just wanted to get the Gaiden volumes (and sadly, they only had Vol. 1, but said they'd get the others in, so yay! :-P) and ended up buying all of the Japanese volumes (well, all except Reload 7 because they didn't have it) instead. They're gorgeous and SO much nicer than the Tokyopop versions!

Anyway, I was reading through Vol. 8, and even though I couldn't "read" the words, I remembered it all from the scans, and it really hit me anew just how much Goku was maturing, and how much they've all changed since they started their journey. inksheddings and I are dying to see how the dynamic between Goku and Sanzo is going to play itself out once they're reunited. (And of course how different the "Ikkou reunion" will be from the Kami-sama arc when Gojyo left them - they wanted to kill Gojyo, but how will the three treat/react to Sanzo's abandonment? Sadly, sexual punishments only reside in my naughty fannish imagination. :-P)

The bit you brought up about them seeming happy at the village initially, but then realizing they don't fit in there, or anywhere - not in any of the towns and villages they've visited, and how even before the journey, they sort of merely 'existed' without much purpose. Outcasts of a sort both by design and by choice (since their limiters and Gojyo's appearance allow them to live as 'humans') both of them still that 'jack of all trades and master of none', and yet...

I keep thinking back to the beginning, to Sanzo's initial reluctance, his objections and concerns because of the fact that they are youkai, and how he's grudgingly come to realize that he can't exist in the selfish vacuum he made of his life after Koumyou died, and perhaps doesn't want to.

When they first started their journey, they had one goal, and while poart of me is anxious for them to reach Houtou and resolve the Gyumaoh issue, what makes this series resonate with me is all of the personal discoveries and character growth they're experiencing along the way. So much so, that in many ways, I don't ever want them to reach Houtou. :-P I love how, when they're together, 'fitting in' doesn't seem to matter because they fit each other, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and while they're all perfectly capable on their own, they're not quite whole apart. That's what Vol. 8 really seems to highlight for me.

When Gat asked Sanzo to look after Hazel, I totally chuckled and imagined him thinking, "Great. Why does everyone always add their shit to my pile?" :-P But even that's changed now, because Sanzo has changed.

Okay, I'll stop my disjointed, rambling thoughts now. English copy next week! Can't wait!

(Oh, and hi! I figured I should say hello since I friended you recently. I'm fairly new to Saiyuki, but I came across your journal through friendsfriends and I loved that post you made on Nii/Ukoku a week or so ago. I'm still mulling over all the comments everyone made - such a great discussion!)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

The look on Goku's face when the explosion hits. Damn.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Yeah! It'd totally devastating. Also how Gojyo and Hakkai can't do anything at all to make it any easier, except just be there.

[researchotaku.livejournal.com]

Of course, the Goku/Pippi fangirl in me is like "No! She did not die! Goku did not see her die, he saw an explosion! She could have survived the blast!"

It's interesting to me that Goku seems to be the one who is most aware of the "injustice" of the various bad situation the guys encounter. The others are, like, "Whoa, that blows, man" but Goku actually seems to personally care and be devastated whenever these things happen. Goku seems to be the most empathetic of the group.