Noragami, cont.
Dec. 19th, 2016 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkI caught up with the Noragami manga (instead of doing what I should be doing, i.e. editing my Yuletide fic and finalizing Christmas presents.) I started with chapter 40, since I read that's approximately where it continues from the story told in the anime, and read all of it in one afternoon/evening, and then I had emotional hangover. The cruel cliffhanger made it worse.
DAIKOKU! He'll survive, right? Right? My guess is that both he and Amaterasu's regalia will be wounded but won't die, so it's a draw, which brings new complications. Tsuyu died :( Poor Tenjin. That they even did that, and for Yato… Ebisu offered too, fortunately it ended better for his exemplar. I also liked Takemikazuchi here, that he didn't want to volunteer Kiun but he at least managed to get through to Yato in a way.
Yukine :((((( still in that terrible box, someone get him out of there please.
I like Hiyori a lot by now. I really liked her confronting "Fujisaki" – it was reckless, but still, you go girl. She counted on it that if he'd just wanted to kill her he could have done it at any time. When she finds out that he went after the hospital instead to hurt her family, no wonder she feels guilty. But she still threatens him again to save Bishamon! She's brave, but she's not stupid and only enters battles when she thinks she can help, and she's most often right.
I also liked her worrying about her future and what she wants to do, and I liked her family too, it was nice to meet her brother and grandmother. I'm even fine with her obvious crush on Yato, she's sixteen, and after we saw her thinking about her future career I'm more hopeful that she'll actually think things through and what the consequences might be of getting involved with a god for a mortal.
I actually like Yato now! This was a surprise. I really like Yato and Yukine's relationship now too. Yato really wants to reform, and he trusts absolutely that Yukine will lead him down the right path (which doesn't make him blind to times when Yukine's concern for him might lead to bias, however, like when Yukine would have left Bishamon to save Yato.) Yukine, on the other hand, outright stated that Yato asking him to guide him is what gave him purpose. It feels like a relationship of equals now :)
Yato is so lucky to have his friends, and he knows it too. Both Yukine and Hiyori not only completely believe in his ability to become a god of fortune, they say he already has (I don't think Yukine said it to Yato directly but still.) Right now Yato appears more concerned about Yukine than about his own fate.
Have I mentioned how much I like Yukine? Because I really like Yukine. He takes pride in being Yato's exemplar and doing it well, and in addition to taking lessons from Kazuma he also still takes lessons from Hiyori and learns about gardening and other things. He takes care of Suzuha's sakura tree, aww.
No wonder Nora doesn't like him, but he defeats her, go Yukine :) And no wonder Yato's father wants Yukine for himself. Doesn't mean Nora can't still try to manipulate him, however.
Small detail, and at first I thought this might be translation only, but at one point Yukine refers to himself as an NPC and the idea of Yato&Yukine&friends playing D&D together made me happy. (Later Yato's father uses D&D similes as well but screw that guy.)
Bishamon again keeps secrets from her shinki… At least she has a good reason this time, if knowing the mere existence of the secret could threaten their lives, but it was still a bad idea and led to a terrible outcome all around. Poor Tsuguha, and poor Bishamon and Kazuma too. (Sidenote, so nobody knows what happens when shinki are killed?) Aaaand then things go way off the rails, both of them overreact and BOOM.
Kazuma wants to save Bishamon, and instead of talking to Yato or Yukine he betrays Yukine's trust, attacks him, and fights him. No wonder Yukine is so hurt, especially since from context it does look like Kazuma doesn't care if what he does would kill Yato. I also liked how Yato was angry at Kazuma for betraying Yukine. (And that Bishamon was angry about it and wants Kazuma to apologize because she wants to cultivate Yato as an ally.) I liked that Yato and Kazuma actually had quite a lot of contact over the years and appear to be even closer than I originally thought.
Kazuma doesn't get to apologize to Yukine before Bishamon disappears, then there's no time, and now who knows… I do hope Yukine will manage to make peace with him (or at least his memories…) because he valued Kazuma as his mentor a lot.
I actually lost quite a bit of respect for Kazuma. He's an idiot. Sure, he's a Blessed Vessel (other translations I've seen use hafuri, which is shorter), and apparently before Yukine came along apart from Amaterasu's he was the only known one so he was a big deal, but when he became Bishamon's exemplar he actually had very little experience as a shinki and what he had wasn't exactly a good example. He told Bishamon to leave managing her shinki to him even though he didn't have the experience and then fucked it up. His singular focus on protecting Veena because he loves her allows him to justify anything, but he loves her more than he listens to her, and fear for Veena tends to override his rational thought. He's so, so messed up. Not that there aren't reasons for it, but still. Actually he's probably a great example of the danger of hafuri vessels that Kiun talked about, that they can become obsessive and too intense. And apparently unlike normal shinki they die with their masters (iirc), not that Kazuma would object to that.
At this point Yato and Yukine have a much healthier relationship as god and exemplar, thankfully, and hopefully Yukine will get to know even more others so he gets a fuller picture of what it means and can mean to be an exemplar.
Kazuma was probably also unlucky with attaching himself to Bishamon of all gods, who means well but is not the most forward thinking one – she left that to him – or, hm, emotionally perceptive. To save her own shinki she knowingly risks high treason to kill the Sorcerer with a shinki she's not attached to and then promptly gets attached to her (not that Nana minds being used as a one-time weapon), then when Nana eggs her on she doesn't think about the consequences of what she's doing, and before she knows everything is a huge mess, her friends and allies suffer, and she didn't even reach her goal. I'm really not sure how she can get out of this without reincarnation.
Yato was probably a little naïve in thinking that he could actually get Heaven's armies to stop and ask questions before shooting, especially after what happened to Ebisu, but he also sort of needed to have that hope, that things can be fixed. Before that he was actually cautious and hid, and even after that he concentrated on his goal instead of blindly fighting. He even overruled Yukine's advice to flee, choosing instead to keep trying to save Bishamon – what a difference a year makes, huh.
And then after the big battle Yato and Takemikazuchi bicker while Yukine and Kiun negotiate ^^
Takemikazuchi is a jerk. Poor Kiun. But wow, do they have a messed up tragic backstory. Maybe there is still hope for them. Kiun finally standing up to that Elder and Takemikazuchi complaining that it's 1200 years too late made me grin, and was also a reminder that gods deal in completely different time spans.
Yukine did not want to fight Kiun, and Kiun wasn't especially happy about it either, but their masters were fighting and both would do anything to protect their masters. Tough. (It was different with Kazuma because he was acting on his own when he attacked Yukine, not on Bishamon's orders.)
Yukine actually defeats Takemikazuchi, though Kazuma helped a bit and Kiun was not at full power. If Kiun becomes a hafuri vessel (though Kazuma's actions right now won't make him any more eager) he'll be even more powerful, look out.
And then Bishamon lost and Yato and Yukine were captured and Yukine was put in a box :(((( Their friends risked their lives for them and now DAIKOKU (who does it for Yukine, even though Kofuku doesn't want to risk losing him, ow my heart.)
Monthly updates, this is going to be a long wait every time.
DAIKOKU! He'll survive, right? Right? My guess is that both he and Amaterasu's regalia will be wounded but won't die, so it's a draw, which brings new complications. Tsuyu died :( Poor Tenjin. That they even did that, and for Yato… Ebisu offered too, fortunately it ended better for his exemplar. I also liked Takemikazuchi here, that he didn't want to volunteer Kiun but he at least managed to get through to Yato in a way.
Yukine :((((( still in that terrible box, someone get him out of there please.
I like Hiyori a lot by now. I really liked her confronting "Fujisaki" – it was reckless, but still, you go girl. She counted on it that if he'd just wanted to kill her he could have done it at any time. When she finds out that he went after the hospital instead to hurt her family, no wonder she feels guilty. But she still threatens him again to save Bishamon! She's brave, but she's not stupid and only enters battles when she thinks she can help, and she's most often right.
I also liked her worrying about her future and what she wants to do, and I liked her family too, it was nice to meet her brother and grandmother. I'm even fine with her obvious crush on Yato, she's sixteen, and after we saw her thinking about her future career I'm more hopeful that she'll actually think things through and what the consequences might be of getting involved with a god for a mortal.
I actually like Yato now! This was a surprise. I really like Yato and Yukine's relationship now too. Yato really wants to reform, and he trusts absolutely that Yukine will lead him down the right path (which doesn't make him blind to times when Yukine's concern for him might lead to bias, however, like when Yukine would have left Bishamon to save Yato.) Yukine, on the other hand, outright stated that Yato asking him to guide him is what gave him purpose. It feels like a relationship of equals now :)
Yato is so lucky to have his friends, and he knows it too. Both Yukine and Hiyori not only completely believe in his ability to become a god of fortune, they say he already has (I don't think Yukine said it to Yato directly but still.) Right now Yato appears more concerned about Yukine than about his own fate.
Have I mentioned how much I like Yukine? Because I really like Yukine. He takes pride in being Yato's exemplar and doing it well, and in addition to taking lessons from Kazuma he also still takes lessons from Hiyori and learns about gardening and other things. He takes care of Suzuha's sakura tree, aww.
No wonder Nora doesn't like him, but he defeats her, go Yukine :) And no wonder Yato's father wants Yukine for himself. Doesn't mean Nora can't still try to manipulate him, however.
Small detail, and at first I thought this might be translation only, but at one point Yukine refers to himself as an NPC and the idea of Yato&Yukine&friends playing D&D together made me happy. (Later Yato's father uses D&D similes as well but screw that guy.)
Bishamon again keeps secrets from her shinki… At least she has a good reason this time, if knowing the mere existence of the secret could threaten their lives, but it was still a bad idea and led to a terrible outcome all around. Poor Tsuguha, and poor Bishamon and Kazuma too. (Sidenote, so nobody knows what happens when shinki are killed?) Aaaand then things go way off the rails, both of them overreact and BOOM.
Kazuma wants to save Bishamon, and instead of talking to Yato or Yukine he betrays Yukine's trust, attacks him, and fights him. No wonder Yukine is so hurt, especially since from context it does look like Kazuma doesn't care if what he does would kill Yato. I also liked how Yato was angry at Kazuma for betraying Yukine. (And that Bishamon was angry about it and wants Kazuma to apologize because she wants to cultivate Yato as an ally.) I liked that Yato and Kazuma actually had quite a lot of contact over the years and appear to be even closer than I originally thought.
Kazuma doesn't get to apologize to Yukine before Bishamon disappears, then there's no time, and now who knows… I do hope Yukine will manage to make peace with him (or at least his memories…) because he valued Kazuma as his mentor a lot.
I actually lost quite a bit of respect for Kazuma. He's an idiot. Sure, he's a Blessed Vessel (other translations I've seen use hafuri, which is shorter), and apparently before Yukine came along apart from Amaterasu's he was the only known one so he was a big deal, but when he became Bishamon's exemplar he actually had very little experience as a shinki and what he had wasn't exactly a good example. He told Bishamon to leave managing her shinki to him even though he didn't have the experience and then fucked it up. His singular focus on protecting Veena because he loves her allows him to justify anything, but he loves her more than he listens to her, and fear for Veena tends to override his rational thought. He's so, so messed up. Not that there aren't reasons for it, but still. Actually he's probably a great example of the danger of hafuri vessels that Kiun talked about, that they can become obsessive and too intense. And apparently unlike normal shinki they die with their masters (iirc), not that Kazuma would object to that.
At this point Yato and Yukine have a much healthier relationship as god and exemplar, thankfully, and hopefully Yukine will get to know even more others so he gets a fuller picture of what it means and can mean to be an exemplar.
Kazuma was probably also unlucky with attaching himself to Bishamon of all gods, who means well but is not the most forward thinking one – she left that to him – or, hm, emotionally perceptive. To save her own shinki she knowingly risks high treason to kill the Sorcerer with a shinki she's not attached to and then promptly gets attached to her (not that Nana minds being used as a one-time weapon), then when Nana eggs her on she doesn't think about the consequences of what she's doing, and before she knows everything is a huge mess, her friends and allies suffer, and she didn't even reach her goal. I'm really not sure how she can get out of this without reincarnation.
Yato was probably a little naïve in thinking that he could actually get Heaven's armies to stop and ask questions before shooting, especially after what happened to Ebisu, but he also sort of needed to have that hope, that things can be fixed. Before that he was actually cautious and hid, and even after that he concentrated on his goal instead of blindly fighting. He even overruled Yukine's advice to flee, choosing instead to keep trying to save Bishamon – what a difference a year makes, huh.
And then after the big battle Yato and Takemikazuchi bicker while Yukine and Kiun negotiate ^^
Takemikazuchi is a jerk. Poor Kiun. But wow, do they have a messed up tragic backstory. Maybe there is still hope for them. Kiun finally standing up to that Elder and Takemikazuchi complaining that it's 1200 years too late made me grin, and was also a reminder that gods deal in completely different time spans.
Yukine did not want to fight Kiun, and Kiun wasn't especially happy about it either, but their masters were fighting and both would do anything to protect their masters. Tough. (It was different with Kazuma because he was acting on his own when he attacked Yukine, not on Bishamon's orders.)
Yukine actually defeats Takemikazuchi, though Kazuma helped a bit and Kiun was not at full power. If Kiun becomes a hafuri vessel (though Kazuma's actions right now won't make him any more eager) he'll be even more powerful, look out.
And then Bishamon lost and Yato and Yukine were captured and Yukine was put in a box :(((( Their friends risked their lives for them and now DAIKOKU (who does it for Yukine, even though Kofuku doesn't want to risk losing him, ow my heart.)
Monthly updates, this is going to be a long wait every time.
