Ryume’s Weblog

**Once again, every entry in this blog contains spoilers.

Good heavens, I’ve stumbled across one of the sexiest mangas I’ve seen to date. And I’ve fallen head over heels for it.

I’m a bit late to get into Japan’s moderate fetish with vampires (I’m sure there’s already been lots of things out there that revolve around vampires), but again, as per my usual MO, the art style is what really caught my eye. Gorgeous, lanky characters with humongous eyes and clothing that reminds of a the Victorian era with a modern flair… even their school uniforms are somewhat glamorous. I can’t express how glad I am that I’ve discovered this manga.

So naturally, I pounced on it and read all 36 chapters in one sitting. A lot of reading (it took me a few hours to both read and ogle the pretty scans), but it was worth it and besides, what else is there to do on a week night when insomnia strikes? Might as well spend those late night hours when no one else is awake reading manga, watching anime, playing video games, or writing in blogs that are mostly about nothing (like this one!).

The story isn’t finished yet… much to my chagrin. My resolution on never starting up a series if it’s not completed at least in Japan is slowly cracking. I STILL have managed to resist series like Bleach and Naruto however. So yay for me. Still, I think it’s very interesting, what with all the vampire social hierarchy and Yuuki/Zero’s roles as school guardians. It’s not a new theme, vampires and humans trying to coexist peacefully, but I think Hino-san is executing it well. The pretty pictures don’t hurt either.

Some small criticisms I have regarding the art would be things like occasionally the way the hands and eyes are drawn, they seem to be over-large compared to the rest of the body. If I sit and think about it, the eyes are consistently almost grotesquely over-large in Yuuki no matter what, but that’s only if I let myself be bothered by it. The way Hino-san draws the hands, they look so elegant and realistic, but sometimes I feel like if I were to meet someone with hands like that, they’d easily be able to cover their entire face and then some with just one hand.  Plus, sometimes when she draws Kaname, his head looks really long… if any of you remember that old MTV cartoon about a guy with a gigantic head that was more tall then wide, you’ll know what I’m referring to.   Tiny criticisms which really don’t even matter going on in this paragraph.

Some may think it odd that I tend to stick with domesticated releases when it comes to both anime and manga (not dubs people!), but the truth is, the film quality or print quality is usually a lot better.  Sometimes I just don’t trust things not to get lost in translation though.  It doesn’t matter if it’s Geneon doing it or an amateur fansub/scanlation group. Unfortunately, some of the scanlations that I’ve seen of this manga are er… leaving something to be desired, but I’m hoping as more chapters are released the confusion that still lingers right now will be cleared up.

Kudos to all those scanlation/fansub groups out there a million times over, seriously. I can never thank those guys enough for what they do. And all they ask in return is that we don’t bitch about how slow things are released.

I’ll delve into my first impression character analysis here I suppose. After all, it’s what keeps me hooked to these things in the first place! Read at your own discretion.

Yuuki Cross – Cute little high school chick who can kick ass with a wicked pole that seems to be imbued with electricity or lightning or something. And she uses it readily to keep the peace at Cross Academy as one of its guardians. I love how cheerful she always is without being overly annoying about it. She seems to be sensible enough to know that not everything is roses all the time, but she also would do just about anything to protect the ones she loves. I enjoy her relationship with Zero. It definitely speaks of childhood friends coming of age together. Like a lot of female leads, she’s unaware of the power she has over her male counterparts. She’s not exactly dense, it’s more like a “nah, he’d never think or do that when it concerns me” kind of thing. Also, after discovering she’s actually a pure blood vampire with what appears to be incredible powers, her character has become THAT much more interesting to me. Oh, and being Kaname Kuran’s chosen one is definitely something to be envied.

Zero Kiryu – Forgive me if I drop off a couple of the u’s in these names. I’m mostly being lazy and not caring. Anyways, Zero is a seemingly stoic character with some deep-seated issues. As the second guardian of Cross Academy charged with keeping the day class from discovering what the night class really is, he’s far more dark and savage than Yuuki. Zero doesn’t say much, but he doesn’t have to. He’s definitely more about actions than words, and Hino-san does a great job of displaying his emotions through his body language. Slap that gun in his hand and he’s a very lovely bishounen to boot. What I like about Zero is actually his impending doom. Having been bitten by a pure blood vampire when he was younger, he himself is now a vampire… with a time limit. I know people are clamoring for a Yuuki/Zero pairing, but I have to wonder how long can he really last before falling to level E? Even if drinking the blood of a pure blood will save him, it just doesn’t seem like a method like that can work indefinitely. And of course, being in love with Yuuki but still pushing her in Kaname’s direction adds yet another layer to his already deepening character. I’m really anxious to find out how things are going to end up for Zero in the end.  So far, he’s the most intriguing one of the bunch to me.

Kaname Kuran – Ahhh… where can I start? He’s tall, dark and handsome. He’s basically royalty since he’s a pure blood vampire. He’s also the dorm leader at Cross Academy for the night class. Did I mention he’s also a bit sinister, maybe even a little evil? He’s gorgeous, and completely in love with Yuuki. As a character he’s very poised and refined. Everyone in the room bows to him when he enters. And he’s very polite, even with the screaming groups of love-struck school girls at Cross Academy. Who wouldn’t like this guy? I think what I really enjoy though is that twisted side of him. It’s obvious he can be incredibly vicious when the occasion arises, and we learn that he’s killed other vampires in the past, including his uncle. Really, the only person you see him genuinely being kind and open towards is Yuuki. Everyone else is kept at arm’s length until they’ve been thoroughly scrutinized. Given that he’s been protecting Yuuki from danger ever since he brought her to the Chairman, it makes you wonder what’s so special about her, and about their relationship. Siblings? But not truly siblings? And why is he a fake heir? A lot of mystery surrounds this guy, so once again I’m practically drooling in anticipation for more chapters.

This series has me completely enthralled. I think the art style is incredibly sexy (without being pornographic of course) and unique. I also really enjoy how the characters’ have more and more layers being added to them in the course of their development. Even the side characters like Aidou are being expanded. The more Hino-san does this, the more I’m left wanting… well… more! Vampire Knight is a fantastic read. I recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind blood and incest =)

Ooookay. I really didn’t intend on posting about this ’cause it’s like beating a dead horse, but reading other blogs and whatnot has inspired me to at least record my own feelings on this topic.

That’s right, you guessed it: Who is Shuurei going to fall in love with?

As always with fandom comes continuous speculation over their favorite characters and how relationships between them will pan out. Everyone has their own favorite couple and their own thoughts on who should be with whom and why (even after the official pairing is already made). So I figure… I might as well dive in too.

Mmkay, first I’ll make a confession to you. I’m a bit of a fangirl when it comes to Ryuuki. I love his character. He’s sweet and sincere and child-like in many ways, but he’s also developing admirably as a character. And yes, I would really enjoy it if he and Shuurei ended up together. There, now that’s out of the way.  I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible when discussing Shuurei and Ryuuki.  I hope I succeed.   The analysis is going to be based on logic and the knowledge I’ve garnered from reading various blogs, posts, manga, novel summaries, and anime episodes.

There’s TONS of Shuure/Ryuuki fans out there (I hate the “x” when discussing pairings – random tidbit). Many people argue that Shuurei does not return Ryuuki’s affection, that Sakujun had a better effect on her than Ryuuki, that Seiran is the standard she holds all others up to, etc. etc. etc. Logically, do I think Shuurei will end up with Ryuuki? I have no facking clue to be honest. The feeling I get when Shuurei and Ryuuki are together on screen is one of mixed emotions. Obviously Ryuuki is smitten. Shuurei though… I don’t feel like she’s completely disinterested in Ryuuki. It’s true that he’s gone about winning her affections in the wrong way in the past by piling gifts on her, etc., but there still a lingering something that’s making me go “Hmmm…”.

In the manga, it’s outlined that Shuurei doesn’t feel she is worthy to be a princess, much less an empress. Her thought pattern about herself is along the lines of her being too plain and common to be a worthy match for Ryuuki. It’s a theme that’s carried through the entire first chapter of the manga. We don’t see any of that in the anime of course, but it really opened up a lot of doors for me when considering Shuurei’s character. What IF the anime is playing off of that theme? Maybe it’s not obvious, but it’s hinted at. Take into consideration when Shuurei was sick and she’s looking down at the torn piece of sleeve Ryuuki had used to wipe the sweat from her body. She thinks if only someone beautiful and gentle would become your consort. To me that says volumes.

Is she chicken about returning Ryuuki’s affections? Maybe. Given what I know about Chinese culture and the way things were done in the empire, sometimes I think the author is having Shuurei refuse Ryuuki not because she feels nothing for him, but rather because she’s afraid of the limitations it will place on her advancement as an official.  Or maybe she really feels nothing for him at all beyond a supporter of his post as the emperor.  (I still disagree with that though, but we have to entertain all possibilities.)

- – -

Ah… Shuurei and Seiran. Tons of people voting for this one too. I can see why. They grew up together and it’s obvious Shuurei places complete trust in Seiran. She’s much more lax around him. And she’s definitely not afraid to depend on him. But to me, whenever I watch the anime, there just aren’t any sparks when they’re together. It’s sweet and admirable in a sibling kind of way. The love they have for each other is deep, something that can never be taken away from them, but it’s just not romantic to me. Does she love Seiran? Yes, certainly. Is she in love with Seiran? I really don’t think so. She depends on Seiran the way I used to depend on my own brother when we were younger. We were extremely close and I was totally relaxed and open with him too when we were hanging out. And I also knew I could trust him and depend on him for anything. Maybe that’s why I feel like Shuurei and Seiran will never have that big sparks flying-romantic-over-the-top-love-love-power with each other. Who knows. From what I’ve gathered thus far though, especially since Seiran has STILL not revealed to his ojou-sama that he is in fact the exiled second prince, it feels like the author has something else in mind for Seiran. He’ll always be a strong pillar of support for Shuurei… but he’s also her family. Sorry all you Seiran/Shuurei fans, but it’ll take something more to make me see a viable romantic love between these two.

Disclaimer:  For those of you that might run around going yuck, she’s saying her relationship with her older brother was exactly like Shuurei and Seiran and therefore incestuous or something ridiclous, may lightning strike you dead wherever you may be located.  That’s just too ridiculous to even find any humor in.  And yes, it’s necessary to post this ’cause I’m anal retentive like that.

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Shuurei and Sakujun. Okay, Sakujun is a beautifully drawn bishounen. That being said, he also apparently died. Until I’m given hard proof that he’s more than a spirit wandering around, I won’t even bother to say Shuurei should or shouldn’t end up with him ’cause as far as I’m concerned he’s dead.

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Shuurei and Kouyuu. A political pairing. It’s not surprising they would be presented with this kind of proposal. Shuurei, an extraordinary woman going against all tradition by becoming a rising star in the political field! Kouyuu, a genius and the youngest person in his time to have passed the Imperial Examination, thus becoming a personal advisor to the Emperor himself! And a member of the prestigious Kou family to boot! It’s a match made in political heaven. I really don’t care about these two being together. I think it’d be a boring outcome honestly. I’d rather see Kouyuu hook up with Kouchou-sama.

- – - -

Shuurei and Ensei. Nope. Same lines as Seiran, only not as deep. Not going further with this.

- – - -

The bottom line about Shuurei right now is this: I’m frustrated with her. From the start of the series she’s been excellent. As a teacher, as a politician, and as a career woman. Everything falls neatly into her lap with her consistent persistence and admirable sense of wit laced with honor. She’s quite brilliant for a teenager. And, again, if you know anything about Chinese culture and how life was back then, she’s pretty damn amazing. Someone like her never even existed in reality, so I think the series is doing a pretty good job of making me not even care that something like this never would have happened in a million years back then. She executes her duties in a mature, industrious manner. Her plans are nothing short of incredible. Okay, great, fine, I accept that she’s is just that excellent so that nearly everything she touches turns to gold.

HOWEVER.

I’m a little bit bored with her. Why? Because I want her to grow up in other ways. I want her to develop the way Ryuuki is developing, the way Shouka is becoming more rounded out as we learn about his past, the way Seiran is opening up. She hasn’t yet. She’s still the same brilliant career-driven maniac we saw from page 1/episode 1. She made a teensy bit of progress with Sakujun. I think when they were together she may have even experienced sensations of lust, however small they may have been. He definitely struck me as being her first crush in any case. But even then she still pretended she wasn’t affected as best she could, just as she does with Ryuuki.

I want her to grow up in the intimacy department. I want her to learn that not everything is all work and that sometimes you have to depend on others to help you get through the day. I want her to allow herself to experience love because… remember that old saying… “It’s better to have love and lost then to never have loved at all”. I think experiencing these kinds of things will only serve to enrich her character.

I also want her to do something about that damned ignorance when it comes to the eight families, including her own. Her naiveté is going to bite her severely in the ass someday when it comes to this. In the novels she says so herself that she really isn’t interested in the politics surrounding the families and the royal court OR about their positions in society. Um… HELLO! This is not an option Shuurei! These kinds of things are intricately entwined when it comes to understanding politics and the way things are run! No one said she had to become corrupted by familial power or anything like that, but seriously the girl needs to open her eyes and take in everything that’s going on in the world around her, not just the tunnel in front of her that is her career. Right now I feel like she’s thinking of her career path as simply getting from point A to point B.

I love Shuurei. I really do. I just want more from her is all.

- – - -

Bottom line about these relationship debates: We, as fans, have absolutely no idea or say who Shuurei will end up with for sure. We can speculate, moan, gripe, complain, debate, and cajole all we want. But, since the story definitely seems like it’s nowhere near being finished, I honestly feel like it’s a lot of hot air blowing around, my own analysis included. For all we know the author could throw a dozen curve balls our way and completely knock us off kilter. Shuurei could die! Seiran could die! It could turn into yaoi! The point is, we just don’t know.

My fangirl dream is of course that Shuurei will marry Ryuuki and together they will change the face of ancient Chinese politics by having both husband and wife govern the country as equals. Talk about unrealistic, heh. Logic though, really tells me this:

We don’t know, so the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

**NOTE: Contains spoilers.

In an effort to take a break from my rabid anime-watching streak lately, I finally decided to read Yuu Watase’s Absolute Boyfriend. My gosh what an adorable manga! Compared to a lot of other manga that I’ve read, this one was pretty short, consisting of only 33 chapters. Still, Watase-san even in that short space managed to weave yet another charming tale with plenty of love and laughter. And as always, her artwork is just gorgeous.

The story is a bit unusual, but then again what else do you expect when one of the main characters is essentially a super-advanced sex doll? Personally, were I in Riko’s position, I would have chosen Soshi over Night. Night is gorgeous and kind and gentle and a gallant protector over Riko… but he also isn’t human. And he’s only like this because of all the special features Riko decided to have implemented into his personality. It would be like a dream come true in some ways, wouldn’t it? Being able to create the perfect man who would adore you and only you for all of eternity… I can see why Riko went ahead and ordered one without really thinking it through, especially after being rejected as many times as she has.

It’s a pity Soushi was too shy to confess his true feelings for her sooner though. Soshi is every bit as gorgeous as Night, plus he’s a top student and great cook to boot! Soshi is almost everything Night is and to top it off, he’s human. His biggest humiliation and argument for why Riko should choose him is Night’s humanity (or lack thereof). As I read this section between Riko and Soshi, my heart really went out to Soshi. I thought his words were powerful and they held more than a little merit. Pointing out that Night, no matter how wonderful he acts or how real he may feel, is something that will never age or even be able to have children are extremely valid points that clearly Riko never even considered.

However, we can’t choose who we fall in love with. Riko may realize how much of a problem Night’s lack of humanity may be in the future, but by then it’s too late. As Shouka put it to Reishin in Saimono, “Fate decides who falls in love”. I thought it was very sad at the end when, after finally physically consummating their relationship Night essentially dies. That seemed to be rather abrupt to me, and it was never even hinted at until the last 20 pages or so of the manga. Sure, he’d been sick, but because he was so unusual you would have thought his creators would have done more to preserve him and study him.

One of my favorite chapters though was chapter 25 for sure, it wasn’t due to story content.  I felt a little silly, but I gave several fangirl squeals as I read this chapter.  Chibi-Night was soooooooooooo damn cute I just couldn’t get over it.  Of course, this definitely alienates him further from being human, as coming back to Riko 4 inches high isn’t exactly a normal thing to do.  Most of my favorite moments actually come from Soshi though.  Several times he’s seen punching the lights out of some guy who insults Riko (the same as Night), or we see him coming to her rescue when she’s being ganged up on by the other girls for being Night’s girlfriend.  Soshi is like a true knight in shining armor… and it just makes me sigh with pity whenever I see Riko putting Night first.

Overall, as I said, I found the story to be charming. However, even though I tend to be more on the logical side, the only way I can enjoy stories like this is to simply let go of logic and expectations of reality. Everything else aside, this story really was almost overly ideal in many ways. And the fact that all of the Kronos officials were young children, with the CEO equivalent being a baby… well I guess it’s no wonder they were so hellbent on solving the “feminine mystique”. That whole bit about the Kronos company I didn’t really understand, but again, it’s one of those things you merely have to accept as being the norm in this particular universe!  Also, there were some sections that felt a bit rushed, such as when Riko finally discovered Mika’s true nature.  It just seemed weird to me how it all played out.  Of course I was SO glad when Riko slapped Mika across the face for being the traitorous bitch she is.

All in all though, I’d definitely recommend anyone who is a fan of the shoujo genre (and bishounens in general!) to check out this adorable manga from Watase-san.

So you’ve stumbled across my entertainment blog… nice to meet you. I used to keep a journal at livejournal, but for various reasons I decided to get rid of it as it contained a lot of entries that I felt like I didn’t need to hang onto anymore.  Also, writing about entertainment type things allows me to be silly and more childish by far than what I can be at my job or otherwise.

Basically, this blog will contain my thoughts on various anime, manga, and video games I’ve played, in addition to movies and novels that I’ve seen/read. I figure as an editor in limbo at the moment, some kind of writing exercise would be a good thing. So here goes.

Thanks for reading (*’-'*)

I’d like to start this post off by saying I’ve always made it a rule to NOT start any type of anime or manga series that isn’t already completed (at least in Japan). Why, you ask? Well, since I am currently not fluent in Japanese, seeing raw versions of the shows wouldn’t do me any good, nor would importing any of the literature. Also, as I am a terribly impatient person from time to time, waiting for fansubs or domesticated releases just KILL me.

Thanks to Saimono, that’s all null and void now. I’m still avoiding Bleach though. XD

Anyways, back to the anime. Okay, I’ll admit it. The first thing that drew me to this series was the artwork. I know, I know, it’s a pretty shallow reason. However, I was doing some websurfing one day and the picture on Geneon’s DVD of Ryuuki and Shuurei just caught my eye. The artwork was similar to that of Fushigi Yugi (which happens to be a big favorite of mine), so I was intrigued. After reading up about the series on Wiki, I decided to take the plunge and check it out.

FYI, the page on Wiki that I originally looked at primarily discussed season I, and me being in a hurry didn’t notice that this anime had more than one series. I was under the impression it was completed at 39 episodes. Stupid, I know.

If I had one word to describe this anime overall, it would be pastel. Some of you might go o_O at this, but to me, this is pretty accurate. Pastel in my head equates to things being soft, pretty, easy on the eyes and easy to like. Visually, the anime is done in lovely shades of pink, blue, purple, green… all nice and pale and pastel. There are tones of bishies running around Shuurei at all times, and everyone is amiable and happy. On top of that, for the most part, everyone gets along well enough too. And even though what Shuurei has achieved was never even dreamt of back then, the anime still makes it all seem so very viable. It’s a lovely, heart-warming story thus far that doesn’t make you feel as though you’ve spent vacuous hours in front of your television (or computer). I believe it’s made this way by the strong sense of intelligence infused into most of the characters. If they acted like a bunch of airheads all the time, I’m pretty sure I would have been very turned off from this series.

Okay, here I’ll delve into my thoughts on characters. I’ve seen all the anime episodes up through episode 14 in season II and I’ve read all the novel summaries from various sources, so my character impressions in this post will be drawing upon those source.

Shuurei – Usually, female leads like this irritate me. A lot of the time when they create a female who constantly goes against the norm, they end up making them far too headstrong and bossy for my taste (Rei in Sailor Moon, Kaoru in Kenshin, etc. I didn’t dislike these characters, but they annoyed me more often than not). Shuurei however, doesn’t annoy me hardly at all, aside from her obvious lack of knowledge about love and her family’s position in society. She is a pleasant figure with great cooking skills (close to my heart!) and a good head on her shoulders to boot. She rises up to every challenge that comes her way and sees it through to the end. What I like most about her is that she realizes that she isn’t infallible. When she became the co-governor of Brown Province, she even went as far as telling Ensei to take her head if that’s what it would take to restore peace in that area of the country… which perhaps was a bit extreme given the irrational nature of the situation, but nonetheless it’s a striking illustration of her sense of duty and honor. As she goes about her duties as an official, she is very much a mature woman. Clever and calculating, she still manages to remain empathetic to the people’s needs and treats children with a motherly sort of affection. She never looks down on anyone, in spite of her prestigious lineage. Shuurei is indeed a noble figure.

When it comes to love though, she is just… helpless. I can’t put it any other way. I understand what it is Shuurei wants to do, but she really is insensitive to the emotions of others when it comes to personal situations. She repeatedly refuses Ryuuki, but then lets herself be drawn in by Sakujun who, in his pursuit of her, is nearly the same as Ryuuki. (Later I need to analyze WHY Shuurei seems to be drawn to Sakujun so much more strongly than Ryuuki because as it is right now, that whole bit confuses me.) Shuurei doesn’t strike me as being afraid of love, but she’s clearly inexperienced. She seems to try to make up for that inexperience with indifference, pretending that the attentions of those around her don’t strike her in any way… yet through flashbacks and inner monologues we see that she does think about these things. Personally, I think she’s going to end up very lonely if she continues to push intimacy out of her life the way she is in exchange for her career. Work is important yes, but so is developing relationships with those around you. While this doesn’t happen to everyone, I wouldn’t be surprised if Shuurei ended up as a career woman who looks back in 50 years and realizes just how much she missed out on during her lifetime.

Ryuuki - Ahhh… my current all time favorite male lead in an anime series (previously it was Inuyasha; he just cracks me up). Ryuuki is so charming to me. He’s clearly extremely intelligent as we see in the beginning of the series when Kouyuu is finally able to give him lessons, but he is also very child-like. What I love about Ryuuki is that he has been steadily progressing since the beginning. From a slacker to an emperor worthy of respect, his progress has pleased me greatly. The story of his childhood certainly tugs at my heartstrings… those scenes of chibi-Ryuuki with or without bruises just make my heart melt! Still, because he was so unloved by everyone except Seiran and Shouka as a child, it makes you wonder why he clings so ferociously to Shuurei just a little bit. I’ve no doubt he truly loves her, but I can’t help thinking it isn’t quite a mature love, not yet. At first he compares Shuurei to a nagging mother when she scolds him for eating too many manjuu, but he’s clearly already fond of her. A nagging mother huh? Well we know Ryuuki’s never had any sort of kindness from a maternal figure so…

Later of course, I think he ends up falling for Shuurei because she truly is an extraordinary woman (especially for ancient China), but it still has this underlying current that unsettles me. His love for Shuurei in some ways has held him back from being a truly great emperor, but as Shouka pointed out to Reishin, the more Ryuuki behaves like an emperor, the more lonely he becomes. And Shuurei was a dream given to Ryuuki that under normal circumstances he never would have had. Without truly realizing what it would mean to allow women to take the Imperial Examination, Ryuuki pushes the bill through. All the while we see him thinking about Shuurei and how happy she’ll be. Even his advisers question the morality behind this move. Granted I think equality is a good thing, but I don’t think Ryuuki understands the magnitude of such a thing. Still, he’s becoming more and more mature as a character, as is evident when he finally realizes that, as an emperor, he cannot sit around and wait for Shuurei until the end of time. It’s like he’s accepted that he can love her, but as is part of his duty he will have to move on and accept another woman as his wife.

Like most fans, I just want to see Shuurei hurry up and realize she’s been in love with Ryuuki all along. Wouldn’t it be great if they not only changed the Imperial Court by allowing female officials, but also changed the entire role of the Emperor by allowing Shuurei to continue in her work? I doubt this will happen, but hey… I can dream.

Seiran – First, I have to say OMG Seiran’s seiyuu was also the seiyuu for Tamahome! [fangirl squeal]. Ahem. Seiran comes across to me as a strong, silent type. His manner of speaking is very gentle and he always, always shows the utmost respect for Shuurei and Shouka. Naturally this stems from his gratitude towards them for taking him in, but I sense a hidden talent within Seiran. Not just from what has been hinted at either when we see them speaking of “wonderful prince Seian” either. There’s just something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on yet. When he gets angry though, he seems like he’d be scary if Ensei wasn’t there to hold him back. For some odd reason, whenever this happened in the anime I’d get a sensation of “Super Saiyan Seiran” lol. Still, even more so than with Shuurei, Seiran is able to open up and relax around Ensei. This is probably because he feels Ensei is the only person he can depend on to be his equal in just about any situation. I’m eager to see how the author continues to develop his character.

Ryuuren – I have trouble deciding who’s prettier: Ryuuki or Ryuuren in normal clothing? That bit of silliness aside, Ryuuren is one of my favorite characters in this series. The genius of the Ran (Lan?) clan, he is definitely more than a little bit eccentric. I know geniuses more than likely see things differently than we “common” folk do, but does he really not realize how out of tune his flute playing is? Or that using vegetables to decorate yourself is just… odd, aside from wasteful. Well, whatever because it all adds to his charm! Having dubbed Shuurei his soul friend, I figured it would only be matter of time before some kind of romantic element entered between those two. At this point we only see it mentioned in passing that he’s asked for Shuurei’s hand in marriage, but I wonder if the author is going to stop it there? Also, Ryuuren’s sense of intuition is eerie. He just knows when something big is going down. This has nothing to do with being a genius folks! I like how he accepts these littles lessons in humanity from Shuurei though. They’ve managed to capture how people that are highly intelligent seem to… struggle for lack of a better term when it comes to socializing with others. I’ve known plenty of highly intelligent people who had a knack for making others feel isolated and/or uncomfortable the same as Ryuuren. Perhaps this is why I’m so fond of him, as he resembles a great many of my friends.

Shuuei – The consumate ladies’ man of the series. I love how he patronizes Kouyuu constantly about getting lost and for being so mean to someone who is only looking out for Kouyuu’s best interests. It’s obvious he cares about Kouyuu very much though. Learning that he is essentially the middle child of the Lan clan though, it lends to Shuuei all sorts of aspects that go along with being in that position. We already know that he was in love with his elder brother’s wife… and it seems the author has dictated Shuuei to be a victim of unrequited love alongside Ryuuki.

Kouyuu – Kouyuu always makes me smile. I love how in the anime he tries to rationalize getting lost by exclaiming how the heck could such and such an office have grown wings and flown away in the middle of the night!? That must be why it’s not here! A genius with a short temper and a curious dislike towards women. Either I missed it or it hasn’t been explained yet, but I don’t really get Kouyuu’s distaste towards the softer sex. Reishin is married, so it couldn’t have come from him. Also, he doesn’t get lost when he’s drunk apparently o_O. Thus far, we haven’t seen him doing much beyond tutoring Shuurei and Ryuuki, but I have a feeling great things are in store for Kouyuu since it appears that he has been marked to be the next leader of the Kou clan. I look forward to his future.

Shouka – How cool would it be to have a father who is as kind and wise as Shouka, and a top-notch ex-assassin to boot? I love how Shouka takes everything in, but doesn’t try to push anyone in either direction. He offers his advice as pearls of wisdom, but everything is stated in such a way that there’s no arguing with him or getting offended by what he says. He says things as they are, and that’s what I like most about him. Also, his relationship with Reishin is very amusing. He’s constantly trying to instill some sort of humanity into Reishin (even going as far as slapping him on the forehead for being too harsh) as well as point out the larger picture (i.e. Ryuuki being in love with Shuurei and how ultimately the choice in the end will be no one else’s but Shuurei’s).

Kourin – An elegant child who is far more ladylike than Shuurei, it’s not surprising that Kourin has been mistaken for her once or twice. I pitied her at first because of her motives behind poisoning Shuurei, but she’s shaping up to be yet another admirable character.

Ensei – My rogue prince! The bear references are always a good laugh, but when Ensei gets down to business he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. He constantly nags at Seiran, telling him in all sorts of underhanded ways that he needs to grow up, especially when it concerns Shuurei. Ensei is also quite inspirational however, having kept the peace in the Brown Province for 10 years without having actually passed any of the typical qualifications to become an official. It also doesn’t hurt that he kicks major ass. I sense a strong emotional undercurrent towards Shuurei though, so I am curious to see whether or not the author will turn Ensei into a romantic rival for Ryuuki. Also, what is the deal with Ensei’s teacher!?

Eigetsu – I’m not sure why, but while I like Eigetsu well enough, I don’t really feel any particularly strong emotional ties with him as of yet. As such… I really don’t have anything to write I’m afraid. I may edit this section later.

Reishin – CAUTION: Overprotective powerful relative lurking in the shadows somewhere! Cold and haughty, Reishin is always transformed into something like a puppy starved for affection whenever it comes to Shouka or Shuurei. He’s also the laziest official I’ve ever seen, real or fictional. As told by the novels though, there is a reason for him never doing any work. I think I need to do more research on Reishin before I can write on him properly though, because I still am in the dark as to exactly why Shouka was kicked out of the clan, why it was Reishin that did it, and why he despises the Kou clan so much.

Senior Secretary Kou – I really want to see his face. It’s not fair that the audience only gets to see his chin! (Given the nature of anime however, I don’t see how they could make him any prettier than Ryuuki or Ryuuren or Seiran, so it’s really not a big deal in the end.) While I like how Hojou teases Reishin and always points out when he’s acting creepy or ridiculous, once again I can’t comment properly on him until I’ve read up on him more.

At this point, in terms of the story, I’m just waiting to see how the author plays everything out. So far, character development is just beautiful. I also really enjoy the relationships that are formed between characters. While some of the aspects irritate me immensely (these repeated themes of unrequited love make me pause and think sometimes), overall this anime is hugely enjoyable, no matter how unrealistic it may seem. I’m sure there will be many more posts concerning this series in the future.

Sitting here and thinking about how unrequited love is such a strong theme in this series, maybe they should consider a name change ~_~  As I learn more about the series and new characters, I’m sure you’ll be seeing many more Saimono posts from me in the future.

Ja ne~