Dream with Our Eyes Open

lady_ganesh wanted to know about "Top five characters more dangerous than they look." Because proving this about a character always involves a reveal, there are spoilers (which I have covered) in each answer.

Cho Hakkai from Saiyuki (right). On the surface, a mild-mannered, absent-minded young man. But cross him, and you'll find out that he's totally bad-ass - even before he takes off his power limiters and becomes a youkai covered with prehensile vines and whose strength and reflex speed greatly exceed those of virtually every other youkai we've seen in the series.

Sanada Saemon-no-Suke Yukimura from Samurai Deeper Kyo (in the post icon), a cheerful short guy whom we first see as a harmless drunk with a woman on each arm. A few minutes later, he's puking his guts out. Who would suspect that he's one of the only swordsmen in Japan who can give the notorious Demon-Eyes Kyo a good fight ... and can chop lesser opponents in half vertically with a single stroke?

Yoshino Dōa from Blade of the Immortal (right), a very petite, very young Ainu woman who turns out to be a ruthless, blood-thirsty swordswoman with ultra-fast reflexes who takes out male opponents much larger and stronger than herself with fearsome efficiency.

Sister Yolanda from Black Lagoon, an elderly, sweet-faced one-eyed nun who is the Mother Superior of a church outside of Roanapur, Thailand, who packs a a gold-plated Desert Eagle pistol and is efficiently running an arms-smuggling and intelligence-gathering operation. (Sadly, I have no Sister Yolanda icon ... )

Ayasegawa Yumichika from Bleach (left), a fey, vain, eccentric little goofball who's too pretty for his own good and seemingly too refined to even perspire, yet in actuality is the Fifth Seat of the notoriously combat-ready and violent 11th Division of Soul Reapers, meaning that he can whip the ass of just about any even semi-normal opponent without ... breaking a sweat.

Via inkstone on Dreamwidth:

... TOKYOPOP lost the license to Samurai Deeper Kyo! But that explains why volume 35 has been impossible to find, no matter what Amazon says. I can't believe it though -- there are only 4 volumes left! (Never mind the fact that SDK is supposedly one of their better sellers. This can't bode well for TP if they lost the SDK license and the final English volume of Furuba is released soon.) On the other hand, it also appears that Del Rey has the license to the final 4 volumes and if the listing for volume 35 is accurate, they'll be released in double-sized volumes. Let's hope it's true. That'll be imminently sad if SDK ends its English run with only 4 volumes to go!

You can take a look at the Delray catalog listing here.

Kyo and co. receive advice and information from Julian, the premier Mibu swordsmith, about the intensely magical Muramasa blades. Akira insists on facing Tokito alone to rescue Bontenmaru - and the bulk of the volume consists of Akira's battle with Tokito.

There was some really great art in this issue. I'm just annoyed that it involved Tokito, who is my least favorite character. The image where Tokito first draws the Muramasa blade a fraction of an inch, and the scene when Tokito uses the Seven Stars attack (a double-page spread), were both very beautiful.

On the other hand, even though I remember laughing at loud with joyful surprise at a couple of things that happened near the end, this volume faded from my mind really quickly, and I didn't have the urge to immediately go back and read it again - and again - as I did with the two recent volumes focusing on Hotaru. And like meganbmoore, I'm a little worried about what Kamijyo might be trying to tell us about social class and ability.

( Read more ... with spoilers! )

So now that it's officially autumn (or will be, this afternoon, I think), here are the icons I've been working on ... .

Previews:

Kyo must face his old foe Oda Nobunaga, who now possesses the body of the shaman Nozumo. Nobunaga's skills with the sword and his deadly demonic attacks aren't the only dangers Kyo will face. But before the conflict can be resolved, Yuya interrupts the combatants and changes the stakes drastically.

The human element comes strongly to the forefront in this volume. Although the situation with Yuya is by far the most dramatic element, this installment also ends with Kyo farther from regaining his real body than ever, and Akari continues to have to face her past history with the Mibu.

And there simply isn't much more to say without risking major spoilers.

Because that's when Tokyopop is releasing both vol. 5 of Wild Adapter and vol. 28 of Samurai Deeper Kyo!

Anticipation!
Anticipa-a-ation
Is making me late -
It's keeping me waiting ... .

Warning! Large amounts of fangirl squeeing below.

Poor, duped Shinrei! The Former Crimson King! And the whole back half of the book is Yukimura, Shindara, and the Sanada Juyushi! So. Much. Love!

Ahem. More soberly:

After Bontenmaru's fight with Haira, the last Mibu berserker, is over, Yukimura faces a highly unpleasant blast from the past - with the aid of several members of the Sanada Ten. Meanwhile, Shinrei learns that Taihaku and Hotaru were all too right, a lost joker reappears, and we get to see who strikes fear into the hearts of the Four Elders of the Mibu. The volume ends very much in media res ... I'm going to be on tenterhooks for 2 months.

Kyo's party, still split into groups, is pressing on into the heart of the Mibu city in search of the shrine where Kyo's real body is being held. Akira, Benitora, and Hotaru continue their confrontation with the true Kubira, master of illusions. Akira finds himself pushed beyond his limits on two fronts: his fighting prowess, and his senses of justice and compassion. The resolution of the encounter forces him to grow (I think it can be argued that Akira shows more spiritual/emotional growth during the series than any other character), and we learn more about the Mibu and the mysterious disease that affects so many of them. Several more members of the group are reunited with the three young men at the end of this sequence.

Meanwhile, Kyo and Bontenmaru seem to have arrived at their destination - only to find the way blocked by the last of the berserkers, Haira, who is accompanied by Shindara the Undying. We then get a little visit with Yukimura and his faithful Saizo, who are having a bit of trouble with some Mibu elite guards. The resolution of this scene answers the question of what Yukimura did after he left Muramasa's, and how he was able to evade Kyo in their previous encounter. Finally, Yukimura and Saizo join Kyo and Shindara in watching Bontenmaru fight Haira: a scene that is pretty comical but that got old quickly for me.

This volume wasn't quite as satisfying for me as vol. 24, but the end of the Kubira encounter was quite touching, and I like how Akira continues to develop. And of course I really, really appreciated having some more Yukimura scenes, and the flashback sequence within them was very interesting.

This was a pleasure, from the beautiful front cover painting of Sarutobi Sasuke sitting protectively back-to-back with his lord (and savior, and chief responsibility, and pet peeve) Sanada Yukimura to the sweetly silly back cover pic of Yuya hugging Kyo's sword Tenrou (with his old teacher Muramasa's little bird perched on the hilt guard) like a teddy bear. There are several action-filled fights, but I also have to say that there's also a lot of love, and I don't really mean romance.

Akari's fight against the physically attractive but ethically repulsive Mibu berserker Mekira comes to a dramatic end, and we learn a little more about "the worst" Emperor's mysterious past. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Okuni find that their path is blocked by an old friend of Sasuke's. The volume finishes up with another visit to SDK's answer to the Three Stooges: Akira, Benitora, and Hotaru have to break off their bickering to face the mysterious powers of another of the berserkers.

Despite the unsettling news that Okuni has brought about the Mibu plans for Kyo's real body, the group is optimistic: now that the Four Emperors are back together, it seems nothing can stand in their way! But the reunion doesn't last long: the way to the Onmyo Shrine, where the body is held, could be through any of the four doors that Kyo and his companions soon encounter. They draw lots, and continue as four separate parties. Beyond one door, Hotaru has an unsettling meeting with a special person from his half-forgotten past, while beyond another, Yuya finds out a number of Akari's own secrets - including the nature of the destructive skills that made her such a valuble member of the Four Emperors - as they face several increasingly deadly sets of opponents.

Yukimura fans should note that he actually has a scene in this volume - the first in quite a while - as he and Saizo have an emotionally-charged encounter with their ex-companion Shindara. (And there's also a funny "extra" cartoon that tackles the issue of Yukimura's near-complete absence from the last several volumes.)