Kyuuki-chan
Distraction lately has been just flitting about from one thing to the next. I've poked about on the shojo visual novel Yo-Jin-Bo a bit, started re-watching OutLaw Star, got caught up (mostly) on the manga Her Majesty's Dog (I've ordered the next two in the series which finish things up). I completely adore that series and I've been seriously thinking of trying another series by that same mangaka. The dynamics between the clueless Amane and her koma-oni Hyoue are deliciously complex and when you get to hear Hyoue's feelings for Amane you can't help but root for him. He's so hopelessly devoted to Amane it's sweet. On the opposite side of the manga spectrum I've gotten the next volume of DOGS; sometimes dynamic action scenes and a series that aims to be, and accomplishes being, an action packed series with the action and violence being THE focus instead of being something overly complex is just what a person needs. I've also started poking at the visual novel Fate/Stay Night for the heck of it. Since there's an English patch for it I figured why not give it a go.
I've also started dragging out some old books I haven't read in a while. One in particular being a book called Satyrday by Steven Bauer. It's a wonderful book, and if you've never read it you should give it a try. It reads like a fairy tale, about an owl that steals the moon so he can try to take over the world and make an eternal night and the human and satyr that set out to stop him. From the first reading I was fascinated with Deirdre, the raven that sets about finding her old friend Matthew the satyr and trying to get the other ravens to question the owl's rule, and then there's also Vera, the magical silver fox. The line when she says "Those things most beautiful vanish first," when telling of how she is the last of her clan has stuck with me since the first time I've read that book. I could go on about my feelings about the character Condor, one of the ravens, but if I go on about him I'll eventually spoil something so I'll just say his character had an emotional impact on me, too. In all honesty I'd say this would be a book I'd put in the top five of my "books you should read and probably haven't" list. It would be right up there with Hope for the Flowers.
Ach, I almost forgot to mention this, but in my quest for media related to kamaitachi, a type of Japanese weasel yokai, I came about a series called Mokke which seems to be a rather cute series that combines slice of life elements and yokai of various types. Episode 10 features a kamaitachi who is trying to re-learn how to use his sickles after the kamaitachi lost the ability from misuse of it. I hunted down a fansub of it and watched it, and it was interesting enough to make me think I should maybe hunt down some more of the series. I'd like to see what other yokai get featured in it and find out more about the main characters. It's not really action packed or anything, but it has an easy, calming pace to it, like and yet unlike Mushishi... if that makes any sense. I'd really like to see this series get licensed, even if it just gets a sub-only release.
I screengrabbed the kamaitachi, just because there's not enough kamaitachi images out there;
