#Akanemaru

[nocandnc]

SUCH a cool panel, gaddamn.

[ashitakaxsan]

🎉 Celebrating Five Years of MAO:

A Murder & Mystery Series by the princcess of manga, Takahashi Rumiko🌙✨She has influenced me so much.Her great Influence has reached in Iran too. As we approach the fifth anniversary of MAO, it's time to reflect on the captivating journey this murder and mystery series has taken us on.

Created by the legendary Rumiko Takahashi, MAO may not have reached the same heights of commercial success as some of her older hits like Ranma and Inuyasha, but its impact on readers is undeniable.

Below(from left to the right):Hyakka,Kamon(Up is)Mao,derssed as inmuoji Shiranui,(with the military uniform)down Hakubi:

In MAO, sensei masterfully combines elements of mystery, romance, and the supernatural to craft a story that keeps us on the edge of our seats with each chapter. From the chilling murders to the intricate plot twists, MAO immerses us in a world where danger lurks around every corner and nothing is as it seems.

Despite its modest sales, MAO has garnered a dedicated fanbase who appreciate its unique blend of genres and its compelling characters. While an anime adaptation may seem uncertain at this time, the impact of MAO extends far beyond its commercial success, reminding us that true greatness lies in the depth of its storytelling and the emotions it evokes in its readers.

As we celebrate five years of MAO, let's cherish the moments of suspense, intrigue, and heart-pounding excitement that have made this series a standout in Rumiko Takahashi's illustrious career. Here's to many more years of unraveling mysteries and uncovering secrets with Mao,Nanoka, Otoya and the rest of the cast of MAO! 📖💫

[popflythesky]

the only game she ever plays is pokemon

[ganekuro]

Guysssss it's not officially announced yet but Sekoryo appeared in "Hakubo no Chronicle" live action from eps 10-12! His role is Akanemaru. (watch here)

Some spoilers👇

[ask-hopes-peak-coffee-shop]

What are the other relationships in this...er...universe?

Kyoko and Celestia are “dating” but Kyoko doesn’t ever remember, so everyday she has to wake up and go through her time before Celestia tells her

Mondo and Kiyotaka are legally dating but technically married (the Crazy Diamonds held the ceremony, Daiya was the officiator)

Toko and Komaru are dating

Buyakuya has this weird crush thing on Makoto

Peko and Fuyuhiko are engaged

Chiaki and Hajime are dating

Nagito and Izuru are dating

Sakura and Aoi are dating (and Aoi is mustering the courage to propose)

Sayaka and Mukuro are dating

Akane’s having a bisexual panic pining after Sonia and Nekomaru simultaneously

Sonia is trying her hardest to get Kazuichi and Gundham to go out

Mikan and Ibuki are dating

Mahiru and Hiyoko are engaged

Miu and Kaede are dating

Himiko and Tenko are dating

Kaito keeps flirting with Maki and Maki isn’t stopping him

Kokichi is literally salivating over his Shumai - Shuichi is silently pining back but refuses to admit it

Korekiyo and Rantaro live together, have slept together, do all that couple stuff, and act very domestic ... but no one knows if they’re dating or something

------------------------------------------

Thanks for the question! Remember ask box is OPEN!

[artistsashitakaxsan]

I made this Nanoka and Natsuno Quick sketch. It's Nice that for Good motives Natsuno is alike to Mother treating to Nanoka.

[inu-yasha]

Nanoka chan,with chagrin understands it:Why she lost for one more to Kagari.That relying only to use of Akanemaru won’t have(for long)any Effect,against a Real Technique Master. She gets it in the hard way:To learn the Onmyodo Techniques. I understand you Nanoka chan:) Go for It. *The collage is my work.

[nakyome-dangoflowers]

Nanokita wih her Akanemaru 🥰

Look at this beauty, I'm in love with the cover, I'm not having the best month and the best moments of my life either, but seeing Nanokita gives me strength and willingness to moving forward.

I love her so much, thank you Rumiko Takahashi for creating such a wonderful and lovely character.

By the way, look at this parallelism, they are ment for each other ✨️ I hope Renji can be in the back cover of this volume, therefore, I can shipp him with Nanoka 🤭

Credits of the cover: @MangaMoguraRE

[byoukimao]

Hi,just what sort of Trouble has started in Nanoka's Era? Why? But I can tell the connection is with Akanemaru and the ceramic bell?

I know I'm late in answering this late, but we didn't really get answers to these last week, so I think I'm safe to still respond!!

I'm sorta thinking that maybe the cave-in wasn't caused by Byouki, but was instead a signal to him? Maybe that the arm they'd been looking for had been found?

Come to think of it... now I'm wondering if maybe Natsuno was the one who sent the signal (since she's an earth user) and maybe gave Byouki the arm to give to the earth golem? Or perhaps Byouki just intercepted the arm on its way from Natsuno to the golem..... hard to say who found it first because we don't actually see it being found.

About the bell and Akanemaru, I don't know if they're related to the stuff happening in Nanoka's time... though perhaps Nanoka having the bell would give Natsuno a connection to her world, thereby allowing her to contact Byouki...!??!?

honestly I'm just spewing out ideas at this point - sorry Natsuno for throwing you under the bus, but you're very mysterious!!!

anyhow, anyone with other theories or ideas, feel free to add them here or send them in!!!

[thefive-colorshrine]

La forma en como está evolucionando el personaje de Nanoka me gusta muchísimo. Hasta el momento, es mi protagonista favorita de las obras de Rumiko Takahashi. ¡No puedo esperar para ver lo que sucederá con Akanemaru en el siguiente capítulo! I really love the way Nanoka is evolving so far. I even dare to say that she's my favorite female protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi's works. Can't wait to see what will happen with Akanemaru next week!

[cadmeanzugzwang-blog]

Phoenix Volume 5

There seemed to be a strong message regarding why we care about humans. It was pretty arbitrary. The only reason why we seem to care for and love only humans is because we are instinctually more willing to relate with those that look like us. But when stripped of this commonality with other, it was shown that our allegiance to those that we used to be the closest to can quickly change.

It is the same with dogs. The source of our empathy is physical appearance.

This is shown that when Leon had his brain replaced, and he began to see the world radically differently. Literally. Leon suddenly began to fall in love with a robot that he rejected when he saw a picture of. Something was still unsettling to him when he saw the robot itself. Or at least it was unsettling to me. Tezuka’s critique of our giving preference to looks seems to reach to me as well, so I am tempted to say that it holds true of human nature to say that we are predisposed to being biased based on appearance.

When I see that picture, I somehow feel that it just would not have any human-like characteristics. This is completely unfair, though, as I can even imagine even the more friendly looking robita as having human characteristics. And so did the kid. Perhaps it is because the kid never had the prejudices that I have and that Leon was able to see the robots in a new light that they were able to fully treat a robot as a valid person, even if they are not humans.

At the very least, I can see it plausible for someone to wish to be a robot after being disillusioned to the greatness of being a human. I think Leon was being more rational in wanting to cease being human than Akanemaru when he wanted to remain a human.

[nocandnc]

I still think Shikigami Natsuno is on the table!!

But for now, I think it’s best to let Nanoka and co mourn this loss… even if we still have Daigo and the five sided shrine to deal with next week.

She should definitely tie Natsuno’s ribbon to Akanemaru also.

[ashitakaxsan]

Super killing intention

  I had this would come one day:A new fight between Nanoka and Kagari.Kagari has turned to be a privileged,spoiled girl with screws loose,who wants to be a high Curse User and killer.See me post regarding the case https://at.tumblr.com/ashitakaxsan/unpredictable/rg8cloos9idi

That’s why she callously attacked to her own sister Ayame.This isn’t something that ever be forgiven,there’s no way for atonement.See below the specific crime.

And Nanoka hasn’t learned the techniques(:

However Ayame’s last resort for survival is onmyoji Mao,to whom her paper foxes arrive signaling him to come and give help.

That’s when arriving in the yard of the Hoshou house the find the awaiting kagari.

Mao immediately realizes that Kagari's powers have increased and deduces she borrowed the power of the Gokou to augment them. Mao passes a fire bird katashiro to Otoya so he can help support Nanoka in her fight against Kagari,while he runs past to try and attend to Ayame before she dies from the curse. Kagari is all too happy to have another rematch with Nanoka who she has defeated before.

Outside Nanoka and Kagari continue to battle,though Kagari soon gains the upper hand.Hoow? By by sending the paper foxes to wrap Otoya,thus disabling his assistance with the fire katashiro.

 With Nanoka distracted Kagari pins her shadow to the ground, preventing from moving and then readies a cursed needle to strike her down with.

Below:take thorough looks on this screenshot:The captured Nanoka,and the nasty glare of Kagari.Her eyes are more of a killer.

The suspence is real Killing! How can Nanoka chan make it? How can she prevail on the hari gaki(Needle brat)?

[popflythesky]

rip tessaiga, akanemaru is cooler

[party-of-rpg-muses]

A Look At Stuff You Probably Never Heard Of: InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel

Alright, everyone. Last year, I talked about an RPG game based on the InuYasha series that was released for the Playstation 2. So today, I’ll be talking about another. This time, I’ll be taking a look at... InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel. (Under Read More for length)

InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel was an RPG Nintendo DS game rated E10+ that was released in North America on January 23rd, 2007. The game was also developed by Bandai Namco and is the only InuYasha game released on the DS as well as the only one that saw an English-only release.

The game follows the usual story in the series, which won’t be explained here. But instead can be found at the overview of Secret of the Cursed Mask.

But the game itself follows a new character, an American high school girl named Janis (the first and only American character in the entire franchise). She is transferred from the United States to Japan because of her father’s job, though it’s not her first time in Japan, allowing her to speak fluent Japanese. She ends up attending the same school Kagome goes to and while she doesn’t get along with Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka, Kagome’s friends, she becomes fast friends with Kagome herself.

One day, Janis noticed that Kagome is absent and decides to check up on her after school. But upon reaching her family’s shrine and nearing the Higurashi Wellhouse, she’s attacked by a demon and nearly killed until a monk named Sen arrives, slays the demon, and tells Janis to go through Bone-Eater’s Well to meet with Kagome and because it’s her fate. On the other side, the denizens of Kaede’s Village are rightfully surprised and frightened of Janis, but quickly calm down realizing she’s a friend of Kagome’s. Kaede tells her her where Kagome is, which leads her to a marsh. There, she meets up with Sango and Miroku, the latter doing his usual butt-rubbing and asking to bear his child shtick with Janis before Sango drags him off. She eventually finds a Jewel Shard, but upon touching it, passes out. She later learns that the Jewel Shard has melted into her body and awakens the Kamuitama, the power used by the gods. This power in particular was previously used by a God named Datara. So with Kagome, Inuyasha, and the others, Janis searches for a way to get rid of the shard and have her powers removed, as it makes her a primary target for demons.

Just like with other RPGs, it’s turn-based with each character having their own stats and turns based on their speed. However, unlike in Secret of the Cursed Mask, energy isn’t gained by doing pretty much anything other than defending. Instead, it’s treated like MP from most other RPG games, having to refill it with an item or such. And as depicted in the image above, each character as their own amount of “Energy Points”, which ties in to their own skills, with Kagome having the highest due to her high spiritual powers.

Not only that, but when a character performs a normal attack, allies can also join in, up to two others, dealing even more damage. This can even work if an enemy attacks in ally, having one character take damage in another’s stead. However, the game does-away with Co-Op Attacks

While traveling through dungeons, there are random encounters and it’s a toss-up as to which side gets first strike. But when it comes to the overworld, traveling can be done either by walking around, which also comes with the risk of random encounters, or by riding on Hachiemon’s back.

Despite this being a much less powerful console as compared to the PS2, the music is still faithful to the Inuyasha series. Not only that, but the sprites really do the characters justice, as to the animations for their special attacks. And even for characters that only appear in this game, they still feel like characters who would exist within the series.

Okay, it’s time for my Final Recommendation: Never Let Go Of It||Get It||Hold Onto It||Try It||Consider It||Stay Away From It

Sure, it’s a much simpler game compared to Cursed Mask, but it’s still got that Inuyasha charm. There’s also the fact that Janis is a better character than Kururugi from Cursed Mask, not constantly having inner dialogues or doubting herself. And while there are very few points in which she’s alone, she’s capable of handling herself, since she uses a Naginata known as Akanemaru, giving her something to fall back on, should she run out of Energy Points. But still, her abilities are much stronger than her normal attacks.

However, the game does have a similar issue of bringing in familiar faces, only to have them vanish again. Such as Kikyo, who attempts to kill Janis, but backs off when the others arrive. And after a few words to Janis, she up and leaves, never to be seen again. But perhaps the biggest one being Naraku, who actually serves a bigger purpose. At point in the game, he has an entire village slaughtered and you spend the area fighting his puppets. But after that, he doesn’t show up again and he’s barely mentioned again. Even his reincarnations barely show up. And even the Jewel Shards don’t serve any purpose apart from an occasional mention here and there, as well as awakening Janis’ powers.

But in a strange twist, Jinenji, the pacifist half-demon ally of the group, shows up and can be seen at any time, as he and his mother sell herbs. But in a story-sense, they only show up to introduce them to Janis and the player.

And talking about the overworld, there are three places; the usual lands, the Present Era, and the northern lands. You can go to the Present at any time, simply by returning to Kaede’s village and going through the well. But in the Feudal Era, time passes as you travel, indicated by a moon icon going through the phases. And keeping with the series, when the moon enters the New Moon phase, Inuyasha becomes human. His stats take a hit, his Tessaiga won’t transform, and he can’t use any abilities. And he’ll stay like that until you return to the overworld and move around a bit. However, there is an optional dungeon that only opens up during a New Moon and you have to go through it with a weak Inuyasha.

So with all that said and done, I’ll see you guys next month for the next entry.

[honestyinallentown-blog]

Vol 4 Discussion

Volume 4 keeps with the melancholy atmosphere that’s been recurrent through the past few volumes. There is so much suffering, disillusionment and still so much greed. Everyone is after power, and even those who are good and true become corrupted by it. The pervasiveness of suffering, the countless that are killed or harmed – from the bullies Gao murders in revenge to the unflinching deaths of the Buddha project laborers – show this cycle of violence and brutality. Those in power maintain their control through fear and violence, as shown in Lord Tachibana’s ultimatum to Akanemaru, as well as through manipulation by religion. And this influence trickles down to the people below. Some are resigned to their fate, obeying and suffering in poverty, even going so far as to starve to avoid hanging.

Others like Gao are a different product of society, rebelling against it completely through turning to violence and abandoning civilization. Overall, this negative take clearly shows Tezuka’s anti-imperial views and outlines some clear problems with this system.

I enjoyed watching Gao transform himself from the monster he initially was (being forced by society to fit his exterior) into someone who has abandoned earthly grudges and stigmas to center on peace and focus on what’s truly important – the value of all life and its being. While the nobles prioritize their status and the people blindly follow, his view shifts to take in the bigger picture and appreciate the beauty and value of life.

Akanemaru on the other hand, goes in the opposite direction. In the beginning, he shows this enthusiasm and determination to live and persevere, alike to Gao, but loses this fire and his purpose. He falls prey to the nobles and longs for the fame and power they possess. He loses sight of the pure joy he finds in sculpting and the meaning it brings to him in favor of being at the top. He even resorts to violence to achieve this, a far cry from his complete aversion to harm and willingness to leave the past in the past and move on as exemplified through his encounter with Gao on the bridge.

Overall, the ease with which most people were taken in by power made me reflect on our own present-day society. Government and law-making is crucial to maintaining order but morals and values must also be upheld. It is maintaining this balance that is essential.

On another note, I enjoyed the reincarnation concept being directly addressed. In this volume, we get to see an actual cycle in Akanemaru’s dream where he is reborn as a Daphnia, a sea turtle, and then a bird, all purporting to reinforce the concept of the interconnectedness of life and its equality among all living things.