#YAMABUKI OTOME

[qweaenr]

NURARIHYON NO MAGO - Couples

[lord-shitbox]

hello nuramago fans do you ever just

[johannepetereric]

Oh yeah, I remember this!

Also, Yamabuki spouting exposition to make us hope XD

Exactly as he is in present-day!

[highqueensofanime]

[shuuenka]

It's not nuramago reread if I'm not crying over Rihan and Yamabuki

[knxtl]

[iniwan]

hey everyone I have a redbubble shop now!

If you like my art and/or photography, now you can get them on a variety of things available in my shop! I’ll try to keep it updated as regularly as I can so y’all have lots of stuff to choose from.

Also, only a bunch of my original photography is in there at the moment. If there’s a specific photo of mine that you’d like to see there, let me know and I’ll add it there!

( check out my commissions info too, and maybe also buy me a coffee at ko-fi.com/ethylene )

[onceabluemoonwrites]

Half a Soul (Whole)

Summary:  Rikuo has no soulmate, for curse spoken by dying breath is binding, so Nurarihyon’s grandson is a whole soul. 

The boy is three parts human, one part yokai, but he does just fine until his father’s blood splashes onto his cheeks, and he watches the Winter die in his eyes.

(A whole soul splitting himself into two when he cannot bear being one)

Soulmate AU

FF.net | AO3

You can find my fic master list here.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Nurarihyon no Mago

Also, I blame @adelmortescryche

Spring came and Lord Pandemonium saw the flower buds bloom and fell in love with the first blossom of the season- Yohime, with healing hands like glowing beacons in the dark night he haunted.

(He was aflame with passion- so hot inside he knew what this must be. It ripped at his sanity when all other things had not- so this must be it. Love).

Hagoromo Gitsune rips his heart out of his chest (takes his bride, from under his nose, his clever, but young love) but he snatches it back with vengeance, for no one takes what’s his.

The demon fox is slain and she spits words of venom, words of hatred, words of power, for she calls his name and speaks them with her last breath. A curse spoken in the face of death is binding, and no true love’s kiss can break it.

‘’I curse you, Nurarihyon! That your yokai bloodline may die out, and that you may suffer the pain of knowing!’’

Once upon a time, Lord Pandemonium did not care, because he had his soulmate, and if she were human, then what would it matter if his yokai line would die out? He got Yohime, Yohime got her child, and all three of them got happiness.

Pink petals fall into the pond and the water ripples. Blossoms are short-lived, do not survive beyond Spring, and Yohime dies like grass in the glaring summer sun.  

His son remains unchanging, frozen in time as he is, illuminated by the very sun that bled the lifeblood from his mother’s veins. He is the lazy afternoon warmth, the carefree children splashing in the water, he’s the sand too hot to walk on and the unforgiving summer storm breaking loose over their heads, unleashing thunder and lightning in the downpour that runs not cold but hot. He’s beautiful and leads their clan into a new era, his lovely wife at his side.

They are marked for each other, Yamabuki Otome and Rihan Nura, but curses spoken by dying breath cannot be broken by true love’s kiss- not even if the participants form a soul together. One of them hanyou, the other yokai, and they want a child so, so badly.

And Nurarihyon, who sits next to the cherry blossom tree he planted upon his wife’s death, curses himself as Summer turns into Fall and the water ripples again.

Yamabuki is a tree that may bear a thousand blossoms, but never a single fruit. She blames herself for a curse not hers and leaves the Nura family grove with heavy, heavy feet. Her husband only finds out after the fact, running after her and stumbling upon her body, withered as the leaves from the trees, a woman bereft of life in heartbreak.

Half of Rihan’s soul is missing and it hurts. He does not laugh. He does not smile. He forgets to move, to eat, to breathe and wilts. Wilts like he died alongside her.

‘’I curse you, Nurarihyon! That your yokai bloodline may die out, and that you may suffer the pain of knowing!’’

Sometimes, when the light shines just so through the canopy, during the intake of breath before the twilight, Nurarihyon fears that she meant the pain of losing a child.

It haunts him more than anything.

Rihan meets Wakana and she wakes him up like a snowball to the face in the middle of Winter. She’s cheerful, silly in her antics, and he cannot help but love her.

‘’Good,’’ she says.

‘’But don’t you have a soulmate?’’

She laughs. ‘’Don’t you?’’

‘’She died.’’

Her smile dies, and she takes his hand. ‘’Mine too. In the womb.’’

‘’How do you know if it happened that early?’’

She shrugs. ‘’I just do,’’ and bends over to make another snowball.

Later, when they’re sprawled out in front of the fireplace, changed out of their soaked clothes and exhausted from all the running, she raises her hand to the ceiling like she’s trying to read stars they cannot see.

‘’If he’s up there now, then I’m half a soul. But if I’m half a soul, then that must mean that we’re puzzle pieces, and there’s only one that fits perfectly. But you know what? I don’t have the patience for puzzles, especially not for the ones with missing pieces. I just jam them into place and see what happens. It might not fit perfectly, but it fits, and no puzzle piece is lonely.’’

‘’Brute violence,’’ he chuckles, but tangles his fingers with her, because he can see that, see them fitting, two damaged puzzle pieces, hanging on by sheer stubbornness and strength of will. It suits them, this strange pairing. Puzzle pieces jammed together, a patchwork blanket made of two.

Lying on his back next to Wakana, Rihan can see the sky through the roof, cloudless in the cold winter night, stars shining brightly.

Perhaps, this can be home.

Rikuo is born and Spring encroaches once again, but for Spring to come, Winter must die, and so Rihan goes under while his son is young.

And Rikuo… Rikuo has no soulmate, for curse spoken by dying breath is binding, so Nurarihyon’s grandson is a whole soul.

The boy is three parts human, one part yokai, but he does just fine until his father’s blood splashes onto his cheeks, and he watches the Winter die in his eyes.

And the murderer, in the image of the girl he called his sister, gets away.

The grief tears the boy apart, and Nurarihyon wants to embrace the child, to take him away from all the hurt and the pain, but Rikuo flinches away and whispers: ‘’Yokai are evil.’’

It’s something he heard at school, apparently, and Nurarihyon can’t entirely say he’s wrong.

The clouds pass by, and Rikuo comes down from his perch in the cherry tree. He embraces his grandfather once again, and loves the clan with all his heart. But the lightning strike of his father’s death has done its damage, and he has rejected his yokai side completely.

It splits the boy into two halves, a whole soul making himself two when he cannot bear being one. The clan flinches away, wide eyes at the abomination the young master has become, but the boy is young and cheerful, and they cannot deny him for long. Tsurara latches on to the child, and that’s that. Spring is protected, though he grows strangely, the sakura tree his refuge.

(Blossoms are fleeting, and Nurarihyon fears)

The season changes, but the situation does not.

Rikuo does not want to be the Third Heir, but his calling it is, and he must answer. (‘’No, grandfather,’’ he whispers during the nights when the clan feasts, leaning against his mother, tired as he watches his grandfather drown the next cup of sake.

‘’A calling- what is that even? I answer to our people- I cannot turn away the helpless. Do not demean their cries for help and any genuine answer that may be given to it.’’

Nurarihyon cannot help but grin- but the boy falls asleep, eyelids sakura-fragile, veins clearly visible. Human. Human. Human. It buzzes in his ears.

What to do, when summer ripens?)

Rikuo is crowned Summer King regardless. He answers cries of help everywhere- yokai and human alike.

He grows and he grows and he grows- towards himself.

‘’Hello,’’ he whispers, on Mount Nejireme, ‘’Hello, brother soul, I am you.’’

And his other half laughs and says: ‘’Let me handle this.’’

(they wield the blade as one)

Autumn comes, but the Sakura tree keeps blooming, and its charges begin to become one again. Slowly, slowly, Nura Rikuo begins to love himself again- and what comes from this, is terrifying.

Yokai and Human melt into one, and the music rises, the sea parts, the crowd cheers and the gods bow.

And if they don’t?

He’ll make them.

A curse spoken in the face of death is binding, and no true love’s kiss can break it.

Rikuo Nura has no soulmate. None, none at all. The cherry tree embraces him, and he tears himself apart, but he is gentle and kind and ruthlessly vicious, protecting their clan with violence never mindless, yet sometimes… needless.

He’s a bit of a beast, you see. All yokai are. Even the human ones.

Rikuo Nura is his own soulmate, and nobody can stop him.

(‘’That you may suffer the pain of knowing,’’ Hagoromo Gitsune said.

Nurarihyon knows his grandson will never sire a child- and yet, somehow, the idea that this will make his life less than grand, that it stops will stop him from being happy as a person… It is laughable.

Rikuo is his grandson, the third master of the Nura clan, and he will live his life to the fullest regardless of any curse)

The seasons come and go, but the Sakura tree blooms on.

[setsuraposting]

More Nura Foils I Was Thinking About

Aotabou & Shoukera

Ao is a monk who gave up his humanity to protect orphans and is compared to the raging god Shoumen Kongou, while Shoukera is a creature supposedly sent from heaven to report the sins of those on earth, with the only way to avoid this being to pray to the aforementioned Shoumen Kongou. Whether the heaven thing is literal or metaphorical isn’t entirely expanded upon, but it seems they have a sort of chaotic good vs. lawful evil dynamic going on.

Kurotabou & Yanagida

The only two members of the Hyaku Monogatari Clan who weren’t created by Sanmoto’s stories or wrought from his flesh, with one arising naturally from children’s folktales about a spirit who would protect them, and the other originally being Sanmoto’s human assistant. Kuro had to be brainwashed into joining the clan, but during his time there was a favorite of Sanmoto’s, while Yanagida was his most avid supporter for centuries yet still wasn’t recognized, not even being re-absorbed into his second demon form like the others. At least, that’s how Yanagida sees it for most of the series, it’s implied at the end that Sanmoto did this not as an act of disrespect but as wanting Yanagida to stick around as his most reliable supporter in case the second revival went south, which it did. The Nose on the other hand is implied to be a traitor who never showed up to this fight, whose power Sanmoto absorbed and then gave to Yanagida.

Kubinashi & Yuiyui

Kubinashi’s arc centers around the idea that true strength comes not in having nothing to lose and being free from obligation, but in protecting what one cares truly about, that being his clan. Yuiyui’s main battle tactic is an ability that causes allies to attack and kill each other, thus defiling the nature of what he stands for. Also, she destroyed Jorogumo’s clan who is implied to be one of his closest confidantes, who (along with Kejourou) helped weave his strings.

Ryuji & Tenkai

Both are considered untalented onmyouji who have to employ extra measures to get ahead, with Ryuji being a shrewd trickster who wins through deceit, and Tenkai being a rigorous scholar who with enough time was able to surpass a prodigy like Hidemoto. Tenkai is also someone Ryuji greatly admired in his youth, and was kind of disappointed that he ended being on the wrong side of history… but also glad to get the catharsis of finally surpassing him.

Kiyotsugu & Enchou

They both love youkai and ghost stories, but the way they express this passion is completely different. Kiyotsugu is initially just infatuated and mystified by Night Rikuo like the other human characters, but later comes to understand his ideals of creating a harmonious world and uses his own influence to help carry that out. Enchou is just kind of an agent of chaos who goes anywhere and does whatever so long as it’ll make an interesting tale. You think he’s with the Hyaki Monogatari Clan, but nah, he doesn’t really give a fuck, he’s just using them to create Ao Andon so… he and Rikuo can fight, I guess? His actions are pretty evil, but they’re not even evil in a normal villain sort of way, he has very little attachment to anything besides the thrill of ghost stories and in a weird way that’s respectable. Kinda like Big News Morgans.

Setsura & “The Nura Brides” (including her own daughter)

Setsura herself is the one who hints at this during one of her interactions with Otome, but it makes more sense the more you ponder it. She’s passionate, brooding, and outwardly intimidating, while they’re cheerful, unassuming, and carry their strength on the inside. Sure they have their own personalities within that archetype - Youhime is shy but also the angriest, Otome is the most subdued, Wakana is the most energetic, Tsurara is the most overprotective - but there’s still a general trend. This outward weakness is something Setsura initially looks down on, but comes to understand their hidden capabilities: Youhime has healing powers and an unexpected assertive side, Otome helps out at the school and the clan despite not needing to as well as having to deal with a husband who’s constantly away, Wakana was able to bring Rihan’s smile back, and Tsurara became Rikuo’s head aide. That’s not to say that they’re *superior* to best girl, but they have a lot they can bring to the table as well, and she had to realize that.

[blacksunradiance]

Nurarihyon no Mago chapter covers in the style of Hyakki Yagyō Scrolls

[trickster-kat]

Actor to Be - Mikan Yamabuki CGs

[johannepetereric]

What do you mean by “philanderer”?

“And to think I had managed to come up with such a cool line”

True doh

Promoting un-sanitation!

I love the art here! Straight from a scroll!!

I FIGURED how was Rihan’s Boi!

Well, technically Nurarihyon, but Rihan came in his place!

[acreshome77088]

My favorite ships in no particular order 

Rihan x Yamabuki (Nurarihyon no Mago)

Dandy x Scarlet (Space Dandy)

Archer x Lana (Archer)

Guts x Casa (Berserk)

Tom x Star (Star vs The Forces of Evil)

Gray x Lucy (Fairy Tail)

Lelouch x Kallen (Code Geass)

Urahara x Yoruichi (Bleach)

[sinful-liesel]

The first scene of Moe! Ninja Girls Season 3.5 did not disappoint. We’re on the right track lol (＾་།＾)

[ireallylikejonouchi]

𝙽𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚑𝚢𝚘𝚗 𝚗𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠

Written and drawn by Shiibashi Hiroshi, Nurarihyon no Mago is a manga series that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump with 210 chapters, 25 volumes. It’s about a Japan that has a massive Yokai underbelly, consisting mostly of yokai yakuza clans that run certain parts of Japan. The protagonist, Rikuo Nura, is the third heir of the Nura clan, kingpin of Kanto. His grandfather is the legendary Lord of Pandemonium, the yokai Nurarihyon, but Rikuo is only a quarter yokai, having a half-human father and a full human mother. As a child, Rikuo thinks yokai are the coolest thing, but his classmates mock him for this, not believing that they exist, and finding it even weirder that someone could admire them. Rikuo is told that it is his destiny to take on this role, and that he cannot live a human life. Hearing stories about evil yokai who enjoy making humans despair, Rikuo decides that yokai are terrible and he wants nothing to do with them. When Rikuo’s classmates are attacked by some rebellious yokai from the Nura clan, who are unhappy about their new leader being a quarter-human child, Rikuo awakens to his yokai blood and transforms in order to defeat them. He decides here that he will become the third heir in order to subdue yokai that would bring terror to humans with his “Fear,” the power system of the series.

With the synopsis out of the way, from this point on there will be spoilers. Be wary. I’ll try my best to spoil only what’s necessary in order to get my point across.

The beginning of this manga takes its time setting up character dynamics with short story arcs, as well as establishing what the yokai of the world are truly like with various examples of opinionated yokai antagonists. Some consider it boring, and I can understand why, but I think it pays off very well. The characters are incredibly likeable and fun. Even the ones that don’t have very much development are still a joy to see on the page when they show up. Rikuo himself is simultaneously a complicated character and a very easy character to follow. The first chapter takes place a couple of years before the second one, and his childish judgement to go from worshiping yokai to hating them is intentionally so. The story is about his growth. Rikuo is told that he must take on this role, he denies, but eventually accepts under his own terms, and for his own reasons. This ultimately sets up what his character arc will end up becoming, as one of his final conflicts at the end of the story sees him battling against another half-yokai, Abe no Yoshihira, who believes it is his duty to follow his evil father’s plan because of his "cursed” mixed blood. Rikuo doesn’t simply reject this title, but he also doesn’t accept out of obligation. He accepts this as an opportunity to bring about change. The change he wants slowly evolves from protecting humans to bridging the social gap between human and yokai so that they may find peace together. Fate shouldn’t be fought against or ignored, but you must make whatever you can out of it. Rikuo feels that connecting human and yokai is something only he can do as a half-yokai, so he feels a responsibility to carry this out, yet it is also what he truly believes in and wants. He is a leader because he was graced with the opportunity to bring about a better world. Your fate is only what you perceive it as. The final villain Abe no Seimei believes that human and yokai are fated to be at odds forever, and that influences his evil plan to purify the world. Both are believers of fate to some extent, the message isn’t something as simple as “defy fate” or “there is no fate,” which I appreciate. This manga is very good about exploring all facets of the themes it presents, which I will give more examples of shortly.

The power system is an interesting one. To quote the wiki, “ Osore (畏, Fear) is the term that denotes the unique skills and traits of each yōkai. It refers to the "fear" of the unknown, an emotional reaction produced when the yōkai represent themselves as "monsters". As yōkai first existed as creatures who induce fear in humankind, the general concept of "fear" revolves around being feared and respected by humans and making them feel small and weak. It involves exerting a wall of pressure to make one's presence feel larger than the actuality. When done correctly, this also creates a change in the mood and surrounding air - as seen whenever a dense fog appears when a Hyakki Yakō gathers in the series. Itaku states that Osore only applies to scaring humans.“ Fear is an inherently negative word, especially when associated with demons. However, Rikuo is proud of his fear, despite scolding yokai who scare humans. Fear in this manga is not quite so black and white. Rikuo’s form of fear is reverence, admiration. He considers this to be a form of fear, and he is indeed proud of the awe he is able to inspire within his followers as well as his enemies. Rikuo is able to use a power that comes only thanks to his human side, letting a yokai haunt his humanity while keeping control with his yokai half, performing Equip and gaining that yokai’s powers, but only if they entrust themselves to him. It is the ultimate representation of the Fear that Rikuo believes in. For the core power system of the series to have such a double meaning about it speaks to the coming complexities, and it is incredibly fitting for this story, as I hope to convey.

Fate, lineage and connection to history are the main themes of this manga. Many of the characters in the story are tied to tradition before it starts, and have to be brought out of that by Rikuo and his progressive mindset. One’s blood is used to portray this theme in an interesting way. Rikuo’s father, Rihan, describes him as a symbol of hope for the future. Rihan longed for a world where human and yokai could get along, yet he came into constant conflict with both evil yokai and evil humans, as his son Rikuo would soon come to do as well. Rikuo loved his father, and carries on his dreams. However, similar to his “fate” of leading the clan, his respect for his ancestors is well-informed by his individual beliefs, and not from any kind of feeling that he MUST do what his ancestors wished. Abe no Yoshihira failed here, becoming a slave to his perceived fate. Hagoromo-gitsune, the main antagonist of the Kyoto arc as well as Abe no Seimei’s mother, was tied to her blood relations as well. She did everything for her son, who was soon to be reborn again into this age. She had her own image of an ideal world, erasing humans and making a world full of yokai, but she didn’t consider her child’s ideals, which she could have presumed from Seimei’s suffering he received when both human and yokai betrayed him. Seimei is born and casts Hagoromo-gitsune into hell, declaring that he will purify all life from the world, as neither human nor yokai can be trusted. Abe no Seimei is the agent of fate, declaring that all living things on Earth have doomed themselves to a fate of death thanks to their own horrible and greedy nature. Abe no Seimei is a half-yokai himself and he has found solace from neither of those sides. Rikuo, however, does not give up. He equips himself with the true fear of this reality that places him in-between two worlds, unable to fully enjoy life as a human or a yokai, refusing to resign himself as Seimei did, and instead fighting against the fate Seimei enforces by bringing together humans and yokai, including Hagoromo-gitsune, in order to seal the final blow against him.

You may be wondering what it means that Rikuo was able to finish off Seimei by fusing with his mother. Well, you see, Hagoromo-gitsune is sort of, in a way, Rikuo’s mother as well. You see, before Rihan had a child with Rikuo’s mother, he was married to another woman, Yamabuki-otome. For context, Abe no Seimei is a man who reincarnates throughout generations, as does his mother, Hagoromo-gitsune. Some time after Yamabuki-otome’s death, Seimei used her to take revenge on Rihan for disrupting his plans, by reviving her as a child and turning her into the host of the yokai Hagoromo-gitsune, sending her with false memories and subliminal orders to kill the man she loved when she was alive. Once she had killed Rihan, her human self hid itself away in despair and Hagoromo-gitsune was able to take control of her body for good. In modern times, after being cast into hell by Abe no Seimei, she is revived by Nurarihyon in anticipation for the final battle. After encountering Rikuo and his burning feelings in Kyoto, she had regained her human memories before being struck down by Seimei. Upon her most recent revival, she found she had feelings for both Rikuo and Seimei, and considers both to be her children. She regrets that her feelings for Seimei had ended up being met with treachery, and she goes to confront him. When she hears his full plan, she decides to do kill him herself, though she fails. She feels it her duty as a mother to make up for not understanding his suffering earlier, as it’s now too late to reason with him. Hagoromo-gitsune’s progression comes from her ability to find love for her yokai followers, considering them to be her children all the same as Rikuo and Seimei, and learns that she should have seen this love all along rather than being blinded by her obsessions with her blood son. Once again, she values her children and the blood she shares with them, but she is only able to find happiness when she realizes that the feelings she has for them don’t have to be restricted to only them simply because they are her kin, and similarly she does not need to follow Seimei’s plan just because she thinks it’s what a mother “should” do. Fusing with Rikuo is the culmination of this. While Rikuo is technically her kin, as Seimei is, we see through her arc that she has matured and learned to spread her love. So even though without context it would seem that she simply went from one child to the other, we can see the complexities of this and see how it relates to Rikuo’s arc, accepting something not out of obligation, but from your own will. 

By coming to a true understanding with the woman that Abe no Seimei had discarded, his mother, and her doing the same, an act that seemingly defies their fates (Rikuo’s fate to be a cold yokai ruler and Hagoromo’s fate to be a slave to her child’s whims), they’re able to defeat him and sever fate itself.

The Hundred Stories Clan Arc is one that I really appreciate for showing me how truly interesting Rikuo was as a character. I hadn’t realized it up to that point, and it’s clear why. His characterization and progression is subtle. The text doesn’t tell you how Rikuo grows, the art and his actions do. When humanity told of Rikuo’s half-yokai status is convinced that he must be killed for the safety of Japan, Rikuo is forced to face the fact that the humans he wants to protect are not perfect, and have as many imperfections as yokai do. Humans can be greedy, they can do horrible things when they’re afraid. In a backstory, the leader of the Hundred Stories Clan is shown to be a despicable human from Japanese history named Sanmoto Gorozaemon, who takes control of yokai to secure his political and social power, and turns himself into a yokai in order to secure that power. When a member of his clan is assaulted by humans who don’t care about the harm they’re causing, some of them even reveling in it, through facial expressions we can see him struggling with the thought of killing these humans to end the conflict, or out of revenge possibly. Shiibashi leaves this to the reader’s interpretation and it works wonders, he has no internal monologue relating to this feeling and nobody points out that he seems crazed or anything. It’s some panels that you could easily miss if you’re reading too fast.

In this panel, we are shown his reaction to a female yokai appearing and tormenting the humans that were tormenting him and his clanmate just moments ago. Even when he showed such rage at the humans, seemingly almost snapping, he decides he needs to stop the yokai from killing them. However, the expression on his face conveys perfectly how complex his emotions are over this. Despite how confidently he’s saying he needs to save them, his face almost looks like he doesn’t want to. Of course, he overcomes this and saves them for the sake of his dream.

It’s clear to see the moral dilemma he’s going through and it’s conveyed entirely through art and subtext. This is confident storytelling, and not to mention incredible artistry. Shiibashi has a certain maturity and respect for the reader that is hard to find in Shonen Jump manga sometimes.

Rikuo’s fight against the yokai artist Kyosai in this arc is notable for being similar to what I just described from the beginning of the arc.

Kyosai has an interest in turning human women into yokai using his painting techniques, including one of Rikuo’s classmates. Enraged, Rikuo engages him in combat with his newly acquired Attack Mode, which switches his Fear from a defensive technique to an offensive one, and changes his hair from white with black underneath it to having half of his hair being black on one side and the other being white. As the fight progresses, Rikuo is continuously injured and decomposed by Kyosai’s abilities, burning his flesh and scarring Rikuo black.

Rikuo’s deteriorating mental state during this arc is conveyed visually through his design, with both the way he is inked as well as his literally evolving design, his new transformation. He’s never had to confront these kinds of humans and yokai before. This leveling of suffering is new to our middle school-aged protagonist. After Kyosai is defeated, his momentary rage subsides but he is still scarred, physically and mentally. Encho, the acting leader of the Hundred Stories Clan, betrays Sanmoto’s reincarnated brain for personal gain, confusing Rikuo who is already in a fragile mental state. He struggles to comprehend the enemy, as he had been forced to face humans that he wanted to protect, yokai that despised those humans, and even his own best friends. Once again, exclusively visually conveyed and up to interpretation.

At the end of this arc, he accepts the help of his friends, his aide Yuki-Onna, and equips with her, washing himself of the stress he’s in and covering him in a beautiful veil of ice. His design goes back to normal in order to show this, and get across just how much his friends mean to him, in a truly impactful way that really strengthens the theme by giving real weight to his connection with both his yokai and human lives.

Every arc is strong in its own way, I simply wanted to discuss the few that best show what I’m trying to say. I hope you now understand why I love this manga so much and why I think you should read it. I promise the things I’ve spoiled here are only a fragment of the whole experience, and your appreciation will only grow as you experience the full context by reading the manga. If I got across what I wanted to, then you understand that this manga cannot be explained as much as it can be experienced. There are probably more things that I never noticed, maybe you’ll discover those before I do.

This manga is an ode to the future, to humanity. We can overcome our differences and coexist. Perhaps all it takes is for one person to take the fear that we as people feel in our daily lives onto themselves. The fear that there can never be change, the fear that our road only ends in sadness. The fear that our history defines us. The fear that we must conform to our duty. The fear that accepting a duty strips us of individuality. The fear that we can never bring these conflicting aspects of our mind together and find inner peace. The fear that we can never bring the conflicting aspects of people together and find true peace amongst ourselves. Not many people can overcome that fear, but he who is truly strong is he who equips that fear. He who takes that uncertainty of the future and uses it to empower himself and push for that change he wishes to see. This review is my ode to the man who was able to understand what makes people who they are and didn’t let that fear consume him. The man who equips true fear. Thank you for reading.

[onceabluemoonwrites]

Nurarihyon just keeps making me think of rare pairs. Not very hard since there aren’t that many fics, but there are so many people who could have some very good chemistry! 

Seriously. I love RikuoKana, but KanaZen is fascinating! KiyotsuguTsurara suddenly came into being while writing a ‘’wish you would write’’ ask for the meme for @metronomeihear , who has TAKEN REVENGE by giving me one back with SetsuraYamabuki. ALL THE BEAUTIFUL SHIPS.