#kuro sakuragawa

[elainechaos]

LISTEN, the chokehold the both of them have on me is ridiculous. The little crumbs Kuro throws our way to remind us how much he cares for Kotoko are just chef kisses!! Also, the ending storyline with the samurai had me in fucking tears!!

[hopeymchope]

Currently fixated on these two. LOVE them. They really should have more ship art. Or a ship name, at least.

Let’s see... Kotoko Iwanaga + Kuro Sakuragawa... Kurotoko? Sakuwanagi?

[chaztalk]

[pyreflydust]

In/Spectre Chapter 43

[miserereagape]

That one panel where Iwanaga realized that she, in fact, cannot live without Kuro

[illyasfeel]

Iwanaga & Kuro

[pyreflyashes]

Panel redraw

Kuro reeks

[saber-of-dreams]

Okay Chapter 50 of the manga might be my favorite ever.

Spoilers below.

I have thought for a long time that Kuro is much more perceptive than he ever lets on. This chapter confirmed that. The way he clearly knew exactly what had gone down between Kotoko and Rikka and still allowed them to make their own decisions. How he was clearly angry with Rikka for her making that deal in the first place and how much he cares for and loves Kotoko.

I particularly loved his recognition of the precarious nature of Kotoko's position as a goddess, how she was essentially coerced into it and how she will inevitably be replaced. This clearly tells me that he has considered this from literally every angle, and has fully accepted the reality of Kotoko and her position and is willing to do whatever it is he can to protect her.

I've said it before and I will say it again, Kuro isn't a man of words. He's a man of actions. And he shows how much he loves her constantly. He cares for her. Worries over her. When no one else can be a part of her world, he can, and I think being faced with the reality of losing his abilities terrifies him in so many ways.

I just...I really loved this chapter.

Also the following arch bringing back the yuki-onna made me so happy! You know, until the tragic ending with the young swordsman. 😭😭

[medea10]

My Review of In/Spectre: Season 2

First season review here.

Color me surprised when it was announced that this series was getting a second season. I didn’t hate it or anything, I was just okay with the story. I didn’t think the Steel Lady Nanase story was going to last as long as it did and thought Kotoko was going to solve more mysteries than that. That reason alone was one of the reasons I was just blah with the anime. Plus, I was pretty in to Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun more than this and both aired around the same time. Well, at least Hanako-kun is getting some kind of new project. What it is, I’m skeptical as fuck about. In the meantime, let’s check out more mysteries with Kotoko and Kuro.

HISTORY: Kotoko Iwanaga is used to the abnormal and out of place situations. When she was 11 years old, she went missing for two weeks. During that time, demons asked her to become their “Goddess of Wisdom”. However, Iwanaga lost her right eye and left leg as a result of this power. Seven years later, she meets a college-aged male named Kuro Sakuragawa. She found a fascination with him, but kept her distance due to him being engaged to another woman.

But Kuro’s life changed when he and his then girlfriend were on vacation and saw a kappa and the situation turned near-deadly. Due to an abnormality with Kuro, whenever it looks like he’s on the verge of death, he comes back to life. This caused the inevitable rift between Kuro and his girlfriend and leaving an opportunity for Kotoko to jump in and force herself on him. Ever since, Kotoko has become Kuro’s really clingy girlfriend. Kuro is just so disinterested and indifferent when it comes to her romantic shenanigans. But he doesn’t mind being an aide when dealing with the supernatural.

SEASON TWO: The first episode starts off with some exposition from a couple of no-name apparitions where they talk about Kotoko and Kuro. Basically, stuff we saw last season including how Kotoko became the God of Wisdom and some stuff from the Steel Lady Nanase arc. Come episode 2, we’re introduced to our next big case involving a man who befriended a Yuki Onna and is accused of killing his ex-wife.

Thankfully, this season we get more than just one long case that extends to pretty much the entire 12 episodes. The Yuki Onna murder case was settled faster than anticipated with only 3 episodes dedicated to it and we get another mystery involving a creepy puppet and dead sea life. And of course, we get more from the mysterious cousin Rikka. Unfortunately, it’s only one episode where she’s actually seen. But her essence lingers! And if you could believe it, there were three more mysteries shown in this season. Now, that’s what I’m talking about! If you’re going to be a supernatural anime, do more than just Steel Lady Nanase for an entire season.

LICENSING: Just like the previous season, Crunchyroll streamed this series with several dubs available. No doubt about that as this series was known as a “Crunchyroll Original” back when they were doing that. Wait, are they still doing that? Nah, I don’t think they are. That’s all there is to it. The original cast came back and, yeah, it’s all good.

SHIPPING PART TWO: Yeah, Kotoko and Kuro are still together…I guess. Kotoko is still clingy and saying perverted things. Kuro is still dead inside despite being immortal. I mean, yeah, they still have cute moments here and there throughout the season. But, come on! You’ve seen these two together. Despite my thoughts about this ship, I don’t hate Kotoko. Yeah, I don’t hate her. I just hate this ship. They work well together when dealing with the supernatural. It’s just that I think they should just remain professionals at their craft and nothing more.

And no amount of sensual ending themes sung by Mamoru Miyano is ever going to convince me otherwise here.

Even when he's pictured with her, Kuro just has this, "Please, just end my life" look on his face.

Now, were there any interferences from anybody this season? Surprisingly no! Yeah, Rikka only had one episode where she was the main focus. Although, her presence has lingered around several of the cases Kotoko worked on. And Rikka still thinks that Kotoko is wrong for her cousin. She’s not quiet about her thoughts on the matter either. As for Saki, Kuro’s ex-fiancé, no sign of her this season.

After badmouthing Kotoko x Kuro, I should have no say in this matter. But I support these two here. Don’t at me!

RANDOM NOTE: Ladies and gentlemen, we have found the one person who survived a hit from Truck-kun. I know several characters on here are spirits and immortals, Rikka and Kuro especially. It’s just that when you literally watch a character get hit by a truck, you automatically think they’re dead or dead and in another world. Rikka gets hit and gets up like nothing happened.

ENDING: Throughout this season, Kotoko and Kuro have been aiding several people with anomalies surrounding the supernatural. This last arc had Kotoko help a dying man resolve his guilty conscience with his family. This mystery had us running around seeing who really killed this man’s wife. Apparently, this woman who was killed 23 years ago, her entire family wanted her dead including her husband and adult children. Sounds like an anime version of the Trumps to me! At least this woman wasn’t buried on a golf course.

Medea, can you go one review without making a snarky Trump-related comment?

When he stops existing, I’ll stop.

The family was running a hotel business and the mother wanted to run the business and the family her own way. So, her husband’s ideas were put on the back-burner, the eldest son can’t leave to become a chef, the daughter can’t marry who she wants, and the youngest son can’t run anything. Unless this woman dies!

Now, where does the supernatural part come into play here? The husband apparently made an agreement with an entity back when he wanted his wife gone. The man was promised it will be so. In actuality, someone actually killed the woman before the entity could do anything. Kotoko heard from the entity, the patriarch of the family, his son, son-in-law, and second-hand talk from the granddaughter. Kotoko laid down what really transpired the night of the murder. Things did not go well for the family with hearing the actual truth about the daughter killing her mother. Things got so heated from the conversation that the son-in-law pulled out a gun, threatened Kotoko with it and wound-up shooting Kuro in the process.

Oh-ho-ho, what did you think was going to happen here?

Kuro’s just going to come back to life. Kuro and Rikka are immortal due to a meddling grandparent and a mysterious item they ate as kids. And of course, Kotoko can communicate with spirits and demons. But this family doesn’t need to know that. In the aftermath of this family learning the full truth, things took a downturn as the father’s illness got worse and the daughter tried committing suicide as the family knows she murdered her mother. Kotoko and Kuro visited the patriarch to the family again after what has happened and learned that they were recommended to help him by none other than Rikka.

Kuro’s seldom-seen cousin Rikka has been in-and-out of this series. She has made her feelings known to Kuro and Kotoko as she loves her cousin Kuro and hates Kotoko. Rikka stayed with the couple during a time in the first season, but took her leave and hasn’t been seen by the two since then. What are Rikka’s intentions with recommending two people to get help from Kotoko? We do not see this in the final episode.

Instead, we see Kotoko conveniently at an unagi restaurant where there’s an intense conversation between two friends. One of the friends accuses the other of killing his spouse. Now, you would think that Kotoko would have heard these two guys speaking aloud in a public setting. But this is Kotoko Iwanaga, the “Goddess of Wisdom” to many spirits, entities, and whatnots. Kotoko was at the restaurant for ulterior motives to do something so crass with Kuro later. She didn’t expect to hear from a ghost. It’s the ghost of the woman that guy from the table over killed. She’s latching onto her living husband making things heavier and difficult for the man. Kotoko later confronts the man and explains that his late wife’s ghost is causing this pain. Kotoko pretty much destroys this whole man’s career in mere minutes. We end with Kotoko going home with Kuro and…the end, I guess.

Hmm…I’m only now realizing that three of the mysteries this season revolved around a dead wife of some sort. Dead ex-wife, dead wife, some guy that killed his wife…and Rikka might be the reason why Kotoko ends up helping out in all of these mysteries. Is Rikka sending Kotoko some hints that if she marries Kuro, she’ll wind up dead. I’m reading too much into this.

I can’t say I didn’t get what I wanted out of this season and that was to have more stories that focus on more than just one entity or mystery. I got that. But I can’t help but feel an empty feeling when it comes to that certain woman, Rikka. We see her in one episode and she’s only mentioned a few times. Yet, there’s so much tenseness between her and the duo. I guess we need yet another season to see if we get more interactions or some kind of showdown. It looks as though the manga is still in publication so I’m going to assume we’ll get more In/Spectre in the coming years.

Okay, fine. I liked this season better than the first season. And judging by the scores on MAL, I’m not alone in that sentiment. And okay, I’ll get off my high-horse about Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun and give In/Spectre its due. If you’re interested in the supernatural, give both seasons a shot. Can’t have one without the other.

Crunchyroll has both seasons available for streaming.

[nebulasaurus]

So does Kuro-kun have legitimate feelings for Kotoko or am I reading this manga for zero reason? He has like... No personality. If there is no character growth I don't want to waste my time.

[good7luck]

Kyokou Suiri season 2 OP & ED official videos

[animehouse-moe]

In/Spectre Season 2 Episode 1: Memento Mori

So first off, I'm not all the way caught up to the In/Spectre manga, so please do correct me if I'm wrong. However, it seems that this first episode is all anime original content, which both works and does not work, it's a little bit of a mess in my opinion.

The mystery and detective nature is solid, the banter between Kotoko and Kuro is like normal, and there's a lot of comparable aspects to the previous season. But, it gets a little out of hand and strays from the path that In/Spectre has beaten. It gets a little excited and silly for its own tastes, and starts to fall into traditional tropes and traps of "generic" anime.

I wouldn't say it's an immediate deal-breaker, as there's lots to go still that pertain directly to the manga, but I can't help but see it as a forewarning for how flexible the staff and this production might be on the sentiment and overall sensibility of the manga.

Overall, the production itself isn't anything really to write home about. It gets the job done, and hones in on the dialogue and character interactions more than anything. It's not offensive of lazy, but it's certainly not something that catches your eye, which is (personally) cause for recommending the manga. With so much dialogue it's certainly a complaint of many that the show feels slow and empty, and I can't really argue with it. The manga in comparison though requires the attention and focus of readers in different fashion so it works far better.

Admittedly the first episode doesn't inspire any confidence in this season, but definitely does pique my curiosity. Only time will tell, but I'd think it to be a series that only a select few will really get in to, and given this first episode it's not attempting to do any massive favors outside of a refresh on the material of the first season.

[hopeymchope]

...so where's my In/Spectre season 3 announcement already?!

My friggin' gourd, In/Spectre has damn near everything I could want in an anime.

Fascinating, intense, twisting, DARK mysteries... ?

...that can sometimes also include surprisingly heartwarming turns that hit me in the feels?

A pair of interesting central protagonists with an endearingly off-kilter romance going on?

Dialogue delivery and animation framing that serve comedic interjections EXTREMELY well?

Episodes that flow between each other so naturally that it's tailor-made for binging story arcs in chunks?

Some amazing fucking lore that includes both supernatural creatures from ye old folklore — as well as ideas I've never seen explored before?

I mean, what else do I love and need in an anime, really?? I suppose, I DO like my high-stakes games full of betrayal and manipulation... but there's enough brilliant manipulation from our lead heroine that I get a side dish of that feeling, too.

If it has one weakness (...for some people, I mean; definitely not for me...), it's that it's so heavily focused on delivering amazing dialogue-heavy monologues full of investigative reveals and character insights. So if you're someone looking for cool action sequences or whatever, there's definitely NOT much of that here.

...although sometimes... on rare occasions... they deliver THAT AS WELL.

In short: For my tastes, In/Spectre is the WHOLE FUCKING PACKAGE. Season 1 was so focused on one big, season-long mystery that I didn't get a full enough taste to be sure, but season 2's mix of story arcs has shown me that it's just wall-to-wall EXCELLENT storytelling.

And I haven't even mentioned the BEST thing it has — It already has more than enough stories in its base novels AND its manga adaption to fill an entire third season. Like, RIGHT NOW.

So. How? Where? When? Who do I have to fuck, marry, AND/OR kill to get MORE ASAP?

[otaku-babu-vibes]

ngl, the relationship between Masayuki and Yuki Onna was MUCH more interesting than whatever is going on with Kuro and Iwanaga

I think they're a funny pair but Iwanaga is TOO vulgar imo. As the story develops, the worse she gets. I personally dont like that in characters.

I like the trust that develops with Masayuki and Yuki Onna. Its very very cute. Masayuki has a hard time trusting other people and turns to Yuki Onna for social interactions. And Yuki Onna does the same with him as well.

[pyreflydust]

In/Spectre Chapter 40

[justaravingwritingdesk]

I see Evillious everywhere....

Is it just me, or does Sakuragawa Kurou's specs hit a little too close to home? Immortal, has precognition powers, part mermaid... Doesn't that sound like a certain tailor we know?