Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi impressions

Ōdanna & Aoi, Kakuriyo second ending theme
(titled "Shiranai Kimochi" by Nakajima Megumi)

I stumbled over Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi ("Bed and Breakfast for Spirits", かくりよの宿飯) anime 2-3 weeks ago when I was looking for any jidaimono (period drama) anime on Anime Planet. It was recommended to me because I love Natsume’s Book of Friends. Out of curiosity (and because I like Kakuriyo’s visual & period-setting), I checked it out. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Kakuriyo isn't set in the Edo period despite the costumes. Instead, it's actually set in our current time. However, Kakuriyo is set in a parallel dimension called the Netherworld or Kakuriyo, a dimension where ayakashi live. We know the basic story: the girl Aoi was promised to be the bride of the Oni Hachiyo called Ōdanna (basically means "The Great Master") after Aoi's grandfather got drunk and got entangled in a big debt in Ōdanna's inn (called "Tenjin-ya"). However, instead of just marrying the oni to pay off her grandpa’s debt, Aoi decided to work off the debt, though the sum is quite massive (JPY 100 million, which is about AUD 1.3 million!). The rest of the anime shows the resilience of orphaned Aoi and her great way of winning friends through her food. As someone who loves and cooks Japanese cuisine (I'm not talking just sushi, I'm talking about the real washoku dishes), loves period-setting and love a nicely-paced anime (by “nice” I mean, the way Natsume Yūjinchō is paced), I truly appreciate this anime.

And now I’m having a withdrawal syndrome, trying to cling on to the anime although I’ve finished all the 26 episodes… But fear not! Because although the current anime is finished, it actually makes up half of the original source, which is a 10-volume light novel of the same name by the very talented Yuma Midori, illustrated gloriously by Laruha. So, there’s half of the original source still waiting to be made into anime. Plus, Yuma-san said she would write a gaiden (side story or 外伝)  following the last volume of the novel and it’s true, for a collection of short stories (‘gaiden’) is to be published on 15 Dec in Japan. I’ll surely buy it!

Impression Summary

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Cover to Vol 1 of the novel
(written by Yuma Midori, illustrated by Laruha)

So, what do I love about Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi? Well, almost everything. Maybe everything. From the food (FOOD!!!), the great music, the story of warm-hearted resilience, the kind but strong heroine (Tsubaki Aoi 津場木葵 – ‘Tsubaki’ here sounds the same as 椿 ‘camellia’, though Aoi’s family name wasn’t written like that), the gorgeous friends… and the collection of ikemen peppering the anime like crazy. Most notably for me is the girl’s intended, the mysterious Ōdanna-sama (大旦那様, which literally just means “the Great Master”), the ogre god, owner of Tenjin-ya, a very cool ryokan in Kakuriyo (the Netherworld). 

However, other ikemen are also watch-worthy. Ginji the nine-tailed silver fox would be high in the list (he’s a legit contender of Aoi’s love in the anime), though my personal choice after Ōdanna would be the rascal but supportive Hatori the tengu (which looks like a Hawk Boy with sunglasses perching on his dark grey hair) and actually Byakuya the Chief Accountant and economist at large for Tenjin-ya (perhaps because I am married to an economist? hahaha!). But we also have Tokihiko-dono (the bath master & the doctor for the rival inn Orio-ya), Prof Saraku the Head of R&D Dept, the annoying Ranmaru (who apparently had a tragic past, hence his caustic self), and the siblings Akatsuki and Suzuran (spider ayakashi), to name a few.

Yet to me, the most important thing from this anime is: things are not always as they seem. I first thought that many characters were annoying (particularly Ōdanna, O-Ryo, Akatsuki, Hatori, Ranmaru and Byakuya), but we later understood why they were acting as they were, and came to appreciate them better (I actually love Ōdanna, O-Ryo, Hatori and Byakuya in particular). The last two episodes of the anime also show us that things are not always as they seem. It says a lot about dialogs and trying to understand each other…

This anime also makes me appreciate ayakashi more, just like the way Natsume’s Book of Friends did me. See, I am from Bali, Indonesia, and we know that there are The Unseen at many places in Bali. We respect (or at least try to accept) them as part of the nature (e.g. my dad's house has many ayakashi...). I do have to admit that I often got annoyed with the many ceremonies in Bali… but after watching Natsume’s Book of Friends and Kakuriyo, I realised that The Unseen in Bali are just like the ayakashi in Natsume and Kakuriyo. They just want to live and be acknowledged…

I give the anime 9/10 in total, with 9/10 for story, because the anime left out some important details that made us understand Ōdanna's motive in being mean to Aoi in the first place and also why he kept evading the identity of the kind ayakashi who rescued Aoi when she was little. Those reasons are in the manga, though, and also in the novel (from the comments of novel readers).

Season 2 anime is very much needed to tie loose ends (vols 6-10 of the novel have many answers we’re looking for).  I always believe that Grandpa Shiro wasn’t just being irresponsible when he got drunk and entangled in 100 million yen debt, making Aoi a collateral. I don’t know the specifics yet (novels haven’t arrived at my place, and my Japanese is still JPL-4 level level that it will take me time to understand the novels), but I think we’ll learn the real motive of Shiro’s drunken frenzy in Vol 9 or 10 of the novel. Another important thing to me is the reason for the blonde Ogondōji-sama for incapacitating Aoi while she visited the Eastern capital (which led to her being captured by the three Daruma and kept in the underground ice storage). From the Orio-ya episode, I didn’t get the impression that Ogondōji was an evil ayakashi (though she could’ve asked nicely for Aoi to come to Orio-ya, instead of capturing her). In Ep 20, Ōdanna also told Aoi that Ogondōji and Princess Iso liked to exchange snarky banters. In Vol 9 (or is it 8?) of th novel, Ogondōji seemed to also informed Aoi of a very important issue… so I don’t think Ogondōji is an evil ayakashi. But I still don’t get why she incapacitated Aoi in the Eastern capital. Was it to test whether Ōdanna truly cared for Aoi…?

Also, since the novel has ended, we can learn what happens to Ōdanna and Aoi in the end (SPOILERS at the end of this blogpost).

Commentaries of the main characters – SPOILERS AHEAD

Tsubaki Aoi　津場木葵

Tsubaki Aoi (@the official Negaibana "Wish-flower" MV)

At first, I thought of Aoi as the normal cute anime girl who somehow got away with her cuteness. But I’m glad to find out that she does have her spunk. 

I was impressed when she casually addressed Ōdanna as “That oni over there” when she explained to old Matsuba why she couldn’t go to Mount Shumon to be old Matsuba’s daughter in law. I chuckled when she suddenly put herself in front of Ōdanna, protecting her from some bad ayakashi with her tengu fan (Matsuba-sama gave her that fan as a thank you, and also because he had promised Shiro a reward for the latter had rescued him from drowning in a river). When Ōdanna happily commented that she protected him, Aoi dismissed it, saying it was self-defense. I laughed out loud when Aoi threatened to boil the annoying spider ayakashi Akatsuki if he didn’t want to let her dress his wound. And when Aoi bonded over with Hatori the rascal tengu, I definitely see that this is almost like a reverse-harem situation, similar to Chizuru in Hakuoki. 

I learned a lot from Aoi, not just about her cooking tips (I indeed love and do Japanese cooking, and  I mean the traditional vegetarian washoku, not just katsu or sushi, and I actually want to try making a soba noodle one day). I learn to be positive and see the bright side of many things, if not everything. 

I truly cook washoku, and I'm learning how to pack meals in a bento box. From left to right, the menu I had above are kimpira konnyaku with konbu strips, tofu simmered with carrots, and okra with lotus roots. The rice is purple because I mixed sushi rice (get the Kokuho Rose brand!) with a bit of black rice.

And more washoku, with brown rice this time...

 I also make onigiri, and Aoi has inspired my onigiri fillings...  

God, I love bento!

And I make gyoza too (vegetarian)...

And home made matcha ice cream with homemade blueberry & honey konnyaku, homemade anko and kinako (store-bought) 

Ōdanna-sama　大旦那様

Ōdanna catching a fire arrow to protect Aoi

Despite my misunderstanding of Ōdanna-sama in the first two anime episodes, there are many things I love about Ōdanna. Of course he is super handsome (which anime hero isn’t??). The voice actor Konishi Katsuyuki was spot-on with Ōdanna’s character, I hope he gets to voice Ōdanna again in Season 2. Physically, Ōdanna is a mixture of my favourite anime characters: the tall dark-haired Mansairaku from Otogi Zoshi (with very similar type of deep voice, though Mansairaku was voiced by Miki Shinichiro), the also tall dark-haired Hijikata Toshizō from Hakuoki (also voiced by Miki Shinichiro) and Heinel (the 1980s Voltes Five villain) who is actually a Boazan, hence he naturally has horns like the tall dark-haired Ōdanna! 

But aside from the physical gorgeousness, though Ōdanna looked like a stern oni in the beginning, later on we learn how he’s actually a thoughtful oni, and quite mischievous at that too! When Aoi was taken by force to the southern land’s Orio-ya, Ōdanna disguised himself as a fish peddler and visited Orio-ya, bringing with him some excellent seafood and other food ingredients for Aoi, as well as some new set of kimono and medicine for Aoi. Ōdanna is also secretly jealous of Ginji, for the latter could always cook with Aoi, whereas when the former wanted to help Aoi to wash rice during a Tenjin-ya outing, Bakatsuki (I mean, Akatsuki) immediately took over that task. When Aoi eventually asked for Ōdanna’s help in cooking some dishes for a quarrelling pair of tengu father and son (Matsuba-sama and Hatori), Ōdanna was beside himself in happiness. 

Another example of Ōdanna’s thoughtfulness is when Aoi tried to retrieve the mermaid scale in the Dragon Palace and an oni tried to eat her. In trying to protect Aoi, Ōdanna got injured. Aoi cried big time because Ōdanna couldn’t properly defend himself because she had earlier cut his long nails (when she asked him to help cooking meals for Matsuba-sama and Hatori). Ōdanna shushed her and, in the spur of the moment, tried to kiss her. However, he then stopped and kissed her forehead instead. 

Which prompts this YouTube video…

(But if you read my translation of Volume 6 Chapter 9, you might actually be fluttering afterwards...)

We never know Ōdanna’s name in the anime Season 1, but his real name is revealed in Vol 9 of the novel. We will know more of his background story in the novel Volumes 6 (because it’s about Aoi and Ōdanna having a date at an orchard and Aoi wanting to know more about him) and 7 (because of another reason I'll display in another post). One of the intriguing things that I want to know more is about Ōdanna’s upbringing. In Ep 20 of the anime, he told Aoi that he grew up around strong miasma… thus he could take the Dragon Palace miasma while the same miasma incapacitated Ranmaru and Ginji. That reminds me of Pisces Albafica’s childhood, growing up amongst poisonous roses…

(PS: Now I can guess what the implication of Ōdanna's info about him growing up around strong miasma, and his real name and his favourite food. Check them here, but beware that it's heavy spoilers)

By the way, Ōdanna loves it every time Aoi gives him a bento box. I think it started with that moment when Aoi gave him the bento box in front of that shrine in Tokyo (in the manga and novel, he actually took care of washing the bento box after cleaning up its content). Later, when Aoi wanted to go to the Eastern Capital, she dangled a bento box as a carrot (or stick?) for Ōdanna's approval. When Ōdanna arrived in Orio-ya to secretly accompany her (and also taking care of her twisted foot), Aoi said she'd cook him a boxed meal and put it inside a bucket, and boy, how happy Ōdanna looked!

Aoi's bento that she gave to Ōdanna in Tokyo
(since I love cooking Japanese meal, I pay a particular attention to the contents of Aoi's bento)

Ōdanna's happiness upon the possibility of
eating Aoi's home-cooked bento is so palpable! 

Ginji 銀次

One would be forgiven to think that the kind-hearted Ginji
is the male lead of this anime (I thought of that too at one point)(Pic source)

Ginji is a nine-tailed fox ayakashi, the strongest of his kind. He is a very loyal person, a good friend and a loyal confidant of both Aoi and Ōdanna. Actually, TBH, in episodes 1-2 I actually rooted for Ginji more than Ōdanna. From the get-to, Ginji is always this nice person who supports Aoi when Ōdanna was nasty to her. Even Ōdanna only started to be nicer to Aoi when Matsuba rebuked the inn-master. Thus, of course I understand why some fans prefer Ginji and Aoi than Aoi and Ōdanna. 

However, I later saw through Ōdanna’s façade and saw that he actually cared about Aoi. Thus, my feelings to Ōdanna grew more… and my feelings to Ginji changed to respect. However, I no longer see Ginji and Aoi as an item... 

Make no mistake though: Ginji is a very loyal person. He and Aoi are very good friends, very loyal friends. If Ōdanna and Aoi didn’t work out (I don’t think so, I think Ōdanna-Aoi is pretty solid as the novel enters its 6th volume), Ginji would still be there for Aoi. Although I just don’t ship the two of them anymore (if anything, I’d ship Hatori and Aoi, though Hatori had no history with Aoi’s past…), I respect and appreciate Ginji as a gentleman in his own rights. Ginji’s sad past with Ranmaru also made me feel for him more (see Ranmaru’s entry for this). 

Ginji's super cute little fox form

Despite his gentle nature, Ginji is said to be a very strong ayakashi. He could produce blue fire, much like the green fire of oni, though we've never seen a demonstration of that power (perhaps in Volumes 6-10 of the novel?). Ginji also has several forms (a mature woman, a nine-tailed fox child and a little nine-tailed fox), though his “true” form is the mature nine-tailed fox ayakashi.  

Tenjin-ya crew

I have many favourites in Tenjin-ya. Surprisingly, O-Ryo quickly became a favourite after she told Aoi about her past story (Ōdanna rescued O-Ryo from her former, wicked, employer) and O-Ryo mellowed down after eating Aoi’s food. I also have a soft spot for Byakuya after we learned how he loved tube-kitten ayakashi. Byakuya called Aoi as "Aoi-kun", which is interesting because it feels like he's taking Aoi under his wings.

I want to know more about the old proprietess (Ōkami), so I hope we will learn more in the 2nd half of the novel and the gaiden (the gaiden spoilers TBC). I love Shizuna and Kasuga for they are such sweet girls and are always loyal to Aoi (Shizuna didn’t dare to give Aoi a job when the latter asked the former in the first place, but that was because she feared O-Ryo’s wrath).

Orio-ya: Ranmaru

The Orio-ya crew (plus Ōdanna, Ginji and Aoi): Ranmaru (red-hair),
Hatori (winged boy), Tokihiko (the guy with the blue flame),
Hideyoshi (bronze hair) and Nene (pink hair)

Ranmaru is one of the Kakuriyo characters which were annoying when they appeared but indeed there are more to them that meets the eye. However, unlike Ōdanna whom I grow to like in 3rd episode, I wasn’t warming up on Ranmaru even after the 3rd episode of his appearance. I suppose that is because, unlike Ōdanna who was just playing nasty to Aoi, Ranmaru was indeed a scarred person who became hardened for a good reason: His surrogate mother, a local deity called Princess Iso, sacrificed herself for their land in front of Ranmaru when he was but a child. As a result, Ranmaru changed from a timid little boy into a committed young ayakashi, and then a harsh grown up ayakashi, for he wanted to protect the land that Princess Iso left him. Another ramification of this change is the severance of Ranmaru’s ties with his adopted little brother… Ginji. Yes, Ginji and Ranmaru were raised by Princess Iso in the Southern Land. Originally, Ginji was the rascal boy and Ranmaru the timid one. However, after Iso died, Ranmaru became so hardened that Ginji couldn’t take it anymore and left the Southern Land to work with Ōdanna in Tenjin-ya. 

Ranmaru’s end theme song is about him and Princess Iso. I think, as Ranmaru grew up, he started to see Iso not just as a surrogate mother, but also his ideal lover, for the song’s lyrics is more of that of lovers than mother and son. I do feel for that red-haired dog ayakashi. He’s never been the same after Princess Iso died…

Orio-ya: Hatori

Hatori the rascal tengu is easily my favourite Orio-ya character. I thought he was a bully when he first arrived, but he was apparently more of a rascal instead of a bully. And he was a rascal because he had bad blood with his dad because his dad used to harshly criticise Hatori’s mother for cooking a meal the dad didn’t like. And who’s the dad, I wonder? Yep… it was Matsuba-sama. He was indeed harsh to his wife Sasara for not being able to cook gameni (a stewed dish) as he would like it to be, but he later regretted his ungratefulness to Sasara when the latter died. So, Matsuba lecturing Ōdanna about treating the latter’s fiancée nicely was apparently based on the former’s dark past. When Aoi learned about this story, she cried. I do love Aoi’s friendship with Hatori though. Hatori might be the her closest friend outside Tenjin-ya. He called her Ojō-chan (“Missy”) and protected her when she was kidnapped by Ranmaru and taken to Orio-ya.  

Hatori used to work in Tenjin-ya as the waka-danna (young master). I think Hatori joined Orio-ya a good few years after Ginji left, because in Ep 12 of the anime (where Aoi found a secret room in the Tenjin-ya basement), we saw a photo of the Tenjin-ya crew with the young rascal Shirō. Both Ginji and Hatori were in that photo. I am not sure whether Hatori joining Orio-ya was a gentleman’s agreement as the result of Ginji joining Tenjin-ya, or because Hatori left on his own accord. Hatori had no issues with Ōdanna, though, for when Hatori visited Tenjin-ya, he'd play the Go game with Ōdanna twice. 

Hatori is only the bantō (front office manager) of Orio-ya (the same level with Akatsuki).  I think by the time Hatori joined Orio-ya, Ranmaru already appointed Hideyoshi as Orio-ya’s waka-danna. I still think Hatori has much more presence than Hideyoshi though (I don’t even want to make an entry for Hideyoshi here; his constant rudeness to Aoi irks me to no end).  But anyway, Hideyoshi is a monkey ayakashi, which can be a cue to the real Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s moniker as “The Monkey”.

Orio-ya: Tokihiko-dono

Tokihiko is the doctor and also master bath of Orio-ya. He was always shown as being considerate, although his tactless approach to Tenjin-ya’s bath maid Shizuna earned him two slams on the floor perfectly delivered by Shizuna. I like Tokihiko; he and Hatori combined forces with Ginji in protecting Aoi during Aoi’s time in Orio-ya. Ōdanna called Tokihiko with a honorific suffix ‘-dono’, which is similar to ‘-sama’ but more of the same level with the speaker (e.g., Ōdanna would call the old Matsuba as “Matsuba-sama” because he considers the old tengu higher than him). That is interesting, because Ōdanna called Hatori just by his name, possibly because Hatori used to work in Tenjin-ya (which thus reflects Ōdanna's closer relationship with Hatori).

Analysis: Was Ōdanna an @$$ towards Aoi? 

Ōdanna rescuing Aoi from a flooded basement

I understand some reviewers don’t like it that Ginji didn’t end up with Aoi in the anime. However, I disagree when someone said that Ōdanna doesn’t deserve Aoi because he just protected Aoi because of the advantage that their marriage brings to him (an ayakashi who marries a human female is apparently seen as advantageous for the ayakashi). That is not true... Ōdanna saved Aoi many times because he loves her... Granted, Ōdanna’s reaction when Aoi rejected his proposal was not called for, but he actually was the one who later pointed out the location of the annex restaurant in Ep 1 (where Aoi would later meet the adult form of Ginji who was packing the food ingredients in the annex). Remember that Ginji was surprised to see Aoi in the annex? That was a genuine surprise, both in the manga and in the anime. Hence, it wasn’t Ginji who put the arrows (Ginji could’ve just shown Aoi the annex instead). It was Ōdanna who did that because he knew Aoi was a good cook and perhaps she could revive the restaurant. Btw, in the manga, the annex is translated as a "cottage", and I think it's a better translation.

So how do I know that Ōdanna was the one who put the arrows that directed Aoi to the cottage in the first place? Because in the last scene of anime Ep 1, we saw Ōdanna standing in his room in the main Tenjin-ya building, looking at the cottage where Aoi and Ginji were having the conversation. The manga didn’t show the hint of that important scene, but the anime did. Given Ginji’s genuine surprise, I gather that it was Ōdanna who orchestrated so Aoi found out about the cottage  Ginji also later said in the manga that Ōdanna told him that Aoi was good at cooking. Thus, connecting two and two together isn’t that hard.

Also, for a while Moonflower wasn't doing well due to lack of marketing (it didn't help that in the manga some ayakashi changed the arrows leading to Moonflower to confuse customers). If Ōdanna just wanted Aoi to marry him for the sake of status and power, he'd be happy that Moonflower wasn't doing well. However, in Ep 7 of the anime, when Ōdanna and Aoi had a chat in his onsen hut, Ōdanna looked pensive when he breached the subject of Moonflower's lack of visitors. He knew it was a sore subject for Aoi, hence he talked to her about it gently. And, instead of just pushing Aoi to close the restaurant and marry him, Ōdanna advised her to be more patient and just take things slowly. Then, when Moonflower suddenly received a boom of visitors (mainly due to the racoon author's positive review in a newspaper, though perhaps Ōgondōji also lent some hands), Ōdanna was shown to observe Aoi greeting her guests from his private room in the main Tenjin-ya building. 

He looked happy and grateful  for her, that her business was prosperous. That was not the countenance of someone who just wanted to marry Aoi for status. Instead, that was the face of someone who loved her, deeply.

SPOILERS for MANGA:

SPOILERS for MANGA:

SPOILERS for MANGA:

In the manga, it seems that Ōdanna forbade Ginji from telling Aoi about the kind ayakashi identity because (this is my take) Ōdanna wanted Aoi not to feel indebted to him. I bet Ōdanna and Ginji (or at least one of them) were the ones who alerted the authorities about the fact that the little Aoi was left home-alone without parental care. 

So... anyway, although Ōdanna and Aoi had a rocky start, Ōdanna slowly but surely got mellowed towards Aoi. He also considered Aoi’s feelings quite well. Yes, he did kidnap Aoi into Kakuriyo; that I cannot defend. Yet, Ōdanna could've wedded Aoi by force in Ep 1 if he wanted to (because Shiro irresponsibly promised her to Ōdanna), but he chose not to. In the beginning, he was - admittedly - ungallantly annoyed by her persistent of paying the debt herself, but he was also the person who pointed out the cottage location where Moonflower was later established. And later, as he realised he started to fall in love with Aoi, he became more protective of her, yet he still respects her decisions. Happy sigh...

In fact, 

SPOILERS...

SPOILERS...

SPOILERS...

The first kind ayakashi who visited little Aoi was actually Ōdanna (Ep 26 of anime, though the manga hints on it much earlier on in Vol 3). Ōdanna later sent Ginji to feed Aoi food that Ōdanna cooked for her, and the last food that Aoi ate was actually cooked by Ōdanna.  In the manga, Ōdanna forbade Ginji from telling Aoi about the identity of the kind ayakashi because Ōdanna didn't want Aoi to feel indebted to him, hence agreeing to the marriage...

(I bet that either Ōdanna or Ginji – or both – was the one who alerted the authority about the fact that little Aoi was left home alone without care or food). 

I mentioned that Ōdanna was nasty when Aoi rejected him. I cannot defend him on that front. Then, Matsuba-sama ransacked the Tenjin-ya lobby and Ōdanna was being nasty again with Aoi, telling her to go off. In the anime it wasn’t explained, but in the manga it was explained later that Ōdanna wasn’t nice to Aoi because he didn’t want her to get injured (in the manga and novel, Aoi’s forehead was injured when a vase hit her). Also, when Ōdanna arrived to manage Matsuba-sama’s angry fit, in the manga Ōdanna didn’t let Aoi bow in front of him (all Tenjin-ya employees bow in front of Ōdanna), saying that she wasn’t an employee yet, hence no need to bow. Granted Ōdanna could’ve told Aoi those things nicely, but I do think he was still annoyed for being rejected by Aoi by then. (Matsuba later set him straight, and afterwards I couldn’t find any flaws in Ōdanna’s actions to Aoi)

After Aoi treated and fed Matsuba, the old man told Ōdanna to take care of his fiancée. I totally root for Matsuba-sama for that (though later I realised that Matsuba was actually offering his own medicine, for he wasn’t nice to his late wife either). Soon, Odanna realised he’d been a pain in the ass to Aoi, thus he took her sightseeing to Youto (perhaps as a way to atone for him being an ass). Those are the two… or 1.5 instances where Ōdanna wasn’t being nice to Aoi (1.5 instances because the reason why Ōdanna being nasty to Aoi during Matsuba-sama's angry fit was because Ōdanna didn’t want Aoi to get hurt). The rest of the anime and manga are peppered with him caring for Aoi, to the extent that Aoi said he was being overprotective to her, like Grandpa Shiro (and Ōdanna panicked because he didn’t want to look as old as Grandpa Shiro). 

For instance, when Aoi was missing in the Eastern Capital (because three daruma ayakashi captured and locked Aoi), Ōdanna left a Hachiyo dinner meeting immediately and went straight to the Eastern Capital to rescue Aoi. Him leaving the dinner meeting was a very prominent breach of protocol actually, for it was a dinner meeting between the Eight Hachiyo and the King of Kakuriyo. In the manga, Ranmaru even criticised Ōdanna’s leaving the meeting, but Ōdanna basically told Ranmaru that he couldn’t care less. It was this moment in the anime that cemented my admiration to the Ōdanna character. True, he was annoying to Aoi in the first place, but later he actually cared for her enough to cast away protocols and bear repercussions. 

In terms of Aoi, it’s interesting to observe Aoi’s shifting language as her relationship with Ōdanna grows deeper. In the first place, she just addressed him as “that oni over there” (anime Ep 2, manga Vol 2). Then she started to respect him and addressed him as “Ōdanna-sama”. Later, as she grew softer towards him, she still addressed him as “Ōdanna-sama”, but her choice of words became more relaxed. For instance, when she was about to embark on a journey to find the mermaid scale in the Dragon Palace, Aoi found Ōdanna tickling Chibi’s stomach, such that the temari kappa laughed out loud. Instead of giggling to see the usually serious Ōdanna tickling a mini-kappa, Aoi asked whether Ōdanna had too much time on his hands. Her words were 「暇なの？」, “Hima na no?” – “are you free” but it has the effect of “are you having too much time on your hands?!”.

In Japanese language, that shift of formality means a lot. I can see how Aoi sees Ōdanna as a closer and dependable person bits by bits, and that his formal title “Ōdanna” has started to become a name for Aoi to call him (instead of her addressing him as “The Master”). When Ōdanna was away in Utsushiyo for a few days, Aoi and Ōdanna exchanged correspondence through the magic black board (Kakuriyo’s version of a mobile phone or email). I find their conversations very natural and sweet, particularly because the latter kept wanting to do this and that (e.g., running errands, washing rice, buying chocolates…) because he claimed that those things are what husbands in Utsushiyo do for their wives. It was sweet to see how Aoi actually missed Ōdanna’s presence and she felt relaxed when he returned to Tenjin-ya earlier than scheduled. 

Also, re the contract between Shiro and Ōdanna, these are my thoughts: In the manga, it is clear that Shiro's drunken frenzy was when he was young... but not sure how young he was. But in the anime Ep 5, Akatsuki told Aoi that Shiro's drunken frenzy happened when Akatsuki already worked as a trainee in Tenjin-ya. It means that Shiro was already a middle-age man (perhaps 50s years old). Following the anime timeline, by then Shiro would already been taking care of little Aoi. Shiro would know that a girl with a power to see ayakashi like Aoi would be quite a target both in Utsushiyo (from ayakashi and human bullies) and Kakuriyo (from the ayakashi). Hence, Shiro played up the drunken scene and made a mess so that he could enter a contract where Ōdanna would eventually protect Shiro's granddaughter. I think Ōdanna could clearly see through Shiro's tactic, but he played along with it for some reasons. 

Shopping the Kakuriyo memento

The camellia hair stick that Ōdanna gave Aoi
(eh, the bento wrapping fabric was a trap!)

On a more girly note, Aoi received several presents from Ōdanna, but the most notable one is the camellia kami-kazari (hair ornament) or hair stick made of an unidentified camellia-shaped crimson crystal which blooms ever so slightly. Ōdanna said that the crystal would fully bloom one day and its petals would fall one by one. He said that Aoi should repay Shiro’s debt before that happens, to which Aoi (in the manga, at least) screamed and said that it was so like Beauty and the Beast! Many fans interpret the crystal opening as akin to Aoi’s love to Ōdanna, which slowly but surely blooms. The other gift Ōdanna gave Aoi was a jade-like pendant, infused with his own onibi (ogre fire). The jade functioned as a tracker as well, so that Ōdanna was able to sense if Aoi was ever in danger. However, the most important gift that Ōdanna gave Aoi was no doubt the first meal he gave her when she was a hungry, alone, abandoned little girl…

Onboard the Kaikakumaru during their first outing,
Ōdanna inserting the camellia hair stick into Aoi's chignon

Anyway, I’m having a hair stick made by an artisan in Portugal through Etsy, styled after Aoi’s kami-kazari in the anime. The artisan’s hair sticks are made of garden woods or woods from trees that die on their own, so they never have a tree cut for the hair stick. I am using a ruby crystal in the shape of a rose, imported from India, shipped to Portugal for my artisan to work with. Since Aoi’s hair stick in the manga is slightly different from the anime version (the manga and novel version is not a 'double-helix' style and the colour is actually bright red), I am planning to make another hair stick with the manga style. This time, I think I will buy a Balinese hair stick from an eBay seller in Australia, plus a rose quartz or carnelian crystal rose from Australia, to reduce my footprint. I will post photos here when the hair sticks are done.

Oh yeah, Ōdanna only ever gave ONE hair stick (or hair fork) to Aoi. I thought that the hair stick was mis-drawn once in the anime when Aoi was about to leave the cottage restaurant (Ep 2). It was supposed to be a double-helix fork, but at that time, I thought it was drawn as a normal straight fork (which actually follows the manga version). But apparently, there is only one version of the hair stick. It has two wooden leaves and a two-pronged fork, and the fork is twisted a bit in a double-helix way.

This hair stick is actually the same one with the one Aoi found tied to her bento bundle.
It's also the same with the one that Ōdanna later inserted into Aoi's chignon
 

Later on, after Ōdanna realised he was being a jerk to Aoi, he asked someone to get that hair stick (or perhaps he fetched it himself). Onboard of the Kaikakumaru (Tenjin-ya's newest airship) when they were en-route Yōto, Ōdanna gave the hair stick back to Aoi. In the manga, after Matsuba left Tenjin-ya, Ōdanna asked Aoi to wait at the cottage.  She took a nap and woke up later to find Ōdanna waiting for her to wake up; him playing with the hair stick. In the manga, Ōdanna seemed to have kept the hair stick/fork and later inserted it into Aoi's chignon onboard of the Kaikakumaru.

The hair stick is a double-helix fork with two leaves
(though the two leaves are not clearly shown here).
This one is when Ranmaru returned the hair stick to its rightful owner.

FINAL SPOILERS

Laruha's beautiful illustration of Ōdanna & Aoi 

(I'm so going to get Laruha's art book!)

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

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SPOILERS!

So you know that the anime is based on the light novel volumes 1-5. The Japanese light novel of Kakuriyo has 10 instalments now, with Vol 10 as the last instalment. I’ve bought all 10 volumes and now waiting impatiently for them to arrive from Japan. The gaiden will be released on 15 December 2020 and I’ve arranged with an eBay seller to have it shipped to Australia. 

Now, the 2nd half part of the novel instalments is about a conflict between Ōdanna and Raijū (yes, we haven’t seen the worst of him yet). Ōdanna somehow went missing in at the end of Vol 6 (vol 6 has Ōdanna and Aoi dating in an orchard and a dinner date at Moonflower, which serves as the continuation of the almost-kiss in anime Ep 20). Raijū claimed over Tenjin-ya, hence Aoi embarked on a journey to rescue Ōdanna. 

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

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SPOILERS!

In the 10th volume, there’s a BIG spoiler for Ōdanna-Aoi.

(please note that the spoilers cannot be opened if you use the embedded Blogger "Translate" function to read this post. For that, you need to read the post in English... sorry...)

Spoilers:

After Ōdanna was rescued and Raijū was defeated, instead of Ōdanna re-propose to Aoi, it was Aoi herself who asked for Ōdanna’s hand in marriage!

YES, there is a reverse-proposal!

Apparently, Ōdanna flustered and got very nervous or something or other, but he of course accepted the proposal! 

HOWEVER! Instead of a wedding, Ōdanna actually let Aoi return to Utsushiyo (our world) to finish her college. They ended the novel with Ōdanna-Aoi getting engaged and Aoi returning to our world, hence they will have a long-distance relationship until Aoi finishes her degree.

Oh how bittersweet is that?! 

I mean, a college degree isn’t needed in Kakuriyo, yet Ōdanna still encouraged Aoi to resume studying and getting her degree, instead of immediately wed her!

How sweet!

As a reviewer said: it was a grounded, adult ending of the novel. It wasn’t the sparkly teenage-way of ending a novel; it was a realistic yet still sweet ending!

Also, the gaiden will tell 12 monthly stories, ranging from Chibi going back to the southern land, Ōdanna going to Utsushiyo for business (would he be wearing western suits I wonder…), etc. The gaiden also reveals that Aoi would be under the old proprietess’ wing, for Aoi would be the senior proprietess after

Spoilers:

she's married to Ōdanna. Does it mean that the gaiden would have the wedding story?

I sure hope so, but I’m not sure whether we would have it… 

I’ll put a blogpost, translating the short spoilers of Vols 6-10 of the novel, and perhaps some more spoilers there. For now, suffice to say, I miss Ōdanna and Aoi, and all the Kakuriyo cast so much!

(Note: Please click here for the short spoilers of Volumes 6-10 and summary of the Gaiden)