Novel Vol 13 and Toba manga volumes 7-9

Yūma Midori's novel vol 13 (left) and Toba Tsugaru's manga vol 9 (right)

While waiting for S2E6 where Byakuya will tell Aoi about Ōdanna-sama’s backstory, I thought I’d spend some time discussing the novel and manga. Yūma Midori-sensei’s Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi vol 13 was released on 15 Oct, hence I bought it recently from Amazon JP. To save on shipping, I bought Toba Tsugaru manga vol 9 as well. While I was skim-reading these books, I found some interesting stuff that I want to share with you, dear readers, hence this post. Particularly, I want to share my brief reading of the chapter where Aoi saw her mother (in the novel). Since I now have the Toba manga vol 9 as well, I am also making a brief review of Toba manga vols 7-9. Toba vol 9, by the way, has the almost-kiss scene! Eeeeekkk!!!

Needless to say, SPOILER ALERT, particularly for novel Vol 13.

So, novel Vol 13 is about the whole Tenjin-ya core team having a holiday trip in our world (and thus Tenjin-ya is closed for a short period while our friends are having a break). This last volume is aptly titled “Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi: the Company Retreat”). As per this writing, Vol 13 is still the #1 best seller for Fujimi L. Bunko (Kadokawa’s arm for light novels). The rest of Kakuriyo novel volumes are also best sellers from 1-14. Since Kakuriyo has 13 volumes, basically the first 14 novel best sellers are taken by Kakuriyo, with “My Happy Marriage” slipped in as #11, while Kakuriyo Vol 1 in #12, Kakuriyo Vol 2 in #13, and Kakuriyo Vol 3 in #14. This trend has been going on for two weeks now since the publication of Kakuriyo vol 13. Yay!

By the way, Best Seller #15 is “My Happy Marriage Vol 8”, which means that most volumes of Kakuriyo surpasses “My Happy Marriage”, which btw was animated by Netflix! Drum roll, please! 

(okay well then, give us the official English translation then please!)

Vol 13 Table of Content is as follows:

Chapter 1: The Night Before the Trip

Chapter 2: The Night in Tokyo

Chapter 3: Sightseeing in Asakusa with Ōdanna-sama

Chapter 4: Reunion

Chapter 5: The Backstreet of Gion 

Chapter 6: A fox or a tanuki?

Chapter 7: The Oni Bride at the Crossroads of the Six Realms

Chapter 8: Tsubaki Shirō’s Grandchild

Chapter 9: A Wish for Happiness

Chapter 4 in Vol 13 is titled “Reunion”, and it’s concerning Aoi and her mother. Previously, a reader informed me about the fact that Aoi met her mother, and the reader wanted to know what happened. Therefore, I will briefly talk about this chapter for now. I will translate this chapter later. 

Originally, I thought that Aoi meeting her mother was orchestrated by Ōdanna-sama because he might have wanted Aoi to meet her mother (based on her request). However, I was totally wrong. Aoi encountered her mother by accident while she was in Asakusa with Ōdanna-sama.  This story flows directly from Chapter 3 (titled “Sightseeing in Asakusa with Ōdanna-sama”). At the end of Ch 3, Aoi was having dinner with Ōdanna-sama (a.k.a., Setsu) in Asakusa, and they had a walk after dinner. It was then when Aoi heard a woman calling for her son, Jun淳. When the mother found Jun, she kindly told him not to walk on his own because he’d get lost amongst so many people (if you’ve been to Asakusa, you’ll know what she meant). The boy then told his mother that he was hungry, and he wanted to go home so that he could eat her homemade gratin. 

This is when Aoi realised that the woman was her own mother. Aoi often unconsciously recalled food that her mother made for her, including gratin. Thus the story flows to Chapter 4 (Reunion).

However, in Chapter 4, Aoi didn’t approach the woman. She let her mother left the scene, but then of course she was very dejected. Setsu saw her through, of course, and asked what happened. When Aoi explained, Setsu became very concerned. Eventually Aoi cried because her mother looked so happy with her new family.

“I’m such a bad child, eh?”, she said to Setsu.  

Setsu then said that it was normal for Aoi to feel that way. It was a very human feeling, he said. However, he’s also very concerned that Aoi was sad. He arranged the whole Utsushiyo trip so that Aoi (and others) can enjoy themselves, but then the unexpected encounter happened. The husband tried so hard to console his wife. He also said that it was his duty as Aoi’s husband to give her happiness that surpassed Aoi’s mother’s happiness. Eventually Aoi just let herself cry on Setsu’s chest.

The rest of the chapter was about how the Tenjin-ya crew was concerned about Aoi’s gloominess. Eventually they decided to cook together (or maybe Aoi was the one who decided on that), and the menu was gratin. Aoi later felt better after she accepted the fact that her mother is now happy. Aoi was indeed pensive when tasting her gratin because – no matter how hard she tried – her gratin will never taste the way her mother gratin was. 

It was quite a sad chapter TBH, and I will cry when I translate it. However, Chapter 5 (when the gang is in Kyoto) seems to be quite merry, so it’s good. 

I don’t know if in the rest of Vol 13 Aoi would meet her mother again. My guess is not. I mean, what would she say to her anyway? If she says anything, she would expose Kakuriyo to her mother’s world, and it might destroy the mother’s happiness. However, I am indeed grateful that Aoi has Tenjin-ya and Ōdanna-sama now. She would still be sad every now and then when she remembers her mother, but she has her new family now. Also, at least now Aoi and Ōdanna-sama know the whereabouts of Aoi’s mother. Ōdanna-sama can now request Utsushiyo ayakashi to keep track of the mother so that she’s safe and secure. Maybe one day before the mother passes away, Aoi can visit her mother again to tell her the whole story, that she’s doing well and happy…

Anyway, enough sadness for the day. Let's move on to Toba Tsugaru’s manga vol 7, 8 and 9. 

Toba Tsugaru's manga volumes 7, 8 and 9

For now, I’ll just work my way from Toba Tsugaru Vol 7 onwards. I am not reviewing earlier Toba manga volumes because… I don’t have time, but they are really interesting to read. If you have extra budget and don’t mind just looking at the manga panels, do buy them from, e.g., Amazon Japan. Also, to respect copyright, I am posting photos from the manga taken with my phone from an angle that still allows you to see the artwork, but you’ll know that it’s not a pretty scan. 

I will also review some Ioka Wako’s Kakuriyo manga volumes later. By the way, the first alphabet of Ioka’s name is “i”, hence, i-o-k-a, not l-o-k-a. In the English translation, the name is written as “Wako Ioka”, but I like to write Japanese names the way Japanese names are written, hence family name first. Hence, Ioka is the last name, Wako is the first name, and the Japanese writing is Ioka Wako. For the same token, Toba is the last name, Tsugaru is the first name, and the Japanese writing is Toba Tsugaru. 

One thing that I have to say is that I grow to like Toba Tsugaru’s Ōdanna-sama. He’s a bit different from Ioka Wako’s Ōdanna-sama, but still majestic and cool. I also like it that Toba’s panels would have chibi-style Ōdanna-sama, Aoi, etc, thus making it quite fun to read. Ioka’s manga also has these chibi-style panels, btw. So cute!

So, Toba vol 7 covers the part where Aoi helped Akatsuki to find three naughty one-eyed ayakashi children and she accidentally found the parlour where Ōdanna-sama and Ōgondōji-sama used to have tea together. Since Ōdanna-sama had a short trip to Utsushiyo back then, we also had panels of Aoi and Ōdanna-sama exchanging emails, I mean, communication via their magical comm-board (wait, is that magic? Do we include all the ayakashi stuff as magic?). Ōdanna-sama then returned to Tenjin-ya and Aoi delivered a bento box for him, but not before she eavesdropped on his conversation with Hatori over a game of gō. I like how Toba portrayed Ōdanna-sama discussing the bento content with Aoi in the chibi-style (the Master loves his bento, for sure! Can’t blame him, I love bento too!). 

Aoi: "This one has chicken and summer vegetables with amazake thick sauce. I made the ketchup as well this morning."

Ōdanna-sama: "Oooh... you also made your own ketchup..."

Our OTP is so dang cute!

Vol 7 ends with the Tenjin-ya staff dinner at the onsen and the Seiranmaru airship arriving at Tenjin-ya to bring back Hatori, Tokihiko and Ginji, and because Aoi was making a fuss, she ended up being kidnapped (again)… to Orio-ya this time.

Oh, in the Ioka version for the bento scene (Ioka Vol 10), we have Ōdanna-sama telling Aoi about how café in Tokyo are very flashy and he and Saizō-san – the head Oniwaban guardians and also Sasuke-kun’s father – didn’t dare to enter the café despite them dressing up like normal human. Hence, Ōdanna-sama wanted Aoi to make pancakes for him, hahaha! This scene was omitted from the Toba version though… cos the Toba version prioritises speed, for better for worse. Also, the scene where Aoi and Ōdanna-sama discussed his bento content after the Gō game was much more detailed in the Ioka version (Vol 10), as this manga version does take things at a more leisurely pace.

Toba vol 8 covers the first time Aoi arrived in Orio-ya to the arrival of Raijū in Orio-ya. It means we have Nene bullying Aoi (God, I hated that fire mouse so much when I first met her!), Aoi cooking for Matsuba-sama (with goya chanpuru as one of the meals – OMG I love goya chanpuru!!!), and also various issues Ginji had to deal with as he returned to his original inn (mostly related to the ceremony).

Further, we have Ōdanna-sama disguising himself as a fish trader, him noticing that Aoi’s hairpin was missing (cos Ranmaru confiscated the hairpin), and him taking care of Aoi’s twisted foot. These panels alone is enough for you to buy the manga; it was well-drawn. We also have Ōdanna-sama coming to fetch Aoi for a date at the market, him creating Ai-chan from Aoi’s green magatama, and Aoi running into Raijū for the first time when she saw Ranmaru forcing himself to talk politely to the Thunder Beast.

Toba vol 9 covers Ōdanna-sama’s date with Aoi at the seafood market (where Aoi met Sasuke-kun again). We also have the scene where Aoi asked Ōdanna-sama to help her cook the meal for the stubborn Tengu father and son (Matsuba-sama and Hatori). Ōdanna-sama was aptly excited, but sadly we have no scene of Aoi cutting his nails before cooking. I really must check the novel to see if the nail cutting was actually an original anime scene. If yes, kudos to the S1 team for that inclusion! If the novel has it, then the Ioka version might have that very important scene, so fingers crossed!

Anyway, then the Tengu meal and arguing scene went largely per the anime version, except for one scene: the place where Aoi pondered about how happy she would be to have Ōdanna-sama as her family was not onboard of the Tengu airship. Instead, she pondered about it after the whole Tengu saga was over and she and Ōdanna-sama were walking back to Orio-ya.

Another thing that was slightly different from the anime version was the scene after Aoi helped Ginji and Ranmaru and she gave her words to obtain the mermaid scale at the Dragon Palace. In the anime, Aoi went back to her old Orio-ya kitchen to find Ōdanna-sama playing with Chibi. Then, Aoi asked Ōdanna-sama to accompany her to the Dragon Palace, and the Master agreed right away. However, they still had time to make the fruit pancake as an offering to the inhabitant of the Dragon Palace. 

In Toba vol 9, this scene of Aoi asking Ōdanna-sama was bypassed, and we arrived directly outside the Dragon Palace with the (not-yet) OTP. The rest of the scene was similar to S1E20, except for some difference in the details. For instance, in Toba vol 9, Ōdanna-sama deduced that the jyaki who attacked Aoi was the same jyaki who attacked Shizuna (and thus caused Tokihiko to have an energy crack on his forehead when he tried to protect Shizuna). We were not given this info in the anime. However, the anime won in the almost-kiss scene (more on this later).

Okay, now let's look at Toba's fight scene between Ōdanna-sama and the jyaki, which IMO is really cool. 

"You, aren't you the jyaki that Shizuna awakened from the underground?" 

"The conversation isn't going well, it seems."

"You and I are the same!"

I love how manly Ōdanna-sama looks in these panels! I cannot compare it with the Ioka version yet (I am purchasing the associated volume, which I guess as Vol 12, in Amazon JP soon), but these fight panels are so cool!

However, as I said, the anime won in the almost-kiss department, for in the anime we have that famous shot where Ōdanna-sama almost kissed Aoi before the gentleman – er, gentleoni – stopped and kissed her forehead instead.

In Toba vol 9, the almost-kiss never happened. Ōdanna-sama just smiled and directly kissed Aoi on her forehead before he patted her on her head like a child. 

Kind of a letdown because Toba’s panel of Ōdanna-sama fighting the jyaki was really well-drawn…I totally can feel your disappointment here, Aoi...

Anyway, Toba vol 9 ends with Aoi taking up the challenge of cooking for the Umebōzu ceremony. 

To sum up: Toba Tsugaru manga is also very cool and interesting to read! If you have budget, do buy it from Amazon JP and/or eBay. It’s interesting that Toba and Ioka are promoting each other’s manga despite them practically being competitors. I think it’s healthier that way eh. Akin to Tenjin-ya and Orio-ya after Vol 5 novel was concluded…