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wednesday_10_00) wrote2009-06-29 01:41 pm
wednesday_10_00) wrote2009-06-29 01:41 pm
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Koushounin wa Furikaeru
Koushounin wa Furikaeru is the third book in the Koushounin series; see here for ye olde refresher course.
Our Heroes, Mebuki and Hyoudou. Mebuki appears to be in chains. Probably not a good sign.
Back cover, featuring Kiyo, Tomonori, Sayuri, and Ayaka, the (AWESOME) supporting cast. (I don't think I've mentioned Ayaka before, but she works at a club that Hyoudou manages. She seems to think of Mebuki as her gay boyfriend. XD)
Title page: post-shower Hyoudou is impatiently waiting for Mebuki to finish up his work so they can get it on. XD
The story opens with Sayuri getting hit by a scam artist. (Note: scams in Japan usually prey on the elderly, and are conducted by phone. The caller will pretend to be a child or grandchild in need of money.) Or rather, a scam artist TRIES to hit her; she's not fooled, but pretends to be, and then calls the police. Mebuki, of course, happens to be at her apartment and ends up chasing after the guy (after he beats up all the cops that try to arrest him). Both the scammer and Mebuki end up crushed under three of Mebuki's sumo wrestler friends.
Mebuki's back gets all wrenched, and he's about to have Kiyo put a hot pad on it when his lawyer friend Shimeno shows up. Shimeno is "oddly eager" to help Mebuki (...), but just as Shimeno is giving Mebuki a bit of a massage (......), Hyoudou shows up, oops. Shimeno and Hyoudou try to out alpha-male each other, with limited success, and Shimeno point-blank asks Mebuki about their relationship. Mebuki doesn't deny it (Hyoudou: "We do it all the time!" Mebuki: "Not all the time..." Shimeno: "So you ARE doing it?"), but also doesn't deny that he just sort of went along with it because Hyoudou wanted to. In his head, Mebuki is thinking nice things, but since this conversation is embarrassing enough without romantic confessions (Kiyo and Sayuri are still in the room), just lets it go, to Hyoudou's disappointment. Ayaka later gives Mebuki a rough time for this, but otherwise it's dropped, much to my disappointment.
Mebuki's new client is Mitsuo, one of the hosts from the last book. Mitsuo is worried about his friend Saitou, who recently came to Tokyo, and, after being miserable and broke for a while, seems to have fallen into a bad crowd, namely one of those nasty scam groups (as cleverly foreshadowed in the prologue). Saitou is basically a good guy, so Mebuki devises a plan to have a big home cooked meal (nabe) where they all talk about how nasty and dangerous these scam groups are. Then, just as they've almost convinced Saitou, Hyoudou shows up and scares the crap out of him by calmly discussing with Hakuta how to best punish a guy (stabbing, breaking his arms, etc). PS I freaking LOVE the "happy family" atmosphere of this picture. XD
Hyoudou, uh, sticks around after the dinner party. (There's a little discussion on the importance of condom use. I think we can all guess who wins.)
The good news is that the dinner party convinces Saitou to quit his scamming "job." The bad news is that it turns out he was working for a guy named Asahina, who had been a cient of Mebuki's back when he was a lawyer. Now, Asahina's story (he accidentally killed his girlfriend when he shoved her and she fell down the stairs) is presented as sympathetic, but I just...can't feel any sympathy for him. He shows all the classic signs of an abuser but, we're supposed to think he's an okay guy because according to Mebuki, he never hit his girlfriend hard enough to leave a bruise (that makes it okay!) and always felt sorry afterwards (...). So, anyway, apparently Asahina gets off with no jail time (*headdesk*), but he and his family suffered the wrath of an outraged (rightly so, in my opinion, but) public. I do feel sorry for Asahina's family; they had nothing to do with it, but...anyway, I digress. So Asahina's all bitter about the abuse he received, even though he was ZOMG INNOCENT!!! and has now turned to a life of crime. But Mebuki (of course) is convinced he can help Asahina change his ways.
Kiyo, comforting Mebuki after his somewhat disastrous first meeting with Asahina (who apparently has not been taking anger management classes...) This picture is maybe my favorite thing ever. XDDD Notice that Tomonori is just as jealous as Hyoudou; I wonder what has been going on between him and Kiyo, ufufufu. (Sadly, all Mebuki knows is that the two of them have been meeting when Mebuki isn't around.)
Despite the fact that Asahina does not seem at all inclined to leave the joyous life of scamming, Mebuki doesn't give up. He tracks down Asahina's sister and tries to convince her to talk to Asahina. She refuses, and Mebuki, depressed, takes a walk along the beach. Hyoudou apparently has been having Mebuki followed (like you do, when you're a yakuza in love with a guy who's always getting into trouble), shows up to warn him that he doesn't have a lot of time to work his magic on Asahina, and makes Mebuki promise to give up after one more attempt. Mebuki deduces that the Shinwakai, the ginormous yakuza conglomerate under whose umbrella Hyoudou's group falls, must be getting involved, though Hyoudou won't tell him any details.
So Mebuki meets with Asahina again, but this time pretty much loses hope because he realizes that Asahina is not just an alcoholic with a bad temper, he's an alcoholic drug addict with a bad temper.
But, a few days later, Asahina calls Mebuki again, seeming to be in trouble. Mebuki goes to a cheap weekly rental place where Asahina is staying, and Asahina gives Mebuki some coffee...oops, turns out there were some nasty drugs in there. Before Mebuki can throw up, or go to a hospital to have his stomach pumped, Asahina tells Mebuki that if he stays there and rides the fun drug high, Asahina will turn himself in the next morning. Oh, Mebuki. Of course he stays to give Asahina his chance.
What follows is a lengthy and (IMO, anyway) pretty disturbing depiction of Mebuki having a bad trip. At one point, Mebuki hallucinates himself in the mirror saying nasty things; one of the things he mentions is something about a guy who died because Mebuki didn't believe in him. (Yeah, there was some mirror smashing, of course.) Because Mebuki's past wasn't angsty enough, he needed more trauma? Oh yes, and Mebuki is chained up in the bathroom (ostensibly so he doesn't go running into the middle of traffic or whatever while he's hallucinating), hence the cover I guess.
Eventually Hyoudou (and Shimeno) find Mebuki. Asahina, of course, doesn't show up that morning as he promised to. He's found dead a few days later. (Apparently the Shinwakai wanted him out of the way because they thought his drug habit was getting to be a problem.) Mebuki spends the next week or so in the hospital.
They go back to Hyoudou's place after Mebuki gets out. Mebuki reveals that he never really believed in Asahina, he just felt guilty giving up on him after letting him down after the trial (by not being there when Asahina and his family were being harassed). Hyoudou comforts(?) Mebuki by saying he doesn't believe in him. (Apparently in Hyoudou's head, love and trust do not go hand in hand, on the contrary, it's the people you're in love with that you can't believe in.)
Maybe the sex is more comforting to Mebuki, IDK.
A few days later, Asahina's sister turns up at Mebuki's office and reveals that Asahina went to his girlfriend's grave once a month to leave flowers at her grave. Take that as you like.
Random thoughts: I'm glad that Shimeno didn't pull the "Oh, if I'd known you swing that way, I would've hit on you years ago! I guess I'll hit on you now instead" card. However, I'm somewhat...concerned about his apparent enthusiasm with the whole hot pad/massage thing. It's hard to tell since it's Mebuki's POV, though. I just...I really want them to stay just friends, agh.
I loved the first half (or so) of this book, which was tons of fun, but (as mentioned above) I didn't feel the sympathy for Asahina that I think I was supposed to, and the drug scene was...yeah, it was done well, but just...not fun at all. So I'm left with kind of mixed feelings. That being said, I freaking LOVE this cast of characters and hope that there will be many, many of these books to follow. XD (Eda-sensei does say in the notes at the end that the series will continue.)
Our Heroes, Mebuki and Hyoudou. Mebuki appears to be in chains. Probably not a good sign.
Back cover, featuring Kiyo, Tomonori, Sayuri, and Ayaka, the (AWESOME) supporting cast. (I don't think I've mentioned Ayaka before, but she works at a club that Hyoudou manages. She seems to think of Mebuki as her gay boyfriend. XD)
Title page: post-shower Hyoudou is impatiently waiting for Mebuki to finish up his work so they can get it on. XD
The story opens with Sayuri getting hit by a scam artist. (Note: scams in Japan usually prey on the elderly, and are conducted by phone. The caller will pretend to be a child or grandchild in need of money.) Or rather, a scam artist TRIES to hit her; she's not fooled, but pretends to be, and then calls the police. Mebuki, of course, happens to be at her apartment and ends up chasing after the guy (after he beats up all the cops that try to arrest him). Both the scammer and Mebuki end up crushed under three of Mebuki's sumo wrestler friends.
Mebuki's back gets all wrenched, and he's about to have Kiyo put a hot pad on it when his lawyer friend Shimeno shows up. Shimeno is "oddly eager" to help Mebuki (...), but just as Shimeno is giving Mebuki a bit of a massage (......), Hyoudou shows up, oops. Shimeno and Hyoudou try to out alpha-male each other, with limited success, and Shimeno point-blank asks Mebuki about their relationship. Mebuki doesn't deny it (Hyoudou: "We do it all the time!" Mebuki: "Not all the time..." Shimeno: "So you ARE doing it?"), but also doesn't deny that he just sort of went along with it because Hyoudou wanted to. In his head, Mebuki is thinking nice things, but since this conversation is embarrassing enough without romantic confessions (Kiyo and Sayuri are still in the room), just lets it go, to Hyoudou's disappointment. Ayaka later gives Mebuki a rough time for this, but otherwise it's dropped, much to my disappointment.
Mebuki's new client is Mitsuo, one of the hosts from the last book. Mitsuo is worried about his friend Saitou, who recently came to Tokyo, and, after being miserable and broke for a while, seems to have fallen into a bad crowd, namely one of those nasty scam groups (as cleverly foreshadowed in the prologue). Saitou is basically a good guy, so Mebuki devises a plan to have a big home cooked meal (nabe) where they all talk about how nasty and dangerous these scam groups are. Then, just as they've almost convinced Saitou, Hyoudou shows up and scares the crap out of him by calmly discussing with Hakuta how to best punish a guy (stabbing, breaking his arms, etc). PS I freaking LOVE the "happy family" atmosphere of this picture. XD
Hyoudou, uh, sticks around after the dinner party. (There's a little discussion on the importance of condom use. I think we can all guess who wins.)
The good news is that the dinner party convinces Saitou to quit his scamming "job." The bad news is that it turns out he was working for a guy named Asahina, who had been a cient of Mebuki's back when he was a lawyer. Now, Asahina's story (he accidentally killed his girlfriend when he shoved her and she fell down the stairs) is presented as sympathetic, but I just...can't feel any sympathy for him. He shows all the classic signs of an abuser but, we're supposed to think he's an okay guy because according to Mebuki, he never hit his girlfriend hard enough to leave a bruise (that makes it okay!) and always felt sorry afterwards (...). So, anyway, apparently Asahina gets off with no jail time (*headdesk*), but he and his family suffered the wrath of an outraged (rightly so, in my opinion, but) public. I do feel sorry for Asahina's family; they had nothing to do with it, but...anyway, I digress. So Asahina's all bitter about the abuse he received, even though he was ZOMG INNOCENT!!! and has now turned to a life of crime. But Mebuki (of course) is convinced he can help Asahina change his ways.
Kiyo, comforting Mebuki after his somewhat disastrous first meeting with Asahina (who apparently has not been taking anger management classes...) This picture is maybe my favorite thing ever. XDDD Notice that Tomonori is just as jealous as Hyoudou; I wonder what has been going on between him and Kiyo, ufufufu. (Sadly, all Mebuki knows is that the two of them have been meeting when Mebuki isn't around.)
Despite the fact that Asahina does not seem at all inclined to leave the joyous life of scamming, Mebuki doesn't give up. He tracks down Asahina's sister and tries to convince her to talk to Asahina. She refuses, and Mebuki, depressed, takes a walk along the beach. Hyoudou apparently has been having Mebuki followed (like you do, when you're a yakuza in love with a guy who's always getting into trouble), shows up to warn him that he doesn't have a lot of time to work his magic on Asahina, and makes Mebuki promise to give up after one more attempt. Mebuki deduces that the Shinwakai, the ginormous yakuza conglomerate under whose umbrella Hyoudou's group falls, must be getting involved, though Hyoudou won't tell him any details.
So Mebuki meets with Asahina again, but this time pretty much loses hope because he realizes that Asahina is not just an alcoholic with a bad temper, he's an alcoholic drug addict with a bad temper.
But, a few days later, Asahina calls Mebuki again, seeming to be in trouble. Mebuki goes to a cheap weekly rental place where Asahina is staying, and Asahina gives Mebuki some coffee...oops, turns out there were some nasty drugs in there. Before Mebuki can throw up, or go to a hospital to have his stomach pumped, Asahina tells Mebuki that if he stays there and rides the fun drug high, Asahina will turn himself in the next morning. Oh, Mebuki. Of course he stays to give Asahina his chance.
What follows is a lengthy and (IMO, anyway) pretty disturbing depiction of Mebuki having a bad trip. At one point, Mebuki hallucinates himself in the mirror saying nasty things; one of the things he mentions is something about a guy who died because Mebuki didn't believe in him. (Yeah, there was some mirror smashing, of course.) Because Mebuki's past wasn't angsty enough, he needed more trauma? Oh yes, and Mebuki is chained up in the bathroom (ostensibly so he doesn't go running into the middle of traffic or whatever while he's hallucinating), hence the cover I guess.
Eventually Hyoudou (and Shimeno) find Mebuki. Asahina, of course, doesn't show up that morning as he promised to. He's found dead a few days later. (Apparently the Shinwakai wanted him out of the way because they thought his drug habit was getting to be a problem.) Mebuki spends the next week or so in the hospital.
They go back to Hyoudou's place after Mebuki gets out. Mebuki reveals that he never really believed in Asahina, he just felt guilty giving up on him after letting him down after the trial (by not being there when Asahina and his family were being harassed). Hyoudou comforts(?) Mebuki by saying he doesn't believe in him. (Apparently in Hyoudou's head, love and trust do not go hand in hand, on the contrary, it's the people you're in love with that you can't believe in.)
Maybe the sex is more comforting to Mebuki, IDK.
A few days later, Asahina's sister turns up at Mebuki's office and reveals that Asahina went to his girlfriend's grave once a month to leave flowers at her grave. Take that as you like.
Random thoughts: I'm glad that Shimeno didn't pull the "Oh, if I'd known you swing that way, I would've hit on you years ago! I guess I'll hit on you now instead" card. However, I'm somewhat...concerned about his apparent enthusiasm with the whole hot pad/massage thing. It's hard to tell since it's Mebuki's POV, though. I just...I really want them to stay just friends, agh.
I loved the first half (or so) of this book, which was tons of fun, but (as mentioned above) I didn't feel the sympathy for Asahina that I think I was supposed to, and the drug scene was...yeah, it was done well, but just...not fun at all. So I'm left with kind of mixed feelings. That being said, I freaking LOVE this cast of characters and hope that there will be many, many of these books to follow. XD (Eda-sensei does say in the notes at the end that the series will continue.)
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teal deer ahoy
Kiyo and Mebuki holding hands and blushing is like the cutest thing EVER. (But I'm still wondering if Kiyo and Tomonori are going to stay on the side, or if they're going to get their own book, and if so, when?)
I think the nabe dinner did count as negotiating, even if Mebuki had help from the rest of the "family." He also attempts to negotiate with Asahina, it just...doesn't do any good because Asahina is a bitter drug addict. Nothing on the level of awesomeness in the first book, which is a bit disappointing, but it was better than the second book, I think.
Also, the way Mebuki wants to believe in everyone was made into a VERY big deal in this book (he says it's a sort of mantra that he's always repeating to himself, "I want to believe in him/her") and then with the added trauma of a guy dying because Mebuki didn't believe in him (or so Mebuki thinks), it was, well, understandable that Mebuki would choose tripping out over regretting that he didn't do all that he could for Asahina. Still monumentally stupid, but understandable. (Also, I like that Hyoudou knows that Mebuki is like this and is totally understanding; when he and Shimeno found Mebuki, Shimeno wanted to take Mebuki to a hospital right away, but Mebuki insisted on waiting--even though they all knew Asahina wasn't going to show up--and Hyoudou agreed right away, saying that he knew Mebuki wouldn't accept it unless he stayed until the bitter end.)
But yeah, this book felt like a lot of set up to me. Between Mebuki's issues of not admitting his feelings for Hyoudou and the hint of past angst without any explanation, there just felt like a lot of loose threads left dangling. Not that I'm complaining that there are going to be more books...XDD
Oh, ahaha, I guess I should've explained the condom thing better; what actually happened is that Hyoudou wanted to go without and Mebuki complained about the cleanup, so Hyoudou basically just...drove Mebuki crazy until he was all, "Who cares about condoms, just fuck me already!" XD
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I don't know her work that well, but I'm pretty sure Nara Chiharu is mostly just known for novels illustration. I don't think she has any manga.