(L+CR) Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

[PreSage]

Originally Posted by LKK

Does this mean that Odanna is more than just an ordinary oni?

I'm going to miss this series. I will definitely pick up the manga when Viz starts releasing it. (2019, I think.) I'd much rather have the light novel, but beggars can't be choosers.

I've never bought any manga but this one series may be the first one I'll ever truly buy. The downside with the manga though is the altered character design. I wish they had kept the original character design or the anime version of the character design. The manga design isn't as appealing...hopefully that will change later on. But I'll probably buy it just to get more of the story if we don't get another season.

I also prefer to get the light novel but sadly that won't be translated...although I know of a fan who is doing an English translation of the novel. Apparently, novel 9 will be released in Japan on the 15th of Oct and has a cover showing only Odanna and Aoi sitting together with bento lunches (so very tempted to buy it and just string it through Google translate ).

With regards to your question...answering it will be a spoiler. Let's just say that Iso-hime hinted at it when she said he can break down the barrier she erected to retain the evil spirits in the Dragon Palace.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

It's worth noting that "Odanna" is also more of a title rather than an actual personal name
I'll greatly miss this show, and I do hope there will eventually be a second, or even a third, season, to properly resolve the mystery behind why Aoi was first abandoned by her mother, and then "saved" by an ayakashi.

Well, apparently Odanna has a real name, which was revealed in novel 7, I think. Although I haven't been able to find out what it is yet. Apparently his name holds significance to his past. (Hopefully I can say that here...apologies if that's against forum rule).

I wonder if Odanna was the one who alerted Shiro to go find Aoi? And I still think the whole contract/debt deal is a facade between Odanna and Shiro. We found out in the anime that Odanna promised to make her his bride in the past (assuming that was him behind the mask at that time and not Ginji). So either Odanna used Shiro's debt as a trump card to get him to sign his granddaughter over or Shiro deliberately went into debt to snag Odanna for his granddaughter for her protection.

...and the big question...how did Odanna come across Aoi in the first place anyway? Don't tell me he has a fetish for invading homes.


EDIT: Well, according to a post on Facebook, it looks like the anime had very good ratings in Japan, the live-stage play was considered to be a success, the novels are sold out, and merchandises sold well...if this is all true, then I'm hoping we'll see another season soon!! Fingers crossed! Apparently there's a rumour for summer 2019.

[TinyRedLeaf]

It's my suspicion that Odanna wasn't directly involved in saving Aoi as a child, based on hints from those who've read the novels, and also because of the the roundabout way that Ginji answered Aoi's questions. It's noteworthy that Ginji doesn't actually hint that he was instructed by Odanna, saying only that he is not in the position to tell Aoi more about the incident.

I also suspect that there is a darker side to Odanna that hasn't been revealed, and Aoi is ultimately meant to be the counter-balance to his possibly monstrous nature. I note, for example, that Odanna has, till now, never told Aoi about his favourite food. It wouldn't surprise me that it turns out to be human flesh, particularly that of children. My suspicion deepened especially after the episode where Aoi visited the underwater palace, and encountered the ayakashi that had clearly been eating people.

It also struck me that the story hasn't been clear about whether time in the Hidden Realm passes at the same rate as in the real world. So, I wonder if that has a bearing of just how much time Shiro had spent in the Hidden Realm, setting up the chain of events to save his granddaughter. It could also means it's not impossible that Aoi would still be around to see the Umibouzu again — I found her observation on this point particularly melancholic, underscoring the unfortunate brevity of mortal lives, a point that ayakashi have also made when reminiscing about Shiro.

In any case, it's good to know that the franchise is doing reasonably well in Japan. So, there's hope yet for a sequel.

[PreSage]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

It's my suspicion that Odanna wasn't directly involved in saving Aoi as a child, based on hints from those who've read the novels, and also because of the the roundabout way that Ginji answered Aoi's questions. It's noteworthy that Ginji doesn't actually hint that he was instructed by Odanna, saying only that he is not in the position to tell Aoi more about the incident.

I think the quote about making her his bride when she grows older is a very strong indication that it is Odanna - and the fact that he wants her to love him. And those that read the novel that I talked with strongly believes it is Odanna. Ginji did say that he wasn't the one who visited her first, and he wasn't the one who made the last meal to save her life. Also, one major indication it was Odanna as the masked Ayakashi who first met her scratched of her hand when he took it. He did that when he first met her in ep 1 and he did that also when he first met her in the flashback.

Also, Ginji's help during Aoi's time in the hidden realm (at least when she was abducted) was under order from Odanna...the incident when she fainted and Odanna said he was the one who had him look after "this reckless girl".

I also suspect that there is a darker side to Odanna that hasn't been revealed, and Aoi is ultimately meant to be the counter-balance to his possibly monstrous nature. I note, for example, that Odanna has, till now, never told Aoi about his favourite food. It wouldn't surprise me that it turns out to be human flesh, particularly that of children. My suspicion deepened especially after the episode where Aoi visited the underwater palace, and encountered the ayakashi that had clearly been eating people.

I agree that Odanna certainly hides a lot about himself from Aoi...such as his real name as well. I don't think children is his favourite food though, since he looked pretty disgusted when he saw those children's skeletons in the Dragon palace. And he kept joking about liking human girls' bloody entrails at the beginning...either he is joking or he's hiding the truth behind a joke...who knows at this point. I just suspect that his saying it may actually just be a joke because it doesn't seem logical to reveal it like that...or I could be very wrong and the author pulled a good one under all our noses.

We did see a hint of Odanna's darker character when he confronted Raiju at the end of ep26. I just wonder why Odanna looked so sad to Aoi when that evil ogre called him as his kindred spirit. Seems like Odanna regrets he's born as an ogre for some reason.

It also struck me that the story hasn't been clear about whether time in the Hidden Realm passes at the same rate as in the real world. So, I wonder if that has a bearing of just how much time Shiro had spent in the Hidden Realm, setting up the chain of events to save his granddaughter. It could also means it's not impossible that Aoi would still be around to see the Umibouzu again — I found her observation on this point particularly melancholic, underscoring the unfortunate brevity of mortal lives, a point that ayakashi have also made when reminiscing about Shiro.

In any case, it's good to know that the franchise is doing reasonably well in Japan. So, there's hope yet for a sequel.

I wonder about that, too. The royal couple, the human queen, did say that eating ayakashi food allowed humans to live longer in this realm but they never said how much longer. Given that humans can potentially live up to a hundred already, I would think eating ayakashi food would allow them to live beyond 100? Otherwise, that's not much of an extension. It is sad to think about it though, especially when Aoi grows old and leaves Odanna behind. I wonder what he'll do when that time comes? (Heck, I wonder how old Odanna really is? ) How long do ayakashi's live anyway? Beyond a thousand years? We know their lives are long but not infinite.

Either case, love between an ayakashi and a human is a tragic one in the end. That one episode in Natsume Yuujinchou highlighted this well (and we have an OVA for that series coming this fall too!!! Yay!!).

[PreSage]

Spoiler for for size:

Well, it's clear who the second person behind the mask is...look at his nails!

[TinyRedLeaf]

I'm not sure how far we can take that as a reliable memory. Bear in mind that the mystery ayakashi didn't start to sound like Ginji until Aoi finally decided that it must have been him. So, it's entirely possible that Aoi "remembers" the ayakashi's claws only because she subconsciously acknowledges that it could have been Odanna.

There is definitely more to the mystery than it simply being Odanna behind the mask, I suspect.