Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun 02-03

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anaaga’s life is complete

Finally, after a while, I actually made a post! I’m back at my place though, so I’ll probably have less time on anime and stuff like this. Anyway, moving on, it seems that Hakkenden actually made some progress, plot-wise. Now let’s see how Hakkenden is so far.

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Plot Shoved In // After a confusing first episode with the whole kidnap thing and all that nonsense, things are not that blurry after the third episode. Hamaji (that’s her name, right?) was kidnapped just to lure Shino and Sousuke to the capital, and of course, it’s not without reason. Riou (Kamiyan NGGHH) gave a mission to Shino to find the owner of the other beads for the Legendary Princess’ guardians (I still can’t remember her name). Making Shino do the dirty job is somehow suspicious because with his power, Riou himself is capable to find those guardians himself. And yet, he gave the job to Shino. Why would he do that, and why would he find the guardians now? Somehow, I have a feeling that Riou is not doing this out of a whim. My guess is that he doesn’t want the church to find out, so maybe he’s planning to create a coup d’etat from the church? Speaking of the church itself, it confuses me that demons are being discriminated. Riou’s story gave the impression that the demons were actually treated decently in olden times. Yet now, they are being discriminated, especially by the church and demon hunters. Why did this happen? I have a feeling everything is darker than it looks.

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Shino & Sousuke // Episode two was tolerable, but episode 3 was dripping of BL relationship between these two. Kind of makes sense, remembering that they survived the tragedy together along with Hamaji. It can also be seen that both of them complete each other. Sousuke feels guilty for Shino’s curse that isolate Shino, and Shino feels responsible to protect the two whom he dragged into his own “mess.” Honestly, I can’t imagine the two of them together (Hamaji got a new bishie). However, what Riou said should be taken into account. Sousuke is changing somehow, and it’s not a good sign. I don’t know how he’s changing though, so I can’t pinpoint his odd behaviors… Yet. Anyhow, due to Sousuke, Shino has to prepare himself for the tragedy that might occur between the two. Maybe this has something to do with the eye-patch man in the OP? Hmmm.

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A Dead Living Man // This describes Kobungo’s brother perfectly, judging from his behavior while he was in captivity. He didn’t even try to resist the disgusting insect when it went into his, um, ear. Too bad the torture just deepened his depression mode, so he fell into the monk’s trap and turned into his demon form. I find it hard to believe that this is all because of a woman’s death though. I mean, sure, death is a traumatizing experience, but to the extent where the Bungo wants to die? I have a feeling that the Bungo has something to do with his fiance’s death, so he feels the need to make it up by his death. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the brothers also saw something horrid during a snow storm, so that might have something to do with Bungo’s suicidal personality. Now, I’m not a mean bitch, but this Bungo is pissing me off. He’s so deep in his depression that it’s turning him into a victim – something that can be avoided if he’s not suicidal like this. He’s so busy with his depression that he forgot those who are living around him, especially his brother. Seriously  Bungo’s personality is pissing me off. I hope he recovers from this annoying personality by next week. He better.

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An Odd Couple // The first couple established, probably the most normal one, judging from the spoilers in the OP. I had a hunch that they’ll become a couple, but I didn’t know it was going to be this fast. They didn’t fall in love at first sight though. They look more like “love at first personality” to me because they’re attracted to each other’s personality rather than the physical appearance. Anyhow, they’re a hetero couple, but I’m totally cool with it. It’s so cute how they give other affection by throwing indirect insults to each other. Kaname was also so NGGHHH when he searched for some school just because Hamaji showed some sign of interest. I love how these two interact, they always spice up the episode. Hamaji x Kaname FTW!

Screenshots:

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The last two episodes are… Eh, to me. I like how they clear everything up in this episode, and that will definitely help the audience to feel less confused about this anime. I also like how every event builds up to each other. It definitely helps the audience to feel more excited when they watched the climax in the third episode. It’s been a while too since I actually flip a table from such cliffhanger because DAMN it was such a crucial moment that pumped my adrenaline. Unfortunately, the basic plot Riou indirectly told the audience really disappoint me. A princess with her eight guardians? Hey, that sounds familiar! Oh right, Fushigi Yuugi! Everything about the legend reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi, and I’m not pleased about that. I just hope that the focus shifts from the Fushigi Yuugi-look alike legend to something that’s more interesting, such as the “deep relationship” among the males in this anime…

Preview: Bungo is back! But what about Sousuke?

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Have read 418 BL manga and continuing.
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8 Responses to “Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun 02-03”

  1. Liza says:

    When I heard of the Princess and the eight guardians thing, I thought of the lady in Okami with the eight dogs and having to gather the other dogs and taking their beads… Oh wait. This plot sounds really similar to that…

    I’m wondering if this is supposed to be a shonen-ai or is it all going to be subtext. The amount of BL in this is astounding(or it could just be my yaoi-wired brain thinking that way). At least we have a het. couple to round out Shino’s and Sousuke’s love for each other.

    • anaaga says:

      Let’s cut some slack for Abe Miyuki… This is her first non-BL work after all… Maybe a couple more of this kind of stuff and we’ll see something amazing from her.

      No, it’s not shounen-ai because there will be more than one hetero couples here. The BL tone between Shino and Sousuke is probably a reference for their deep bond that’s beyond friendship

  2. Foshizzel says:

    Those bug things are creepy especially when they entered that guys ear? WHHHAAT? I was like oh god…it reminds me of that dude on Fate/Zero with the bug things inside of him? Damn…

    I was on the edge of dropping this series, but I am sticking around for hopes of action! That and I am a fan of Tetsuya Kakihara who voices Shino and Natsu from Fairy Tail even though he sounds a bit like Accelerator from Index especially when he screams?! They have very familiar screech based screams xDD

    When I saw that bed scene I was like duhuhuh I bet Anaaga is in heaven right about now!

    • anaaga says:

      Oh man, those bug stuff is definitely creepy. It was a surprise for me since I thought this anime is going to be blood-free. I guess I’m wrong.

      I was wondering why you’re still sticking around! Duhuhuhu I enjoyed the BL scene a lot, and I hope you do too! Duhuhuhu don’t let that stop you from watching anime anime

  3. Namika says:

    *notreadingnotreadingnotreading*
    oooooh I’m so gonna marathon this in a couple of weeks~ <3

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