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emeraldreverie's review against another edition
4.0
This volume did not fuck around. Strikingly violent and dramatic. Fantastic art and driving story. I love it.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Volume 2 of a manga that was highly recommended at Orycon. Nice art and good writing but remains too Japanese for me to fully appreciate. The story was a little more garbled feeling than the first one. 4 of 5.
laryssa's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Reread. I like that it jumped backwards. The secret swine makes more sense now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Murder
velocitygirl14's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
misssusan's review against another edition
5.0
oh nooooooo
you would think that since this is a reread i would have been more prepared
nope. nope nope nope
how many bus rides will i spend surreptiously wiping away tears as i read about tragic things happening to good people?
TOO MANY
religious persons who act with compassion and generosity: my eternal weakness
frankly i don't know where yoshinaga gets off writing with such a clear eyed view of humanity and sympathy for the many ways people cope with trying circumstances
5 stars
you would think that since this is a reread i would have been more prepared
nope. nope nope nope
how many bus rides will i spend surreptiously wiping away tears as i read about tragic things happening to good people?
TOO MANY
religious persons who act with compassion and generosity: my eternal weakness
frankly i don't know where yoshinaga gets off writing with such a clear eyed view of humanity and sympathy for the many ways people cope with trying circumstances
5 stars
sortabadass's review against another edition
4.0
No quality is lost in the second volume of this manga.
witchofthesword's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zorpblorp's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
wendys_lit's review against another edition
A heavily underrated manga. Politics, romance, drama, a matriarichal spin on the Japanese shogunate--what's not to adore? Planning for a more in-depth review soon.
brizreading's review against another edition
3.0
The fun, strange, imaginative story continues.
You know the male gaze? Yeah, this manga is aaaalll about the female gaze. Or, more specifically, the fanfiction gaze (which I would argue is still basically the female gaze). I read through this with great nostalgia, after each fanfic trope was rolled out: strong male/male homoeroticism, angst and hurt/comfort, plots that center around STRONG EMOTIONS and not much else, ah yes. Ah, the fanfic ways, I had forgotten about these. How I miss you, fanfic! Someday I'll de-anonymize myself and share my most excellent Obi-Wan Kenobi fic.
I mean, I guess a more charitable interpretation of this is that it's all about fluid gender expression and fluid sexuality, and it's also super feminist. But hey: SO IS FANFIC! And given that the first line of Fumi Yoshinaga's wiki is that she's known for shōjo (manga aimed at teen girls) and yaoi (boy/boy manga), well, yeah. I stand by my thesis: if you fanfic, you will definitely love this.
So this manga picks up in the same time period as Ooku Vol. 1: it's 17th century Japan, a "red pox" has killed more than half the men of the land, and the Shogun is now (secretly) a woman with a (now reversed) male harem called the "inner chambers". Like Vol. 1, our protagonist is a very pretty man indeed, called Arikoto - a traveling Buddhist monk who, because of his stunning good looks (remarked upon or the loving focus of every third panel or so), is forced to disrobe (pun semi-intended) and join the inner chambers, ostensibly as a "catamite" for the "male" shogun (actually as a stud for the female shogun). His young assistant monk (WHO LOVES HIM A LOT) also disrobes and joins him to be his valet in the castle.
Thus begineth the drama. And forsooth the awful Shakespearean translationeth. Oof.
Anyway, the shogun is a young lady (18 years old?) who is (1) kinda awful, (2) but she's had a tough life, ya know. There is a lot of drama around a kitten. Arikoto just basically emits waves and waves of golden compassion and good looks and something I like to call SOUL HONOR. Sexual and romantic tension is set to high: between Arikoto and his valet, between Arikoto and the shogun. A lot of bad stuff happens, but in the style of fanfic where it kinda feels earnest but also trivializing? Uh, trigger warning for sexual assault. (Also, fwiw "trigger warning" originated in the fanfic world, since that is actually, weirdly, also a fanfic trope: sexual assault scenes used as plot devices for additional angst/romantic tension.) Oh, here's some survey results of fanfic tropes.
You know the male gaze? Yeah, this manga is aaaalll about the female gaze. Or, more specifically, the fanfiction gaze (which I would argue is still basically the female gaze). I read through this with great nostalgia, after each fanfic trope was rolled out: strong male/male homoeroticism, angst and hurt/comfort, plots that center around STRONG EMOTIONS and not much else, ah yes. Ah, the fanfic ways, I had forgotten about these. How I miss you, fanfic! Someday I'll de-anonymize myself and share my most excellent Obi-Wan Kenobi fic.
I mean, I guess a more charitable interpretation of this is that it's all about fluid gender expression and fluid sexuality, and it's also super feminist. But hey: SO IS FANFIC! And given that the first line of Fumi Yoshinaga's wiki is that she's known for shōjo (manga aimed at teen girls) and yaoi (boy/boy manga), well, yeah. I stand by my thesis: if you fanfic, you will definitely love this.
So this manga picks up in the same time period as Ooku Vol. 1: it's 17th century Japan, a "red pox" has killed more than half the men of the land, and the Shogun is now (secretly) a woman with a (now reversed) male harem called the "inner chambers". Like Vol. 1, our protagonist is a very pretty man indeed, called Arikoto - a traveling Buddhist monk who, because of his stunning good looks (remarked upon or the loving focus of every third panel or so), is forced to disrobe (pun semi-intended) and join the inner chambers, ostensibly as a "catamite" for the "male" shogun (actually as a stud for the female shogun). His young assistant monk (WHO LOVES HIM A LOT) also disrobes and joins him to be his valet in the castle.
Thus begineth the drama. And forsooth the awful Shakespearean translationeth. Oof.
Anyway, the shogun is a young lady (18 years old?) who is (1) kinda awful, (2) but she's had a tough life, ya know. There is a lot of drama around a kitten. Arikoto just basically emits waves and waves of golden compassion and good looks and something I like to call SOUL HONOR. Sexual and romantic tension is set to high: between Arikoto and his valet, between Arikoto and the shogun. A lot of bad stuff happens, but in the style of fanfic where it kinda feels earnest but also trivializing? Uh, trigger warning for sexual assault. (Also, fwiw "trigger warning" originated in the fanfic world, since that is actually, weirdly, also a fanfic trope: sexual assault scenes used as plot devices for additional angst/romantic tension.) Oh, here's some survey results of fanfic tropes.