Alright, it is Thursday and I am gonna post the fifteenth volume of MAO. Feel free to react or comment on any panel, though I appreciate if image replies are not used during the dump. Feel free to discuss anything related to MAO after the dump. In addition, as MAO is atypically plot-heavy as a Rumiko Takahashi manga, please be mindful of others and use spoilers tags when discussing things that are revealed later in chapters that have not been dumped.MAO is Rumiko Takahashi's current ongoing series, a dark fantasy manga with a more serious tone than most of her other major series. I highly recommend it, as there genuinely is a lot of intrigue.Previous thread: >>285048441I will be using the official localization of the manga volumes by VIZ (despite my issues with it). Keep in mind that the nature of the writing in MAO and this localization in particular has resulted in some mistranslated lines. Be aware that some of the larger images may have been edited to be lower quality due to image size limits.
Oh, we didn't get a chapter with his name last time?May 10th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: Tell us what you eat or drink for extra energy?A: Pepsi."
>>285141894There he goes...
>>285141906Not invincible, despite its imposing nature.
>>285141965Nanoka's line just seems mistranslated to me. Original was 水の玄武は火を剋すはずなのに･･･ which makes more sense in context.
>>285142021
>>285142035
>>285142046Ugh...
>>285142057Presumably not a marriage proposal.
>>285142067Per Furinkan: "Sasuga calls the masked man "Occhan" (おっちゃん). This can be translated as "middle-aged man" or "uncle"."
>>285142090Furinkan also notes that: "The masked man calls him "brat" (小僧/kozo)."
>>285142109Sasuga refers to the shikigami as 蛟くん。with the Furigana みずち for the name. Let's see if I remember it next time.
>>285142142?!
>>285142170Pretty cool.
>>285142196
>>285142225Heh, Sasuga's face.
>>285142236Furinkan made a note about the sound effect: "When Sasuga strips the mask off of the villager's face and draws it over inside of a water bubble it makes the onomatopoeia "shurururu" (シュルルル). This is the sound of something rolling around or snaking about."
>>285142260End of chapter. Here's Sasuga's final line: ええ~? そら困るわ。
May 18th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: Is there a work you've binged in one go after hearing about it once?A: Kenichi Sato's French Revolution novel series, and Eiji Yoshikawa's Sangokushi."
>>285142302
>>285142310Dumb it down a shade.
>>285141848the rumic twitter posted the original drawing for this volume cover>https://x.com/rumicworld1010/status/1615544583152336901big hat
>>285142357Per Furinkan: "The flashback shows Sasuga's father conducting a "fire ceremony" (護摩/goma). This is a Buddhist ceremony where burning of sticks is used to ask a deity for a blessing. Nothing should be read into the fact that Sasuga and his father are water users but using a fire ceremony, the goma ritual is a real-life practice and would be expected of them when they were running their con."
>>285142400Mao's line in the second panel was completely rewritten for some reason. The original line was その放浪生活の中で･･･なにがあった? >>285142359Oh cool! It just keeps going.
>>285142462People do bad things for all kinds of reasons.
>>285142478
>>285142489I like this page. The eyes, the blade, the outfit.
>>285142569Typical.
>>285142586Not quite.
>>285142606
>>285142622
>>285141906Pour one out for Genbu
>>285142630Teamwork makes the etc. etc.
>>285142647Huzzah. Sasuga's line here was just え･･･.
>>285142057Brootal
>>285142667
>>285142678This is not the term being used here in the original. Furinkan clarifies: "[He] calls Sasuga "shugenja" (修験者). A shugenja is a practitioner of "shugendo" (修験道). They are mountain ascetics who's worship includes a mixture of Buddhist and folk-religious practices." The outfit with the puffy balls that Sasuga wears is associated with them. You can see that outfit when you look up yamabushi, which is another term.
>>285142745Sasuga's first bubble here was アホか。
>>285142771End of chapter. I would not describe Rumiko Takahashi's writing as particularly subtle.
May 25th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: What's the most interesting thing in your room?A: My sofa."
>>285142771I get the feeling this is the sort of thing that will end up being censored if the anime ever makes it this far.
>>285142818Sasuga's line here is すんまへーん。
>>285142861
>>285142870He really does have great faces.
>>285142886No stress. >>285142829Man, I hope not, but probably.
>>285142906
>>285142924Hm...
>>285142941I just like seeing Byoki.
>>285142970!
>>285142985
>>285142994She returns.
>>285143045
>>285142994Even the Byouki is surprised!
>>285143062Might be something going on in there.
>>285143074It is a bit odd that they never came back here, but we have some logic for it.
>>285143100Nanoka's lines in the fourth panel were 足手まといだから!! 私だって少しは強くなってるのに･･･
>>285143139Hehehe. Her stupid face. Here is the original dialog from the fourth panel: 菜花、こんな時になんだけど、あんたとまお摩緒は恋人同士なのか?
>>285143175Nanoka's lines here were いやっ摩緒は私の事なんて･･･やだっ。ええっ! そう見えます!? And Natsuno's reaction was 嬉しそうだな。
>>285143251End of chapter!
June 1st, 2022. Author's note:"Q: Tell us what your best school subject was back when you were a student.A: What I loved most was Japanese History."
>>285143282
>>285143296I like the way she's drawn in the third panel here.
>>285143335Chapter title drop in both English and Japanese.
>>285143351
>>285143375!
>>285143390
>>285143406Hm...
>>285143419
>>285143433...
>>285143452
>>285143465え･･･
>>285143485
>>285143494Answers a question, but raises others.
>>285143335I'd say Rumiko alternates between making her seem affable, threatening and vulnerable pretty well.
>>285143506Term localized as ogre was 鬼神 with the furigana きじん. Per Wikitionary: "a fierce god or spirit" or "(Buddhism) someone with superhuman power or ability, such as Śakra, the ruler of heaven, or a rakshasa or demon".
>>285143251Nanoka's refreshingly straightforward about her feelings for a Rumiko protagonist (to people who aren't Mao, at least). Also Viz missed that Natsuno's line in the first panel is a thought bubble.
>>285143575
>>285143600...>>285143594Well, you can definitely have thoughts like "You're lying" or "You're making a face".
>>285143506And also forces me to reconfigure about half of my timeline infoboxes...
>>285143632End of chapter. The reveal!
June 8th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: Is there anything that you usually enjoy doing but haven't gotten around to lately?A: Cooking."
>>285143678I remember being surprised by this despite it being somewhat of a cliche in dramas. Something about it made it so I didn't think of it as a possibility at all.
>>285143692He wasn't wrong...
>>285143711Revelations continue.
>>285143726...
>>285143657There go more of Knox's commandments... Although I suppose this would fall under "duly prepared for" twins.
>>285143734Both serving the clan.
>>285143772So, Sana's role seems pretty clear now. >>285143746Yeah, we definitely had enough hints for us to get it. Just easy to get distracted by all the potential supernatural causes.
>>285143818Didn't ask for it.
>>285143834
>>285143873Hm?
>>285143892Huh?
>>285143914
>>285143657>look alike characters are relatedI'm, ironically, flassbergated.
>>285143930Unusually wordy page for Rumiko, but I guess it would've eaten up the page count if it was all illustrated.
>>285143952We are answering too many mysteries at once, so we gotta get a lot more.
previously on MAO...>>285141906GENBU NOOOO>>285141965even his little doll-thing...
>>285143968Great expression.
>>285143986I wish she always had the little disheveled hair, but I bet she'll have Sana's middle part when we see her next.
>>285144017Why now, indeed.
>>285144035End of chapter! Another reveal? Though I feel this one probably isn't as much of a shock.
Cover's on the next two pages. These first three pages were originally in full color. Furinkan has a note about the original chapter name. Here is the note: "The title of this chapter, 配剤し (haizaishi) is someone who gives out medicine. "Pharmacist" is one way of translating this, but sounded a little modern. "Dispensary" sounded like a place rather than a person, though it would be correct as well. "Medicine Man" is also fine, but gave a more tribal connotation." Hence, the very generic shaman. June 15th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: June 18th is "Onigiri Day!" If you were on a picnic and brought two onigiri with you, what would they be?A: Salmon and plums."
>>285143746you need to add some telenovela logic here anon>LA GEMELA MALA
>>285143873You say Rumiko's not a very subtle writer, but I think this page is deliberately meant to mirror Yurako's first time telling her story to Nanoka and make you think about what her motives for telling the story this way might be. A reading comprehension test, you might say.
>>285144116I'm not sure what the occasion was. But I do like this cover. I guess it isn't a full cast, so maybe it is just for story purposes. Everyone in their Heian look but MAO. I guess these are his memories.
Why is the plot suddenly going at 200mph
>>285144142Hm...>>285144139She definitely has some subtle stuff in her work. Some of it even deliberate. It is just funny to tease when she goes full "I am writing a Shonen and these boys need stuff explained to them clearly".
>>285144166she drank too much pepsi
>>285144142The original magazine spread just said it's for the release of volume 13 & great popularity. Lead color pages, too.
>>285144195I do still find it so funny that none of this stuff came out in 900 years. It isn't a plot hole or anything, we have some events that massively shook up things but I still find it funny. >>285144166I wish I knew how Rumiko decided these things, but I'll be real with you, I think Rumiko had finished up her introductions to the new Goko clan members and Nanoka's training, so she went back to the main plot and here we are. I will admit some of the other volumes don't quite hit me the same way as these ones. I don't think it is bad, but you definitely can tell when we're getting some deliberate breathing room.
>>285143986I still don't think it's any accident that Haimaru is sitting next to her during this moment
>>285144263
>>285144283Mao's face in that last panel...>>285144281I was going to comment on it, but honestly, I was just going to say how cute he looked and how I wish I could leash my cats sometimes.
>>285144309
>>285144325Hehehe. Nanoka's line in the second panel was just えええええっ!? Also, Kamon's line in the third panel was edited a bit. It was originally 断ったんだけどねえ。
>>285144400Heh, Nanoka. Also, I missed a note by Furinkan regarding the last couple of pages: "Behind Kamon we see a cluster of flowers. These are hydrangea (紫陽花/ajisai), a type of flower that is popular worldwide but originated in Japan. These flowers bloom in June and July and so they help mark the season in this chapter (and also indicate when the chapter was originally published). The emotional meaning of the flower is said to be both "deep, heartfelt emotion" or "fickleness"."As for the girl's name Furinkan has a note: "Midori (翠) means "green"." but even I knew that.
>>285144437
>>285144400Kamon's a lucky dog, getting married to Taisho-era cuties without ever tryingMao does not seem to think that this is relevant to the matter at hand
>>285144450I tried to find out the name of this sort of necktie or ascot or whatever but I did not find it. Definitely adds to the ensemble.
>>285144520I wonder how many different things Nanoka's え･･･ has been localized into.
>>285144542!
>>285144555Not really sultry.
>>285144566The "my love" was from a さま.
>>285144588I don't know why they didn't just go with medicine man for the chapter title if they decided to call him that in the chapter.
>>285144608
>>285144622End of chapter. Maybe some pruning...?
Furinkan notes that: "In this issue an ad for the 91st Manga Newcomers Award is announced. Rumiko Takahashi, Gosho Aoyama, Mitsuru Adachi and Kenjiro Hata are the judges this year." They don't have an image of that. They also note that there is another Wednesday Diary that I will remember to post after the dump.June 22nd, 2022. Author's note:"Q: What's something you've experienced for the first time recently?A: Used a smartphone."
>>285144705Kamon refers to her as 緑さん
>>285144719No time to lose.
>>285144738Shikigami, always there for you. Somehow.
>>285144754!
>>285144764The maid refers to Miss Midori as 緑お嬢さま naturally and Kamon refers to the maid as ばあやさん。
>>285144827
>>285144834Heh, it was her accessory.
>>285144923Also, I assume the combination of this and the Seed of Haku effectively being a cure for presumably most illnesses and injuries will not be addressed by the story. We can just assume Kamon doesn't want to do that. I guess I should wait before assuming, but you know. Maybe it is just too unreliable to mass produce.
>>285144946Ah, hence the birdcage. Presumably he injures it each time for this demonstration. Ugh...
>>285144958Oh, Furinkan had a note about the name of the place a few pages ago: "The name of the pharmacy/clinic is "Ten no Haizai-kai" (天の配剤会). "Ten no Haizai" is a Japanese phrase meaning "heaven's dispensation," "divine providence" or "nature's plan"."
>>285144995
>>285145007Mao's first line in the second panel was 庭に放置されていた。so, not quite explicitly called a church but I can see why VIZ went with that. Also, he injures a new one each time. I guess that's worse.
>>285145054
>>285145081Per the chapter title.
>>285145096Man of faith.
>>285145132
>>285145146End of chapter. I assume the Spock resemblance is coincidental.
The original title was 生死を握るJune 29th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: What foods come to mind when you think of a tasty combination?A: Meat and rice."
>>285145205I accidentally cut off a bit of explanation here: >>285144995 Furinkan's note also added that: ""Kai" (会) is a suffix meaning "club," "association" or "conference"."
>>285145167I choose to believe it was completely intentional
>>285145226
>>285145259ええ~~~? The squiggly went on for a bit here.
>>285145297
>>285145313The rhyme was VIZ having fun. That bubble originally said: 金持ちにも病で苦しむ人達はたくさんいた。Though the first bubble did seem to indicate a belief in the rich being blessed by God.
>>285145372
>>285145398Presumably that batch didn't spread elsewhere.
>>285145430
>>285145444Chapter title drop in Japanese here.
>>285145474
>>285145491So does Beniko just teleport? Or like grow big from her original doll form?
>>285145545Oh hey, he cured the bird too.
>>285145558So, not to be like critical because in the moment, I feel it does work fine and it isn't a big deal regardless. But presumably this is an evil, self-righteous man learning a lesson about meddling with natural cycles and whatnot. However, if he hadn't used the evil seed in the first place, he'd be long dead from the tumor. Yeah, he has to live with a fear of death from this thing from now on but he'd be 100% dead if he didn't try it.
>>285145607Same with Midori. I mean, I'm all for a happy ending for an innocent victim but it does undermine the whole issue with the seed of haku. It just sounds like as medicine, it needs two separate doses of different types and it works fine.
>>285144705>They also note that there is another Wednesday Diary that I will remember to post after the dump.>I will remember to post after the dump.totally
>>285145637Anyway, congratulations.
>>285145650And he's outta there.
>>285145663End of chapter. Lot of work ahead of you, Kamon.
Another full color cover. This one's original title was 化け猫. VIZ decided to kind of explain the idea rather than translating bakeneko as monster cat or leaving it untranslated. Furinkan notes that: "MAO will be on a break next week, so there will be no chapter in Shonen Sunday 2022 Vol. 33." so there will be a gap in the dates here.July 6th, 2022. Author's note: "Q: What are you doing to prepare for summer?A: Considering buying cucumbers."
>>285145734
>>285145747There's something amusing about the idea of Yurako and Hakubi just sitting there having tea with each otherI bet they just sat there sipping quietly for at least ten minutes because she was still mad at him
>>285145747Hm.
>>285145876Ah. A test. >>285145855Yeah. Maybe he just walked into the room and started the tea.
>>285145922Ah, I guess not.
>>285145940Quite a conclusion to reach.
>>285145954
>>285145968How strange.
>>285145973I love this page.
>>285146062Chapter title drop in the original.
>>285146078Otoya's line in the first panel was 化け猫騒動は昔からちょくちょくありますからねえ。
>>285146108Sigh...
>>285146119Cheery chapters today.
>>285146152Spat him right back out. Third panel is a photocopy, it seems.
>>285145954I think this is a pretty serious mistranslationThe way I see it is that Hakubi read between the lines that she wants him to kill *Daigo*, which is why tre rest of the volume happensI know the Japanese line doesn't have an explicit object, but come on
>>285146176
>>285146195The same term was used for most of this page, but VIZ felt that would feel samey or artificial or something.>>285146183I was wondering. I couldn't tell from the Japanese, but yeah, that makes way more sense.
>>285146316Mao's line in the fourth panel was 死んではいけない。It is funny how euphemistic English is. I admittedly understand how difficult it is to say something as direct as the Japanese is. Also, Nanoka's bubble was just そうですよ、生きなきゃ。Oh and Furinkan has some notes about the names: "Shizuko (静子) and Shiro (四郎) appear in this chapter. Their names mean "quiet child" and "fourth son" respectively. "
>>285146375Lot of heavy thoughts.
>>285146391End of chapter. Hmmm...
Original title was 囚われた男.July 20th, 2022. Author's note:"Q: What's an important lesson you learned as a child?A: I learned the lesson, "Things aren't all good or evil, just art" from reading Hisao Maki's manga."
>>285146424
>>285146430
>>285146119They could make a spin-off series about the time Mao spent between the Heian and the Taisho, where he just goes around killing various cat ayakashi
>>285146441Okay, well, this hopefully clears up the misunderstanding from the earlier mistranslation (>>285146183) for some people but I'll be honest, a lot of my confusion regarding MAO seems to have stemmed from the localization. What a mess. And here I thought it was getting better.
>>285146468I love pages like this.
>>285146450Cat Killer Mao
>>285146391Classic Nanoka
>>285146481I feel the way they translated Hakubi's second line in the first panel wasn't quite right given what the rest of the page is like. The line was いや･･･この禍々しい邪気は･･･
>>285146543Normal size.
>>285146559Alive, of course.
>>285146577
>>285146585!
>>285146597Per Furinkan: "The onomatopoeia it makes when Yurako's ayakashi draw near to [the captive] during his imprisonment is "piku" (ピク). This means "twitch". "Boko" (ボコ) on the follow panel as the ground churns beneath Shiro and [the captive] is the sound of popping, bubbling and boiling. Essentially the sound of the earth churning."
>>285146637
>>285146585Daigo's sleepy...
>>285146650
>>285146661A lot.
>>285146675As mentioned before Earth Golem is localization for 土人形.
>>285146690
>>285146699Who?!
>>285146747End of chapter, end of volume. Thanks anyone who read along, but also thanks anyone who reads it after. I completely understand. The mask stuff got taken care of pretty quickly and it was kind of an exciting volume! Good stuff. Feel free to use the thread to discuss anything MAO related. I have some stuff I'll posting here and there to bump the thread.I will be dumping volume 16 on Thursday. I hope to see you there. Thanks again for reading.
>>285146764Thanks OP! A lot of plot this time, to be sure. Yurako's one of my favourites, so I'm happy whenever she gets a lot of screentime. I'm also pretty fond of the mask arc for how gory it gets.The chart needed a fair bit of adjusting this time. Hopefully I didn't introduce too many new mistakes... At least a fair few questions have been answered at this point. Also, I'm sorry to say that I don't have the oneshot fully typeset yet... Next week, I promise.
>>285142994how embarrassing ayakashi completely obliterated by a barely walking corpse
Here's the back cover of Volume 15 of MAO of the original Japanese edition.>>285146899I looked over it and didn't see any mistakes. Though I might've added a few new questions to the Daigo, Mao and Sana section. I also noticed the mask story didn't end up in the timeline, which made me laugh. I don't hate it and I get it helps establish Sasuga a bit more, but yeah. Thanks again for putting this together. As for the one-shot, no rush. Thanks for doing this stuff. I can dump it in these threads or you can dump it in your own, whatever you prefer. It was from 2016, so we're a bit past that, but it isn't a big deal.
>>285147323>I also noticed the mask story didn't end up in the timeline, which made me laughI need to save space somewhere...
>>285147373it's time anon...two images
>>285147323Here is the inner illustration. The big Heian era one.
>>285141848>>285142359for those who didn't click the link, please look at daigo's hat in full
>>285142046such balance and precision!>>285142057m- mao what did you...>>285142067... it's still hanging on.....>>285142109>flunkiesteehee>huh? he put the mask back on!nanoka please his face was fucking peeling off
>>285142196water force field!>>285142225>>285142236get conch'd, old man!>not even master mao's genbu could vanquish those flamesskill issue on mao's part...>>285142260blugh>>285142277>well... let's see you stop mecan sasuga back up his sass?! find out now!
>>285142302>the destrucition of the maskgee, wonder what happens this chapter>and Eiji Yoshikawa's Sangokushi.that's the record of the three kingdoms btw>>285142357>picrellmao>>285142462>The original line was その放浪生活の中で･･･なにがあった? trying to figure it out myself and なにがあった is literally "what did (you) have?" but maybe that's in "what do you have (to show for it)?"as in "(you two) lived as vagabonds (because you were scammers) and what do you have to show for it?"
>>285142478>picrelexcellent panel lol>I'm ready ta *settle down!*amazing response lol x2>>285142569>earth beats water... right?nanoka-kun...>>285142622it deflected the attack to the ground around it?and oh no! not her hat!!>>285142647cut 'em into water cube-thingies the way natsuno's oddly specific triple sutra combo did!>>285142678someone please use some magic to cover that guy's face...
>>285142667>picrel>>285142745>traveling bum!heh>>285142771i forgot he could do that...>>285142790>he lacks rage, grief, or any deep thoughts...>or any deep thoughtsheeheeheehee
>>285142886>>285142906that boy's just built different>>285142924>try to contain your envyoooohhh>>285142970>picreljust a dead man and a cat chillin' after going through it>>285143045>he is not an empty shell, as I first thoughtbyoki, bro, haimaru, he spoke when he got up - "sana"there's *something* in there, but he's not all there...
>>285143067downright shocked!
>>285143100i guess she's only home sometimes>>285143175>菜花、こんな時になんだけど、あんたとまお摩緒は恋人同士なのか?>あんたとまお摩緒は恋人同士なのか?>あんたとまお摩緒>まお摩緒separated the furigana from mao's name>>285143259is that a steel door?
>>285143351at least she got to keep her left eyebrow this time>>285143390>>285143452how sure is it that this isn't the same cave?>picrelshe really kept the heart next to the fine china>>285143465>>285143485impeccable timing from natsuno and nanoka!
>>285143494>picreli bet this panel would look real nice animatedthe two meeting, nighttime, burning building, rain>>285143506>Answers a question, but raises others.how did the master grab it? souls don't seem like they'd be easy to snatch from the airdid he know what/who that blue light was?and was the little light wandering around or was it looking for something/someone?>>285143575>to her, I must've appeared as an ogreoh, sana didn't know...i guess that detail slipped my mind>>285143657LAS HERMANAS
>>285145243which begs the question:but why as a priest?
>>285143282Here is the cover of Weekly Shonen Sunday where this chapter debuted. Usually, the times MAO gets mentioned on the cover corresponds with color pages. Not this time.
>>285144116Here is the cover of Weekly Shonen Sunday where this chapter debuted. As mentioned, lead color pages, release of Volume 13 and great popularity,
>>285145734Here is the cover of Weekly Shonen Sunday where this chapter debuted.
>>285152887maybe this time was just for fun
This week's storyboards, starting with this lovely spread >>285141906
>>285142310Sasuka looks a touch less stern in the finished version.
>>285142861Clearly the hat was important enough to deserve being drawn in full in the finished version
>>285143296Hmm... Doesn't look like Mao's wearing his sash in the sketch.
>>285143711A face you can trust.An interesting little detail is that Rumiko doesn't write out the furigana for all the words, but she did for that last 'girl', which was written as 娘 but pronounced こ.
>>285144116More hats!
>>285144719The big face was a good addition, I think.
>>285145259
>>285145940Ominous. Looks like they unusually scribbled a note about magazine page numbering or something on this one. (It was page 84 in the actual issue, if you're curious.) There's also a note that they should "Maybe go with boots". He's typically worn his wrapped shoes before this, I think.
>>285146430And that's all. Daigo's been captured by smileys... The Byouki looks kind of silly, too.
>>285144705Per Furinkan: "This issue of Shonen Sunday also has Takahashi's sixth "Wednesday Diary". Takahashi talks about how the current chapter of MAO takes place during Taisho 13 (1924) and her research shows that men's short-sleeved shirts were not introduced until the Showa era. Consequently she is showing Mao with his sleeves rolled up instead of in short sleeves." >>285155731>>285155609Hats are key. Thanks for posting all these again. I really appreciate it. >>285151179Shoot. I had been so good about it for a bit. >>285151364I'll be honest, I checked the Japanese and machine translation seemed to suggest it was the same cave, but I assumed it was lying or the original line was not literal.
>>285143375Hey, there's more of those little animal dolls Mao used in volume 2 in the corner!
>>285151364>>285156325>how sure is it that this isn't the same cave?While it's probably theoretically possible, this new cave seems to be close enough to the capital for people to be able to get there on foot from Mao's clinic. The old cave was apparently pretty close to the clan's manor (not to mention, inside a big cliff), and while I don't think we've gotten any definite location for it, based on Daigo's travels it doesn't seem to be particularly close.
>>285156471oh you're right some of them look a little humanoid though
>>285149436I think it's closer to "What happened (to cause you to turn to the Kou clan)?" He's expecting Sasuga to have a tragic backstory like Mei or Renji.
>>285155609>>285155731the hats are how they assert their dominancethough hakubi has traded in his tall hat for a captain's hat, while kamon has kind of left it behind but puts it back on sometimesit was apparently necessary to wear during the seance for masago's soul
>>285144116Here are the original versions of these color pages. I wonder what Shiranui has that big crescent for.
>>285144142I'd say Yurako's scars look a bit more grisly in color than in black and white.
>>285144142>>285159185Also, I'm not sure where I got it, but this is a clean version of the spread from the new-ish Rumiko Takahashi Colors artbook.
>>285145734And here's this page, too. I try not to pay attention to the fact that they have just two or three stock bloodstains that they use for pages like this.
>>285159216sunday's website also had a clean version of this for a time, I remember I downloaded it
>>285159185>I'd say Yurako's scars look a bit more grisly in color than in black and white.and hakubi looked the audience in the eyes and said she was beautiful
>>285159681Oh, yes, I did too now that you mention it. One of the sizes, at least.
>>285159924i have this one too but it looks like i trimmed off the blue rows after i did hehe
>>285148548there's another post with the original cover art, this one for volume 10>https://x.com/rumicworld1010/status/1445689492052930562i had completely forgotten about it until i went looking for daigo's big hat, but posting it now ended up being fitting considering this volume's contentsunlike the drafts, they don't post these every time... volume 16 is last time as far i'm aware
>>285160954>volume 16 is last time as far i'm awareThat's where you're wrong, because I've got one for volume 19
>>285160954>>285159216>>285159286Great finds. I love it. And yeah, I figured they would be like bruises rather than gashes. Foolish me.
>>285144166Don't drink energy drinks when reading Mao, anon. This is barely 40kmph
>>285142569This bitch needs to play sum pokymon gaems...
>>285161149so we've got volumes 10, 15, 16, 19any others?
>>285143930Now THIS is a reveal/twist!>flew under anon's radar
>>285144281>>285144309The kodoku feeds on negative emotions.
>>285144705Just now I realize... Kamon is literally revamped Kuno, far more than Miitaka. He even has roses all the time. I feel stoopid.
The Kamon bit was great, the priest was a great side story; it shows good intentions and interpretations gone wrong. I assume he will die since the seed is driven by will and Kamon chose to kill his replacing it with fear.And next volume looks like it will be a banger.>>285145167>>285145243>>285152065>I assume the Spock resemblance is coincidental.Fits the long live and prosper meme being a religious man.>>285145491Oh... this has to be the biggest reveal of all. Daigo is playing 5 chess keikakku.
>>285163236Fucking incredible work.
>>285163236beautiful
>>285143692>Something about it made it so I didn't think of it as a possibility at all.maybe it was how there's other characters who have lived for hundreds of years to mao's surprise? not too long ago there was that anon arguing with another anon about how yurako's totally sana>>285143772>>285143818i really want to know how the master even pulled this offhaving twins where one collects ayakashi and curses, and the other filters themwho the hell was their mom? was magic involved? does the master just have elite aim?>>285143834wonder what yurako intended to do with the heart before the purification?
>>285143930>>285143952>gifrel:-)>>285143968but then something went horribly wrong...>>285143986i know the light was the color of his eyes but is that really how sana "knew"? did the light do something more? was there something else?little blue light what were you doing there!
>>285165340>i really want to know how the master even pulled this offUnlike the deathmatch thing, we don't really know if this was any sort of permanent feature of the clan. Maybe he just came up with it on his own after having twins. He's like, "I can work with this".>wonder what yurako intended to do with the heart before the purification?Well, we know that she was capable of directing her ayakashi to spy on the manor. Assuming that Sana was even partially as effective at repelling ayakashi when she was alive, Yurako could probably have figured out that her ayakashi didn't want to go near her and decided to see if she couldn't use that to her advantage somehow. Notice that she specifically killed her with her energy, not her ayakashi. As for why her heart specifically, I don't know, maybe she took "pure-hearted" very literally.Incidentally, this whole Sana/Yurako thing is another reason MAO ranks high in the "Rumiko's worst dads" competition.
>>285144017well it would be hard to verify *now* 900 years after the event, unless someone who was there and is still alive tells all...>>285144035>>285144068...such as the man himself!!>was able to strike meso zombie-kun's attack hit her through the ayakashi and knocked her ass back? >>285143259 goddamnbut did sana's power go out of control as a self-defense mechanism or does she need to stay conscious to keep it in check?>who is that prying woman natsuno?she literally lived at the goko compound... i guess yurako was too busy spying on mao bathe to notice her
>>285165743>Maybe he just came up with it on his own after having twins. I can also see him coming up with the idea first and then trying for twins the other thing is sana's sanctifying chiwas she born like that? which again brings us back to "how did the master pull that off?" or was that somehow cultivated? on top of that her heart can still cleanse yurako 900 years later >this whole Sana/Yurako thing is another reason MAO ranks high in the "Rumiko's worst dads" competitionright, the master is the other dad who ranks high mackerel man is only spared from being the worst because of the master and renji's parents
>>285165945>>285167374Necrobumpsister... we are so back!
>>285167374I don't recall if it's been brought up yet, but given that we know that Sana was deliberately kept insulated from the more unsavory aspects of the clan, I think it's safe to say that that the Master cultivated her to be pure precisely so that she could act as the 'filter' much like he cultivated Yurako into a vessel. Which also plays into what Yurako talks about in this volume, about how their roles could easily have been reversed. It would be quite cruel to reveal that, no, Sana really was always destined to live peacefully above-ground by virtue of her purity (but then again, that could provide an interesting twist on Yurako's character, too).
>>285159286>I try not to pay attention to the fact that they have just two or three stock bloodstains that they use for pages like this.I was blissfully unaware of this and now I'm going to be checking pages next time...
>>285168334I was exaggerating a little, but sometimes the reuse is really obvious (namely when they use the same stain multiple times on one page like in >>285159286).
>>285168276considering there's still that uncertainty about daigo's intentions... would he keep cultivating her purity or not? but then again he didn't know about yurako back then or their dual roles right
>>285169453Yeah, I don't think he knew about Yurako back then, and I don't think he knew about Sana's role either. He did tell Yurako that he would have preferred Sana to be more like her. Whether that's because of his preferences, or because he figured it would have made Sana tougher so that she'd either accept him taking over the clan or alternatively be capable of handling life on the outside... Who knows. If he *is* actually powerhungry, maybe he would have played his cards differently and tried to keep her pure if he had known.
>>285144116that's fear in his eyes>配剤し (haizaishi)close, it's 配剤師>>285144195>has he been in the five-sided temple all this timethat seems to be the site chosen to reconstruct his body at leastbut seriously why there? does the temple itself have power?>that tearreal or fake? call it anons>>285144263>recalling that fateful day makes me illmaobros.>I do still find it so funny that none of this stuff came out in 900 years.only shiranui and yurako knew about the twin thinghakubi knows about yurako but i'm not actually sure if he knows about the twin thing...?>you definitely can tell when we're getting some deliberate breathing room.that's her buying time to make shit up lmao
>>285165743>>285165340>>285167374I'll be honest, I would not be surprised if he kept having children and culling the unwanted.
>>285144283secret picrel for the maoscholars
>>285170869Yurako's line is actually, if not a mistranslation, then at the very least poorly worded. She actually says "Well... I don't know. All I heard from Sana is that Daigo... had died." Ominous pause after Daigo's name and everything. So she wasn't lying, she was just being VERY selective with the truth.The fact that Yurako is always really careful about what she says and how she says it, that she's always concerned about how she appears to Mao especially, is a really central part of her character and it really bothers me that Viz is playing so fast and loose with the translation.
>>285170784>hakubi knows about yurako but i'm not actually sure if he knows about the twin thing...?Hakubi's a smart fellow. I'm sure he put two and two together at least by the time he met Yurako again after the clan fell, if he wasn't just told by someone outright.
>>285144400a man's gotta move on, nanokaalso great face from mao lol >>285144437how many of the heian era oldfags do you think know how to drive?i think hakubi might, if only to run over russians and chinese during japan's wars with them in the 1890s~1900s>>285144555i was going to say bullet wounds but mao is the doctor around here>>285144566>Not really sultry.she's trying her best
>>285144437also look at otoya>picreli think this is the first time we've seen otoya sit with mao like this>>285144608>I don't know why they didn't just go with medicine man for the chapter titleOP you're not going to believe this >>285144142>>285144641if it weren't for kamon being kamon, i would've made some remark about a woman who loves him growing vines from her bodybut he's kamon
>>285144738>No time to lose.hat stays on though>>285144923>Heh, it was her accessory.he's used her accessory before, but for something elseand she somehow has a new one already>>285144946>the combination of this and the Seed of Haku effectively being a cure for presumably most illnesses and injurieshmm... i guess it would be..?>>285144958aw poor little guy's shaking... >he injures it each time for this demonstration. a new one or else vines would've already been coming out>>285145054yeah, a new one...
>>285145096another great face from mao>picrel>>285145146>>285145167some of these cursed tools being able to propagate out in the wild is insaneand funny thing, another one came up in recent chapters
>>285145226>picrel>>285145313and mei has also been savedrenji is also fine but his case was only for an armis it a matter of spiritual power for how long they can hold out?>>285145430>Presumably that batch didn't spread elsewhere.but what about that duck?
>>285145444>>285145474>Your fate isn't in the hands of the heavens. It's in mine.KNEEL TO YOUR NEW GOD, SPOCK>>285145545>So does Beniko just teleport? Or like grow big from her original doll form?right? beniko is the only shikigami who just appearsotoya and mizuchi don't do that>>285145558>I left the seed inside you.KNEEL>>285145663>EXITS
>>285145876>slowly but surely making his way to the capital...what's in the capital for him?>>285145968well look who it is>>285145973n- nyo!>>285146062how nice of byoki to save his old master's boyfriend's corpse :-)>>285146391>picrellmao and mao's just off doing something else in the background
>>285146405but the byoki *is* nearbyso does kitty form not emit much evil aura?>>285146430>he let these humans rough him upand you let them?!>>285146481>The line was いや･･･この禍々しい邪気は･･･huh, apparently 禍々しい does also mean "annoying" as well as "ominous", but there is a note for 'archaic' for the "annoying" definition but hakubi is old>>285146577>Alive, of course.could've been worse, we've seen how some villagers can be>>285146597>those are yurako's ayakashihow can he tell? do ayakashi never travel in groups?
>>285173465>how can he tell? do ayakashi never travel in groups?They're pretty distinctive-looking, but they might also some kind of unique energy signature, kind of like how people seem to recognize the Byouki's energy.
>>285171529Wait, Shaman on the first page and Medicine Man on the second? That makes no sense. And we've seen Otoya on the lap for rickshaws and stuff.
>>285146764Thank you for posting.
