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one of the greatest narratives that does not disparage its ensemble characters. i spent lots of time looking up jargons in the glossary as its storybuilding is precise and rather interweaved (so i for sure found the recap episodes to be very helpful). like everyone, i'm gutted about the black kirin's storyline being cut off as it's a second favourite arc of mine after youko's. i wish they had continued this anime as it truly lives up to its reputation even to this day; but i'm comforted at the fact that there's always the light novels to read on for more. my favourite arc has ... to be 'a thousand miles of wind' which explored the three girls who were bound to cross paths & have traversed life separately though not entirely differing. these three women constitute youko’s search for purpose and resolve to stand & call herself as a worthy queen. women written by women i love you!!!

i appreciate the way all the characters have all been generously given time to be dissected, characters who all end up treading the same ends albeit in different paths (what comprises a great kingdom)... so peak

The charm of Kaze Hikaru is the slow burn romance, & seeing how Sei fares well in a male-domineering environment. I am glad that Sei reiterates that her being a girl doesn't matter as she can be a bushi on par with men, that she does not have to be what is expected of women in that time. Although I initially have qualms about her character as a bushi in the end still being revolved around a man, but the good thing about KH is it dislodges heteronormativity. To Soji, and even to Saito, Sei's gender identity truly didn't matter much. There is also plentiful ... of iterations in the manga about normativities in sexual preferences, though mostly between men (I have read that sapphics were not much accorded the same way, sadly. And I have yet to read a sapphic manga occurring during the same era, please if you know some recommend them to me...), during Edo period.

This manga doesn't weather down how barbaric this period can get, it instead reminds us many times that deaths were inevitable, no matter how unjust- people die and people kill. It's so bittersweet, yet it manages to keep a balance by showing us how there are found joys & bonds in their quotidian lives, which I really loved and stayed for. Love Kaze Hikaru for how unhurriedly progressive the characters are, how the story takes its time to venture into such a fractured era, & mostly how passionate the mangaka is to chronicle historical events.

Kaze Hikaru is nowhere near perfect, but it is still a wonderful manga that deserves more audience. Please read it and let's team up against V*Z to give us a more consistent volume release

sooo good! in my opinion, shuurei & ryuuki are much closer and affectionate in the manga, needless to say, i loved this. though i lean more towards the manga adaptation, i'm still fond of this because they're continuing the light novel and the story keeps progressing. not the best animation but i love this for the story. i love women (shuurei my love) who stand against patriarchy. such iconic op/ed too.

last 2 eps were just amazing. shurei's dad staring at her the moment she stepped in their home saying, "you look like a government official" and asked her to go as she still has ... work to do. shurei walking down the aisle of the palace after her long journey as a government official whilst all the men were looking at her in silence and in awe was everything to me. that's my girl!!! she is constantly faring well in a strict patriarchal setting where men told her it was not possible to work in authority as a woman. she actively fights against it. hakumei saying, "she's become beautiful" as she has returned with the look of a fully-fledged official after her taxing fight in a male domineering government structure.

i love that ryuki respects & understands shurei's dream- of continually walking towards it and is still willing to wait for her without any sort of assurance from her. just a love that will wait... a love that is patient...

seriously, just a wonderful show this was!!!!!!!!!! it shows what growing around grief is like. grief doesn't shrink & we just learn to live around it. it's not something that easily withers, it doesn't have to- so we carry it with us, find new places, encounter new people & see the life and hope ahead. but also comes the ache of saying goodbyes. w how we shift our own paths to take, it's all inevitable. it's such a delight to see her grow up, live through her different phases but still walk the same principles she carries through.

this is also about maternal love & ... found families & freedom & oppression & life and death. in retrospect, this is about Life. i really love erin's passion to become a beastinarian & how lilan found in her a mother. the last episode where lilan saves erin is basically mirroring how erin was with her mother before her demise. it's really such a meaningful connection.

sure it doesn't have the best animation/art style but this is everything to me!!! i want to give erin the biggest hug and tell her she's doing so amazing and her mom & Jone is so so so so proud of her. this is amazing storytelling!!! i do however wish some bits were fleshed off more, i wanted to see esal and the rest for one last time. 10/10 though!

This manga is really just so, so beautiful. I've just read the first 3 volumes so far but I am mainly entranced by the art. The art style is a sight for sore eyes, and the plot has its own peculiarity in it that it's actually quite intriguing. It is not a perfect manga obviously, at times it feels like its narrative is loosely tied- like you want to know what exactly is going on but it's like lots of conflict is being thrown at you simultaneously lol but if you want to read something for the art style this might pique your interest.

TL;DR— Dorohedoro deserves more recognition for having its own originality and calibre: a peculiar 80s cyberpunk-ish Seinen, bloodthirsty typa gory, easy to binge-watch while having minuscule-to-none characteristic of falling into the ordinary & cliché.

I may be late to the party but I think Dorohedoro is so underappreciated! I recently got in an anime slump and this just brought me back to the anime world. It's weird, gritty, gory, and beautiful. Characters are amazing and funny, it has a fantastic and interesting world-building, and the mystery & paradox are always kept alive- making it harder not to watch the next episode right away. I love anime ... revolving in action that’ll make me feel dreaded and knackered but this one is just as grisly (in a good way!) except it doesn’t make me feel exhausted and it’s definitely one of the many things I loved about it. It IS easy to watch regardless of its carnage abode.

If you’re the type to usually stray away from anime that uses CGI but mind you: this was CGI done right; very well-executed. With its awesome premise, the art style will definitely get into you and the animations will not matter as much because you’d be focusing on creating your own theories.

I really loved this masterpiece and I'm about to check the manga out since Netflix really did a good one on this, hope you give it a try if you haven't yet!

To add: I think if you liked Devilman Crybaby it won’t be hard to get into DRHDR. Both gave me the same initial vibe. I liked DRHDR from the first episode, but I got hooked by its second ep. Definitely worth a watch.