New Saiyuki Gaiden

[kate_nepveu]

So there are scans of the new Saiyuki Gaiden chapter up, and of course I have downloaded them [*], hoping that the visuals would give me enough of an idea of what was going on to overcome the fact that I don't, you know, speak Japanese. A vain hope, alas; so this is a plea for links to translations whenever they appear.

[*] Yeah, I wasn't going to read it until I was done the re-read of Saiyuki, but one day last week I was really tired and cranky and needed to babysit my computer while not doing anything online, and I was weak.

Why isn't this licensed?

Also, how is it possible that Kenren is so much nicer to look at than Gojyo? Of the three adults in each version, Gojyo is at the bottom of my "pretty" list (except in that hat picture), while Kenren is very definitely at the top of the equivalent Gaiden list. It can't just be the hair, because Gojyo really did look dumb when he cut it off.

[link to scans removed because manga has been licensed]

[Edit 8/22/05: thanks for desdenova to pointing me to a translation by flemmings.]

Comments

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

You know, if everyone's hair looked that good all the time, there'd be a lot less strife in the world.

Also, what the heck is Saiyuki actually about, if you don't mind my asking?

[kate_nepveu]

Try #5 here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/coffee_and_ink/440884.html for the description that made me interested, or this whole post: http://www.livejournal.com/users/rilina/208896.html

Distilled down as far as I can, I love it because it's so very good about always bringing it back to the richness of the characters, their growth and depths and interactions.

Be glad this is in text--if this were in person, you'd get a lot more stammering and flailing about with the hands and whatnot.

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

Heh.

And hmm. I don't propose to get into manga at this point - not because I think I wouldn't like it, but because I think I would - but I kind of like hearing about it.

I'm weird like that when it comes to these things. I was content to watch other people play video games for years before I felt like picking up a controller and trying it myself. Certain things, I feel, require a surfeit of context before I'm comfortable experiencing them directly.

[kate_nepveu]

Your icon really disturbs me, by the way, especially that little flash of text that I can't quite read (author credit, I suppose?).

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

(Aargh. Trying this again.)

Disturbs? Really? Most people think it's really neat.

As for the text, I assume that's the author, yeah. intx, I suppose. I don't think the guy I got it from (unnamed525) knew for sure where it had originated either.