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“A Garden For Two”
The story of Anis and Shirin (let’s be honest – it’s really the story of the cat) finally draws to a close, and while it finishes with a strong and beautifully-drawn chapter I can’t say I’m going to miss it. I’m ready for Otoyomegatari to move on, and hopefully Mori-sensei will follow her usual pattern of returning to Amir and Karluk after taking a detour.
If I’m honest, I think this was pretty lazy storytelling by Mori’s standards. Anis was shown as a bird in a gilded cage; she fell in love with a woman at the baths. Their situation was inconvenient – she randomly killed Shirin’s husband to make way for a neat and tidy ending. Anis loves everybody – there’s no hard feelings with her husband, who now all of a sudden she appreciates and adores for the super-nice guy he is (in addition to marrying Shirin, he builds her parents a new house). And Mr. Smith is never really given anything to do – he’s the pretext for the narrative to visit, but he’s strictly wallpaper once it arrives. If indeed this is done, I’ll shed no tears.
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Still, as always with Mori-sensei it was a sheer joy to simply drink in the art. There were a few jaw-dropping panels this time (this shot of the moon took my breath away). And the Persian cat consistently made me smile, especially in this chapter. I’ve had cats that zeroed in on the one person in the room who didn’t like cats and did exactly what this one did to Mr. Smith’s guide – it’s just a talent they have, and that they enjoy exploiting it is why cats are so much more interesting than dogs.
And now, (hopefully) back to Karluk and Amir. And their families, too – I’m curious to see what’s next for her clan, especially her eldest brother. But if we stopped for a quick pop-in with the twin brides and their brother husbands, I wouldn’t mind too much.
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elianthos80
December 30, 2014 at 9:09 amHappy threesome end! *confetti* with babies&MOREcat bonus and Anis' DH cementing his sainthood. Santa Hubby! And yeah Anis got her wakeup call as I expected. Luckily for her husband it was about his qualities.
I'm tempted to think Maafe's reactions to Shirin's arrival are at least in part a nod to the less enthusiastic readers… or even an outlet for Mori in case such a long and conveniently plotted detour was more her editor's idea than hers (it is a possibility).
It has been a very light (in every sense. There are basically no shadows ) arc after the intense village attack one . As a breather it makes sense in the overall story structure. While this is not the first material she drew featuring yuri undertones it's definitely the one with the highest page count. If anything we can all agree is the prettiest.
Mr. Jones had little to do here but truthfully so did he during the twins' arc. Honestly I'd like for the narration focus to flesh him out a little more (and yeah I'm still hung up on Tarasu) if and when we aren't touching base with A&K (and Azer The Redempted) but we'll see.
That Latin@ Chick
December 30, 2014 at 10:16 pmMy only complaint is that this arc had elements that could have made a really good story, but instead it was very lackluster which is a shame but I see so many ways how I could have liked these characters. Oh well but I do like how they addressed polygamy in a way that is not demonized and how it can potentially work out. Other than that I look forward to see where the series is going to go once Mr.Smith journey ends maybe we will get a better focus on our two favorite leads.
Kaname
December 31, 2014 at 12:27 pmI actually like the ending. Sure I notice the yuri vibes but considering the culture this is more het than les.
At least her husband is happy.