Whoever’s spying on me to Deen really needs to stop.

“I care not for a man’s religion, whose cat or dog is not the better for it… I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”

 – Abraham Lincoln

Forgive me for jumping ahead a bit, but it’s the second chapter of this week’s Hoozuki no Reitetsu that really stays with me this week, for any number of reasons.  The first one is cheery enough – it puts Momotaro in a starring role, and may as well have been called “Return to Ogre Island”.  Oni-shima, of course, was a very famous place in the life of both Momotaro and his trio of animal friends.  This time around we see what life is like for the oni he defeated all these centuries later – and he’s made rather a comfy home of it for himself, along with wife and otaku son.

There are a number of funny elements here, like Momotaro being forced to don “cosplay” as himself in order to venture into the mundane world.  But the best part of this is the way the oni parents are distraught with their NEET son, who seems disinterested either in giving his mother a grandchild or performing the sacred onki duties of stealing human treasure or spreading disease.  But as it turns out, junior has actually been spreading computer viruses – truly an onki for the 21st Century, and his parents are so proud…

Ah, that second chapter though – this is very much vintage Hoozuki no Reitetsu.  Both because it’s funny and poignant simultaneously, but also because it seems to invade my life at ever turn.  Part of my job, you see, has me visiting Kindergartens several times a month.  And one thing that I’m struck by is how they all have a little menagerie of animals – rabbits and turtles are standard but you see a lot of tadpoles, crayfish, rhinoceros beetles and the like.  And the children are not always kind to these creatures (more out of carelessness than cruelty) and it always puts me in a sad frame of mind every time I see it.

The Buddhist idea that cruelty to animals is as cruelty to God, and that the way one treats animals is a true test of their nature, is one I very much adhere to myself (as did Lincoln).  The idea of a former pet greeting you in the afterlife is a Buddhist belief I was not aware of, nor the idea of former pets (classroom animals for those who were pet-less) testifying about you upon your arrival.  I have more than my share of faults by any standard, but if such were the case with me I believe the testimony would be about as favorable a light as I could ever hope to be cast in.

All this comes about as a result of a visit to Second Hell, the offices of King Shoko (Sasa Kenta).  He’s an animal lover of the highest order, having come from a doubutsu paradise on Earth, and even his chief of staff is a panda (Pan-kichi).  This is all great stuff, but I especially loved the fact that Hoozuki-sama is a closet animal lover himself – especially rare animals.  He’s most keen on the foxes, and the Kakopo – the critically endangered flightless parrot from New Zealand.  Shoko, naturally enough, invites Momotaro’s menagerie to come work for him – an offer they graciously decline, given their loyalty to Hoozuki.  And he, for once, is visibly moved – he offers to buy them a meal on the way home.  It’s almost enough to make one forget the whole goldfish flower thing…

Looks like we’re finally getting back to the core group for next week’s finale – the zashiki warashi twins, and especially Nasubi and Karauri.  That’s only as it should be.