Waiting three months between chapters of Otoyomegatari is pretty much the routine at this point.  I would love to get back to the days of 9-10 chapters per year, especially as Mori-sensei tends not to write as much plot into the series these days.  But I sincerely doubt that’s going to happen – I think this is just the reality at this point.  All we can do is marvel at what we get and restart the clock when we finish it.

On the plus side, the last couple of chapters have been quite long, if not especially dense in the non-visual sense.  If we’re going to wait eleven weeks it’s nice to get 27 pages of gorgeousness to chew on, and there’s certainly no sense that Mori cut any corners here.  This is as richly detailed as anything she’s done in this series in term of art.  There’s not a lot happening in terms of drama, but there’s a lot happening in the world she portrays – lots of people and lots of backgrounds.  And horses – so many horses.

As it turns out Nice Horse’s (Bekhe Jahan) nice horse has a name, just like Nice Horse (naturally enough).  It’s Karkoshcka, and it’s a very nice horse indeed.  The topic of what makes a horse nice is if anything the main theme of this chapter, which sees the villagers and the steppe tribes coming together for the wedding (thus the chapter title).  After a brief exchange of Bekhe and Karluk commenting on how similar Amir and Azel look and Karluk being embarrassed at not being able to come up with a better reason than “you both like horses” (everybody likes horses), Karluk and Amir get down to equine brass tacks as the guests mingle nervously and try to avoid talking about the war.

Did we need ten pages of Amir explaining to Karluk what she looks for in a horse (why did I thing he was projecting onto what she looks for in a guy)?  No – but any excuse to see these two interact is welcome.  And you know “that horse is a special case” (why did I think Karluk was projecting that to be about him?) is important, because Amir said it twice.  As for the wedding both sides are indeed happy about it – it’s a literal lifeline for Azel and Amir’s people – but the shadow of Russian imperialism still hangs over the proceedings, and it’s impossible for anyone to forget that’s the impetus for these marriages in the first place.  When Mori-sensei returns to plot to finish the series, that seems certain to be at the center of it…