What a fascinating tangle the plot of Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai is. It puts me in mind of Moribito and Akatsuki no Yona in that the fantasy is there, but about 95% of the story is driven by court politics and human emotion. None of these series could exist without the magical elements, but those elements are only the catalyst. Good things happen when anime turns to novels as a source – not always, but a strikingly high percentage of the time.
So it appears I was wrong in my assumption that the raven killed by the Wisteria Guard was Kazumi (and was that wounded raven Sumio found in the final scene someone different?). Shiratama thinks so anyway, though that could be a defense mechanism to try and preserve what’s left of her sanity. The fact that she’s only 14 (I’d mistakenly remembered that it was Asebi that was) does help explain Shirtatama’s unhinged behavior somewhat, though not justify it. She’s in way over her head here, and probably temperamentally unsuited to this exercise in the first place.
I continue to find Hamayuu the most interesting of the candidates, and her backstory reveal certainly does nothing to change that. The secret Shiratama (actually Kazumi) dug up on her is that she was the daughter of criminal parents – they killed Izayoi, who happens to be Wakamiya and Fujinami’s mother. Why? That question isn’t answered. But Tooru (her uncle) decapitated both of them that very day, and Hamayuu was sentenced to be “disarticulated” – that is, have her third leg removed so she would be stuck in beast form. But she was spared, lived as a hill raven, and eventually begged Tooru to restore her status. He did, in exchange for a task to fulfill.
There are tons of questions attached to this, and Hamayuu’s story – as related to the other three princesses – doesn’t entirely make sense. She admits to more than has been revealed, saying her true task was to assassinate Wakamiya, and then flees the Cherry Blossom Palace with advice to the others to think for – and about – themselves. Why spill all this when she didn’t have to? Something doesn’t add up (as Yukiya will correctly surmise). Is she the real assassin, and if not does she support the effort in the first place? And who sent Wakamiya the letter warning him an assassin was present at the palace?
What’s very clear here is that for the most part, the participants sent to this rite (the game, as the Empress calls it) were mostly fodder. Wakamiya was not seen by most of the houses as a winning horse, and they didn’t want to play their best card in a contest to be bound to him. Tooru is also the Empress’ brother (if we already knew that I’d forgotten) and it’s clear the South is playing a long game here to try and exert total dominance over Yamauchi. Whatever Hamayuu is ultimately up to, I don’t think she supports the siblings in this.
Where does that ultimately leave this sham of a contest? Shiratama is outed as a blackmailer and unstable, but her house still actually wants to win. The South is out with Hamayuu’s flight but they never wanted to win in the first place. Asebi of the East still presumably wants to win, but we know she wasn’t their first choice and that Wakamiya went to see her sister – who was – under the pretense of being a servant. And Masuho no Susuki and her Western house remain something of a cipher, about whom we’ve been told very little.
Wakamiya has clearly chosen to remove himself from the Center as this chaos has played out, but circumstances now seem to dictate his return. He’s nurturing Yukiya as a critical tool in his arsenal, and it’s clear that this has become personal for Yukiya now – the loyalty he feels is real. I’m also keenly curious to understand why Wakamiya entered into an alliance with Kazumi – what did he stand to gain from it? Is it simply a matter of Kazumi acting as a spy and passing the Prince information about what’s happening inside the palace, or does Wakamiya have a deeper motive? Since we know Kazumi was acting as a spy for the North and that he loves Shiratama, there’s no way Wakamiya could be sure of his ultimate loyalty.
animealex
June 2, 2024 at 9:49 pmSo far two of the Great Houses didn’t send their best shot at winning “the game” at Cherry blossom Palace. The North is quite intent on winning a royal marriage and the western princess seemed quite earnest in her efforts to win the prince over. Remember, how she drew blood when she (the only one to do so) was sewing the Tanabata robe herself? Even though the West remains mostly a cypher so far, the princess seems to be quite genuine in her actions. We now know why the South sent an imposter / potential assassin, but why did the East also not send their best?
Do they know, that the game is rigged and made their princess Asebi a sacrificial pawn? (Because, let’s be honest: If she is all she seems to be and not something else, sending someone like her in that viper nest is tantamount to murder.) Or is the East in collusion with the South in this intrigue? And if so, what do they gain?
I said last week, that the most likely candidate to steal the letters is the wisteria guard and the fact that the missing letters were (conveniently!) found in the chambers of the outed imposter and assassin Hamayuu only strengthens my suspicion.
Regarding Hamayuu’s story: My theory is that it’s vastly more likely, that her parents were framed as the murderers, swiftly deposed of in show of sham justice by the real culprits, (The empress and her younger brother, the now lord of the Southern House) and that Hamayuu only pretended to join them in their intrigue against the crown prince to get revenge. Which would also make her the most likely candidate to be the one who warned the crown prince of the plot, perhaps seeking an alliance. Why reveal part of the plot now and running off? To stir the pot and force the hand of the empress and her co-conspirators.
This show makes me theory craft like crazy! Ok shutting up now.
Your quite right Enzo, real novels used as basis for an anime done by a competent team is quite the receipt for something great. Let’s hope this show get’s somehow the recognition it deserves. I know it’s nearly invisible in the west, but how does it fare in Japan?
Guardian Enzo
June 2, 2024 at 11:15 pmI don’t see it getting much pub even here, unfortunately. Which is why this sort of adaptation doesn’t happen more often.
Scampi
June 2, 2024 at 11:35 pmLast week I thought Wakamiya would be wise enough not have let Kazumi run off with Shiratama but now I’m not so sure. The guy does have an annoying habit of keeping things close to himself while dumping someone somewhere and letting them run their course, like when he left Yukiya behind in the Ravine. So he granted the man’s wish, and showed Kazumi a way to the Cherry Blossom Palace that’s hidden from the guards. But that’s such a reckless move I’m flabbergasted. There should have been a better way about this than letting Kazumi run off with a Northern Princess while risking the guards and a scandal when he could just choose not to take Shiratama as wife because she’s too young or something. The game at Cherry Blossom Palace takes lives, and it’s like he’s casually adding fire to the pressure cooker.
animealex
June 3, 2024 at 2:18 amQuit frankly, Wakamiya isn’t that good of a person. I thought that was clear by now. He plays for his survival, his ascension on the throne and maybe for his allies. We don’t know for example, if he would be a better ruler than his older brother, despite his divine mandate. Is he wise or just cunning? He is quite flawed: that little game to show Yukija the direness of his situation could have ended quite differently, if he had underestimated the strength of the attempt on his life.
With that in mind: He knows (how much we don’t know), that there’s an assassin lurking among women at the Cherry Blossom Palace, so any kind of action which brings more chaos makes it slightly more likely that the conspirators reveal themselves. Wakamiya thinks himself as quite the good judge of character. So if he drops somebody in trouble, he probably thinks, that they can handle themselves. They wouldn’t be deemed useful by him otherwise.
Scampi
June 3, 2024 at 3:35 amI never really liked him that much as a character. Enzo once talked about whether Wakamiya would do anything about the horses, which is just another word for slavery in ravenworld, but I can’t see him do much of anything about it. He may be doing it out of self preservation but he’s been treating people like tools, even including himself. The only thing to like about him is his interaction with Yukiya, but after what he did with Kazumi, the stuff he said to Yukiya about not wanting to affect the ladies in episode 7 rings hollow compared to Hamayu’s simple line that being with a man is not the only way to a woman’s happiness. And it gags me to think that Yukiya is following a guy like this (for only a year supposedly but we know it’s probably not happening).
animealex
June 3, 2024 at 5:35 amHm, as a “person” he is indeed questionable, but as a “character” I quite like him, because I always wonder, where are his limits? Are there lines he isn’t wiling to cross? And I get the strong feeling, that in the end his willingness to help his allies and friends, even if he uses them, is what will bring him victory.
Scampi
June 3, 2024 at 3:35 pmHis list of friends and allies is so short though, if he doesn’t help them out he’ll have no one left…unless you count ones like the people from the Ravine and red light district, but he seems more like a patron than allies with them.
Nadavu
June 3, 2024 at 7:50 amI’d point out that Yukiya isn’t necessarily an all-around good guy, either. He compares favorably to Wakamiya because the latter appears lazy while the former is hard-working, and the lad is also intensely loyal while the prince appears entirely self-serving. However, Yukiya’s loyalty borders with the obsessive and he can be deceitful and manipulative as well as ruthless and sadistic. We only saw this in him in the first two episodes, when he was in his element back in the North and knew exactly how far he’s allowed to go and when he was merely outsmarting people who were clearly not as intelligent as himself. I have a feeling these traits will pop out again when he feels secure enough in his place at the capital, and when the right motivation is dangled before him (his family back at home or possibly the prince’s well being)
Scampi
June 3, 2024 at 4:00 pmI get what you say about Yukiya having flaws, but I’m nitpicky at the prince because he is Yukiya’s one mentor on the workings of court politics. Sumio helps too but the influence is just not the same. It’d be interesting to see whether the prince’s teachings influenced the traits you mentioned for better or worse.
Guardian Enzo
June 3, 2024 at 8:48 amI’m going to ask novel readers to start being very careful in the comments here. I’m starting to see a few that come pretty close to the point where I’m not comfortable with the level of disclosure. I love that Yatagarasu is generating a lot of discussion here (and not anywhere else that I can see, ROFL) – just want to keep it safe.
animealex
June 3, 2024 at 4:16 pmI don’t know if that meant me, but I’m not a novel reader nor do I have any knowledge of the series besides the official character site and the anime. I have just some time on my hands, didn’t find any other site where this series is discussed (besides the weekly reddit and so far, I wasn’t spoiled there) and this is the best series I’ve been watching in a while. I’m quite obsessed with this series, if that wasn’t clear already and love to spitball my theories.
Guardian Enzo
June 3, 2024 at 7:03 pmNo, not at you specifically – just a general alert. It can be hard to tell speculation from spoilers and some of the comments were getting pretty specific.
Scampi
June 3, 2024 at 11:52 pmIf you meant the horses part, don’t worry I don’t know whether it’ll ever be addressed, but I’ve been sitting around waiting for Kuro to do anything besides being a pet horse, but so far it’s horser than a horse. And Wakamiya has never flown once except in the first episode. If he’s golden raven wouldn’t it help to cement his own status if he shows his true feathers on the right occasion? Or there’s some sort of deadly catch, and he can’t fly about in his raven form? In that case the horses are here to stay. I also think it’s stupid they can’t identify others in their raven form, I’m pretty sure people have been able to tell real-life crows apart like cat owners can tell their black cats apart. Wouldn’t it make crime really rampant if criminals commit crimes in raven form? But even the assassins who attacked Wakamiya choose knives over raven form, but the ravens are larger than a freaking bear and we know how knives fare against creatures of such sizes. It seems more like a magical gimmick rather than anything meaningful.
Beato
June 3, 2024 at 7:50 pmWhile it’s definitely not getting that much publicity I don’t think the series is doing too badly in Japan to be honest. The anime has been getting tv views at slightly above 1% or so which I would say is pretty good, and the original novels consist of half
of the current top 10 of the best selling novels in the fantasy/horror category at Amazon right now. The series had already moved 2 million volumes before the anime premiering which is pretty good for this kind of series and I think we can expect the anime to increase that by quite a lot. It’s definitely more popular among the mainstream crowd than the otaku crowd though so not a lot of opportunities for merch and media-mix stuff.
As for spoilers I think I have only seen 10 people or so other than me on the English internet talking about reading the series, so other than for Hitoe (princess part) which has its manga adaptation available in English I wouldn’t really be worried about spoilers …very different from 5ch where the threads are for some reason full of assholes deliberately spoiling people in the anime threads.
Guardian Enzo
June 3, 2024 at 8:08 pmThat’s good to hear, thanks. Hopefully it does well enough to get more of the series adapted.
Nicc
June 4, 2024 at 7:26 amWhew, this was another episode packed with big reveals. Just when we thought that Shiratama would be out, it’s somebody else who bows out of the competition, though I wonder if that will be the last we see of her. Shiratama decides to use that leverage she had on Hamayuu and tells everybody else that she was a hill raven and about her parents. However, it’s Hamayuu herself who finishes telling the rest of the story and including some details that Shiratama didn’t know, like she was to assassinate Wakamiya. She claims to have revealed more than necessary and the advises the other princesses to consider their own happiness before flying off.
So, it’s a three bird race now? I’m not sure if Shiratama can continue on and considering her mental state, but it may still be too soon for just East vs West. One game piece has already left the board and another one is on shaky ground. I have to wonder if the game is still going according to the Empress’ expectations. We still don’t know the identity of the raven who was killed, though I’m thinking that the Wisteria Guard is stalling. As it was mentioned, they only care about the rite going smoothly and so it’s in their best interest to sweep it under the rug and hopefully everybody just forgets about it.
Then, there’s that injured raven who was found by some children and shown to Sumio. That got me thinking it’s possible there were two visitors to the Cherry Blossom Palace that night. It’s been established that it’s possible to approach the palace by land. Actually getting there requires the cover of night (Crows cannot see well in the dark), but it’s a treacherous path. One was caught and killed. The other one managed to escape without flying, but got injured. My question is if either one is/was Kazumi. In any case, Wakamiya is headed back and Yukiya is about to get even more involved. It’s been quite the ride and I’ve been enjoying it.