Author Topic: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion  (Read 49014 times)

Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« on: June 14, 2018, 01:34:47 PM »
Figured this manga deserved a thread too, like VFiS. I just saw the latest chapter (Chapter 46) go up and I enjoyed it a lot, so I wanted to see other people's reactions. I'll post more detailed thoughts later.

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2018, 03:17:31 PM »
Tenshi becoming a literal fallen celestial is still my favourite thing that's been happening as of late. Pretty sure that won't change a thing about her personality in the end, but she fits right in nicely anyway. That said, I like the strange mix of seriousness and lightheartedness in the chapter. That's how Touhou really is, after all.

Lebon14

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2018, 06:32:26 PM »
So, now, we know that
Spoiler:
Kishin is a type of oni
and that Zun made
Spoiler:
Reimu have a near-death experience just for the heck of it
. (My reaction to the last pages was "Are you serious?!" - Yeah, I know, unimpressive.)

I still hate Tenshi.

Overall, it was an interesting chapter.

R. P. Genocraft

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2018, 06:40:55 PM »
So, now, we know that
Spoiler:
Kishin is a type of oni
How is that new?

Lebon14

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2018, 01:05:58 AM »
How is that new?
Maybe not new, it was just implied until today.

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2018, 01:29:42 AM »
Here lieth Reimu, who could dodge bullet and spellcard, but weren't able to avoid food poisoning.

Also bonus points for Komachi, Tenshi AND Kasen all having smug moments in this chapter. 

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2018, 11:12:33 AM »
Tenshi being SERIOUS for once definitely made my day.

Gpop

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2018, 04:40:33 PM »
Reimu's
Spoiler:
near-death experience
was a hilarious yet odd way of explaining that issue with Komachi.

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2018, 10:39:07 AM »
If you care about WaHH even a little bit, drop everything and go read the latest chapter. NOW.

Spoiler:
Since, judging by FS, ZUN loves keeping his Chekov's Guns until the end, I predict manga's end approaching. I don't think Kasen will have her longtime "quest" solved though, since ZUN also prefers to avoid drastic changes to his characters.

Suspicious person

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2018, 05:28:04 PM »
Spooky chapter for Spooktober, it seems

Regarding chapter 47, some takeouts :
Spoiler:
IF that "oni's arm" is indeed an Oni's arm, or better yet, a certain someone's arm, or THE arm that a certain someone has been searching for quite a bit, then 1/ that is one heck of a small arm, 2/ how did Reimu receive it ? Like, was it at the Hakurei Shrine all along or was it given to her, and if so, what are the specifics of it ? 3/  The fact that the item in question is also not with Reimu's physical body but instead with her in Hell raises some question regarding its nature, unless this is something like the case of Sumireko bringing items from the Outside World except we have Reimu, the "oni's arm", and some kind of weird Hell this time, and 4/ Does the arm allow whoever's got it to get into or to interact with a particuliar kind of Hell or any Hell, and only spiritually or not just spiritually ? And also, 5/ Tenshi to the rescue ! ... Probably.

Interesting enough,
Spoiler:
Kasen was nowhere to be seen in this chapter. Not that it could hold some sort of meaning, of course, but quite unusual for this manga.
At any rate, there's not a lot to take from chapter 47, seeing as it is only a setup for a resolution that's gonna be brought later. Speculation are possible, but aside from Reimu obviously
Spoiler:
recovering
from her predicament, not much else is certain.

Considering that VFiS is coming up next, I'd be curious to see whether
Spoiler:
the state of Reimu
os gonna be refered to in there or if we're gonna get a
Spoiler:
fully functionnal Reimu.

---

Anyway, on the more speculative, regarding the Sages in general, they generally seem to mainly protect Gensokyo from outside interferences : Yukari from the Outside World, Okina from ... foreign energies (?), but then we have Kasen, who, uh, guides animals ?! As one of the Sage founders, that seems a bit ... unusual ? Anyway, ASSUMING that the
Spoiler:
Oni's arm introduced in this chapter turns out to be Kasen's missing arm, and considering that the Oni's arm apparently seems to allow someone to interact with Hell (or "a" Hell), and considering the fact that in a much, MUCH earlier WaHH chapter, Kasen did mention "beating up the servants of Hell" (iirc, but the way that remark came out was in a way so nonchalant it stood out in a weird way to me), and seems to not be very fond of Hell in general, then what if Kasen's role, as a Sage, was to, dunno, keep Gensokyo safe from the threats from down below ? Since the underworld and Hell are NOT part of Gensokyo ? (think of them as a very close neighboring country of sorts that is for example) Kinda "weak" if you consider the fact that Yukari could take the initiative to make an agreement between Gensokyo and Hell, which would be rather rude if someone else was already in the charge of that, but still ...

Drake

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2018, 12:07:59 AM »
I'm a bit charmed by
Spoiler:
all the people coming over to visit Reimu. It doesn't seem like much, but it isn't very often that we're explicitly shown many characters caring for Reimu's wellbeing in this way, just a select few like Marisa and Kasen.

Spoiler:
Also, here's a completely arbitrary theory: that Kasen has wanted to retrieve her arm not for any personal benefit, but to get it away from the world so it doesn't cause trouble if unsealed. Up until the very end we would be led to believe that she wants to get her arm back for herself, and in order to save Reimu it might seem like she has to make a choice, but surprise her goal was to destroy it or something all along. Maybe.

Spoiler:
Kinda "weak" if you consider the fact that Yukari could take the initiative to make an agreement between Gensokyo and Hell, which would be rather rude if someone else was already in the charge of that, but still ...
Spoiler:
It was actually never stated that Yukari was personally the one responsible, only sages. At the time we didn't know of any other sages and it was Yukari that first mentioned the deal so that was only assumed -- leaving the interpretation open. I've been thinking that this could have been related to Kasen's role for quite some time.

Lastly, there seems to be some speculation going on in Japanese spheres that
Spoiler:
this might lead to a game, with potentially Tenshi, and perhaps Kasen or Piece, as playables
« Last Edit: October 18, 2018, 02:11:22 AM by Drake »

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CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #11 on: October 18, 2018, 06:37:00 AM »
Spoiler:
Hm. While I believe something like that is kinda okay in case of a side game like GFW, I think it would feel lame if a main game had a backstory that would be pretty much just "go read a manga chapter in some magazine".

Drake

  • *
Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #12 on: October 18, 2018, 08:43:26 AM »
Agree. Well,
Spoiler:
the past few games have been set up by the manga etc, but the difference is that this is more directly "this is the incident" which isn't one ZUN tends to go for when setting up games. Recently it is the backstory that is in previous works, but the incident is typically self-contained.

The timeline is a big maybe, because the next chapter will likely still occur in the fall but release in December, right before Winter Comiket. While ZUN could release a side game there, VD did just come out in August, leaving only four months to work with. Also, the only time he's released a complete game in December was StB. So I'm not really giving any of this weight.

Or, he could totally blindside and tie this up with VFiS in November somehow so he can get even further in December's WaHH?
« Last Edit: October 18, 2018, 08:49:32 AM by Drake »

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Lebon14

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2018, 05:51:10 PM »
Latest chapter is out, thanks to Clarste.

Spoiler:
Looks like Kasen is involved one way or another. She's not been seen in 2 chapters. And Tenshi is our detective for this otherwordly case. It's also smelling the end of this manga.

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2018, 06:08:18 PM »
Spoiler:
Part of me thinks she just went to hell specifically to fetch/save Reimu, but it would be interesting if she was involved as an antagonist instead of heroine!

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #15 on: December 13, 2018, 06:20:48 PM »
Feels weird to have Reimu in a coma for months while she's also busy investigating fairy extinction.

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #16 on: December 13, 2018, 07:11:51 PM »
Feels weird to have Reimu in a coma for months while she's also busy investigating fairy extinction.

Probably because the mangas happen in different timeframes. 

Drake

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #17 on: December 13, 2018, 10:23:44 PM »
My random theory from the last chapter is looking pretty good tbh

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PK

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #18 on: December 14, 2018, 11:39:24 AM »
Does anyone know
Spoiler:
what Alaya-Vijnana actually is? A quick read seems to imply something about mental and physical consciuouness/awareness, so my own uneducated assumption is that it gives her some sort of "enhanced sensibility" that lets her see all the components of the door so that she can operate on it with her own power (kinda like supernatural microscope surgery), but on reddit they make it sound like some otherwordly superpowerful technique.

Lebon14

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #19 on: December 14, 2018, 05:19:36 PM »
Does anyone know
Spoiler:
what Alaya-Vijnana actually is? A quick read seems to imply something about mental and physical consciuouness/awareness, so my own uneducated assumption is that it gives her some sort of "enhanced sensibility" that lets her see all the components of the door so that she can operate on it with her own power (kinda like supernatural microscope surgery), but on reddit they make it sound like some otherwordly superpowerful technique.

Clarste got a Ask about this and he said... http://clarste.tumblr.com/post/181076097971/i-tried-looking-it-up-but-couldnt-quite

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #20 on: December 15, 2018, 06:31:56 AM »
Here's a scholarly description of what Alaya Vijnan is: https://www.britannica.com/topic/alaya-vijnana

The afterlife in Touhou is very Buddhist inspirated, Komachi being able to do super cool nirvana stuff is fitting with that theme.

As for the chapter itself,
Spoiler:
REIMU CONFIRMED TO NOT BE DEAD!

Everyone knew that already, but it feels good to know that storyline isn't going to be dragged on forever like I was worried it would.

If this is the finale of the manga, I REALLY hope we get to see Yukari, Okina and
Spoiler:
Kasen
finally interact with each other as the sages of Gensokyo, it would be ultra disappointing for the perfect opportunity to be missed.
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Suspicious person

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #21 on: December 15, 2018, 06:31:52 PM »
Spoiler:
The sheer lack of Kasen in the last chapters raise some questions regarding Kasen's involvement and perhaps motives in this small situation Reimu is in. Anyway, the way I see how things are in the latest chapter (48) is that Kasen is VERY aware of what has happened to Reimu, and personally might have gone to Hell to help solve the issue ; while on the other side, the discovery made by Tenshi and Komachi, along with Komachi's suspicions regarding Kasen's character might potentially lead them to confront Kasen in the next chapter or something.

Anyway, for the readers armed with some knowledge regarding a certain creature found in japanese folklore, the manga makes it very obvious to them (and certain more savvy characters such as Mamizou) that Kasen might possibly be related to a certain something. Yet, not all the characters seems to have connected the dots, nor  harbor particular suspicions towards Kasen.
Spoiler:
Up until last chapter anyway, for some girls.
One of these days, and the day might be close, this problem will potentially have to be addressed :  IF that happens, what's gonna be the reaction of the girls who've been hanging around and familiarised themselves with her for YEARS gonna be ? Cuz most of the time, masquerading yourself as something that you're not is generally a red-ish flag when it comes to your good-guy-ness, and that might probably not work in favor of Kasen IF she gets confronted.

Spoiler:
At any rate, with the thing that happened in the main shrine and Reimu vanishing,
dunno what to say aside from "OoOooh, the plot thickens !!!"

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2018, 07:29:42 PM »
Quote from: Paarthurnax
What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?

Anyway, things set up too well for
Spoiler:
Kasen being the culprit. Some things just don't add up for her to be helping Reimu, plus there's only been hints for the other way.
It's possible that everything will turn out fine and Kasen will help Reimu out as usual but
Spoiler:
that would require more ass-pulls that ZUN usually does, and frankly that would be pretty boring and expected. Shit's already hitting the fan for her, and backpedaling halfway would just waste all that build-up.
Things CAN go either way, though, but I'd prefer the not-boring one.

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #23 on: December 16, 2018, 04:37:20 AM »
Spoiler:
Let's face it though, whatever happens chances are that in the end Kasen'll still be chums with Reimu & co. and they all will drink tea at the shrine as usual. 

Lebon14

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2018, 09:40:27 PM »
Spoiler:
Let's face it though, whatever happens chances are that in the end Kasen'll still be chums with Reimu & co. and they all will drink tea at the shrine as usual. 

The unfortunate truth.
Status-quo everybody!

Drake

  • *
Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #25 on: February 12, 2019, 12:40:19 AM »
guys I can't believe it
Spoiler:
Kasen is actually an oni

A Colorful Calculating Creative and Cuddly Crafty Callipygous Clever Commander
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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #26 on: February 12, 2019, 01:40:01 PM »
Geez Louise...
Spoiler:
who wouldn't have guessed with all those hints given through the story?

Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2019, 05:43:21 PM »
guys I can't believe it
Spoiler:
Kasen is actually an oni
Pics or it didn't happen
My name is Tres. It sounds like "Tray". Tressert is "Tray-zurt"; like Tres dessert.
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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #28 on: February 12, 2019, 06:27:39 PM »
Je pense, donc je suis.

CyberAngel

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Re: Wild and Horned Hermit latest chapter discussion
« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2019, 07:54:03 PM »
Sheesh, all those meme spoilers and you're missing the real shocker:
Spoiler:
TWO ARMS