Hi everyone,
Since Mirage of Blaze is about Japanese sengoku history, discussions and investigations of the supernatural, do you also read other novels or series that has these themes?
Recently I read the manga adaption of novels written by Natsuhiko Kyougoku.
Although the stories didn't cover on feudal history, I enjoy how the (self insert author)/main character solves the mystery when everyone believe it's the work of a yokai, possessions or paranormal causes.
What about you?
I haven't really found another series/novel that deals with the Sengoku and interests me much. I guess investigating the supernatural is really broad, and I could recommend Mushishi; in fact, I once crossed it over with Mirage. :-) But it's not in the Sengoku period. It's not a novel or series, but I do recommend the Akira Kurosawa movie Kagemusha as a more historical(ish) look at the fall of the Takeda clan. Kousaka is in the credits, but I can't identify who he actually is. I know Furin Kazan (book and series) also deals with the Takeda in that era but aside from a few paragraphs, I haven't read/seen either, but the series, as I recall, has Gackt as Kenshin, so points there. The novel/series Shogun is also set in that era/early Tokugawa era in a fictionalized way (changed names, etc.). I did see that TV miniseries as a kid and really liked it, though I have not seen it as an adult. It's very much from a European POV though.
Not about Sengoku, and not about Japan :) But I do recommend the novels of the Chinese author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (namely "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" and "Heaven Official's Blessing") Her works (all fully translated into English) are super popular right now with BL fans worldwide, and many Mirage fans got "sucked into the swamp", as Japanese say it :) Very plot-heavy, beautifully structured with amazing twists and turns, and although it's not obvious right away, there's actually tons of angst. Lots of parallels can be drawn with NaoKage too (in the second novel the relationship spans 800 years :), although the in-pairing dynamics is totally different. Anyways, I got sucked into the swamp a few years ago, so much so that now I can read and speak Chinese :)
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I actually just finished watching the live-action television series "The Untamed," which is based on "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" after getting a recommendation from a friend. It's beautifully done, especially the casting and locations (though the CG can be wacky at times). Unfortunately because it's mainland Chinese-made all the references to homosexuality get censored. The actors do a great job of showing their connection, but it's still frustrating at times (like come on people, 20 years into the new millennium, and really??) Anyway.
If you want to give it a try, I'd recommend reading the novel first. I watched the TV series first, and am only now reading the novel, and kinda regret it doing it that way. People have said that you'll get more out of the TV series if you go in with knowledge from the novel. Also, due to the way the TV show restructured the story, I guessed most of the major plot points around midway through. ^^;;
(like come on people, 20 years into the new millennium, and really??)
Yeah… Unfortunately, this is how things are in China. Producing BL content is risky business. There’s at least one BL author that we know of that was sent to jail for 10 years because of what she wrote. MXTX herself disappeared about a year ago, and it has been speculated that she too was put away… which makes me very sad.
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My reaction to that is a very visceral sick-to-my-stomach feeling. Not just the persecution of LGBTQ+ (and supportive) people, but if it is true that the author was taken away to be "re-educated" (and I don't doubt the likelihood of this), the sheer hypocrisy and exploitation of commercializing her works at the same time. Tencent Video literally couldn't have made the series without censor (i.e. government) approval.
I mean, all the Hong Kong creators get listed in the credits as "Chinese Hong Kong." Tell me that's not political. It was a constant irritant back when I was watching, a lot worse now.
the sheer hypocrisy and exploitation of commercializing her works at the same time. Tencent Video literally couldn't have made the series without censor (i.e. government) approval.
Yes, I totally agree. And the industry doesn’t seem to care as long as they themselves are left alone to make their money. They know what they need to do to be left alone (to what extent to censor the original content), so they are just happy with that. I think if the industry people really wanted to they could put enough pressure on the government to lax the regulations, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.
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I think if the industry people really wanted to they could put enough pressure on the government to lax the regulations
I doubt it while Xi is in power and "lax"="weak." We've lost China to the Dark Ages for another 30 years.
I read the novel first (only half was translated to English at the time, so I had to finish in Chinese, which was a huge effort for me back then, but I just had to know what's next :) Then I watched the first season of donghua (Chinese word for anime) and loved it, but didn't continue with the second season after reading some negative reviews. Then the live action came out, and there are some things I like about it and some things I don't... The way they restructured and revealed the major plot points way too early is one of my main complaints. In the novel the timing is perfect - every revelation is timed to produce the maximum impact (this is one of the author's strongest points). The way the screenwriters dealt with it just seems... unreasonable and unnecessary.
So yes, I also recommend reading the novels (both novels) first :)
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XD or my god !!I think I too am being "submerged by the swamp"
donghua really is so wonderful !!
I always saw his drawings and fan art everywhere. I think the reason I started reading it was because of its Chinese era designs, they are really beautiful!
I will look for the novels and read them !!
Thanks for sticking with Mirage, XD because I saw a 2020 comment! For my part, I follow both series, but MoB is hanging around my head now, because Kurawa-sensei will release an art collection from the entire MoB saga along with four spin-offs this November.
It has not yet been revealed which characters will represent the spin-off.
But I'm really looking forward to seeing Naoe in 2020 and knowing what his life was like after the battle with Oda nobunaga
Chihiro