Haven't You Got Eyes In Your Head?

Well haven't you?

Anyways moving onto the story of NToJ. Remember Maribel got injured back in TGA when she took Renko to Torifune? Apparently she was diagnosed with delirium caused by some virus that did not exist on Earth. She was quarantined deep in the mountains since the society feared anything that was outside its control. Anyway Renko got the news that Mari had fully recovered, so she went to the sanatorium to meet Mari. Mari complains about how they wouldn't let anyone meet her even though she has no relatives in Japan. Renko asks what Mari's illness really was. Mari says that it's apparently high fever, as well as sleep walking and hallucinations of another world. To which Renko replies, "Eh? Isn't that totally normal to you?"

The two of them then went sight-seeing around Shinsyuu (now Nagano Prefecture), where the sanatorium was. The two of them came across the Zenkou temple, which was caught in the terrible Zenkoushi earthquake. Renko says that back then people thought the dislocations between the temple's main pillar and its base were caused by the earthquake. Of course now they found out it was the result of the wood decaying. However, people would rather keep on calling it the "earthquake pillar" to remind future generations the horror of earthquakes. Mari, however, could see an earthquake that can even deform the entire pillar (Tenshi?).

Heartfelt fancy. Lately not only can Mari see the gaps of boundaries, she can seemingly see the scenery of another world. Furthermore, she can actually move into that world. It was exactly the same back then on Torifune. For Renko it was probably just a dream, but that was reality for Mari. It's because of this, Mari was only one who got injured. The reason she went to the sanatorium was because the doctor thought she was insane. The truth of course is that Mari is perfectly sane, it's just the society cannot accept oddballs like her. Therefore her power must be kept a secret. Renko notices Mari doesn't look too well, Mari says she saw a little too much. When Renko asks her what she saw, Mari replies that she saw Hell (among other things).

My Title Can't Be This Generic

An everlasting instant. That is to say, I've finally had the chance to read 神咒神威神楽 and it was quite an entertaining journey despite being less adrenaline-inducing and refined than Dies Irae. Although to be fair, Dies Irae had a lot of time to grow into what it is today.

The art is downright gorgeous and fits the game perfectly. The style really gives Kajiri Kamui Kagura an air of uniqueness not seen in many other games. Although having played Dies Irae, it is quite strange to see familiar characters in traditional Japanese clothing sometimes. The character and costume designs are more elaborate and colourful than those in Dies Irae, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm more of a sucker for military uniforms than kimonos. It was a real shame that the Yatsukahagi wasn't the least bit menacing, but of course it was understandable given their origins and roles in the story.

I can't be the only one who thought Tokoyo was cuter than Rea

When bad guys aren't really bad guys. I had trouble taking Kei seriously thanks to Kamidori and Arterial, where her voice actress did Serawi and Narumi-senpai respectively...with exactly the same voice. I know it's pretty silly but now every time I hear Kei's voice, someone else pops up in my head. At least my mental image of Beatrice hasn't been ruined yet. Other than that though, the voice acting is very solid and I have always enjoyed Wilhelm/Keishirou's trash talk (can't say his VA did all that good as Gilbert in Baldr Sky though). Speaking of which, trash talk was all over the place back in Dies Irae, and though I enjoyed it I was glad that Masada decided to tone it down in Kajiri Kamui Kagura.