Luna Love

This could be my very first Tumblr post in years. I had this urge for months to open up a vent for life's fanciest subjects, which are: art, the color purple, and reading.

Please call me Luna (she/her). I live in a land of technology and savor art and music every day. I make up words for a living, and learning new skills is a hobby of mine. I know three languages, and I'm on my way to my 4th.

I will mainly share my own thoughts and notes in anime, manga, and books, only the ones I love. 

It would make me happy to see you delighted with my random appreciation posts. 💜

⚠️ Heads up: this post contains spoilers from the novel, and it contains major spoilers from the series in general not yet adapted in the anime or the manga adaptations.

Now that light novel 16 is finally available digitally in English, here are my thoughts. Before I dive in, I want to say that this cover is one of my top favorite covers of the series, look at how confident and mature Maomao looks.

I find it interesting how we were introduced to Kokuyou in novel 6, yet we finally got to see a backstory about him in novel 16. He had it rough! Despite all the smiles, and the cheerfulness, he lost a brother and a mentor in disturbing ways. He almost died, and was mistreated it for his scars. The surprising part is behind this cheekiness, apparently he can be a wicked person. Is he going to cause trouble? We'll see.

My favorite part is seeing how Maomao got troubled with the whole Kokuyou's situation. He's not a bad person, so she can't just throw him out like that. But, he might actually do bad things if confronted with a bad person, can she live knowing that anything can happen because she stayed silent about it? I loved her pondering upon this.

We had small moments where there's a throwback to the characteristic Maomao solving a case with Jinshi presenting the issue, the story of the cursed jar and how that was a facade to hide an abuse is really interesting. If Maomao felt bad or jealous about the thought of making the girl a concubine of Jinshi, even if it's just a front, she didn't show it. I loved how considerate Maamei and Chue were of her discreet feelings, and Jinshi was already firmed about the idea. There's no way that's going to happen so the girl got sent to Lakan's mansion. lolol.

Speaking of throwback, it's also nice seeing Lishu growing up, embracing humble life in the village. It's nice to see her in good health. She deserves to live in a peace.

When Jinshi went accompanying Maomao to the village, his disguise resembled Kokuyou's look. I can't help but imagine that this might be because lowkey, he wanted to look like how Maomao described Kokuyou. He was nervous of how she was talking about Kokuyou, he tends to feel jealous and threatened by any man who Maomao engages with, and has a positive impression of. Lihaku, Rikuson, and now Kokuyou. Maomao tried to put emphasis on their working relationship but Jinshi had to see the man himself I guess, and yeah, sure he wanted to see Lishu, too.

Funny that the first action he took when he was mistaken for Kokuyou during the attack was to protect Maomao. As if him getting harmed in the process is going to be just fine. I wished there was an official illustration to this scene.

The letters chapter had me laughing because Lahan sent a long neat letter only to be responded with a NO by Maomao, that was hilarious. Also Xiaolan's letter was adorable. It's so bittersweet seeing her writting to Maomao after learning her characters, she's so innocent. As usual, Jinshi loves to pamper his cat by sending her fancy tea instead of idle words. He knows that she loves gifts more than anything, especially if it's a useful herb or medicine. Also that empty paper he sent, did that somehow imply that he wishes to read what she writes instead? Maomao's response is cute, sending a cat paw, she's literally confirming that she's his cat as he described her earlier.

Although, it's an easy read with bits of stories here and there, I noticed it tried to lighten the weight of a potential smallpox horrors by showing easier to digest stories. Mainly, this volume showed more character development and emotional growth for our favorite cat, Maomao. She first was showing tolerance towards Lakan. I can't help but notice how she's getting comfortable around others, too. There are many co-workers who she interacts with casually nowadays, more than ever. She's getting more social, and is engaging with different people. This shows how she's gaining confidence and emotionally healing, hence the comment about the cover above.

That takes me to how much she have changed towards Jinshi. She's talking more openly to him (keeping the formal tone, though), she also grabbed his arm, whispered in his ear, shared her day with him in a letter and wanted to visit him when confronted with difficulty. I love that she had developed this sense of comfort when she feels bad, she would go directly to him. We saw that in novel 12, when she was about to get attacked and Chue almost died protecting her, she later on had the urge to go see him. It's now similar imo, it seems like, she assigned Jinshi as a stress relief whenever things get tight, as he does with her. She now understands his desire of "recharge" every time he faced distress and sought any physical contact from her. Despite all the inner denial and indifferences she tends to show, Maomao truly enjoys being with Jinshi. His persistence and good efforts paid off.

A story of love and friendship told through a 20-year old Japanese painter who decided to travel to London to exceed her family's limited beliefs of her, all for the love of painting. There, she meets a group of artists who each seemed to have a character, goals, and struggles of their own. Among them is a young man who presses more than one of her buttons.

Through 20 episodes, I grew to love every part of the story starting from seeing Lili's innocent ambitions, to seeing how she forges an unexpected friendship with a certain aristocratic's fiancee, and all the way to the preceding of the end where things got dramatically colorless. The essence of this series is truly felt visually in every scene. I couldn't look away for a second for the fear I'd miss out. I was threatened to shed a tear at a regretful memory shown at some part.

I was also impressed by the amount of art pieces showcased throughout the show, it is truly a show made for the love of art. Don't miss out on it, it's impactful, filled with inspirational and stirring moments.

➡️ Now that the light novels are getting released physically in English, I've been collecting and rereading them. I thought to share some (lengthy) thoughts on them subsequently. Aside from stating the obvious, this review has mild spoilers but nothing beyond novels 1 and 2!

Novel one covers episode 1-12 from the 1st season of the anime adaptation which adapts the novel faithfully with little adjustments to notice. Just as the anime serves the visual aspect, reading the light novels is still a unique experience given how every tiny internal thought can be taken as a context.

In this novel, we see the breakthrough of a teenger girl in the inner palace where the emperor's women reside. Life there seems perfect at first glance but in fact things are far from so. No matter how many times I see or read Maomao's beginning, I still find it fascinating how her life shifted drastically. She starts off as a laundry cleaner but things change when she solves a case ending up saving the child of one of the emperor's favored consorts.

Being an apothecary before she was sold to the palace, gave Maomao a twist in her path gaining her an unintentional attention in which she gets promoted into a lady-in-waiting. Her impulsive curiosity and wide knowledge in medicine and poison aids her into solving cases which vary from mere gossips to real assassination attempts. All that under the watchful eye of Jinshi, the gorgeous but mysterious eunuch who for some reason seems to be highly interested in her (not that she cares about that! Or so she says to herself).

Despite the fact that the light novel has a quick pacing, each chapter was loaded with information and intriguing interactions. I loved the way every character with their aesthetics and backstory has been presented creatively and beautifully making it an unputdownable read. It has the drama, the mystery with a slight touch of unintended amusement and romance, and plenty of appeal.

This book also dives into thorny topics objectively and share many insights regarding herbal medicine, life, and political history in an imaginative setting inspired by reality. I find Maomao with her quirkiness, aloofness, and sense of justice quite relatable and relevant to modern times even if she in fact represents and/or showcases how women were treated in the olden times.

I consider volume 1 of the light novel series to be a pilot of the entire series, the tip of the iceberg as they say. We get introduced to Maomao and her passion towards medicine (and poison!), we see the harem, the setting the story takes place in, we get to know basically how the system works, and we have a brief glance at Jinshi and his forthcoming relationship with Maomao.

Speaking of which, I find Jinshi amusing. He's presented as a charming authoritative figure to the public but gives off "bratty behavior" in essence whenever he's with Maomao. What's interesting to me that he's not overshadowing the actual storyline, and his appearances has been nothing but highlighting Maomao even more because she tends to shy away from trouble but Jinshi's interactions encourages her to act and to speak her mind. That's a smart way to feature a love interest.

His actions can provoke her to regard him poorly yet in those small moments where their playful relationship starts. At this stage, it was just games between them with misunderstandings and covered pasts. Don't make the mistake of assuming that this is the entirety of their relationship, it's just marks how they first started. Stick around to find out why they do what they do.

What about Maomao's past? What's going to happen in the palace? More to that is explored in novel 2 which the anime covers from episode 13-24 of season 1.

Volume 2 features Maomao's backstory where we learn about her parents, her upbringing, and how medicine was an escape to her from trauma and emotional neglact she went through in her childhood. Maomao's life has never been easy. Those moments where she had to face her fears, make amends with the past, and let go of certain painful memories touched my heart. It all started with her parents. Their story was painful, and that left her with a heavy package to bear. Oh, btw, icym, the author describes Maomao's actions in the author notes as tsundere, which speaks volumes of how Maomao is.

Also this volume also feature more cases to solve which they all seemed to be webbed together to form a bigger mystery to yet to be uncovered by Maomao, whose curiosity usually puts her in a pinch. A bonus for readers who love episodic stories. Seeing her going about analyzing clues, exploring possibilities, and explaining information is beyond fun. Generally, this series in is enjoyed best by people who love characters interacting with subjects rather than big dramatic actions occurring to characters.

He spent his life being objectified by others, mostly never looked at beyond his looks. Then there's Maomao who treats him as a normal young man. She honestly projects her enthusiasm or displeasure with him, a genuineness he seemed to lack in his life.

Despite the fact that he was actually "selling" out his charms to everyone including Maomao, unintentionally she was encouraging him to drop his facade by engaging only with his honest side, and eventually he actually did when he noticed how shallow his life is without her. She's the ultimate green flag for him.

Then the prince's composed yet profound display of carrying his bloodied servant throughout holy grounds towards his home and letting her recover and rest in his place. Surely he had other rooms, yet he had to let her on his bed. If that's not a clear testament of how important Maomao is to him, I'm not sure what is.

With her adoptive father, her sisters, and even when Jinshi gets frazzled over her being harmed, those moments show how Maomao really appreciate being cared for. Look at my bean lowkey pleased by the affection with her tiny smile.

And just like that Anne found her way back to Gilbert. Learning that he couldn't give up on her despite everything is sweet. I loved seeing his earnest care for her. They're truly made for each other.

They're now both ready to march ahead with their shared emotions. Watching them grow fond of each other has been heartwarming.

Both Maomao and Jinshi witnessed this story. Back then, they didn't know that it will resonate with their forthcoming relationship.

I can see how Jinshi specifically can relate to Fuyou, she's a princess trapped in the palace while longing for a different life with her loved one. You can feel his inner frustration about his current life in episode 13, and how he aims for his own path.

Back in episode 16, he used the story of the craftman's sons to hint about the ceremonial tool, subtly he was also teasing Jinshi about being a "younger brother." He was being sly about each sibling "finding their own place" which is Jinshi's insecurity.

What are you doing, Lakan? Throwing Jinshi out of his game of course. That's a Lakan specialty.

I feel like they were proudly sending out Maomao as a family should. Yes, she's going to work but that's our girl you got there.

Also, Jinshi's vision is focused only on Maomao. Between these glorious women, she's highlighted differently. He's down so bad.

⚠️ Major spoilers for those who didn't watch Zenshu til the end

Am I the only one who took the ending hard? Like I knew that it's an animation world that Natsuko got sent to. The notion was that she wasn't reborn there, yet I felt sad when things ended and she went back to reality. It's like she was dreaming. Something about that concept messed with my mind, like everything we've seen felt like an alternative scenario in Natsuko's head.

I'm sharing my theory here, is it possible that Natsuko's world is in fact an alternative world as in it's another animation where both Zenshu and A Tale of Perishing could interwine? Or is A Tale of Perishing just simply an existing epic world that was created and could be traveled to?

What felt like a possible idea is Luke and his party got to the "Kingdom of Reality" after Natsuko left given we've seen a glimpse of them before the credits roll. Also it's important to note that Natsuko in reality still had a hold on Unio's horn and it started to shine when the party was on the other side of the sidewalk, meaning they're close to each other.

Did Luke in an another world desperately search for Natsuko that he somehow found a portal or something? So many theories. So many questions.

Did the staff leave it to our imagination? Did they just keep it open in case a sequel is in the making sometime? It could all be metaphorical because it's possible that Natsuko's next project is related to A Tale of Perishing in reality.

Whichever is the case, what I know is that 12 episodes of Zenshu left a mark with me.

Having an animator teleported to their favorite anime's universe to save it is an entertaining concept. Imagine getting sent to the world of your favorite anime. Meeting characters you love and to change their fates. Oh, that's fun, and scary.

I love how Natsuko's eyes shine whenever it's time to draw another sequence that would add/change an already written scene to a better one that saves everyone. Sometimes it doesn't go as imagined and that what makes it intriguing.

What I also like is how Natsuko's hair covers her face that she lookes like a non-human creature. It's like her head is backward, it's brilliant. It's lovely how her hair depects her emotional state throughout the series.

I love how Zenshu feels both relevant and nostalgic. I enjoyed the inspirations by other popular tropes and other franchises in the anime industry. It's an amusing watch indeed.

When they met again after she got fired, Jinshi learned that Maomao doesn't hate working in the palace as he thought. He even suggested buying her out, and she didn't mind. Could it mean that she doesn't entirely dislike being around him as one would assume?

In that moment, Jinshi had an understanding of how Maomao is.

They had a shaky start, but there might be hope for him to try things anew with her; work through all the differences between them. He just have to drop the old ways. The way to her is through her fixation which is medicine. And, oh, she seems to enjoy solving cases. He's speaking her language now.

No matter how I look at it, this looks like a proposal. In different circumstances, maybe it would have been.

In that scene in episode 9, when Maomao told Jinshi to use poison, explaining that he's in high status and she's just maid, it sounded like a humble request from a commoner but it was loaded. It felt like an indirect way to turn him down.

Especially after they were sharing an unguarded moment earlier where they learned little about each other. Curiosity aroused. I guess the cat unconsciously sensed something troublesome, and decided it's doomed already.

Maomao at that stage was in low spirits due to her current situation. She was kidnapped one day, then sold to work in a formidable place out of her family's reach. Life was bleak to her. She just wanted to survive.

What does this gorgeous personage want from her? As an avoidant person, her safest bet is not to get involved, or even to think about it.

Jinshi was taken back by that social differences talk because he genuinely thought they had a thing going but then he realized they're not so alike in that term. He was dejected as if he just remembered who he really is. He also misunderstood her intention with she'd rather be home instead of getting forced to work here.

The contrast between their amusing exchange earlier and the grim atmosphere they stumbled upon later on is marvelous. I love this episode because it shows how their delimma began.