It’s uh. Been a while. I started college part time and got a bit too busy to draw (thanks Michigan!). I am still working on that, but I hope I can make time for this as well. I have so much I need to get better at.
Mostly a lot of riveting battle scenes in this update and I don’t have much in the way of profound observations.
-Gourry needs Lina to charge up his sword. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
-Lots of foreshadowing with Luke and the Ruby-Eyed Blade and grabbing Dulgoffa.
-Gourry really does a lot of good fighting in this novel. Lina refers to him as “my man” again while watching him work, and the contrast to the comments about his stupidity at the end just seem bizarre as a result, though as Lina did specify, she does tease him about it. Perhaps she’s realized the value of having people underestimate him.
-I gotta say, I love Gourry and Milgazia battling it out to be king of the Dad humor.
-Novel Lina is rather magnanimous towards Mephy’s attitudes humans. Anime Lina wouldn’t be.
-“When you’re feeling shy it’s time to act domineering.” And thus we have the explanation for Mephy and Naga. I will say that people who are on one extreme of the spectrum can gravitate towards the other before learning how to navigate the middle. If they ever find out how.
-What’s with Gourry asking Lina if she has to go potty? Unless he is so observant he notices her facial expressions when she’s gotta go and when she thought about Dynast it gave her an “oh shit!” moment that he misread? I mean I think realizing they would have to face Dynast would cause most people to shit their pants, so…
-Gourry doesn’t even need to state he’ll follow Lina, it’s just assumed, but he says it anyway.
-Demons are the ultimate put your mind to it beings. That said, Gourry really isn’t interested in the complicated details but the practical bottom line.
-Milgazia panics!
-And we learn that Lina asks questions to distract herself from her terror
-Dynast sees Sherra as a tool and shows that demons feed off each other’s emotions as well, draws a parallel to how he and Greater Beast named their minions which implies that Greater Beast also sees Xellos as a tool. I find it fascinating to think of how demons structure their relationships and it does seem very pragmatic ownership with no affection from the top down and overwhelming loyalty from the bottom up.
-It is interesting that Lina has empathy for Sherra, even as she clarifies it’s not pity for Sherra but anger over what a jerk Dynast is. I wonder if having a name so similar to her sister’s is aggravating to her and she feels for Sherra as a result. And I also think it says a lot about how much Lina cares. Even when she knows that the person in question would kill her without a thought.
-Dynast called Mileena pathetic. This is unforgivable.
-Lina describes Gourry as “defiance born out of sheer foolishness.” They both use his idiocy as a cover for his effectiveness. And there is a nice throwback to her fight to win speech.
-Lina’s comment about buying Gourry’s meals indicates they still have their finances separate.
-This chapter has a slasher movie feel with the demons attacking Lina, Gourry, Luke, Mileena and a group of soldiers in an enclosed area and there being lots of guts and gore. Though the human cost is emphasized a bit more, and the group has to grapple with their desire to help the wounded while also needing to stop the demons at the heart of the plot. Sometimes triage can be a brutal process. Then there’s the horror of having to confront Jade at the end.
-And they do answer the question of what happens if a human attacks a demon with a sword.
-Gourry takes command!
-And Lina sums up her tricks for demon slaying, keep the battle short, strike em unawares, aim for one-hit kills.
-Gourry makes hard things look easy and Luke is jealous.
-And whatever the truth about Gourry’s demon sensing ability is, he picks up on the truth about Sardian when he’s in a different room.
-Magic Sucker. In fan translations I believe it was Sword of Amplification but Magic Sucker def sounds like something Lina would come up with.
-And we see Lina and Gourry get distracted in battle when the other is in danger, with Gourry turning his back on an enemy and Lina stopping her spell casting.
-There are definitely a lot of parallels coming up, with the group having to face Jade echoing what will happen later with Luke.
-It is worth noting as well that Luke feels a sense of obligation and responsibility for Jade.
-Luke is an ass. And another instance of either his lack of empathy or general hard time relating to people who are closer to the civilian end of the spectrum with Maias.
-Mephy is also a bit of an ass.
-And the whole group accepts that Lina is responsible for Gourry. Everyone knows they go together.
-And Luke sure wishes he were as cozy with Mileena as Gourry is with Lina.
-Mileena seems to be trying a new tactic with Luke’s romantic advances in this novel, which is to ignore him completely. Lina notes that when she shoots him down he’s despondent but when she “leaves him hanging” he acts neglected. And this implies that he is seeking attention. There’s the whole soggy potato chip concept in child development circles, which is that if you are starving a soggy potato chip will look good. Which translates to if you never receive positive attention from someone you will settle for negative attention. Being ignored is far worse than being yelled at, scolded, hit, etc. The opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Used correctly and in the right circumstances it can be a good way to extinguish undesirable behaviors, and I think it says a lot that Mileena is embracing this approach.
-It is worth noting because of the questions over Gourry’s intelligence that he is the one who challenges the plan to go to the western tower when he notes that other places have their lights on. First, this means he can determine which way is west. Second, it means that he is smart enough to recognize when new information means changing the plan. Gourry also successfully breaks the ice with the palace soldiers. Mileena takes it from there with the plan to be arrested but to keep their weapons and gear so they can find Jade.
Still, both he and Lina almost seem to be colluding to spread the he’s an idiot narrative. And I tend to suspect they do it to give him a tactical advantage.
-Adding confusion to the timeline, General Allus says the fire in book 7 was a year ago. Granted, given the circumstances, General Allus might not have the best memory at the moment. Lina runs with the whole it happens a year ago thing.
-You go Milgazia! You help that captain find his power! Milgazia is awesome!
-I really wish we could see Mianzo animated. So creepy!
Hi Hi @savvyliterate ! I’m your Secret Santa again! I hope you like this ‘anything Gourrina’ you requested. I tried to make a Celtic-inspired wedding for you. :D Happy New Year!
-If I wasn’t so tired, there is probably so much to read into the sunset and shadow meets light metaphor. It’ll be interesting to see how this continues through the novel. All I take from it right now is Gourry is the light. Luke even points out that he serves as her lie detector kit.
-Love the dialogue between Lina and Gourry…and how he flummoxes her with seeing through her BS even as she rags on his smarts. He mostly keeps her in check…aside from the scene at the end when she interrogates Bran’s minions.
-You know, tailing on the end scene in chapter 13 where they agree that it is fine to travel together for the enjoyment of it, it does feel like Lina and Gourry had planned a relaxing vacation…or even something more romantic, and then got roped into all this. Gourry reminds Lina a few times that they are supposed to not take jobs and have fun. He has the vibe of a man who’s a bit annoyed that his romantic vacation plans got ruined because they got called into work. In fact my headcannon is gonna be that he didn’t tell her to take it down a notch with Bran’s minions because he was annoyed that they had to do this.
