This one was just as good as the first one... There was something so deep about it. (I like the word "deep" better than "philosophical" or "profound." It feels truer because I think it touches something in you that's deep down. I guess that's the advantage of a medium that uses words and drawings. And I think "deep" gets a bad rap. Like its facetious use seems to outrank its denotative one, to me anyway... Anyway back to the manga.) And then there was that question about whether Gyokuran would love Mokuren if she were reincarnated as a man! I'm interested in seeing what Hiwatari is going to do with this mess that's been created by Enju being reincarnated as a man, and I hope we get to see more of Sakura/Shusran's interiority... I miss Arisu's interior thoughts, too! But I like the collective protagonism that Hiwatari is cultivating. <3
Some of my favorite moments: "What is the difference / Between being caught by the past and caring for the past?" & "Say, now, and in the next world / Will we be different? Or will we always keep on like this?"
And that moment when Rin's parents are excitedly showing him all the wonderful things on Earth, like bubbles and snow and fireworks ("flowers blooming in the sky!"); lotus flowers, maple leaves, and the ocean... and he starts crying as he looks out over a wind-swept country field... MY GOD, it really captured that yearning for Earth. I dunno, I connected with that. It reminded me of that feeling I get when I remember one of my all-time favorite moments in a poem: "I will have to miss you / Earth; I miss you already." (Fittingly from Ariana Reines' poem called "Science Fiction.")