What is time and space to a god?
Creative Staff
Author: Kenji Tsurubuchi
Letterer: Abigail Blackman
Translated by: Ko Ransom
What They Say
Before the age of men but after the age of the gods, there was a time when both coexisted. Miyo, a lone orphan girl, is saved by the priest En-no-Ozuno and begins accompanying him on his pilgrim’s journey. Their goal: to receive an audience with Hitokoto-Nushi, the great god capable of granting all manner of wishes. However, it seems a marriage proposal now awaits Miyo in the capital, a place likened to a thriving and prosperous utopia…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
There’s something I love about stories of Japanese gods and spirits, and that’s how time and space are fluid to them. It would make sense that long-lived spirits would observe time at a different rate, but the idea that spirit realms and time itself might be minor annoyances to a being such as them is fascinating to play around with. Volume one already played around with the time-space stuff with future Miyo giving her past self advice. In this volume I briefly worried when the trio encountered a boy who was from our time. I really don’t want the story to suddenly shift to the modern day. However, it turns out that it wasn’t so much our trio time traveling as it was the opposite, and not exactly in a recognizable sense.
Playing around with spiritual realms, the closing chapter of this volume mainly features characters new to us. It shows that many of the animalistic gods that we’ve met can take on a more humanoid form in certain situations. This leads to a realization for one miko that her local god’s prurient fascination with his servants is… complicated to say the least. Although I have to admit the humanoid form of a few of the gods are more normal than I was expecting. The side story is very cute and I enjoy the fleshing out of the author’s version of these mythological gods and how they operate.
The majority of this volume still features Miyo’s journey. I really didn’t expect her to get to the city as soon as she did. Once there she has a big decision to make. Does she continue with Ozuno and Zen as a disciple, or take the offer that Azuma-no-miya extends to her and become one of his wives and live a life of luxury? Once again, we see that time and space are flexible for the gods. A very, very unnerving god named An’inseki can see all of the timelines in a way that allows him to guide an aspect of Zen into following through with bringing Miyo back to them. An’inseki also hints that Ozuno will likely not have a happy reunion with Hitokoto-Nushi.
Speaking of Hitokoto, the nudity warning in this book applies to both her and the miko shown later. The nudity is surprisingly chaste, but it’s still there so consider this a content warning if that bothers you.
In Summary
Miyo’s journey with Ozuno and Zen continues with new trials and tribulations. The spirits work in mysterious ways, some of which hint at tragedies that have not yet come to pass. Perhaps Miyo can avoid the worst parts of her future by guiding herself through life. Time is surprisingly meaningless to a god. Now I wonder if Ozuno is running to or from his problems with Hitokoto-Nushi. The glimpse of how other priests and miko deal with their own local gods is a welcome glimpse at the larger picture. This remains a fun little series, I just hope the time-travel shenanigans don’t get too out of control.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: OT (Older Teen)
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 21, 2023
MSRP: $15.00 US / $19.50 CAN
