Yan Dang Shan series one

The Yang Dong Shan series one, a work of Tan Choh Tee, depicts a vast mountain landscape. The mountains and skies are delicately painted with powerful strokes, and thus i presume that the artist simply wanted to capture the beauty of the mountain, the moment of awe as the greatness of the scene overwhelms him. I believe that he wanted to replicate that exact moment into the canvas.

Manbo-dead-behind-the-house-P

Fools Among the Stars ~Kappa~ 

by Manbo-P feat. Gumi

That is his official title, but it's quite a mouthful, so I'll refer to him as Manbo in this post. Manbo is a producer of songs on Nico Nico Douga, similar to Neru, whom I have posted about before. His songs are generally wacky and often makes no sense, or at least, far exceeds the normality that people are used to. A fire extinguisher for a butler? Check. Chopping a stag beetle and getting transported into the future? Yup. A bad-tempered loquat growing on a person's brow? He has it. Despite so many humourous titles, however, some of his other works are rather heart-warming, and perhaps heart-wrenching, too. 

One of them has a boy waiting for his beloved to return for 15 years as he continues to write letters to her, not knowing that she was already dead. Or rather, he had amnesia, due to not wanting to accept that fact. 

Another has a tengu (a creature in japanese mythology, often shown with long noses) coming to earth, and is tasked to 'make himself useful' by the third year. He was also not allowed to give his identity away, and has to live as a normal human. He does spill this to a human friend, though, and they, along with 3 others (2 of which were also supernatural creatures) made a band. When they finally got the chance to have a proper performance, though, the tengu hurt his hands and is unable to play the guitar. Unfazed, he used his nose instead, and they enjoyed themselves one last time before he was forced to return due to revealing his true nature. 

The final one I'm going to talk about is a mini-series, Fools Among the Stars, which stars Orihime and Hikoboshi, two deities who were deeply in love with each other, but were seperated and can only meet with one another once a year, on Tanabata. However, Tanabata is always rainy, and thus they have very little chance of meeting. This legend is very similar to a Chinese one. The story is told in 3 songs, from Orihime, Hikoboshi, and a Kappa's (another creature in japanese myths, a water spirit of sorts) perspective. The first 2 songs were generally light-hearted, as they tell the story of how Orihime decided to hire demons to do work for a horrendously low pay and becoming a successful businesswoman, and Hikoboshi, who traveled up a mountain, chased a group of IT students away from a lodge, and becoming a disciple of the Muscle God. The third song, however, takes a turn for the worse (or better?). It is revealed that a Kappa is needed to cross the river that separates the two, and as Hikoboshi finally manages to get one of those, he travels across the river to find a aged Orihime. It turns out that the river between them was a river of time, and while they finally meet each other, their happiness was short-lived.

Of course, all of these songs wouldn't be quite complete without the gorgeous art by Manbo's sister, referred to as Tsukasa Ryuuguu. Her style is very simple, yet her colour choices and overall composition results in a beautiful piece of work.