Author: Nakagawa Katsumi
Imprint: Patsy Comics
Publisher: Biblos
ISBN:
vol 2: 4-88271-114-1
vol 3: 4-88271-222-9
Reviewed by Jeanne
(Not a review but a summary. Spoilers abounding. Beware.)
I was not always as you see me now. I was once a medievalist. I knew about comparing five differing manuscripts of St Gregory Nazianus On the Holy Trinity and producing a definitive edition of the work and reconciling or at least explaining the nonsensical passages that appear where the text has become corrupt. (You know, when a scribe is copying a manuscript and writes a word wrong and then the mistake gets copied by another scribe so that half the surviving versions say 'green table' and the other half say 'grown baby' and you get to guess what St Gregory really wrote.) The Japanese manuscript tradition is normally a piece of cake- it appears in a phone book, it appears with minor variations in a tankoubon, it appears in bunkou if it's a classic, and it's all the same work. But I get bothered by things like the early versions of Seimaden. Where did this come from? where does it appear in the manga tradition? does it predate the main Seimaden series, is it a side-story, is it that Japanese specialty the doujinshi given mainstream publication? Where does canonicity lie when you have these differing versions?
And that's why it bothers me that there are two quite different versions of Yasha Kisouden.
It's very clear *why* there are two. Nakagawa Katsumi was drawing a series about youkai in Heian times for Patsy Comics. Asuka came along in its loud-suit Kansai-ben yasuka fashion (pun intended) and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She started redrawing the series for them and says very specifically in that edition that the earlier one was a 'prentice piece and please forget she ever did it. Well, that ain't so easy, for reasons I'll get to later. But back to my textual cruces here.
The other thing that frets my soul is that I don't have complete editions of both series. How can I collate from fragmentary sets? I'm missing vol 1 of the Patsy series, though the summary in vol 2 suggests that it follows the same general lines as the Asuka one. A youth called Fujimine, the sickly oldest son of the Emperor, raised in seclusion in the countryside, wanders out one night and meets a stranger. Stranger has blue eyes and silver hair and Fujimine calls him Kunue no Kimi- Prince Perfumed Clothes, alas- for the lovely smell that comes from him. Kunue tells Fujimine he's a youkai- that's why the horns. Fujimine doesn't care. The two set up housekeeping together: which may seem a bit hasty, but lemme tell you, compared with how long it takes in the Asuka version this sensible 'you're a youkai? neat, let's screw' attitude is most refreshing.
Vol. 2
So we come to vol 2. We have Yasha's retainer, Homura (a name a Saiyuki fan will have problems with, but hey- deal.) 
He sees things in a crystal and the things he sees bother him. It was he who brought up Yasha after his father was murdered. We meet Yasha himself, melancholy as he remembers the human women he's loved who all rejected him when they realized he was a youkai. But now he has the trusting Fujimine with whom he has baths and shares a bed and, well, all that. We have some back history- Yasha's father, the youkai Emperor was a proponent of peaceful coexistence with humans, and ironically was killed by them in an 'oni hunt' and his head brought back to the palace. Now the human Emperor's son has been abducted, doubtless in retaliation. The Emperor orders another oni hunt. Kokiden the mother of the Emperor's second son thinks what a good opportunity this is to get rid of her rival's child and sends her agent, a fanatic (and nameless) youkai-hating monk, along on the expedition. The hunt is supposed to find the abducted prince; Kokiden's henchmen are to see he doesn't get back alive.
Youkai have this unfortunate habit- they need blood to live, preferably human. When Fujimine comes across Yasha with his mouth on a half-naked Homura he assumes the worst and goes off to weep, not realizing that Yasha is merely snacking in the absence of human flesh. The misunderstanding is soon cleared up, in amongst a lot of long-haired love-making. (The thing about the Patsy series is that Yasha and Fujimine spend a *lot* of time in bed, and even if we don't see very much one can imagine.) Only next day Yasha is gone, because he fears his presence will harm Fujimine when the oni hunt finds them.
The demon hunt approaches and abandoned depressed Fujimine goes out to meet it, hoping to get himself killed. Kokiden's henchmen are about to do that very thing when wham, who should appear to save the prince but- no, not the two youkai brothers who've been watching the action with interest, but a blank-eyed blond hotty they identify as Mikage. Mikage has a third eye. Third eye does nasty things to the human army, and the demon brothers carry Fujimine back to safety in his house. Well, actually they think he's a girl and they're all ready to rape and eat him until they find out their mistake. And then he says 'I wish you had' and breaks down crying and they tactfully go away and leave him to his grief.
In their absence Fujimine cuts off his long hair, swearing never to trust another soul. He contemplates suicide but can't quite do it. Mikage finds him and asks his name. '...I forget,' Fujimine says. 'Very well. I shall call you Yura.' They exchange brief histories of their unhappy loves. Mikage loved a human woman, Yura, who became pregnant by him. When he was attacked by humans she shielded him and was killed. Abandoned Fujimine and widowed Mikage end up spending the night together.
Meanwhile the monk who was Kokiden's agent returns to carry out his mission and is met by Homura, who reveals that the youkai-hater is not human himself. (Homura isn't a youkai, BTW; we only learn his true nature later.) That night a strange explosion of youki is felt through the land, disturbing Yasha and Homura in their hiding place together. Fujimine in his sleep is tempted by a voice promising him peace from his sorrow if Fujimine will only become the voice's possession, and in a moment of weakness Fujimine agrees. The voice says it will take Fujimine's body in return. And the only one who recognizes what's afoot is the erstwhile monk, Homura's prisoner, who realizes that it's Yasha's father's spirit, the former youkai emperor, returned from the dead.
Mikage wakes to find that Fujimine's hair has grown back. Yasha wakes to feel the long tresses grabbing at his spirit body and pulling him into the upper world. There he meets Fujimine's spirit who tells him 'I've done a terrible thing. In my grief at your parting I sold my soul to the darkness. I know I'm going to do terrible things. So I beg you- return to my house and kill me.'
Vol 3
Yasha is appalled at Fujimine's request and proceeds to a passionate avowal of love- 'From the moment I met you- from the moment I first lay with you- my true life began' while Fujimine weeps 'Ureshii!' like a proper coded female. ('Oh I'm so happeeee', for the unJapanesed here.) But Fujimine is snatched away from him by a demon who looks first like Yasha himself and then like Fujimine. It's Yasha's daddy, the former Emperor. (And hereafter when I say Emperor I mean Daddy, because a) he doesn't have a name in this series and b) the human Emperor doesn't appear again.) 'If you hate me, come find me!' he taunts and Yasha wakes back in his physical body.
In Fujimine's villa the boy whom Mikage calls Yura wakes up and reveals to him and the youkai brothers that he's not Yura/ Fujimine any more. He's the former Emperor, Yasha's father, and he's quite changed thank you from the gentle demon the younger brother knew and loved as a child. He's out for blood, revenge, and as much mischief as he can accomplish. Younger brother is suitably distraught by the change.
Yasha and Homura try to force the youkai-monk to reveal who was behind the oni hunt organized to kill Yasha. The monk tries to bite his tongue out but Homura shoves his hand between the man's teeth. The monk sees the purple blood that runs from Homura's finger, sees the mark on his forehead, and realizes that this is the chief of the dragon tribe. Since he won't talk Homura takes a jewel out of his own forehead. (Evidently this is a piece of authentic Chinese folklore; alas that visually it looks like laying an egg.) He binds the monk's soul in the jewel. Then Yasha mounts on Homura's dragon back and they fly to Fujimine's house...
...where something strange is happening to the possessed body of Fujimine. The Emperor's spirit, thirsting for revenge, is fighting some other kind of possessing creature, and Fujimine's black hair begins to turn to gold. And suddenly there's a newcomer standing there called Rai, whom the others know but we don't. He's the Emperor's servant come back from the dead- like a lot of youkai, he says- in the wake of the Emperor's revival. The other youkai zombies are off at the capital eating humans; he's here. At this point it gets a little hard to tell what's going on, because it certainly looked like the Emperor was turning into Rai and Rai was stopping him from his revenge. But no, the Emperor is just going back to his true blond shape, even if it's Fujimine's body still, so as to be more easily confused with blond Yasha when he rushes in at that moment to confront his father and demand that he give Fujimine back his body. 'You want it, get me my head from the palace,' his father tells him- 'if you can.' But it's Homura who says 'I'll go.'
And does. Homura is quite the guy in bed and in a couple of panels has gotten the location of the youkai emperor's head from the appropriate waiting woman. Meanwhile Yasha and Fujimine have another dream tryst, just in case we're lonely for some m/m action, and our older youkai brother repines that this Yura he too is falling in love with is in love with Yasha when he's not sleeping with Mikage. (Oh, and Daddy has a thing for the guy whose body he's now occupying as well. 'I want to be able to touch him and use him.' It is a shoujo constant that everyone must love the heroine. Patsy is shoujo so even if the heroine is a hero, everyone must love him.)
Back at the imperial palace, Homura in his human disguise has called Yasha's father's head to him. Fujimine's former waiting woman surprises him at this activity but he finds himself charmed by her courage and refrains from killing her as is his unfortunate wont. (Homura is a literal lady-killer.) He returns to Fujimine's house and Yasha gives his father the head. 'Now keep your promise and leave Fujimine's body.' The emperor does so, entering his severed head instead, but Fujimine's body collapses. 'I've given you his body as promised but his soul I'll keep for myself.'
Follows an enlightening passage between Homura and Yasha. 'Without a soul his body will die,' Homura says. 'It sounds like you want that to happen," Yasha accuses. Homura answers, 'In the past nothing bothered you. You were like a hawk, seizing what you wanted in your claws. 
Now you're weak. And isn't that Fujimine's doing?' Yasha thrusts his hand into Homura's forehead and pulls out the jewel that contains the monk's soul. He puts the monk's soul in Fujimine's body to keep it alive.
Yasha's father evidently grows himself a body to go with the head and tells Rai how *good* it is to have a body again. Then he discards same and trips off to the spirit world for a little sex with Fujimine's soul- just in case we're lonely for some m/m action etc etc. But Fujimine starts using his pure-hearted wiles on him. 'Didn't you once love a human woman- Yasha's mother? And don't you remember what it was like when your son was born?' Having the former emperor in his body has given Fujimine all his memories, which is hardly the way the former emperor wants it.
One other problem- Mikage has vanished. Yasha's worried about where he might have gone to. He's gone off to the former emperor's because guess what he's his other son- abandoned by him and with a real yen to kill his father. In this he resembles his half-brother Yasha who has the same desire. 'I'll show you whose son I am,' Yasha has vowed, which makes Homura happy. Looks like his king is becoming his bloody-minded self again.
Meanwhile our monk in Fujimine's body is registering the fact that Yasha, demon though he is, does love Fujimine. But then who should come night crawling into Fujimine's bed to steal a kiss but Homura. Good heavens, the monk thinks. Everybody loves Fujimine. But going after your lord's lover... umm isn't that treason? Next day he and Homura have a little heart to heart about this and several other matters. The monk is one of Homura's own race- presumably a half-breed of some kind. Homura recognizes the signs on him. He threatens the monk with rape and the monk flashes back to his childhood- his parents killed by youkai, himself taken in by a Buddhist monk and then raped by him. He becomes violent. Homura is moved to admit the facts- he's in love with Fujimine, yes. Unlike Yasha who wants the whole package, Homura is perfectly happy to have Fujimine's body without Fujimine's soul in it. The monk too is feeling an attraction he doesn't want to admit and melts into Homura's arms. And at the same time Yasha is striding down the corridor to find out how Homura is making out with their captive monk, no pun intended.
And that, I think, is as far as it goes, leaving us hanging in the middle of love triangledom. The series transferred over to Asuka, began again from the beginning (shades of A Distant Soil) and shuffled all the characters around. Frankly I don't feel like dealing with that many-volumed series at any great length. It's much more shoujo than the Patsy volumes, meaning that everyone has *much* bigger eyes Fujimine is not only a coded female, he's the worst kind of shoujo heroine coded female, weepy and droopy and *wet*. Patsy Fujimine is an adolescent, capable of love and sex, who is untroubled by the horned and fanged guys who keep appearing in his life- 'the one I love looks like you.' Asuka Fujimine reads perennially eleven, all dokidoki oh my heavens are these youkai oh my heavens they're going to *eat* me ohhhh.... Patsy Fujimine weeps his ureshii's when Yasha makes a declaration of impassioned love. Asuka Fujimine goes all weepy-happy when Yasha, in whose house he's been living for several weeks apparently, summons him to his room. No, that's not what makes Fujimine happy. It's when Fujimine knocks on the door and Yasha says 'Come in.' Ohh he asked me into his *room* ohh he said 'come *in*' ohh ureshii!!! Wet, I tell you, wet as laundry when the washing machine motor burns out and stops in the middle of the wash cycle.