My New Girlfriend Is Not Human? - Vol. 3 Ch. 140 - Blood upon the snow

[GIN_8_6_]

Taya took revenge

 

[Eeliejun]

Okay so maybe it is me but to me this story and plot feels like the author is just adding it when they draw. Like a lot of characters and backstory dont feel like they are part of something till it is needed for a chapter.

 

[LTalon]

There's definitely time for these characters to grow into who they are today; the villagers were using spears, so this was at least a hundred years ago. I'm guessing Yuki actually recovered from this trauma before Taya did and went into the city again, but more cautiously.

 

[PhycoKrusk]

Wow…now I need to see how she went from this to liking Haru. This Taya would’ve let Haru drown.

This is still so long in the past there's plenty of time for more change. For all we know, as time went on and Taya had more time to think on what she's done here, maybe she's disappointed in herself and believes that if she'd had a little more self-control, things overall would've turned out better.

 

[TwinAero]

Given the time period, its probably just poisoned arrows, not strong enough to kill a youkai but still enough to make them feel extreme pain.

 

[Thkk]

Still doesn't explain to me why she gets so angry after sniffing the arrow. I thought she smelled a sedative or some other tranquilizer, which you wouldn't use when hunting somebody to death.

I understand not everything needs to be SA and stuff, but this definitely feels like it to me...

Could be the type of wood used. Bows and arrows have religious context in Shintoism which is why they’re the weapon of choice in a lot of yokai stories, so if it was made from sakaki wood (which is sacred, think the connotations of holly in the west) instead of yadake bamboo (which is the standard cheap and effective wood to make arrows out of) it would indicate professional monster killers or them treating her like a super dangerous demon instead of just plain soldiers or hunters reacting to a perceived minor threat.

 

[Thkk]

This is what I hate about SA subplots. Yes you can depict sexual violence, (so don't @ me) but the way it's usually done is for cheap pathos or lazy character development.

We never see her interactions with the village, why they suddenly fly into a rape frenzy, and now they're all dead presumably, so it doesn't even matter now. It's all just a device so we feel sad, then mad, then righteous when Taya slays them.

Presumably, there were women and children there too, as well as those uninvolved, are they dead too? Are they now retroactively justified for attacking demons on sight for the indiscriminate slaughter? We can't answer this because a very intimate and intricate act of violence is crammed into two pages.



It's left ambiguous enough that it can go either way, which is almost worst as the author won't even commit to it. Absolutely no hate to the author, but this knocks a point off my rating off the story.

Probably because this is Taya’s story, not Yuki’s.

Like mantis girl and Gashado-dad we only see the part of their lives that pertains to her.

 

[Thkk]

Second time. Mom aka 'The old hag' was probably the first. Bone daddy wouldn't marry just anyone.

“The world is changing, you need to learn to tolerate humans existing. Also, I’m getting married, try not to eat her.”

[Draws a spider on his head in protest]

 

[vannn]

Probably because this is Taya’s story, not Yuki’s.

Like mantis girl and Gashado-dad we only see the part of their lives that pertains to her.

...This does pertain to Taya? She killed a whole village, and presumably that soured their relationship, we should know more about why. That includes the inciting incident. Wasn't even the main point of what I wrote.

 

[OlgaRigoni]

Valid crashout. 13/10

 

[Kyuketsuki]

Beware the wrath borne from a gentle heart.
Do not confuse politeness with kindness.
Canadian Geneva Checklist Auditors.

 

[PhycoKrusk]

Could be the type of wood used. Bows and arrows have religious context in Shintoism which is why they’re the weapon of choice in a lot of yokai stories, so if it was made from sakaki wood (which is sacred, think the connotations of holly in the west) instead of yadake bamboo (which is the standard cheap and effective wood to make arrows out of) it would indicate professional monster killers or them treating her like a super dangerous demon instead of just plain soldiers or hunters reacting to a perceived minor threat.

There isn't any need to assume it's the type of wood anymore than there's a need to assume she slaughtered the entire village.

Taya has very keen senses, and that piece of wood was held by the person who used it. Without more information, the best assumption is that she has the scent of whoever used it, and killed only them.

 

[Amariithynar]

taya turn out into killing machine, make her to human slayer

I wonder if this is why the sanctions...

 

[Golliboy]

Taya is the storm that is approaching.

 

[Thkk]

...This does pertain to Taya? She killed a whole village, and presumably that soured their relationship, we should know more about why. That includes the inciting incident. Wasn't even the main point of what I wrote.

What I mean is that we don’t see any of Yuki’s experience in the village at all because all that matters to the story structure is Yuki’s encounters with Taya.
The main event that breaks that in the comic is when we saw skele-dad making a deal with the rabbit. Otherwise all supernaturals and humans exist solely as they pertain to our main couple, hence not knowing anyone’s backstory from fridge ghost to the cat.

Arguably not knowing exactly what happened is also important to show where Taya was at during this time, since Taya doesn’t know what happened either. They hurt her friend, so she immediately left to slaughter them all. She didn’t stick around to comfort Yuki or investigate and make a measured response, she went straight from witness to genocide immediately since she’s still in her “My purpose is eating humans” stage of life. She goes from warning not to go mess with humans to completely eradicating them, and yet she was going to leave the village alone had they not hurt Yuki showing that ‘dad who skele’d up’ is starting to teach her restraint.

I guess the moments we see of Haru’s bud and mantis girl or the parents chatting also break the structure, but those are more just short joke scenes rather than the actual meat of the story.

 

[NotSomeone]

This is what I hate about SA subplots. Yes you can depict sexual violence, (so don't @ me) but the way it's usually done is for cheap pathos or lazy character development.

We never see her interactions with the village, why they suddenly fly into a rape frenzy, and now they're all dead presumably, so it doesn't even matter now. It's all just a device so we feel sad, then mad, then righteous when Taya slays them.

Presumably, there were women and children there too, as well as those uninvolved, are they dead too? Are they now retroactively justified for attacking demons on sight for the indiscriminate slaughter? We can't answer this because a very intimate and intricate act of violence is crammed into two pages.



It's left ambiguous enough that it can go either way, which is almost worst as the author won't even commit to it. Absolutely no hate to the author, but this knocks a point off my rating off the story.

SHY does the same thing, many authors do.
They tackle heavy and delicated themes without the ability to develop them or give them merit.
From the abused's point of view, we don't develop how it all went down. I don't mean the act, but who did she trust? How did they treat her? Did they attack on sight? Did they trick her? That's important for us and the author to understand how her trauma would cristalize and affect her through her life.
From Taya's pov, we don't see nothing, did she kill the whole village or only those who were involved? Did she learn anything so far or was she corroborating the cycles of violence that are sprinkled through her life?

It lacks commentary, it lacks depth. It exists only for two reasons:
1 - Create an absolute evil Taya can kill so she can earn badass points with readers;
2 - Create a sad backstory for this specific character.

And that's a problem, because when you use these kinds of themes with so little judgement of how you are going to handle them you are being inherently disrespectful towards it.

 

[bornonamonday]

“The world is changing, you need to learn to tolerate humans existing. Also, I’m getting married, try not to eat her.”

[Draws a spider on his head in protest]

I'd love to see more of those days, no way was it easy for mom and dad.

 

[nathan67003]

We love a strong independent woman who defends the ones she loves.