Forwarded from 07th Expansion News (Higurashi|Umineko|Ciconia)

Пришёл я к вам, значит, похвастаться плюшей Хигамбаны из «Ночь, когда цветёт ликорис».

Работа делалась на заказ и перетерпела немало временных и творческих рамок. Казалось, что сами потусторонние силы вмешались в воссоздание лучшей девочки 07th Expansion. И всё же вот она — перед нами!

Лично мне нравятся детали: оборка платья, бантик, рукава, пуговки, подарок в виде ушек и... кружева на чулочках, которые вы можете рассмотреть, перейдя на канал мастера этой работы. Безмерно радуюсь готовому результату. Бесконечно ожидаю новую «ночь» оригинального произведения.

Напомню, что Рюкиси07 заикался о продолжении «Ликориса», правда, было это во время написания Rose Guns Days. Но мы потерпим.

#higanbana #ryukishi07

src: https://t.me/HigurashiUminekoA/5425

[ #art | #Higanbana ]

They Cry Again | Источник

src: https://t.me/HigurashiUminekoA/5381

[ #art | #Higanbana | #Moriya ]

They Cry Again | Источник

src: https://t.me/HigurashiUminekoA/5020

More higanbana, red spider lilies and a few white as well.

#japan #BloomScrolling #higanbana

Sundrowned – Higanbana Review

By Killjoy

2013 wasn’t that long ago, was it? Yet it seems that Deafheaven’s opus, Sunbather, didn’t need long to become enough of a genre classic to inspire countless groups in pursuit of a paradoxically harsh yet dreamy musical experience. It was more than likely the inspiration for the name Sundrowned, a relatively new post-black band from Haugesund, Norway. Their debut album, Become Ethereal, didn’t make much of an impression on El Cuervo in 2021 and now it’s my turn for some solar exposure in the form of Higanbana.1 Has Sundrowned set out with a life preserver this time or is this another cautionary tale about the hidden hazards of Sunbathing?

As it turns out, Sundrowned sounds more like a distant relative of Sunbather rather than a direct heir. While there is a faint resemblance to Deafheaven’s softer side, most of the aggression has been watered down or stripped out completely. Though billed as post-black, what remains is post-metal of the sparkly variety like unto Asthénie. The hazy shoegaze of Become Ethereal still appears in the form of distorted walls of sound during the heavier parts. The increased emphasis on post-metal is a good thing for Higanbana, giving it a more defined shape and structure which suits the deep, growling vocal style better than the meandering, gazey Become Ethereal.

Yet, despite marginal improvements, many of Sundrowned’s prior deficiencies persist into Higanbana. For the most part, they have not fixed the problem of aimlessly drifting to and fro. “Ilex” is the exception to this, with a buildup that feels smooth and purposeful thanks in large part to G.L. Innocent’s dynamic drum performance. Furthermore, post-metal and shoegaze are genres that live or die by their emotional resonance, and Higanbana falls short in this crucial area. Though the instrumentation is highly pleasant, it doesn’t compensate for the vocals. The passionless growls feel almost obligatory, as if only there to prove Sundrowned’s metal pedigree. Admittedly, at times Higanbana has been a soothing balm to my mind after work. Nevertheless, it’s essentially the sonic equivalent of Jell-O—sweet but not substantial or filling.

Also like Jell-O, it’s mostly homogeneous. Whether you like the first track, “Barren,” is a good indicator of whether you should continue consuming, as the menu doesn’t change much. With the exception of the aforementioned “Ilex,” I still cannot differentiate between the songs without checking. The vocals are the biggest culprit, with very little variance in pitch or intensity in the croaking delivery. As for the compositions, the chunkier bits are the least enticing or memorable (again, as with Jell-O). Where Sundrowned shines is in the serene sections, but these tend to be interrupted, seemingly at random, by fuzzy walls of sound that come out of nowhere (“Wisteria,” “Barren”). Another way to think of Higanbana is the jellyfish scene from Finding Nemo—the surroundings are captivating at first but make it nigh impossible to orient oneself.

Try as I might, I can’t see how Higanbana was designed to be anything but background music. Nearly everything about it seems intent to reward passive listens and punish attentive ones. Though it is a marked improvement from the debut, it will likely only work for those looking for a relaxing audio adornment. Higanbana probably would have fared better with more songs in the vein of “Ilex.” As things stand, Sundrowned is not the spiritual successor to the legendary Sunbather that I was hoping for.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Fysisk Format
Websites: sundrownedband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/SundrownedBand
Releases Worldwide: September 26th, 2025

#20 #2025 #Asthénie #Deafheaven #FysiskFormat #Higanbana #NorwegianMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Sep25 #Shoegaze #Sundrowned

🙏'FLOWERS OF THE DEAD'😰

From early autumn vivid clusters of flowers begin to frequently appear beside the roads, rice fields and waterways of Kyōto.

In Japan spider lilies (particularly the red variety) are known as 'higanbana' (彼岸花), as they bloom around the fall equinox.

#higanbana #彼岸花 #Japan

Is that... a cool breeze? A day below 25°C!?

Higanbana (red spider lily) are out, crickets have replaced the cicadas, summer heat finally ending...  

#japan #BloomScrolling #higanbana

飼い主とじゃれる愛猫の爪がまるで「彼岸花」のよう⇒「これは攻撃力高そう」「うちの子も…」と話題
https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/entry/story_jp_685a436ee4b0c75437065c1d

#huffingtonpost #LIFE #ネットで話題 #猫 #ペット #彼岸花 #爪 #nettodewadai #neko #petto #higanbana #tsume

There is a scene in the novel "Higanbana Ga Saku Shima" by Li Kotomi where Umi, a girl of about 15 who was washed up on the shore of the eponymous "Island", is taught to write kanji by her same-age friend Yona:

"""
With a black pen, Yona showed Umi how to write a character stroke by stroke. One of those deep black, square "Island" characters that Umi could not read. It started with a dot, dot, then a horizontal line drawn from left to right, from there a short sweeping stroke to the left, then again a horizontal line and another one, and finally a vertical line with a again small upward turn at the bottom. Just by piling up dots, lines, sweeps and little hooks, a complete character was created. Umi scrutinised it curiously. "This is the 'U' in 'Umi'," Yona said. "Let's see if you can write it!"
"""

The character in question is 宇. Earlier in the novel, Yona had given Umi her name and she had wanted to write it as 霧実 but she changed it to 宇実 as it was simpler.

I love this scene as it takes me back to when I first started to learn kanji. I never learned to write them properly by hand though.

#JapaneseLiterature
#Japanese
#Higanbana
#LiKotomi