Finished Houshin Engi. Yes, it does wander off into the wilderness, complete with characters dropped in out of nowhere. I suppose it's all in the manga. I still feel a bit bilious after it, though, for no particular reason.

Finished also the latest volume (13) of Night Roaming Demons. This one is good good good. And creepy. And as chance would have it I kept starting a new story every night around midnight which is not recommended. Also twisty in her classic way of Ohhkay let's go read the whole thing again now that I know what we're talking about. The subjectless Japanese sentence makes this kind of misdirection far too easy, the way Italian makes terza rima almost inevitable. English speakers can only weep when dealing with either.

The afterword tells how Ima Ichiko missed the first deadline of her life, is why the last story is told in two parts (I think- it's late and I only had five hours' sleep last night.) I like it-- continuity between her stories is a rare thing but welcome. It certainly feels like this one will get carried on in the next volume. So here's to the next volume. Strange Tales for Sleepless Nights is not only the neatest imprint name ever, it publishes Rainy Willow and an interesting-looking Seimei manga as well. I'd like to peruse that section of a Japanese bookstore some time.