The Many Mysteries of MAO

By Harley Acres

One of the the thrills of Rumiko Takahashi's 2019 series, MAO, is the mysteries hidden within. In preparation for writing the series Takahashi stated that she read all of Agatha Christie's works to better understand how a mystery manga should be structured. ^[1] Even more thrilling is the fact that she has made it a point to give the readers clues to truly allow them to reveal the puzzle if they look closely enough.

Needless to say this article contains spoilers, educated guesses and conjecture about the story of MAO.

Who is the Goko Master?

At first glance the identity of the Goko clan's lead onmyoji may seem trivial. He is revealed only in flashback and is shown to have died almost as soon as he is introduced. However as the story unfolds he is revealed to have been more and more important to the historical plot before his death. He manipulates Mao and sets his fellow onmyodo practictioners against the unassuming young man. He promises his daughter, Sana, to Mao with the full intention that Mao will die as a target for the true heir. As of the time of this writing in 2022 the stories that will comprise volume 14 are being written and the mystery of what he had in his hand when he was killed has taken precidence as the major mystery surrounding the master.

However, in volume 4 upon the introduction of Kamon, Mao pointedly asks his former Goko clan member, "Kamon! How are you still alive?" Kamon turns and says, "I'd like to know the answer to that myself." ^[2] A few chapters later the story begins to unfold with the incorporation of the historical legend of Taizanfukuin, the legendary technique named after the Chinese god capable of granting immortality.

The panel shows the real-life historical figure Abe no Seimei (安倍 晴明) lecturing about the Taizanfukuin technique. This story element is related to the reader via Shiraha who is telling Nanoka about the technique. To the reader this likely seems like simple historical context and not necessarily a clue to the larger story. We only see Abe no Seimei from the rear and at a glance he may not seem particularly significant. Shiraha also tells us that the real Abe no Seimei lived during the 10th century (the Heian period). Once more this seems like simple historical information provided to the reader for context.

However a closer interpretation tells us that the 10th century is when the early portion of MAO takes place and though the depiction of Abe no Seimei is simple and hidden, he could also be said to resemble the master of the Goko clan. Shiraha informs Nanoka that Abe no Seimei asked a desciple if they would trade their life for that of their master and as a reward extended both the master and the desciples lives. It seems then that this may be the answer to Kamon's question, "How am I still alive?" Perhaps everyone that was in the five-sided temple was unknowingly subjected to this life-extending trade that could also have granted the Goko master a longer life. Though he seemed to die in the manga, we have seen Hyakka die many times and return to life as it seems only the immortals can permanently kill one another. It is possible then that the Goko Master (Abe no Seimei?) faked his death and still lives in secret. Perhaps by having Shiraha tell Nanoka (and the readers) about Abe no Seimei Takahashi intentionally avoided having the name being brought up in front of one of the history characters who would simply have said, "Oh, Abe no Seimei was the master of the Goko Clan. How did you know our master's name, Nanoka?"

The Missing Hand

One mystery that has already been solved is the search for the missing right hand that Natsuno was tasked with finding. However this mystery is worth mentioning to help the reader understand the rules that Takahashi is playing by. She has shown readers visual clues, small details that are not lingered upon but are there for sharp eye viewers to find upon multiple readings. In other words she "plays by the rules" of a good mystery, offering the reader clues and solutions to the puzzles that are suggested. ^[3]



Daigo's missing hand is not commented on and is very easy to look past given that it is a small detail on a single panel in chapter 62. In fact it was not for another twenty weeks that the reader was even clued in that a right hand would be important to the storyline. In chapter 83 Natsuno reveals that she is searching for individual body parts for a reason that even she is not know. It is then that she mentions she is searching for a missing hand.

This particular mystery is then confirmed in chapter 118 when Daigo's corpse is found, his hand is missing and its reattachment brings him back to life. Again, this proves to the readers that Rumiko Takahashi will give us the clues, the mystery and the answers (perhaps out of order and with long gaps of time to obscure the path) so that we can solve the mysteries before she reveals the answers to us. Over the course of a little over a year in real time we are given the solution, then the question and finally the answer.

Strange Faces Are Ayakashi?

An exciting element of the series is that Rumiko Takahashi is not afraid to lead the readers astray at times. Initially it seemed that all "odd faces" might be indicative that a person is actually an ayakashi, a supernatural animal creature in disguise. Pointed ears and usual faces were revealed again and again as ayakashi who were living among humans secretly until suddenly some odd people came and went and seemed to have been nothing more than mere humans afterall. Additionally some very ordinary folk wound up revealing that they were actually ayakashi as well with no tell-tale hints of their identity beforehand. These red herrings make the mystery even more fun.



In the image to the left Takahashi introduces eccentric faces that clue the reader into the fact that these characters are actually animals masquerading as humans. In the case of this random sampling the two characters on the right are both humans. Despite their pointed ears and odd appearances they were never revealed to be the animals that populate the world of MAO. Tenko, the very normal looking character in the upper left, was revealed early on to be one of these hidden creatures. Takahashi has allowed the reader to begin to understand unwritten rules only to subvert our expectations when it serves to heighten the story.

May 31, 2022

Souls, Hearts, Faces

Today chapter 142 was published and reveals a number of smaller mysteries that had been introduced earlier in the story. In this chapter Yurako reveals that the reason she resembles Sana is not because she stole her face, but because she is her identical twin sister (which also makes her the daughter of the Goko Master). The unstated implication is that Sana and Yurako's abilities cancel one another out. Yurako was kept in a cavern to generate curses and send them into the world on behalf of the Goko Clan, while Sana, unconsciously, was used to counter incoming curses that were sent at the clan. This concept of Sana/Yurako cancelling one another is likely why Yurako needed to return to Sana's heart to remove her disfigurement which was stated to be caused by her own malice (邪気/jaki).



Additionally the question of the ball of light that that was first introduced in chapter 122 is clarified in this chapter. Yurako makes clear that the ball of light was a soul and heavily implies that it was Daigo's soul (which was clutched in the Goko Master's hand when he died). Sana found the soul, realized what it was, and wanted to die in order to be with Daigo. All of this is more or less made clear in Chapter 142.

The exciting element that the "ball of light" is indeed a soul (Daigo's soul specifically) and was in the possession of the Goko Master can potentially help the readers understand a few other elements.

• How Daigo is able to come back to life.
• Why Daigo does not seem to be fully functional (he is missing his soul).

The most exciting element however is that this concept of soul removal was not suddenly introduced into the story in today's chapter. Like many of the mysteries it was subtly referenced and introduced in an earlier chapter. In chapter 63 Mao and Kamon perform a ritual that they call "soul removal" as a method of tracing the lumps of hair they found in the sea back to Masago.

A further implication is the nature of Natsuno. We see that Daigo is likely a body without a soul- perhaps Natsuno is a soul without a human body. In chapter 116 Natsuno is injured and Nanoka observes that her face seems to be made of earth rather than flesh given the way it cracks when damaged. A short time later Natsuno's face is fully restored, much faster than a normal person could have healed Nanoka points out in chapter 120. If this is the case, then Natsuno's body would work much the same way as Kikyo's in Takahashi's Inuyasha.

October 27, 2022

The Nature of Natsuno and Her Fate

This week chapter 161 confirmed a good deal more about Natsuno. When I wrote back in May that it seemed that Natsuno might not have a soul, similar to Daigo's circumstances, but that was not quite right. Instead, after she is seemingly fatally wounded by Soma, both Mao and Nanoka realize her body is made of earth and Otoya points out that she is a shikigami, like he is.

Obviously she was a normal human at some point in the past, but it seems likely she was never truly "healed" by the earth golem (likely Daigo's disembodied soul) back in chapter 80, but instead had her soul or consciousness removed and placed into a new, healthy, earthen vessel that has had to be replenished over the centuries. We even had a bit of simple misdirection in chapter 151 when Nanoka tells Mao that "surely Daigo is not the one who is directing Natsuno" given how comatose he seemed when they saw him. Daigo's body is comatose, but his missing soul certainly isn't. What they did not realize in chapter 151 is what they establish in chapter 161- the commands she receives are not the orders of a boss, or a headman, but of a master directing his shikigami. And just as Takahashi had given us implied clues as to how to detect an ayakashi (unnatural features) and then broken those rules with some other peculiar character designs that were entirely human, she does the same with Natsuno. So far, all shikigami have had large, saucer-like eyes with no pupils, leading us to believe that was how all shikigami would look. We, like Mao, Kamon and Hyakka, would never suspect what Natsuno had become.



This bit is all quite straightforward thanks to the new information we've ascertained in chapter 161. However the interesting supposition can now be drawn from what we just learned in the lengthy story of Hazuki, Sue and the history of the Otori clan. In chapter 153 we are introduced to a captive bird-like shikigami that we assume belongs to Sue. A few chapters later we realize that the creature is kept captive because it is trying to kill Sue. It is a shikigami summoned by the former princess of the Otori clan who died 50 years ago. In chapter 156 Otoya points out that a shikigami typically cannot exist after the death of its master, however the firebird shikigami must have been given a command that it had to fulfill before it could expire. Nanoka is saddened to think that Otoya will die when Mao's time comes, but Otoya points out that sometimes a shikigami can be handed over to another master.

I believe this story likely has very significant implications for Natsuno's future. I suggest:

1. Natsuno's "master" (Daigo) is not dead (technically) so that bit does not apply to her.
2. However, I do think Daigo will die (fully) at some point in the future (as Sana, his lover, is already dead and he has no reason to live) and this will imperil Natsuno's continued existance. On the surface there is no other earth-user to inherit Daigo's shikigami, Natsuno, meaning that she will die with him.
3. By this point in the story, Nanoka's earthen-skills which she has been practicing since chapter 31 will be fully developed enough for her to inherit Natsuno as her shikigami, ensuring that she can live on.

Cleverly, Rumiko Takahashi hid a major plot point about Natsuno's future inside of a side story that mostly seemed to relate to Hyakka's past.

May 24, 2023

Female Friendship or Influence of Souls?

This week saw the publication of chapter 188 a storyline that is nominally about Nanoka slowly proving herself, developing her skills as a novice onmyoji and developing her use of Akanemaru. However the storyline concluded with an important confession from Mao to Natsuno that he cared a great deal for Nanoka. Perhaps equally fascinating was Natsuno's response that she hoped to train Nanoka exactly because Mao cares for her, and that she too cares for the girl from the future.

Natsuno is one of the most mysterious characters in the series, and the rest of the cast often discusses her difficult to discern motivations. They recently realized her quest to collect body parts had come to an end have openly wondered why she is joining them in their investigations after satisfying her primary motivation. In chapter 182 and chapter 183 we learn from Byoki that Natsuno's life was extended using the ayakashi that had been absorbed by the Goko Master after he was killed. This firmly establishes that he is indeed dead (bodily at least, perhaps his soul is another matter). However, after Natsuno is gravely wounded another surprising revelation is made.



When Natsuno opens her eyes, they are the same brilliant blue as Daigo's. Byoki suspects that Daigo's soul now lives within Natsuno and the cat believes that killing her will liberate Daigo's soul in order to reanimate Daigo's body. Byoki, at this point, does not realize that Daigo is once again semi-dead at the behest of Hakubi. Hakubi, however, was careful not to do the deed himself, ordering the mortal Soma to decapitate Daigo to ensure that he would not die permanently. Hakubi is one of the only immortals that fully understands that any damage inflicted on them is impermanent as long as it is meted out by a non-immortal.

I previously posited in October that Nanoka would claim Natsuno as her shikigami. This new development seems to make that unlikely. Natsuno is not a shikigami, though she is not an immortal in the same sense of the others, her body is earthen, not flesh and blood. Dylan and I were discussing Natsuno's desire to help Nanoka. He stated it is a wholesome showing of female friendship and while that is true, I think there is a deeper meaning behind it. I think that Daigo's soul is indeed within Natsuno (hence her eyes becoming like Daigo's briefly) and her desires to help Mao are influenced by Daigo's wishes. She confirms that she has his memories, having thought that she was among those chosen to be in the five-colored chapel due to misremembering Daigo's memories as her own. My interpretation is that Natsuno wishes to help Nanoka because Mao admitted that he cares for her. Consequently Daigo's soul within Natsuno would want to help Mao protect this newfound happiness.

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Footnotes

• [1] Takahashi, Rumiko. Twitter Post. June 4, 2021, 4:00 AM. https://twitter.com/rumicworld1010/status/ 1400754206647128064.
• [2] Takahashi, Rumiko. "The Name of the Man." MAO, Volume 4 Chapter 29, 14-15. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2020. https://www.furinkan.com/mao/manga/04.html#29.
• [3] Ue, Olivia Chan Yuen. "Reading MAO with Agatha Christie’s Rules & Criticism of Shogakukan’s Marketing Strategies." Rumic World. June 29, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://www.furinkan.com/features/articles/ yuenue.html.

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For more discourse on MAO please check out the two articles by Olivia Chan Yuen Yue where she discusses Rumiko Takahashi and Agatha Christie and her article about Grandpa Kiba.