With David becoming a Henchman for Malifaux, I decided to dip my toes into the waters with a boxset. Reading this blog, you’ll know I love anything Japanese; so Kirai was the natural choice. Though I do admit that I came very close to getting the Dr McMourning set.
While the game itself isn’t as explosive as WM/H (imo), I do love the models and the fact that they have taken inspiration from real life. Take Kirai for instance, it’s my belief that she is based on the Kuchisake-Onna or Slit Mouthed Woman myth. From my days of playing Legend of the 5 Rings, I know Datsue-ba; the clothes stealing blind hag. Ikiryo aren’t just your standard ghosts, they are ghostly manifestations of a living person. So the person isn’t actually dead, but they are able to project part of their essence out of the body. They say Hell Hath no Fury like a Woman Scorned, well that is essentially what the Onryo are. Vengeful ghosts, mostly of women; who have been neglected or wronged in some way. Given the ‘darker’ side of the other models, the Seishin is a little more difficult; as traditionally there are very few evil dragons. Seishin, in Japanese is Spiritual Guide/Way, so perhaps they were trying to give it a Japanese look. What better guide than a dragon, which is considered lucky in most of the Asian cultures.
I’m looking forward to trying them out on Saturday, though they won’t get a lick of paint for a while now.
