Quick Primer on the Newest Danmei License: Panguan
Last night at AnimeNYC, Seven Seas announced their newest Danmei license Panguan by Mu Su Li. I had the pleasure of not only being in the audience but chatting with the once-and-future English translator, Yan. I wanted to take a few minutes to share my quick thoughts on this book, for those who are hearing about it for the first time. No spoilers, I promise.
I only recently read Panguan myself, after a recommendation from a friend. I’m so glad I picked it up, though. It’s a beautiful story. There is ample romance, with some of my favorite elements, especially an exquisite amount of pining. The story mostly takes place in modern times, but with flashbacks to 1000 years previously so there’s plenty of opportunity to appreciate these long-haired men in flowing robes.
There’s also a lot of action, a dose of horror (although I’m generally a horror lightweight and this never approached my threshold, as the main characters know how to deal with it all without any concern), cultivation, and a very cool form of magic known as puppetry.
The main characters are cultivators who help ghosts who are stuck in the mortal world to release their worldly attachments and pass on to their next time. Given this premise, it should be no surprise that the story revolves around the nature of life, death, attachments to the mortal world, and what it means to be parted or reunited with your loved ones. While it clearly draws from a lot of Buddhist philosophy, I don’t think this book requires a lot of pre-established knowledge of Buddhism to appreciate. Instead, I think this book will resonate with anyone who has loved someone–whether family, friends, or a romantic partner.
This isn’t a traditional review so I won’t get into star ratings or break down the aspects more than this, and I’ll prioritize writing a proper review later. But in light of the license news, I wanted to share some of the highlights. And luckily, my Chinese special edition of Panguan arrived just yesterday so I also get to share some of that beautiful art. Just gawk with me for a moment over the beauty of these two volumes, with the cover designed by the author Mu Su Li herself!
The fan translation by TinySalt is absolutely superb, and I was so excited to learn that the translator Yan will be involved in the official translation as well with XiA. If you manage to see this while the fan translation is still up, though, don’t hesitate to read it that way–you won’t be disappointed. But make sure to buy the official licensed books when they come out too, in order to support the author, the publisher, and the translator all around. Hope you enjoy!
