Three stories glued together of wildly different styles. Not just obviously in art style, but in writing style and mood. From the primer, it feels like these are supposed to be connected. Bird Up, as it were. Yet I come away feeling like I missed something. One story has the silly setup of a couple by an overeager fairy. Another is an origin story within a story. And the last is a meandering tale of from lips of a rather egotistical storyteller. They all describe a meeting, in some way or another, but beyond that I am scratching my head. The author asks us to avoid external research and search within for meaning, but the heron story in particular makes me feel like I need to dive into some lore to understand it. Does the melon princess have something to do with Sagume? Are we supposed to be sympathetic to Seija during the reunion after such a brutal murder? Why is Sumireko used as the vessel to tell the tale?
The other two stories are far more straightforward. Pure stories of acceptance and love. The art helps significantly throughout. The style shifts match the mood swings the narratives go through. The music provides great ambience for some smooth reading. It is actually strange hearing Okuu's normally hype, high energy theme brought down to a soothing tune. These stories are worth the read, but I will remain wondering if there is supposed to be something more to stitch the comedy, romance, and near-horror vibes each bring out together.