"Fushigi" Toriatsukaimasu: Tsukumodou Kottouten

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“Antiques: extraordinary items crafted by ancestors or magicians and blessed with supernatural powers.”

Story:
Tsukumodo’s story revolves around the daily activities of the Tsukumodo Antique Shop (Fake). The main cast is Settsu, the shop owner and the shop’s only two employees Tokiya and Saki. Each volume of Tsukumodo consists of 4 chapters which are short stories; they are mostly about how ordinary people get their hands on the antiques and are swallowed by the antique’s power. The goal of the trio from Tsukumodo is to retrieve the antiques and reduce the chaos done.

What made Tsukumodo Antique Shop a unique experience:
1) I fairly enjoyed reading Tsukumodo ... as short stories. The “antagonists” in each chapter has their charms and are quite memorable; they are not always twisted or insane like the typical villans we see everyday. They think logically like normal people, some of them pursues the antique’s powers in order to bring happiness to the people they care about, which I think is rather touching. The antiques themselves are also creative; it varies from a pendant that could manipulate fate itself, to a wallet that gives the owner inconvenience. There are even some battles involving antiques later on that are pretty intense.

2) The author dedicates every 4th chapters in the first five volumes of the light novels to write stories that focus on Tokiya and Saki. Though they seem like fillers, these chapters give the two a great degree of character development. Also, a number of foreshadowing is planted in these chapters, which has effects on the main plot. I really enjoyed those chapters; the interactions between Tokiya and Saki are fun to read.

3) The switching of character's perspectives from time to time is also a unique concept. In most light novels, we are only given the chance to be in the protagonist’s perspective. Tsukumodo switches from Tokiya perspective from time to time, sometimes to the “antagonist” or even Saki’s perspective. This is beneficial to Saki, as she is an emotionless character; we get to understand her true feelings towards Tokiya.

Characters:
From chapter 1 onwards, we are thrown into the situation immediately and never get to know why Tokiya and Saki work at Tsukumodo. It is not until the main plot kicks in and the truth between the twos relationship is revealed.

Tokiya is the protagonist of the story; he has an artificial eye antique called “Vision” which allows him to predict death. He is a quick thinker as he deals with the out of control antique situations constantly. He has special feeling towards Saki. Saki on the other hand is a complicated character. By appearance, she is an emotionless character filled with mysteries. I loved the parts when her past was revealed, explaining why she developed the emotionless personality. Not only does it make sense, it was extremely emotional and I sympathized for what she went through.

Overall:
After reading the first 6 volumes, I saw Tsukumodo Antique Shop as a collection of high quality short stories filled with twist and turns and memorable characters. I never would have guessed how the last volume brought the story to a whole new level. Volume 7 has intense battles, unexpected plot twists, deep emotional scenes. Once I started reading I could not put it down before I finished it. It is really satisfying to see the short stories are all connected to the main plot in one way or the other. All in all, Tsukumodo is a well thought out mystery story.

Tsukumodo is a series that leverages format as a light novel very well, but its quality rivals any other book. The story follows a small, well-written cast as they become involved with various "relics" that distort those who've acquired them. The characters' interactions are fresh and entertaining, working well with the medium, and it's hard not to love them.

The first 4-5 volumes are mostly episodic, introducing new relics in short stories that gradually build up over time. Each one is executed surprisingly well, and the author makes good use of changing perspectives as well as foreshadowing to create compelling mysteries and challenges. Some are based ... on clichés or tropes but I never found myself complaining as there was always some new spin. These volumes use their final chapter as a more light-hearted way to build up the relationship between the main couple, which are quite enjoyable and relevant later.

The final few volumes bring the whole story together, and I was surprised at how well previous plot points were tied into the ending and the characters' motivations. These eschew the established format for more linear and serious storytelling. The action and pathos are intensely gripping, and the story unpredictable while still making sense in the context of previous events and with big reveals. I read through the last 3 books in one sitting and this is probably my favourite LN.