Let the record show that I do not throw this statement around willy or nilly: priest's "Guardian" reminds me of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. They're not the same kind of story, but the blocks of their foundation were mined in the same quarry, you know? I apparently love these narratives built on folklore and religion from cultures that are modernly, socially atheist. I don't know if I find them particularly fascinating because they're simply not the stories I grew up with or if it's that European Christian colonialism has resulted in what can feel like a melting pot gumbo of 'fairy taleish' things that in the 21st century are just another piece of pop culture.
No we will not be content with "I just think it's neat". These are the dark consequences of a liberal arts' education.
"Guardian" is really enjoyable even if the mystery elements are not so mysterious to the reader. Zhao Yunlan is a delightful trashman of a detective/cop/intermediate between Heaven and Hell, smoking and drinking and living in his own filth, in addition to being the first danmei protagonist who knows that bisexuality exists. I appreciate his honest horniness. There seems to be a fairly equal push and pull, saviour and savee dynamic between him and his love interest Shen Wei and even the small acknowledgement of 'oh shit maybe this dude is in the closet' and the attempt to dial things back when Shen Wei seems to declare his lack of interest. Zhao Yunlan isn't a disaster bisexual without social awareness.
I hope going forward we get to see more of Zhao Yunlan's squad. So far there are two standouts. The first is the talking fat immortal black cat, Da Qing, who is a talking fat immortal black cat and. Look. One of the most important characters is a black cat who talks and he is immortal and fat and bosses Zhao Yunlan around and makes him microwave tiny sausages and milk. The second is the first character you meet, Guo Changcheng, a normie nepotism hire who is naïve and absurdly goodhearted and afraid of everything, including and especially social interaction, but seems to be finding that his fear of talking to people and his fear of ghosts are slowly cancelling each other out and maybe it's not that hard to talk to ghosts.
Trashman and talking cat investigate ghost crime is a good time, guys.
