Miyoi is a fun character to follow. Bubbly and cute, Miyoi is basically a youkai Kosuzu in a less threatening setting. Despite this apparent meekness, she is shown to be smarter than she looks and has gotten the upper hand a few times against the Hakurei Shrine Maiden among others. More recent chapters do have her in a more backseat role however, which is a shame, but having the setting be in Geidontei does open up to different scenarios and world building situations for Gensokyo as a whole. Most of the stories involve her bar or alcohol being involved in some way, and it's fun to see how these themes are woven into the story of the week. Suika, Mamizou, and Aya are prominent secondary characters in this, and while I do tire seeing Mamizou and Aya involved in such a capacity again, it is nice to see an official work focusing more on Suika and how she relates to the world itself.
While every other Touhou manga depicts Reimu differently,( ie WaHH has her being loud and dumb, while FS has her as a serious authority figure), Lotus Eaters brings forward a part of Reimu's personality that is rarely seen. Her vulnerability. This is especially surprising since otherwise Reimu is basically ruthless and practically invincible, but here, you can really feel how powerless Reimu is against many situations. You can really see it in the incredible artwork, Reimu is drawn to be much more "soft" looking, or more "kinder", for lack of better terms. Thanks to Miyoi's power, even other powerful characters, Aya, Kanako for example, can succumb to horrific nightmares and these too, are depicted beautifully in the manga.
You won't be finding a grand narrative or an engaging storyline with this, but that's not the point of Lotus Eaters. Like Geidontei itself, it's a (relatively) laid back piece to enjoy some fun low-stakes chapters where the intensity is dialed down with some good company. Just don't overdrink or you'll be cursed with nightmares.
10/10
