I seriously lost interest in Temple of Dawn. The main character became too pathetic without any interesting insights to draw from his development. It just became a story about a sad pervert and the reincarnation piece became repetitive.

Because imho it is... Or rather, I thought Decay of the Angel was a seriously weak volume. Spring Snow and Runaway Horses are stone-cold masterpieces, and Temple of Dawn as well. Then, just like the Minnesota Vikings, Mishima's dick got limp in the stretch. Although the actual ending of the ending, that final chapter of Decay of the Angel... that was enough to make me forgive the preceding garbage. Sugoi...