When it comes to getting a raw deal Rinne may not be in a class by himself, but it sure doesn’t take long to call the roll.

I apologize to Rinne-sama, but it’s going to be a short one this week – I’m swamped and desperately behind schedule.  I feel especially bad because let’s face it, this kid has been dealt a seriously raw deal in life.  The degree to which Sabato-san can screw up his son’s life seems to know no bounds.  Piling up a mountain of debt with forged seals isn’t bad enough – Rinne has to deal with his father’s Karmic debts, too.

Kain the Shirushigami (Soma Saitou) is only the latest in a line of those whose lives were fucked up by Sabato, who takes it out on Rinne.  Rinne conned Kain’s mother out of her money – in fact he still sends her “love letters” every month asking for more – and Kain decides to extract his pound of flesh from the son (since he can’t find the father).  That means stealing Rinne’s Robe of the Afterlife and much more importantly, his “Life Flame” – effectively, his lifespan.  And it’s up to Mamiya Sakura to get it back, with the usual suspects in tow.

Some of my favorite comedic moments of the episode: the Narrator remarking of Ageha that “To whose who can see here, she’s annoying as hell.”  Rokumon-chan proudly arriving to show Rinne a bag of bread crusts, only to see his lifeless body and assume Mamiya Sakura, Agera and Tsubasa (OK, I could almost believe that one) killed him.  And the “tick/mite” pun – though I know that was the work of a clever Crunchyroll translator rather than Rumiko herself…