Annoying recap ep over with, the second cour of Nurarihyon no Mago begins and we continue what appears to be the major arc of the anime version, the coming war with the Seven Shadow Travelers clan.

Grandpa is still missing this week – off to wherever he headed when he ditched Yura in episode 12. Is he simply giving Rikuo a chance to shine, or does he have a greater plan up his sleeve? Meanwhile, the invading clan is getting more bold, terrorizing both Nura’s demons and the local humans as well. The clan is getting restless, led by the troublemaker Hitotsume. The slain Hihi’s son Shoei comes to the mansion, trumpeting his plans for vengance as Hitotsume spurs him on, but Rikuo appears and pleads for calm. He asserts his control over the clan and pledges unity and resistance. He appears to have won the day, but just at that moment one of the Seven Shadow Travelers – the tongue youkai – attacks the mansion itself, the heart of the Nura clan.

That was an interesting episode, rather grim in tone. There was a flashback scene for Rikuo that made little sense to anime-only viewers like me, but was apparently much trumpeted among the manga readers. Clearly the Seven Shadow Travelers enjoy cruelty just for the fun of it, and their only motive is conquest of the Nura territory, which makes them an order of magnitude different from the other villains thus far. Rikuo – troubling flashback aside – seems to have cast aside his doubts about his responsibility to lead the clan for now, but he’s faced with a stern test. This was mostly an action and politics-driven ep so we didn’t see much of Kana or the Supernatural Squad, and Yura had a relatively minor role.

With this new cour comes a new OP and ED. I enjoyed the visuals on the new EP but didn’t think much of the folksy song. The ED was another interesting chibi styled number sung by the three female leads, but the animation was kind of creepy with this one. I was a big fan of the first OP and especially ED, so these feel like a step down, but maybe I’ll get used to them.