No major surprises in Nurarihyon this week – just a continuation of the same well-paced, solid action that’s driven the second season so far.

We did get a return of the Kiyo Cross, though it’s been long enough that I suspect even the haters will be OK with it.  I like them well enough as long as they’re used in limited doses, as a counterpoint to the somewhat heavy tone of the main story – in the first season, the problem is that the reverse was true.  We also got a return of human Rikuo this week, albeit briefly, as he and his new allies made their way from Tono down to Tokyo and the Nura HQ.  Bonus fact – while Rikuo turns into a human during the day, Itaku turns into a weasel.

Rikuo’s thread actually gets only a small part of the episode this week, but it’s an important one.  Not only is there the matter of the Tono youkai integrating with Rikuo’s existing Night Parade (less Yuki-onna and Kurotabo, who have gone ahead to Kyoto to scout) but the matter of Grandpa Nurarihyon providing his benediction to Rikuo’s plans.  Which he does, although the whole thing seems rather rushed to me – one attack to test Rikuo’s new fear, then it’s all good – “Congrats, you’re ready, when you come back you can take over the Head of the clan.  And here’s a kewl CGI airship to help you in your quest!”

Things in Kyoto are considerably less stress-free.  Akifusa, Pato and Masatsugu have been overwhelmed at the third seal and the last thing Yura (now fully a badass, if a kawaii one) needs is the Kiyo Cross to look after.  Maki and Tori quickly gets themselves captured by Hannibal Lecter wannabes, but a fortunate chance meeting leads to a very cool joint rescue as Yura and Yuki-onna join their onmyouji and youkai powers to save them, and Yura takes the others back to the Keikain home base.  Methinks they’ll be less cooperative when Rikuo’s chastity is at stake, but the enemy of my enemy is my friends, as they say…

In fact, this “strange bedfellows” partnership of youkai and onmyouji is a major theme of this season.  Yuki-onna and Kurotabo certainly make note of it as they seek shelter at the Keikan compound, and it appears that we’re looking at a repeat of 400 years earlier in terms of alliances.  Yura has pretty much fully confessed her nature to the other Kiyo Cross members, and it seems only a matter of time – and not much – before Yuki-onna and Kurotabo do the same. 

And the Kiekain need all the help they can get.  Akifusa has either turned traitor or been taken over by Hagoromo-Gitsune, and Pato and Masatsugu have been joined to some sort of youkai gestalt being.  There are hints of bad blood between Akifusa and Ryuji, possibly over Yura being the true heir and the most powerful of her generation, so the implication for me is that this envy was a weakness in Akifusa that H-G and her minions preyed on to turn him.  With his help they’re quickly attacking the final seal and laying yet more onmyouji to waste, with only Yura and Ryuji standing between them and victory.  Rikuo and his allies can’t get to Kyoto soon enough.  Is that airship faster than the Shinkansen – faster even, God forbid, than the Nozomi?  As Grandpa Nurarihyon chose public transit when rushing home from Shikoku, I wonder.  It’s only about 3 hours from Shinagawa to Kyoto Eki on the Nozomi, and they have kawaii drink cart girls…