This was actually a pretty wonderful episode of Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou, but the headline has to be the arrival of Dr. Fujiyuki – a new and seemingly minor character who turns up towards the end of the episode.  Why?  Because he’s played by the irreplaceable Fujiwara Keiji, and unless I missed one this is Fujiwara-san’s first appearance since taking more than a year off due to illness.  It’s absolutely great to hear his voice again – Fujiwara is one of anime’s unique and instantly recognizable seiyuu, and he’s been missed.

If indeed this was Fujiwara’s return he picked a fitting moment, because this was a very thoughtful and reflective little story even by Youkai Apato’s standards.  As usual with the better episodes this one took place at the Kotobuki-so rather than at school (mostly) and focused more on abstract ideas than traditional plot.  It’s not too often we can use the word “philosophical” to describe anime, but this show definitely fits the bill – its primary focus is life’s big questions, and the way sentient beings go about searching for answers to them.  Spirituality is a big part of it, but even without the Shinto and Buddhist elements Youkai Apato would still be a highly reflective series.

I’ve also come to understand that a unique element of this series is that its primary focus is on the old teaching the young how to live.  That may sound simple and straightforward, but you very rarely see it put in place so openly as it is with Youkai Apato.  Adolescents in anime either tend to act like adults (usually in broad and superficial ways, like being the shock troops in warfare or saving the world) or oversized children.  In truth they’re neither adults or children, and both – and this series recognizes that.  Yuushi is a sponge, absorbing the gentle wisdom of those around him (some, like Akine, not much older than he is but most – like Isshiki-san – immeasurably older).  And for all the varied lessons they teach him, one we see repeat itself over and over – perspective means everything.

Another distinguishing feature of Youkai Apato is that it isn’t afraid to be extremely melancholy, to confront the darkness in existence head-on.  Again, you don’t see anime take on a subject like a derelict hospital where abandoned elderly go to die (indeed, no one leaves alive once admitted), much less spin it as something uplifting.  But that’s what we have here, and it’s the place where Akine is undergoing her training (in part under Fujiyuki-sensei’s tutelage).  Its patients are a mix of human and non-human, the former being old people with no one to turn to and nowhere else to go.  Nothing could be more Buddhist than to give comfort to the dying so that they can leave this existence at peace, all the more so if their lives have been dominated by suffering.

The backdrop for all this is the full moon, a symbol of great magical power across nearly all belief systems, and a moon viewing part at Kotobuki-so.  This is another of those Japanese traditions so old its origins are unknown, with the myriad rituals that go with it – the pounding of mochi for dumplings, the consumption of foods like Noppe.  The moon viewing is held next to the bath, and Akine and the other staff drive up in vans with patients from the hospital (I’m with Yuushi – there’s just no point in asking).  This is a scene of quiet sadness and grace, as the lonely and dying spend their final moments enjoying something peaceful and beautiful before being liberated from the sufferings of the flesh.  The ability to capture both sides of the emotional coin in situations like this is one of the things that makes this series special, and there’s enough mystery in the air in Japan to make you believe such things might actually happen.