It’s almost an inevitability that any slice-of-life series, no matter much of a feel-good experience it is, will eventually get a little serious in its final arc.  And they don’t get much more feel-good than Miira no Kaikata, which wraps you in a comfy blanket of good feeling and tasteful kawaii and never lets you go.  This episode had a different feeling than any of the ones that came before right from the opening frames, and it did indeed end up being different – though just how much wasn’t apparent until the very end.

Even so, there was always something just under the surface in Sora and Tazuki’s relationship.  It was clearly both deeper and more troubled than either boy revealed superficially (though Tazuki is hardly a poker face).  It’s not a surprise that this should be a focus of the final arc, and there are nuances to it that started to reveal themselves this week.  I don’t feel that we understand all of this relationship drama yet – indeed, maybe we won’t in the brief time the anime has to share with us – but given how likeable both of these kids are I’ll take what I can get.

The driver of events here is a cellphone photo one of Sora’s classmates snaps of an Inugami – or rather, an Inugami puppy.  Sora and Tazuki pass it off as a regular dog, but the boy who saw it is convinced otherwise – and soon enough it becomes clear that there’s something not normal about it.  Since it appeared to be injured the four friends decide to set off onto the mountain behind the boy’s house to try and find it – only to stumble into a youkai festival that humans without invitations are strictly prohibited to attend (Summer Solstice Day was a poor choice of timing).

Against this backdrop things have gotten rather tense between Sora and Tazuki.  As best I can tell, Tazuki resents the fact that Sora is always taking things on himself, and often acting with disregard to his own welfare.  As for Sora, I think what it comes down to is a fear of abandonment more than anything – it seems everyone has left him at some point (including his parents – or at least his father – off galavanting around the world).  And Sora naturally assumes Tazuki is going to leave him someday too – which is another thing that Tazuki resents, as he has no intentions of doing so.

There is one thing in this ep I didn’t quite get, which was how Mii-kun managed to have the four invitations to the matsuri (which were given to him years earlier, by a human-loving youkai named Yamada-san).  It’s certainly a good thing he did, but Tazuki sees this whole turn of events as more evidence of Sora’s disregard, which leads to their first out and out fight of the series.  Meanwhile, Yamada-san takes the kids to see the two Inugami – who are named “A” and “Un” naturally enough, as they represent the guardian dogs you see outside Shinto shrines.  I wouldn’t have necessarily thought Miira no Kaikata could up the kawaii factor yet another, but these puppies are pretty freaking cute (especially when they’re fighting).  And the Inugami are cute, too…

It’s a testament to just how authentic the emotions in this show are that Sora and Tazuki’s tearful confrontation in the midst of the youkai festival is as heartbreaking as it is.  This is one deep bond – Tazuki’s protectiveness and Sora’s selflessness may cause friction between them, but they’re also what draws these two to each other.  Everything seems to end well enough – it certainly appears that Sora and Tazuki clear the air – but there’s a major twist at the end involving a human who’s apparently used a stolen (at bloodshed) invitation to get in.  Mii-kun kidnapped?  I hope that gets resolved pretty quickly in the finale, because my heart won’t be able to take too much of it.