Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin – 03

Of all the “field” series of Spring 2019, Mayonaka is definitely the class of the lot so far for me.  It is, in a word, good – simple as that.  The production values are modest and it’s not a shock and awe sort of presentation generally.  But this show is well-written, competently directed and acted, and presents a genuinely interesting premise.  I didn’t even have it on my sleeper list (it was that other Shinjuku series that was, the one that got delayed to Fall) – in my preview I called it an “absolute shot in the dark”.  But sometimes those shots actually hit the target.

I can find almost nothing on kyoushi in searching out either Japanese and Chinese mythology, but since everything else in this series seems to be drawn from “real” legend I’m assuming this is too (edit: apparently they’re jiangshi, the famous “hopping vampire” of Chinese folklore).  They’re the work of Coyote (Toki Shunichi), though like any trickster God he goes by many other names.  He’s apparently an old (very old) friend of Seimei, and having gotten a whiff of Arata and assuming it was the same person (I’m starting to think reincarnation rather than simply descendent here) whipped up this whole nightmare scenario as a kind of cry for attention.  And it’s quite a mess.

This is some darn good horror, actually – reanimated corpses (not zombies) from WW II marauding in Shinjuku Gyoen and Arata and Kyouichi (and soon enough, Seo) trapped in an abandoned military research hospital with them.  The cavalry arrives up top in the form of the Chiyoda branch (and eventually a police helicopter) but things are grim underground – especially when Coyote reveals that he’s using four kidnapped girls as the “altar” from which the kyoushi are controlled.  Worth noting for certain is that he acquired the girls from another youkai, one who’s sure to turn up as a big bad at some point (and probably is connected to the disappearance of Kyouichi’s sister ten years earlier).

Eventually Coyote agrees to call if the dogs if “Seimei” uses his pet name – which he finally remembers from a conversation with his grandfather.  It’s Kohaku, and Kohaku does pull the plug on his army of corpses, but the truth about his real other name comes out – he’s Huehuecóyotl, the legendary Aztec mischief God and one hell of a lot to handle.  Seo is quite alarmed at this, and it appears that Arata has a new friend considerably more problematical than a giant cat.  There are lots of interesting places for the story to go from here, and neighborhood hopping in Tokyo to boot – I’m in for the duration on this one, I think.

 

RobiHachi – 03

The third episode of RobiHachi pretty much followed the exact same formula as the second (to the point of referencing that fact for plot purposes).  But somehow it worked a little better for me this time.  I’m still not finding this series quite as laugh-out-loud funny as I want to, but it does have a relentless goofy energy that’s kind of infectious.  I don’t know if I’ll end up blogging it but I’m not ready to drop it yet.

Rather than Mars, the planet planetoid in RobiHachi’s path this week is Pluto.  I did like the gag about Pluto having a massive Napoleon complex about being de-listed as a planet, and the idea that they’d bought a couple of old nuclear energy mascots on the cheap from a shyster PR firm.  A father-daughter team is desperately trying to turn Pluto into a destination, and having seen Robby’s performance on Mars, they effectively kidnap the S.S. Apartment (does their ship have a name?) and beg Robby to work his baka magic again.

Robby actually shows a certain amount of common sense this week.  He’s right about the mascots, he’s right about the “turn Mondays into Plutodays” initiative being a non-starter, and based on what I’ve seen of Japanese travel habits the whole love shrine idea might just work.  Eventually, we get a rather interesting mecha battle between Hizakanger and the full-size “Mr. Pluto” the PR firm have brought to pawn off on the hapless Plutonians.  It’s a bluffing standoff, but there are hints here than Hizakanger might just be a formidable fighting machine – it produces a weapon the other robot couldn’t scan, and when Mr. Pluto tries to punch it in the face its arm disintegrates.

One can’t help but note that there’s a lot of Space Dandy in RobiHachi’s premise – the trio (including a robot) on the run in an apartment-spaceship from a debt collector and his good subordinate(s).  It doesn’t really bother me, but I can’t be the only one seeing it, I know that much…