We’ve had a number of eps in-between – all good, and a couple of them crackers – but effectively this is the followup to Episode 69.  And the last line of my write-up on that (cracker) episode was “I suspect she’s going to prove way more than Rei can handle…”.  That was in reference to Tamano-no-mae, the Kyubi no Kitsune, and while you hardly had to be Carnac the Magnificent (kudos to me for working Harry Caray and Johnny Carson references in before the end of the first paragraph) to make that guess, it sure proved to be on the money.

While a few long-running anime focus on extended arcs (Hunter X Hunter most famously around these parts), most are more like Gegege no Kitarou – it has its recurring plotlines, but they weave in and out of the narrative.  The pattern has certainly repeated with the “Four Treasonous Generals” arc, but this episode was all about accounts coming due.  For Isurugi Rei, for Mana and Neko-musume, and for the arc’s plotline.  It’s all been a buildup to Tamano-no-mae, and she’s going to be the one to take it to the finish line.

For the crucial role of Tamano-no-mae Toei brought in Tanaka Atsuko, who’s been such a prolific seiyuu for so long that it’s almost shocking that she’s never appeared in Gegege no Kitarou before.  Tanaka is a pretty by-the-books actor – she’s not a boundary-pusher but rather delivers a performance that’s pretty much just what you expect a character to sound like.  Kyubi no Kitsune is one of mythology’s great femme fatales – Chinese and Japanese folklore is riddled with tales of her treachery and the chaos it caused in the human world.  And she comes off exactly as you’d probably imagine her.

She’s also, of course, the general that was actually responsible for the destruction of Rei’s village, which means the ethical limiters are coming off completely for him.  After spotting her on TV working from the shadows to start a war, he decides to absorb some of Team Kitarou to help his chances – he sends a fake letter to the youkai mailbox (it’s not clear whether he knew Kitarou was away, or was planning on trying to absorb Kitarou’s power) and lures in Konaki Jiji and Nurikabe, and then Sunakake-baba when she goes to help.  Fortunately Mana witnesses this – fortunate especially for poor Tofu-kozou, who Rei was using as a hostage and bait.

Where was Kitarou exactly?  In the Underworld with Medama-oyaji getting an earful from Enma-daiou.  And it’s clear there are very practical reasons why Enma needs his deal fulfilled one way or the other – the souls of the four treasonous generals are part of the eternal prison that supports the Underworld itself.  When he returns to Gegege Forest Mana is waiting for him, with Tofu-kouzo in tow, and she’s been told the truth of Kitarou’s deal by Rei, who’s embracing being an asshole just for its own sake more than ever.

I’m very glad GGGnK didn’t forget about this side of the story – Mana and Catchick never really had the sort of resolution their situation demanded, but now that Mana knows the truth – and later tells Neko-musume – that seems to be in the cards.  I’m also glad we got a callback to Ibukimaru and his education of Mana about who she really is.  The scene where Mana pleads with Kitarou to accept her into his inner circle was the best of the episode (Fujii Yukiyo continues to nail it with her portrayal of Mana), and we can really see both Mana’s desperate desire not to be an outsider and Kitarou’s anguished determination not to endanger her any more than he already has.

As for Tamano-no-Mae, she’s every bit the badass you’d expect.  While her main body is in Hell eating King Enma and setting the entire Underworld up as her personal power station, her clones are spread out sowing international tension and setting Japan up to be attacked.  While her ultimate goal isn’t fully clear (historically speaking chaos and death for its own sake would be in-character), starting the war with “Principality A” (playing it safe changed not to be a total dead ringer for North Korea) is step one.  And with her power up she tosses Rei and even Kitarou aside with relative ease.  I don’t really care about Rei – if his flashbacks were supposed to make him sympathetic, that was a whiff for me – but Tamano-no-mae is going to have to be dealt with or a lot of very bad things are about to happen.