The only problem I’m having with this series is that the episodes seem so short. I’m always left wanting more, which as criticisms go is about as positive as one could hope for. It packs a lot of content into every week without feeling rushed. And once we got past the prologue phase the exposition has been show and not tell, which is exactly as it should be. Trust the audience to figure it out and the ones who are paying attention generally will.
We obviously have more than our share of mysteries unspooling now. This is literal palace intrigue in every sense of the word. Samomo’s death for starters, and I continue to suspect that Shiratama has nothing to do with that. Sumio is in charge of that investigation, from the outside anyway. He notes from the presence of feathers that the dead girl tried to transform mid-fall, and therefore her one-way trip was not taken voluntarily.
Then we have Kazumi, who’s a mysterious character altogether right from his first appearance last week. It was obvious Yukiya was suspicious of Kazumi but the reason for that seems quite straightforward – he was a spy for Yukiya’s Northern house and a familiar face. Apparently one of the conditions of his working for Wakamiya is that he be taken to the Cherry Blossom Palace in secret, as there’s someone there he wants to see. Yukiya takes him there while the Prince goes off on another of his mysterious errands, and it soon becomes clear who Kazumi went there to see.
The interesting part of this for me is the question of just how much Wakamiya knew about Kazumi. This is a guy who doesn’t miss much – how much of the ugliness which follows will have been a surprise to him? I can only assume Wakamiya knew (or at least suspected) about the connection between Shiratama and Kazumi. If so he was presumably looking for some way to work this to his advantage, but it isn’t immediately clear how. I don’t take any of these characters at face value, certainly not Wakamiya.
Shiratama, for her part, has gone completely where the buses don’t run. Wakamiya has gone to see the princess who was supposed to be the candidate of the East, posing as his own messenger. She’s faked an illness which supposedly disfigured her face, a ruse to get her de-selected for the princess game. Why? That’s what Wakamiya has gone there to determine, and it seems as if the woman is disposed to unburden herself of the secret. Whatever the reason the upshot of it is that Asebi was sent in her place.
The most obvious explanation for what happens next is that Shiratama has simply crumbled under the pressure of the burden placed on her and is in way over her head. That was already true even before Kazumi (maybe?) sneaked into the palace and was eventually killed by the chief of the Wisteria Guard, but if there were any doubt that will have been the final push. She can’t possibly be taken seriously as a candidate after the display she puts on here after Hamayu forces her way into her pavillion, the others in tow. And that leaves a vacuum waiting for someone to fill it.
We still don’t know who killed Samomo. It would be ironic if Shiratama’s unhinged accusations about Asebi turned out to be true, but now that some are speculating that her naif act may be just that I can’t shake the idea they might be right. And then we have Hamayuu, likewise a replacement entry and forced out by Shiratams’s blackmail. With the latter seemingly now out and that threat removed, does Hamayuu re-enter the derby? Is winning something she even wants?
animealex
May 26, 2024 at 6:26 pmJust a small correction: The prince is visiting the Eastern Clan. Asebi was chosen on a short notice to replace her “ill” sister. She was so unprepared for the role, that she didn’t have a formal name and the empress named her Asebi, which we were told is a kind of poison. If my suspicions are correct, that name might be prophetic.
Oh dear, the poor princess Asebi gets absolutely falsely accused of being Samomo’s killer by the mean Shiratama. And she accuses her while Asebi is comforting the poor, isolated sister of the crown prince, who lost her closest retainer and will spend now probably even more time with her good friend Asebi. And what’s that? An unknown Intruder (I don’t believe it was really Kazumi; the silhouettes don’t match), who may have been the unfaithful Shiratama’s secret love, is murdered right in front of her? (And it was murder; the intruder was already unable to flee). And this all happens right after Shiratama threatened Asebi? My, what a strange coincidence!
Oh Asebi, I know you’re all innocent, pure and naive, but Samomo died, there is an investigation underway (and you even questioned one of the investigators), but please remember that the poor girl was trembling with fear after she came back from your errand! It might be useful information. But it probably just slipped your mind.
On a serious note: Top Episode!
Guardian Enzo
May 26, 2024 at 7:04 pmInteresting, thanks for that.
Red
May 26, 2024 at 6:37 pmthe wisteria guard, at least the captain, are also kinda sus, they had that intruder cornered but the captain immediately beheaded them keeping the intruder identity hidden if it will not revert to human form after being slain
animealex
May 27, 2024 at 12:12 amThere’s also the thing with the missing letters from the crown-prince. Remember, all correspondence has to go through the wisteria guard. In theory, who is better suited to vanish those letters? And the wisteria guard probably answers to the empress, which opens another can of worms.
Scampi
May 26, 2024 at 11:28 pmReally doubt the intruder is Kazumi because the intruder targeted Masuho’s palace, which had a signature red robe which Kazumi confirmed that Shiratama didn’t wear on that same day. Kazumi even had the Prince’s blessing to see Shiratama, and the Prince isn’t someone who’d lead on a guy who’s hot-headed enough to put the ladies and himself in danger like that.
Nadavu
May 27, 2024 at 12:15 amI really can’t keep track of which house is connected to which would-be princess, so a lot of the plot goes over my head.
Poor Shiratama. She rose to how quickly she sored and how quickly she crashed. And she’s only 14, if I remember correctly.
Guardian Enzo
May 27, 2024 at 12:23 amIt’s Asebi who’s 14. I don’t think we’ve been told Shiratama’s age, but I would guess she’s a little older.
Say
May 27, 2024 at 3:01 amI don’t remember Asebi’s age but the head of the South remarked that Shiratama was only 14 while talking with the others heads on the ascension day. They were complaining about the prince not attending the ceremony.
Beato
May 27, 2024 at 2:04 pmShiratama is the youngest at 15 (her design is a little bit older-looking in the anime than she is described), Hamayuu and Asebi are the oldest at 18. Masuho no Susuki is 16.
Guardian Enzo
May 27, 2024 at 3:21 pmHamayuu and Asebi are the same age???
beato
May 27, 2024 at 9:58 pmThey are! She was just so incredibly sheltered even for a princess (e.g. like how all the others already had aliases even before starting the rite but she was just known as “second princess” all her life). So because of that she just comes off as really young.
Scampi
May 27, 2024 at 1:07 amIt may help to remember them by the seasonal themes, at least that’s how it worked for me. East is spring(pink), west is autumn(red), south is summer(blue), north is winter(white).
Nadavu
May 27, 2024 at 4:36 amThanks! It does help with North and South, but why is East more springy than West?
Say
May 27, 2024 at 7:18 amEast is where the sun raises and the day begins. Spring is the mating season in which life begins and trees flower. For West and autumn is the opposite.
animealex
May 27, 2024 at 5:41 amI confess, I occasionally (read: after nearly every episode) use the official site, which has a spoiler free overview of the characters sorted by houses etc. I’m not familiar with the source material in any form, but the whole site seems spoiler free to me and new characters are added one or two days after their first appearance in the anime.
https://www.nhk-character.com/karasu/en/characters
Because frankly, without occasional reminders who is who, the whole thing would cause me a headache.
Guardian Enzo
May 27, 2024 at 9:20 amI totally rely on that character chart on the official website. I’d be lost without it.
Nadavu
May 27, 2024 at 8:40 pmOh, wow, thanks for this!
Nicc
May 30, 2024 at 7:16 amI enjoyed that nice Memorial Day holiday and it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Right, this was another packed episode. The death of Samomo was only the beginning. Now, comes the aftermath, the investigation and the finger-pointing. As if things weren’t already a powder keg at the Cherry Blossom Palace, an intruder sneaks in on a later night and it results in a 2nd death at the palace. Is it really safe at the palace for anybody?
The Crown Prince trio check out the crime scene and suicide is quickly ruled out. The partial transformation showed that she didn’t intend to die. It also gives a clue that upon death, the body remains in whatever the state of death was. If one dies in raven form, they don’t revert to human form. We also learn more about the mysterious gardener Kazumi. Yukiya has got a feeling that he has seen him before and that’s because he has. He’s a spy for the Northern House and he’s currently working for Wakamiya. Speaking of Wakamiya, he’s off on another errand as Kazumi and Yukiya make their way up and around the mountain to get as close to the Cherry Blossom Palace as possible without flying there. Flying there would just get them caught by the Wisteria Guard. It looks like Kazumi is there to see Shiratama and the two of them have some history together. Indeed, how much did Wakamiya know about Kazumi and just what did he offer to get a spy from the Northern House to work for him.
Back at the Cherry Blossom Palace, the accusations fly as who was responsible for the death of Samomo. There are two concurrent investigations, but I have to wonder if any conclusions can be made. As for Shiratama, she seems to have lost her marbles. She’s tearing or cutting strips of paper to make into origami cranes. It does seem like it was something that has been simmering for a while and was able to put a lid on it, but the pot finally boiled over. And, does Atsufusa have to be worried about his own well-being? It seems that he’s already in a precarious position as a low-ranking noble and him “disappearing” won’t be a big deal. It could be as simple as Rokon wanting to get rid of a rival so only he has Natsuka’s ear.
As for what Wakamiya has been up to, he’s disguised as a messenger to visit Asebi’s older sister, who was supposed to the candidate from the East. She’s got a story to tell, but that’s going to have to wait for a future episode. Later in the cover of night, an intruder sneaks into the Cherry Blossom Palace. He makes his way towards where Masuho no Susuki is, but is startled when she wakes up and he runs off. He tries to hide, but is caught fleeing as the dawn breaks.
I have to agree with the others that what happens next is suspicious. Instead of capturing the intruder alive and interrogating him, the captain summarily executes him on the spot. The other problem is that he was caught and killed while in raven form. So, we actually have the body, but not in a form that we can recognize. Shiratama seems to think it was Kazumi. I have my doubts considering her mental state, but it does confirm that they both have some kind of history. I don’t think that Shiratama can continue on as one of the candidates considering that she’s mentally broken. Hamayu doesn’t really want to be there, either. I find it doubtful that it’s going to become a two-horse race now, but frankly it may not be safe for anybody to be at the Cherry Blossom Palace now.