This show is certainly taking a kitchen sink approach when it comes to alternative fiction. It started off looking like a pretty conventional (if rather winning) Shinto fantasy. But there were a few horror tropes sprinkled in, and now we’re getting into some straight-up science fiction. It’s not every Japanese folklore fairy tale that has rifts in the space-time continuum and parallel worlds. The latter offers the potential to bring us uncomfortably close to isekai, but I’m fairly confident Tonari no Youkai-san isn’t the sort of series to fully embrace that route.
I confess Yuri is not my most favorite character in this cast. I get the source of her family issues, but she’s kind of unpleasant and one-note. She hates her family, feels sorry for herself, and resents anyone with the temerity to be happy with theirs. That includes Buchio most obviously, who loves his family so much he evolved into a youkai so he wouldn’t have to leave them behind. Of course that’s exactly why Tazenbou pushed the two of them together, which Yuri has finally figured out. Unfortunately Buchio takes the brunt of Yuri’s rage, which he’s not really capable of coping with.
Yuri’s family issues represent the first time Tonari no Youkai-san has follows the Petopeto-san course and confronted human-youkai prejudice directly. In this case it’s her family – the head branch of an old bakegitsune clan – discriminating against branches that dilute their purity by marrying humans. Yuri was right to rebel against that and she certainly came to the right place. But at this point she seems ready to confront her past (which Taichi – who may or may not be her partner – is encouraging her to do).
The explanation for why this world of human-youkai intermingling is treated with such nonchalance? The parallel worlds theory, of course. And rifts (like the one which allowed the raijin to divebomb the school) seem to be opening up between them. A space-time research investigation team is headed to Fuchigamori to investigate the local instances (which space otaku Takumi is thrilled about). But before they arrive Yuri gets caught up in one of these rifts, and because only one Yuri can exist in any one parallel world, winds up switching places with another Yuri from a “normal” world. And she’s not the only one having this experience either.
I’m not sure yet how I feel about this plot twist – ask me next week and I might have a better idea. It offers some interesting potential avenues (in the world Yuri winds up in Mu-chan’s dad is alive and well, for example). It was resolved quite conveniently and quickly here but it seems likely to be a recurring theme going forward. It certainly explains the existence of this reality which is so different from the one we know, but it’s not like I was on tenterhooks waiting for that to be explained – I was perfectly fine with things the way they were. It’s all conjecture at this point – where the series decides to go with this will make all the difference.
Nadavu
May 5, 2024 at 8:40 pmI have a fundamental issue with parallel worlds where you have basically the same character in extremely different circumstances. What I mean by this is that there is no possible world where the Nazis won WWII but I’m still me. Even if my parents still meet and get together (which is already a huge stretch) the child they conceive is not me; it’s a different sperm meeting a different egg at a different time, a child with an entirely different upbringing, etc. In other words, possible worlds are a small subset of conceivable worlds. Sliders be damned.
However, as I’ve found the youkai-world to not make sense demographically for several episodes now, if this new development results in the revelation that the youkai-world is a figment of the “real” world’s imagination, this might work for me. On the other hand, it can also ruin everything. Interesting times ahead.
catterbu
May 7, 2024 at 12:52 amI have been pining for a bit more detail on Yuri’s family life. Happy we got it here. I am no the biggest parallel worlds fan, but I was a little disappointed that it got resolved so quickly this week. Felt like maybe a few weeks of story. Though it seems like the show is trying to get a full adaptation done, so that may just be a consequence. Regardless, I think this episode was more of a transitionary episode. We check in with several characters, get a bit more about Yuri, and add another unexpected event to whatever is going on in town. With the space-time research investigation team coming, I have a feeling the larger plot will kick in soon.
Nicc
May 7, 2024 at 7:49 amSo, we have youkai, cryptids and now parallel universes? I did not see that one coming. Right, that’s in the realm of sci-fi and it doesn’t always get along with the supernatural. We learn that parallel universes are common knowledge in this setting, with the news reporting it and a special department to deal with that. It seems that the boundaries between universes have gotten thin in this area and we see an incident with a train and a woman from another world being transported here.
That’s one part of the episode and the other part of the episode is focused on Yuri. We’ve seen in earlier episodes that she doesn’t get along with her family and we find out why. That does put her at odds with Buchio, who was reborn into a yokai because of his love for his family. She does have reasons to angry about her family, but taking it out on Buchio was too much. Then, things get even worse for Yuri when she switches places with a different version of herself from another reality.
This Yuri finds herself in another world where yokai do not exist and where Mu-chan’s father is alive. This out-of-world experience eventually gives her the catalyst to confront her past, like you said. But, really, the tech that the Space-Time Laboratory have is extraordinary. They can pinpoint individuals from individual parallel worlds and swap them without harming either one and using something that fits in a back of a van. Just to get there would require several revolutions in science. It is indeed quite the big plot twist and I too am curious to see how the show proceeds from here.