I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many series as existentially dark as Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun. That contrasts sharply with the visual style, and frequently the tone. But that disconnect just lends the story that much more power. Tragedy permeates it at every level, but Hanako and Tsukasa keep on smiling and the kids keep on being adorable. And the fact that almost invariably it’s children on the receiving end of the tragedy just heightens the impact.

There are basically two characters in the cast who are pretty much what they appear to be. That would be Kou and Nene, and that makes the pair of them especially poignant. Everyone else has an agenda and/or a facade and Teru is certainly no exception. He and Kou head off to Nagisa Jinja to pursue his plan to find another way into the boundary. The shrine family, led by the head priest (Ono Atsushi) has a long-standing arrangement with the Minamoto Clan regarding exorcisms. Teru refers to them as middlemen, which Nagisa-san clearly resents. And there’s obviously considerable tension between the two families.

The underlying angst in the room is nothing compared to what happens when Teru’s phone rings even though it’s on silent (that alone pisses the priest off). The call says it’s from Kou, but it’s Tsukasa on the other end of the line, offering to make Akane’s wish come true. Nagisa-san flips out, eventually admitting that back when he was still a junior priest, a woman came in with a toddler. This was Tsukasa, who disappeared for six months before mysteriously returning. His mother is convinced this is not her child, that he’s been “replaced”. The boy seems normal enough and the young Nagisa suspects it’s the mother who’s broken. But then the boy tells him “your wish will come true tomorrow” – and it does…

This is a fascinating and important turn, no question about it. Based on current info, one could surmise that Tsukasa (or something looking like him) did return to the Yagi house six months after the events of last week’s flashback. But Mom was right, and this all built towards the tragedy which we’ve been told happened with Amane. The Red House seemingly claimed a number of victims but had been silent for many years. Now, it seems, Kou and Nene have reawakened it and the Head Priest is incensed. He locks the boys in the parlor and heads off to confer with Teru’s father.

Now, at last, we see the kid under the facade with Teru – someone who’s only appeared in fleeting glimpses up to now. He’s exhausted. He resents the responsibilities thrust on him (and his nature would doesn’t let him shirk them). Kou’s flirtations with the other side terrify him. But he’s the eldest, the heir – he puts his game face on and deals with it. For now, he abandons diplomacy for the sword and sets about getting what he came for. That is, relics from the Misaki Shrine (which was folded into this one) which might contain enough of Number Two’s powers to get them access to The Boundary. And the odd couple partnership with Akane-kun lives to fight another day.

At this point, we return to Nene for the first time in a while (as she breaks the fourth wall to point out). She’s in a strange subterranean-looking place, water-laden but seemingly not the boundary. Tsukasa is nowhere to be soon (presumably as he was forbidden to leave the house). Nene is set upon by wailing apparitions in miko attire, but is saved by a young man (Toshiya Miyata) in traditional clothing and carrying a sword. He expresses pity for the apparitions, but is seemingly unable to help them. He reveals to Nene that these girls were all sacrifices, and what that implies is in fact true. He was one himself, who fell into this place when his village had run out of girl oracles to sacrifice.

Only in his final goodbye with Nene will the young man introduce himself as Katakuri. And Katakuri is yet another in a line of truly tragic characters Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun introduces. One other came before her, he tells Nene – but not Aoi, as she hoped. Rather, it was certainly Tsukasa – in his toddler form.  Katakuri waits in this place to eventually follow the fate of the girls – to lose his sense of self and exist only as an avatar of despair and resentment. Yet he helps Nene escape, despite his loneliness.

Make no mistake – what Katakuri passes off as a joke were in fact his true feelings. The fact that he still chooses to let Nene go in spite of them is testament to his nature – a “nice guy”, indeed. It probably takes a special sort of person to retain their sanity in a situation like that for as long as Katakuri has. But seemingly she has no way to repay his kindness, as she expresses a desire to do. And that sums up this story as well as anything could – nice people wanting to help in the fact of tragedy, and being helpless to do so.