Whenever a series generates little or no commentary, I wonder about it. Well, sometimes it can be pretty obvious there’s not a lot to say. But with Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary that’s really not the case. It’s a good show – very good, in my view. It has a lot of interesting mystery elements to boot. And it was your pick for the season, which presumably means there was a fair bit of interest in it at least at the beginning. It’s strictly am abstract question and of little importance, but mysteries always gnaw at me a little.

I’ve had my ideas about Namu ever since he popped up in the story, and my speculations about him seem to have hit pretty close to the mark. He was obviously connected to the Ebisumori clan in some way. And a black sheep brother was the Occam’s Razor explanation. The question would be why – outcast, runaway, something else? The answer seems to be that they simply discarded him. Perhaps because he was a boy – maybe the Ebisumori discard all male children because they’re of no use to the family. Maybe it was Namu specifically – they abandoned him because he had powers only the eldest daughter is supposed to have.

Whatever the reason, his grudge against the clan is well-earned. As is his affection for Mabu-san. After all, Mabu is the only one who showed any interest in him. In theory Namu should have sympathy for Kaya-chan, as they were both pariahs because of what they saw. The problem is that he knows what she really is, and can’t get past it. It was only Mabu finding him – seemingly by chance – that saved Namu. And he literally tried suicide before it happened. Namu had a horrific time of it as a child – almost beyond imagining. Mabu claiming he would protect him was laughable on the face of it – but in the end, actually sort of true.

Mabu is undeniably kind of a buffoon, and not a very powerful psychic. But he’s also undeniably kind, and that was what the young Namu needed. In the end Namu saved Mabu, but it was more on the order of returning the favor than anything else. It does seem as if Namu would have been content to avoid all ties to his family, but his responsibility to protect Mabu from them overrode his desire to shun them. He doesn’t really know anything about who Kaya is – only what she is.

That’s where Chie-sensei comes in. The parallels are obvious enough – she became to Kaya-chan was Osamu-san was to Namu-kun. The difference is in which one is the one with the power. The thing about Chie is that in addition to her kindness, she’s also an exemplary teacher – speaking as someone who teaches. She’s proved this over and over, but what I most admire is the way she listens. She treats her kids as human beings, as individuals. She tries to understand who they are and why. And she respects their feelings, even if they seem illogical. Kids respond to that, believe me. All the more so as they so rarely meet someone who offers it.

The reality of the Ebisumori clan is terrifying indeed. The eldest daughter is the chosen one, the host. And when the specter they host grows to the point where it takes over altogether, they “hatch”. The body itself is just a shell. This presumably happened to Mutsu and Nana (though the latter seems quite “normal” now). One would assume this hasn’t happened yet with Kaya-chan. But when Namu forcibly rips “her” from that body, what’s left behind seems to have no consciousness or life left inside it. But even that isn’t enough to derail Chie-sensei’s drive to protect Kaya. Even knowing what she is, Chie refuses to ignore who she is.

One could easily take all that far down the metaphorical road, but I’m not sure this is that sort of show. In any event Chie’s belief is so powerful that she seemingly calls the specter back to the body – something Namu thought was impossible. But then the specter responding that way to Chie’s feelings should have been impossible too. Namu is forced to acknowledge that he doesn’t really understand either what or who Kaya-chan is as well as he thought he did. And neither do we. That she may in fact be a monster is still very much in the realm of possibility, and we don’t know the truth of what’s happening with her mother, either. But for now what matters is that she’s a person with human emotions, and deserves to be treated as such. Fortunately, in Chie and Mabu she has two staunch allies in her corner.