For any number of reasons, that might have been my favorite episode of Demons of the Shadow Realm so far. This series has a quality of “realism in a fantastic situation” to it. You can easily imagine that this is how people actually would behave in these circumstances (and viewing the Kagemori through a yakuza lens helps with that). And Yuru is fast becoming one of the best anime characters – certainly protagonists – in a long time. He has a way of making the right call in any situation. Not in a Marty Stu sort of way – just a smart kid with a core of decency and exceptional grace under pressure.

“Hagure” is the Kagemori who gets fleshed out this week. Except his real name is Hikaru. He is indeed a mangaka (and apparently quite a successful one). As for daemons, he has Black and White – befitting his vocation. One wipes the slate clean, the other redraws reality on top of it. This is useful in repairing the mansion after the attack, though Hikaru has a mangaka’s obsession with detail to contend with. He’s the oldest, Asuma the middle son, and Jin the youngest. That means Hikaru is in line to take over as family head, though he protests to be completely appalled at the idea and even makes a remark about the Kagemori’s lack of morals.

There are obviously divisions in the Kagemori clan, and they make no attempt to gloss over them. Gonzou professes to believe that the whole power system build around the twins and Break/Seal is outdated and wrong, and should end with Asa and Yuru. Kasuma argues that rather, that power should be harnessed and controlled by those fit to do so (which someone like him would decide the identity of, naturally). Jin is seemingly the practical one, the muscle. The sense that Kasuma is the true danger has been there since he was introduced, and indeed he’s the one who instigates trouble at the end of the episode. But the fact that he’s so open about his beliefs is interesting.

Asa blames Dera for the trial her life has been (including a stress-induced ulcer) as an extension of the Higashi Village branch of the family. He protests to have never instigated conflict, only acted in defense. And indeed if there are extremists and moderates in the Kagemori branch it stands to reason that there are in that one as well. Yuru wants to believe Dera, and I do too quite frankly – he’s an engaging and likable figure, and Yuru deserves to have a decent adult male in his life. But he – and we – know that Dera has been parceling out information to Yuru only as it suits his interests, and that means everything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt.

The whole breakfast scene is a fascinating exercise in hidden intentions. All the shadow boxing going on between Dera and the Kagemori is to be expected. But as usual Yuru cuts through the fog and get right to the essence of the matter. He’s incensed that Asa constantly apologizes – as if she were the one at fault for the power she was born to. Migi and Hidari told him that the twins weren’t at fault for the greed and avarice of those who want to own them, and Yuru chooses to believe that. He’s forcefully refusing to be a passenger in his own life, and he wants the same for Asa.

That makes his decision not to join the Kagemori totally expected. His choice is not to hide from those who want to use him, but to meet them head-on – and in the process find his parents. That’s admirable, though as does Dera I wonder if it’s too reckless to be advisable. It makes Dera’s job a lot harder, though having Left and Right there certainly helps. Yuru can only trust the Kagemori to look after his sister, and Asa trust Dera and the Tsugai to look after her brother. For now then, the two sides are neither enemies or allies – rather, partners in a truce so uneasy Dera can’t even share his contact information. Instead, Jin points him towards a hostess club (yeah, nothing yakuza about that) where he can get a message to the family in he needs to.

The upshot of all this is that the twins are to be separated yet again. Asa’s brocon antics aren’t especially amusing but the final scene here is genuinely moving, especially when she shows him a photo of their parents (how truly miraculous this seems to Yuru and the Tsugai), And even more, assures him that they had no choice (thanks to Granny) but to leave him behind. Yuru is stoic and cool under fire, but he’s not made of stone – he’s a 16 year-old boy and it’s obvious how desperately he’s always wanted to believe that to be the case. All he wants is what anyone should have – for his life to belong to him, and the freedom to live it as he sees fit, in the company of those he loves.