Recaps suck. And Mao has been doing them every week lately, pretty long ones too. I know it’s only like two or three minutes but it does annoy me. Be that as it may, this show continues to hum along at a very consistent, measured pace. Not in any hurry, as usual, but giving us bits and pieces of the puzzle to slide together. I can’t quite shake the idea that Byouki isn’t the big bad here – and in fact, may not be bad at all. We have seen evidence to the contrary, but I feel like Rumiko has been hinting in that direction almost from the beginning. That would have interesting implications for the plot and the rest of the cast, that’s for sure.

We finally have a name (and voice actor, Okitsu Kazuyuki) to attach to the water sorcerer – Shiranui. He’s been leveraging the Goko name to prey on rich patrons, which we kind of already knew. Through flashbacks we see the water sorcerers back in the day, and the “northern beach” where they honed their craft. The best of them was a young woman named Masago. And most definitely not Shiranui, who seems to have been kind of a screwup (and in fact tried to copy Masago’s spells). But he’s the one here 900 years later, not her – which means he was the one the master summoned on that fateful day. For some reason…

Masago was a kind woman – she even looked after Shiranui, and warned Mao to escape from the clan while he could. What happened to her we don’t know. Kamon shows up in Kyoto to deal with Shiranui (presumably at the northern beach), even if he doesn’t remember Shiranui’s name at first. Right from the start here there’s a sense that Kamon is leagues ahead of Shiranui – he never looks too worried by the latter’s tricks, anyway. But Shiranui has made himself into a problem, which means he’s going to have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Back in Tokyo, Hyakka is showing off his cooking skills, which leads to a vaudeville bit with Nanoka and Mao blowing on their noodles for an eternity. He and Mao are effectively allies at this point (and won’t be alone in that, soon enough). Hyakka wants to take out whoever the water sorcerer is, Mao wants to talk to them – but nothing can happen, seemingly, until Mao goes to Kyoto. Both of them initially think of Masago, but Mao is convinced that she’s not the sort who would be doing what the current water sorcerer appears to be doing.

Another new name is Yarako, the woman at the shrine with Shiranui. Her identity is not clear – she sure doesn’t seem to be Masago herself, but she does know Mao from way back (and is anxious to renew their acquaintance). As for Nanoka, there’s a surprise waiting for her when she goes home – the Byouki. It accosts her on the street and tracks her to a rail underpass, but rather than try and possess her the Byouki gives her a warning. If you continue to “give yourself to Mao”, something will happen – but we never hear what, because Uozumi-san shows up to chase it off.

I’ve felt like every villain we’ve met so far has been of the henchman variety except Byouki – and again, I’m not sure they’re a villain at all. Kamon’s arrival on Mao’s doorstep – with a request to crash there – pretty much assures that he’s one of the good guys at least for now. But we still don’t know why Kamon does what he does – is he just that conscientious, is he working on someone else’s behalf? There does seem to be a concerted effort here to protect the Goko name, but I have to think Kamon’s motives aren’t totally altruistic.