The future of Mao is an interesting unknown. That’s in contrast to Yomi no Tsugai, where the only question is timing. Mao certainly has plenty of material – it will have used barely a quarter of the existing manga by the end of this first series. That’s thanks to the fact that Takahashi Rumiko still publishes weekly even in her late 60’s, which is pretty remarkable even given that she likely has an army of assistants now. But Mao is not as big a seller as Yomi no Tsugai, and if it weren’t Rumiko I’d wonder if there will be more seasons at all. As it stands I suspect her name is enough to make that happen, though I wouldn’t say it’s a lock. If so it’s just a question of when Sunrise and the staff are able and willing to make it happen.
As I said last time Natsuno has always been the “which of these is not like the others” onmyouji. And this ep really confirms that in no uncertain terms. The catalyst is the mysterious theatre troupe which performs for small villages, which then disappear. Natsuno’s keen interest in them has certainly stoked Kamon’s curiosity, and when Natsuno has a run-in with them in the aftermath of one of their performances – in which she finds the entire village covered by a landslide not caused by natural means – Natsuno comes to cash in her chit for her assistance with the Shiranui encounter.
Natsuno has memories of being summoned to the Goshikidou but even she admits those might be implanted. When she was in the Hideinn dying of illness a small earthen doll appeared before her, asking if she wanted to live. She did, and struck a bargain with it – she would search for things on its behalf, and it would keep her alive. And so it has for 900 years, which is what those dirt showers are all about. I tend to believe Natsuno when she says she doesn’t know who the sorcerer behind the doll and the pact is, but it also strikes me that if they implanted memories of the Goshikidiou, that implies they knew what sort of memories to implant.
As for the “Kisaragi Yukinojou“, the so-called theatre troupe, with Kamon and Mao looped in Natsuno is more prepared for their next encounter. Mao assigns Nanoka to protect the villagers, and Ootoya helpfully provides her a (non-magical) sword for the purpose – correctly having sussed out that she’s quite adept with a blade. The ayakashi behind this appear to be some sort of leeches who suck the life force from the villagers, which their leader then feeds to her(?) right hand. During the battle one of the leeches sucks some of Nanoka’s Byouki blood and promptly croaks, though she’s still pretty freaked out by the sucker marks.
Whatever these ayakashi were – and it’s complicated, as it appears to have been a youkai mite parasitically inside a leech ayakashi – they’re zaku in the big picture. They weren’t who Natsuno was looking for, anyway. But just what was she looking for, and why? A right hand, sure – just not this one. But all the other body parts, too. And she’s collected almost all of them now, with only that right hand outstanding. The questions implied here are obvious and numerous. Just who recruited her to do this, and why? And if Natsuno is anxious to find that last part does that mean that after 900 years she’s tired of this life, and ready to cast off her quasi-immortal coil?
Who Natsuno’s master is presents a very interesting subtext for the plot going forward. For now, we get a rare interlude back in the Reiwa Era. Nanoka is graduating middle and starting high school – and color me shocked, as I assumed she was already a high schooler. She promptly returns to the Taishou (which she clearly considers her real home now) to show off her new uniform and is rather deflated by Mao and Ootoya’s flatline responses. But Mao offers to take her to a celebratory exorcism, followed by cake and shopping, and that’s enough to thrill her maiden heart. And with Mao finding her “adorable” it seems pretty clear his maiden heart is well along to being captured.
