Thank you Hana for validating my read on this series…

Yomi no Tsugai has never stopped being a very good anime, and I’ve enjoyed every episode (though 17 not much). But there’s no question the magic has been missing for the past couple of months. The level has been pretty high but not what it was before that. This, though – this was the renaissance I’ve been hoping for. Great stuff all around, and a great time for it too with the series close to wrapping up. With more seasons a certainty and anime’s upcoming prospects looking kind of grim, I want to feel good about the prospects for this show.

What changed? Well, for one I really like Demons of the Shadow Realm in slice of life mode. The interplay between Hana and Dera and their ever-increasing brood is really charming, and I love then fish out of water elements of Yoru’s arc. This series has a ton of plot, and it never goes away – with Arakawa that’s a feature and not a bug. But it’s nice to have some balance, and since the Kagemori side has a couple of clunker characters who aren’t as funny as they’re intended to be it’s better when the focus is on this group. This ep perfectly meted out SoL and important plot elements in equal measure, and didn’t get bogged down in too much action (which is better as the change of pace, not the pace).

Back at Kagemori HQ, Akio does in fact escape as a result of the exploding relics. BunBun – who’s pretty damn heroic – theorizes that some sort of parasitic daemon with the ability to detach parts of itself was responsible. And later she remembers a tale from Tottori (her home prefecture) about a tsugai from the West who matched the description (that will be a recurrent theme). There are no clues to be found in Akio’s room – though the camera does linger on his cacti for a notably long time.

Meanwhile Yoru has come down with a fever. It’s too soon for it to be an infection in his wound, but Dera says it’s common for village folk who lack antibodies for all the real world germs and such. Since the Kagemori infirmary has blowed up real good, the only option is to take him home to be treated there. Dera arrives with Azami, the Zashiki-Warashi, the aliens and the pug in tow. And Oshirasama and her partner soon arrive with a saddle full of souvenirs from Tokyo Tower. “Why is it every time you go out you come back with more kids?” Hana moans to Dera. But her tsun act is showing a lot of cracks.

Hana’s favorite expression seems to be “I hate kids”. And she shouldn’t have used it the way she did with Ken – a kid – who doesn’t really understand it’s all an act. But Hana is always the one taking care of them, and always diligently. The key moment of the ep for me is when Dera asks her “Are you in the ‘Yoru should die’ camp?” – a serious inquiry – and she replies “I’m in the adults who exploit kids and ruin their lives should die camp”. And that’s Yomi no Tsugai in a nutshell really, as I’ve been saying since forever. Adults exploiting kids – and tsugai too – is the essence of this story. That’s the real fight that’s happening here.

Of course, the sticky part is figuring out which adults are genuinely in that camp. I believe Hana and Dera are – I’ve seen enough to convince me. I still put the Kagemori for the most part in the exploit camp, with Hagure the one question mark. Then we have Akio and his mother, who represent a big X-factor here. Is she really even his mother? I don’t think we can assume that – he’s no child, but Akio does seem childlike in many ways and it’s very possible he’s being exploited by her. Is she allied with the ones who appear in the final scene – the ultimate X-factor in the series?

Hana and Dera and their family settle in for the night – with Ken and Azami terrified in Dera and Hana’s respective rooms. Fish out of water Yuru retreats to the closet, where he feels more comfortable, but declines the offer of Migi and Hidari’s severed limbs to cool his brow. And we finally meet the other faction – Nishi Village. They’ve been the dark matter of Daeoms of the Shadow Realm so far, but now we have a name for the faction and faces attached to it. Their game is presumably power too, through controlling Break and Seal, and both Ivan and Shingou are (were) likely part of their camp. They’re obviously exploiters too – though I think it’s too soon to say if they’re “worse” than the crime family and the cult in any practical sense.