Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun certainly is a funny old show. It just hums along, delivering one of the most sophisticated experiences in anime in terms of writing and production. And nobody talks about it. People buy the manga, and they even vote for the series in places like Anime Trending and Anime Corner. But it seems to be a purely passive relationship, admiring though it may be. The last comment I got on this series was March 31 – one, on the finale of the first cour. It’s rather fascinating, really.

As Hanako-kun has progressed it seems to have transitioned to longer story arcs. The last two have been the longest of the series so far, I’m I’m not sure this one is close to ending. I could see it wrapping up as soon as next week, but there’s a lot here that could linger for a while. Things got very dark this episode, both melancholy and intense in turn. Last week’s cliffhanger was resolved quickly enough, with the failure to sacrifice a priestess making quick work of those who would have done so. But Sumire appears and announces she’s going to “end this”, before jumping into the pit.

Given what we now know. what Sumire did to Nene is at least a little more understandable. She’s been re-living this day over and over, she says. And it always ends with her death, with brings things back to a save point. Her wait for Number Six to come for her has proved fruitless – as long as Sumire is his yorishiro, it seems, he’s good. Nene quite rightly asks what she sees in the guy, to which she has no ready answer. She’s willing to sacrifice herself so Nene and Hanako can return home – they just need to peel off the yorishiro sticker. But busybody Nene is unwilling to survive at Sumire’ expense, even after what she did.

When push comes to shove, you know, Hanako-kun is quite solicitous with Nene. He agrees to give Sumire a lift back (literally), though the interesting question her is whether any of them realize the consequences of this. The focus then turns to Aoi and Akane (or Akane and Aoi). And this is where things get very intense indeed. There’s obviously a lot of history between these two, but it was never clear just how much resentment. Aoi refutes the idea that Akane loves her, mainly on the grounds that she thinks no one else does. She’s always left out, her father has a secret second family (damn), everyone puts her on a pedestal and at a distance.

The only salient fact here, in the end, is that Akane telling Aoi he hates her can make her cry. And that puts the lie to everything she claims about herself. The whole laundry list of complaints Akane lists is very real. He knows her better than anyone else. But he loves her, and that’s the only truth that matters. They’re still trapped of course – but Teru shows up to rescue them. He is, after all, the scion of an exorcist family, and this is Obon. Not only that, but Teru makes it very clear that he knows the score on every level. He knows who Akane really is, he knows who Akane’s ancestors were (even she didn’t).

There’s a larger conflict being set up here – maybe the larger conflict where Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun is concerned. The Seven Wonders, Teru tells the pair, are more than just apparitions haunting the school. They’s also hashira – pillars, protecting it. The school was a village long ago, and many generations of Akane girls were sacrificed to preserve it. That hasn’t happened in modern times, Hanako says – not that he’s aware of. That makes Nene’s argument about there being another way seemingly viable. But the yorishiro have been neutralized one by one, and Hanako is the one responsible. It’s clear that Teru, at least, considers him the enemy.

It’s not entirely clear why what happened at the end happened. Aoi was unable to return Akane’s declaration of love, and when he and Teru returned to the world of the living, Aoi was not with them. On his own return with Nene and Sumire Hanako seems quite unsurprised by this. It seems she was the “substitute priestess being sacrificed” he refers to – the one whose life was “transferred” to Nene. In the process, seemingly, canceling out Nene’s impending demise. Is it really that straightforward – is that the end for Aoi? And why does Hanako say it’s also goodbye for he and Nene, before he starts to break apart? Again, there’s a lot here still to resolve even setting aside the implications for the larger story, and I could see it taking a good while to do so.