Another very good ep for Reiwa no Dara-san, if perhaps not among the series’ very best. Truthfully this has quietly been one of the most consistent shows of the season – just very self-assured and comfortable with what it is. I think Kaoru-chan was missed here (he was barely present) because he’s really the main comic driver of a lot of what Dara-san of Reiwa does. On the other hand things took a really interesting turn at the end of the episode, and I look forward to seeing where things progress on that score.

The pendulum swings to Hinata this time, as she and her somewhat bland group of gal pals are getting ready for the culture festival (with the class doing a robot maid cafe). Talk turns to the question of the eponymous seven school mysteries. Yu-chi (homeroom teacher Busujima-sensei) turns up with snacks and tales of a frankly rather unimpressive nature for the most part – apart from that mirror thing. The running anatomical skeleton is a carp. Hanako-san comes when you knock and call her name, but because she’s a teacher named Hanako. And all the mysteries seem to happen at or around the faculty office (having worked in Japanese middle schools, that I can believe).

Except it’s not that simple. This is kind of an intriguing twist, actually. Dara-san notes that she has a hard time seeing into middle schools because they’re “warped” places (having worked in Japanese middle schools, that I can believe). She’s worried that combined with Hinata’s power will attract dangerous spirits, and it just so happens Hinata is without her Dara-tongue charm. But the spirit here doesn’t seem dangerous. In fact it’s Hanako-san after all – she’s some some of youkai who has the ability to make others believe she belongs. But Hanako-san seems to be content to lightly mingle with the humans and soak up enough spiritual energy to stay charged, so Dara-san lets her be.

We take a sojourn to the past as usual, where this time we learn that Juurouta allowed Orochi’s right arm – the one that was posing a real problem, pumping curse energy into the land – to fuse with him. In doing so he loses his own arm but gives the cursed object its mortal desire, to be united with Juurouta. The more you hear about this guy, the more heroic he seems. Then it’s back to Team Hinata, who’re off to see a movie in whatever passes for the big city round these parts (with Yamatagi Madara in tow, of course). They take a detour to an abandoned shopping arcade for some spooky fun, and get more than they bargained for.

This is more or less a pretty typical ghost story in a country that’s overflowing with haikyo (abandoned places). It’s Yamatagi Madara’s presence that makes it really fascinating, though. At first he’s happy to sit this out when he thinks the evil entity at the heart of it will go after Hinata. But it chooses Amane, who has the massive spiritual power attached to her and no spiritual resistance, so he has no choice but to intervene. In the process he becomes visible to the girls, who pass out dreaming of their new “pet snake” hero. And he gets off on being worshipped as a Kami, which gives him an altogether different sugar rush than fear. Is that the start of Yamatagi Madara coming over to the good guys?