To help get over her heartbreak, Nanami is invited to the beach with Ami and her friend. Tomoe is completely against it as he claims he can’t go into the sea.

Impression:
8D THAT WAS THE PERFECT PLACE TO END THE EPISODE!
So yay, we are finally experiencing a two-episode arc rather than one alone! Tomoe had his reasons for not going into the sea, but he still followed Nanami’s request to save Ami. Even when I read the manga, in the back of my head I thought to myself, “I am pretty sure Mizuki would have been more than happy to oblige helping out in Tomoe’s stead” but then again, Tomoe’s pride probably wouldn’t have allowed it anyways.
Like I pointed out last week, Tomoe is someone who follows his word. As promised, he has been successfully avoiding all physical contact up to this point. You can tell he is getting real jealous of Mizuki being able to touch her when he can’t. Ohohohoho!
I found that they did a spectacular job with conveying Tomoe’s grim mood about the sea. He knew why he couldn’t and, heck he’s infamous enough for Mizuki to have known as well (AND THIS GUY WAS COMPLETELY SHELTERED FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD!!!!). You will find out why Tomoe went to obtain the Dragon King’s eye next week, but there’s one great mystery that even for the ones who are up to date with the manga like myself: Why does Nanami have the Dragon King’s Eye inside of her?
Most theories go with Reincarnation, others elaborate on Nanami’s family history (which I don’t believe we’ll ever get to see animated unless we have a second season) and… hm, I think I’ll keep this one to myself so that you don’t get spoiled too much. Those who are up to date with the latest chapters probably know what I am referring to.
Mizuki’s Time Incense is used once more, only this time Nanami’s physical body is going back into the past and is being guided by Mizuki. So here’s the fun stuff, Nanami gets to see more of Tomoe’s darker side. Slaying the fishies…things erm, I mean guards… Okay so that isn’t actually seeing Tomoe’s darker side, it is more like having another glimpse of his violent actions in contrast to his present ‘merciful’ side (yet then again turning Kurama into an ostrich wasn’t exactly kind of him since he intended to cook him for dinner… but I suppose it is better than being slayed right there on the spot…).
Nanami will now start taking actions on her own without Tomoe’s support (since he isn’t around and Mizuki is not her Shinshi…yet… she ought be grateful for him once he is). She doesn’t do anything spectacular within this arc, but her actions and determination to follow things through will give her a lot of credit since she makes decisions for things that are not easy to make.
The Dragon King, well you won’t see too much of him. As awesome as he is, err, well actually it’s his wife that is badass ohohohohohoho.
Overall it was great to see the first half of the Dragon King’s Eye Arc well adapted. I was pleased to see the animation once more improved and stayed strong consistently rather than taking a dip. I am hoping that next week’s episode will continue maintain that quality!
One last thing (I HAVE TO GET IT OFF MY CHEST): While it made sense why they spent 1:19 on Mikage and Otohiko to fill in the left over time gap (and lets face it, that was probably the best resolution), it was still no excuse for them to make Otohiko responsible for making Ami getting pulled under. There’s nothing more I hate than throwing in characters that aren’t to make an appearance during the arc and doing something that they are not responsible for. It was fine to leave them at the beach doing their own thing, but seriously COME ON. JUST LET THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL DO THE STUFF IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO! (IN THIS CASE I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT NOT HAVING A WAVE what a joke
Am I the only one who gets seriously annoyed with these things? If so, then it must be a pet peeve of mine.
PS: WTF IS WITH MIKAGE WEARING A SPEEDO?!
 

Eva

Blogging Anime since Summer 2009, & Founder of AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog ...I may or may not be addicted to writing

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Mai

    LMAO I feel with you. HAHAHA! Mikage and DAT ASS—ah er, I mean, butt cleavage! >.> LOL I’m very glad they did well in this ep too. I’m glad they made a cliffie!! I do wonder if they can squeeze in the mini festival afterwards though >..<. I somehow love this arc because it really shows how Nanami grows up in her love with Tomoe. Also, this is one of the arcs that seems so simple yet becomes part of a mind-blowing plot in the manga (god, I love the mangaka for being brilliant!). KH is one of the most intellectual manga there is, and shoujo rarely are. So, I wish they give it some justice with a second season.

    1. Eva

      Yeah I hope so as well. The last thing I want to see is an Anime Original ending. I heard that the weird tongue guy, Kohirumaki from ch 50 (Vol 9) will be appearing, so I’m feeling a bit iffy about what is to come within the next (skipping Ep 9 since it’ll be finishing this arc) four episodes. I am hoping they will jump straight into Vol 5 next since that would probably be one of the best case scenarios to finish a first season and continue S2 starting with Vol 6.

      1. Mai

        Vol. 5…Was that the Kurama mountain part?? I’m not too familiar with what volume the arcs are, but if the pics in the OP (Nanami sitting on the thousand sakura…) and the ED (Kurama in robes) are not meant to give us false hope, we might just see the intoxicated Nanami part!!! Kyaaa~~ I really hope they won’t make an anime original ending too…A good ending would be the god summit too—since that is when you-know-what is coming to light XD. Otohiko would be in it after all…But I wonder what they are planning with making Otohiko and Mikage look like villains in a refreshing way (they have to be the most kind villains out there). I think they are featuring that tongue out guy because it will be continuous to the dragon king arc. Nanami pays back to her friends after all…Ü

        1. Eva

          Hmmm when you put it that way, I suppose it wouldn’t deliver too much of a negative blow. The only main concern would be throwing out all the progression of Nanami’s and Tomoe’s relationship in between now and then out the window, as well as Nanami’s character development as a the Land God.
          Volume 5 is focused on the Shrine’s Festival where Nanami does the Kagura Dance. Tengu Mountain Arc isn’t until Vol 9 too.

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