Impression:
Two Words: DAT ANIMATION.
Holy cow, the fight was phenomenal to watch. KYOTO ANIMATION, YOU’RE KILLING IT!!! 8D
It was absolutely spectacular! I cannot wait for the major fights, man that’s going to be so sick!
During the fight, we were able to see the benefits of being able to wield blood. Mirai’s blood-sword is fluid so it can never be constrained unless perhaps frozen. We also saw the use of the Ring which appears to shoot blood bullets. However the quirky benefits comes with inevitable side effects of an anemia.
Today we learned more about Youmu as well understand better how Akihito is a Youmu hybrid.
Youmu comes in various forms, shapes and sizes, including possessing a humanoid appearance. This completely clears up the speculation and mild confusion I had last week about how Akihito became a hybrid of a Youmu in the first place. His father is most likely a Humanoid Youmu as we have seen today with Ai and Akaya and his mother is a Spirit World Warrior (who happens to be crazy and always humiliates him on the spot. I pity the boy).
At the same time we learned about a dangerous Youmu known as the Hollow Shadow heading their way. This Youmu does not have a physical body so it makes it extremely difficult to defeat to the extent that supposedly five A-Rank Spirit World Warriors didn’t even last five minutes. So Akihito has been warned by his mother to avoid it all at cost. Ayaka mentioned that the best solution is to sit tight and wait for it to pass over town. But I have a feeling either A) It will stay in town or B) Someone will pick a fight with it… and naturally, shit will go down. It also appears that Mirai is familiar with it, so it will be interesting how things unfold when it arrives in town.
While I am still on the topic, Akihito had asked about why the Youmu (such as the one that had attacked Mirai yesterday) have been so aggressive as of the late and was told that it’s probably because they sense teh Hollow Shadow. However despite hearing that, I am still not entirely convinced that is the case for the Youmu that had attacked Mirai. If it really had no connections whatsoever with the Nase Clan, then they wouldn’t have shown us a the smirking lady with Hiromi behind her and a glimpse at Mitsuki.
Speaking of Mitsuki, when Mirai had asked her why she hung around Akihito (despite the fact he’s a half Youmu), she told us that she was ‘watching’ him. Aka, keeping surveillance over him. I think it’s clear that, Youmu- especially Humanoid ones like Ai and Ayaka who have a certificate to dispose of and appraise youmu are also kept a close eye on, especially since they can easily blend in with the crowd.
Finally the shocking opening of the episode. It appears that Akihito too had killed someone at some point or another, but the question is- was it a Human, a Spirit World Warrior or a Humanoid Youmu? It’s no coincidence that the episode started out with Akihito is bloody hands and ending with Mirai telling him that she had killed a someone (a girl to be more precise who is probably connected to the reasons Mirai is afraid of killing Youmu) and that he should not get involved with her. I am sure it won’t be too long, heck in possibly next week for Akihito to open up to Mirai that he too had killed a person (if this is the case) and that makes him just as guilty as she is. At the same time, this may also be one of the main reasons why Mitsuki is keeping an eye on him.
That being said, Akihito has showed he is putting in a lot of effort to become friends with Mirai and include her in the group. He asked if she was interested in joining the Literary Club he’s in and continuously helping her out as much as he can despite the warning to keep his nose out.
Oh and one last note. I didn’t know where and how to fit this in so here: The ‘Ores’ as I called it last week turned out to be the ‘core’ (I guess you could say) of the Youmu that was defeated and much like loot as I had mentioned last week, it can be traded in for cash. The Youmu Mirai had defeated today was only worth a thousand yen.
