Noragami Aragoto Episode 7

“How do you want to protect Yato?”

It is the start of the next arc! I know many were excited to finally see Ebisu, but were probably a tad disappointed by the lack of screentime he had this week. But make no mistake, this was not the episode for him to shine- it was all about Yato and Yukine.

Since Yukine has become a blessed vessel for none other than a ‘no-name’ god, there has been a lot of attention on him. Ebisu approached the two of them to purchase Yukine to become his vessel. Both were reluctant but each had their own moments when greed got to their heads- reminding us how these two are two peas of a pod. However it was Ebisu’s regalia who shared words of wisdom to Yukine, which also led to the breakthrough of how without realizing it, he is actually Yato’s Exemplar. We learned about this role during Bishamon’s arc. Exemplars are regalias who are the most trusted and dependable to serve as their master’s adviser. But there is no concrete rule of ‘how to be’ an exemplar but the general agreement is to follow their master’s wishes and help carry that over if or whenever they undergo reincarnation, those who carry that role each have their own unique way of how they want to perform their duty. For example, Daikoku explained to us since he is Kofuku’s only regalia, he is automatically her exemplar, and her wish is for him to raise her when she reincarnates. That is all he needs to do. Yukine however, is in a bit more complicated situation. Although it looks as if he is Yato’s only regalia, he knows that Nora still has the name Yato had given her. It makes Yukine uneasy because he knows she is Yato’s fallback. He even called him out on it, speculating it is what he does whenever a regalia leaves him. And frankly speaking, Yukine is right. As long as Nora has her name Yato has given her, she will still be her regalia and can still be called upon to be used at any time. Bearing this in mind while defines his new responsibility as Yato’s Exemplar, Yukine made the decision he will become stronger so that Yato will rely on him only so Nora will no longer be fallback option. His job is to protect Yato do what he needs to do to keep Yato in check, and today his first suggestion was to drop the money, which Yato followed instantly.

The money Ebisu had offered was a sweet temptation. Since the first season, Yato has been saving up his five yens in his bottle so that he can one day make his own shrine. Naturally it was upsetting to him that he couldn’t have both. He absolutely refused to sell Yukine, but with his dream so close to fruiting, it was a heavy loss. Regardless if one is a God, they will remain as a nobody, as long as they do not have a shrine of their own. It has been Yato’s dream for as long as he can remember, as far back as a child. Today, Yato finds his dream fulfilled by Hiyori, who took the time to make him a precious mini shrine he can call his own. The gift was overwhelming, and brought him to tears. Being given a shrine is far more valuable and precious than building one on his own. It brought me to tears as well, making my heart warm and fuzzy because finally, Yato has a shrine of his own, and that means, he can be recognized as the God he aspires to be.

In the beginning of the episode we were introduced to the Heavens. They were laying judgment on Bishamon for her mishaps of being so severely blighted. During the meeting she has confirmed a suspicions many non-manga reviews were puzzled about: it turns out Kugaha was not bounded to his name “Kuga”, and she presumes he was the conjurer’s nora. With Kugaha’s involvement with controlling Phantoms to inflict a series of attacks, the Heavens are ordering everyone to be on alert and keep track and observe of the Phantoms’ movements. They are to report on anything regarding the Masked Ones and are searching for Kugaha.

The deal Yato had made with Tenjin fell through when Hiyori protested, saying she wants to continue to be with them. Yato couldn’t bring himself to cut it, so take that Tenjin, FRIENDSHIP FOREVER!

Next week, it’s going to start getting real nasty and emotional. This is yet another arc that will make you cry- but it doesn’t matter because that applies to every single one of them. So if you’re hoping for sunny days ahead, yeah- that’s not going to happen. From this arc and hear on out, it will only get darker, and the plot secrets one by one are rising to the surface. But by the end of this season, you are most definitely going to be begging for a third.