Holy shit I did not see that coming. What is happening?! I am still REELING from that twist. I didn’t think it would be Akira, but oh my god, it’s him, he’s the mole, he’s with Karasu! GOD DAMN IT WHY DO I ALWAYS FALL FOR THE CHARACTERS THAT ARE DOUBLE-AGENTS?! I CAN’T HANDLE THIS!!!!!!!!!!! EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It has been a very long time since I have been caught off-guard like this, and it’s a great feeling because I have the tendency to catch onto these characters pretty early on.

O_O AKIRA WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT IS HAPPENIG. JE OS TJE <P:E! HE IS THE MOL:E HE HAS A CROW FEATHER TATTO- SHUT UP, NO FUCKING WAY, HE’S WITH KARASU!!! Oh my god what is happening. AKIRA IS REALLY WITH HIM?! WHAT IS HAPPENING – My Notes
(As you can see, I was so shocked, I couldn’t even type properly.)

This episode was straight up intense, it wasn’t good for my heart- in fact I couldn’t handle it at all. I absolutely loved how from the moment Takashi approached her, the writers kept the tempo of Karasu dropping feathers everywhere, never giving Tsumugi a chance for a breather, and even fired a warning shot by almost hitting her friend with a car. They haunted her to the point it drove her into madness. It wasn’t a situation where she could simply just tell the others what was happening, with the mole in the group, she didn’t know who to trust, she was scared of what would happen to those she cared about if she told anyone about this, and didn’t know how to proceed. Takashi was relentlessly driving her into a corner, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Considering how this episode devoted most of its time to Tsumugi’s anguish, I do hope the next episode will perhaps focus more on Akira. If it does, he would be the first character to (some extent) have a back-to-back episode. In fact I really do hope we see more of him, because he is such an intriguing character, and I want to know all about how he ended up being affiliated with Karasu, and perhaps more as to why he can’t stomach the sight of blood. Not to mention, I absolutely loved seeing him together with Tsumugi, the time they shared at the movies together (by chance), and he was the only one to notice Tsumugi was not acting like herself.

I trust Akira’s sincerity when he it comes to his concerns about Tsumugi’s wellbeing. It also appears he was not the one responsible for dropping the feathers within their premises, potentially implying there may be more than one mole within the organization, or someone is breaking and entering to do so. Had Akira put down the feathers himself, I don’t think he would have had that kind of startled look on his face when he saw them. In fact, he seems to be out of the loop in regards to Takashi approaching her, and having people to tail her. He didn’t merely question her for the sake of doing it, he needed to know what else was going on to verify his own concerns. What is also important to note, is that Akira didn’t have to reveal he was one of Karasu’s people. He wasn’t put in a situation where he was caught redhanded. His decision to reveal himself was a selfless and painful one. Akira did it because he couldn’t bear seeing Tsumugi in such a distressed state and for the sake of her sanity, couldn’t let her continue being in the state of denial about moles being within the organization.

Once he did, he promises to protect her. How he intends to do that? I am not entirely sure, but we do see him leave to go out and confront Takashi, likely wanting to get answers about why he needs Tsumugi.

And while we are on the subject of the devil himself: Takashi revealed he can see the future, and intends to guide the country to it. To fullfil his ambitions, he is looking for a “Queen”, and Tsumugi being able to see Cursed Tomes is deemed as a preferable candidate. To that I was like, “DUDE YOU HAVE A WIFE!”  What a joke when he said he wanted to respect her “free-will”, when he pretty much has been blackmailing her nonstop with all those feathers.

And as expected Owase is affiliated with Karasu. We learned today that the two of them are part of the Prime Minister’s opposition to the disarmament policy. Four of his House members have been killed by a cursed tome, disguised as suicide. The future Takashi intends to lead the country to does not sound like a good one… considering who is he affiliated with.

Gah, it’s almost sad how the sheer intensity of the episode completely overshadowed the cute and fluffy scene where Akira and Tsumugi bumped into each other at the movies. They didn’t know the other was going, and due to the individual seats being full, only couple admissions were left, so they ended up watching the movie together, and learned a bit more about each other. Akira is actually such a softy who is despite his stoic looks, is someone who gets emotionally invested and will cry over films. Crazy to think he is the double-agent. *SOBS* They were supposed to go to the movies again, but now they might not be able to! DAMN YOU TAKASHI! It was so cute with how they shared the umbrella too, it made me squeal, especially when I realized Akira was focused on keeping her dry and was half-way in the rain- his expression was priceless! I ship them together so much! Also can we take a moment to appreciate how exceptionally cute Tsumugi looked that day? Even though she intended to go out on her own, she looked adorable!

The story is certainly ramping up with Takashi targeting Tsumugi to be his “Queen”! I don’t know what Akira hopes to accomplish by confronting him, but perhaps it may end up being the catalyst to switching sides— that is if he is actually truely aligned with Karasu with no hidden agendas of his own. Whatever it is, the preview shows him returning to Fukurou to talk.

Eva

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