This was a recap episode, but this has to be the most insane recap episode I have seen in a long time. I really liked the way they did it too, by providing us new content continuing from where we left off and introduced us to the next stage, Orio-ya Inn.
I swear, the entire first 8 minutes of the episode had me screaming at the top of my lungs. So much happened in so little time, and man…
SHIT JUST GOT REAL!
Let’s start off with clearing up the air in regards to the Mystery Ayakashi: Ranmaru is completely out of the contention, it’s definitely between Oodanna and Ginji- but right now, even though they have yet to officially confirm it, (aka: hear it come out of his own mouth) they are making it look like it’s Ginji who was the one to save her. I MEAN THAT FREAKING TEASE OF GINJI PUTTING ON THE MASK, LIKE GIVE US A STRAIGHT ANSWER ALREADY! YOU ARE KILLING ME HERE!!!!!
The next big reveal was the fact Ranmaru was not the most powerful one who oversees Orio-ya Inn, and at one point, neither was Oodanna. It turns out the one who created both inns was none other than that blonde bitch, Ougon-douji. And make no mistake, she is a force to be reckoned with. Basically, don’t pick a fight with her. Aoi made a grave error of attempting to challenge her, by luring Nobu out and attempted to hold him hostage and threatened to attack their ship with the Tengu Fan. As result, Aoi was spirited away onto Ougon-douji’s ship and is now being taken by to Orio-ya Inn. What kind of fate awaits her is uncertain.
But if there’s one thing for sure, Ougon-douji is dangerous. That evil glint in her eye, the malicious smirk, I don’t trust her the slightest. I don’t know what she has against Aoi, maybe she just hates Shiro and is taking it out on her, but Aoi has come to realize she picked the wrong fight. This woman is extremely powerful, that not even Oodanna could have prevented Aoi from being Spirited Away. Worst of all, she has already attempted to kill Aoi once, what if she tries to do it again? We still don’t know who is behind the assassins, for all we know, it could be her doing as well. Also she took Aoi’s Tengu Fan, whelp. Good luck getting that back…
And I mean, what are any of them supposed to do in this situation? Orio-ya Inn operates in a very different manner, and Hatori has implied something is up that is putting everyone on the edge. Throwing Aoi into the mix is only going to shake things up even further. We saw how she was treated when she first came to Tenjin-ya Inn, it makes me worried she’s going to have an even bigger target on her back. We already saw a glimpses of Ranmaru’s brash and nasty side with the way he treated Aoi, mockingly suggesting they put her up for display. (I suppose he hasn’t heard how good of a cook she actually is though). I suspect he’ll be looking to harass her at every opportunity her gets. She might be able to tame him with her cooking though, that is, if they give her access to that. Even though Ginji will be by her side, I imagine he will limited of what he can do to help her, and the same goes for Hatori and Tokihiko.
However it should be noted, while Aoi’s response to Ginji being taken away was hilarious, and highlighted that she is in fact, Shiro’s grandaughter, she also showed her childish side. She flipped out when she was about to lose him, begging Oodanna to do something about when Ginji had already agreed to comply the orders, as per the arranged arrangement. It seems had Ginji attempted to back out of it, Oodanna may have tried to help him, since what he is doing right now is respecting Ginji’s difficult decision, even if it is one he does not agree with. In fact Oodanna was just as upset, if not more as she was. His eyes were glowing red, seemingly out of fury. He was not happy to see Ougon-douji, because the moment he saw her, he knew that their time was up.
And this brings about a new mystery: Why was this deal arranged in the first place? What was the purpose of Ginji working at Tenjin-ya Inn for 50 years? And what was the promise he made with Oodanna? Oh man, I really hope we will be able to get some answers, because it’s going to drive me bonkers if we don’t.
I wonder how long she’s going to be stuck at Orio-ya’s inn. If Matsuba is still at the inn, there may be a window of opportunity for her to be smuggled out to his territory and eventually be brought back to Tenjin-ya Inn. But I get the feeling this half of the season will be predominantly set in the Southern Lands at Orio-ya Inn.
There wasn’t a new OP this week, but the blank ED and the new song sounded like that’s the new opening. If it is, I am super excited because the song sounds epic, and it would be a great way to follow-up the first opening that will always have a special place in my heart.
