Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin Ep 1 [First Impression]

“I-I’m just an employee of the Shinjuku Ward Office…” – Miyako Arata

Eva’s First Impression: Color me intrigued! Coming into Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be as cute and funny as it turned out to be!

Miyako Arata is the newest employee for the Shinjuku Ward Office Nocturnal Community Relations Division. Hilariously, he had no idea what he was getting into. As it turns out, this is no ordinary job! It involves maintaining the relationship with Anothers, mystical species such as Angels, Tengu and Youkai, and make sure they don’t cause any problems to the civilians, blissfully unaware of their existence. It was adorable how lost and confused he was about the situation, and to Arata’s credit, he handled the reveal quite well!

But what intrigues me the most is the transition of how Arata initially couldn’t see Anothers until Seo used the Spray of Ibn Ghazi (a spray that helps people who have trouble seeing Anothers), to revealing he can actually hear and understand what they are saying. Arata didn’t realize until later that he was the only one who can mysteriously understand Another’s language, something more ordinary Humans like Seo and Kyouichi can’t. Seo compared it to being unable to speak cat or dog, which was a great way to make the distinction between the two. Everyone, including the Another’s themselves were shocked that Arata could actually communicate with them. This also one of the reasons why Arata was able to stay so calm despite the chaos, because he had witnessed the Angel and Tengu’s conversation with each other, and realized they were forbidden lovers planning to elope together.

And what makes Arata even more interesting, is how the elder Tengu called him Abe no Seimei, a name Arata is not familiar with. However it seems there’s more to him than he realizes, alluding to either he is a reincarnation, or perhaps he’s not really Human to begin with! So I am very curious about the direction this series will go. It’s clear that Arata’s ability will serve useful in efficiently working alongside the Anothers, serving as an interpreter between Anothers and Humans who cannot understand them. It makes me wonder if this ability was how he passed the secret question his interview.

Seo and Kyouichi are also fun characters, and I am looking forward to seeing the team’s dynamic. Their nonchalant method of introducing newbies to Anothers is quite hilarious, especially since they are already so used to them. But it was a really nice twist to see that even though they work with Anothers, they can’t actually communicate with them. That’s why they had misunderstood the Tengu and Angels checking up on Arata after he accidentally got caught up in the fight.

Speaking of the Tengu and Angels, I am quite fascinated by their size differences. Humans and Tengu are tiny compared to the angels, who aren’t giants, but at least double their size. It was also funny to see the two of them being at conflict with each other, but not because of fighting for territory in the Shinjuku Imperial Gardens, but because of a huge misunderstanding. It was absolutely hilarious and endearing how Arata sided with the lovers and casually tells the Tengu and Angels to let them be.

There is no doubt in my mind, I will definitely be watching Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin this season. It already has me hooked on the supernatural part, and its rather unconventional yet simplistic ideas of establishing stuff like “barriers” and the sorts (with tape of all things!), so I’m looking forward to seeing how the mysteries will play out! As for blogging, depending on the nature of the show this might be a tough one to write about, so if nobody else is interested in picking this up, I will give it three episodes to see how I feel about covering it.

Possibility of Blogging: Moderate – Willing to give three episodes to see where it goes!
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed