So basically nothing really happened this episode, but it was still an enjoyable one to watch! Kohaku wanted to bring Arata to Seimei’s Garden, but he couldn’t remember the exact way so they were basically on a very long walk for pretty much the entire episode. Although Kohaku didn’t actually do anything besides wandering in the area, his presence alone was enough to make the local Anothers restless and cause a load of problems. As result Seo and Reiji had to deal with complaints all night long from the Bunkyo Ward. Unfortunately for Arata, he had to pay 6000yen for a taxi ride home after Kohaku ‘returned home’ (truthfully I’m not entirely convinced he’s gone for good, the God is known for popping up whenever he likes), and to make matters worse, the next morning he was the one who has to deal with the reports. It’s naive of him or anyone for that matter to think there wouldn’t be problems whenever Kohaku is involved.
I suppose my favourite moment was when Arata told Kohaku he wouldn’t give him a new name, but stick with the one Seimei had given him. He agrees with how the meaning ties well together with his yellow eyes. You could tell it meant a lot of Kohaku to hear that, especially since in his mind, his name “Kohaku” doesn’t exist unless someone knows the name. That’s why when Seimei died, his name disappeared alongside with him— that is, until Arata found him and remembered the name thanks to the stories that had been passed down by his ancestors.
We also got to meet Kuro, a crow who once served as Seimei’s guide. Although he can’t see well at night, he certainly knows just about everything Arata needs to know, from the taxi costs to what times the trains run until. He was the one who also helped them find Seimei Garden, which appeared to be a space within another dimension of a sorts that Kuro and/or only Kohaku can access.
Following up frm last week, we also got to see how Izumi and Shiori are faring after being rescued. Much to my surprise, despite being a victim tied to the organization’s employees and having witnessed and remembered exactly what transpired, the organization still decided to keep Another’s activities under wraps. We didn’t see much of what Shirori had thought, as she is currently trying to catch up to the time of what should be expected of a teenager now days, but Izumi was sure to follow up on it by asking Arata a bit about how he’s doing since she now knows he is involved with dangerous work.
Speaking of Arata, we also got a brief flashback of him telling the others how despite the devil kidnapping his friend, Arata still sympathized with Azazel’s despair of being unable to restore his lost love, and the pain of his lover’s madden cries. The others are particularly concerned about this, but one has to wonder if they would feel the same if they actually could hear what he does. However at the same time, it makes sense for them to be concerned about him potentially getting himself killed because he can sympathize with Anothers.
Next week, the team will be on a case of a dream demon in a haunted apartment block!
