It was a certainly a good thing that Arata did show up when he did because it’s as he said, Miyo’s still too inexperienced to jump into these things without a lifeline of any sort. Until she can get a handle on it, it would be best for her to have someone supervising her condition to ensure that she doesn’t end up getting herself killed in the process. Her powers aren’t as simple as just jumping into a dream and helping the person wake up. With the mix of demons and other nefarious powers at work, she still has a lot to learn. At the very least she was able to successfully save the villager Kota before he succumbed to the demon’s influence. And thanks to her determination and success, she was able to earn recognition from Kiyoka’s mother that she’s worthy of being by Kiyoka’s side.
Now that Fuyu has seen and recognized Miyo’s resolve, she’s softened to an extent that she’s become a tsundere. She’s still saying stupid things, but ultimately Miyo got the recognition that she’s capable of fulfilling her duties as Kiyoka’s wife. It was sort of funny how she just slapped that ribbon into her hands because she didn’t know what to do with herself. It’s a shame they left out the scene where Miyo puts on the ribbon and Fuyu’s reaction. It was also nice to see her speaking to Kiyoka without angry tension sizzling between the two of them. She simply said she hopes the next time she sees Miyo, that she’ll be more confident, acknowledging that she accepts the two of them being together. (Also, how could she not after seeing the two hug the way they did when Kiyoka got back?)
And finally the most important reveal: Naoshi Usui and the Gifted Communion. Naoshi the leader of the organization, and is going around “bestowing power” to giftless individuals to try to create a more “equal world”. Of course that may sound good on paper, but his way of going about it is clearly a problem. Turning people into demons that’s going around killing people is hardly the way to go about it. The first clue has to do with blood and a nasty spell attached to the container which the subject wears.
Kiyoka and his father were able to deal with them pretty easily today, (and boy, Tadakiyo still got it. That man is quick on his feet!) But while things were fairly simple, Kiyoka’s not going to be okay when he finds out what happened to Godou and his party after they caught in a real bad trap! Not to mention Naoshi has decided to show off his power and greet them himself.
Speaking of the devil: thanks to Arata, we learned that Naoshi is part of the Usui family, who are a branch off the Usuba Family. Like the Usuba’s, they have long disappeared without a trace. So not even Arata and his grandfather knows what’s going on with them at the moment. The only thing we do know is that, Naoshi was Sumi’s (Miyo’s mother) prospective fiancé, and that plan was cast out the window when Sumi had to change her engagement arrangements to be with the Saimori’s instead. And now we have Usui showing up claiming that he’s actually Miyo’s “father” by referring to her as his daughter. Poor Miyo, got this whole other family drama on her plate, and is going to be totally at loss of whether he’s actually speaking the truth or not. First she gotta deal with a dad that neglected her all her life, and now this “self-proclaimed dad” wants to set off a calamity! Man… She can’t catch a break!
Last but not least, Miyo and Kiyoka finally had their first kiss! ASJKDASLD. ABOUT TIME! Thankfully there were no interruptions and we finally got it. Glad Kiyoka just went for it! It’s so beautiful!!!! Aren’t you glad it didn’t take a whole season to get it? Hahaha!
But I have to be real here: It’s a darn shame that they had to rush through it. I am very disappointed to see they had completely cut out the follow-up to that event. What was cut out was actually quite important, especially since it involves the process of Miyo understanding her own feelings. This is something that is supposed to be relevant in the upcoming arc— that is, unless they actually decide to just cut that all out, so I sure I hope they don’t!!!!
Unfortunately it’s difficult for me to just sum up the whole thing, because it’s like more than a page of content that gives context to what’s going on. So to prevent confusion, when the time comes to address this, I’ll provide more context if needed.
Overall I wish I could say I enjoyed this episode, but honestly I felt this episode was a a bit of a mess. And to make matters worse, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about how fast they blew through this volume (3). I feel like, this was too rushed, to the point they cut out so much that we couldn’t really appreciate the build up to the reveal of the Gifted Communion, Kiyoka’s and Miyo’s first kiss, and most of all– the end of the episode where we see Godou getting ambushed and Naoshi Usui deciding to greet Miyo. It’s also hard to say whether it’s because I already knew it was going to happen that it didn’t leave as much of an impact on me, where as when I read the novel during this scene I was like “OH SHIT, NOT GODOU!!!!!!” As you can imagine what it was like having to wait months after that cliffhanger! So I’d like to hear from those of you who haven’t read the novel about whether they managed to really land that surprise bomb drop or not.
At the very least, this week did solidify my suspicion that we’ll likely see them adapt to at least volume 6. There’s a certain scene in the opening that made it pretty clear that was the plan, which suggests we’re probably getting about 3 episodes per volume. And if that were to be the case… We’ll have to see how it goes.
Novel readers have also noticed the LN 3 material rushing.
Some think it’s an attempt by the anime production to downplay the mother in law’s cruelty to Miyo to make her more palatable to viewers, especially since I hear much of this story is Fuyu abusing Miyo like a rehash of the Saimori family arc, but not really getting a comeuppance unlike the Saimoris.
Others say the move is to cover Naoshi and the cultist arc in the remaining episode count, but would that be too rushed to cover in 9 more episodes?
Yeah I got the feeling they were trying to avoid rehashing that again too. They probably could’ve gotten away with that, but I really wished they didn’t cut some crucial character moments for Miyo that’ll come into play later. I’m definitely worried they are trying to shove all of this into 9 episodes (vol 4, 5, 6). I’m honestly not sure how well this is going to pan out. If they wanted to get over Fuyu quickly, I fear they might try doing the same with the new character that debuts next week. It’s really… not going to be good if they start cutting crucial scenes that are tied to not only Miyo’s character growth, but also the growth of her relationship with Kiyoka.
I had originally hoped they would end the season at vol 5, so this way they could just do vol 6-7 in a separate season. My biggest fear at the moment, is them trying to fit vol 7 into this season. And that’s just not going to work without severely cutting down the quality of the story. :\
I’d also like to add, it’s too bad we just don’t have more episodes to work with, even if it’s a odd number that not atypical of a season count. That’s probably the only way that would make things work better.