Darn it! This episode felt way too short! MORE! I NEED MORE! ALSO CAN WE APPRECIATE SMOL ODANNA! HE’S SO FREAKING CUTEEEE!!!!
This week we finally got to understand to some degree what Odanna really is, and why his existence is considered a taboo! But before that, let’s review what has been confirmed about the whole spiriting away thing that happened last week.
Thankfully nothing bad came out of Aoi’s unfortunate encounter with Raiju. Both Sasuke and Byakuya were able to trace her down quickly and make a get away before Raiju could throw her into a cell too.
Yes, it was Ougon-douji-sama who had spirited Aoi away to the red door at the end of last week’s episode. It was revealed today that Odanna has escaped from prison (likely thanks to Ougon-douji-sama’s help as well), and the one Aoi was speaking to was in-fact him. It must’ve been close to, or immediately after they’ve done so, as Odanna had sought to at least speak to Aoi to explain he’s unlikely to be able to return to her in the form she’s familiar with. At this time, he remains missing to everyone, even Byakuya, who have been gathering intel in the Ochikubo District (a shady underground area beneath Youto). They are presently based with an acquaintance of his, Shimon (who’s also Dr. Saraku’s elder brother). Nuinoin has also been assisting with the investigation.
Now that Aoi has regrouped with Byakuya, he decided now would be a good time to tell her a little bit of what he does know about Odanna because as he puts it: “There’s no excuse for secrets between spouses!”
So as it turns out: Odanna technically is an ogre, but the key distinction that makes his very existence a taboo is because he belongs to the evil subspecies of is “Ogre-Devils”. This class is notoriously known for being more powerful than the average ogre, their cruel personalities, and their malicious hearts. And it was because an ayakashi king was murdered by one in the past, that they decided they had to seal them away altogether. To the ayakashi in the hidden realm, Ogre-Devils are the most abominable creatures that should not be allowed to exist.
But here’s where it gets interesting: When Byakuya first met Odanna, what caught him off-guard and struck him awe was the purity in Odanna’s eyes. In-fact, he even described it as even too much for an Ogre-Devil. His dignity and sense of presence overwhelmed him. And the most unexpected thing of all, was when Ougon-douji-sama had released Odanna from the seal, the unlivable hellish lands suddenly transformed and flourished into a place could be safely inhabited. It was thanks to that, Ougon-douji-sama decided to turn Tenjin Castle into an inn, and renamed it to Tenjin-ya that we know of today.
Although it’s been explained why Odanna’s existence as an “Ogre-Devil” is a taboo, the fact Odanna possesses such purity despite his species’ notorious reputation in the first place raises a lot of questions as to how and why that is. Clearly, there must be something more to him that we still have yet to learn about for his awakening to have contributed to the rebirth of the lands. You could even liken him to being a deity of a sort to have that kind of impact. And what makes this even more mysterious is how Odanna mentioned growing up in dense miasma.
Bearing that in mind, I suppose this may be something that could potentially circle back to what Raiju said to Aoi today: ‘How the darkness around Odanna is indefinitely deep.’ One has to wonder, was he always special in a sense of bearing the kind of purity that Ogre-Devils are said not to have? Or did Odanna eat something that actually purified him prior to being sealed away? The timeline is a quite complicated given there’s multiple things we have to take into consideration. From the violent period of 1000 years ago that led to the death of the ayakashi King, to 500 years ago Odanna being released from the seal by Ougon-douji-sama, and then the emergence of Shiro, quickly becoming the infamous hero in the Hidden Realm for defeating the ‘mean demon’ Oni-no-gashima. And then of course, the question about the nature of the curse he had been afflicted with… There’s a lot to unravel here.
But there is one thing for certain: Given Odanna’s tragic background, we now have a better understanding of the type of people he scouts to work at Tenjin-ya. He sought Byakuya who was sick of the Imperial Court life, he saved Saraku, who was forcibly dragged out from the underground and was ordered to create things that would bring harm to others. Alongside Ougon-douji-sama, they were the original trio that built the foundation to what Tenjin-ya has evolved into today. It’s a place that is run by employees given a second chance, be it to better themselves, or to find a place where they can belong. It’s home to them.
That’s why Byakuya and the rest won’t give up on protecting Odanna. They will do whatever it takes to protect him, especially the few who have been around the longest. And although Byakuya commented on how he can’t coherce her to stay by Odanna’s side during this time, what he doesn’t know is that Aoi has already expressed her resolve to accept Odanna no matter what. On top of that, if anything, Aoi’s resolve has only been strengthened further now that she has learned the two of them share the trauma the trauma of being abandoned and trapped alone, starving in the dark. She’s more determined than ever to search for the remaining doors she must find in hopes that’ll lead her to wherever he is.
But to protect Odanna, they must persuade the Haichiyo to protect him. The next meeting is on New Years, and they need to secure the promise of at least five gold seals to ensure Odanna remains the head of Tenjin-ya, and does not get sealed away again.
Oh, and if I may add: It was rich to hear Raiju go on about how Odanna and the likes of him must be sealed away for having once plunged the Hidden Realm into chaos. What a fucking hypocrite. He’s the guy who gets off at watching people flail and struggle in despair and fear. He has no right to go on about any of that!
As for Ougon-douji: I’ve mentioned in last week’s entry how Ougon-douji’s has always been a character that’s been difficult for me to grasp where her intentions lies. But after hearing this story from Byakuya, and taking into consideration what she has done for Orio-ya, Ougon-douji now strikes me as the type daring enough to take chances with individuals and places that otherwise have been given up on. She was the one who decided to live in the hellish lands of Tenjin Castle, and one day she broke the seal underground and woke Odanna up from his deep slumber. It was thanks to that all of this was possible. And to top things off, Ougon-doujii has been confirmed to have helped Odanna escape prison. So she’s very much the type to go: Screw the rules. Or something akin to a “class-traitor” if you will. Byakuya is also likened to the sort, as Raiju lashed out at him for ‘abandoning his hometown’ (Youto). But really more than anything, given what we’ve been hearing been going on in the courts, it wouldn’t surprise me if Byakuya was sick of his job in the imperial court, and because he was so taken by the purity in Odanna’s eyes, he readily accepted his offer to work at Tenjin-ya.
On top of all of the lore goodies, we got another development unfolding: Aoi’s rose quartz has fully bloomed. It’s been fairly noticeable for the past few episodes that it’s been like that, but today was the first time Aoi had finally noticed it. If I recall correctly, Odanna said she had until to fulfill her promise. I have always wondered if the crystal was really something that’d track the progression of her feelings. I also think he might’ve said something along the lines that the crystal would fall off the hair stick when it does. I wonder what would happen when it does that. That said, although I didn’t mention it last week, I do have one thing that’s been in the back of my mind: I half wonder if that rose quartz is by any chance related to that crystal that’s growing on Takechiyo’s pet turtle back.
And finally last but not least we gotta talk about Ginji. He has taken the back-seat so far this season (which makes sense given how prominent his role was in the first), but today… our dear fox accidentally and indirectly confessed to Aoi! WHELP! He was so embarrassed with himself! Can’t blame him for it.
Though I suppose luckily for him, Aoi didn’t actually interpret it in a romantic sense. She had thought he shared the same feeling of how Moonflower has become a home to him. But we all know, and even Ginji himself is aware, that he loves Aoi. Hell even Ranmaru called him out on it, and warned him he’ll only get hurt in the end for it. But because Ginji’s a good boy, and it seems he’s set to keep his feelings a secret. Not only in consideration for her, but also probably for Odanna’s sake too. Needless to say, the way he pines for her is pretty apparent. We’ll have to see if he’s able to hide that a bit better in the foreseen future.
Next week, it looks like Aoi might be sneaking into the court! An interesting decision considering Odanna’s said to have escaped. I wonder what leads it to that. I suppose she wants to be able to meet with the ayakashi king himself in attempt to speak in Odanna’s defence.
