Subculture Anime Blog

Not enough furry or gender bend.

Summary:

An elderly woman preforms a ritual in her shrine, becoming alarmed at what she sees in the reaction. She then calls out to a girl named Ko, having her contact a man named Mihashi Tatsuhiko. Tatsuhiko later drives out to meet his two nephews, Noboru and Toru, who have arrived in the country. After the usual confirmation that the family is doing well, Noboru and Toru find that their grandmother is actually in Tatsuhiko’s car. She states that a yokai is after Toru, and after the situation is explained to the boys, Tatsuhiko assures the boys that everything will be fine. Noboru and Toru are introduced to Ko when they reach the shrine, and learn of her position as a guardian. The boys’ grandmother asks inside if Toru had a strange dream the previous night. He confirms that he did, describing the dream in which he gave his name to a demon that asked for it. Finding that they will be needing help, the boys’ grandmother has everyone follow her up a path to the sealed fox deity named Kugen Tenko.

On the way up, Noboru mentions to Toru that their grandmother has not changed in appearance for several years. When the group reaches the location of the seal, Noboru is surprised to be the one who must read the opening incantation. He proceeds to do so, and now with the large rock now open, the group enters to see Tenko inside. The boys are surprised to hear the fox before them speak, but their grandmother gets to the point by asking for its help. Tenko is not very enthusiastic about helping at all, only mocking how much the clan has fallen. However, when Tenko finds out who the boys are, she becomes slightly interested. Toru asks for Tenko’s name again, deciding that he would call her Ku-chan. Tenko enthusiastically asks the boys about their mother Miyako, and decides to help after the positive answer. She makes it clear that she is moving for Miyako’s sons, rather than for the family, however.

Returning to the shrine that night, the boys are surprised to see Tenko in human form. She is quick to note that she can also take a male’s form, but business is quickly attended to. The shrine shakes even with a barrier set up, and Toru answers to the yokai again when she asks for his name. The yokai breaks through the barriers, calling for Toru to approach her. This starts to happen, but Tenko demonstrates her easily greater power by stopping him. The yokai begins insulting Tenko for helping those very people who have sealed her, and this greatly angers her. Tenko has Ko assist her while the yokai sends an attack their way, allowing Tenko to reflect the attack and defeat the demon.

Tenko takes hold on the yokai that has reduced to the form of a snake afterwards, wondering what they should do with it. Toru suggests that they let it live, which Tenko agrees to after giving a bit of a warning to the snake. Afterwards, the question of resealing Tenko is brought up. It is suggested that Noboru is the only one who is able to do this, however, and he decides that he cannot do it. With this, Tenko is relieved of her duties as the family’s guardian. She suggests that Noboru and Toru become her guardian instead, however, as she has become interested in them. Although there are no objections to this, the boys’ grandmother has Ko accompany Noboru and Toru as a precaution. On the train ride home, the boys find that Tenko has an extremely large appetite.

ED: “Kaze ga Nanika wo Iou to Shiteru 「風がなにかを言おうとしている」” by Saori Hayami - There’s not much to say about the ED. Both the song and animation are pretty standard. I am pretty psyched about Hayami Saori doing it though, just like she was involved in Touka Gettan’s themes.

Preview: Time to take on the guy form.

Impression:

I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I might just be having a hard time recovering from the awesome feeling Nabari no Ou left me. For a first episode, this was pretty average all around. I was excited to quickly hear Hayami Saori as Ko, but this role is a lot more average than the one she played in Touka Gettan. Yukana (of recent Code Geass fame) played a pretty fitting Tenko as well. The animation wasn’t bad at all, but it also wasn’t anything to call home about. With the set up they have now, I’m expecting a light comedy with some episodic stories dealing with fighting spirits. Honestly, having seen similar set ups many times, I would probably end up marathoning this one rather than keeping up with it seriously. I’ll have to see how it goes with the rest of the season’s new shows first though. I was pretty excited about this one preseason after all.