Subculture Anime Blog

Trick or treat!

Summary:

Looking through his accounts one day, Ebisu is alarmed by his belief that the Binbogami has appeared in the area. In response, he gathers several spirits to his shrine, revealing the threat before them. Though several of the spirits do not believe this is of any concern to them, Ebisu quickly changes their mind by announcing a large prize to the one to catch the Binbogami. While Noboru accompanies several children during the Halloween event that is taking place, he is followed by a white masked child. Unknown to him, the child matches Ebisu’s description of the Binbogami. When Noboru offers some candy to the Binbogami, he begins following Noboru along with the other children. Tenko prepares a feast at Ebisu’s shrine in the meantime, unconcerned with the prize that Ebisu announced. When Ebisu arrives to speak with her, however, she suggests that the Binbogami is not that dangerous of a spirit.

While Toru and Ko search for the Binbogami, they run into severl spirits who believe they have caught their culprit. However, this person turns out to be Ogami in a misleading mask. Noboru meanwhile attempts to have the Binbogami open up to him, but he is surprised when he then continues to be attached to him after the rest of the children have returned home. When Noboru arrives at the shrine, Ebisu prepares to give him the promised prize despite his ignorance of the situation. However, Ebisu quickly angers those around him when he reveals that the prize is much smaller than he seemed to promise. When Tenko’s roasted potatoes are finally finished, she is shocked to find that it is ruined despite her expectations. When she blames this on the Binbogami, he has already disappeared. Seeing that the Binbogami had wanted to pay him back for his kindness, Noboru only wishes that he would one day come back to play again.

ED: “Shiawase no Kotodama 「シアワセの言霊」” by Yukana, Hayami Saori, Takahashi Mikako - Wow! I love the new ED! It’s a great song sung by three of the main seiyu, and it’s full of great art and chibi action.

Preview: Hot springs ep with a bit of mystery?

Impression:

You know, I tend to like this show a lot more when it focuses on the slice of life and light comedy aspects of the series. This episode gave us just that, and it was awesome. Sakura’s usual delusions, Ko’s typical silliness, and Tenko’s large stomach are all things that are done almost all the time, but it’s impossible not to smile at them every time. I loved seeing Sakura and Noboru’s costumes too, and it’s a shame that the rest of the characters didn’t really get a chance to have proper ones. The Binbogami, the “spirit of the week” this time around, was very likable despite how minor of a character he was. Of course, as suggested in this episode, the Binbogami in Japanese culture is typically believed to bring poverty to a home.

Now, I don’t usually mention the new EDs outside of the section I set up for them, but wow, this one was just awesome. I absolutely loved the art, and the style was almost Shaft level as far as how much I appreciated it. It totally took me off guard too, coming in at an odd episode number like 19. Hayami Saori’s voice still dominates the song for me, though I love Yukana too. It looks like our previews are getting back on track too, although they still seem stylized (in a good way). I’m definitely getting excited about Wagaya again, so I’m really looking forward to the next episode.