Noragami – 11

So we got slightly ahead of ourselves when we said Iki forgot all about Yato and Yukine; turns out it’s just Yato she’s forgotten (at first). Therefore Yukine doesn’t panic, and assures his master she’ll remember him in time. Yato breaks out his awesome artistic skills to try to get her to remember, but doesn’t make any progress.

Then Nora shows up and shows them the memories she’s taken from Hiyori, and will give them back if they defeat her new master Rabo. Yukine has no idea who Rabo is, but sees how much he gets to Yato in their brutal (and very cool) fight. Then Yukine goes to Kofuku and Yato goes to Tenjin, seeking answers.

Kofuku tells Yukine what she already told Iki: that Yato was a calamity god like Rabo, but has changed, no longer fulfilling bad wishes. Knowing that Iki was fine with this, Yukine is also willing to set Yato’s past aside. But then Tenjin tells Yato perhaps Hiyori’s amnesia is a blessing in disguise: the separation she needed from the Far Shore to stop becoming a half-phantom and focus on living in her own world.

While we’re sure he’s not happy about it, Yato concurs, and tells Yukine to stop seeing Hiyori. Nora may have inadvertently solved Hiyori’s problem is solved, right? Well, Yukine being Yukine, he shows Hiyori the picture book Yato had begun (but the last page of which Yukine had to draw in a, shall we say, more naive scrawl). When he hands the book to her, she loses her memory of him as well.

So no, Nora wouldn’t inadvertently help anyone; she’s too evil. Instead, this is no longer a matter of Yato grudgingly closing the book on his friendship with Hiyori: it’s about restoring her memory before there’s nothing left but an empty vessel. While the stakes are higher, we think part of Yato and Yukine are glad they don’t have to say goodbye, having come to love her as much as she loves them. They’ll get her memory back and fix her tail problem the right way.

Yato and Yukine stop by Hiyori’s to tell her they’ll fix her memory. It moves her to tears she can’t even explain due to the amnesia, but she’s also moved to grabbing Yato’s shoulder as they teleport away, leaving her mortal body behind. Does this mean she’s willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and support them? Is that even wise, in her deteriorating condition? We’ll find out next week, when Noragami (or Noragami’s first cour; we’re not sure yet) wraps up.

Rating: 8 (Great)