Ao no Exorcist 13

The pieces of the Shura picture fall into place this week, as does Rin’s ultimate goal: to rise to become Paladin, this proving his dad right. This episode also did quite a lot to galvanize the legend of Fujimoto. This guy was truly something; a tamer of wild things. He molded Shura, once a feral, directionless terror, into his apprentice. He raised a son of satan not as a weapon against said satan, but as a son. He even tamed Kuro the cat sith.

Shura misunderstood why her master would go and throw away his life for a demon, but combined with her own demonic past and the love and kindness she sees in Rin during their “interrogation”, she concedes her late master’s wishes. It’s her job to toughen him up, while making sure he keeps his inner rage under control. Another thing we learn about Shura; she’s practically always had an aversion to shirts. Seriously, she’s so silly-looking.

Finally, we see that Mephisto is still hiding his true intentions. He says he abandoned Gehenna to help maintain peace and balance in the human world, but we have every reason to doubt him; I mean, look at his get-up, and the ridiculous decor his office. While Shura will probably become Rin’s tough-but-fair mentor, Mephisto and his ‘brothers’ are sure to make trouble for Rin in the future. Rating: 3

Hanasaku Iroha 15

At one point in this week’s proceedings, in which Ohana arrives to the rescue of the same inn her class is staying at, she proclaims with surprise: “I’ve learned my job!” She was taught so well, she wasn’t even aware of when she transformed from more of a Yuina-like liability to a serious inn professional. Her “waitress’ instinct” wouldn’t allow her to stand by and let the inn’s service suffer. So in her free time, she volunteers to work.

Nakochi and Minchi soon join her, and they do what they do best. Yuina goofs off around town a little longer, but eventually returns to the inn to find that her friends are hard at work preparing dinner for the class. She stops by the bath, where an annoyed Yosuke tells her if she doesn’t want to work by his side in the inn when he inherits it, there’s no way they can marry. What’s interesting is that Yuina laid out her desired future so confidently and bluntly, and it turns out she isn’t nearly as sure about everything as she would let on.

All it takes is Yosuke praising Ohana and even suggesting a girl like her would be more suited to be his wife, and Yuina grabs a mop and starts scrubbing. This is a girl whos classmates call her princess, and she is in a lot of ways, having never done much manual labor. But she’s determined not to let Yosuke fall (settle?) for Ohana: she can work to, she just chose never to do so.

Yuina indeed helps Yosuke finish cleaning the bath just in time, and the dinner is a success thanks to the Kissuiso staff. The experience not only makes Yuina rethink whether an inn has no place in her future, but also leads to Yosuke rethinking his managing style. It also reinforces the friendship of the three Kissuiso girls, who proved that no matter where the inn is, they can make it rain, so to speak. Rating: 3.5