Ushio to Tora – 21

With just six episodes left going into this episode, and many things bound to go down soon, it was nice to see Ushio back to his old life, just enjoying simple things like being back in school, shootin’ the breeze and laughing with his mates, and walking with Asako and Mayuko. In fact, I must admit this first act was my favorite of the episode.

Then Inasa Kirio had to come along and ruin everything, hijacking the nice Ushio-Asako scene with his creepy ant-predation watching and creepy expression and creepy…Kuin. Now, don’t get me wrong, Megumi Han is very good when not being made to speak English; she was wonderful if a bit squeaky as Rinko in Ore Monogatari!! and can effectively voice both genders.

But Kirio is a thankless role: a arrogant, cocksure little twerp whose introduction came way too late for my taste. He’s an answer to a question no one is asking at this stage in the game: What if there’s another Beast Spear and wielder? Sure, I knew he’d show up eventually as one of the four Kouhamei finalists, but, for one thing, I thought he’d be a she. Kirio is in a lot of this episode, but at no point did it feel like the episode needed him.

The episode strives to right itself when the Kouhamei Sect’s main temple is attacked by a vicious avatar of Hakumen, and Ushio is summoned to deal with it. Seeing Nagare, Satoru, and Hinowa in action again, but that only serves to remind us that all the “challenging Ushio’s role” stuff has been wrapped up, and amicably so, as these three continue to fight by his side as team players.

I also really enjoyed Ushio brief but powerful encounter with the three hundred-year-old(!) Oyakume, AKA Hizaki Mikado, who had previously stated her last regret in life would be not meeting the true successor to the beast spear. When she finally does, she’s heartened by how kind, warm, and caring he is, while she makes Ushio wonder if his mom is as nice as she is (nicer, according to Oyakume).

When Ushio gets in trouble fighting the avatar, it’s Oyakume who puts up a barrier and petrifies it, sacrificing herself in the process. As Ushio tends to the collapsed old lady, Kirio leaps into the fray to flashily deal the finishing blow, which he does simply so that he’ll be praised as great and awesome. Honestly I can’t even with this kid…can he be put back in the box and shipped back to wherever he came from? (Probably not, alas.)

Still, Ushio seems to take Oyakume’s death awfully hard. I mean, he met her like five minutes ago. Then again, he’s always been a sensitive, empathetic guy who above all is always willing to put his own life on the line to protect others. Those were a powerful five minutes for him, and to see her protect him, old and frail as she is, well, that’s just Ushio being human.

As for Kirio, he lies in the lap of his creepy…mother, I guess? Someone with a crooked grin, in a creepily-lit dining room, who praises Kirio and gives him a new annoying baseball cap, telling him if no one will believe he and his scythe and…sigh…Kuin are better and more powerful than Ushio, the Beast Spear, and Tora, well, doggone it, he’s just going to have to force the issue. Which means we’re not done with Kirio by a long shot. Damn.