Sousei no Onmyouji – 29

Whew…I knew we were going to get some answers and stuff was going to go down once Rokuro, Benio, and Sae arrived in Kyoto…I just didn’t know we’d get those answers and everything would go down so quickly. The episode even teases the possibility of a “rest episode” in which Sae and her two de facto parents soak in the city and its many choice ohagi spots.

Then Arima calls them and tells them to get over to Exorcist Union HQ pronto. Rokuro and Benio have to put their plans for fun on hold, but they promise Sae they can go wherever she wants…once the Dragon Spot problem is taken care of. This promise, and the lingering long shot of the three in near silhouette against the river, felt like pretty strong death flags for Lil’ Sae.

As Roku, Benio, and Sae head for HQ, Arima finds himself ambushed by Kuranashi, and we finally get to see what Arima is made of when he dodges the initial strike, then sends fire and ice summons after Kuranashi when he tries to flee to Magano. Kuranashi, whom we learn for the first time is a Basara…and the most interesting one since Kamui, to boot.

A furious, top-level duel ensues, highlighting SnO’s strengths: hard-hitting action with an above-average score and sound design that really makes blows and magical effects pop. We also see just how wet behind the ears our Twin Stars are, considering all the incantations they have to do in order to launch attacks. Here, Arima exorcises lesser Kegare with a look or a thought; I bet he just said “Begone” for effect.

But then something happens I did not expect: Arima falls into Kuranashi’s trap, something called a “seman” that drains all of his spell power, which is then absorbed by Kuranashi. As Arima slowly descends into his apparent demise (though I doubt we’ve seen the last of him), he wears a defiant grin: Merely getting rid of him won’t give Kuranashi what he wants (to cover the world in darkness). This is his faith in the Twin Stars talking, for as he says, stars shine brightest in the darkest darkness.

Of course, Arima’s faith doesn’t automatically mean Rokuro and Benio are ready to deliver the world’s salvation, as the most important answer to this cour so far is finally answered: Who or what is Sae? Turns out, she is a broken-off branch of the legendary tree Ame-no-Mihashira, the tree that forms the barrier between Magano and the real world. The dragon spots were caused when she was broken off by Kuranashi.

In the Miyazaki-esque deep core of HQ, Subaru and Tatara are there to explain all this too Rokuro and Benio, and to tell them that the only way to stop the Dragon Spots, and by extention save the world, is for the branch to return to the tree; for Sae to cease being a person.

It’s a hard pill to swallow, and the Twin Stars’ initial shock and denial is replaced by knowing, as Sae has demonstrated time and time again she’s no mere lost girl. Now, it would seem, the fate of the world depends on whether they’re willing to say goodbye to someone they’d come to see as their own child—’pre-Miko’, if you will, bringing the couple that much closer together.

It looks pretty likely Sae is not long for this world in her human form. But who knows? Maybe restoring the branch isn’t the only way. Whatever decision the Twin Stars come to, they’ll have to come to it fast, as the largest Dragon Spot yet opens over Kyoto. What will they do?

Sousei no Onmyouji – 28

Ya know, when the first Basara Kamui first showed up – a super-powerful, sentient Kegare with something of a distinct moral code, I was a bit excited. But like the Arrancar in Bleach, there have now been so many different Basara with such short lifespans, they’ve become less fascinating and more, well, boring. This week’s Basara Kinasa doesn’t help matters, even if he’s got impeccable manners and a gun from Puella.

The predictable Roku and Benio pattern of encountering a foe, throwing everything they’ve got at it to absolutely no avail, and getting bailed out by a third party, is similarly wearing thin; not a good sign considering there’s so much more show left.

Kinasa is merely filler to stop our heroes in our tracks, but they don’t really learn anything or gain any new strength: they’re merely saved, once again, by Sae’s mysterious powers, after Sae disobeys them for the hundredth time. I’m also baffled that Kinako never conjures child locks while in RV Mode.

What makes Roku and Benio look even weaker is when Unomiya Tenma, the most powerful of the 12 Guardians, arrives, just ’cause, and dispatches both Kinasa and the Dragon Spot with one swing of his sword and one word (“Close!”).

We’ve been led to believe that with resonance this duo can really make things happen, but it’s almost as if they’ve regressed. Granted, perhaps the Basara are getting more powerful, but the same pattern has played out each time, and I don’t really care about the Basara, so it’s hard to gauge how tough an enemy is. They seem to either defeat it instantly, or are totally overpowered and in need of outside help.

In any case, this last dragon spot drop until Kyoto, and Tenma will be their escort. Sae seems eager to go, so Benio and Rokuro follow.  Mayura’s episode was a nice change of pace, but a return to the same-old-same-old just didn’t do it for me. I want to see more movement in the plot and less disposable Basara.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 27

This week Rokuro and Benio merely bookend an a rare episode that focuses on Mayura. When Twelve Guardians member Ikaruga Shimon shows up in Narusaki, she can’t resist the opportunity to become stronger with his instruction. Of course, not before she accidentally barges in on him in the nude; a welcome inversion of the cliche.

Shimon also happens to have been trained by Seigen (and his praise is one of the only things that brings a smile to his face), so Mayura quickly finds the same style she’s seen her father employ, both on her and on Rokuro. He’s not immediately impressed with Mayura, but can’t deny she learns fast.

When the Dragon Spot appears in town and one of Mayura’s friends is caught in the miasma, Mayura blasts right through Shimon’s logical reasons she shouln’t go in there. To hell with that; protecting people, especially those she cares about, from harm is the reason she’s an exorcist.

She does what she needs to to to ensure her friend’s safety, leading a near-basara away, then Shimon takes care of the rest, using his Vermillion Wing ability to scoop her to safety with a “princess hold”, then acing the baddie.

Mayura convinces Shimon that she’s definitely exorcist material, even if she doesn’t dream of being The Strongest or creating a world with no kegare. She’s more about realistic, achievable goals, like keeping people safe, even if her pristine skin gets scuffed.

I’ve never minded Mayura, and here she even gets a whiff of a romance with someone not utterly oblivious to her. Plus, she’s already seen him naked, so that’s out of the way! I can’t imagine will see a lot more of the two anytime soon, or if anything more will come of their new friendship, but this broke up the monotony of the Twins’ road trip nicely.

P.S. I dug the new OP, with an almost Monogatari-style aesthetic and a thumping theme by the band Back-On. The new ED was pretty, if a bit dull.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 26

At last, an episode that somewhat moves the needle a little in the overall story arc, while answering some questions about Sae. Sure, there’s a pair of lame Basara twins involved, but we also finally get to meet the great Kuranashi, proving that it’s not Sae (kind of a flimsy theory I had, but I’m glad I can eliminate it at least).

The basara twins, while generally lame, still manage to overpower the Twin Stars pretty easily in their first encounter, wrapping them up in their spider-like silk. Things get so bad Sae has to run out to take the twins’ next strike, and to the surprise of everyone, Sae is able to summon a barrier that negates the Basaras’ power.

The intent of showing how easily Roku and Benio are beaten, and how easily Sae’s shield stops that same power, is clear: Sae is totes powerful; enough to have me thinking she’s starting to look like the Miko, even though Roku and Benio didn’t technically conceive her.

Three more of the 12 Guardians show up, and like the others they have their little quirks, but I still refuse to learn their names; not until we start seeing more of them for more than one episode at a time. It also feels like we’ve been introduced to more than 12, even though we haven’t.

These three guys don’t even do anything, since Roku and Benio are committed to exorcising the basara who tried to hurt Sae, who is as near as makes no difference their adoptive daughter at this point.

The Guardians did do one thing: move the battle to the real world, which combined with their anger over the threatening of Sae, provided Roku and Benio the boost they needed to defeat the twins, who are taken back to Magano by Kuranashi, finally showing himself to the guardians in the process.

It’s clear Kuranashi is the kind of guy who prefers to use others as his tools without involving himself in direct fights. The episode ends with him killing one twin to repair the leg of the other, and giving the suriving twin a reason for vengeance against the Twin Stars. But even Kuranashi is intrigued by the wild card that is Sae. Now knowing what she isn’t is better than nothing.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 25

I was hoping for some kind of movement of the Sae mystery—will she turn out to be the Big Bad, Kuranashi?—here at the halfway point of the show (assuming it only goes 50 episodes). Instead, we got another relatively generic dragon spot-of-the-week, this time a big one that opens in the middle of a domed baseball stadium in Aichi. Chief among the hordes of kegare that emerge is our Basara-of-the-week, Yamato, who creates a giant kegare suit to stomp around and fight in.

Joining the Basara-of-the-week are the Twelve Guardians-of-the-week, Ioroi Nasumi and Kasukami Cordelia, who like Yamato are painted in the broadest of strokes due to the time constraints. Ioroi can’t help but laught heartily before saying anything, while Cordelia speaks with electronic voice in single English words she spells out first. Okay, sure, why not?

The guardians meet with Roku and Benio, then go off to fight Yamato’s giant kegare suit with Cordelia’s giant celestial suit; a tactic we haven’t seen from exorcists before.

They don’t fare too well though, and before long Roku and Benio realize that “what they need to do” is what they, like the former ace pitcher, and only they can do: close the spot.

They do so, getting a small (microscopic) assist from the old pitcher in the process, and in doing so, gain the respect of two more Guardians, who, like Yamato, wander off in the end, leaving Roku, Benio, and Sae free to tackle the next crisis-of-the week.

I’m putting myself on record as not being the greatet fan of this latest string of episodes; they tell small stories that aren’t really progressing the protagonists’ development in any meaningful way. Not to mention Sae continues to be head-scratcher the show is annoyingly in no hurry to resolve.

Of the 25 episodes of SnO I’ve watched, only 12 have scored 8 or higher. If that trend continus, that means a minimum of 24 sub-recommended episodes when all’s said and done. That’s a lot of mediocrity to sift through, and I’m quietly starting wonder whether it’s worth it.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 24

SnO continues its episodic format as Roku, Benio, and Sae continue their “country tour” across the country, sealing dragon spots as they go. Last week was a bit of a drag, but this week presents us with Lio, not yet a Basara but by far the least hostile Kegare we’ve yet encountered.

The “non-evil enemy” is a fairly common convention, but it’s well-executed here, as Sae becomes the non-hostile go-between that allows for a moment of peace between warring species, however brief.

I like how Roku and Benio’s instincts have them shooting Leo on sight, especially when they find Sae with her. But all it takes is a word from Sae, and Leo won’t fight with the exorcists anymore. All he wants is to “see something beautiful”; indeed, it seems to be his only purpose in life. We’ve never seen a Basara just before they became a Basara, so this is new and fresh territory in terms of building the (other)world of the show.

Roku even ceases charging Leo on sight when he sees tears in the Kegare’s eyes. Somehow, right on cue, the amusement park comes to life, and the seed Roku planted in Sae’s head (and Sae planted in Leo’s) of a “sparkly, beautiful” place comes to fruition…just in time for Leo to get pierced through the chest by an arrow of light.

That arrow was fired by Sada Sakura, who along with Zeze Miku are members of the 12 Guardians, who don’t know why Roku and Benio are just standing around with a near-Basara. They’re very far away, and allow no time for explanations, shooting first like the Twins, but with far deadlier attacks.

Zeze could be fun if she wasn’t just a deadpan foil for the manic Sada, whose yelling and passion for RULUSU wears thin fast. As for Sae, she flashes a look we see, but Roku and Benio don’t: a knowing expression that, like her ability to learn and make things so easily, is far beyond her years (if she is indeed a little kid and not…something else).

R.I.P. Leo. You were threatening at first, but in the end you were an ‘ol softie, and you were okay by me. Glad you got to see something beautiful before you were taken out.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 23

Since Rokuro and Benio are the only ones who have been proven to be able to close dragon spots, they quickly find their services are in high demand. Hopping aboard a Mini-based Kinao-possessed RV, they head to Shinshuchuoshi, the next town choked by miasma and threatened by a spot.

There, they meet the upbeat casual commander Kiyomi (who seems way too young to have such big kids, but whatevs) and Kumashiro, who has never met nor knows anything about Benio, but instantly condemns her as the sister of a traitor.

One of the high points of this episode is Benio assuring an angered Rokuro that as long as he knows the truth, she’ll be just fine. Sae is also around, the mystery about who or what she is continuing to be dangled around us like a cat toy.

Shinshuchuoshi’s Dragon Spot has also resulted in a Basara showing up to start some shit; unlike Suzu, Moro doesn’t merely punish a guy who richly deserves it but gives scores of townsfolk a petrifying kiss of death.

Moro almost gets Kumashiro too, but Benio saves him, because she doesn’t need a reason to save lives. Maybe be a little nicer to her from now on, yeah Kuma-chan?

Since she’s apparently safest by Rokuro and Benio’s side, Sae…spends a good deal of time away from said sides, but doesn’t come to any harm. In fact, the worst thing that happens to her is that she gets upset when Benio yells at her when she shows up in the battle zone.

The thing is, Sae has a backup talisman with her that helps them close the Dragon Spot, just before Moro retreats, so Sae is the heroine of the day. Benio later apologize and thanks Sae, but we’re no closer to learning what Sae’s freakin’ deal is, which is getting a bit frustrating.

That building frustration, the lack of any thrills or surprises, and animation that seemed a bit worse than usual, results in an overall MEH outing. On to the next Dragon Spot-afflicted town, I suppose.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 22

This episode still had that zany fun factor that made it watchable, and it certainly seems to be (very gradually) setting up the next threats and opponents Roku, Benio & Co. will be up against.

But between the miasma, news of a “Dragon Spot” appearing, checking in on Arima and the 12 Guardians for a hot second, the appearance of two more bad guys—one of whom doesn’t speak and the other who’s just…bizarre—and the continued, but now less urgent mystery of who (or what) Sae is, this episode was also, at times, a bit of a disorganized mess.

We meet our second Basara, Suzu, when she confronts a guy who shoved his lover into a group of kegare so he could get away. Man of the Year over here! We get it, SnO, the norms of this show are assholes. But Suzu, like Kamui, show’s she’s not just straight-up evil, so much as ravenously curious and unhinged, starting all of her lines in a measured, proper manner, then finishing them with a “wilder” dialect.

But then…what is with all the theatricality? Was she once a human idol who turned into a Basara, I wonder? Whatever the case, she’s committed expressing herself; I admire that. Just as I continue to admire Mayura and her white hot pants participating in the battle instead of just cowering and waiting for rescue, which…aw dammit, she just cowered and waited for rescue…which comes not from Roku or Benio but Suzu.

Upon experiencing Suzu’s strong, unique personality, Rokuro and Benio wear priceless expressions of bewilderment. Fortunately for them, Suzu isn’t interested in killing them or stirring up any trouble, only to observe and learn about them. Then yes, probably kill them.

After Suzu’s odd “hi!…bye!” encounter, the exorcists (wait, I thought Seigen couldn’t be an exorcist anymore. Which is it?) get to the matter at hand: sealing the “Dragon Spot” that’s basically a festering hole between this world and Magano.

Once Roku and Benio use Resonance, sealing the hole is a breeze, but the point is, it’s not the last one, and who knows where the next one(s) will show up, or when. Probably soon, and in the vicinity of innocent people. Plus some jerks, like that girlfriend-pushing guy.

Also, Sae was in the episode! Hi Sae! She’s cute…but yeah, still don’t know what’s up with her.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 21

After the life-changing ordeal that was the battle with Yuto, and Rokuro’s gift of new hairpins for Benio, it was as good a time as any for this 50-episode series to have a time jump. It’s been two years: Mayura is now an exorcist-in-training, donning hot pants and being clumsy; Ryogo and Haruka continue to be a couple, and Roku and Benio are now a reliable and staggeringly effective duo.

The time jump also means the love triangle is now in high school. Mayura and Benio learn that Rokuro has become pretty cool guy, and it’s nice to see a character who was so flawed and incomplete come more into his own, much like Ushio in Ushio to Tora.

Old crushes who rejected him are now smitten, and Mayura wants Benio to piss or get off the pot with regards to acting on whatever feelings she has for the guy. She has, after all, had the advantage of living and working with him for over two years. Also good to see Mayura won’t be giving up until the fat lady sings (or the Miko is born).

Roku isn’t the only one who’s grown, as Benio is a lot more comfortable at least bringing up the possibility of conceiving a child with Rokuro…’way way way down the road’. Furthermore, she’s open about wanting to cherish the sentiment of that future. The two years they’ve spent together have had a profound effect.

This is the kind of long-game gradual development a long show like SnO can bear. There may have just been a two-year shift forwards, but nothing that we see her is out of the blue, but informed by everything that’s come before. Oh, and Han Megumi, so awkward as Five, was born to voice Benio, as her pipes provide a great balance of toughness, forthrightness, and vulnerability.

As fate would have it, the couple gets a kid and the opportunity to train as parents far far far earlier than they expected, when after a routine exorcism trip to Magano, the gang finds a tiny young girl in the middle of a ruined playground, surrounded by an ethereal light.

Just like that, we get a little Amaama in our Sousei. The little girl mostly acts like a little girl: mimicking everyone and not giving clear answers. Where she isn’t like an ordinary little girl is her ability to quickly absorb and apply information.

Rokuro takes an instant shine to “Sae”, as he deicides to call her when she points to those particular sounds on newspapers. Benio, less so, but she proves a lot better with the kid than she initially gives herself credit for.

Considering their personalities, Roku was always going to be better with the kid (as he’s more of a kid himself), but if there’s one person who appreciates Benio’s Ohagi-man, it’s Sae.

But yeah, Sae is suspiciously smart, reading whole books, scaling up and building a cardboard dinosaur skeleton, and even picking up a bit of English. She’s also suspicious because of where she came from (Magano), how Seigen looked at her (with a stink-eye), and what’s going on around her (a worsening epidemic of some kind of fog-like infection).

The 12 Guardians are also on their guard due to the possibility someone named Kasukami (said with the same dread as “Voldemort”) is gathering Basara to wreak havoc. Is Sae really Kasukami in mini-configuration? Is she a Basara, like Kamui? A very full and enjoyable episode leaves us to ponder these possibilities. A strong start to the next chapter for the Twin Star Exorcists.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 20

If it’s wrong to be immersed in this particular slice of formulaic shounen entertainment, I don’t want to be right. This episode put wasn’t perfect, but it got use through the epic battle between Yuto and the twins with a decent variety of twists, then capitalized on all of the good work it’s done with Roku and Benio to bring the arc to a close.

I’ve been clear about my dislike of the one-dimensional Yuto, but he’s made much more interesting by Benio’s assertion he’s hiding how much damage they actually did to him—without lessoning the threat he still poses as long as he remains on his two feet.

I was hoping Benio could have ended things with Yuto with her new awesome Kegare legs, but she blasts through all her power too quickly, and Roku has to step in and save her. When Roku just can’t watch Yuto beat Benio anymore, the episode turns his power knob up to 11.

He can fight on the same level as Yuto, and he’s healed when Yuto blasts a hole in him. Furthermore, since they’re in Magano, all of the spirits of Roku’s friends whom Yuto turned into Kegare literally have his back, and he gains the final boost he needs to blow Yuto away.

Blow him away he does, with a big ‘ol authoritative energy beam…but Yuto isn’t dead. C’mon now, there are 30 episodes left! Also, he merely “fell into darkness.” He’ll be back, but he’s gone for now, and Roku and Benio really can go home and have that ohagi. So I’m happy.

Could I have been happier? Sure. Why didn’t Yuto ever think to break Roku’s legs, or broken his instead of Benio’s? If he had, Benio would have had to save Roku, not the other way around. But I’ll let it go; both of them saved each other; who got the last lick in is not of much consequence.

What mattered was that SnO get the aftermath right after the battle ended. And what had been a nominal 8 up to the end of the battle rose to a 9, thanks to doing just that.

Roku wakes to a smiling Benio. They meet with Arima and the 12 Guardians, the latter of which threaten discipline. But Benio helps reinforce the facts: the guardians wouldn’t have gotten there in time, their friends and family were threatened, and Seigen failed. So no punishment.

However, Arima’s nice-guy mask cracks more than once in this meeting, as he reiterates Roku’s true mission, which isn’t to train or become stronger or even fight or exorcise anyone or anything; it’s to marry Benio and conceive the Miko.

Roku turns the issue around by first going up to Benio and proposing to her, but then asking what exactly a newborn baby is going to be able to do about calamities that will arrive before he’s a glimmer in Roku’s eye? He isn’t going to wait and put such a burden on an infant. He’s going to keep getting stronger and make sure the Miko has as little left to do in the world-saving department as possible.

Benio are of the same mind on this, so Arima indulges them: they have two years to become stronger than the 12 Guardians. The consequences if they can’t? Marriage and babymakin’.

Make no mistake: neither Roku nor Benio are ready for those things yet. But right here and now, they are a couple, and both have gotten more and more comfortable with that after everything they’ve been through and how they’ve come through for one another.

After all of that, and then enjoying a festival together, and after Roku buys Benio a new pair of sakura-themed hairpins, Plan B looks less like something they’ve always want to avoid, and more like something they’ll want anyway, when they’re ready.

Oh, and Mayura is going to be an exorcist, so she can stand and fight beside her friends. Good to hear; someone with such inventive expressions shouldn’t be kept on the sidelines.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 19

Uhh…that ohagi will have to wait.

Roku and Benio give it their all, but they haven’t seen the true breadth and depth of Yuto’s power until now. He gives Rokuro the choice to join him or die (typical villain offer) and when they don’t cower before him, he actually loses the goofy grin and gets angry.

Don’t get me wrong, Yuto’s still a major drag, but at least he’s showing other emotions in the face of his foes’ defiance. But as I suspected, this isn’t a one episode-and-done battle (no way it could be), and as powerful and determined as the Twin Stars have become, they still only had one day to prepare. It just wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot.

Yuto is somewhat surprised by what the duo’s resonance can do, but even their finishing move only causes him to momentarily shed his human skin, revealing his entire body is riddled with Kegare corruption, just like Rokuro’s arm. That’s gotta mess with a guy, which at least explains what a manic, sadistic creep he is.

Once his normal body is back, he separates his two opponents, making sure to get some good devastating putdowns of his sister in before destroying her legs and leaving her to wallow in her weakness and be devoured by some passing Kegare. Rokuro can do nothing, as Yuto puts him in a chokehold.

Except Benio isn’t devoured. Instead, Kamui appears, having been drawn to a “cool battle” he’s sore he wasn’t invited to. He offers Benio one of his trademark 10-second decisions: he’ll give her new Kegare legs to replace her ruined human ones. But it will mean taking on a curse just like Rokuro and her brother, and she might get lost in the chaos.

What breaks her out of becoming totally consumed by her new legs are the cries of her name from Rokuro. When he pulls her out of the darkness and into the light, she realizes why it is she feels so warm and at peace whenever she’s around him: she’s fallen in love with the guy.

That love forges Kegare legs that Kamui admits look the furthest thing from impure, as if the love took the raw Kegare material and made it something beautiful and good. Rokuro laments Benio’s decision right up until she darts around like a lightning bolt and shows everyone what those new legs can do.

Thanks to the wild card Kamui—and Benio coming to grips with her feelings—Rokuro and Benio are still in this thing. But Yuto seems pretty dang pissed his sister was “chosen,” and isn’t just going to lay down and be easily defeated.

P.S. I’ve finally learned how long SnO will be: 50 episodes. That means barring any season-long hiatuses, the show will continue through Fall ’16 and Winter ’17. I’ll be sticking with it to the hopefully-not-bitter end. The extra length bodes well for Rokuro and Benio’s slowly-brewing romance, for which this episode was definitely a landmark.

Sousei no Onmyouji – 18

This episode followed up on Rokuro’s vow to take care of Yuto by having Benio right by his side every step of the way. After all this time together making each other stronger, it would be silly and futile for him to fight Yuto alone.

We also got a respite episode this week after two straight battles, and the physical and emotional training the Twin Stars do in the 24 hours before the showdown thankfully isn’t limited to a montage, but occupies the entire episode.

Lots of Rokuro and Benio on their own bouncing off one another is always good, and they manage to get over how nervous they are to be holding hands by learning the broad strokes of their resonance ability.

But Yuto (busy placing lilies on school desks in Magano, the twerp) isn’t just the fuel that allows the Twin Stars to resonate better; he’s also a demon in Benio’s dreams that leads her to run to the dorm for granny’s comfort and advice.

Granny tells Benio it’s fine to run, but warns her not to do anything she’ll regret, as regrets bind you tighter and tighter throughout life. Benio is scared shitless of the battle to come, but she also knows she’ll deeply regret leaving Rokuro alone.

So she re-resolves to fight with him, and Granny sends her on her way. She finds Rokuro still in the basement, asleep after testing his new Red Talisman (which packs such a punch, I worry for their lovenest’s structural integrity).

Rokuro may be impulsive, rude, and a pervert, but Benio still appreciates all the times he and only he showed her “the way out of the darkness.” She’s never expressed herself as brightly before they met. She realizes he makes her better as a person, not just an exorcist, and she does the same with him.

It’s a relief, then, that when she nods off beside him and they wake up together in each other’s arms, their mutual shock soon turns to laughter. There’s a quick bit more backstory when Rokuro reveals to Benio that his real right arm was eaten by his friends, and while he underwent corruption, he didn’t fully turn, only his arm.

Having learned he had to exorcise a friend of his (a girl who seemed to like him, to boot) on top of everything else, Benio tries to offer apologies both for her initial dismissal of his determination and for her brother’s sins, but there’s no need. Rokuro and Benio are through apologizing to one another. It’s time to get out there, beat that prick Yuto, come home, and eat some ohagi!

Sousei no Onmyouji – 17

Like Roku and Benio, I was tired after last week’s battle, hoping there’d be a respite…and then Ijika Yuto had to show up…again. I know he’s pretty much the big bad of this show so far, but I’ve been on record since he showed up that I simply do not care for the singsongy little twerp, because unlike other well-worn elements of SnO, he hasn’t been able to expand or subvert his generic smirking villain nature. I don’t like how he talks, and I don’t like how he holds back for dramatic effect.

Seigen looks more than capable of overpowering Yuto, and Yuto’s expressions suggest the same. However, Yuto’s just messing around; in reality, he’s far more powerful than Seigen. But he’s just too in love with foreplay and dragging a battle out. In addition to Yuto, I also don’t like it when the show spends extended periods in Magano—it’s cool-looking, but too abstract and fantastical to carry much weight as a setting.

Seigen is down, but not out, so after taking another hit for Roku and boxing up Roku, Benio, and Mayura in a protective barrier, he launches an apparent suicide attack in order to stop Yuto from harming the future parents of the Miko. I do like how Seigen, for all his bad attitude, has become a believer in the Twin Stars, which I guess is why he felt confident that the end of his life wouldn’t mean the end of the cause.

Naturally, his near-suicide attack has little to no effect on Yuto, meaning Yuto is clearly strong enough to have already done everything he could want to do—including kill everyone here in the first minute of the episode. But he doesn’t, because he still wants to see Roku unleash the full potential he sees in him…if only to turn him into a corruption as he did the Hinatsuki dorm kids and Mayura.

One more gripe against this episode: it pretty much sidelined our Twin Stars, who for most of the running time can only react to Yuto and Seigen, and in Rokuro’s case yell and scream far too much for one episode. However, when they finally get some time at the end, they don’t waste it.

Jiisan gives Roku what Seigen prepared for him—a special elite exorcist armor that’s hella cool-looking—which Roku quickly puts on and tells Benio (still grieving over what’s become of her brother) he’s not going to wait for a four guardian task force to arrive and deal with Yuto. It’s something “he has to do himself.” Hopefully, he actually means himself and Benio.