「空守村」 (Karakami Mura)
“Karakami Village”

Compared to the action-packed previous episode, the trip to Karakami Village was a lot more easygoing. Be that as it may, the formal introduction of Kyouhei and Utao’s hometown and the explanations about the Kakashi made this episode just as good. That’s before taking into consideration the precarious position that Hibino wound up with Kyouhei stripping her from the top and Utao from the bottom. Their facial expressions said it all, particularly Utao’s.

Surprisingly, Somaki Moyako (Takagaki Ayahi) didn’t turn out to be the childhood rival I was anticipating, and is instead a girl pretty bent on succeeding the Utsuwashi 「器師」 — caretakers of the Kakashi. Judging from the scene in the neuron network-like forest, she didn’t even show any signs of interest in Kyouhei when she picked Hibino’s brain. Her younger sister Yurako (Yamaguchi Rie) on the other hand was much more predictable after seeing her latch onto Utao in the preview last time. In fact, Yurako was the dead giveaway that the village with dark secrets wasn’t going to be as inhospitable as it sounded. From Kyouhei and Utao’s parents — their father Yasuyuki (Imamura Naoki) and mother Hitomi (Taniguchi Keiko) — to their grandfather and head of the Kuga family, Kiyokata (Senda Mitsuo), they all gave off a loving family impression. I didn’t even sense any ill will toward Kyouhei when his father pointed out that he ran away and dumped all his responsibilities on Utao, even though Kyouhei got pretty upset.

The Kuga family is a pretty stark contrast to the Hyuuga, after we got a glimpse of Amaterasu that they’re keeping stowed away. Unlike Kiyokata, Sahei exudes a lot more ill-contempt, partly because I tend to associate Shibata Hidekatsu’s roles with the likes of King Bradley in Fullmetal Alchemist. What’s interesting is that Koushirou and his wife Kii-chan (Ogata Megumi in a minor role) don’t give off a similar vibe whatsoever, and Kirio is portrayed as a victim of the Hyuuga family who’s easily misunderstood. The latter’s resentment toward his now confirmed older twin sister Utao is fairly easy to take in, having seen this pattern in other series such as Hakuouki. For that reason, I can’t really picture Kirio as a straightforward villain anymore. In the worst case scenario, he’ll continue to be used by Sahei — possibly to control Amaterasu as foreshadowed — and will be killed, releasing him from his hatred and becoming a tragedy. In a more ideal scenario, he’ll come around and side with Utao and live to see another day. On both ends of the spectrum and every possibility in between, Kirio simply doesn’t come off as a true antagonist.

On the more concrete side of things, it’s nice to finally get an explanation on how the Kakashi work, which also suggested that they may be capable of experiencing pain. However, I get the feeling they’re simply empty husks like they’ve been described to be, and the pet-like attachment toward their Seki is more for us as the viewer than the story itself. In any case, the story is taking a nice turn after Hibino paid a visit to her family’s grave — presumably for her mother — and things started becoming “clearer”. The end of the episode already kicked off Kyouhei’s flashback to six years ago, starting with the arrival of his teacher to their small town. I honestly don’t see the resemblance to Hibino that Aki alluded to, but seeing as she’s not around, it’s probably safe to assume that something happened to her. As part of this trip down memory lane, I suspect we’ll finally get some answers about what corrupted Aki. I picked up some tidbits while researching for the season preview, so I’ve been looking forward to seeing it animated.

Notes:
* As some people have already pointed out, there have been subtle changes in both the OP and ED with the addition of Kirio. Hyuuga Mahiru (
Hanazawa Kana) should be added next.
* It’s probably worth noting that the OP sequence shows Kyouhei with Kukuri when all the Seki/Kakashi pairings are shown, so it seems likely he’ll take control of it again at some point.
* Gotta love Moyako’s choice of words. I actually didn’t pick up Ayahi’s voice during all her yelling.
* Full-length images: 02, 06, 13, 14, 23, 34, 36.

 

Preview

Omake

33 Comments

  1. wet boobs, boobs held by the doll in the air, bra-clad boobs exposed by mid-air accident… too much of boobs can be a bad thing! or not – if you really have that fetish…
    though Utau being a rope and reward in omochikaeri tug-of-war was hilarious
    also does anyone remeber the forest-net idea from the Avatar (not the animated!)?
    that blush by Hibino in ss #15 just shows that she really has some not-so-innocent feelings towards Kyouhei…

    ewok40k
    1. Her amazingly boring persona makes her boob feista, kinda lacking….
      Im like, “oh its that boring girl who is only used for fanservice.”
      I like my big boobs to be a little more interesting..

      omeganx
      1. So Tsunade style, or maybe Matsumoto uber boobs?

        I do agree with you, though. It’s like, “Wow, giant boobs that are kind of just there, not doing anything… not even noticed or commented on by the other character.”

        Ricalloo
  2. Hibino’s bra aside, I don’t quite get what’s becoming “clearer”.

    Next episode should be interesting.

    “Hibino paid a visit to her family’s gave

    just nitpicking on a typo 😉

    Nhelraios
      1. For those wondering, the poll on the upper right is for scenes fans want as BD/DVD extras for disc 5. Replies, in order, are:

        1. “Aki gets all dressed up and goes on a date.”
        2. “Utao tours Tokyo in a swimsuit.”
        3. “Hibino goes swimming in the ocean in gym clothes.”
        4. “Koushiro cooks in an apron.”
        5. “Aki cooks in Japanese clothes.”
        6. “Aki makes a commercial for Karakami Village in a sailor uniform.”
        7. “Utao goes to a firework festival in a yukata.”
        8. “Aki goes on a date in a sailor uniform.”
        9. “Aki tours Tokyo in a maid outfit.”
        10. “Aki does some training in a swimsuit.”

        Thanks to my buddy MusouMitai for bothering to translate that for me. We both would have voted for #7 :*(. We can at least celebrate that the bonus for disc 4 is already decided, and DO WANT: “Utao does a photoshoot in various cosplay outfits.”

  3. :/ this teacher… She seems more like Utao/Kirio instead of Hibino.. Just an older version.. Don’t you think so?

    and what’s with these Kuga and Hyuuga families? Are they rivals of somesort or what? I still don’t get the real set-up of the story.. I mean, yea ok there are 2 families, Aki is a screwed-up kid and the teacher comes now so we will see probably what happened to Aki and Kyouhei, moreover about Kirio/utao case I think we will see somehow in some episode..however, there is still the main set-up is missing: The village and those 2 families..
    The show is nice, I gotta admit but maybe it is a personal preference but I don’t like too much excessive mistery in a story. I mean, after the 6th episode finally starting to show a bit more about the real story, probably only bits and pieces, which I find it annoying and time consuming..

    Mai
  4. Kirio is just jealous to see that his sister is having a happy life unlike him.
    But thanks to the (future) love that his partner will probably give him, he won’t have any reason to hate Utao.
    Probably.

    Even Aki is not a real vilain, he is just broken I guess.

    In any case Kyouhei is one of the best male character this season with Daikichi and Kotetsu

    KTNO
    1. I agree with Kyohei being on of the best leads this season, really a turnaround from what we saw at the beginning of episode 1, althought by the end of that episode it was already clear he was not a shallow male lead found in other series.

      anon
      1. He’s human that’s why.
        Plus he seems to be mentally weak when death is around.

        In the end a character who scream too much is still way better than the male (and female) protagonist from Sacred Seven
        (booooooring guys -_____- )

        KTNO
  5. It seems the 2 families are most influential and powerful, and a balance of power is maintained to prevent one from dominating the village – hence when twins “prophesized to be very strong in the force” were born, they were split leaving one with Kuuga’s and giving other for the Hyuuga’s to raise. I think that aside from Hyuuga’s leader rather pesky personality, the fact he was literally adopted foe counted for much of Kirio’s painful childhood. I hope Utao can bring some sisterly love to him while I am glad to see Kirio experiencing normal family life at his “partner’s” house.
    Also I really liked Moyako’s straightforward attitude towards both Hibino and Utao, because this allowed for full blush potential realised!

    ewok40k
  6. Regarding Kyouhei and Kukuri, although that one scene in the OP does show them together, I’m actually leaning toward him not controlling Kukuri again, at least not on any sort of permanent basis. If you watch the OP closely, whenever you see the colored silhouettes of the characters, the ones who are seki have patterns matching their kakashi, and the others (including Kyouhei) are blank, just a solid color.

  7. When I saw those scars on Kirio’s back I wanted to take that Hyuga Elder’s stick and beat him bloody with it.

    Kirio was not only whisked away from his biofamily and raised in secret, but he was probably treated like crap because he carries the blood of the enemy. Sure he’s jealous of Utao’s comparatively peaceful and happy lifestyle – he’d have to be crazy not to be.

    One of the most interesting elements of KamiDolls for me so far is how no one is quite what they appear to be at first glance. I find this especially true with Aki and Kirio, who were giving off victim flags to me despite being initially presented as villains. I know they both have tragic stories but I hope they don’t end tragically, because they’re the most intriguing member of the cast.

  8. Considering we’re coming up against a flashback, pairing Kyouhei and Kukuri isn’t too strange.

    That said, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we did see them paired up again in the present.

    Shiden
    1. hmm how about Yurako x Kirio? he is a twin and a shota, he can even be used as reverse trap 😛
      Aki seems to be grabbed by Kuuko for now, though… and I dont see him coming back to village unless dragged by numerically superior seki force…

      ewok40k
  9. Amaterasu is villain’s Kakashi, so Kyouhei won’t be its Seki. The pic that he paired with Kukuri is the hint for event in future (as in the manga).

    I can say that Kyouhei is very strong or maybe the most powerful Seki and extremely dangerous when he pair with Kukuri and in emo mode.

    black_cat1

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