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「変態稚児と神力騒動」 (Hentai Chigo to Shinriki Sōdō)
“A Perverted Kid and Disturbances of Holy Power”
“Hello darkness my old friend.” Darkness has never been lovelier, particularly when animated here. When we had that week’s break from airing, I was worried that the lapse in production would be evident in today’s episode, but thankfully, it had no effect, rather, just the opposite.
Yorishige finally comes clean (to Tokiyuki at least) about the lapse in his foresight. The same as always, even in dire circumstances such as these, Yorishige doesn’t fail to take advantage of the situation to fill his belly, sending everyone on a wild hunt for delicacies. When Yorishige adds a shrine maiden doll to the errand list, it results in a hilarious misunderstanding on the part of the retainers. The upshot is that even if their beloved Tokiyuki has certain inclinations, they’ll still follow him to the ends of the earth- reassuring, but probably not how Tokiyuki wished to test their loyalty. In fact, the adult aura of his supposed proclivities seems to put some of them in further awe of him (Genba seems particularly in admiration of his “cool” interest), which laughably couldn’t be further from the mind of the young, innocent Tokiyuki. I think what Yorishige needs most from that list is the cold holy water- a good cold splash should calm him down- goodness knows he needs it.
The snowy scenes showcased the art staff’s prowess to a T. In particular, the scene with the spirit animals in the forest had the look of a storybook to it that was a delight for the eyes. It almost made me forget the wretched summer heat for a brief while. The demon boar from way earlier in the series even makes a cameo.
Another appearance, a new one at that, is of Takauji Ashikaga’s younger bro, Tadayoshi. This is the first we’ve seen of him, and he could hardly be more different from Takauji. The brothers together make up a power team, Takauji’s “intuition” to provide the direction ad Tadayoshi’s intelligence to ensure said direction is pulled off. It’s evident that a storm is brewing between the brothers- with how opposite they are, it’s only natural, I’d think. I’m sure it gets under Tadayoshi’s skin, how carefree and charismatic his older brother is and no doubt frustrating to see that his brother doesn’t have to try too hard to pull something off with his magnetic charisma, in contrast to himself, who has to put in some serious brainstorming and effort to get a job done. Smart as he is, Tadayoshi recognizes the threat and devilish nature lying beneath that smile. A smile which “sees even the Buddha as prey”- yikes. An extremely dangerous realization to come through when your brother has such keen, (un?)godly foresight from whom no-one can hide, unless you’re the elusively gifted Tokiyuki, of course.
It made for an intriguing contrast- the holy power of the spirit beasts “that reach where human eyes can’t see” in the forest- pure, playful, beautiful with the ominious, not-human power of Takauji’s insight that most human eyes cannot see, painted in shadows and darkness. I relished in that scene in the Ashikaga storehouse, the elegance of the shadows was just unbelievable. That the power of Suwa and the Ashikaga are two sides of the same coin was magnificently brought to light here. It further highlights the antagonism of Tokiyuki vs. Takauji front in center, if it weren’t already clear enough.
That whole scene where Yorishige predicts that the power of the gods will be replaced by science was just, wow. Fantastic. Power decreases as the human capability for surveillance increases rings very true. As Yorishige pointed out, it’s a hell of a lot harder to hide in a modern era with more technology. Perhaps Tokiyuki was born in the right time, in an era where it was possible for him to hide, without fear of GPS, drones, phone tapping, or other surveillance methods. Other than the Ashikaga crazies, of course, which are formidable enough of a foe. Though I do think getting a sudden face time call from like Shokan or a Genba infiltration with AI would be rather comical to see.
“The wonders cease to be wonders”. That is the double-edged sword of living in a scientifically advanced age in a nut shell. We can explain many, many things with science, which of course, makes life safer, easier. But on the flip side, it strips the gilt away from things that used to amaze our ancestors- there is no longer room for the gods and spirits from days of yore, who become relegated to tradition and quaint folklore. You can still get a glimpse of it though, if you’ve ever experienced a kagura or other Shinto ritual, or even stepped inside an ancient forest- you can almost feel the ancient tales come to life, hear the echo of the gods. Don’t get me wrong, though, there’s still plenty to be awestruck in scientific explanation, if you’ve ever seen a picture of cells, there’s definitely a beauty, an art even, there.
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