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「合縁奇縁」 (Aienkien)
“Mysterious Connections”
Even though this was another setup episode, the stuff it’s alluding to looks like it’s going to be super fun.
The Cursed Eyes
At this point, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this whole Cursed Eye business. Honestly, anything involving it devolves into characters going on and on about either the terrifying miasma that it can generate or a shallow analysis of Todo and what his true purpose for stealing the eyes are. Things that I’m sure would have been a lot more fun to watch if it didn’t feel like the show was trying to shoehorn all of it in amongst the more interesting (in my opinion) things going on with Rin, Suguro, and Suguro’s old man.
That said, there have been some pretty fun moments leading up to this point with the story trying to misdirect our attention and the big surprise of a traitor within the Myoda sect was something that I was done pretty well especially when you factor in Mamushi’s reasoning for doing what she did. While it remains to be seen whether or not there’s enough left in this arc to really give this Cursed Eye plot some real “oomph”, I’m hoping we at least get a really cool battle out of it with an overpowered Todo duking it out with Suguro’s old man and Rin.
Flashbacks, Connections, and Looking Ahead
As bad as I feel about saying it, the latter half of the episode is really what captured my attention this week. With Rin behind bars for letting his emotions get the better of him and Yukio furious about the whole thing, I never thought the story was going to dive into the connection Rin had with Suguro’s old man (or rather Shiro’s connection with him). Something that I was super excited about since I’ve been dying to find out just what kind of person he is.
Living the life of a tried and true monk that focuses on his duties even when his wife and unborn son are facing death, I have to give mad respect to Tatsuma for being such a devout fellow. I suppose it’s a given when you’re next in line to inherit the responsibilities and secrets of an entire religious sect, but it’s nonetheless impressive. Now, with such a devout fellow in front of us, can you imagine how crazy it must have been for someone like Shiro to enter his life? Falling from the sky, interrupting a very important ritual, and taking the most important object of worship for the sect? Sounds like the absolute best way to botch your first impression with someone if you asked me!
Based on the preview for next week’s episode though, it looks like things are going to somehow work themselves out. Along the way I hope we get to see some more of Shiro’s badass-ness as we dive deeper into what made Tatsuma the man he is today. See you then!
Preview
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… I’m starting to realize I do not care at all about this set-up.
Same, I was so happy for this to be continuing but fuck it, it’s boring as hell.
The flow has stopped.
They are definitely dragging things. As a manga reader, I recognize they are going panel by panel more or less but could have covered a lot more material in this episode… plus, some of the flashbacks were repetitive/unnecessary. Especially the one with Todou since that was just from the beginning of this season. Hopefully they pick things up next week…
Still loving every second ♡
Late to the party for comments, but my thoughts FWIW. SlowerR episode for sure, BUT… also a lot in it as well. Honestly, I didn’t have much of a problem with Ep. 05. It did have a couple padded moments with all the flashbacks, some of which were not necessary. Still somehow it didn’t feel that slow to me while watching. YMMV. I agree with Takai that there were parts (not necessarily the evil eye stuff) which felt shoehorned in.
This wasn’t the most fluid episode. Maybe that impacted pacing which felt a bit uneven IMO. Still, the show DOES need to impart quite a bit of information. Not just this arc, but sowing seeds for later events. There were some lingering issues (even if minor) to be addressed as well.
Liked how Izumo & Shiemi had at least some screen time. Shiemi’s bit helped explain why she acted as she did alone once Rin’s secret was revealed.
Maybe I missed this, but was the info that Todo is now a DEMON ever get passed on to Myodo sect leaders? Maybe it already was, but sometimes I wonder. Kind of important, and for some reason expected that to be stated
“Signal jamming” excuse was good and bad. Good in that there is some reason given. Bad in that it’s a bit wonky of one thinks about it, but perhaps that’s being to nit-picky.
All in all, not the best episode, but wasn’t as disappointing for me as it seems to be for some others.