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「老いたコヨーテと星降る庭」 (Oita Koyoute to Hoshi Furu Niwa)
“Old Coyote and the Garden of Falling Stars”
Similar to when Kohaku’s introductory arc wrapped up, Azazel’s arc has been proceeded by a relaxing, slowly paced episode that outshines every episode before it in terms of detailed and vibrant scenery, a wider variety of Another than ever seen before, and a general sense that Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin has finally stopped rushing through its material and embraced the melancholic, meandering atmosphere it does so well. With a side of humor, of course.
Following the rescue of Kyoichi’s older sister, the Nocturnal Division has been hard at work with helping her reassert herself into human society with the documents she’ll need to either be someone new and seventeen or herself, but at the age she would naturally have been had Azazel not pulled her out of time. Izumi was kind enough to help her shop for a new wardrobe, something she probably sorely needed after wearing the same outfit for over a decade, but though she holds herself together well, Izumi has only recently learned that Another are real and Arata’s job thrusts him into conflicts with them on the daily. She’s worried about him, which seems to be a general theme. Given that Azazel kidnapped his childhood friend and his coworker’s sister, the fact that Arata can still sympathize as much as he does is both admirable and a little concerning. There really is no other way to describe going on a midnight stroll with a god of disaster who offered your friend’s life to a fallen angel, and ironically every Another shown seems to recognize the danger Arata is in better than he does.
Tanuki rifle through trash in a panic, Kappa poke out their heads to watch Huehuecoyotl dance and frolic in their stream, Red and Blue oni look on dubiously, and lanterns attached to disembodied hands light up mysteriously where they walk. If Another are so frightened of Huehuecoyotl, then Arata’s attitude is definitely worrisome, yet it’s undeniable that he and Kohaku share a connection. Apparently, Seimei wasn’t the most creative when it came to naming his otherworldly companions – dubbing his black crow guide ‘Black’ for instance – but even so, the names he bestowed clearly mean something to them, as shown by how touched Kohaku was when he asked Arata for a new name and Arata gently insisted that Seimei’s appellation suited him best.
Undoubtedly, Arata is a kind soul. Whether it be because he knew Kohaku in another life or not, he trusts when he shouldn’t, and that belief which earned Seimei so many friends in the Heian era may reward him, as well. If it doesn’t get him killed, that is. For now, though, it seems the price of his casual interactions with disaster gods is the expensive ticket he had to pay for a taxi ride home after Kohaku took him to see Seimei’s garden, followed by a day of writing reports thanks to the panicked Another their stroll left in its wake.
Preview
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It seems to me that Kohaku wouldn’t let anything happen to Arata and maybe that’s why he’s so trusting. he did stop Cerberus after all. It might not be out of kindness though, but would that matter?
It does! If Kohaku is being kind to Arata because he believes he’s Seimei, and Arata disappointed him, would he still be so protective of him?
And Another are unpredictable to boot, so there’s really no way to be sure just how he would react. Of course, given that Seimei is visually identical to Arata, so that’s likely not going to happen, but I really do think trusting a legendary trickster without some kind of insurance isn’t a very good idea, which basically means I’m in total agreement with Seo
While I think Coyote’s very existence is dangerous to humans, Arata included, there’s no doubt Arata’s special. To the extent that an immortal and effectively omnipotent being can, I think Kohaku feels genuine affection for Arata (who he really can’t separate from Seimei in his mind). I didn’t take his comment about not existing for 1000 years literally. Rather, how I read it was Kohaku saying that he felt alone in the universe without Seimei to banter with, because Seimei was the first being to relate to him as an individual. When you’re immortal and omnipotent, boredom is surely the bane of your existence.
No question Anothers being dangerous to humans, Coyote to Arata included, is a major theme here. But I do think Arata is in no direct danger from Coyote, who would hate to lose his BFF after finding him after a millennia.
While Kohaku certainly feels genuine affection for Arata and wouldn’t directly cause him harm, he did offer his best friend to Azazel, knowing that she was someone Arata cared about without understanding how his actions might affect Arata. Then when Arata asked him why, Kohaku said, “Because [Azazel] is my friend.” There’s a sphere that Kohaku seems to inhabit, and he cannot seem to grasp how anything outside of it can affect anything inside of it.
As for what Coyote said about ‘Kohaku’ not existing, I also didn’t think he meant it literally. In my opinion, he was saying that the person he is around Seimei ceased to exist. Around Seimei/Arata, he’s softer, kinder, or as much as he can be. It’s a special side of him that, to his mind, doesn’t exist when Seimei isn’t there. There’s a very good chance that if Arata had given him a new name, the person he would become around Arata would have been different from who he was around Seimei, but since Arata decided to go with ‘Amber’ again, it solidified him as Seimei in Kohaku’s mind.
I think we’re more or less saying the same thing in different ways, ROFL.