Recap

Mashiro and Hakuya receive word that a visitor from home is coming by to check on them. Kobeni is getting suspicious about Mashiro’s age but she does not have to wait long to discover the truth about their family.

Jel’s Thoughts

Our suspicions are confirmed this week as Mashiro and Hakuya’s mom drops truth bombs all over the place. It made for a slightly more serious, narrative focused episode than we’re used to seeing and the creators handle the shift with aplomb. We still had silly bits like Mashiro in cat pajamas and Benio trying to keep her urges in check but they were blended seamlessly into the plot, making for a nice mix of humor and supernatural intrigue.

I thought it was kind of cool how vague they remained about what the Mitsumine family is, as the actual mythological name isn’t really relevant. Maybe they’ll go more into detail later but had they specifically called them oni or fairies that would automatically put certain connotations on them. So I kind of like the idea of letting them just be their own thing. Of course that does make it super weird that everyone is talking about Kobeni cohabitating with a Dog Monster, but I suppose there are more details to be revealed on that later. Maybe sharing his power has made him half human or something? It does at the very least explain why he’s so simple minded, and the bit at the end about why he pats Kobeni on the head was still adorable.

Of course questioning exactly what Hakuya is also leads us to questions about Mashiro, so be warned it’s time for some WILD SPECULATION! Something is up with the actual family relationship between Mashiro, Hakuya, and their “mother”. Their mom’s appearnce and the fact that the episode title is “This Woman Has Given Birth?!?” are the obvious clues, but there are more details to consider as well. I think the most notable is the fact that Mashiro says she is almost 10 years old, which would place her being born around the time of the accident. Add that to the fact that it seems unlikely her mother is really her mother and it does raise questions.

In conversation with Lifesong, he’s gone as far as suggesting Mashiro is actually Kobeni’s daughter. While that would be impossible in the traditional sense, could it be she was created in the process of Hakuya sharing his power? I can’t say for sure but, again, remember where you heard it first! In the meantime I applaud Dogakobo for doing a great job handling more plot heavy material than we’ve seen from them in the past, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more.