After being shunned for revealing his true demon form, Jinya runs off to where Nomari was abandoned back at Mizuho Temple.

Video Review

What Stands Out About This Episode?

Jinya’s Revelation

For the mature and classy individuals, when someone says, “waifu,” that to me is Ofuu personified. She becomes the ray of light that Jinya has always needed by his side, for him to make better sense on his path to see a clearer picture of his goals and way of thinking. On his journey to consume all demonic power to face Suzune, as she becomes a deity that rules over all demons—he feels a sense of shame for his lack of conviction and for his selfish endeavors. His purpose is clear in the sense that he wants to stop all demons, but he doesn’t have a clue what is going to happen once he comes face-to-face with his little sister again.

This is where Ofuu comes in to say that making the “right” decision doesn’t necessarily mean it yields the result you are looking for. Look at what Soba Sadanaga did for Ofuu by saving her. He turned old and everyone that knew him or had a relationship with him, no longer have that connection or memories of him. By all accounts, this is a selfish decision that hurt more people than it helped. At the end of the day, he still saved Ofuu. Does that still mean he was wrong? Probably, but he still accomplished his goal of saving Ofuu because that is what he wanted to do.

It’s hard not to think about the Yunagi episode where her illusions revealed Jinya’s true feelings. He always wanted a quiet peaceful life with Shirayuki. It becomes clearer and clearer each episode that he should have never allowed himself to get NTR’d and should have chosen the selfish decision to fight for Itsukihime Byakuya’s love, rather than serve everyone else’s collective self-interest. In a way, Sadanaga Miura’s continued persistence for Jinya to get with Ofuu is exactly what the audience wanted for Shirayuki and Jinta. This serves as an audience projection as to what we want for the characters, but it is ultimately up to characters to choose that path. And sometimes, the result isn’t exactly what we want.

With Nomari and Naotsugu appearing back up at the perfect time, as Ofuu finishes her conversation with Jinya to make him realize that he isn’t a bad guy. It becomes the perfect opportunity for Naotsugu to show that his friendship with Jinya isn’t something to be thrown away because of his appearance—especially when he witnessed for himself how much Jinya tried to make the best of his situation.

Tsuchiura Backstory Tease

In a not-so-surprising flashback with Tsuchiura, shown next to what looks like gentian flowers (リンドウ) that a guy with “ura” in his name, and mentioned before that he was “betrayed” is seen being ostracized for being a demon. Gentians are usually associated with resilience and so it makes perfect symbolic sense that someone like Tsuchiura lived a past full of enduring pain.

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Miscellaneous

• This episode still takes place in Keio Year 3 (1867), where the Tokugawa Shogunate is about to lose to the loyalists and imperialists
• The symbolic weight of the flowers between the gentians and the winter daphnes are resilience, rebirth and eternal memories