MAO

Masago deserved better. It's time to take the fight to Shiranui! And Mao's brought in some back up in the form of Natsuno! Things might not be very chummy between her, Mao, and Kamon but she's at least willing to help out if it means the boys leave her to her business. And Nanoka has to join them because she's the main character and an earth Elemental. Is there any better way to travel underwater than by earth whale? Despite what one might think Shiranui DIDN'T kill Masago. Ironically, despite the master hating his guts, he tasked him with keeping tabs on Masago. And for good reason because she was too kind to do to anyone what was done to Daigo so she could have never followed through with the promise of the Goshikido. But her desire to run away, her desire to be with Kamon, potentially caused the Master to sick his legion of ayakashi on her...killing her and replacing her in the Goshikido group with Shiranui. Kamon and Mao barely have time to react to this revelation before Shiranui, unsurprisingly, tries to kill the both of them. Dude has no chill! We also get the girls battling it out as Nanoka/Natsuno have to face Yurako in all her dark aura farming. Mao slicing and dicing some sea ayakashi! He IS a cat after all. If only Kamon and Masago had been able to leave together, been able to be honest about everything...but, even as he blames himself for her fate, her spirit kisses him and passes her hair onto his scythe...re-invigorating him and giving him enough of a second wind to free himself! Kamon's not going to be mad at Shiranui for getting roped into the Goshikido, he doesn't even really care about all the other crazy @#$% Shiranui has done...but a scumbag like him has no business uttering Masago's name. KAMON PUNCH! Is it time for the final showdown with Shiranui? Or...Yurako? Next week: The truth about Sana? And a MaoxNanoka date.

Whale with legs is not terrifying at all, oh and it has arms too! Wow, I hate that. Oh man, I love that actual whales are reached that evolutionary point of no return, and are unlikely to ever come back to land. The usual place? Oh yeah, every week I think that Takahashi sensei just gets it, and this Kamon Masago tragedy just proves it further. It's a perfectly balanced blend of everything I love. I mean the life they could've lived, the experiences they could've had. Also that compound must've been messy what with people being all hush hush with their extracurriculars, in that regard it's pretty realistic,

Kamon is such an interesting character because he gets set up as the next version of Takahashi's womanizer archetype, but then it turns out he's the biggest wife guy of all time. I love that Takahashi subverted that trope. The kiss scene was so well done! All of the Kamon/Masago scenes were. Natsuno already showing why she's Best Girl. 🥰 Loved the "Oi" from Mao, and Nanoka was adorable as usual. The next episode is one I've been waiting to see animated for sooo long. I'm so excited! I wish they included honorifics in the subtitles because it makes certain exchanges like Kamon being pissed at Shiranui for only saying "Masago" lose context unless you're paying attention.

Atp they should just assume everyone they knew from 900 years ago is alive until proven otherwise. So, Shiranui didn't kill Masago as everyone thought. It was their master who killed her. It's really unfortunate. She and Kamon could've run away if they met sooner. But life rarely goes your way. Still, this doesn't explain why Shiranui is so powerful now. Is it because of Yurako? How did he get her support in the first place? Guess it might be revealed in the next episode. The next episode preview looks amazing. Seems like we might finally get more Mao x Nanoka development. The romance is where Takahashi's work really shines, so looking forward to it.

im loving the development of the lore about what truly happened that night, including masago and kamon's relationship?? (and here i thought kamon would be the playboy miroku-esque archetype), and more of the awesomely choreographed elemental battles, but i miss nanoka's direct involvement in the fighting from the earlier episodes. we haven't seen her properly enter that byoki-ayakashi mode in a while. im obsessed with the difference between her and kagome, who's a long-distance fighter with her trusty bow, compared to nanoka's more physical style. i've gottttt to see nanoka impress everyone with her unintentionally adept fighting skills 😭i'm tired of her taking the backseat

Masago and Kamon never had to say their feelings out loud 'cause they always loved each other 💔 So Shiranui took over Masago's position in the Goshikido. Did the Ayakashi kill her because she tried to escape from the Goko clan or because she tried to escape from the fate of having to kill Mao and other senior disciples ? I still don't get why her hair is there in Shiranui's shrine.. if she's dead what did Shiranui do with her ? Natsuno is helping the gang but as Kamon said she still seems a little suspicious and might be having her own goal. Are Masago and Yurako/Sana in a single body or does some kind of dark entity live inside Yurako/Sana ?

So Shiranui took over Masago's position in the Goshikido. Did the Ayakashi kill her because she tried to escape from the Goko clan or because she tried to escape from the fate of having to kill Mao and other senior disciples ? I still don't get why her hair is there in Shiranui's shrine.. if she's dead what did Shiranui do with her ? I think it's both. She didn't have the stomach for the Goko Clan or killing people and that made her a liability.