黄泉のツガイ

It really does seem like Asa’s traded the mansion for that village cell. I get why she’s gotta live in hiding, but it’s not really much of a life if she’s trading one cage for another. Both are cages, no doubt, but you have to give credit to the Kagemoris for fostering the illusion of a warm family and freedom onto Asa which she obviously never felt inside a literal cold ass prison cell over at the Higashis. Edit: The more I think about it, really makes me question the Higashi clan's methods more. No wonder Asa's parents prioritized escaping the village with her even if it meant abandoning Yuru. After all, Yuru was at least thriving and living a normal(ish) life unlike Asa. Besides, Yuru's father definitely knew about Left and Right--that Yuru will eventually forge a contract with them and be under their protection when the time comes; so it's not like they left him without any contingency plan whatsoever.

We saw Asa break the barrier AND Daemon contract two episodes ago with Break - they aren't just literal, physical powers but they extend into the metaphorical as well. Seal could, theoretically: -Bind anyone to any Daemon -Trap enemies in an impenetrable barrier -prevent weapons from being drawn/ammo loaded -theoretically bind daemons/trap them in objects (Seal them away) And so on. Really just depends on how metaphorical the power can get with the word "Seal". Maybe it can seal away memories, or make binding oaths between people. Sky's the limit.

It would make sense for seal to force daemons into contracts if break can break said contracts At the very least it seems everyone is contracted to two daemons (except the bald head guy and gabby) so i'm guessing thats the limit? maybe seal can force all daemons to himself to have his night parade of 100 demons from the japanese folklore (Nurarihyon anyone?) Also if Break can destroy barriers then it also makes sense for seal to create barriers? but i assume its unrelated because every family has a barrier it seems (Unless seal created all of those barriers long ago and sealed them/hid them in objects?)

During the flashback where Asa was murdered by those cultists... one of them says "Well, we can still use Seal to take over the underworld." Meaning, these crazies view Seal and Break as equal. They were targeting Asa only because she was the one that had escaped the barrier around Higashi village, and in so doing, was likely no longer under Granny's protection. That harridan feels like the "If I can't have them, no one will" type. And don't forget, this episode confirmed that Higashi village is no monolith: there are factions that don't answer to Granny and share different beliefs, just like how the Kage's have their own subfactions.

I think in a world like the Higashi village where everyone relies on their daemons and a barrier. It is pretty easy to understand why break would be considered dangerous and needed to be locked behind bars. Even those bars where she was kept. I am sure she probably could shatter them. I do like the idea of someone who can shatter any cage, choosing to be caged. Meanwhile the person who can seal anything choosing to be free, It is kind of ironic and poetic.

fostering the illusion of a warm family and freedom onto Asa Illusion? They are her family and friends and they do give her freedom. It's the attackers that won't let her. Yuru didn't get his ass hunted down for years so he has the "freedom", which was also a cage in the Higashi village. Even now she's the one shielding Yuru because the attackers are going to want to come after her who already has the power more than Yuru who haven't got it yet.

Did you watch the same episode? Let's not pretend the Kagemoris have adopted Asa out of the kindness of their hearts. Much like the Higashis, they have their own agenda too. Do you seriously believe if Asa wasn't one of the chosen twins and didn't have the power of Break, she'd be regarded as an actual family member by these people? Maybe Gabby is the only genuine friend she has, I'll give you that much. Not that we really know Gabby's backstory yet on how she came to be an adoptive Kagemori clan member--or she could be the perfect tool for the Kagemoris to use to get close to and "control" Asa, with the both of them being girls around the same age. Case in point: even the middle son (his name keeps escaping me) admitted how he believes the power of the twins (as rarely as they come by) should be used--going as far as to suggest that they are the rightful clan to wield their powers. You don't think people with such motives won't be/act kind (or maybe pretend) to the person who actually holds the power they want for themselves?

they have their own agenda too What agendas? That they broke off from the village in the first place because they don't agree with farming cursed twins to create tragedy and hardship for innocent kids? The ones with "agendas" is clearly just the second child and whoever he's linked to. Gabby is a real friend of Asa and the other main members of the Kagemoris we have seen so far actually think of her as one of them and care for her. The end game is very clearly the Kagemoris and Dera joining hands in some way because ultimately they want to protect the twins.

What, you want them to go revealing all their plans right off the bat in front of potential rivals (Dera) and allies (Yuru) just 7 episodes in? Okay lmao Just keep watching bud. Maybe you'll be proven right all along, but until more concrete information are actually revealed, I'm not gonna take everything we're presented with at face value or as facts. That's just me ofc--naturally suspicious. But you do you

I am happy you are naturally suspicious, there is not a lot people like that 😢 But can't both things be true ?Can't they have some plans IF they have plans for the twins AND genuinely care about her ? in many real families you have situations like that.... ...I am manga reader, so won't say more. for me,from the viewers perspective, Asuma (middle son with blond hair and scary smile) is actually less suspicious and all clan as well : because Asuma openly admitted to having different opinion, wasn't provocked by Dera by suggestion that he thinks they are competent enough to "control" the twins and no1 from family dissed him,because he has his different opinion. IF he was prepared as the big bad, it would be really silly,since he is shown as so obviously shady. Also,let's make an experiment and take what he said at face value : he believes gods gave special powers to twins for a purpouse and destroying it is runing away from responsibilities and village should not be exterminated (for village defenders that should be a good thing). So, him claiming organisation should control them doesn't seem "that evil". He literally says "no1 ,even chosen ones should have that much power in their hands", so he sees the only way it could work: they should split the responsibility. We are accustomed to powerhungry guys, but idea in itself doesn't have to come from powerhunger. They could also seriously feel better without the twins...since they came from that village and shared their beliefs at the start. Watchers want that innocent village angle,but maybe Kagemoris ARE that not innocent ,but kinder lot they were looking for.

The village cell is reminiscent of princess guard levels of importance. So, the cell supposed to be extremely robust to keep her purity. But, Higashi is supposed to be a poor and subsistence village so Asa doesn't get to have the level of opulence that a typical high status figure would have leading to what is unfortunately, a prison cell. But, Yuru made sure to always put in the work to get her gifts where the elder wouldn't. It's all performative while they attempt to raise the twins in a way that lets them control when, how, and if the twins manifest either break or seal. So, while they attempt to naturally kill Yuru first and if doesn't manifest Seal, they execute Asa with a false flag assassination and send her down the path of destruction while one of the village residents command Left and Right to keep Asa in line. That's my take on the narration so far anyway.

I mean it does seem the same but its not like the kagemori's are forcing her to stay within the mansion. She's free to go in and out if she wanted to but she chooses not to for being tired of constantly fearing for her life. I know the show wanted to sound deep and all but it really isnt the same. If you want to make it equivalent, you could also say that all humans are essentially imprisoned on earth

I agree with your thought and it was what occurred to me too. I get where Yuru is coming from. But he has always had the freedom. When you are as "free" as Yuru. You view her situation as limiting, But in a sense you can argue no human is free. But I think it is important when we hear the Kagemori clan head say left and right was supposed to be wielded by a third party. Essentially they are supposed to be the balancer is my inference but now they are held by Seal which probably makes sense if they were the guardians of the village. Also Asa seems the very internalized type which is normal for someone who has always been caged, people like that in literary and media go full unhinged never wanting to be enclosed or like Asa where that enclosure is their comfort zone. which is probably more conducive to a story with a restricted culture. Having an unhinged Asa would probably make the world too chaotic.

There's a big difference between prison and house arrest. And she can go outside, like she literally just did at the end to give her brother a hug. Nobody stopped her. Nobody forced her to stay inside. It's just dangerous for her to go out and it's not Kagemori's fault. It's Higashi's fault, the village that Yuru is so attached to. While his attachment is perfectly understandable, I haven't heard him say anything bad or show any negative feeling towards them. One can argue it's because he's doubtful about the truth of the matter. And that would be logical. But now that he accepted Asa is really his sister, hopefully that changes in future episodes.

Arakawa nails the sibling dynamic here, much like she did with Ed and Al. Although it is executed well differently because Ed and Al were always together for the most part in FMA. While here we see the twins go about their separate ways. I also like how each of the twins approaches is good on its own merit. We know how Asa has been hunted and the protection she has under the Kagemoris. Plus, you can get the feeling they do care for her. While Yuru being the hunter he is, wants to take action. Though his point that Asa traded one cell for another makes sense from his POV. But for Asa, she doesn't look at it as a hindrance, I suppose.

I mean the real complaint is people don’t like how level headed he is and they want him to be actively angry and emotional even though from the first episode that’s just not his character type. Like I think for detractors it goes beyond people thinking he is too trusting and more projecting how they would react and judging him for being something he is not And like I’m not saying people can’t feel how they wanna feel about it. But personally Yuru as a character is way more interesting than someone who swears vengeful death on people. There are half a dozen anime I can watch if I wanna see that

I think the logic is people who aren't a complicit left the village and refuses to work for the village, which means they likely joined the Kagemori. That's the set up in episode one when they talked about people leaving the village. I don't think someone can express explicit disagreement and actually remain in the village, because all it takes is for them to blab to Yuru or try to help him escape to ruin the plan.

Well Gabby (and Asa?) just straight up murdered people he considered friends, the breakfast scene could have at least have had a somewhat angry outburst or questions if they were sure that every villager was really a world domination seeking maniac or just the granny faction. The whole breakfast scene around this topic was strange, Dera as well. It was as if Yuru just accepted these answers without follow ups because it was plot convenient to do so.

That the village was attacked was mentioned, yes, but the situations never lent themselves to exploring it further. As to why I expected an outburst or just bitter questions are emotions. The first episode established that he knew many people somewhat intimately. And the breakfast with everyone present would have been an appropriate moment to explore it more than just a comment, some flashing mind images and a little silence. Taking the topic as not at least discussion/exploration worthy seems a little jaded to me.

I mean the real complaint is people don’t like how level headed he is and they want him to be actively angry and emotional Aaaaand that's why I bounce from pretty much every shounen I try to watch: can't STAND that character type. Whether the angry shithead or more standard genki boy, I despise characters that act first, feel second, and think never. Fine, as a supporting character they can be part of a balanced cast to start the occasional drama or conflict, but as the MC? I bounce. The overly emotional and impulsive types need a firm leash on them, as otherwise, the narrative needs increasing layers of plot armor and/or idiot ball villains to keep the idiot from committing suicide.

I don't need someone that is hyper-rational, stoic, and analytical. I just need an MC with more working memory than a severely ADHD addled goldfish and a higher sense of self-preservation than a lemming cranked up on bath salts break dancing on the summit of Mount Everest. I'm just tired of overly emotional shonen MC that should by all rights be dead before the first arc is over. (Although, yes, a rational and composed MC that is mature enough to understand "emotional regulation" and "haste makes waste" is a a huge plus.)

dang, i've casually been reading through the episode threads here, and i mostly remember people being pleasantly surprised that he was being smart about it by not just buying into everything the kagemori say! because it puts him at above average intelligence for a shounen protag lol but i believe you. there's always people who will watch the same thing and somehow totally flip the meaning on its head

How does that change my point? Unnless want entirely discussion pointlessly Kagemori feeling bad for people who they have been at war with before Yuru was born They weren't constantly shittaking village and Kagemori know have a normal doesn't you aren't assassin who killed people. They have family themselves and were once part of the village so they know how it works. It's outside the children its only Yuru, not Asa, not his parents, not Dera, or everyone else who don't know the truly nature of that place. They only explained their PoV because they want to lie to him like the village did. Both village and Kagemoris are rival organizations who have fighting each other for centuries anyway so there no point 8n sugarcost

As someone who was worried about it I am left super satisfied by this episode. It addressed pretty much everything, I even think that the reasoning that the Kagemori head gave for attacking the village is the strongest so far: they continuously aim to create the twins who throw the world into chaos and want to use them to govern the world. Even if you are not directly deciding that, if you contribute to that indirectly it is easier to see why and how these "morally ambigous" mafia group who are offshoots themselves of the village see it as their responsibility to stop this altogether, specially after constant assassinations.

Man, Black and White are such a cool power. Love how Hikaru being a mangaka makes it so much more busted, he’d be really scary if he was at all interested in the family business. While Asa’s bro-con shtick can be a bit much, I feel like her circumstances help justify it a lot. Separated from her brother when she was six, parents have disappeared and are possibly dead, didn’t know for sure that Yuru was alive until a few days ago, her whole life has been spent either on the run or locked away, and her only friend her own age seems to have been Gabby. Of course she is obsessed with her brother.

Exactly. It is very much groanworthy. I don't want to see brocon stuff unless it's in self-aware comedy shows like Alya. I would have a much easier time warming up to her character if not for that stuff. And to be honest, it's not really the brocon antics themselves that bug me the most. It's the contrast between her participating in the village attack and then acting so lovey dovey towards him that makes me go "ugh... have some tact". While I now know that Asa is a much better person, because of the formerly mentioned uncomfortable contrast, she gives me slight Esdeath vibes.