10 Second Anime - Kyoukai no Kanata - Episode 8

Kyoukai no Kanata - Episode 8

Serious anime got down to serious business... after a few more eyeglasses jokes, and a special appearance from Akihito's mom.

When Akihito's mom sends a funny cosplay postcard, you know there's a big bad youmu coming to town. But first, some details carrying over from the last episode. Sakura has moved in with Mirai, and she has taken over the quiet girl type. Plus, she has no problem going with the flow with making jokes at Mirai's or Akihito's expense.

We open the episode with Izumi practicing a spell on an assistant that puts her awareness in a different place and informs the old man behind the screen that we saw earlier this season that she has a plan for things that may happen during the Calm. As explained by several people, the Calm is a period of time when the youmu lose their strength, and the spirit world warriors get a chance to defeat strong monsters that they normally couldn't. Akihito's mom is worried because of his half-youmu state. The Society Agent explains to Mitsuki that the Calm comes from a powerful bodiless youmu. Like the Hollow Shadow made other youmu more aggressive, this one makes them sleepy.

Unfortunately for Mitsuki, getting a ride home from the mysterious Agent was not just a nice gesture, but to get more information about the Calm from the Nase family. These powerful, bodiless youmu are to be feared since they would cause boundless destruction if they ever took form. This is why they are called Beyond the Boundary (dun-dun-dun) and are watched over by the more powerful warrior clans. The Society thinks the Nase clan has more knowledge about the Calm than they do, and somehow thinks the cursed blood clan which Mirai comes from and Akihito the half-youmu are related to this hidden knowledge. The Nase clan being in possession of the Hollow Shadow crystal, which was killed by Mirai, plus stopping Yui's family from exacting vengeance on her after killing their daughter, are all interesting data points.

Before Agent-man can either ask Mitsuki for help or kidnap her for leverage (that scene could have gone either way, and that man is way too happy slinging around that pink tentacle weapon thing while carrying a juicebox, so I can't gauge his motivation at all), Hiromi shows up and they end up seriously fighting. Having Sakura power up that weapon was part of his plan for confronting the Nase clan.

As the Calm approaches, the other warriors prepare to battle the weakened youmu, and we see Izumi put Akihito to sleep like she did her assistant on his train ride home. Akihito is taken to Ayaka and Ai's place, with Mirai and Ai taking care of him. Agent-man appears to take Akihito in custody, and Ayaka refuses since his care was entrusted to her. She takes on her youmu form, a version of the nine-tailed fox, and does battle with the powered up weapon. Agent-man is no slouch either, but even he is surprised at how powerful Ayaka still is with the effects of the Calm weighing on her. He has to resort to using his own power in addition to the weapon, but before he can get a hit in, Izumi comes to the rescue. Big battles are set up for the next episode!

A few things struck me watching this episode. One is that the Nase clan is very interested in these bodiless youmu, as we saw with the Hollow Shadow, and that it would be a very bad thing if one of these things ever took form. This leads me to suspect that one tried to take form already, and is actually Akihito. His name is a combination of Japanese words that mean Demon-person, which is suggestive of his monster-human duality. And their interest in the cursed blood clan, by helping Mirai, I suspect stems from her blood's ability to make a bodiless youmu take form.

We saw it happen with the Hollow Shadow, by drawing out its still very small core, and making it solid enough for her blood sword to strike it down. And she used her blood to suppress Akihito's out-of-control youmu half, again, perhaps by making it regain its solid form by reassuming the human half.

And the last thing that struck me was how Agent man was talking to the pink tentacle weapon, assuring it would be getting something before the Nase clan, presumably the Calm's crystal. With how little spirit power Sakura had, the weapon stayed in one shape, but in Agent man's hands, it shifted into a handgun, and also seems to disappear unless called upon. Perhaps another bodiless youmu that he has taken as a partner, which will later betray him? Serious anime evokes serious foreshadowing, even with all the jokes about glasses, little sisters, and young ladies without boyfriends. Although, that was a good-looking dude who took Nino's kill. Maybe love is in the air there too.