(CR) Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari

[FlareKnight]

Not surprising. Though it says a lot about his tenacity that he planned on being able to kill the Paper Umbrella without even using his own door pulls. That's Hyoma for you though. He's stubborn to his core.

It's a solid access to a power boost that Hyoma clearly needs. Not an instant one since he has to rebuild that connection. He might even be a bit weaker in the short term. Though it really says a lot about how the family viewed those siblings that Hyoma gets fancy gold door pulls while the elder siblings didn't .

Honestly I can't even put blame around for keeping Botan out of school for now. That's just common sense. She's way too exposed on every level right now. It's not worth the risk.

At least got some good moments there with Botan and Hyoma. They keep growing closer even as things get complicated.

[Frontier]

Botan has a lot to dwell on. I mean, the attack on her is one thing, losing Kushige is another, not being able to go to college sucks...but she also has to grapple with the Marebito inside her and how Tsukumogami worship it and want it, and how that might have incited the Paper Umbrella that killed Hyoma's siblings. All the same it's thoughts of Hyoma that help cheer her up .

Nagi vs Hyoma round 2! Nagi is testing Hyoma's mettle and resolve now that he and the rest of the Nagatsuki's won't be around to protect Botan, and Hyoma's come a long way with all his training even if he still has room to grow. But Nagi can respect his commitment and the two end up bonding even more .

Yu, Kagami, and Suzuri are taking this parting from Botan even harder than she is. They won't even let go of her !

The Kyoto Saenome in general don't care for the idea of having Botan around. They would just as rather seal her and be done with it. Kadomori himself isn't in a rush to do anything yet but he'd just as rather they take care of her sooner rather than later. Perfect excuse for Botan to put herself to work at the compound and ingratiate herself with the group !

She cooks! She does clerical work! She even helps heal wounds! Botan is keeping herself busy helping out and showing the Kyoto Saenome that she's just a cute, kind, and compassionate girl and not at all what they thought she was. And just look at how proud Hyoma is of her !

Glad we got full clarification of what the Bureau of Traditional Music thinks of when they say "rock," and that they respect Botan now for living up to her own "rock," but she's just following Hyoma's example, which is really sweet .

It's a pleasant drive for the Nagatsuki's up until a new Paper Umbrella shows up. Yep, they're totally a full group of Paper Umbrella's out to get Botan. I don't see this ending well .

[Kanon]

It doesn't seem like switching to his own door pulls ha made Hyoma any weaker, at least. No demerit using them, he will only get stronger. Looking forward to what he'll be able to do at full power.

Botan is making it very hard for those guys to hate. Look how cute, earnest, and hard working she is! She's a victim in all this, it's not her fault a marebito was put inside her. Wish more people would see it that way.

As expected, there are several paper umbrellas which is definitely not good. They should be able to handle one, but if more show up...

[FlareKnight]

Man, everything was looking great until the last few minutes!

Credit to Botan for working as hard as she did. That girl has guts. And probably is the best choice. Keeping herself busy is a positive thing. Plus it does help her feel like a normal and natural part of things within that group. I do like the fact that she is using Hyoma as an example to fuel her efforts. Though I agree maybe don't follow it too much .

I will admit that I didn't see the family themselves getting ambushed by the Paper Umbrellas. That's a twist. A bold move. I mean sure they are hitting while the family is moving, but they are still a powerful force to take on like that.

[Frontier]

Botan is Ms. Popular! She's even helping one of the Kyoto Saenome with his daughters' college plans! Is there anything she can't do? Although Hyoma is maybe a little bit jealous of all the attention she's getting .

I didn't expect the Kyoto Saenome to have a cute rhino of justice mascot, let alone that Kadomori came up with it himself, but that might explain why they've never been able to sell all the merch. At least Botan likes it !

Well, the Paper Umbrella(s) have caught the Bridal Trousseau! I don't doubt they'll escape, but keeping them occupied will probably give all the time that's needed for things to go wrong .

Oh hey, Uchiki and Aogi! We haven't seen them since season 1. Not that it ended well for them here .

It's always nice to see Hyoma and Botan have a moment together, and to demonstrate how well Hyoma understands the Nagatsuki's at this point :teehee:.

Dang it, the Bureau of Traditional Music weren't cool allies who loved rock, they were playing everyone along with the Paper Umbrella's the whole time! They even freed Yoko Hikasa! it was all a con job! And they're all after Botan !

Well, at least Botan's efforts feel rewarded in the sense that now the Kyoto Saenome, even Kadomori himself, feel it's worth protecting her rather than just giving her up. And of course Hyoma would never just let them take Botan. So now it's time for an epic clash for the fate of Botan .

[Kanon]

Kadomori should have figured out something was up sooner than that, but I guess the blame mostly rests on his sons for not telling him the Tsukumogamis they had been sealing all day were exhibiting extremely abnormal behaviors.

The Bureau of music's betrayler was harder to see coming without being told the Paper Umbrellas had collaborators on the inside. Botan got the information a bit too late.

So Tsubaki vs old lady, Hyoma vs Yoko Hikasa, Kadomori vs big guy, and Kadomori's sons vs the flute guy. They said Kushige was close to recovery so I'm expecting a last minute save from him.

[Alchemist007]

I guess the fight is just starting, but for backstabbers, they have quite yet to strike as hard as a backstabber should (quickly and fatally).

[alex_drian]

Now the the Bureau of Traditional Music were reveled as traitors I'm suspecting more of their boss that sent to call all the members of the Bridal Set when there wasn't a need for that. Pretty sure only Haori and Suzuri would suffice. Also without forget the detail that someone used Guardian spells when Hyoma siblings were killed for the Paper Umbrella.

Also I'm suspecting that this new Paper Umbrella is the one that killed Kusui and Hayato. His clothes kinda look similar and the need to darken his face.

[Frontier]

It's time for everyone to get stand their ground to protect Botan !

Hyoma's fending off weaponized hair and paper umbrella's and he's doing his level best to protect Botan, even using the mementos of the Bridal Trousseau to hold them off effectively, but even he can only do so much against them. Although it's kind of cute how he and Botan wind up with matching outfits in the process when he covers her with his cloth .

Of course Hyoma won't give up no matter how much they wound or stab him, but can Botan stand to keep seeing him get hurt? But even if she wants to give up so they can stop, Hyoma won't let her, and that reinvigorates Botan's belief in Hyoma which gives Hyoma a bit of a second wind as well. And that's enough for the Paper Umrbella to recognize how big a threat Hyoma is, because Botan's feelings for him will keep the Marebito spirit inside her at bay .

Tsubaki with the epic anime entrance! And she brought the cavalry! With the Special Exception Tsukumogami of Kyoto arriving to fend off Fukie !

Interesting seeing Kadomori fight, showing off his talisman mastery, and I definitely didn't expect the whole Kyoto Saenome Building to turn out to be a Tsukumogami itself that's ready to eat up whatever's fed to it. Not to mention that giant talisman snake .

Tsubaki finally cuts loose, using as many talisman weapons as she can think of to fend off her opponents, and revealing the true battle maniac within. I can't say I'm really surprised at this point, it's always the pink-haired girls that have a dose of the psychotic in them, but it surprisingly works for her .

[FlareKnight]

Tsubaki may be a bit of a battle junkie, but she is definitely what they need right now. All the more so with her still being tactical enough to deliver support to all the various sides of this fight. The attackers may have the momentum, but they aren't the only ones that have been making moves.

Good showing as well by Hyoma and Botan. Both of them grit their teeth and refused to give in. Even if honestly they had plenty of reasons to do just that!

[Kanon]

Tsubaki may be a big unhinged but she's a powerful ally to have. She's definitely a lot stronger than Hyoma is at the moment.

Botan refusing to give in because she has faith in Hyoma despite how bad the odds were was nice.

We pretty much got confirmation that the female Paper Umbrella wasn't the one who ate (gasp!) Hyoma's siblings. So it's definitely the guy who ambushed the Bridal Trousseau.

[scififan]

Word of the week: Kotowaru!

[Alchemist007]

Good bit of animation this ep.

[Frontier]

Tsubaki really is enjoying herself just cutting through the Paper Umbrella and Tsumabiki! I mean, all power to her. You can't fault her for enthusiasm in her drive to tear into Tsukumogami .

So Tsubaki was also a prodigy as a child, huh? So weird to see her without pink hair though .

So the Bureau of Traditional Music is doing this to fuse the world of the living and the world of the dead so that they can create an apocalypse of humans and Marebito...so more people can listen to their music? That's pretty messed up. Not even Hyoma can accept such a warped rock .

Well, Hyoma is holding his own with his injuries and Tsubaki is doing her thing, but they're pretty much screwed when the Bureau of Traditional Music finishes up with the rest of the Kadomori's and the rest of the Paper Umbrella's, the Owarazarashi, arrive as back up. The two of them can't beat That. The best they can hope to do is give Botan an opening to run .

I was wondering what the point of another flashback to Hyoma's siblings was, but I think that's the first time we've seen them use their last breath to protect Hyoma, how Hyoma got his scar, and the exact moment his siblings died. Yikes .

Oh hey, so Yoko Hikasa is named Shigure! Fubuki is pretty cute too .

This Tenjuro guy has got to be the one who killed Hyoma's siblings right? They're framing him like he's the leader and obscuring his face, and he has similar colors/hair to the Paper Umbrella that killed Kusui and Hayato .

Ugh. They figured out the best way to unlock the Marebito in Botan's body. Force her to stay there in place, torture Hyoma and Tsubaki in front of her, and remind her of her aunt's death. And now the Marebito has finally consumed Botan. Can Hyoma save her ?

[Kanon]

Nice that Shigure has an actual name now. I love how stone cold she is.

The situation is looking pretty dire, but I'm not forgetting that Kushige was close to full recovery (Tsubaki even gave him some words of encouragement before she headed to battle), and the other Nagatsukis are not going to stay trapped forever. I'm not sure they'll be enough to turn the tide though, maybe Kai is going to help? He doesn't like a guy who would enjoy chaos. He also basically trained Hyoma in his own way.

Originally Posted by Frontier

I was wondering what the point of another flashback to Hyoma's siblings was, but I think that's the first time we've seen them use their last breath to protect Hyoma, how Hyoma got his scar, and the exact moment his siblings died. Yikes .

No, we already saw it all in the first season. Hyoma being protected by his siblings in the very first episode, and the siblings coming across the Paper Umbrella near the end of the season. They just combined the two flashbacks.

Between this and the repeat of Botan's flashback, they were obviously padding the episode. I don't know if it's production issues, running out of material, or what.

[Alchemist007]

Still waiting for the reveal that Botan's inner demon is his family's killer.

[Guardian Enzo]

That could be, but my read is that the killer was one of the paper umbrellas (probably Tenjitsu) we saw Shigure introduce at the end.

[FlareKnight]

Well, rough spot there. But can't really be helped either. Just outmaneuvered.

Nice enough that Hyoma put his rage on hold to try and be responsible. Although one could argue that maybe going berserk would have been the better choice. Not like he could adequately protect Botan in that scenario anyways. And might at least carve up their enemies a bit. Well ok, probably wouldn't have made any difference with those numbers.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

That could be, but my read is that the killer was one of the paper umbrellas (probably Tenjitsu) we saw Shigure introduce at the end.

It's obviously Tenjitsu who killed them, but Botan's marebito might have been the one giving the order, since the Paper Umbrellas all see it as their master. I'm thinking they were created when Botan lost control all those years ago, which was also when the siblings were killed. It doesn't explain why there were talismans blocking their techniques all around the area though.

[iko_uwais]

Lol, can't wait for most watcher to be surprised by who Tenjitsu is. Seems like this season will during or before the meeting of the Three Great Family