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Tae and Bakeneko are obviously Reiko Natsume and Nyanko-sensei from a parallel universe where she lived to old age.

I'm definitely preferring this season's shorter arcs over Steel Lady Nanase. That one got a bit bogged down in its own excess of dialogue, if memory serves. I'd never wish that to go away entirely- the dialogue is where In/Spectre shines after all- but the better balancing and increased narrative momentum serve the show quite well.

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It's fun to think about space yokai

I dunno...Yashahime based its whole story on that idea, and it wasn't really all that much fun.

I wasn't expecting In/Spectre to get cosmic, but at the end of the day this was an arc about the elderly and how hard it is living while you're loved ones die off (sometimes especially unfairly) no matter whether you end up the better for it.

All the money Tae made from her families' death never made her happy or made up for their loss and she was in a similar boat to Zenta despite her confident demeanor.

The 1st season and Nanase arc was an actual self contained novel hence why it was so long. Afterwards the author just continued it with shorter stories.

I liked this mini-arc. Tae was great, and the whole thing is very on-brand In/Spectre. Tae isn't quite what she seems, carrying much more grief and anger than she normally lets on, nor is the puppet (though it is mostly what it seems). And in many ways the resolution is very Kotoko - she spitballs for a bit before cutting the gordian knot and opting for the entirely pragmatic solution of immobilizing the puppets arm and attacking it with a chisel. Though she does need to make use of Kuro's future-shaping powers to do so. Tae's revulsion at what Kuro puts himself through, even though she knew it was coming, is a good little detail too.

If there's hope to be found in this sad little tale of futility and lonely grief it is that while you cannot undo the pain of the past, you can find a reason to exist beyond it.

Kotoko and Kuro continue to have some of the best "married couple" bickering in anime too.

This is like some crazy Detective Conan plot with the long-dead mother's case getting dredged up and a family on the poise of an inheritance if they can figure out how in a reasonable fashion the dad killed the mom without any supernatural help.

Though if anyone can judge a contest of people making up stuff that sounds plausible, it's Kotoko.

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However, Kotoko still accepts the job because it falls squarely under her purview of mediating the border between humans and yokai.

I think another reason she took the job is the family connection she mentions at the outset. Makes you wonder what kind of a background Kotoko comes from? (Perhaps we've seen it, and I've forgotten.) Must be pretty wealthy. She does sport what looks to be high-fashion clothing (within its genre), so she's probably not hurting financially.

yuna49 wrote:

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However, Kotoko still accepts the job because it falls squarely under her purview of mediating the border between humans and yokai.

I think another reason she took the job is the family connection she mentions at the outset. Makes you wonder what kind of a background Kotoko comes from? (Perhaps we've seen it, and I've forgotten.) Must be pretty wealthy. She does sport what looks to be high-fashion clothing (within its genre), so she's probably not hurting financially.

I don't think Kotoko's backstory (outside of her goddess of yokai origins) has been explored yet (based on manga chapter titles, there may be something that this season has dodged around that might have shed some light on it), but we do know that her family is wealthy. I think it might have been stated directly in season 1. If not, Rikka lived in her house (mansion?) between her hospital stay and the Steel Lady Nanase case because it had plenty of room for a long term guest.

I feel kinda bad for Rion. Not only did she show up completely underdressed for the occasion, but now she has to play audience as her family shows off the skeletons in their respective closets. All while Kotoko is being her best authoritarian gremlin. Not how I'd want to spend my day.

blahmoomoo wrote:

yuna49 wrote:

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However, Kotoko still accepts the job because it falls squarely under her purview of mediating the border between humans and yokai.

I think another reason she took the job is the family connection she mentions at the outset. Makes you wonder what kind of a background Kotoko comes from? (Perhaps we've seen it, and I've forgotten.) Must be pretty wealthy. She does sport what looks to be high-fashion clothing (within its genre), so she's probably not hurting financially.

I don't think Kotoko's backstory (outside of her goddess of yokai origins) has been explored yet (based on manga chapter titles, there may be something that this season has dodged around that might have shed some light on it), but we do know that her family is wealthy. I think it might have been stated directly in season 1. If not, Rikka lived in her house (mansion?) between her hospital stay and the Steel Lady Nanase case because it had plenty of room for a long term guest.

If I remember in season 1 they showed Kotoko having like a whole team of maids helping her get dressed in the morning.

b-dragon wrote:

I feel kinda bad for Rion. Not only did she show up completely underdressed for the occasion, but now she has to play audience as her family shows off the skeletons in their respective closets. All while Kotoko is being her best authoritarian gremlin. Not how I'd want to spend my day.

Poor girl was made to attend this by her dad only to find out her dad, uncles, aunt, and grandpa all planned to murder her grandmother (and her grandpa succeeded).

Though I feel like Rion will probably prove pivotal to resolving this case because she's the only one involved now who is innocent and they made a point of showing her going over the case files.

MFrontier wrote:

Though I feel like Rion will probably prove pivotal to resolving this case because she's the only one involved now who is innocent and they made a point of showing her going over the case files.

She's fairly clearly smarter than the other two too.

Kotoko, usually tight lipped and master of secrets, once again indulges her habit of over-sharing when it comes to Kuro. She sure likes to gloat in front of as many people as possible.

I feel like the odd man out here where I actually enjoyed the 1st season much more with it having a whole story arc than the 2nd season where they're smaller cases. Still watching it, but very much less interested. I want to like it, but guess we'll see how i feel once it's over?

Steve Jones wrote:

They're both good anime.

So true. Wim Wenders understood this also when he made Columbo an angel.

@HKurogane, I agree. The current arc aside, the series has been disappointing.

Bless Rion's heart for delivering such an effective summation and theory and try to bring some redemption to her family...even if Kotoko had to hijack things in true Kotoko fashion. Guy should never have messed with the supernatural and think he could get away with it.