Sword of the Demon Hunter

Episode 22

We're in a new arc with a new setting – Meiji-era Kyoto – and some new characters to replenish the show's cast. That's given the show a handy chance to publicize itself, after last week's episode got unwelcome attention thanks to an incomplete stream on HIDIVE. The previous arc wrapped up poorly, but at least there's the prospect of a new beginning.

However, this episode proves to be fairly middling, despite a few diverting touches. Jinya is now the owner of his own restaurant, unsubtly named “Demon Soba.” That's both a plausible career move – he's seen soba being made often enough – and a nod to his dual nature, as a demon who kept hold of his humanity in a restaurant. He's both a proprietor and a family man now; at fifty, he's also middle-aged.

He's not the only character this episode whose age doesn't match his appearance. When I saw the calm-looking girl Himewari (one of the new characters) surrounded by demons, I worried she was Nomari and her dad had taken to using her as monster-bait. Instead, Himewari turns out to be the story's fairly effective twist villain, deftly capitalizing on Jinya's protective instincts to best him when he takes on her and her demon sister.

We've only got bits of the story so far. I've been learning about Noh Theatre, so I was interested when Himewori's demon sister was linked to a Noh play (a real one, described here). This demon has appropriated the appearance of Jinya's new client, the elegantly sultry woman Kamenome. But there's no time to explore this further when the episode becomes a so-so fight (I'm being generous) on a bridge at night. I preferred Jinya's duel with Kiichi in Episode 17, while the use of projectile chains to grab people was deployed better for laughs by the butler in this season's CITY The Animation.

After last week's “incomplete” release, it's embarrassing that this week's episode has blatantly unfinished elements – most mortifyingly in the bridge battle when the end of one round is presented with audio of the fight over an extended shot of the (empty!) bridge. There are other noticeable goofs, such as a shot discontinuity when Jinya is struck in the back by a metal ball, and even a truncated shot of Nomari closing a door. Given all these glitches, we can guess why the forthcoming episode is being held back a week.

I won't be too hard on the episode for that. I liked Kyoto's rich woody browns, and the glimpse of Akitsu in a teaching role, imparting Kenobi-sounding wisdom to a boy apprentice (Heikuchi), who'll plainly be important in episodes to come. There's the unsurprising reveal that the demon sisters' mother is really Suzune, and the suggestion their next target will be Nomari, who's subject to the same demon-eyeballing that Suzune had in the very first episode.

Any anticipation, though, is is curbed by the fact there are only two more episodes to go. It seems unlikely much will conclude satisfactorily, and quite possible these last episodes will end up an annoying advert to go and read the light novels if you want an ending. Let's hope it does better than that.

Rating: Sword of the Demon Hunter is currently streaming on HIDIVE.