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The Morose Mononokean
Episode 9

by Rose Bridges,

How would you rate episode 9 of
The Morose Mononokean ?
Community score: 4.1

This episode of The Morose Mononokean is a mix of various moods we've seen earlier in the series, but it introduces some new ideas that make the episode feel original. The series continues to juggle various tones at once and introduce new types of characters while further developing our existing ones. Granted, this episode's most important new characters are primarily plot devices, to help aid Ashiya and Abeno's character arcs.

Ashiya and Abeno find themselves in the middle of a routine exorcist appointment that ends up being anything but routine. They're called by a young girl, seemingly excited that there's a yokai in her room, even putting up her own (largely ineffective) preparations, but her mother disagrees. She insists that the supernatural isn't real, and she doesn't like her daughter getting mixed up in these ideas. The mother wants Ashiya and Abeno to go away, and she even has some strong words for Ashiya when she finds out he didn't pick this line of work.

This is the first character The Morose Mononokean has given us who refuses to believe in the supernatural, so she plays a meaningful role in the story. Sure, Ashiya has brushed up against classmates who don't believe his excuses for why he's always out of class or wasn't feeling well that first week, but this mother actually interferes with their case-of-the-week. She has Ashiya seriously doubting his job, discouraging him from the exorcist business and promising to help him find better work, even suggesting that he's headed down a bad path if he keeps this up. It makes Ashiya wonder if he's really suited to the job.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. This yokai ends up being the pretty standard "heartwarming" variety; he's just small and scared, even if his fear has a pretty sizable impact on the house. In fact, he literally looks like an adorable porcupine, making friends with Fuzzy once he's out from under the bed. Ashiya soothes him by telling him how he met Fuzzy, and that Ashiya understands his complicated feelings and just wants to help. This is all it takes to get the new yokai to calm down and return to the underworld. Even after all this, the mother still insists on the supernatural being fake and that the boys should never see her daughter again.

Her place in the story is over, but her effect lingers. Ashiya is left thinking about why he does this job and whether he's suited to it or not. One of the most telling moments comes when Abeno glares at Ashiya after his pupil finishes successfully soothing the yokai out from under the bed. Ashiya has a natural talent for talking to these creatures, one that Abeno often lacks. In spite of this, Ashiya isn't really an "exorcist" yet, since he can't open the gate to the Underworld. He has the emotional talent, but not the necessary skills—and not necessarily the drive. This leads Ashiya to a contemplative moment where he realizes that he's not really into "exorcism for the yokai's sake" like Abeno, and that's still the major gulf separating them.

I wasn't sure what to make of this moment. I didn't completely buy it. While Ashiya is certainly getting better at this as he goes along, he showed compassion toward yokai from the beginning—enough to build his lasting friendship. Perhaps we're not meant to agree with Ashiya completely. Abeno doesn't seem to, remembering one of the previous yokai's words that Ashiya is "dangerous." He realizes the danger is not in Ashiya's fear of the job, but that he's getting too into it. "It's because his feelings of attachment might grow stronger," Abeno says, as he watches Ashiya play with Fuzzy. Is Abeno afraid of Ashiya usurping him as Master of the Mononokean? Or does he just not want this boy to wed himself to the job too soon? Is there another price to being the Master of the Mononokean?

I'm sure The Morose Mononokean will answer these questions soon. I like how the show is economical with its mysteries; it knows when to bring them up, when to drop them, and when to raise the question again. It also knows how to hold on to some of the mystery, as with the question of what happened to the previous Master of the Mononokean. The lingering questions play a major part in my continued investment in the series, so it must be doing something right.

Meanwhile, The Morose Mononokean has set us up for another mystery involving Zenko and her father—and a mysterious scarecrow yokai we've seen in the opening theme. Maybe these familiar characters will open the door to more answers. The mother this week gave Ashiya a lot to consider, but perhaps next week, we'll find out how much she may have been right—or wrong.

Rating: A-

The Morose Mononokean is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.


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