Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2

Episode 20

Just two weeks ago, the “Severance” cut the cast of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun in half. Now with “The Red House,” the focus has gotten even more minute. This episode was specifically about Kou and the things that matter to him. This classic haunted house setup has given way to a more distinctly Hanako-kun dark fairytale vibe, where the house's malevolence expresses itself through a precise logic just like a Boundary might. After the mysterious child's identity is revealed, there's a parallel in this tale about two little brothers. Although I spent the week wondering about the mystery of the red house, this episode only raised more questions, but what it lacked in answers, it made up for in emotional payoff.

Nene has been dealing with apparitions for the better part of a year. She shouldn't have been fooled by this Hanako-resemblant child, even if he was tangible and warm. I loved the classic trope of the just-glimpsed monster when Kou's phone screen briefly revealed the gargantuan face right outside the door. But Nene did a no-no, and now Kou is left picking up the pieces, along with the child he quickly identifies as Tsukasa, as the only human in a big spooky house. At first, the red house appeared to be held together with duct tape and found footage-style horror tropes. But soon, a method to the house's madness begins to unfold. When Kou is hungry, a burger appears. When he wishes for a weapon, a sick-looking sword pops up. Even when the house delivers more intense wish fulfillments in the form of Mitsuba and Teru and an especially murderous Hanako-kun (so Kou doesn't have to be conflicted about exorcising him), the young exorcist isn't fooled. Finally, the house pulls out all the stops and shows Kou his mother. Here, finally, we see what it would take to get Kou's defenses to waver.

Kou's dead mom isn't all that different from other dead anime moms—she succumbed to a vague illness when Kou was nine. It's interesting to see how similar she is to Mitsuba's mom, who gave Nene and Kou such a warm welcome last week, and to Amane and Tsukasa's mom, who will do anything for her twins. There's certainly a playbook of good motherhood that the moms of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun all follow; this warm, loving atmosphere that they all foster. These three moms (two of them dead, and one of them with a child no longer living) represent something vital to the teen protagonists of this show. For as much as this is a show about the supernatural, its beating heart is the ties that bind us together—through family, friendship, and romantic love—that are so powerful, they reach beyond the boundary between life and death. Seeing this tender, domestic scene is almost enough to make Kou falter. And for Tsukasa, a similar familial wish really did prove to be his match.

What do we know about Tsukasa? Mostly that he's a terrible little gremlin: Amane's crueler, colder little brother. But what if the Tsukasa we know is not the real Tsukasa? In this episode's flashback, Tsukasa is a doting little brother, gathering filthy treasures to share with his bedridden big bro. His love for Amane is so great that he even makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Amane's life. In return, Tsukasa is stuck in the red house forever… so who is the apparition who looks like him and haunts the Broadcasting Club? Is this a The Summer Hikaru Died situation in which Not Tsukasa has possessed his body? And if so, who—and what—are they? Something very strange has happened here, and now Tsukasa is asking in his blunt, childlike way if it's going to happen again. He keeps asking Kou if he loves Nene, if he loves Mitsuba, if he loves his mother—the same way he asked in the flashback if Amane loved him. Love is clearly a major element in the way the red house makes contracts, and Tsukasa is wondering what Kou will do to get his wish fulfilled. Though this episode included show-typical humor and beautiful dark fairytale scenery, the tension was overwhelming. I feel like we're at a precipice, teetering on the edge of an abyss.

Lauren is a freelance journalist with a focus on anime fandom. Both of her kids are named after Gundam characters.