Tonari no Yōkai-san

Episode 9

I am thanking the anime gods that this week's episode of Tonari no Yōkai-san didn't end up smashing my heart into a million pieces. It's still a tense and fraught conclusion to this most recent “arc" of the series, don't get me wrong. Poor Rein almost ends up getting swallowed by the endless black void of the river god after trying to rescue Ryo from drowning! Still, the focus is not on how everyone's heart has been broken but rather on what our heroes and heroines can do to mend their pain. That simple but powerful shift in perspective means I managed to review an episode of this show without bawling my eyes out!

I liked the focus on Rein and Ryo's story in the first half of the episode. Their entirely avoidable (but eminently relatable) “relationship” issues have been a positive distraction from the utterly gutting emotional issues that Wagen, Buchio, and Jiro have been dealing with. Despite the relative smallness of Rein and Ryo's youthful awkwardness, the life-or-death situation the kids find themselves in is another valuable reminder that life in Fuchigamori is always going to be tinged with some amount of danger because the land of the spirits is wild and unpredictable one.

My only real gripe with the Rein plot is that it made me wish that Tonari no Yōkai-san could flaunt some better production values. The whole sequence of Rein confronting the river spirit could have been spectacular if the animation and direction were a little more magical. I'm not expecting this show to suddenly develop Ghibli-esque levels of visual splendor. Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally compare this episode to some of my favorite moments from Spirited Away.

The Jiro/Mutsumi plotline also gets a solid conclusion, given how fractured their relationship has recently been. The confirmation of Haru and Jiro's feelings for each other, along with the extended monologue from Haru that clarifies how she didn't actually want Jiro to forget about her, is really sweet—even if it does threaten to become a bit repetitive by the end. Still, I can't help but wonder where the show intends to take Jiro's feelings for Mutsumi going forward. This episode would seem to shift the balance back towards a much more platonic dynamic, though the way that the ending montage pairs images of Haru writing her letter with shots of Jiro joyously embracing her great-granddaughter are just ambiguous enough to leave room for interpretation. I wouldn't even be surprised if the show pulled some “reincarnation” card in the future. Then again, I could always be overthinking things way too much.

Still, I am very pleased with how consistently excellent Tonari no Yōkai-san has proven to be, even this late into the season. Once again, this could have easily been the season/series finale of the show, and I would have been perfectly satisfied. Still, the post-credits scene makes it clear that, no matter how warm and cozy things may feel right now, there's still more in store for our characters in the month's remaining episodes.

Rating:

Tonari no Yōkai-san is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.