The Morose Mononokean is back for its second episode and that means Irina and I are back to discuss what’s new for Abeno and Hanae as we pick up from that surprise first episode cliffhanger.
I was looking forward to this episode. Not so much because the cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat but I find the Morose Mononokean universe comfy and cozy. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon as the outside world is grey, windy and freezing!
I agree, definitely a great way to spend some time (morning for me but given it’s already in the high thirties and just getting hotter, I’m not leaving the air conditioning today).
I wasn’t really surprised to learn that Hanae wasn’t really in danger (while it was possible it didn’t seem likely this early on). Then again, given how season one dealt with its cliffhangers I wasn’t really surprised this one diffused pretty quickly. What I did like was that even though the threat more or less sorted itself out, we transitioned very quickly into seeing Hanae helping find the gold-shiny thing and this linked back to his previous efforts at finding a ring. Hanae has some odd quirks and eventually they are going to have to explain why a seemingly normal human can pull this kind of thing off.
The one thing I didn’t like was that the episode felt the need to flash back to Hanae finding the ring. Realistically most people watching this will have seen the first season and that was a moment that stood out for Hanae because it was particularly strange. Then again, how did you feel about it, Irina?
Actually, I appreciated it. I had quite liked that episode in the first season but I probably wouldn’t have recalled it if it weren’t for the flash back. Since it was just a short scene, I really didn’t find it dragged down the narrative at all.
What struck me most was the disconnect between the beast and it’s voice. I really didn’t match it’s looks and for some reason I loved it. Just hearing that sightly whiny bored tone coming out of a regal liger made me happy. I could no longer take him seriously but that’s ok.
I have to agree about the voice. At first I was wondering who was talking and then I realised it was the beast.
Of course, regardless of what we end up learning about Hanae he is a complete goof. The Goro Express moment is an excellent example of Hanae at his silliest though it does get him where he needs to go. I was actually surprised when the whole delivery seemed pretty straight forward. I kind of expected more from the actual handover of the document.
I don’t know if you’ve had dogs growing up. To be honest I was an adult when I got my first dog but Buddy is pretty big and I’m pretty small so he does come up roughly to my waist. If I could ride him I would never walk again. I have Neverending Story envy.
Yes the hand off was very easy….suspiciously easy…. The again, he is on the authority of the legislator and that may carry some weight.
Maybe. The Legislator continues to be a great character in the show. It is so hard to know how seriously we should be taking him and whether or not things work out for him by coincidence or really careful planning and manipulation. His interactions with Abeno are great because Abeno is usually such a hard character to read because he’s either stoic or annoyed (usually at Hanae). When the Legislator is playing with him though we see a somewhat wider range of responses.
I think we discover more about Abeno and Rippou when they’re not together. We don’t quite know the end game here. A lot of Yokai seem antagonistic to humans which is why Hanae has to be so careful so I wonder where the Legislator actually stands. Asking a question like *if you could save only one, would it be Yokai or Human? Is super ominous. Does he think it may come to that?
The again, they are framing the story to make him appear sympathetic for the most part.
That question is a little bit leading only I have no idea where it is going.
I wasn’t overly sold on the Hanae getting sick at the end as a final complication for the episode though. It did give Abeno an excuse to leave to fetch something to fix him which allowed the conversation between the two yokai, but it just felt really contrived to me.
I actually thought he was faking it for a while. I also wondered why Abeno felt it necessary to put on a tie to run to the convenience store. The whole scene was a bit unbalanced but I did enjoy the party leading up to it.
I always loved the running gag of Shizuku being jealous of Hanae because Koura wants to use his body parts for medicine. It’s so delightfully weird.
Delightfully weird is an excellent description.
Then we get that final moment with the other yokai discussing the new employee. I wonder if Hanae’s life is about to get more interesting?
I bet it is. That final yokai we saw only in silhouette was considerably more threatening than what we usually get from this show. They might be ramping up the stakes a bit and I’m here for it.
The final thing I want to raise was that Fuzzy was absolutely adorable this episode. Much like Platelet sightings during Cells at Work, I could happily watch this show just for Fuzzy moments. Is there anything else you want to look at?
This episode was clearly a setup for the future events of the season. I don’t have much to say about it out of context like this. I did however get a few random thoughts while watching:
- Although Yahiko isn’t the cutest little fox yokai I’ve seen, he’s still pretty darn cute.
- “Hindsight” isn’t really that complicated a word
- Where did the tail ring go when the beast transformed into a humanoid form? Just curious….
That’s all I have!
Although this wasn’t the most eventful episode it still served the story well. I am looking forward to next week as I was to this. I also realized that it was over before I knew it which is always a good sign.
All three of your random points make perfect sense, particularly the one about the tail ring. I was definitely wondering where that went.
I’m with you in that I’m definitely looking forward to next week with this anime.
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Fukigen na Mononokean Tsuzuki (Anime) Intro Theme
- The Morose Mononokean Series Review
- The Morose Mononokean Season 2 Series Review
- Season 2 Episode 1
- Season 2 Episode 2
- Season 2 Episode 3
- Season 2 Episode 4
- Season 2 Episode 5
- Season 2 Episode 6
- Season 2 Episode 7
- Season 2 Episode 8
- Season 2 Episode 9
- Season 2 Episode 10
- Season 2 Episode 11
- Season 2 Episode 12
- Season 2 Episode 13
I’ve not seen this episode yet, but the pic prompts me to ask: did Hanae get sick before or after eating Underworld food? Because we Irish (and we witches) have many warnings against eating food offered us by the Fae, however well-intentioned they might be. . .
He got sick from eating the food, though apparently more because he wasn’t used to it (that and he ate heaps of it).
Then him reacting to it makes perfect sense to me. His “sickness” might be more of an adjustment, really. . .