Kekkaishi ep.02

October 18, 2006 | 11 Comments

Well, this is basically the second episode of the series but it was aired at the same time as the first one. While the first episode contains the OP theme, the second episode contains the ED theme. I personally think neither the OP nor the ED are that special but they are passable. Voice acting are okay as well except for Madarao the spirit dog. I was expecting a female VA not a male VA who tries to act like female. I am also apprehensive of the fact that the writers cut out some of the manga material. This makes me wonder if there is a limited amount of episode reserved for this series. Thankfully the art and animation make up for the above deficiencies. This is definitely one of the nicest-looking series I've seen this season. As a side note, I've updated the pictures for the first episode so that it'll have the correct aspect ratio.

The episode begins with Yoshimori hunting a small Ayakashi. However, just as he's about to catch up with said Ayakashi, someone else has already capture it inside a kekkai (barrier). Yoshimori who runs at full speed bumps into the kekkai and falls flat on the ground. Tokine and her dog, Yakubi, then appear to laugh at Yoshimuri. Tokine tells Yoshimori that she did tell him to be careful because danger can lurk any time. Yoshimori, however, thinks that Tokine herself is a danger. The next morning, Yoshimori's grandpa runs to his grandson's room, trying to wake him up. Much to his shock, Yoshimori has used kekkai to ensure that he can sleep peacefully. Despite being annoyed at Yoshimori, the old man becomes happy again during breakfast when he gets to taste Dashi-infused Tamagoyaki that was made by Yoshimori's father, Shuuji. Yoshimori, however, tells his father that he prefers his Tamagoyaki to have sugar instead of Dashi in it.

His grandfather is pissed off upon hearing this and wonders when will Yoshimura deserve the Hoin. In retaliation, Yoshimori tells the old man that he just want to make himself stronger and is not really concerned with Hoin or being a successor to the family. Yoshimori also doesn't care about beating Tokine when it comes to Ayakashi hunting. Yoshimori's grandpa is livid to hear this and orders Shuuji to prepare breakfast only for 3 people tomorrow. In retaliation, Yoshimori places a kekkai around the Tamagoyaki plate, making it impossible for his grandpa to get it. On his way out to school, Yoshimori sees Tokine on her way to school as well and ends up following her around. Tokine does not like this but Yoshimori points out that they go to the same school. Tokine disagrees, claiming that junior and senior high are located in different building and each has its own entrance. Yoshimori, however, insists that they are located on the same ground.

Tokine is eventually fed up with Yoshimori and asks him if he's angry at her because she's the one who got the Ayakashi. Eventually, she can't stand of being followed anymore and decides to jump from rooftop to rooftop to avoid Yoshimori. When Yoshimori continues to stalk her, however, she orders him to stop following her because he disgusts her. That day, Yoshimori sleeps inside his class until one of his classmates, Ichigaya, tells another friend, Tabata Karasumori, that Yoshimori disgusts him. Oblivious to Yoshimori's drama, Tabata asks him if he's a close friend of Tokine. Yoshimori tells him that they're just neighbour but this piece of information is enough to excite Tabata, who's in the middle of collecting information about Tokine (ie. her hobbies). It appears that Tabata is creating what he calls "Karasumori's school datafile'. The reason is because Tokine is popular with guys and often liken her to White Lily due to her beauty.

Yoshimori disagrees with those assessment until Tabata points out that even male teachers secretly like her. He, however, becomes angry when Tabata starts asking about Tokine's family, especially that of her father. He tells them that he dislikes people who lacks 'telepathy' like them. After Yoshimori left the class, Ichigaya wonders if Yoshimori actually meant 'delicacy' (I think 'sensitivity' is the correct choice of word, but oh well). Outside the class, Yoshimori notices that a girl called Kanda is looking at something. When Yoshimori asks her about this, however, she instead asks him if he knows that self-thought diet is dangerous, pointing at the poster behind her. After Kanda left, Yoshimori realises that the girl actually saw a janitor who's been dead for 50 years. In other words, she's capable of seeing an Ayakashi. Meanwhile inside her class, Tokine manages to solve a difficult Mathematic problem, inviting the envy of some of her classmates.

After school is over, Yoshimori looks excited and runs quickly towards his home. A few hours later, Yoshimori's grandpa smells something coming from the kitchen so he heads there looking angry. Yoshimori, however, knew that his grandpa will come and has set up a Kekkai around himself. Yoshimori tells the old man that no one can come between him and his craving. At the moment this is all that he can do but one day he'd make a confectionary castle (castle cake). His grandpa admits that wanting to build a castle is manly but in that case, Yoshimori should worry more about their Lord's castle. Yoshimori misinterprets what his grandfather said and tells the old man that one day he'll built a Karasumori castle....from confectionary. His grandpa becomes even angrier to hear this and decides to give his grandson a 'lesson'. While the two duke it out in the kitchen, Yoshimori's father and brother enjoy a quiet tea time inside the living room.

In the aftermath of the fight, Yoshimori comes out of his house looking sad. He remembers how he once gave Tokine a confectionary Himeji Castle. Back then his father also secretly gave Yoshimori a cake and told him that confectionary castle can also be made out of a cake. Ever since then, Yoshimori has an ambition to make a castle cake. He then smiles to himself and swears that one day he'll feed that cake to Tokine. Cut to a shot of Tokine feeling a sudden chill inside her room. That night, around 8PM, an Ayakashi penetrates the school ground. This annoys Yoshimori since it's not the usual time where he goes hunting for them. Before Yoshimori leave the house, his father apologises for not being able to help but he can't see Ayakashi unlike his son. Yoshimori assures his father that it's okay and proceeds to visit Madarao to wake the dog up. The dog, however, is not interested since it's not midnight yet.

When Yoshimori insists that Madarao comes with him, the dog tells him that he will do this if Yoshimori gives him a fresh piece of deer meat with the soul attached to it. Yoshimori agrees to this demand but later on wonder where he'd get this fresh meat. The two then meet Tokine who mocks Yoshimori, asking him if she should give him a handicap in finding this Ayakashi. Yoshimori is annoyed to hear this. He claims that he doesn't need handicap and moreover, he's not competing with her. Hakubi then appears and tells Tokine that he's found the location of the Ayakashi. The dog also takes a turn in making fun of Yoshimori by telling the boy that he's "too late". Tokine decides to salt the wound even more by asking the dog not to say cruel things like that to Yoshimori. Yoshimori is pissed off now, asking the two if they think that they'll always win. Unfortunately for Yoshimori, Tokine gives him the answer by throwing a smoke bomb to obscure his vision.

Madarao assures Yoshimori that they can overcome this setback since his nose is better than Hakabi. True enough, they manage to find the frog-like Ayakashi. However, when Yoshimori tries to trap the creature, it spews some projectiles from its mouth, forcing Yoshimori to use a Kekkai to protect himself and Madarao. To make things worse, Tokine and Hakubi use the opportunity to get ahead of the two. However, because Hakubi's sense of smell is weak, Tokine can't figure out if the Ayakashi is within close proximity or not. Tokine thinks that the creatures' movement is not that remarkable. Therefore, as long as she can see it, she'll be able to trap it. Having said that, she knows she'll have problem if she has to repel the Ayakashi's attack while trying to create a Kekkai. All of a sudden the Ayakashi appears from a bush and sends projectiles towards Tokine and Hakubi. Because of this, Tokine has no choice but to set up Kekkai to protect herself and the dog.

The Ayakashi turns out to be a 「土蝦蟇」 - Tsuchigama (ground frog), an Ayakashi which can control soil. When Tokine tries to get close to it, the creature sucks the cements that made up the school's wall and throws it into Tokine and Hakubi. Meanwhile outside the school, Kanda sees the bright light from the fight but she tries to tell herself that she doesn't see it. Thankfully for Tokine, Yoshimori then runs towards the creature, directing its attention to himself. Madarao wonders why Yoshimori doesn't just create Kekkai so he tells the dog that if he uses it, he won't have the time to get in front of Tokine. At the same time, Tokine is having difficulty maintaining her protective Kekkai. When the frog sends a large rocks, however, Yoshimori manages to stop it using his staff. He then tells Tokine that this Ayakashi belongs to him as he runs towards the creature. As he does this, he forms a Kekkai to trap the frog and manages to enclose the creature.

Unfortunately, one of the rocks is now heading directly towards Yoshimori. Before it can hit him, however, Tokine produces a Kekkai to protect the boy. Despite this, she is annoyed with his reckless action. In response, Yoshimori assures her that he's not injured. He then borrows Tokine's staff, destroys the Ayakashi, and sends its remaining through the portal. Frustrated by Yoshimori's behaviour, Tokine decides to leave the clean up to him. Yoshimori has no choice but to pull out a few 「式神」 - Shikigami (spirit servant) to do the clean up. These are basically creatures that work for Kekkaishi and can assume any form. This time around, the servants assume the form of tiny and faceless men. Meanwhile, Yoshimori is in the middle of treating the injuries he actually received from going head-on with the Ayakashi. Madarao thinks that he's stupid for getting injured to protect Tokine. Yoshimori is embarassed to hear this and asks Madarao not to tell Tokine.

Much to his surprise, however, Tokine already knows and sends her own Shikigami (in the form of a bird), to drop a special ointment that her grandmother made. Apparently the ointment is capable of repelling evil spirits. Madarao is not impressed to see this, pointing out the fact that in the end, Tokine knows about Yosmori's wound so his effort was in vain. Having said that, Madarao does not care as long as he gets to have that fresh deer meat. Yoshimori flinches upon hearing this, wondering where he could get such meat. At the same time, Hakubi also tells Tokine that she should protect herself better instead of worrying about Yoshimori. A flashback then reveals that when Yoshimori was about to get attacked by the frog, Tokine risked her own life in order to create a Kekkai that protected Yoshimori. Tokine becomes embarassed to hear this and tells Hakubi that she couldn't help it because Yoshimori is a fool who can't protect himself.

Impression:

I've heard once that a girl usually is mean to a boy that she likes. I sure hope that's the case here because I feel sorry for Yoshimori for having to put up with Tokine's acid mouth. The only redeeming factor for her character was when it was revealed that she put herself in danger in order to save Yoshimori. Admittedly, Yoshimori was reckless and could potentially endangers himself and Tokine. However, the reason he became like this in the first place is because everyone looks down and make fun of him. Hell, even Madarao makes fun of him. In addition to this, he never gets to do the thing that he wants to do, which is basically making castle cake. I'm especially annoyed at the grandpa since he reminds me of a strict parental figure that I know of. This kind of treatment feels especially worst when the person is still a little kid. When you get older, it's easy to ignore this kind of unrealistic expectation and do the things that you want to do.

I am actually slightly disappointed with the Ayakashi in this episode. In comparison to the first one, it seems less dangerous and intimidating. I'm also disappointed that the anime cuts out the pastry boy until I realised that he'll actually appear in the next episode. I like his character because he reminds me of Kawachi from Yakitate!! Japan. This episode also features additional storylines such as early revelation that Kanda can actually see Ayakashi as well. I didn't expect that they'll feature her this soon. I suspect that the anime will feature her character a bit more often than the manga. The highlight of this episode, however, is Madarao and Hakubi. I like how sarcastic the two dogs are. Hakubi was especially amusing with his one-off English words like "Nice roll, Yoshi", "Honey", and "Ooh Yoshi, too late da ze?". Extra points goes to the shot of Madarao yawning. Hmm, I suddenly feel like owning a dog now.

Ending Theme: 「赤い糸」 (Akai Ito) by 稲葉浩志 (Inaba Koushi)
Download: AVI format | PSP format (19.1MB)

Preview

On next week's episode: Hakubi gets impaled by a huge monster.

© memento 2003