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ファイト／ステイナイト 
This is a good episode that basically improvised and changed the original storyline a little bit. There is even an appearance from another character which we've already seen from a previous episode. This episode also looks a lot better for some reason. The character design is a lot more consistent and there are some nice effects in some of the scenes. Having said that the character design in this anime always bothers me for some reason and I couldn't figure out the reason for this until yesterday when I saw an illustration at an anime magazine. The thing that is missing for the character design is the usual shading that one normally finds in a character's hair. As a result the hair of the characters often look a bit like a wig. It doesn't seem to be much of a problem in the manga but in the anime, where everything has colours, this is more noticeable.
Brief summary:
Because it's Ochugen (scroll down to read about it), Watanuki decides to make Ohagi (sweet rice cake) for everyone. Yuuko, however, left one Ohagi for Watanuki and he decides to give it to Himawari. However, by the time he arrives at her house, no one seems to respond no matter how many times he presses the bell. He immediately assumes that Himawari is out with Doumeki and decides to scream like a nutcase on children's playground. As a result, concerned parents try to take their children away from the scary man. XD To make matters worse, Doumeki suddenly appears on the playground and eats the Ohagi that Watanuki has saved for Himawari. As it turns out Doumeki is there to let him know that Himawari won't be back from Karuizawa until the 20th of the month. He also shows the letter that Himawari has written for him as a proof. This makes Watanuki even more depressed because he didn't get a similar letter from her. While Watanuki complains about his lot in life, a blue ball of light suddenly appears in front of him and moves on to show Watanuki and Doumeki a girl who's now also sitting on the swing next to them.
The two are surprised about this since they never noticed her beforehand. The girl becomes embarassed when Watanuki and Doumeki notices her. Watanuki immediately assumes that the girl likes Doumeki and tells her that he's going home so she can move closer to Doumeki. Much to Watanuki's surprise, however, the girl stops him so he has no choice but to stay around and encourages her to say whatever she wants to say to Doumeki. The girl tells the two that she actually wants to give something to someone during this Ochugen but she forgets about it. She, however, suddenly becomes happy and tells them that it is now here and reaches into Doumeki's body and pulls out the Ohagi that the guy had consumed. This in effect, causes Doumeki to falls unconscious. Watanuki becomes panic to see this and makes the girl afraid. So she ends up running away from him before flying into the sky. Thankfully for Watanuki, Yuuko arrives to give him a help but claims that it's going to cost Watanuki a lot.
Yuuko then calls upon a large bird that is handled by Mokona and tells Watanuki to hop on it to find the girl. She also reminds Watanuki that if he doesn't find Doumeki's soul by the end of the day, he will remain in this condition forever. Thanks to the bird, they manage to catch up to the girl but end up being attacked by a group of little men with blue shirt, red scarf and white wings. Because of the attack, Watanuki falls from the bird and would have plummetted into the ground had the mysterious girl didn't use her power to save him. The girl then floats Watanuki to a rooftop and apologises for the incident. But the truth is, she just wants to give a present. Watanuki tells the girl that if she wants to give a present to Doumeki, she doesn't have to steal his soul. The girl, however, tells Watanuki that the one she actually wants to give the Ohagi to is actually Watanuki. Watanuki is confused about this but all of a sudden Ame-Warashi shows up and hits him with her umbrella.
She then tells the other girl that she's wrong, Ochugen is not a time to give offerings to a person that one likes. The girl becomes embarassed upon hearing this. Watanuki wonders who the girl could be since she seems to know Ame-Warashi. Ame-Warashi tells Watanuki that the girl is Zashiki Warashi and the men with the wings are actually Karasu Tengu. The two Warashis then leave Watanuki while Watanuki returns to Yuuko and Doumeki's dead body. Yuuko immediately teases him for getting a present from a cute Zashiki Warashi. Watanuki at first is flattered but then he remembers that he actually made the Ohagi himself. Yuuko tells Watanuki that he's correct and it's because he made the Ohagi and it was within Doumeki's body that Zashiki Warashi thinks it'll make a special Ochugen present. Watanuki, however, wonders why that doesn't make him happy but he has no choice but to return the Ohagi into Doumeki's body. A few days later, Watanuki receives a postcard from Himawari but he becomes disappointed when he realises that it's addressed to both him and Yuuko.
Impression:
I must say that I'm slightly disappointed that they've moved the story from a winter setting to a summer one. First of all, I think Zashiki Warashi's winter costume is a lot better than the summer one that she wears in this version. In addition to this, I feel that they make Zashiki Warashi slightly dumber for mistaking the meaning of Ochugen. The other reason is kind of silly and that is because I'm not a big fan of Anko (red bean) based cakes and sweets. The only time I'll eat Anko if it's infused inside Dorayaki or Taiyaki. And that has to be a really good Anko and not the dry ones you normally find inside the Dorayaki you get from a combini. Having said that, the storyline is actually good enough and I like the addition of Ame-Warashi into the story. Zashiki Warashi is also very cute and a lot more pleasant than Himawari, in my opinion. Hopefully should Himawari is proven to be the evil witch that she is (just kidding), Watanuki will start focusing his attention on Zashiki Warashi.
Zashiki Warashi is finally here!?
Wow I been waiting for this forever, I like her the most in the manga, although she have very little screen time. Looking forward for this ep.
I've been waiting for her since I saw the intro. And damn, but I'm glad to see her. :D Although I do feel a little let down by the fact they skipped Valentine's Day and (now presumably) White Day, so Watanuki won't have a chance to return the favor... more's the pity, especially given how the Ame-Warashi's now more explictly acting out the onee-san role for Zashiki-Warashi, and cluing both the Zashiki-Warashi and Watanuki in on various things.
Now, if a later story has the Ame-Warashi 'suggesting' that Watanuki give a gift to the Zashiki-Warashi (preferably with an umbrella-strike), then I think I can forgive the director for this episode's changes...
If they changed the setting up like this I wonder if they will still incorporate Zashiki Warashi into the Watanuki & Pipe Fox in the Daffodil World story or will they just tack that story to the end of the Ko soul stealer episode?
...never mind...I just got answered. I watched the epi yet so...
Indeed the season change screwed a little. Not only Zashiki Warashi's clothes looked much cooler, but also Yuuko's ones.
It's very weird to see her hair all blue, though, but I'll get used to it ^^
Good thing we got to see Ame Warashi again, even if only for a little bit ^^
lol, the hair shade comment made me think of Kuromi-chan 2 xD
Yeah.. the winter parka was cute, but i can live with the outfit. It's just the change in holidays which made the story a lot more... difficult... to work with, especially since it means that the White Day storyline's gone.
I do wonder if he realizes that, should Yuuko ever help him remove the ability to see and be bothered by spirits, that he'll lose a few friends from the other side? The Fox Spirit Oden Vendor, the Zashiki Warashi, the Ame Warashi.. he'd have missed the whole lightning spirit in Volume 8....
I do wonder if he's gotten the point yet, and if he'll decide to change his mind.
I have always like the Watanuki x Zashiki Warashi combination in the manga.
Looking at the screenshots, I have to agree that the winter outfit is a lot cuter than the summer one, but I guess it works. That being said, I didn't like the change from Valentine's Day to something rather dumb, IMHO...
At the same time, I think that Yuuko is grooming Watanuki into some sort of medium, and teaching him ways to shield himself from the evil spirits that attacks him. This way he could act as a bridge between the spirit world and human world while his wish being fulfill, in a difference sort of way. And of course, this way the Watanuki x Zashiki Warashi relationship could continue. (Yes, I love volume 8 of the manga... Oh so valiant Watanuki ^^;;; )
Volume 5 had some hints of this, uhsieh - "He needs practice for what is to come in the future, and the store is that" is how Del Rey translated it, and given their other translations, I'd be inclined to lean towards this interpretation; in the end, Watanuki may not give up his spirit abilities after all... but the service he's given the store is payment for the training and experience and wisdom he's gained in all of this.
While he may not end up with the Zashiki-Warashi.... he may well come to appreciate her, and both what she tried to do for him, and what she represented - someone outside of his family who cared for him because he was him, and not just because he was a friend or because he was a coworker or something. She's given him something he's probably been denied since his parents died - unconditional affection and love. Plus, she's given him a bit more wisdom, through the whole ordeal with Lady Jorougumo; something which he'd failed to pick up through Doumeki's efforts alone (that treating oneself as lightly as he did hurt those who felt insulted or belittled for caring more for him than he did for himself) because of his slight antagonism towards Doumeki. Watanuki learned that others did care for him... and that acting as if he was worthless was as painful to them as having them get hurt for his sake was for him.
Plus, she IS rather cute... and more than a rival for Himiwari in this respect; he got almost as flustered talking to her as he does talking to Himiwari, and if it wasn't for his ongoing and preexisting crush on Himiwari, I suspect he may have had a bit more of a reaction to the Zashiki Warashi than he already has. Still... I really, REALLY hope they do the White Day thing, if only through the 'High Moon Urn' to return the koda-kitsune back to its normal pipe-fox shape. That was one of the better parts of that volume, since it let him grow up just a little, at least when it came to dealing with the fairer sex. :D
OMG !!!!, zashiki warashi is cosplaying sakura from fate stay night !!!!
I like this episode; it's a kind of a light-hearted one for me, considering that love is in the air here. Thank goodness! I've finally met Zashiki-Warashi....hehehe... :) More so, the reason why I like this episode quite much is because it feels to me like a "Major Break of some Romantic Relief" after the previous episode's "Uber-HORROR Atmosphere". Funny how it seems to me that this anime heavily fluctuates in a pattern of "polar opposites" --- that's what I think. It seems to be ranging in "Odd & Even Nos.", you know. Think about it -- a certain ep. is presented w/ a VERY dark atmosphere; then the next thing we know, the one w/c comes after that has a pointed touch of cheerfulness.....methinks that aside from the common (sometimes 'CLICHE') "Inevitability Theme", CLAMP is presenting to us a theme about Life's Balance too.
As for Zashiki-Warashi....if in the Blended World of Magic & Reality, she is the one that embraces Misfortune.....and the fact that she did that to Doumeki just to be able to give Watanuki a present....well....talking about CLAMP's and Yuuko's known Esoteric Symbolisms....wasn't that a symbolic, moreover, "kind-of-an-EVIL way of saying that Watanuki can only have something, or can only be happy w/ something if he receives such "happiness & joy" at somebody's expense?! For me, that is too much of Equivalent Exchange! No wonder Watanuki felt (quoted from Garten-san) "that doesn't make him happy".
On Watanuki....."should Yuuko ever help him remove the ability to see and be bothered by spirits, that he'll lose a few friends from the other side?" If that would happen, it would surely be quite sad. But then again, that's definitely what Equivalent Exchange is all about. We win some, and we lose some. Relatively, the idea of Watanuki losing some few good friends somehow reminds me of Sunrise's Robin who, in some way, has lost contact w/ her Hunter Friends all because she finally & fully became a Child of The Craft. Her case is totally different to that of Watanuki's though (if it does happen to him...), but both of w/c speaks of the Cycle of Life's Exchanges. :)
Wow, if Ame-Warashi keeps up with the umbrella whacking, she could send Watanuki into a coma
I thought it was kinda neat how the Zashiki-Warashi ripped the soul out of Doumeki as nonchalantly as any regular human would rip out a flower from the ground. Considering Doumeki’s special “gift,” his soul probably looked very pretty to the Zashiki-Warashi. I perfect gift to give to someone you like. =P
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