The episode starts off with the personal demon battles in each boy’s subconscious. Shihou has to battle with his sister while Yuuchirou struggles with his burdened past. Interestingly enough, it’s the contradiction of his lust for revenge and love for his family that charms the demon to him. When the demon, Asuramaru, agrees to follow Yuuchirou, it tells him that there’s something in Yuuchirou that’s made him ten percent non-human. MYSTERY!!!! And a very key piece of the overarching puzzle in the main plot for sure.
Just when you think all three of the boys have passed their demon trials to acquire their weapon, Yoichi gets caught in the demon’s grasp, without a drive for revenge and way too much guilt over his past, at first he isn’t able to muster up the courage to take hold of the demon’s power. As a result, the entirety of the episode is focused on the battle between Yoichi and the other characters. Props to Guren for pushing Shihou and Yuuichirou so far in their first battle… against their friend. Yuuchirou decides not to harm Yoichi in any way. Towards the end, everyone seems pushed to their limits with Yoichi. Even Shinoa draws her weapon when it seems like Yoichi will harm Yuuchirou but it’s Guren who motivates the boy to stand up for himself. Fantastic acting from Yuuchi Nakamura in this episode.
“I won’t kill a comrade. I promised myself that I won’t abandon them.” – Yuuichirou
What I’m enjoying in Seraph of the End thus far is the theme of family and how much it drives these boys. It seems like everyone who’s training to be a part of the Moon Demon Squad is determined to rectify something regarding their past. For all the beef that the boys get from Guren, he does care about his students and the squad is pretty tight knit through camaraderie. In all honesty, I’m really curious about Guren’s past. He encourages Yuuchirou to forget about his past family because it really is all in the past. Instead, he tells Yuuchirou to focus on his current comrades, his present family. Then it’s tut-tut everyone’s off to the FRONTLINES of the battle right away. Well, I suppose you can never have too many hunters out there against the vampires.
– Cloudy
What are you pondering today?