#ichiyo

I honestly think the budget was saved for the finale. Seeing the group traverse into the Sacred Grove was so mystical. The whole scenery was pretty! I liked that despite the setting being in fantasy land, the way the memories are being shown felt rather modern and futuristic with the hologram screens and what not.

The twist that it was the Dragon King who created the Celestial Realm by tricking Huuinboku, the guardian of the Sacred Grove, and that he is potentially the real villain of the story in all of this is crazy. I wonder how Heikan will take in all of this as he’s the biggest fan of him as he’s his father. Too bad the anime ends before Ichiyo and co can do something about it.

The origins of the Moon Egg was quite dark. What do you mean it’s formed when human corpses fallen from quicksand are accumulated? The fact that how so many people died and who threw all those bodies haven’t been answered, so it’s left for interpretation. One of the corpses was Ichiyo’s pregnant mother who somehow gave birth to him as she became one of those accumulated corpses. Because the fetus Ichiyo was struggling to live on, the Moon Egg inhabited his body, making him the Moon Egg’s vessel in a way. This was why Hakugo decided to raise him and why he’s special.

At least Ichiyo is right in that Tenko isn’t Souryu. He’s actually Kyoko, one of the Four Pillars. The fight between him and Ichiyo was rather sudden but it ended a bit too fast. It probably meant that either Kyoko has been powered down due to his long time being in slumber and being a servant, or he and Tenko are two different entities inhabiting one body… The fact that they never addressed this is also a gripe. The fight was cool though. I like that they played the opening song too—a sign that this is the final episode. Fortunately, Kyoko is able to be bound to Ichiyo again as Tenko, meaning that there could be a possibility for the other Four Pillars to be servants as well.

It’s too bad that the anime ends before they can confront Konton in the modern world. They didn’t even end the anime with them reuniting with Kaka and Ryu! Still, the usual “Shifu Harassment” never gets old, even as an ending.

Overall, this was an okay anime. From what I’ve researched, the anime actually starts in media res as Ichiyo and Tenko do some stuff in the manga before the first episode of the anime. Why do anime production staff f*ck around with the original source material? It makes it  feel disrespected in a way—look at Your Forma and how it became a jumbled mess due to the production team taking out the contents of the first volume! The hiatus also affected the anime’s traction in a way. Do people even talk or think about this after that long hiatus? On top of that, the animation didn’t seem to have improved in that break period…

I think the character designs and the voice acting were the best part of the anime. They’re all so distinct and the voice cast is good. The only problem with the characters is that there are a lot, so it’s hard to keep track who’s who, but the name spoken and the names that are translated in English are different, so it’s hard to tell what name’s actually correct since this anime sort of gives off an ancient Chinese feel but the names are pronounced the Japanese way, like how some names are pronounced in The Apothecary Diaries.

It’s visually nice, but it’s also not pretty at times because the animation can be a little wonky at some angles, BUT I commend the studio for resuming the anime and having it see the end. There are anime with much worse production issues and I’m glad that Haigakura didn’t fully collapse.

To be honest, this isn’t an anime I’d recommend, but if you’re curious about a battle shoujo anime (this is a shoujo manga), then feel free to check it out! Let me know your thoughts on the anime as a whole!

Shurin knows that Sanu’s actions are because of her and it makes me wonder if he was in love with her in the past. I get that Sanu hates that people important to him are taken away and that he feels powerless when it happens, but the fact that his thoughts always stem from Shurin in some way can’t help but to make me wonder if he liked her that way. I feel bad for her, regardless. She stopped aging at sixteen and has to serve as the Queen Mother because it was her fate to do so. She can’t really do anything she wants anymore—she can’t even go see Sanu.

The fact that forbidden magic on a person’s body leaves them emaciated is terrifying. Sanu looks horrifying in that state! He was called out for his actions in this episode, saying that he always tries to shift the blame onto others and never himself, which does make sense in a way. He blames other people for his mishaps and never himself. His actions were all his doing, even if it seemed as if he was being hypnotized by Souryu to work for Konton. Also, I want to praise Ryota Suzuki’s voice acting in the Sanu segment because he made him sound so weary and tired and he nailed it perfectly.

However, in order to find Konton, Ichiyo needs to find the mystery behind the Moon Egg—that has been Konton’s goal the entire time. He goes to Shiro who tells him to go to a place called the Sacred Grove. Shiro took care of Ichiyo because he had to in a way. Shiro doesn’t care about humans. This does hint that Ichiyo might not be a person as he has wings on his neck, meaning that he only takes on a human appearance.

I honestly can’t wait to see what Ichiyo’s origins are. Also, what’s with Souryu? Since there are nine of him, all of his appearances are missing something. There could be a chance that Tenko isn’t Souryu, but I doubt it. He got Tenko’s face and voice. Either Tenko is one of the parts of Souryu, or he is something else entirely…maybe he’s a part of Souryu that isn’t missing anything… Anyways, I can’t wait to find out! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

I did enjoy the Shin Megami Tensei-like battle where it’s just monsters fighting. I liked seeing what each of the servants can do like Ryu being resistant to lightning due to being lightning himself. Kaka being helpful with her sound abilities, but fell fast due to the Lord of Arrow’s poison. Fortunately, Heikan comes in clutch with his white mage abilities from healing to purification. He’s the second person who made Ichiyo be able to sing pleasantly.

The reveal that Sanu was the one who stopped Sonto from defeating Konton was surprising. Too bad that he won’t be able to be nefarious anymore since he got captured after his defeat. I did feel a bit bad that his servant attacked him after being purified and confused by Ichiyo’s song.

Though, I do admit that Kan Shouri’s behavior is a little irritating. Sanu’s actions were due to his inability to be at his family’s side, causing a rift between him and his son. Sanu only did these things because he was tired of losing people he cared about, but the fact that Sanu also has a tendency to blame others and not himself also feel like a cause for his downfall. The fact that he decides to care about Sanu’s actions after all of the chaos does feel a little cruel.

The reveal that Tenko had been imprisoned at Ryusei’s place the entire time was hilarious. Tenko was acting like nothing big happened and got slapped in the face by Ichiyo. Ah, never change, you two! Still, the garden is really pretty! I feel like the animation budget went into the background.

I do wonder what Shurin wants. I think it’s been a while since she was last seen. I’m sure it has something to do with Sanu as the two were close. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

There’s also the mystery of what Tenko could be as he could be Souryu, but at the same time, there’s still not enough evidence that he is. On top of that, he got arrested by Sonto and the other Eight Immortals because of all the mysteries revolving around Ichiyo. Yikes. And on top of that, the ending of this episode makes it feel like taking away Tenko could be a major issue for Ichiyo’s group.

By the way, Otohime’s request last episode was to take in Heikan as his new servant. So, Heikan joins the party, albeit reluctantly. I’m not sure what sort of abilities he has. Still, it’s interesting how Haigakura sort of feels like a monster tamer story akin to Shin Megami Tensei. Ichiyo got four servants now. I know the manga is ongoing, so it does make me wonder if he’ll get more later on. It’s also nice to see that Heikan doesn’t immediately fit in with the group as he argues with his new master over cleanliness. Kaka doesn’t particularly like him because of that. Ryu and Tenko are neutral. It’s too bad that there won’t be enough time to see the group bond.

By the way, since there is a Queen Mother of the West and a King Father of the East, is Kan Shouri the King Father? I am a little confused because there is so much emphasis on the Queen Mother throughout the story that I forgot that a King Father existed. Wait, did I get the West and East mixed up?

Anyways, I’m surprised that the major fight between Ichiyo and Sanu is already happening. It had been built up due to the opening foreshadowing it, but I didn’t expect it to happen just from Sanu showing up in front of Ichiyo’s current place of residence and causing chaos. I’d be pissed if I was trying to relax and process what happened and a dude tried to sic a large snake creature onto me. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!