ONGOING ANIME: Kyoukai no Kanata EPISODES 5-6

Again, we’d like to apologize for not keeping some of our segments up to date within the past couple of weeks, including both ongoing anime and manga coverage. We’ll be catching up on both in the next week in order to keep you guys updated on what’s new. That being said, let’s move on to our coverage of Kyoukai no Kanata!!

After the intense battle against the Hollow Shadow and Akihito’s half-youmu side going berserk in episode 4, we find the plot taking some time to cool off with an aftermath episode and a comedic one-shot story. Episode 5 starts off with Mirai finally joining the Literary Club (albeit with some peer-pressure by Akihito), and looking to solve her financial troubles, also decides to get a job- but it’s not the kind of job you’d expect… Meanwhile, there’s a lantern festival happening in town that night, but Mitsuki is struggling over whether or not she should go. As for Akihito, nearly killing everyone by accident the previous night is still taking its toll on him emotionally. 

The main theme the writers are tackling in this episode is the idea of how everyone thinks they’re alone due to their own unique problems, but the reality is that there are people around you that understand what you’re going through. Mirai, a person who always wanted to be alone due to her cursed blood, comes to this realization after opening up to the others and discovering how truly lonely Akihito feels, and how Mitsuki distances herself from others for being a Spirit World Warrior. Flashbacks to the previous episode substantiate the internal troubles each character encounters in the wake of the last battle, and one of the most interesting plot points here is the revelation that Akihito’s “friends” are actually keeping him under surveillance due to his half-youmu side.

Episode 6, entitled “Shocking Pink,” is where the above picture comes from. This indeed is supposed to be an entirely comedic episode, which takes a break from the usually heavy drama and action scenes to provide us with 25 minutes of pure parody. Mirai hears of an especially rare youmu that could solve all her financial troubles if she defeats it, but is soon to discover just why it has such a huge bounty on its head. If the youmu actually sees its assailant and senses danger, it spontaneously explodes and douses the person in a horrendous smell that won’t wash away until its been defeated.

Despite not being related to the overarching plot of the show, this episode is truly a treat for fans, and will get many genuine laughs out of viewers. Most of the jokes are perfectly timed, and getting to see the main characters fail over and over again in defeating the youmu is just priceless. To be honest, our favorite scene was when they all decided to become idols; it was just so random, but it goes on for several minutes and pokes fun at shows like Love Live.

The two episodes together provided a meaningful and fun little break from the ongoing conflict, while still continuing to establish a bigger world for the story to take place in. The next two episodes move on from the Hollow Shadow incident to introduce what appears to be the real threat to our world, as we finally enter the second half of Kyoukai no Kanata. We’ll make sure to have our coverage of episodes 7-8 out by the end of this weekend, so stay tuned!

-The A7 Team