What’s the show? Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Episode 8.
So last week ended on a bit of a ~dire~ cliff hanger, did it not? Somewhat, Kogarashi, Sagiri and Koyuzu had infiltrated the underground castle of the Black Dragon God Ryuuga to rescue Yuuna who had been kidnapped and forced into a marriage against her will. What made the situation so dire is that apparently the Black Dragon God—as the name suggests is a god-tier creature that are considered unbeatable—at least as far as the various ninja clans are concerned.
Yikes! So what does Kogarashi and co. do? He beats him with one punch.
What?! That’s a bit overpowered isn’t it? Maybe, but then again Kogarashi is unlike any other being that’s been before—yes he’s just a “mere human” but he’s evidently been possessed by every kind of ghost and demon under the sun at some point in his life which has left him with not only a wealth of knowledge and skill but also spiritual power.
O…okay then? But isn’t that kind of unsatisfying, a one punch victory? I don’t know if I’d say ‘unsatisfying’ it’s intentionally comical for one thing—besides I get the feeling this show’s focus isn’t going to be on action, I mean it’s genres on Wikipedia are “Comedy, Harem, Supernatural”. The only reason it has any action at all (I assume) is because it appears in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan and is ~technically~ a shonen series despite having absurd amounts of fan-service.
I see, so it gets a pass on skimping out on the action because of its genres? I’d say so—it’d be a different story if it wasn’t entertaining but this show is just so joyously fun that whatever perceived deficiencies it has it makes up for them in other areas.
But doesn’t Kogarashi being so over-powered kind of negate the need for the other girls to have powers? Like what about the badass ninja Sagiri? I’ll admit, seeing her so easily defeated by Ryuuga’s chief retainer Oboro was a little annoying but I loved the fact that when Kogarashi was being sliced and diced by Obora in a later scene—unable to fight back against her because of his strict rule of not punching women (#feminism) it was Nonko the ogre who stopped the swinging blade with her bare hand. These are still powerful women they just happen to be in the presence of a very powerful man.
So the bad guy’s defeated, what happens to that Oboro woman? Well for one thing Ryuuga’s not actually dead—he was just knocked out and knowing that; a) Ryuuga’s a stubborn dude and b) they can’t expect to win against Kogarashi and his crew they strike a deal and decide to play a trick on Ryuuga as he wakes. With Koyuzu’s ability to make illusions she conjures an image of Yuuna and Sagiri “ascending to heaven” having had all their desires fulfilled by him and being able to pass on into the afterlife. Nevermind the fact that Sagiri’s not actually a ghost, but because Ryuuga’s so thick and they appeal to his male ego he actually believes this ploy which pretty much leaves them able to go on with their lives as normal. Well… almost normal…
Oh, and what’s that mean? The episode ends with Kogarashi waking up on his futon with an accidental handful of breast—like has happened countless times before—except it’s slightly smaller than ample bosom usually provided by Yuuna. That’s because the breast belongs to Obora who has snuck into the Yuragi-Inn in order to propagate a strong lineage for her clan and who better a specimen than someone as powerful as Kogarashi!
The harem expands, eh? Yep! And man does she have a good body, it was hidden under so many layers that Kogarashi and Sagiri had previously mistaken her for a dude but there’s no mistaking it now! I can’t wait to see this series uncensored on the blu-ray… Ahem!
So final verdict on the episode? It’s probably my least favourite episode of the series so far but it’s still great fun—it’s just lacking a bit of the heart and character moments that previous ones had (though not completely devoid—the scene where everyone returned back to the inn where the caretaker Chisaki had been nervously awaiting their return was sweet.) Also—and I don’t usually like to comment on these kinds of things—but the animation felt a bit lacking in this episode with an over-reliance on still shots over actual action and some weird angles on characters faces. It’s nothing to be alarmed about yet but still worth mentioning. Other than that, just plain fun!
Previous Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs Reviews:
Putting The Bust In Ghostbusting – Episode 1 Review
Supernatural Ping Pong Girls – Episode 2 Review
Attack of the Perverted Plushies – Episode 3 Review
More Fish For The Cat God – Episode 4 Review
Breast Friends Forever – Episode 5 Review
The 100 Year Old Middle School Girl – Episode 6 Review
A Ghost Of A Chance – Episode 7 Review
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Anime QandA 
That thing about the villain having darker lines is so true. You can gauge someones evillness by how sharp their line art is.
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For some reason your comment went into my ‘spam’ folder, but I rescued it! Very true about sharp line art, you’re unlikely to see a pretty waifu with sharp line art now are you?!
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Thank you for finding my comment, all my comments get classed as spam for some reason no matter the blog I comment on.
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Also, pre animation change Rias Gremory had VERY sharp line art. Her chin could kill you
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Oh yeah, good point!
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One of the things I enjoyed noticing most along this topic was that Hitagi Senjougahara had very sharp lines and spiky hair throughout Bakemonogatari, until episode 12, when she and Koyomi were lying on the blanket. For that scene, where she’s stopped being prickly with him, her hair and clothes are much softer.
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Wow, that’s a really subtle thing that I never even picked up on before! That’s so cool!
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