Season Two Ep 1 review

S2E1 was finally dropped around Thursday 2 Oct morning Australia time (around 9 am). That might’ve still counted as 1 Oct in US time, but I wish that Crunchyroll is clearer about what time zone they’re talking about. Most likely now I will just watch S2 on Thursday evenings then (because I have to work when the episodes air in the morning.

Before I discuss S2E1 though, I want to talk about the cour. We are NOT clear on how many cours we will have. Will we have only 12-13 episodes (i.e., one cour), or will we have two cours, totalling around 26 episodes like in S1? Of course I am hoping for two cours, but there. Is. Just. No. Information! I contacted Gonzo via X and no reply either.

(prove me wrong, and I will be grateful!)

I do think that we may have two cours though, and the reason is the visuals in the Opening Theme. As I said in the previous post, we will have Takechiyo-sama (Prince Takechiyo), which is from Vol 6. We will have Byakuya and his Muromachi wife Suzume, which is from Vol 7. However, we also have Kiyo-sama (Kasuga’s husband), the Northern Land Hachiyo, and he doesn’t appear in the novel until Vol 8. We also see the King in his skull mask… but I feel like this is from Vol 7 when Aoi infiltrated the Palace in search for Ōdanna-sama. Most importantly, the end scene of the Opening is Ōdanna-sama dissolving in autumn leaves, which would be talking about his disappearance during Vol 6 Ch 10. We have NO scenes from Volumes 9 and 10 at all in the Opening Theme. No Ōgondoji-sama either, though she is very prominent in Vol 9 (and at the end of Vol 8). Therefore, I think – at least hoping – that we will have two cours. Vol 8 might split into two cours, and since I have not read Vol 8 except for the last chapter, I can’t really tell when it will split.

Of course, this is if we have two cours @12-13 episodes.  I hope Gonzo and Makariya do not cram five volumes in 12-13 episodes; they’re crazy if they do that. If that’s happening, I will vote for a redo of the whole Season Two under Kadokawa – I mean Sony (since Sony is the major stakeholder of Kadokawa).

But anyway, as promised, here’s my review of S2E1 after watching it several times. Because I have limited time this evening (I am going for a field work tomorrow and should wake up at 5 am), I might update this post later for a more thorough review.

First, music. Toyama Nao is very good at singing very fast lyrics (like S1 Opening 1), and here she delivers again with Tōryanse (とおりゃんせ). Of the two S1 openings, I actually prefer Cour 2 (with more Japanese music nuances), but I like S1 Cour 1 as well (Tomoshibi no Mani-Mani). I like End Theme as well. However, I do hope that S1 songs will be appearing again, particularly “Shiranai Kimochi”, because it sums up Ōdanna-sama’s and Aoi’s feelings.

Now, let’s discuss the animation… again. After reading some FB and X posts, I find that the Kakuriyo fandom is split between liking and disliking the new animation. I am in the second faction, but I do not dislike those who likes S2 animation, of course. After all, at the risk of sounding like a broken LP, we have Season Two! Fans who like the new animation seem to consider that it is fresher, and making Ōdanna-sama younger-looking is a good move to bridge the visual gap between him and Aoi. However, I still miss S1’s Ōdanna-sama’s majestic look. It doesn’t matter to me that he looks slightly older than Aoi (well, he is about 1,000 years old, but having him looking like in early 30s is not a bad thing IMO). I do miss S1’s Ranmaru, Ginji, and Hatori. Also, I dislike how they redrawn the almost-kiss scene without the vibe of S1 scene (S1E20). That scene is super important; they should never redraw it without improvement!

Oh, since I love kimono, a kimono commentary is a must. A Japanese fan said that the kimono mannerism was not portrayed correctly. I think the fan referred to Aoi’s and O-Ryo’s kimono… and I somehow understand that. I wear kimono at times in Japan, and the ideal shape is tubular instead of having some waist definition. Instead, Aoi and O-Ryo have some waist definition, which isn’t what you want when wearing a kimono. Also, I cannot overcome my jealousy of the kimono that Netflix’ My Happy Marriage main character Miyo has. She has gorgeous, GORGEOUS kimono with various patterns, ranging from camellia with deep green kimono and various patterns of Sakura. Well, Netflix has more budget I guess, hence the gorgeous kimono offerings…oh well. But at least I want to see Aoi wearing an autumn kimono like in Vol 6 Ch 2!

I need the autumn-coloured kimono (Vol 6 cover by Laruha)

Okay, now moving on to the story – I seem to have beef as well here. Season Two starts with Vol 6 alright, but directly on Chapter FIVE. Five. On Kasuga the Tanuki’s wedding. Where is the trip to the One Hundred Maple Leaves Village that Ōdanna-sama  and Aoi took???

Please tell me that this trip is still coming, because if not, it really robs us of a very important development between our OTP.

Now I’ll talk about the positive things. The camaraderie emotions are still there. The friendship between Aoi, O-Ryo and Kasuga is there. Love it that O-Ryo, Aoi and Akatsuki are just eavesdropping while Kasuga is explaining about her wedding plan to her boss Ōdanna-sama. Ai-chan got a new look, and it’s nice that they explained why she changed her look (because – as O-Ryo said – people confused Ai and Aoi too much, though the original purpose of the Onibi Ai manifesting was to fool Orio-ya mob to think that Aoi was doing nothing but cooking anyway). Ai-chan’s black kimono with red Tsubaki pattern is lovely, and it’s Icha-approved (again, I have so many kimono that I practically feel I have to make kimono commentaries). O-Ryo and Akatsuki seem to get closer (at least, Akatsuki felt that he could just prevents O-Ryo from eating Aoi’s meals, and O-Ryo didn’t fight back).

My favourite scene is of course the last scene where Ōdanna-sama helped Aoi collecting maple leaves. I appreciate that Ōdanna-sama’s oni humour is still there with the picking of the maple leaves. I appreciate the flickers of emotion in his eyes as Aoi asked about his role in her childhood, particularly in rescuing her from hunger and devastation. I appreciate Katsuyuki Konishi (VA)’s deep thoughtful voice for Ōdanna-sama, particularly when he said that he didn’t want Aoi to be burdened by the truth. I can sense Toyama Nao’s Aoi’s frustration that Ōdanna-sama keeps deflecting the truth. I am not sure what chapter this scene is from Vol 6, but I don’t think it’s the earlier chapter. I think the director moved this chapter forward (or created this scene) to close Ep 1 with a pensive note, thus building up to the moment when Ōdanna-sama is missing and Aoi goes searching for him.

Still, I do hope that Ōdanna-sama and Aoi will go to the autumn trip for an episode. It’s really important for Aoi to spend that time with Ōdanna-sama… and we get to see him in his gorgeous female disguise! However, I’m not sure… they might decide to cut that scene, and I will be very disappointed at that.

(please, at least keep the onsen scene where Ōdanna-sama is in his birthday suit and Aoi happens to see him there…)

Also, it's nice to have a recipe video in Kakuriyo's YouTube and x. Episode 1 has the beef stew recipe (Aoi served it for Kasuga). The sunny side up egg looks good; on par with Howl's Moving Castle's sunny-side up! And I don't say it lightly, cos - like Ōdanna-sama - I love eggs!

 

 

Anyway, sorry for the mixed bag review. Summary: still not settled for animation and the order of story, but I appreciate the pensive end of Ep 1. They better follow up with some Aoi- Ōdanna-sama bonding scenes before whisking him away!

 

Edit 6 Oct'25: 

OMG we are SAVED!!! The birthday suit IS ON!!! See Ep 2 preview here! Please let us see Ōdanna-sama screaming and plunging back into the pool as Aoi sees him in his birthday suit!

 

Byakuya, Ōdanna-sama, and Dr Saraku enjoying their onsen bromance (S2E2)

 

We also have a newspaper article on Kiyo-sama (the new Northern Land Hachiyo), Aoi consulting with Saraku on the new onsen manju, and... Ōdanna-sama's vegetable garden. Which means... we may have Vol 6 Ch 9 in S2 Ep 3... which - REALLY - is too soon IMO...