Season Two Ep 7 review

Episode 7 is out, but it was a packed day for me yesterday, hence sorry for the delay in my review. Ep 7 covers Vol 7 Ch 6, Vol 7 Intermezzo 2, and the early part of Vol 7 Ch 7 (which I am still transcribing). Despite some highlights, this episode unfortunately also brings me some confusion, to say the least about the pacing and length of this Season Two. I will talk about it later, but as a preamble, the pacing of S2 is inconsistent. S2 moved at lightning speed for Eps 1-3, and then it halted and took a stroll for Eps 4-7. At this rate, I will have to assume that we will get Cour 2, but since we have no announcements at all about it, I am left feeling like there are so many things hidden here, like the Hidden World itself…

More on that later. For now, I am going to give my review chronologically, but just be forewarned, I am not feeling very happy with this episode, hence quite a bit of ranting.

First: the Ginji and Aoi scene was well done. It picked up from Ginji’s resolution in Ep 6, so it was well done. Kudos for this scene. Then we moved to the Nighthawk scene, where Aoi et al were selling soup. We have our darling Tengu Hatori visiting, and I like it that he was complaining about Ranmaru not being a good sales person. Well, duh, with Ranmaru’s attitude, despite him being super polite in front of the guests, he just doesn’t give the same lively vibe as Hatori. I wouldn’t be persuaded to spend my hard earned money in Orio-ya even if the hunk Ranmaru begged me to. However, Hatori has a different vibe. The sun shines when he’s gracing us with his presence. 

Then after a dash dinner, Hatori talked about Zakuro. Unlike in Vol 7 Ch 6, Zakuro was not referred to as the fourth founding member. I guess it makes sense because she joined Tenjin-ya after she and Ōdanna-sama graduated from Bunmon University, and by that time, the inn called Tenjin-ya was already built. I was expecting Aoi to be shown as getting jealous, but she was not jealous, IMO. I watched it for a second time, and the feeling she had was closer to insecurities than jealousy. But anyway, she didn't look excited when she heard that Hatori dubbed Zakuro as Ōdanna-sama’s fiancée, so I guess that’s close enough. 

Then we have Aoi coming back to the Nui-no-in Mansion, only to hear the news that Takechiyo has been whisked back to the Palace by the order of the King. Here we also hear an interesting name: Akaguma Shogun. The Red Bear Shogun. Ritsuko-san mentioned his name in Vol 7 Ch 6, but when I translated it, I didn’t make the connection with the Copper Bear in the “Shirō’s Adventure” book because… I didn’t translate that part where Takechiyo lend that book to Aoi (sorry!). So anyway, yeah, Akaguma Shogun is one of the three big guns that Shirō befriended in Kakuriyo.

Then we had a nice flashback of Byakuya’s life with Suzume. I do love how serene Byakuya’s face here… I am pleased that the flashback was quite substantial in Ep 7. As I said (and some of us have observed too), the pacing goes back to the pacing they should’ve taken in Ep 1, i.e., an easy strolling pace, with some small jogs if necessary. Also, Suzume’s Muromachi kimono is quite historically correct (you can also read this article).

The discussion between Ritsuko-san, Nui-no-in-sama, Aoi and Sasuke-kun also went according to Vol 7 Ch 6, down to Sasuke preventing Aoi from suggesting that she would infiltrate the Palace to Uber-food the macaroon to Takechiyo. Raijū was also portrayed as a menacing evil (which he is!) looming over Yōto, and this is the most menacing visual of Raijū so far.

However, when Sasuke explained why infiltrating the Palace is a bad idea to Aoi, unlike in the novel, it wasn’t Aoi who suggested that if they take a secret passage, they should still be able to sneak into the Palace. Rather, it was Byakuya himself who suggested the idea. This is the reason why it didn’t really click/match when Byakuya said that he would normally admonish Aoi for her reckless idea, because it was the Chief Accountant himself who suggested to take a secret passage. It also became less of a hit when he said tongue-in-cheek that, if anything happens, they can just blame it on Aoi because… although Aoi was the one who suggested the food delivery to the Palace, it was Byakuya who recommended the secret passage in the anime. 

Anyway, it was just a small observation. Also, I have to say, I LOVE Byakuya's hand fan. Another reader also commented via email how she wants to have a fan like Byakuya's so that she can use it whenever she deals with difficult people. I totally agree. I want that fan too! I mean... "unfiltered opinions"? "Baka"?! "Prosperous business"? Love it!

Now, the next one is a big observation though from my viewpoint.

I was surprised to learn that the Manchurian ladies were actually the Palace ladies-in-waiting, so I checked Vol 7 Ch 7. Get this: In Vol 7 Ch 7, the ladies-in-waiting were NOT depicted as wearing the Qing Dynasty Manchurian qizhuang dresses! 

Look, it's entirely possible that there is an explanation to this one in the latter part of Vol 7 (or even the latter volume), e.g., that these ladies were indeed from Manchuria and they're just doing an internship there... (I'm totally making it up). However, as for now, I am not happy with this artistic licence. I mean, wouldn’t it be more sensible to depict the ladies-in-waiting in Heian junihitoe?? I was so looking forward for some gorgeous Heian-style robes a la the Pillow Book or Genji Monogatari, but no…

For reference, in the Pillow Book, as a lady-in-waiting, Sei Shonagon definitely wore layers of robes when serving her dear Empress Teishi. Maybe not as full ensemble when she was bringing meals for Teishi, but certainly with layers of robes that look like the one below:

This image depicts another Heian lady (Lady Sarashina, in purple) and her lady-in-waiting (source)

I understand that many of you may disagree…Again, I am not trying to be racist or political here. I also watched Bu Bu Jing Xin and My Fair Princess 10-20 years ago. I totally love Nicky Wu's portrayal as the Fourth Prince in BBJX. However, it just doesn’t make sense when the King himself is dressed in the Heian-era clothing etc that the ladies-in-waiting wore the culturally-different qizhuang. I understand that some of the producers are bearing Chinese names, but can we keep Kakuriyo with Japanese flavour please? Even the Palace building doesn’t evoke a lot of Japanese feelings there. The Nui-no-in Mansion is more Japanese than the Palace itself. Can we just stick to originality please?

(I do now understand the feelings of viewers with Chinese/Taiwanese/Hong Kong heritage who are not happy with the fashion and demeanour depictions in Apothecary Diaries. One of the accuracy issues with Apothecary Diaries is because its fashion is sometimes perceived incongruent with the Tang fashion – similar to my complains when Aoi’s kimono emon isn’t drawn correctly – though since I’m not even familiar with the Tang fashion other than what’s available on the internet, I cannot comment further on that)

I also understand that copying the Heian/Kamakura/Edo Period of the Japanese castles for the Kakuriyo Palace can be difficult. The Kakuriyo Palace is several storeys-high, hence going from one floor to another would require footwear. However, it doesn’t mean that we have to ditch the Japanese feelings that we (or at least many of us) feel in Season One and the novel. For me, the garden where Aoi, Byakuya and Sasuke appeared for the first time in the Palace is more akin to a Chinese garden than a Japanese garden. Somehow, I was expecting more of the Japanese garden we saw at the Nui-no-in Mansion…

Okay, end of rant for that one. 

To balance my ranting, I want to say that I do appreciate Byakuya's additional flashback with the young Ōdanna-sama. It's a nice addition, though the sakura petal shower shots in Ep 6 are still two of the best scenes in Season Two IMO.

Now, the next observation is due to my confusion, linked to my first observation. Since Ep 6 (and maybe Ep 5), episode pace has been slowing down to a stroll. My earlier prediction of the way S2 episodes were going to pan out was totally wrong, because since Ep 4, it had been slowing to a normal speed which I originally hoped for S2. If this speed is maintained, there is no way that Vol 10 can be finished by Ep 12. However (and I feel like a broken record by now), there is NO announcement of the 2nd cour, and the DVD/Blu-Ray that is released in late Jan 2026 only has 12 episodes. Even with an additional episode (thus 13 episodes), it’s hard to wrap the series until Vol 10 by Ep 13. 

There are some questions here:

First, if they are doing two cours anyway, why skipped the first half of Vol 6 altogether? The autumn orchard date between Ōdanna-sama and Aoi would definitely sell. Heck, my S2 reviews attracted most readers when it was Ep 1-3 (in the 900-1,000 views), and then it dropped to just around 200 views. It’s possible that new readers prefer to read the novel translations, because some chapters that I translated here have been garnering more readership these days. It’s also possible that, since Episodes 4-6 have no or very limited scenes of Ōdanna-sama, they don’t attract repeat views the way Ep 1-3 did. Of course, there’s a possibility that the bad animations in some scenes in Ep 1-3 also totally turned off some fans. 

Or... my review skills are really heta kuso, hence the readers are not reading them...

Anyway.

Second, if they are doing two cours, when is the second cour? S1 had two cours and it ran from 3 April to 25 September 2018 (5-6 months). It basically meant that Cour 1 was immediately followed by Cour 2 (I checked the Crunchyroll dates to confirm this fact). If Season Two is two cours and it runs back-to-back, it means that S2 ends in late Feb 2026. Why would they release the DVD in late January with just 12 episodes then?

Third, if they are sticking with one cour and just waiting for the reception, it means that the season ends with Vol 8. It makes sense if this season or Cour 1 ends with Vol 8 because the only scene that is related to the latter part of the novel comes from Vol 8 (with Kiyo, Kasuga and 2-3 Northern Land folks).  So… is there hope then that they will regroup and reconsider fan feedback e.g., the quality of animation etc?

However, what if Cour 2 is left hanging and we don’t even have Vol 9-10 later? In the previous Ep 7 stills post, we have an Italian Anonymous reader (mille grazie!) informing me about this article in Kakuriyo Anime about the premier of Kakuriyo S2 with the three main seiyū (Tōyama Nao for Aoi, Konishi Katsuyuki for Ōdanna-sama, and Toki Shunichi for Ginji). 

In there, the three voice actors were asked about what they wanted for the Kakuriyo series in the future. I’m posting the section in Japanese here so that you can Google Translate it yourself to your own languages:

「これからの一皿・夢語り」では、「これから先さらに7年の時があるとしたら、その間に『かくりよの宿飯』でひとつだけ実現できることがあるとしたら？」という、未来への夢が溢れるテーマでトーク。

まず口火を切った小西さんが「やらせてくれるなら（原作の）最後までやりたい」と答えると、会場からは大きな拍手が湧き起こりました。東山さんからは「7年と言わずに続編をやってほしい」、土岐さんは「7年の間に完結してほしい」と語るなど、キャスト全員の作品への思いが1つになりました。

The translation is as follows:

In "Talking about Dreams: the Dish for the Future," the talk focused on a theme filled with dreams for the future. The question was: "If we have seven more years from now, what is one thing that you'd like 'Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi' to achieve during that time?"

Konishi-san, who opened the conversation first, said, "If they let me, I'd like to see the original story through to the end," which elicited thunderous applause from the audience. Tōyama-san added, "I hope they make the sequel without waiting for seven years," and Toki-san said, "I want it to be completed within seven years," revealing that all the cast members shared the same feelings about the work.

Okay, in that case, is our Italian Anon correct that Season Two will end just without even reaching Vol 9?

I’m honestly not sure what to think of it now (and that’s partly why it took me a while to write this review)…

Well, if that happens, at least, please let it end with Vol 8 Epilogue where Ōdanna-sama woke in in Ōgondõji-sama's villa and - with an empty look - he burned the newspapers that admonished him for being a jyaki?

At least the event report has two interesting (nicely interesting) info as well at the end: First, Toki-san wants to have Vol 13 released as an OVA. I totally agree; and release Volumes 11-12 as splice-of-life as well, please. Toki-san also suggested a dinner event (with Aoi’s cooking, of course), where the seiyū are reading Kakuriyo script. 

The second interesting bit is that the event ended with the display of a never-seen-before scene of Ōdanna-sama and Aoi. Even Tōyama Nao and Konishi-san never saw it before. 

イベントの最後には、第2期の物語を表現したストーリービジュアルが初公開されました。

これからの展開を予感させる葵と大旦那様が描かれた新ビジュアルがスクリーンに映し出されると、観客と同じく初めて目にしたキャスト陣からも驚きの声が上がります。大きな拍手と熱気に包まれる中、イベントは温かな余韻を残して幕を閉じました。

At the end of the event, a story visual depicting a Season 2 story was unveiled for the first time. When the screen showed a new visual depicting Aoi and Odanna-sama, hinting at future developments, the audience and the cast, who also saw it for the first time, gasped in surprise. Amidst thunderous applause and a passionate atmosphere, the event came to a close, leaving a warm afterglow.

Since the Japanese sentences clearly says "Season Two", does it mean that… we have Cour Two next year or so where our OTP are finally reunited?

Too much questions for the weekend… hope can be a scary thing indeed…