Nora is just not a very nice person.
What They Say:
Hiyori mysteriously loses all memory of Yato but no one else. While Yato struggles to help her remember, Nora and Rabo continue with their scheme.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yato is desperately trying to figure out how to get Hiyori’s memory back. He even goes so far as to buy art supplies and draw a storybook detailing the group’s adventures, but it doesn’t take long for him to figure out the cause. Nora appears and holds up a glassy droplet of liquid—Hiyori’s stolen memories.
Then, from the shadows, Rabo’s voice calls out “Reiki,” and she becomes a katana in his hands. He immediately attacks Yato. Their fierce battle causes a dark storm to envelop the city, and Phantoms appear in droves. (Rabo’s on-demand assassin service probably also contributed to this.)
Yato and Yukine are clearly outmatched. Both Regalia return to their normal forms as Nora tells Yato that she’ll return Hiyori’s memory if he can defeat Rabo. Then she giggles evilly and they both vanish.
Several scenes with Kazuma and Tenjin reveal Rabo’s backstory. He’s an ancient god of calamity (like Yato) who was originally human. He was a Herald—essentially a spy who sneaks into enemy territory to cause havoc from the inside. Once a Herald completes their job, they are killed by their master to make sure no information can be leaked. Kazuma: “They say that after his death, people who feared being cursed deified him and made him a god of calamity.”
Wait, what? Is it really that easy to turn someone into a god? And why a god of calamity—if they were so afraid of him, why not reimagine him as a god of peace? This seems like a flimsy explanation for Rabo’s existence. Although, the god of calamity status does suit him, since his role in life was also to do others’ dirty work. Maybe I’m just annoyed that highly superstitious people suck at thinking logically.
Rabo was once Yato’s ally in battle. That explains the Kill Bill-esque bloodstained field scene repeated throughout this episode. It also reminds me of the intro to Ninja Gaiden, although all of these things could be referencing works that are before my time. Yato and Rabo seem to have sort of a Spike Spiegel/Vicious thing going on. Rabo even kind of looks like Vicious…
After talking to Tenjin, Yato seems to have given up on Hiyori, but Yukine is still determined to get her memory back. He finds the “picture play” that Yato had already drawn and narrates it to Hiyori. It gets painful for him to recount some of the most important moments in his life, knowing that Hiyori used to care just as much but now has no idea what he’s talking about. Still, she believes him and asks to hold onto the book, hoping it will help her remember. But as he hands it to her, she immediately gives it back to him and, with a creepy, glazed look in her eyes, asks, “Is this yours?” Even her memories of Yukine are now lost.
Nora: “If you don’t pay us a visit soon, she’ll end up as an empty vessel.” This line suggests that what Nora stole wasn’t merely a part of Hiyori’s memory, but the whole thing; maybe her entire consciousness. Yato realizes how high the stakes are and renews his determination to save Hiyori. He and Yukine visit Hiyori’s house and tell her that they’re going to save her no matter what. She has no idea what’s going on, but starts crying nonetheless. There must still be traces of them left in her mind.
This was another “setup” type of episode, but at least this time they gave us a preview of what’s to come. There was one impressive fight scene which involved some interesting camera angles and movement. The animators definitely went out of their way to make this part and the intro scene look extra-good. And in the next episode, we might finally get to see Yato actually try in a fight. For a god of calamity, he’s clearly been holding himself back, and Phantoms don’t give him any competition either way.
But there have also been hints that he’s restraining his true strength for fear of reverting to his former violent self. He seems to follow the trope of the old warrior who is hesitant to return to the battlefield because of a tragedy they once committed. Like that one episode of South Park with Butters and the horrible tap-dancing incident. Why does this episode keep reminding me of other TV shows?
In Summary:
Nora has stolen Hiyori’s memory, and the only way to get it back is to defeat Rabo, another god of calamity who once fought alongside Yato. He’s incredibly powerful. Yukine tries to restore Hiyori’s memory with a picture book Yato drew of their exploits, but she only drifts further away right in front of his eyes. All of this is building up to a semi-climactic showdown between the two gods of calamity in the next episode.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
17” Lenovo G700 Laptop, 2.10 GHz Core i7, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M, Windows 8; Insignia 1080p TV, PS3 with FUNimation App
