One thing the second season – both parts – of Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun doesn’t seem to have had quite as much of is Hanako-kun. He’s always tended to slide into the dark matter role at times, it’s true. But it seems to have happened more often this season, with less of him directly impacting events on-screen. This series has one of the best ensemble casts around, so that’s not a problem on its own terms. Still, Hanako is the heart and soul of the series and its best moments almost always seem to involve him, so an episode like this one is welcome.
Despite having been joined in the pit by Akane and Aoi, Nene and Amane are elsewhere. It seems to be a village of some sort, where they’re immediately mistaken for mononoke. A young woman named Sumire (Yuzuki Ryouka), clearly a person of stature in the village, declares that she’ll take them into her custody and watch over them. Which she does, bound hand and foot, dragging them back to her house. Sumire seems kind enough, if possessed of an acerbic sense of humor. But she make it clear that the pair of them are not free to come and go as they please, and not even Hanako-kun is able to do anything about it.
Sumire is keenly reminiscent of Aoi, as Nene the stump (as dubbed by the villagers) observes. Later she’ll be referred to (in absentia) as “an Akane girl” so it’s clear there’s a common lineage here. Hanako is convinced that this place is still part of Number Six’ domain, though it looks very much to be of the human world. Sumire declares that the next day she’s to be wed, and soon enough Nene deduces that it’s to Number Six himself, who she says she’s known since she was a child. In fact Sumire is a living yorishiro, and as such seemingly the key to breaking this world.
There are a ton of things about that which don’t add up. But whatever is really happening here, Sumire is scheming to escape from it. The “wedding” is pretty clearly a human sacrifice, and Sumire machinates to have Nene take her place. There are reasons that won’t work in the end and one suspects Sumire knows that well, but the ruse is the point here. It’s not until the barrier which Nene is to be passed through to be sacrificed (to “join the Gods on the far shore”) rejects her that the villagers realize Nene is a bogus oracle. This presents a major problem for them, but again one suspects Sumire doesn’t care.
Finally, we get to see Hanako-kun have a hero moment. How he escapes Sumire’s own barrier isn’t clear, but he’s been a part of the procession, keeping tabs on Nene and waiting for the moment to strike. I’m not keen on the damsel-in-distress trope as a general rule, but one one of the most charming modes for this series is Nene in that role with Hanako-kun as her knight in shining armor. He can be very cool when the occasion calls for it, and he sweeps in here to save Nene and the day.
One thing this whole encounter may help explain is Aoi’s – albeit under Shinigami’s control – expressed desire to go on a journey to somewhere far, far away. It runs in the family, clearly – a family of oracles with a connection to Sumire’s village and the shinigami. I suspect one way or the other where Hanako and Nene have been is in the past, part of someone’s memories (perhaps Sumire herself, or Number six). But that likely means Akane and Aoi are in the present, and Akane is in pretty bad shape. They look like they’re in need of rescue – but who out there is in a position to do so?
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