Nabari no Ou Episode 20

OH SNAP I FOUND SUBS.

And they weren’t Spanish! Or French! =D

Yoite and Miharu arrive at Blue Fog and ask for Yae, although her staff members are reluctant to tell him where Yae is… until Miharu starts crying and being moe. With the info in hand, Miharu and Yoite set off.

Raimei is speaking on the phone with Raikou regarding Miharu and Yoite. Raikou cuts her off when he realizes that Miharu and Yoite are not with her, although he states that the pair are with him at the time. Raimei tells this to Kouichi, who immediately points out that it sounds like Miharu-tachi (note: I’m not trying to weeaboo out here – typing Miharu-tachi takes less time than saying ‘Miharu and Yoite’ every single time) are missing, and reminds Raimei that Raikou is part of the execution squad. Kouichi and Raimei decide to go find Miharu-tachi.

Kumohira is walking in the woods, remembering things from ten years ago when the Shinrabanshou was last activated. It seems that Kouichi met him when he first came to Japan, albeit in a different form than he currently holds. It also appears that one of Miharu’s parents was the previous holder of the Shinrabanshou, and that when they were killed it passed directly to Miharu. Someone blamed Kumohira for the deaths of Miharu’s parents, but it isn’t shown who.

The trip to where Yae is, somewhere in the north country, takes two hours by bus and train. Although Yae is a bit taken aback to see Miharu-tachi, she welcomes them into her ancestral home and explains that she is the only one who ever spends any time there any more, as her daughter is buried in the family burial ground. Miharu-tachi ask Yae to use the Izunashingen, and she initially refuses, saying that she has left the world of Nabari behind. However, Miharu manages to persuade her.

Yukimi grouses about the fact that neither Miharu nor Yoite has their phone on.

Gau wonders why Yoite has betrayed the Kairoushuu, and confronts the Tategami when he overhears them speaking ill of Yoite. Gau then asks Hattori to not kill Yoite, to instead help save him, and says that Yoite couldn’t have betrayed the Kairoushuu since he’s done so much for them before. However, Hattori ultimately says that Yoite is no longer of any use to the Kairoushuu.

Later, Gau speaks to Raikou outside and begs Raikou to get him an audience with Hattori once more. Raikou refuses, though, and says that Gau needs to be careful about continuing to dwell on it, or he may betray the Kairoushuu, too. Raikou does admit that he agrees with saving Yoite, too, though, but he will not betray the Kairoushuu.

In Tokyo, the Blue Fog office is blown up with all the Tokagushi within by the Tategami.

In the north country, Yae utilizes the Izunashingen and goes into Miharu’s mind. Miharu’s inner self is a bit hostile to Yae, though, and the Shinrabanshou appears to chase Yae off. Yae stands her ground, and Miharu asks the Shinrabanshou why she will not grant his wish. The Shinrabanshou tells him that his wish is too boring to grant, and that it isn’t even his wish anyway. She then attacks Yae, although Miharu drives her off with his own willpower, and Yae is expelled from Miharu’s mind.

Yae and Miharu admit that they have failed to persuade the Shinrabanshou, but the Tategami come crashing through the roof before they can say anything else. Yoite is quickly knocked out, and Yae is too weak from her encounter with the Shinrabanshou to do anything. The Tategami show Yae a newsfeed from a TV station about the explosion at Blue Fog’s headquarters, and knock her out before she goes completely crazy. Miharu is easily subdued, and one of the Tategami prepares to kill Yoite, but Miharu threatens to kill himself if they do so. The Tategami report this to Ichiki, who informs Hattori of it. Ichiki also mentions that Miharu treats the Shinrabanshou as a person, which seems to amuse her.

Impressions:

So, yeah, not dropped after all!

I finally figured out what the Tategami reminded me of – anyone remember the Weiß Kreuz boys? They vaguely remind me of them, although at least the Weiß boys were bishounen, even if that was easily one of the dumbest shows I’ve ever watched – also, that OVA had a shit-ton of blood, it was great.

For whatever reason, the earlier part of the episode made me want to stab myself in the forehead. Go figure.

I’m going to gush about the snow again, just because it is so damn well-animated. I’m not thrilled with all the stuff that J.C. Staff has done with this adaptation, but I have to hand it to them in terms of creating a setting – the way they have illustrated winter gives one a feeling of actually standing there in the cold, and also adds to the overall feeling of the show itself in terms of Yoite’s loneliness and the difficult decisions Miharu faces, along with Kouichi’s feelings regarding his lack of humanity and Kumohira’s feelings of guilt. In a way, everyone is pretty isolated from one another, and, really, nothing conveys that like the wintertime.

Anyway, next episode is bondage – knock on wood for me finding a subbed version, ok?