Demons of the Shadow Realm The anime season 1, episode 22, titled “The Kagemori Brothers and the Black Room Brothers,” and episode 23, titled “Emotion and Reason,” continue to introduce new threats to the board as Asa and Yuru try to catch their breath.
Trigger warning: This article mentions a character who attempted suicide. Proceed with caution.
The twins had no time to rest at all. After killing Shingo and reviving Ivan in the previous episodes, Asa and Yuru still have a lot to face. The Clans won’t rest until they acquire the twins and use them to further their plans of more or less world domination. Although the Kagemori clan has always taken care of Asa, it can still be seen that they regard Asa and Yuliu as important assets. The only difference is that, unlike some other clans, the Yingsheng family has a more “gentle” attitude towards the twins.
Episode 22 features flashbacks that add more context to Asuma’s past, specifically about how Asuma’s mother Iori met Gonzo and became a member of the Kagemori clan. I thought Iori came from a family that already knew about demons. However, this is not the case. It turns out that Iori comes from a demon-free family and grew up under intense pressure from her parents to achieve something substantial. Unfortunately, no matter what Iori did, her parents felt it was not enough, causing her to be neglected by them and their family. Iori experienced a lot of loneliness, which led her to consider suicide on more than one occasion.
Iori stumbles upon two of her demonic relics and makes a contract with them. I like how even having two demons can’t really help Iori’s situation. Her family initially believed she was talking to herself, then transitioned to believing the devil had cursed her. Only Iori’s brother is interested in learning more about the existence of daemons and how to use them. We know what he became over time.
I appreciate this narrative in the sense that it basically says that people like Iori are in dire need of professional assistance. Making new friends won’t magically eliminate depression and suicidal thoughts.
Young Gonzo providing Iori with a (sort of) safe place is a step in the right direction. While we don’t know how Iori died, we can assume that Gonzo and the Kagemori clan did their best to get Iori the help she needed. I say this because her demon, passed down to Asuma, has no ill will towards Gonzo.
Back in the present, most of episode 22 is about dealing with Akio. To Jin, Akio needs to be executed once Gonzo returns to the mansion. Qiu Sheng’s betrayal was too serious to be forgiven. It makes sense for Akio’s siblings to try to deal with their conflicting feelings. They are loyal to the Shadow Sheng clan, but they also hope that Qiu Sheng can be forgiven and live.
The reason for Qiu Sheng’s betrayal was revealed to be family-related. Apparently, Akio was born with some version of Congenital insensitivity to painwhich made him feel like an outsider, even though he was surrounded by his adopted siblings. Over time, Akio’s search led him to connect with others suffering from the same symptoms, and eventually he found his biological parents.
I mean, I don’t know about you, but I think the fact that Akio managed to find his biological parents online and then encouraged him to attack Asa seems too coincidental. I think it’s safe to assume that some other evil clan member figured out a way to exploit Akio’s need for family connection. Poor guy.
Whoever manipulated Akio wasn’t kidding. They are so against the Kagemori clan that they are not above using the helpless relics of Akio demons as mini-bombs.
Episode 23, “Emotion and Reason,” does reveal that a clan from Western Japan was responsible for Akio’s escape and the use of the relic as a small bomb. But I’m not sure if that particular clan is the same clan that Ivan has been working with. From what I understand, the West family wasn’t really interested in capturing Yuru and Asa, so their original order was to have Akio kill Asa. I think their mission is more to sabotage the plans the Kagemori clan and Tomura had for the twins. The West family gained power more after removing the twins from the board.
One Western tribesman appears to possess a chubby little mummy-like demon that gets very excited about inflicting violence. I want to see more of that crazy demon!
With Akio on the run and Asa and Yuru losing their latest clue to their parents, the twins have no choice but to wait. Asha tried to joke with Kim that she was used to being the target…my heart!
As for Yuru, all the fighting and being shot in the shoulder finally caught up with him. After all, this is human beings. Yuru needs to rest and regain his strength. You can tell he’s happy to be surrounded by a bunch of people and demons who want him to feel better, which is in stark contrast to the East End villagers who pretend to be nice to him.
The scene where Yuru undergoes therapy adds a much-needed comic relief to Akio’s serious state of affairs. Hana is understandably concerned about Azami, another undocumented child from the East Village joining the family. I also laughed at the way Hana dealt with the different demons. She was excited that the Zashiki Warashi stayed because their legend was to bring blessings to their families. Hana wants the alien duo to leave with their dog. And there’s no way she’d be entirely annoyed by Oshira, since they’re basically demon gods.
As far as I know, there’s only one episode left in season 1 Demons of the Shadow Realm Japanese cartoons. There is much more to be said. That’s why I’m praying that this anime will be renewed for a second season. I enjoyed watching and reviewing it. The world building is fun. The action is cool. The comedy works. I love the bromance between Yuru and Asa.
Did you watch it? Demons of the Shadow Realm Episode 22 and 23 of the first season of the anime? What do you think of them?
Let us know.
author: Farid Haq
Farid holds a dual master’s degree in psychology and biotechnology and a master’s degree in molecular genetics. He is the author of several books, including Somerville Missing and Somerville Game Masters. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime, video games, and movies.
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