MAO 26 Review
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis
Yurako explains how curses worked in the Goko clan. It matched what Nanoka knew. Yurako claims that she lived in a small room, covered with ofuda, deep in a cave. Her only contact was the head of the Goko Clan, who covered her in tattoos of kanji writing. Every time other curses/ayakashi were sent to the Goko Clan, Yurako absorbed them into her body. They then became something the Goko Clan could use.
One night, the door to his cell opened. The ayakashi within her carried her outside. They left her body and took her with them. Most of them died while passing through the Goko clan compound. Finally, Yurako was found abandoned on a beach. A young Mao finds her and worries about her. The director of Mao’s orphanage takes custody of Yurako and sends her back to the Goko clan. The memory of Mao sustained Yurako.
In the present, Mao breaks the classroom barrier. Yurako runs away before Mao sees her. He frees Karagi, who vows revenge in their next encounter. On the way to Mao’s clinic, Nanoka reflects on what Yurako said. This continues when he returns to his time. When she returns to 1924, Mao takes her to see Kamon. Once a day, Kamon notices that Nanoka is in love with Mao.
After confronting her in the garden about it, Kamon says that Yurako put some sort of curse on Nanoka. Yurako doesn’t dare harm Nanoka for fear of alienating Mao. As such, Yurako told Nanoka her tragic story so that Nanoka would distance herself from Mao. That night, Mao takes Nanoka to a candy restaurant to celebrate her entry into high school.
Thoughts/Review
And so we finally get some answers about Yurako in MAO 26. However, as I suspected, we didn’t get all the answers. As such, we don’t know why she’s still alive. I suspect it has to do with the curse of the Goko clan and the ayakashi in general. For all I know, she may be the creator of immortality. Aside from that, we also don’t know why he sided with Shiranui’s efforts. It is clear that he does not want to fight Mao. His role as arbiter of curses also seems to apply here. And we don’t know why she looks like Sana. It has to be a clone or a twin.
I appreciate the exposure here. It made Shishou look even more evil than he already seemed. I’m going to assume that the nature of the room Yurako stayed in inside the cave contributed to her acceptance of the complicated situation in her life. However, I couldn’t help but think, “What’s up with his potty needs? Or the need for a bathroom? Or boredom?” It would have been nice if the write-up provided an explanation here.
Another thing I appreciated is the more adult view of romance. I don’t mean in terms of sex, of course, but in terms of maturity. While the episode depicts Nanoka’s reflection on things as part of a pseudo-curse Yurako placed on her, it still came off as genuine. Despite Nanoka’s youth, in the story she is a biological adult. As such, I appreciated how he viewed Yurako’s situation.
As for Kamon, I guess he will be the mature one. I’m not too excited about the idea that a 900 year old Mao wouldn’t show the same level of maturity as Kamon. However, the target audience for this series is the shounen audience. Therefore, Mao has to take on a role closer to young adolescents. Oh ok.
Final thoughts and conclusion
In the end, MAO 26 concludes this first season (two courses) of anime. It bothers me that Viz’s manga adaptation is so trashy; otherwise, I would pick it up and read it. As things stand, I can only hope that we get more episodes of this series next year. I will post a review of the episodes so far in the near future.
