Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 13: Funeral for a Contracted Priest ]

I want my own Shikabane Hime too!

Normally, flashback episodes can be annoying. This episode pretty much revolved around flashbacks. However, they were used more effectively than usual. Through them, Oori (and myself) learned a bit more about the entire Shikabane Hime and Corpse situation. A lot of it was stuff that we already knew about such as the goal of 108 corpses being killed will grant a Shikabane Hime access to heaven but we learned new things such as the name of the energy Shikabane Hime absorb from their contracted priest (called Run) and that the bond they share is called En. I could’ve sworn I’ve seen that last word somewhere before but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Strangely enough, Makina was only shown once in the entire episode. What is even stranger is that she was bound in some sort of cavern. The only reason for that could be that they are anticipating Oori to break his contract with Makina and will need to restrain her. That has a fat chance of happening though since Oori has already decided to become a contracted priest. I look forward to seeing just how he does that as well. The end of the episode was pretty much what I’d call a calm cliffhanger. There is even a next episode preview at the end which makes this episode feel less as a finale and more as a connecting bridge to Kuro. I can hardly wait to see what Shikabane Hime Kuro has in store as I have already noticed what seems to be a new character (Shikabane Hime?) in the preview.

So overall, Shikabane Hime: Aka was been a wonderful ride. Thankfully I wasn’t quick to judge it as just another monster-of-the-week show, especially since it turned out to be more than that. The ride, however, was just a taste of what is to come and I hope Kuro transcends the first season. The animation was great and the soundtrack a pleasure to the ears. The characters were well-developed and I can only see further development for them coming in Kuro, especially Makina and Oori. If you haven’t seen Aka yet, then by all means go and watch it now and then jump right into the currently airing (as of this date) Kuro.