Episode 9 – Sakuna: Of Rice And Smash

With the Kokorowa stuff wrapping up faster than anticipated, I wasn’t positive the place the present would go along with the ultimate few episodes, because the stakes would have been comparatively low in any other case. Since that is primarily based on a online game, issues have been doubtless going to escalate once more as soon as we acquired to the present’s remaining act – and issues have certainly gotten fairly critical as Sakuna and the others delve into the thriller of who’s behind all of the demons on the island. Whereas the reply to that is not tremendous thrilling, it is a good setup because the present heads in the direction of its finale.

Even along with her friendship with Sakuna being restored final week, I hoped that this episode would begin off with Kokorowa studying easy methods to modify to life on the island. Whereas she’s just a little shocked to see how a lot work Sakuna has put into it, she appears to be getting the grasp of issues fairly rapidly. Whereas that’s just a little disappointing, it doesn’t take lengthy for issues to choose up elsewhere, as when the others come throughout an injured demon, everybody’s opinions are torn between killing it on the spot or attempting to determine what occurred to it within the first place. Finally, Sakuna decides to affix Kokorowa and the Ashigumo to research, and discovers a hidden base the place all of the demons come from. After they lastly be taught the id of the demon chief, it seems to be none apart from… Ishimaru.

For those who’re like me and have fully forgotten who this character is, he’s the bandit who unceremoniously kicked Sakuna off a bridge in episode 1 when he was saving Tauemon and the others. This man was featured fairly prominently within the anime’s opening music, so I knew somebody related would present up in some unspecified time in the future, however he got here and went so rapidly in that first episode that I forgot we’d met him earlier than. Seemingly incidental characters coming again as main antagonists is the sort of twist that may be loads of enjoyable when performed proper, however on this case it seems like one thing that may most likely work higher in online game kind, because you at the very least get one thing interactive like a boss combat on prime of the shock worth. Because it stands, my emotions on this twist are principally detached.

Thankfully, there’s a bit extra to all of this, as there’s nonetheless the matter of the how and why behind his obvious resurrection. Apparently, the time stream features in a different way between the Lofty and Lowly Realms, so when Ishimaru acquired kicked off that bridge in episode 1, he someway ended up up to now, arriving on the island a few years earlier than Sakuna and the others ever set foot on it. We additionally be taught that he’s been sending demons on behalf of Omizuchi, the evil god who defeated Sakuna’s mother and father and the Ashigumo a few years in the past. Whereas this twist didn’t do a lot for me by itself both, at the very least the historical past of Sakuna’s mother and father is one thing that the present has touched on at the very least just a few occasions. So even when I’m not all that serious about the place the story goes, it at the very least feels prefer it was telegraphed sufficient to work as an endgame.

The ultimate bombshell of the episode happens when Sakuna goes to verify on the others, as their fields have been destroyed they usually all seem to have been slaughtered. Given the general tone of this present, I don’t doubt for a second that the others are all completely alive, however seeing the rice fields turned to ash after so many episodes spent transforming them seems like a tragedy. Most of this episode felt like one thing that was extra thrilling to play than to observe, which makes me fear about how the remainder of this plot will play out. Nonetheless, it seems like an honest approach to arrange the finale, so hopefully it manages to stability issues out.

Sakuna: Of Rice And Smash is at present streaming on Crunchyroll.