Season
overview:
Katsuji Matsumoto returned as chief animation director for the entirety of the second season of the show.
Episode 26: 黒猫 朧
Kuro neko Oboro (Oboro the Black Cat)
Sakura walks down the street and spies Rinne using tongs to gather up floating snake spirits. He explains that they have not been going to the Wheel of Reincarnation as they are supposed to, so shinigami are all having to gather them up on their own. Back in Rinne's room, Rokumon chastizes Ageha for refusing to go help with the snakes. She explains that she hates snakes and has no interest in seeing them. Suddenly a portal opens and a mysterious black cat tells Ageha he hasn't seen her in awhile before tossing a box of snakes into the room and fleeing. Sakura and Rinne hear Ageha's scream and Rinne flies off in pursuit of the cat. The cat shreds Rinne's net but is subdued by a blow to the head from an angry Rinne. Rinne and Sakura learn that the cat is Oboro, Ageha's cat. A year ago, on a mission to subdue an anaconda spirit, Oboro captured it while Ageha ran in fear, but then he decided to tease her with it and she blew up a section of mountain, trapping him under rocks for a year without coming back for him. Now he's back and looking for a little bit of revenge. Ageha has her own plan though and decides to hold his contract against him, refusing to terminate their working relationship until she puts Oboro in his place. That night Rokumon learns that Oboro and Ageha grew up together. His family has always worked with her family, but as children Ageha would frequently be too rough with him and he'd fight back against her, beginning their hot and cold relationship. The next day at school Rinne is absent from class trying to chase down a mongoose spirit that has been released to try and corral the snake spirits that Oboro freed. Ageha, once again, is shirking her duties to set a trap for Oboro. Surprisingly, by using the contract as bait she lures in Oboro but manages to capture the mongoose as well. The mongoose escapes with the contract attached to him and Oboro and Ageha team up to regain it. The mongoose ends up eating the contract as well as Ageha, and Oboro happily abandons her, hoping that the contract will be destroyed in digestion. Suddendly Ageha fires a rocket from the mouth of the mongoose and hits Oboro, sending him flying. Rinne knows that Oboro will be punished for leaving Ageha in danger and violating his contract so he sends Rokumon after him while he prepares to save Ageha. When Oboro wakes up he finds his contract stuffed in his hoodie. Ageha blasted it out no the missle she shot at him, but he thinks its just a trick. Inside the mongoose Rinne finds that Ageha has set up an luxurious evacuation chamber. She knocks Rinne unconscious and captures him when he comes to rescue her, but thankfully the mongoose throws up the chamber, allowing Oboro, Rokumon, Tsubasa and Sakura to find the pair. After briefly making up and apologizing Ageha and Oboro begin to fight again, but their relationship is repaired as best as can be expected. They both go to the afterlife and apologize to Tamako for causing so many problems with their arguing.
Episode Staff:
Director: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Animation Director: Atsuo Tobe (戸部敦夫)
Script: Michiko Yokote (横手美智子)
Storyboards: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Originally Aired:
April 9, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
This episode marks the debut of Ageha's black cat, Oboro.
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, the voice of Oboro, talks about his experiences playing the character and his thoughts about his relationship with Ageha in an interview we have translated here.
Honorifics - it is interesting to hear how various characters refer to one another in this episode and it gives clues about the nature of their relationship. Despite Oboro having so many issues with Ageha, he still refers to her as "Ageha-sama", the most deferential and humble honorific one can use. Most black cats refer to their masters this way. Rokumon always refers to Rinne and Sakura as "Rinne-sama" and "Sakura-sama" while he only refers to Tsubasa with a dismissive "Jumonji" with no honorific at all. Rokumon refers to Oboro as "Oboro-kun" signifying their comparative equality and general camaraderie as black cats.
In the next episode preview Tsubasa practices various ways of asking Sakura out. He begins with "Haikei, Sakura-san" and decides this is too formal. Haikei (拝啓) is a standard opening of greeting when writing a letter, akin to "Dear So-and-So". It is also a song recorded by Ryoga in one of the Ranma 1/2 soundtracks, "Haikei, Akane-san". This may be a conincidence, however Tsubasa's next attempt is a direct quote (and imitation) of Ataru Moroboshi's typical behavior when asking out a girl, which Tsubasa dismisses as "too casual".
Episode 27: 夢のコート / 文箱の中
Yume no kooto / Fubako no naka (The Sweet Tennis Court / The Letter Box)
Rinne is asked to investigate years worth of tennis balls disappearing by the tennis club and quickly discovers that they are being stolen by the spirit of a boy who died before he ever got to play in a game. Rinne enlists Sakura and Tsubasa to play a game of doubles with the spirit and he. Tsubasa thinks this will be an excellent opportunity to show off in front of Sakura, however, Rinne reminds him that the two of them should lose to make the spirit feel better and move on to the afterlife. This is made all the more difficult however, when the spirit plays up his skills, but shows that he's actually a terrible player. Rinne uses a Tsukumogami seal to give the boy's racquet a soul, which helps, but then Tsubasa gets angry and uses holy water to return serves. The entire match devolves into a fight between the racquet and Tsubasa as Sakura takes the boy aside and listens to his tale of woe and helping him to practice his swing. As the sun goes down, at the end of a long day, the boy's spirit finally moves on, but Tsubasa continues his fight against the tennis racquet. Later, Tsubasa is called to a house to deal with a curse. It seems the father opened a box of love letters, and his son immediately fell ill. Tsubasa visits the son's room and sees the ghost of a girl hovering over him. He exorcises the spirit, but when he arrives at school the next day, the girl is following him. Tsubasa introduces her as Yayoi, and she tells Rinne and Sakura her story. She once loved a boy and wrote him letters everyday, however she soon learned he was engaged to be married. She hoped he would end the engagement and marry her, but the other girl was rich, and that was what he cared most for. Too weak to continue on, Yayoi died of a broken heart and a serious cold. Now, freed of the family line to whom her spirit was attached, she asks Tsubasa if she can experience what it is like to date a boy using him as her substitute. Rinne is unsure about this plan, but Tsubasa seems adamant. As Tsubasa takes Yayoi out, a series of unfortunate events seem to follow wherever they go. Tsubasa is injured over and over again. Rinne attempts to intervene and tells him to force her off into the afterlife. Tsubasa refuses and is even more forthright when Sakura tries to tell him to accept help from Rinne. Rinne finally deduces that Yayoi is an evil spirit who is intent on taking Tsubasa to hell with her. Rinne reads her love letters but does not notice anything out of the ordinary in them, even as tragedy continues to befall Tsubasa. Rokumon notices the number nine is written on the letter box and Rinne returns to the family's storehouse to investigate. Rinne finds more numbered boxes there. He finds Tsubasa and Yayoi about to be attacked by lions at the zoo and confronts the girl, but Tsubasa admits he already knew the truth. The man she loved had many girls he led on, and each box of letters was dedicated to a different girl. Yayoi was the ninth of these young ladies. As Yayoi learns that Tsubasa knew the truth all along, but kept it hidden just for her sake, she finally admits she is ready to move on. But not before trying to take Tsubasa with her one more time. Eventually she does leave and Tsubasa goes to the hospital for some much needed recovery time.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Takuro Shinbo (しんぼたくろう)
Script: Katsuhiko Takayama (高山カツヒコ)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
April 16, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
"But... I still had to pick up the balls." - Most students joined after school clubs shortly after the beginning of the school year in April. This is where the kohai (後輩/junior)/senpai (先輩/senior) relationship is at its most obvious. Taken directly from the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education, "Although visible in the general high school experience, it is in the clubs that the fundamental relationships of senpai (senior) and kohai (junior) are established most solidly. It is the responsibility of the senpai to teach, initiate, and take care of the kohai. It is the duty of the kohai to serve and defer to the senpai. For example, kohai students in the tennis club might spend one year chasing tennis balls while the upperclassmen practice. Only after the upperclassmen have finished may the underclassmen use the courts. The kohai are expected to serve their senpai and to learn from them by observing and modeling their behavior. This fundamental relationship can be seen throughout Japanese society, in business, politics, and social dealings."
The pastel-like close-up of the tennis boy's face is meant to look like Osamu Dezaki's "postcard memories" signature effect. Dezaki directed the legendary tennis anime "Aim for the Ace" (エースをねらえ!/Ace of Nerae!) and often uses this freeze frame in all of his anime. Dezaki also directed the 1987 One Pound Gospel OVA as well.
When the birds fly towards the sunset they say "Idiot". This is because the sound crows make (aho) is the same as the Japanese word for "idiot" (アホ/aho).
"I'm burnt out... into white ash." - This is again a reference to the director Osamu Dezaki's stylistic direction. In addition to the above mentioned "Aim for the Ace!" Dezaki also directed "Tomorrow's Joe" (あしたのジョー/Ashita no Joe). The final line of the boxing series states that Joe "burned out into pure, white ash" as he collapsed onto the stool in the corner of the ring implying his death.
Yayoi-san, a spirit from the Taisho Era - The Taisho Era ran from 1912-1936 CE. This is also the primary setting for Rumiko Takahashi's MAO.
"He was a live-in student I used to see on the way to school." - Yayoi uses an archaic Taisho Era term for "live in student", which is "shosei" (書生). This is a student who performs chores in exchange for living quarters as he attends university. Not to be confused with uchi-deshi (内弟子) which is the martial arts equivalent of the same situation (someone who lives in the dojo of their master while training).
The sumo wrestlers say "dosukoi" (どすこい) over and over as they slam into Tsubasa. This is a common sumo shout that does not have a particular meaning.
"Rinne used a "Yutai Ridatsu" fishing rod to temporarily pull out the lion's soul!" - Yutai Ridatsu (幽体離脱) means "out-of-body experience".
Moyori General Hospital - Moyori (最寄り) means "the nearest". We last saw this hospital in episode 8.
Episode 28: 消えた会費
Kieta kaihi (The Disappearance of the Membership Fee)
A cute cat girl appears in Rinne and Sakura's classroom looking for him. She stands on his head before Sakura points him out to her, as soon as she realizes who he is, she hands him a letter saying that he has unpaid dues to the Shinigami Mutual Aid Association. Rokumon explains to Sakura that the monthly five-hundred yen fee allows Shinigamis to purchase tools with a ten percent discount. Rinne swears that he paid it, giving the fee to Rokumon to deliver it in the afterlife. Once they arrive at the office of the Lifespan Administration Bureau they learn that Kain works there and tells Rinne he will have to pay an additional five yen late fee. Kain, of course, blames Rinne for Sabato's manipulation of his mother, and has no interest in helping Rinne find out what happened to his missing fee. With no futher recourse, Rinne decides to investigate on his own. Rinne, Sakura and Rokumon retrace Rokumon's steps as he went to deliver the payment. They first stop by a recycling center, then a bookstore, grabbed a discount flier then went to a rice sale...all before delivering the fee. Rokumon remembers that the person that he gave the money too was wearing a cat mask that he got from the rice sale. They go back to the Lifespan Administration Bureau but find its closed. Back at his house, Kain is resting up after a long day, and the black cat girl who delieved Rinne's payment note, is with him. Her name is Suzu and she is Kain's clutzy Black Cat by Contract, and just so happens to be wearing the mask that Rokumon recognized from the rice shop. As the day begins and Kain sits down at his desk at work, he finds powder, as Rinne dusts for fingerprints. Rinne explains that whoever took the money from Rokumon is a child and has the same cat mask that Rokumon has. With that, Suzu arrives to clean up all the fingerprints and footprints, but she is still wearing the mask Rokumon saw her in. Rinne confronts Kain about his cat taking the money, but Kain ignores him and says he has no proof now that the fingerprints are gone. Suzu chastizes Rinne and Rokumon for wasting Kain's time, and hands him his paperwork for the day. As he opens the file, he finds Rinne's payment in with the rest of the documents. Kain attempts to create a distraction so that he can plant the payment back on Rinne. Rinne sees the envelope on the floor but stops Rokumon from picking it up, realizing that if he does, he'll have to admit he had it, and pay the five yen late fee. Finally Suzu admits to Rokumon that she took the payment and Kain is forced to accept it, although he refuses to apologize, upsetting Rokumon. Rinne says that he has recorded the entire thing and will send that to his bosses. Rinne receives five thousand yen worth of free coupons in the mail to buy his silence.
Episode Staff:
Director: Kenichi Kuhara (久原謙一)
Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋秀之)
Script: Yuko Kakihara (柿原優子)
Storyboards: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Originally Aired:
April 24, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The animation director on this episode, Hideyuki Motohashi, was the chararacter designer and chief animation director on the first three Inuyasha films.
It is difficult to make out everything written on the chalkboard at the beginning but it mostly says, "古墳文化の変造ヤマト政権の支耐構造..." which is a history lesson about the Kofun (mound builders) culture defacement by the Yamato administration (Yamato is many things in Japan, but in the context of this statement it refers to the prefecture in souther Japan where mound-building took place. This is modern-day Nara prefecture). Mound building died out around the 6th century with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan.
Suzu (鈴) means "bell" just like the little bell she wears around her neck.
Mutual Aid Association - Sakura is surprised to hear there is such a thing as a Shinigami Mutual Aid Association. The term used is "kyousai kumiai" (共催組合). In English this is the equavalent of a "fraternal order". North American examples would include the "Odd Fellows" and the "Knights of Columbus". In Japan some examples include "Police Mutual Aid Association" and "Japan Railways Mutual Aid Association".
"I followed the man giving away some discount flyers and got one..." - The man shown here has "heno heno moheji" face.
Episode 29: 愛の歌
Ai no uta (Love Song)
A girl hidden by an umbrella spray paints a neighborhood wall with graffiti. At school the students talk about Naomi Yuki, the president of the student council. They say that she dresses up and then goes out and commits deliquent acts. Miho hates hearing the rumors and complains that Yuki the president would never do such a thing. On their way home, Miho, Rika and Sakura are held up by the mysterious girl that looks like Naomi Yuki. Miho is crestfallen, but Sakura knows the girl is actually a ghost, although she can't understand why Miho and Rika can see her. As the rumors around school continue to spread, Sakura goes to Rinne who says that if a ghost shows itself to everyone, it must have a very important message it wants to send. Students watch as the ghost girl spray paints another wall outside of school and continues to talk in an outdated form of slang. Rinne realizes that the girl is a Showa Era ghost. As Naomi confronts the ghost everyone is shocked to realize that they're two different people. Rinne feels that he has no choice but to call in his grandmother Tamako, since she would know more about the Showa Era than he does. Using Rokumon, Rinne is able to get the girl to open up to him. She tells him her name is Ranko, and that she believes Naomi Yuki is her sister Rinko. Unfortunately Rinne gets hungry as Ranko tells her story and begins to eat weeds from the ground. She becomes so outraged at his behavior that she curses he and Tamako out and leaves. Meanwhile, Naomi tells Sakura that she had an aunt who passed away. Unfortunately her mother is on vacation in Hawaii so she cannot ask her about it. Rinne uses a tsukumogami seal on Ranko's umbrella that she left behind and learns that her lingering regret is that she cannot apologize to her sister about something. Rinne and Sakura confront her with this information and Ranko realizes that when she died she was angry, not at her sister, but at herself for something she did to Rinko. Ranko begins to fade, realizing that she is in fact a ghost, but leaves before Rinne can help her ascend to the afterlife. Rinne and Sakura meet with Naomi and tell her that Ranko mentioned a Yuki, obviously her father, and that her anger has something to do with when Naomi's parents first met in high school. Naomi gives them a guitar from that time in the hopes that it will have an effect on Ranko. Standing in the rain, Ranko realizes that now that she's dead she cannot apologize to her sister. It seems she knew Rinko had a crush on Yuki, who would one day become her husband. Since they were twins she would teasingly write love letters to him and sign her sister's name, all in hopes of teasing the boy when she actually cared about him. Rinne uses the Time Holography Shinigami tool on the guitar to create an illusion of Yuki from high school. Seeing the illusion of Yuki singing a song about Rinko in high school sets Ranko off. She admits that she used to have feelings for Yuki too, but could never tell him because he was so in love with her sister. Before they leave, Rinne takes Ranko to see her sister and husband as they are now. Ranko is unimpressed with what Yuki has grown up to look like and easily passes on.
"Pararira, pararira! Vrrrn! Vwoon!" - The sounds the ghost (Ranko) makes are meant to imitate the sound of a custom horn and engine revving of a bosozoku (暴走族) motorcycle gang. Bosozoku literally means "running-out-of-control tribe" and is made up of people with customized motorcycles typically with altered fairings and three to four trumpet horns. Bosozoku members often cruise slowly through neighborhoods, run through toll booths and swarm en masse through traffic on highways through Japan. They were at their peak in the 1980s but revised highway laws allowed police to crack down on their activity and the number of bosozoku have decreased dramatically.
"I've heard she wears an extremely long skirt..." - the long skirt, permed hair and stepped on shoes is the common outfit of a sukeban (助番), the leader of an all-girl gang. Dyed or permed hair was also a typical element of sukeban culture. There have been a number of manga, anime and films about sukeban including Sukeban Deka (スケバン刑事) and Terrifying Girls' High School (恐怖女子高校). In Urusei YatsuraGinger, Pepper and Sugar are a group of outer space sukeban.
Furthermore much of the sukeban culture was parodied in Urusei Yatsuraepisode 72 where Lum wears a long skirt and crushes the heels of her shoes just like the ghost in this episode does.
"Don't eye mince me!" - This is 1980s slang. "Ganmi" (ガン見) means "eyeballing, glaring at, or staring at."
Hey, you too, dachi-ko." - "Dachi-ko" (だちこう) is a slang abbreviation of "tomodachi". It means "friend".
"If you tell mappo on me..." - This is also old fashioned slang. "Mappo" (マッポ) means "police".
"Apparently she was using some cryptic words like "mabui" and "hakui"!" - This is more old-fashioned slang. These are slang or underground terms boys would use when trying to pick up women. "Mabui" (まぶい) means "cute/cool" (mabuisuke would be the full term). "Hakui" (はくい) means "beautiful" (with hakuisuke being the full term). These are only words used to describe women, never men.
"Baro" is a slang term as well. It is a contraction of "baka yarou" (バカ野郎) which means "stupid bastard"/"dumb idiot".
"Toppoi" (とっぽい) means "impertinent".
"Dachi" (short for "tomodachi") means "friend". "Tsumuru" is "to hang out". "Shikato" is "to ignore".
"Baro" once again, is a contraction of "baka yarou" meaning "stupid bastard", "idiot", "moron". "To play the rappa" means "to lie". "To give someone a tosaka" means "to make someone angry".
The umbrella says "bye-nara", this is a slang contraction of "goodbye" and "sayonara".
Episode 30: 思い出発掘 / お金貸して？ / キャンプ場の悪魔
Omoide hakktsu / Okanekashite? / Kyanpujyou no akuma (Digging for Memories / Lend me Money? / Demon at the Campsite)
Rinne, Sakura and Rokumon visit Tamako for Golden Week and find her cleaning her house. Tamako asks him to go through the furniture from the human world that she had when she lived there with Rinne's Grandfather when Rinne was a little boy. Rinne plans to sell most of it but as he goes through it they find a photo album of Rinne when he was little. Tamako gets distracted looking at the photos and Rinne explains to Sakura that he used to go to regular elementary school in the human world and a Shinigami elementary school in the afterlife. He chastizes his grandmother for stopping cleaning to look at the photos and she decides to reveal Rinne's "dark past" as payback. She show's photos of Rinne in middle school acting up and flipping girl's dresses. Sakura and Rinne remind her that that was Sabato as a boy, not Rinne. Suddenly Sabato arrives and tries to steal some of the furniture for himself but Tamako drives him off. Rinne realizes that most of the furniture is damaged and can't be sold, so instead they clean everything and set it up. Just as they finish, a paw bursts from the closet where everything had been stored and an old cat named Kuroboshi emerges. It turns out that Kuroboshi is Tamako's old Black Cat by Contract and had been trapped in the closet behind all the furniture since Tamako put it into storage. With the room messy again, Tamako decides to just leave the room as it is and wait to clean again one day in the future. Later, in the human world, a beaten and battered Sabato arrives to beg Sakura for some money. He tells her it's to buy Rinne a birthday present, but he cannot seem to remember when his son's birthday actually is. Rinne arrives and attacks his father, driving him away. Kain immediately arrives and blasts Rinne, revealing that Sabato had just been at his house and tricked Suzu into letting him take some of his mother's things to sell. Sabato moves on to Ageha next and tries to manipulate money from her by saying that Rinne is in the hospital, he almost convinces her before Rinne show's up to attack his father again. As Sabato escapes, Rinne meets with Kain, Ageha and Sakura to try and find out what could be so important to Sabato that he would hit up Rinne's friends for money. Just then Ageha's sister arrives and explains that the debt collectors came and repossessed most of the office equipment at the Damashigami Headquarters. Sabato did not seem to mind, except for one particular item that was on his desk. When they track Sabato down attempting to steal back the mystery item they learn that it was a photo on his desk of him holding Rinne when he was a baby. Sakura happily agrees to lend him the money to get the framed photo back. As it turns out Sabato was hiding 50,000 yen in the frame. At the end of Golden Week, Sakura Tsubasa, Rokumon and Rinne visit a classmate named Kana Noroi who was having trouble at a campsite. It turns out that when she and her family arrived Kana found some demon summoning jufu cards. Her little brother Taishi secretly kept the cards and was burning them night after night to summon a demon into the human world. Tsubasa is shocked to find the jufu cards are the real thing, and tells Taishi that when he summons the demon it will drag the boy into hell. Just then, Masato appears and has apparently been flirting with Kana and living in the cabin next door. He is shocked to find Tsubasa and Rinne with the girl. Masato says he's just enjoying his vacation, but Rinne doesn't trust him. He tells Taishi to complete the demon summoning ritual that night and to see which demon appears. Masato worries about what will happen when Taishi does summon him in front of Rinne and Tsubasa, but with the pair watching him like hawks he can't escape before the summoning ceremony. Instead, Masato lures Rinne and the others into complacency with food, before using Taishi to complete the ritual and summon a demon army from hell. Unfortunately the plan fails when the demons send a message back that they aren't working due to the Golden Week holiday.
Golden Week - Golden Week is a series of consecutive Japanese holidays lasting the week of April 29th. It is comprised of Showa Day (昭和の日), Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日), Greenery Day (みどりの日) and Children's Day (子供の日). Golden Week is often the longest vacation period for workers in Japan and along with New Year and Obon is one of the longer holiday breaks most workers receive.
Rinne explains that he went to both a human elementary school and a shinigami elementary school as well. Sakura expresses her surprise and Rinne says attending the shinigami school was like a "juku" (塾). A juku is an extracurricular "cram school". They are after normal school hours and are typically used as "college prep" type course work to better prepare a student for their college entrance exams.
Kappa - the sticker Rinne placed on the chest of drawers depicts a kappa (河童), a mythological creature with an indentation on their head that is filled with water.
"Then I'll bring some sweet bean jelly from Doraya that I've been saving." - This might be a bit of a mistranslation. "Doraya" is actually referring to "dorayaki" (どら焼き) a bean-paste filled dessert made of two pancake like pieces with bean-paste (餡こ/anko) stuffed between.
This is the first appearance of Kuroboshi. Kuroboshi means "black star". Most of the black cats have "black" in their name, and the "star" refers to the star-shaped mark on Kuroboshi's head.
Kuroboshi addresses Tamako as "okusama" (奥様) which means "madam". This is also how Suzu refers to Kain's mother.
The bag Sabato is shown carrying is a "furoshiki" (風呂敷). This is a towel or blanket used to place items on and then it is tied together and carried. The swirling pattern shown on Sabato's furoshiki has become the default pattern of a burglar's pack in Japanese popular culture. This is the same outfit that Happosai in Ranma 1/2 wears for his panty raids and you can read more here.
"I'm just Sabato's pretty secretary!" - Ageha's sister refers to herself as "beautiful woman" (美人/bijin) throughout most of the series. It is only at the end that it is revealed this is actually her proper name (Bijin).
"Nagesen!" - Ageha is literally saying "coin toss!" (投げ銭) when she tosses her coin at her sister's mask. Typically this is referring to tossing a coin to a beggar or into a donation box at a temple. Ageha is initially shown throwing coins as a weapon. This is meant to reference her indifference to her own wealth, however there is a historical context to this as well. Famous fictional detective Heiji Zenigata (銭形平次) was known for throwing coins with holes in the center (kanetsuho/寛永通宝). Inspector Zenigata from the manga and anime Lupin III is based on Heiji Zenigata.
The baby picture of Rinne that Sabato is after has a curtain in the background with the kanji "質" written on it. This "shichi" or "pawn" as in "pawn shop".
Kanna Noroi's last name is written "野呂井" however it sounds like "呪い" (also pronounced "noroi") which means "cursed".
Masato has left "jufu" (呪符) in the camp cottage. A jufu is a piece of paper used in casting spells or wards. They are essentially the same as "ofuda" (お札).
Episode 31: ホームステイ実習
Hoomusutei jisshuu (Homestay Training)
Sakura witnesses a child Shinigami leading the soul of a rabbit to the afterlife and realizes she's seen a lot of children doing the same thing lately. Rokumon explains to her that the children are taking part in a training program to learn how to do the work of Shinigami. They start with animal's who have died because human souls are much harder to deal with. Just as he finishes explaining, the evil spirit of a woman chases a white haired boy with Rinne quickly following behind them. The boy, named Shoma, is bratty to Rinne and Rokumon, and it turns out he is doing a homestay program with Rinne. He goes after human spirits rather than animals because he is trying to get away from staying with poverty striken Rinne. He can't leave until he gets fifty points, and he only gets a paltry amount of points for animals. Shoma continues to try and exorcise evil spirits so he can get away from Rinne, but he just isn't ready to handle such a big job. As Miho, Rika and Sakura walk home from karaoke that night, Miho tells the girls about an alligator woman that haunts the streets. As they walk on they meet a woman who asks if they recognize her, Sakura suspects she's a ghost and tries to get her friends to move on. When they fail to recognize her the woman becomes an alligator and sends the girls screaming. Shoma overhears and decides he'll be the one to capture her. He steals Rinne's scythe and makes his way to the riverside. Rinne gives chase trying to catch him before he ends up in too much trouble. As Sakura follows Rinne, she meets a woman with the same face the alligator spirit was masquerading as. Sakura and the woman arrive, and Rinne learns that she is the owner of the pet alligator named Chibi. It died one day while she was cleaning its tank, and its wandering spirit has been looking for her ever since. She too, looks for her pet, hoping to find it. Shoma interferes and throws a Spirit Color Ball at Chibi's spirit, making it so that his owner can see him. Unfortunately when she suddenly seems a gigantic alligator she runs away. Chibi feels rejected and begins to become an evil spirit. Sakura tries to convince the owner that the giant alligator is her Chibi, but she seems hesitant to believe it. Meanwhile, Rinne and Shoma chase Chibi through the Spirit Way and into a convience store on Earth. Sakura talks to Miho who is in the store and overhears the commotion, rushing off to meet up with Rinne. Finally, everyone converges but Shoma falls asleep trying to listen to Chibi's tale of woe. This sets the alligator off and he finally turns into an evil spirit, just as his owner arrives. When she finally recognizes him, he calms himself, and the pair lovingly embrace, sending Chibi's spirit to the afterlife.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Atsuo Tobe (戸部敦夫)
Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
May 15, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
Honorary Shinigami - Tamako is called an "honorary shinigami". The term in Japanese "meiyo" (名誉) can indeed be translated as "honorary" as in "honorary president" or "honorary citizen" as in a title given without being earned. However "meiyo" can also mean "prestigious" which is what the context of the conversations indicate would be more appropriate.
The alligator lady's questions to the girls as they pass on the bridge is an adaptation of what supposedly happens when you encounter the spirit of the Slit-Mouthed Woman (kuchisake-onna/口裂け女).
The restaurant the that Chibi's owner passes is called "Iroha" (いろは). This means "the fundamentals" or "the ABCs of something".
The man in the alleyway that is selling pet alligators is supposed to be Yotsuya from Maison Ikkoku. Yotsuya's profession is never discovered during the series so something bizarre like this would seem fitting.
Catching a sword between your bare hands is called "shinken shirahadori" (真剣白刃取り) and is a technique mastered by Ataru Moroboshi in Urusei Yatsura.
"At least feed me white rice!" - White rice is a basic staple of almost every meal in Japan, Shoma asking for Rinne to at least feed him that and Rinne refusing shows just how poor Rinne really is.
Episode 32: 監督責任
Kantoku sekinin (Supervisory Liability)
Rinne begins his day by taking Shoma to the park to eat peas that an old man throws out for the park birds. Shoma is frustrated when some of his classmates come by and tell him they're already done with their training. He explains that he is only hunting an evil demon for the full 50 point requirement. As he leaves Rinne, Shoma bumps into Masato who attempts to make Shoma forcibly send an mean old lady's spirit. If Shoma treats her like an evil spirit, Rinne will be punished as his homestay guardian. Rinne arrives just in time to prevent Shoma from causing trouble and warns the boy about dealing with the demon Masato. Before Masato is chased away though, he leaves a letter for Shoma, who opens it when he leaves Rinne. The envelope contains a letter of support from Masato and 500 yen, which the starving Shoma can't resist using. Masato appears again and gives Shoma an Evil Spirit Detector to attach to his scythe. Of course Masato is lying, and the detector actually turns regular spirits into evil spirits. Shoma is quickly overwhelmed while Rinne is still dealing with the old lady's spirit. Rokumon passes by and sees Shoma using his scythe to transform spirits, but is stopped when he tries to interfere. He tells Sakura what's going on but they can only watch as he continues to turn spirits evil for Masato. Sakura distracts Shoma while Rokumon attempts to use extendable clippers to cut the demon tool off his scythe. Shoma notices and stops them with Masato's help, but the demon finally reveals what the tool's true purpose was and tells Shoma that he will join him in hell for his demonic work. Rinne arrives just in time to save Sakura and Rokumon from one of Masato's attacks, but has to give chase to rescue the captured Shoma. Along the Spirit Way, Shoma attempts to fight back against Masato and rescue the spirits he helped capture. Unfortunately Masato is too strong for him, but his struggle buys Rinne enough time to catch up and capture Masato in the Ring of Judgement. Rinne saves the spirits and in the end, gets Shoma to help him send them on to the afterlife...after Shoma makes amends with the spirits for helping them become corrupted in the first place.
Episode Staff:
Director: Hiroshi Ishiodori (石踊宏)
Animation Director: Takuro Shinbo (しんぼたくろう)
Script: Hiroshi Yamaguchi (山口宏)
Storyboards: Takashi Ohara (大原貴次)
Originally Aired:
May 22, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
"Every day, he turns into a stretching program on the radio, and then goes out for a walk." - The stretching program is "Radio Calisthenics" (ラジオ体操/Rajio taisou). This is a radio stretching routine that is broadcast by NHK radio every morning in Japan and helps guide people in simple stretching routines. Interestingly the concept was brought to Japan from America in 1928 after Japanese visitors heard the broadcast which was sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Insurance company in the United States. While the idea eventually faded in the USA, the Japanese kept it until it was briefly banned during the post-war occupation as being "too militaristic". It was reintroduced in 1951 and has been a part of daily Japanese culture ever since. Radio calistenics are also referenced in Urusei Yatsuraepisode 130.
Shoma's classmate is shown to have spirals on his thick glasses. In Japan these are "bottle bottom glasses" (瓶底眼鏡). The glasses are said to look like the "bottom of a cow milk bottle" (牛乳瓶の底).
Near the ending Rinne and Shoma look out towards the horizon as Masato's face is superimposed behind them with dramatic narration. This is a reference to something though we are unable to find what.
In the next episode preview there is a joke about a cursed straw doll following you but if you run away from it it won't follow. The punchline in English is because its'a "stroll doll". In Japanese when asked why it doesn't chase you, the answer is "Narai kara" (習いから), "because that's the way it is". "Narai" (the way life is) rhymes with "noroi" (呪い/cursed).
Episode 33: 呪いのワラ人形
Noroi no waraningyo (The Cursed Straw Doll)
Suzuki-sensei kindly gives Rinne a three tiered bento box filled with pickled plums because he knows his student is poor and often doesn't have enough to eat. On their way home from school Miho tells Sakura and Rika about "Ushi no Koku Mairi" when a straw doll is made to resemble someone you hate, and then hammered to a tree between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 AM to curse the hated person. As they're walking past a shrine they hear hammering and rush to check it out. They instantly see the spirit of a woman hammering the doll to a tree, and scream in fright as she chases them off. Sakura stays and notices that within the doll is a photo of Suzuki-sensei, which vanishes as she touches it. Rinne is about to eat his meal of hundreds of pickled plums when Sakura arrives to talk to him and gives him some leftovers from her lunch. Sakura explains what she saw with the doll and photo of Suzuki, and she and Rinne go to investigate. Rinne uses Obsession Coating Spray on the tree where the doll once hung, and the female spirit that Sakura saw emerges to push him away so he won't find the doll. The woman tells Sakura and Rinne that she is Yoko Kano, and that she went to high school at Sankai when Suzuki was doing his student teaching. Since Yoko was class president, she got to spend a lot of time with Suzuki and finally worked up the nerve to give him her e-mail address on his last day as a student teacher. However he never wrote her back. A year later, Suzuki came back to teach full time, but had a girlfriend by this point. Yoko was so outraged that she bought the straw doll and cursed her former crush. As she left the shrine where she nailed the doll to the tree, Yoko had many near death experiences before finally dying of food poisoning the next day. Yoko had regretted putting the doll but, but was mostly embarassed that someone might find it and realize that she had cursed Suzuki. Rinne thinks it would be a good idea to go talk to Suzuki himself with Yoko, but when they ask him about his student teaching days, he has no memories of the girl. This only enrages Yoko more, and she vows to complete her curse on him. Rinne and Yoko follow Suzuki as he goes to visit Yoko's mother and offer sticks of incense. Later, Rinne and Sakura confront him and he admits he knew her very well and suspected she had a crush on him. But he accidently lost her e-mail address and was unable to contact her. When he returned to begin teaching full-time at Sankai High, Yoko gave him the cold shoulder and he was unable to apologize before she died. That evening, Suzuki finds Rinne and Sakura at the shrine where Yoko nailed the straw doll. Because Rinne had coated its afterimage in Obsession Coating Spray, the doll is visible to Suzuki who admits he found the original doll shortly after Yoko nailed it to the tree. He took the doll down, realizing how upset Yoko was with him, but he never wanted anyone else to know what she had done and judge her for it. Yoko hears him say this, and Rinne gives her his Haori of the Underworld so that Suzuki can see her. The two admit that their falling out was all a big misunderstanding and that neither one hates the other. With that Yoko peacefully passes on. Right after she does Suzuki admits to Rinne and Sakura that when he lost her e-mail her address, the woman who helped him look for it ended up being his girlfriend. The next day, Suzuki brings more food for Rinne to enjoy.
Episode Staff:
Director: Kenichi Kuhara (久原謙一)
Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋秀之)
Script: Katsuhiko Takayama (高山カツヒコ)
Storyboards: Takahiro Mizushima (大宙征基)
Originally Aired:
May 28, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
Ushi no koku mairi (丑の刻参り) is a type of curse where nails are driven into a doll at 2:00 AM, typically with candles tied to one's head. You can read more about this here. In Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 is often shown being practiced by Hikaru Gosunkugi.
The type of straw doll/effigy used in this process is called a "wara ningyo" (藁人形).
If I waste food, I might create an evil spirit, What-A-Waste, and that's not good." - What Rinne is talking about here is a Japanese concept called "mottainai" (勿体ない). This is the idea that nothing should be wasted and that wasting anything is regretable. This article is a good summation of the mottainai spirit in Japan.
However, Rinne is speaking about a literal "What-a-Waste Spirit" (もったいないおばけ/mottainai obake). Sakura expresses her surprise stating, "so they actually exist?" These are not historical spirits but were actually created for a heavily circulated animated television ad created by the Japanese Ad Council in 1982 to discourage the wasting of food. In the commerical children complain about the food they are served, saying "I hate daikon," "I hate carrots," "I hate fish," and are visited by the mottainai obake that evening to scare them into not wasting food. You can watch the original advertisement Rinne is referencing here.
"If you curse a person, there'll be two burial pits." - This a paraphrase of a Japanese saying (人を呪わば穴二つ) that is often misattributed to Confucius. The typical saying is "before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." Basically it is a warning against holding grudges and seeking revenge.
Tsukudani (佃煮) is a salty seafood or meat topping diced up to be served with rice. Just like pickled plums (梅干/umeboshi) neither of these are items you would consume in large quantities in a short span of time.
Episode 34: 鎌の事なら三日月堂
Kama no kotonara Mikazukido (Mikazukido is the Place for the Scythe)
Rinne and Rokumon go to a repair shop to fix some chips in his scythe, but find that the price has gone up. Rinne cannot afford to fix his weapon but is suddenly attacked by a mysterious bunny girl who leaves him a coupon for a free repair at a new shop. It turns out the shop is called Mikazukido and the bunny girl works there with her brother, the 4th master to inherit the shop. The siblings are Raito, who works to promote the store, and Refuto, the weaponsmith who repairs Shinigami scythes. Raito says her brother doesn't talk much, but when he does he is unbearably rude to Rinne. The free repair seems good though, and Rinne leaves surprisingly satisfied. He runs into Sakura who has the spirit of a teenage girl with her. It seems the spirit had tried to push her boyfriend's new girlfriend off a train platform. Before he left the shop. Rinne was told by Refuto that he had imbued his scythe with the Tenka Hatto technique that would allow Rinne to purify spirits twice as fast. It turns out that the technique works, but it causes the spirits to hit Rinne really hard before they go to the afterlife. When Rinne goes back to Mikazukido to complain, Raito tells him that while the initial repair was free, if they remove the Tenka Hatto from the blade, they will have to charge him. Sakura comments that the whole thing seems like a Reform Scam, which the siblings take umbridge with. Refuto proudly shows him the 3rd Master's manual that he used to repair the scythe, saying that he followed all the steps perfectly. However, he did not see the note the former master made about having the scythe's returned so frequently that he stopped practicing the technique. With that, Refuto agrees to make the repair for free, and but instead uses the Renjitsu Shinsen technique that means the scythe will never need maintenance again. Sakura and Raito read on the in the manual and learn that it basically makes the Shinigami's scythe disposable, like a razor. Next Refuto tries the Enkaku Sosa, which controls the scythe with a remote control. It turns out though, that the Master's manual Refuto has been using is actually a manual of the 3rd Master's failures. Finally Refuto repairs it adequately and Raito delivers the repaired scythe to Rinne's room, where she tries to offer him a deal on Scythe Wax. Raito tells him that it will keep his scythe clean when battling muddy spirits. Rokumon comments on never having heard of spirits being muddy, but just then Sakura rushes in and says that the gym is covered in mud. It turns out that the mud is caused by tsukumogami rugby shirts. The shirts have gained a life of their own and spit mud at students. Rinne purifies them but his scythe is coated in mud from their anger. Rinne goes to the Mikazukido to ask about the wax but finds the rugby jersey tsukumogami there, revealing that Raito was behind the whole thing to get more business from Rinne. Rinne ends up getting a good deal on wax and a free wallet as well. Proud of his haggling skills Rinne purifies the jerseys, but finds that with no other muddy spirits, all the wax he now owns is going to waste. Raito and Refuto are pushed into the red by all the returned wax.
"Mikazukido" (三日月堂) translates as "Crescent Moon Hall".
The joke is the lunar reference in the store's name and the fact that Refuto and Raito are rabbits. In Japan there is the story of the rabbit on the moon rather than the "man in the moon" that is talked about in the West.
Raito welcomes Rinne and Rokumon by saying "おおきに" (Ookini). This is "welcome/thank you" in the Kansai-ben dialect which is commonly spoken in Osaka. Often people that speak with this dialect are stereotyped as brash and boisterous. Sometimes they are also seen as jokesters given the connection of Kansai-ben with manzai comedians. Further they are also sometimes seen as shrewd business people. Ukyo Kuonji from Ranma 1/2 is another famous Takahashi character that speaks with a Kansai dialect.
"This is the fourth master, Mikazukisai." Here Raito introduces Refuto by saying he is "Mikazukisai" (三日月斎). This is likely meant to be the professional name he inherited.
Twins in Japan - there is a difference in "older" with twins in Japanese culture. The twin that is physically born first would be the eldest in the West. In Japan however, the first born is the "youngest" because the "elder" twin offered to let them leave the womb first which indicates their maturity and care. It is difficult to say if Raito is saying she was physically born first (and would be older by Western reckoning) or if she is older because she allowed Refuto to be physically born first and would be the elder sister by traditional Japanese twin standards.
Tenka Hatto - Refuto's "tenka hatto no kama" (化八当の鎌) is the "eight strike purification scythe".
The train is at a station called "Rokujyugokai" (六十五界). Basically this means "sixty-fifth community". Not surprisingly "sixty-fourth community" and "sixty-sixth community" are the next stops on either side.
Refuto and Raito are eating "tsukumi dango" (月見団子), "moon-viewing mochi". These are made from rice flour, rice and water and are traditionally eaten during the Moon Viewing Festival in September. The joke here is connected with the above rabbit/moon aspects of Japanese culture. See also MOON: The Great Pet King by Rumiko Takahashi for a further connection to this joke.
Reform fraud (リフォーム詐欺) is a real thing. Basically it involves convincing a customer that work is needed when none actually is. For example a construction company suggesting moisture is trapped beneath wooden flooring and suggesting it is ripe for termites when in fact there is no problem with a floor.
Refuto frequently calls Rinne "dumbass" (ボケカス/bokekasu). "Stupid leftovers/dregs" would be an ultra-literal translation of "bokekasu".
The name of the third Mikazukisai's book is "我が反省/Wa ga Hansei", "My Life" or "My Recollections". However, because "Hansei" is written in English, Refuto does not realize it is a homophone and actually means "Hansei" as in "反省" (failures).
When Refuto restores Rinne scythe he uses a technique called "Renjitsu Shinsen" (連日新鮮) or "Fresh Day After Day".
The next technique he uses is "Enkaku Sosa" (遠隔所作) or "Remote Movement".
In Japanese culture a tsukumogami (付喪神) is an object that has existed long enough can gain a soul and become animated. Frequently it is said to take a century for the item to gain sentience.
Seven Deities of Good Luck, also known as the Seven Lucky Gods or as they are known in Japan, the "Shichi Fukuin" (七福神) are seven gods of good fortune. Benten in Urusei Yatsura is one and most famous characters based upon one of the gods. The villains for the first Ranma 1/2 film are also based around them. Rumiko Takahashi's 1978 short story The Golden Gods of Poverty also deals with them.
"Do you think the best way to end a sentence is -datcha or something?" - In the next episode preview Rinne wonders why Rokumon is saying "nya" (meow) at the end of his sentence and he asks if he should say "-datcha" instead. "Datcha" is the way that Lum from Urusei Yatsura ends all of her sentences. It has no meaning, it is simply the way she speaks.
Episode 35: 黒猫六段
Kuro neko rokudan (Level Six Black Cat)
Rokumon is invited to a celebration for Kuroida, the elder black cat who is preparing to reincarnate. Rokumon hears that one of the party favors is high end catfood, so he asks Rinne if he can attend. Rinne agrees when suddenly a Poverty Moth flies through Rinne's room. The moth is from the afterlife and makes poor people even poorer by spreading its spores. Suddenly a well dressed black cat bursts into the room and kicks Rinne in the face. He is quickly followed by Shoma. It turns out the cat is Kurosu, Shoma's elite Black Cat by Contract. Shoma is being punished for not doing his homework and is forced to catch the poverty moth that was flying past Rinne. As Shoma continues to try to catch the moth, it continues to spread its spores, frightening Rinne into thinking he'll be poor forever. He tries to help Shoma, but Shoma refuses. Eventually Kurosu uses his black cat magic to weave an illusion that makes Rinne's room appear luxurious. With all of the fancy items filling the room, the moth is naturally drawn to poor Rinne. Fearful that the moth will make him even poorer, Rinne fights back and comes into conflict with Shoma and Kurosu. Preparing for battle, Rinne is shocked when 5 o'clock suddenly arrives and Kurosu instantly goes home. Shoma explains that he does not work overtime. Rinne kicks Shoma out, and his net falls on the moth, capturing it. The next day, Rokumon attends Kuroida's reincarnation ceremony and meets up with Oboro and Suzu. He also finds Kurosu there. They all discuss how they've never seen Kuroida in public, and finally the elder black cat emerges. He says that before he reincarnates he wants to leave all his assets (a stack of cat food) to one deserving black cat. In the human world, Sakura, Rika and Miho visit a petshop and find an ugly cat. Sakura senses something strange about it and realizes that it is possessed by another cat spirit. Rokumon suddenly emerges and chases away the spirit, leaving the ugly cat as cute as can be. Rinne finds Sakura and explains that the cat spirit is a jealous spirit that possesses cute cats so they will have as unfortunate a life as it did when it was alive. Kuroida made the jealous cat the target of his goal for the winner of the high end cat food. Kurosu also arrives and he and Rokumon battle over who will capture the spirit. Rinne eventually intervenes and Kurosu backs off. Finally with Rinne's help, Rokumon captures the jealous cat, unfortunately Kuroida refuses to give him the reward because Rinne helped him. Rokumon is disappointed but Kuroida explains that the cat food was not his asset, instead it is a small box that he promises to give to whomever can take it from him. A massive battle royale erupts and eventually Kuroida decides that Rokumon is most deserving of his asset. Rokumon suddenly refuses and it is revealed the small box contains 700 years worth of IOUs.
Episode Staff:
Director: Hiroshi Ishiodori (石踊宏)
Animation Director: Kazuhiko Shibuya (澁谷一彦)
Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸)
Storyboards: Hiroshi Ishiodori (石踊宏)
Originally Aired:
July 12, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
This marks the first appearance of Kurosu in the anime.
Kurosu calls Shoma "bocchama" (ぼっちゃま) which means "little sir" or "little master". It is the way a servant would refer to their master's very young child as opposed to "wakasama" (若様) or "wakadanna" (若旦那).
The funeral/reincarnation service that Kurosu and Rokumon are going to visit is for Eisei Kuroida (黒井田永世). Many of the black cats appropriately have "kuro/黒" (black) in their names, including Kuroida, Kurosu, Kuroboshi and Kuromitsu.
Eisei Kuroida is called a "judan" (十段) meaning "level ten". Eisei (永世) means "eternity".
Similarly, Kurosu is a level six black cat, (六段/rokudan). This is implied to be a very high level itself.
The spirit haunting the sickly cat at the pet shop has 妬 written on its forehead. This means "jealous".
Among Kuroida's creditors are Raito and the Kawaii Cook-san from episode 10.
Episode 36: 夏祭りの怪
Natsu matsuri no kai (A Mystery at the Summer Festival)
Rika and Miho invite Rinne to go to the local festival with them acting as their bodyguard so no one bothers them, but he says he has no money to waste on such a frivilous outing, until, that is, Sakura mentions going. The girls discuss "dancing people" that have been seen around the fesitval, mysterious strangers running around pounding their chest in an odd dance. That evening Sakura sees a man run past her, pounding his chest just as she had heard. She notices that he's a regular human but that there seems to be a spirit cloud around him. When she goes to tell Rinne, she finds Tamako visting. Tamako tells her that a portable Spirit Way has ended up in the living world and that spirits are flooding in through it. Rinne will get a cash reward if he finds it and Rokumon suggests they use the money to buy a fan. That night, Sakura tells Rinne about the dancing people and asks if they could be connected to the portable pathway he's looking for. Just then a dancing man rushes past and Rinne cuts the spirit cloud around him, realizing that the cloud is made up of mosquito spirits. A floating pig mosquito repellant is the spirit way device bringing them into the mortal realm. Rinne attempts to destroy it but has a psychosomatic reaction to being surrounded the mosquito's even though they can't bite him. Rokumon says that a sealing spell will work against the spirit path, and Rinne is forced to use some of his own blood to create it. Rinne passes out due to blood loss, but thankfully Tamako arrives and easily closes the spirit path. With the mystery of the dancing people solved, everyone prepares for the summer festival. Rika and Miho get Tsubasa to accompany them and Sakura, and make him buy their food. Everyone is shocked when they see Rinne holding hands with a girl from class, Natsumi Matoba. Sakura notices how much fun he seems to be having, while Tsubasa sees a spirit hovering around the couple. Rika and Miho waste no time in confronting him and asking if he's on a date. Rinne says "sort of" while the truth of the matter is that he's only dating Natsumi as a cover. She has requested his help in learning why every year when she attends the festival with her boyfriend, the boyfriend becomes obsessed with trying to win her a a specific ragged teddy bear at the shooting gallery, only to fail, become pale with fright and run away at the end of the night. Rinne poses as her boyfriend in order to find out the truth. As soon as Rinne finds out Sakura is there, he tries to play down the "date" aspect of his job while Tsubasa sees it as an opportunity to get closer to Sakura. It turns out that the bear in the shooting gallery is attached to Natsumi's grandfather. Ten years ago he tried to win the bear for he and failed, and died soon after. His lingering regrets have kept him attached to this world and each year he ruins Natsumi's boyfriend's chances with her by preventing them from winning the bear and scaring them off in the process. He vows to let Rinne date his granddaughter if he can win the bear, but all this causes more and more problems between he and Sakura. Rinne finally shoots the bear and uses the Haori of the Underworld to make Natsumi's grandfather's spirit visible to her. He passes on happily and Rinne does his best to explain the dating situation to Sakura. Natsumi's real boyfriend Ken arrives and Rinne goes with Sakura, Tsubasa, Miho and Rika, but Sakura notices that Rinne never smiles the way he did with Natsumi.
The summer festival is simply called "natsu matsuri" () which literally means "summer festival". It is likely however that it is "Bon",(盆) and the accompanying dance (盆踊り/bon odori) are meant to honor one's ancestors. Each region of the country has a different dance and musical accompanyment, but the dance is historically about welcoming the spirits of one's ancestors.
When knocked out the window by Tamako, Rinne shouts "Gapyon!" Rinne's voice actor, Kaito Ishikawa explained that he was encouraged to use this nonsense word by Sabato's voice actor, Kappei Yamaguchi, who passed the word along to him. In another interview Yamaguchi said it was a word created by Kenichi Ogata (Genma Saotome) when the pair worked on Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 together. Consequently it has become a word used when launched into the air by three generations of Rumiko Takahashi voice actors.
Observant viewers will notice that Sakura is in shadow when walking down the street at night, while Rinne who is in his spirit form while wearing his haori, is not enshrouded with shadows at all.
A mosquito repellant piggy, known as a "kayari buta" (蚊遣り豚) is a ceramic insence burner used to burn mosquito repellant coils called "katori senko" (蚊取り線香).
The mosquito spirits form them word "すきあり" in the sky . This literally translates to a weakness, a vulnerability or a chink in someone's armor.
The signs we see surrounding Sankai Street (三界踊り) advertise takoyako (たこやき), oden (おでん), and okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). As we've mentioned before, the neighborhood name "Sankai" in Buddhist terms is "the three realms (of existence)", that being the past, the present and the future.
Tsubasa's yukata has a cross on it. This is because his last name, Jumonji (十文字) means "cross/crucifix".
The girl Rinne is seen with is Natsumi Matoba (的場ナツミ). The "natsu" of her first name can mean "summer" hence the "summer festival". Matoba (的場) is a "target area" in archery or the "range" when firing a rifle, which is a reference to the target-hitting game she likes to play to win the stuffed animal.
One of the prizes in the target-hitting game is a toy Godzilla.
When Rinne puts on his fake smile the sign says "eigyou sumairu/営業スマイル" his "business smile". In Takahashi's One Pound GospelTaro Matsuzaka is known for his "business smile".
"Jiiiii" is the onomatopoeia for "stare".
Episode 37: 幽霊ゴムボート / トンネルに何かいる / 涅槃家へようこそ！
Yuurei gomubouto / Tonneru ni nanika iru / Nehanya e youkoso! (Ghost Rubber Raft / There's Something in the Tunnel / Welcome to Nehanya!)
As Sakura, Miho and Rika spend their summer vacation at the beach, Rinne and Ageha both are called to investigate a mysterious ghostly rubber raft that tricks lifeguards into rushing into the ocean to rescue its occupant only to disappear when they get near. Ageha repels a massive, strange looking creature in the ocean and she and Rinne find a ghostly woman on the raft. She ignores Ageha and tells Rinne her story. When she was alive she attempted to steal a lifeguard away from his girlfriend by pretending to be in danger out in the ocean, only to lose an oar and really be stranded. When the lifeguard finally saw her and came to rescue her, a fishing boat was closer and the strange, fat creature that Ageha attacked was actually an illusion of the ghost girl's memory of a kindly, rotund fisherman who tried to save her before the lifeguard got to her. Rokumon brings a Yorishiro so that they can create a false version of the lifeguard from the girl's memory to help her rest in peace. It turns out the girl only saw the lifeguard for the first time the day she died, and so she can't actually remember what he looks like. Instead she basis her memory of him on Rinne, which enrages Ageha who destroys the Yorishiro, upsetting Rokumon and Rinne. Suddenly Tsubasa rows out into the open ocean and the spirit gets an immediate crush on him, letting him rescue her and repeatedly asks him to go out with her. Later Sakura meets up with Miho and Rika again for lunch and the group is told about a nearby tunnel from a waiter. He tells them that anyone who goes through the samll tunnel will be cursed with a circle bruise on their face, just like him. Miho and Rika are curious and insist on checking out the tunnel. While looking through it they see Tsubasa on the other side. He excitedly waves to Sakura and begins to walk through, only to begin shouting and get tossed out the other side, his face covered in ink. Rinne stares at the unconscious Tsubasa and tells Sakura that he has been hired by the local Guesthouse Association to investigate the tunnel. Tsubasa wakes up, wipes his face and has the circle mark, as he goes back into the tunnel to confront his attacker a massive tentacle knocks him back, revealing that the spirit of a huge octopus is living there. The circle mark on victims faces is a sucker impression from the octopus' tentacles. Rinne puts a Spirit Way Path inside a pot and tries to lure the octopus inside but it refuses to fall for the trick. The waiter from the restaurant shows up and tells the tale of an octopus that fell off a transport truck and died in the tunnel. Sakura realizes that the octopus' spirit must feel safe in the tunnel and so they have to work hard to lure it out. After discussing their favorite foods that use octopus as an ingredient, the spirit becomes outraged and attacks. Eventually the octopi's corpse floats out of the tunnel, completely dried up. That makes the spirit disappear and Rinne, Tsubasa and Sakura take it to the ocean to give it a proper burial. Shockingly it comes back to life and shoots ink at Rinne. The next day, Miho and Rika discuss a nearby ghost beach, where ghosts gather and pull the living into the sea. Tsubasa arrives and confirms that where they are is, in fact, the ghost beach, which sends Miho and Rika running away. Sakura and Tsubasa see Rokumon who takes them to Rinne and Ageha. It seems that young shinigami are working as lifeguards for the ghosts on the beach in order to help them relive happy memories from their lives so that they will pass on. Out of nowhere a boy in a karate gi begins to tell his tale of woe. The boy trained so hard while he was alive he never got to have fun with a girl, and so he asks Sakura to go on a date with him. She says she'll go on a group date, when the ghost girl from the raft appears to ask Tsubasa out again. After a day of fun the boy asks Sakura if she would be interested in dating him, but she politely refuses, telling him there is already someone she likes. The boy begins to fade when the life raft girl latches onto him and they both pass on to the afterlife. Sakura explains to Tsubasa and Rinne that she was only telling a white lie about liking someone.
Episode Staff:
Director: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Animation Director: Takuro Shinbo (しんぼたくろう)
Script: Hiroshi Yamaguchi (山口宏)
Storyboards: Takahiro Mizushima (大宙征基)
Originally Aired:
July 26, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The first words Rika says this episode are "I love the sea!" (海が好き！/Umi ga suki!). This is the catchphrase of Urusei Yatsura's own Mr. Fujinami.
Initially Rinne wonders if the giant out at sea is an "umibouzu" (海坊主, literally "sea priest"), a sea monster. Traditionally these are depicted as massive silhouettes out at sea. The umibouzu will typically ask for a bucket or barrel in order to dump water on sailors it finds out at sea until it drowns them. Giving the creature a bottomless bucket that cannot hold water will confuse it and allow sailors to escape.
The reference to the Bubble Economy (バブル景気/baburu keiki) is meant to indicate the era this ghost is from (1986-1991).
The "yorishiro" doll (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in. This is also referenced in Yashahimeepisode 33.
An octopus pot (蛸壷/tako tsubo) is a pot that is used to catch octopi which naturally desire to squeeze into small areas where they feel safe.
Miho mentions people often saying they see will-o'-the-whisps along the beach. In Japanese these are called 火の玉/hi no tama.
Ageha wears a butterfly bikini. This is a reference to the fact that her name means "swallowtail butterfly". This is why Sakura's bathing suit has cherries on it (which is what her name means).
When he is cleaning up the beach house Rokumon is wearing an apron with the number six on it. This is because his name means "six mon", "mon" being an old form of currency. This is a reference to the amount of money (six mon) needed to cross the Sanzu no Kawa, the Japanese version of the River Styx.
Episode 38: 謎の転校生
Nazo no tenkousei (A Mysterious Transfer Student)
As the second semester begins a new transfer student arrives in Sakura's class. She introduces herself as Renge Shima. Saka, the school's star soccer player hides behind Suzuki Sensei's desk and stares at Renge. In the hall Erika Sawa tells Rinne that Saka was her boyfriend but suddenly dumped her earlier that morning because he was in love with someone else. In the classroom Tsubasa and Sakura notice the spirit of Marilyn Monroe emanating from the flower Renge wears in her hair. Later, Tsubasa and Sakura confront the new girl and she tells them that any couple that comes near her soon breaks up. Saka, the soccer player continues to pursue Renge and tells her that if he can't be with her he would rather die. Suddenly Renge asks him to prove that and leaps off the top of the school to see if the boy will follow her, he does, and is saved by Rinne. After Rinne saves Saka, he can't seem to remember Renge at all. That evening Renge walks home with Sakura and asks if she can talk to her. When they get to her house, Renge seems surprised that the house isn't more "ghost like" and admits she knows Sakura can see the spirit that is following her. Sakura is shocked that the spirit can enter her house at all when she is under the protection of her Ghost Eliminating Hourglass. When Sakura mentions that the spirit behind her may not be a ghost at all, Renge turns cold. That night, Rinne is trying to piece together the puzzle of who Renge is, saying she appears to be an innocent girl possessed by a pheromone spirit. Rinne finds an empty ball of Tsubasa's sacred ashes and then out of nowhere an unconscious Tsubasa falls from the sky and crashes into Rinne, when a letter from Renge falls out of Tsubasa's coat. It seems she had asked him to come help her deal with the spirit that is following her. Rinne attempts to wake Tsubasa but realizes his spirit has been almost completely removed from his body. Out of nowhere Renge attacks Rinne with a scythe, revealing herself as a damashigami. Soon her spirit arrives leading dozens of high school boys. The Marilyn Monroe look alike is a Damashigami tool used to lure people to their deaths. Renge also tells Rinne that she has captured Sakura. Renge traps Rinne by making him choose between saving Sakura, or rescuing the boys who are being taken to the afterlife. Quick thinking leads Rinne to douse Tsubasa's lifeless corpse with the pheromones Renge was using and then animate his body with a Yorishiro sticker, making him run away, with the boys chasing after him. Rescuing the students gives Rinne the chance to chase Renge and try to find Sakura, who is stuck on falling tatami mats that will soon drop her and Tsubasa's spirit into hell. Renge grills Sakura about Rinne and learns that he is Sabato's son. Renge is keeping 99 souls in storage and plans to make Rinne the one-hundreth, delivering them all to the afterlife at the same time. Renge says she would be willing to let Rinne go, if Sakura would be her friend. As she travelled from high school to high school using the pheromone spirit, boys always pursued her and girls hated her for stealing their boyfriends away. Sakura was the first girl who was willing to talk to her and get to know her. Of course, it's all really a trick as Renge wants to attach a pheromone spirit to her and use her to lure in more boys. She tries to enslave Sakura with a special blend of tea but Rinne arrives just in time. It turns out that Renge's life was ruined when, on her way to her high school entrance exam, she was knocked into the Sanzu River by Sabato. She missed her exam and failed to get into high school, the only place that would take her was Damashigami High, which was run by Sabato. Now she holds a grudge against her employer for forcing her into the life of a Damashigami. Rinne and Renge begin to battle and Sakura falls through a portal back to the world of the living. Rinne dives through to save her but Renge manages to take the Haori of the Underworld from him. However when Rinne goes to Rokumon to find a way to chase after Renge, he finds the 99 souls and Renge in the empty room next to his and saves everyone. The next day Tsubasa's spirit is back in his body and he's been followed by dozens of boys from the school while Renge shows up for class as if nothing has happened.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋秀之)
Script: Yuko Kakihara (柿原優子)
Storyboards: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Originally Aired:
July 3, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
"On the first day of the second semester, the school was filled with a heavy air." - Japanese schools have a three term (semester) system. The school year begins in April with the first term ending around July 20th. Summer vacation lasts from July 20th through August 31st. The second term begins in September and ends in late December with winter vacation dividing it from the third term. The third term begins in early January and ends around mid-March. After this a new school year begins.
The spirit that follows Renge is meant to resemble Marilyn Monroe and the costume she wore in The Seven Year Itch (1955).
It's no coincidence that the name of the soccer ace is "Shuto Saka" (坂) given how it sounds like "shoot" and "soccer".
Saka's girlfriend, Erika Sawa (沢エリカ), is not given a last name in the manga.
Erika frequently calls Renge a "thief cat" (ドロボー猫/dorobo neko). This is slang for a girl that steal's someone's boyfriend.
The spirit hourglass that Sakura is checking on was repaired in episode 20.
Renge's flowers hide her horns which indicate she is an oni, a type of Japanese ogre. Takahashi created one of the the most iconic modern oni, Urusei Yatsura's Lum.
Additionally the type of flower Renge wears in hear hair are lotus flowers (they also appear on her shinigami scythe). "Renge" means "lotus" in Japanese. Also the lotus is common Buddhist iconography symbolizing the power of the soul to rise from the muddy floor of a pond (materialism, the living world) towards the surface of the pond (enlightenment).
The "yorishiro" sticker (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in. This is also referenced in Yashahimeepisode 33.
Kerai Tea (家来茶/Kerai-cha) is tea that controls the soul of whoever drinks it. "Kerai" means "servant".
"I fell into the Sanzu River that was nearby and drifted away." - You can read more about the Sanzu River here.
Yutai Ridatsu Fishing Rod - Yutai Ridatsu (幽体離脱) means "out of body experience".
Episode 39: れんげの復讐
Renge no fukushuu (Renge's Revenge)
On the Spirit Way, Rokumon runs into an old lady black cat named Tama and helps her move into the room next to his and Rinne's. As thanks Tama gives Rokumon some tea to drink before realizing it is Renge's special mind control blend of Kerai tea. Rinne thinks that Renge may actually regret her decision to kidnap the boys of Sankai High, but Sakura and Tsubasa aren't so easily convinced. Back in Rinne's room, Rokumon serves the trio the same Kerai tea he received in Renge's room and they all fall under her control. Renge arrives and forces Tsubasa and Rinne to fight one another, then hug, then tells Rinne to do her bidding and work as a Damashigami. She commands Sakura to use her pheromone spirit to lure in more boys so she can take their souls. Thankfully, due to Rokumon's naturally thrifty ways the tea he made was weak and the effects wear off before the trio can damage their reputations too much. Days later, Rinne and Rokumon complain that they are no longer receiving jobs through the weather hutch at school. It seems someone has left a batch of ghost warding charms that the students are all using, and thus, they have no need for Rinne's services. Of course the person behind the charms is Renge. When Rinne, Tsubasa, Rokumon and Sakura confront her, she again uses the excuse that she's doing it to atone for her past misdeeds. Rinne recognizes the charms as being real, and so doesn't stop her. A week later, Rokumon and Rinne are on the verge of starvation. Eventually the power of the charms wears off and the spirit free zone around the school becomes flooded with newly returning ghosts. Rinne attempts to purify the souls but finds that Rokumon pawned the blade of his Shinigami scythe since they needed money for food. With Rinne unable to do anything, Sakura spreads rumors through the school that the charms are cursed and collects them from students. Renge realizes that when Sakura removes the charms from the school they will be infected by the negative aura of the spirits and truly become cursed. Shockingly, when the spirits chase Sakura into Rinne's room, they are repelled by the aura of poverty and leave the area entirely. Rokumon manages to sneak into Renge's room and steal her furniture to get Rinne's scythe blade out of the pawn shop. Unfortunately the aura of poverty infects the entire school and no one has any offerings to make at the weather hutch for the next week.
This episode is the first appearance of Renge's black cat Tama.
As mentioned in the prior episode, Kerai Tea (家来茶/Kerai-cha) is tea that controls the soul of whoever drinks it. "Kerai" means "servant".
"The blue bird that brings happiness is nearby!" - the blue bird has crossed into many cultures but its association with happiness primarily comes from the 1908 play by Maurice Maeterlinck which was likely inspired by earlier folktales.
"Say 'screw you ugly bitches.'" - Renge tells Sakura to tell Rika and Miho "くたばってブス/kutabate busu". This is a very rude phrase that indeed is roughly "drop dead ugly girls."
"Jiyu tea. A very expensive antidote for the Kerai tea." - Jiyu (自由) means "freedom".
Episode 40: リカバリークリーム / 噂 / キノコ狩り
Ricabarii Kuriimu / Uwasa / Kinoko kari (Recovery Cream / Rumor / Mushroom Picking)
Rokumon has a toothache and while Rinne pleads with him to go to the dentist, Refuto and Raito arrive to show off their new product. It seems they have a recovery cream that will regenerate any chipped or damaged part of a Shinigami'scythe. They leave a free sample with Rinne. When Rokumon can no longer stand the pain of his tooth, he pulls it out himself, but in the process he knocks himself unconcious and the tooth pierces the sample regenerative cream from the Mikazukido twins creating a clone of Rokumon. The clone of Rokumon creates all sorts of mischief but thankfully fades away when it rains. Later, a rumor begins to circulate around the school of a former teacher who hung himself in the faculty storage closet after losing students tuition money. Rinne is asked repeatedly to investigate, but Sakura and Tsubasa both claim to see nothing in the closet when they check it out. Rinne uses Shinigami ID powder to find ghostly handprints all over the closet. Rokumon tells Rinne he senses something horrible within the closet, but the ghost of a teacher suddenly appears and implores Rinne to open the door, telling him there's money inside. When the door opens, the teacher reveals that the small stash of money belongs to Rokumon, who she has seen hide coins there every few days. Rokumon comes clean and says its where he hides his savings so no one else will use it. Rinne is hurt that Rokumon doesn't trust him, but just then, the ghost teacher attempts to confiscate the money. Rinne stops her and she reveals that she is a teacher from another high school who, due to her love of fashion and expensive brands, went broke. When thuggish looking collectors started showing up at school to get their money back, the teacher would hide in the closet. One day they found her so she jumped out the window to escape and died. As she suddenly realizes she's dead and no longer responsible for the money she borrowed, she passes on to the afterlife. Days later the black cats contracted to Shinigami go on a mushroom hunt. Rokumon leads Suzu and Oboro to find some Kuekue mushrooms, huge person sized mushrooms that eat other mushrooms. The Shinigami will pay 100,000 yen for them. The Kuekue are resiliant though and Kurosu and even Rinne have trouble capturing even one. The Kuekue finally lead the group to a hidden pasture of matsutake mushrooms and Rinne decides to leave the Kuekue in peace. Unfortunately, when they turn in their matsutake mushrooms, spores placed by the Kuekue grow and they devour every black cat's mushroom.
Refuto frequently calls Rinne "dumbass" (ボケカス/bokekasu). "Stupid leftovers/dregs" would be an ultra-literal translation of "bokekasu".
Japanese high schools charge a tuition fee. The last year of free compulsory education in Japan is 15 years old. As of 2021, it can cost between 120 thousand yen per year for public to 300 thousand yen per year for private schools, plus other costs.
The spirit binding rope is a Shimenawa (標縄), or "enclosing ropes". They are made to ward off evil spirits. Hanging from the shimenawa are zig-zag pieces of paper called shide (紙垂). They are often hung from shimenawa or are attached to the wands of shinto priests for purification ceremonies.
Megumi Toyoguchi who provides the voice of the Ghost Teacher is probably best known for her portrayal of Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist and Revy in Black Lagoon, among other roles like Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri in Fate/Zero and Klan Klang in Macross Frontier.
The spirit of the teacher says she worked at Yosono High School. Yosono (四祖野) is written with the kanji for "four ancestor fields". The name has no particular meaning but is referenced again in manga chapter 346.
Judging by the flashy clothes of the men who wait for the teacher at the school gate, they are likely yakuza, Japanese gangsters.
The paper talismans Rinne uses are a specific type of talisman known more generally as "ofuda" (お札), which are generally Buddhist or Shinto in origin. Ofuda were introduced to Japan via onmyodo before eventually becoming appropriated by Buddhism and Shintoism.
The poisonous mushroom that Suzu nearly eats is a "fly agaric" mushroom. It is more commonly recognized as the mushroom Mario uses to power himself up in the Super Mario Bros. video games.
The mushroom eaters are called "Kuikuidake" (クエクエ茸) which translates as "Kuikui Mushrooms". Their faces resemble haniwa ceramic sculptures.
The mushroom spores that grow on the cast call to mind the Japanese sci-fi horror film Matango (マタンゴ) (1963). In the film a group of shipwrecked pleasure seekers are stranded on an island where they slowly transform into mushroom people after eating mushrooms mutated by nuclear fallout.
Episode 41: 破局セット
Hakyoku setto (The Breakup Kit)
Ageha visits a fortune teller and tells her that her love life isn't going well. The fortune teller sees that someone is standing in her way and gives Ageha a Breakup Kit to get rid of her competition. The fortune teller warns her that if she curses the wrong person however, grave misfortune will occur. Of course Ageha chooses to curse Sakura. Ageha wastes no time in interrupting class to try to enact the break up. As it turns out, Ageha meets Renge again, and the two reveal their shared past. The girls both attended the same elementary school and became rivals due to Aghea's sloppy mistakes that usually ended up backfiring and injuring Renge. Renge also disliked how many friends Ageha had due to being so rich. The two trade insults over Renge becoming a Damashigami while Ageha's sister, Bijin is Sabato's secretary. As Renge laments running into Ageha again, her black cat Tama brings the breakup kit that Ageha left behind. Renge realizes that Ageha has a crush on Rinne and lures Ageha to her room to find Rinne there with her, enraging Ageha. Renge gives the breakup kit back to Ageha, hoping she'll try to curse her and bring misfortune upon herself. As Ageha becomes more and more angry she pulls a Breakup Sword out of the kit and directly attacks Renge with it instead of using it for its purpose of breaking up a couple. Renge finally gets in position and Ageha swings the sword down between the pair, cursing herself. A portal opens from above and Renge is shocked to find that the curse consists of a washtub falling and landing on Ageha's head. Undaunted, Ageha continues to use items from the kit to try and break up Renge and Rinne, which leads to Renge's room being ruined in the process. Ageha continues to curse the two even though misfortune befalls her again and again. Rokumon finds a card in the breakup kit that says that after five incorrect curses the curse will spread to everyone involved with the kit, and so he, Sakura and Tsubasa rush to try to save Rinne from Ageha's curses. Unfortunately, the fifth curse happens and everyone is sucked into a pit with an antlion like God of Breakups at the bottom. Ageha and Renge squabble over the God's breakup scissors until he finally disappears into the sand with the breakup kit, leaving everyone the same as when they began, only Ageha and Renge's childhood feud has been renewed with even greater intensity.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Atsuo Tobe (戸部敦夫)
Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
July 24, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The one-eyed fortune teller that Ageha visits is the same fortune teller that harangued Tsubasa in episode 10.
Unable to see Ageha spraying the can of dragon fire on Rinne, his classmates assume Rinne is a victim of "spontaneous human combustion" which is a psuedo-scientific belief that the body can burst into flame for no apparent reason.
"Today we'll build a Yorishiro Doll." - Yorishiro (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in. This is also referenced in Yashahimeepisode 33.
The teacher demonstrating the Yorishiro Doll is wearing glasses are shown to have spirals in them. In Japan these are known as "bottle bottom glasses" (瓶底眼鏡). The glasses are said to look like the "bottom of a cow milk bottle" (牛乳瓶の底).
Schoolgirls with bread in their mouth saying they'll be late to school was a common trope of anime in the 1980s and 1990s. It has been hypothesized that the origin of this could be Miyoko Motomura's manga Patty's First Love.
The washtub falling on Ageha's head has the kanji 災 (disaster/misfortune) written on it. A washtub hitting someone's head is another common anime trope.
The masks Ageha places on Rinne and Renge have the kanji 罵 (abuse/insult) written on them.
The God of Breakups has the kanji 縁 (affinity/relations) written on its chest with a slash through it.
Crows in Takahashi's works often make the sound "Aho" which sounds like their cawing. It is also the Japanese word for "idiot".
Episode 42: 死神小学校同窓会
Shinigami shougakkou dousoukai (Shinigami Elementary Reunion)
Rinne is invited to his elementary school from the Shinigami world's reunion, but the cost is 3,000 yen, so he declines. Masato shows up suddenly and slaps Rinne with a wad of bills before explaining that earlier that morning, he was setting a trap for Rinne when a mysterious boy came and stole his wings away, saying he would give them back for 3,000 yen. He leaves a pawn ticket behind with Rinne's name on it, leading Masato to think Rinne had something to do with them being stolen. Curious, Rinne follows the address on the pawn ticket which leads him to "Hotel the Beyond" which, as it so happens, is where his elementary school reunion is being held. Suddenly Masato sees the boy who stole his wings and tries to attack, but the other Shinigami who are attending the reunion quickly give him a pounding. It turns out the theft of Masato's wings was all an elaborate scheme by the boy who stole them to get Rinne to attend the reunion. Rinne, however, can't remember the boy at all, even though they apparently were in the same class from first to sixth grade. None of the other students remember him either. The boy summons a demon to jog everyone's memory and Rinne remembers it from five years ago, when the students went on a training mission and he teamed up with a small boy wearing thick glasses. It turns out that the boy from elementary school is all grown up, and wearing contacts now, so no one recognizes him. He says his name is Matsugo and challenges Rinne to defeat the training demon they fought when they were children, but quickly steals his Shinigami scythe away and places it in pawn. Matsugo explains that he bears a grudge against Rinne. Rinne only remembers Matsugo being very friendly and nice, and that he was always kind in return. Matsugo agrees that Rinne used to be kind and helped protect him from bullies, but when they were on their training trip, he was knocked unconscious by the training demon, and awoke to find Rinne kicking him into a river, then lying to a teacher about it, threatening Matsugo to "forget this ever happened." Matsugo lets the training demon explode again, and then announces that he's been planning his revenge against Rinne for years, getting contacts, studying hard, becoming stylish all in an effort to show Rinne how he's changed. Sakura and Tsubasa both think he sounds like a girl when he says that. Rinne admits that he remembers very little about that day, but he does recall buying a Forget Ball, a Shinigami tool which, when injested, allows one to forget a memory they have written inside the ball. Kuromitsu, Matsugo's Black Cat by Contract arrives with a Remember Ball to help bring Rinne's memory back. Rinne tries to avoid getting smashed by the gigantic Remember Ball, while Rokumon retrieves his scythe from pawn. Rinne ends up saving Matsugo from getting crushed by the Remember Ball, but when he cuts through it, dozens of smaller balls fall on him, causing him to remember why he shoved Matsugo into the river. It turns out that after the training demon exploded, Rinne awoke to find Matsugo passed out, but in his fear, he had peed all over himself. Rinne thought it best to protect anyone from seeing the stain by tossing him in the water, and then taking a Forget Ball to ensure he never told anyone. Matsugo is shocked by this realization and immediately gives Rinne another Forget Ball, before swearing to give up on being hung up on the past. Suddenly Matsugo shouts out his love for Rinne, shocking everyone. A week later Masato arrives at Rinne's room asking about his wings, which he still hasn't gotten back.
The kanji 質 (shichi) is written on Matsugo's jug. This means "pawn" as it to sell something to a pawn shop.
The devil balloon in this episode somewhat resembles Tsunodaishi. It may be an intended reference, but also it may be a coincidence and merely worth mentioning. Tsunodaishi (角大師), according to legend, is actually the 10th century monk Ryogen (良源) the head abbott of the temple Enryakuji. It was said that Ryogen was able to turn into this creature, alternatively described as an oni or a yaksha in order to banish evil-doers. His demonic alias, Tsunodaishi, means "Great Horned Master" and appears on ofuda paper talismen. The Tendai sect still distribute ofuda featuring Tsunodaishi.
While this is an uncertain reference to Tsunodaishi, the creature is definitely referenced in episode 62.
As a child the Matsugo is wearing glasses that are shown to have spirals in them. In Japan these are known as "bottle bottom glasses" (瓶底眼鏡). The glasses are said to look like the "bottom of a cow milk bottle" (牛乳瓶の底).
Rinne's nickname for Matsugo was "ミニメガネ ちび男" (Mini-Megane Chibio). This means "small glasses little man". After Rinne reveals that Matsugo wet his pants he says their classmates would have taken to calling him "ミニメガネ モレ男" (Mini-Megane Moreo) or "small glasses pants-wetter".
In the next episode preview Rokumon asks Rinne what he thinks of when he hears the term "black cat" (kuro neko). Rinne responds, "well, the song that was a huge hit in Japan in 1969, which was originally an Italian folk song..." Rinne is referring to 黒ネコのタンゴ (Kuno Neko no Tango/Black Cat Tango) a song that was adapted from the Italian song Volevo un gatto nero. In Japan the song was sung by six-year-old Osamu Minagawa (皆川おさむ ).
Rinne then says "Edgar Allen Poe" before Rokumon interrupts him. Poe published his short story The Black Cat in 1843.
Then Rinne says, "Okita Soji from Shinsengumi..." The Shinsengumi were a special police force in the 1800s comprised of very gifted swordsmen. Okita Soji, one of the Shinsengumi members, was said to have encounted a black cat shortly before his death.
Lastly Rinne says, "that guy that delivers packages...". This is a reference to Yamato Transport, a parcel delivery service, and their black cat logo.
Episode 43: 黒猫段位テスト
Kuro neko dani tesuto (Level-up Test for Black Cats)
Rinne and Rokumon work hard purifying spirits, but realize they are not making much of a profit for their work. Sakura suggests that maybe they are spending too much money on Shinigami tools, and so Rinne decides to try going without them to see how much he can save. Unfortunately, working without tools proves difficult and so the next day Rokumon goes to the afterlife to try and find a sale to buy some for cheap. While there he runs into Suzu and Oboro who show him a flyer for the Black Cat by Contract Level-up Test. Rinne worries that Rokumon isn't ready to take it, but after Rokumon tells him that if he passes he'll get a discount on tools, Rinne agrees he should do it. Rokumon, Oboro and Suzu all end up enrolling for the test the first part of which is a written exam. The cats each struggle with it, while outside Rinne, Ageha and Kain all wait anxiously. When the results are posted, Rokumon gets an 80 out of 100, Oboro gets a zero for forgetting to write his name on the paper, and Suzu gets thrown out of the test for being a distraction, but gets five points for writing her name. The next part of the exam tests the cats ability to focus, and so an obstacle course is filled with all sorts of cat toys to distract them. Suzu ends up moving through the toys quickly and gets to the finish line first. Oboro is disqualified due to his violent tendencies while Rokumon gets distracted with free fish. The next part of the physical exam tests the cats ability to cooperate. The Shinigami and black cat work together to climb a cat tower and the winner will receive a certificate for a free scythe repair. At the top of the tower is a door, but the key to the door must be fetched by the cats. Rokumon and Suzu enter to find the key and end up in a room with Kurosu and Shoma await. Kurosu continually throws the cats out of the room for distracting Shoma while he's doing his homework. Finally, Rokumon gathers all the cats together and formulates a plan of attack.
Episode Staff:
Director: Akira Mano (真野玲)
Animation Director: Takuro Shinbo (しんぼたくろう)
Script: Hiroshi Yamaguchi (山口宏)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
August 7, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The ghost maid that Rinne purifies says "moe moe" during their battle. "Moe" (萌え) can be defined as cuteness, or the affection one feels towards a someone that has moe characteristics. Essentially the ghost maid is trying to suggest she is a "moe-type" worthy of affection.
Yorishiro Doll." - Yorishiro (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in. This is also referenced in Yashahimeepisode 33.
"Before purification, one must always do a pointing and calling to confirm safety. True or false..." - This is a reference to the system of hand signals used by Japanese railway workers for safety. It is called 指差喚呼 (shisha kanko/pointing and calling).
When Ageha cries she says しくしく (shiku shiku) which is the onomatopoeia for sobbing.
Episode 44: MVC
MVC (MVC)
Rokumon organizes all the black cats into two groups, one group will distract Kurosu while the other runs and grabs the key for the Shinigami's door behind Shoma. Kurosu fights back by tossing snacks to all the hungry cats, which distracts most of them, including Rokumon. Rokumon manages to grab the key, but Rinne worries something is up, a feeling that proves correct as Rokumon and Rinne get stuck going through the door last as the other cats bound through as soon as Rokumon opens it. Kurosu commends Rokumon for truly helping the other cats work together, but thats cold comfort when it does nothing to help them win the race. Rinne and Rokumon rush to catch up and Rinne battles against Kain to let Rokumon go ahead while Ageha and Oboro begin to fight amongst themselves. Ageha punches him into the sky, which comes in handy as he falls and grabs the ticket atop the cat tower, winning the cooperative ability test but sheer dumb luck. Oboro is so irritated however that he immediately tears up the free repair ticket and Ageha says she didn't need it anyway. Thus begins the final part of the test, in which the black cats much fight one another and defeat at least one opponent to advance. Shinigami are not allowed to interfere in the fights. The cats are given tickets to spend in shops above the arena. Weapons can be purchased to use in their fights. As long as they are still in the ring at the end of sixty minutes they will pass this portion of the exam. Oboro uses his tickets to purchase fireworks and distracts many opponents to leave the arena with them. The announcers tell the participants that if they have any tickets left over at the end, they can be given to their Shinigami. This appeals to both Kain and Rinne who want their scythes repaired. Thrifty Rokumon uses pachinko balls to trip up opponents and a magnet to get them all back so he can use them over and over, plus he puts them in his shopping bag and bashes people with it as another weapon. Rinne is thrilled with his cheap, yet effective, weapon. Rokumon and Oboro then team up and Rokumon uses a Spirit Path Marker to draw a portal that devours dozens more opponents. The top scorers of the written portion of the exam then all suddenly team up to attack but Rokumon tricks them into falling into the Spirit Way as well. Oboro gets eliminated slipping on a banana peel dropped by Suzu, however she gets so bored that she lives the ring herself to lay down and take a nap. Rinne wants to see Rokumon win, so he pleads with him to use his last shopping ticket to buy a weapon. Rokumon picks a ball and chain and wins the combat ability portion. Rokumon is also chosen as the MVC, Most Valuable Cat and is given a lucky cat piggy bank as a bonus reward. Sakura congratulates Rokumon when he gets home and tells he and Rinne she'll make them red rice to celebrate. Unforunately Rinne's scythe is still broken.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋秀之)
Script: Hiroshi Yamaguchi (山口宏)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
August 14, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
Hideyuki Motohashi, the animation director on this episode was the character designer and animation direction on the first three Inuyasha films.
Kurosu calls Shoma "bocchama" (ぼっちゃま) which means "little sir" or "little master". It is the way a servant would refer to their master's very young child as opposed to "wakasama" (若様) or "wakadanna" (若旦那).
The building where the competition takes place is the "Kuronekodome". This translates as the "Black Cat Dome" and is likely a reference to the Tokyo Dome.
Pachinko balls are small metal ball bearings that are used in pachinko machines. These are vertical, pinball like games where you win more and more ball bearings that can then be exchanged for prizes and money.
The MVC (Most Valuable Cat) trophy is a "beckoning cat" (招き猫/maneki neko). These are believed to bring good luck to their owner and depict a cat with a koban coin in one paw.
Episode 45: 鍋と奉行 / 悪魔A型 死神B型
Nabe to bugyo / Akuma A-gata shinigami B-ga (A Pot Samurai / Demon Influenza A and Shinigami Influenza B)
As the days get colder, Rinne and Rokumon find themselves more and more hungry. One night Rokumon transforms to look like a kitten so he can get some free oden. The next day, freezing and without power in their room, Ageha arrives to cook for them. Ageha tries to get rid of Rokumon but when she tosses him out, he just comes back with Sakura and Tsubasa instead. As they heat up the broth in the pot they see a small bugyo, or magistrate at the bottom, Rokumon warns Rinne that it's likely a scheme of Ageha's but she pleads ignorance and Rinne is too hungry to care. Tsubasa explains that the little man was likely a nabe bugyo, someone who controls when and what to eat in the pot, keeps conversation lively and makes sure the food is distributed evenly. As everyone enjoys the food the nabe bugyo reappears and begins eating up certain ingredients. Ageha splits the last daikon so everyone can have it without fighting, but then the nabe bugyo steals all but one egg. While everyone argues over the egg, Renge and Tama arrive to complain about the noise and the egg goes flying into Tama's mouth, which sends her soaring as its too hot for her sensitive cat tongue. It seems the nabe bugyo was just the spirit of a corrupt magistrate that wanted to sew the seeds of conflict. Meanwhile in the demon world Masato has gotten sick. The doctor tells him that it is likely Demon Influenza A, and the best cure is to pass it on to as many humans as possible. He immediately decides to give it to Rinne. But when he goes, Rinne kicks him out, until he's about to cough on Sakura and Tsubasa. Then suddenly Rinne yanks him into his room and closes the door. It seems that Rinne is sick as well, with Shinigami Influenza B. Masato wastes no time and begins coughing on Rinne, making him even more sick as little demons attack his head and stomach. Rokumon arrives with some medicine for Rinne but does not want to go inside and risk getting sick. Sakura volunteers but almost gets attacked with Masato's demon germs before Tsubasa leaps in front of her to save her. Tsubasa gets Rinne's medicine and taunts him with it, but when Rinne sneezes a huge scythe flies out and cuts Masato's soul from his body briefly. It seems that humans that catch Shinigami Influenza B will die instantly. Masato and Rinne battle one another using their germs. Masato scores so many direct hits on Rinne with his flu germs that he cures himself. Unfortunately he taunts Rinne again and ends up getting Shinigami Influenza B from him.
Oden (おでん) is a Japanese bowl dish typically comprised of fish cakes, eggs, konjac potato, daikon and a dashi broth. It is typically sold from street carts like what Rinne and Rokumon visit.
When Rokumon sees the samurai in the oden pot a sparkle twinkles in his eye and he mumbles "kira" (きら). This is the onomatopoeia for "sparkle".
The little man in the pot is revealed to be a "bugyo" (奉行), a magistrate.
"Toyama Saemon no Jo-sama has made his appearance!" - Toyama Saemon no Jo refers to Toyama Kagemoto (遠山景元) a young man who was kicked out of his home, became a vagabond, got a cherry blossom tattoo on his shoulder and then eventually became head of his family and a bugyo/magistrate that helped stick up for the common man. His infamous tattoo was an unusual characteristic for someone of his high station. He is also popularly known as Toyama no Kin-san (遠山の金さん). In Urusei Yatsura Movie 3 "Remember My Love" Mendo also dressed as Toyama no Kin-san.
A nabe bugyo (鍋奉行) would be someone that takes control of deciding what will go into the hot pot (鍋/nabe) and how long it should simmer for. This person is typically thought of as pushy and taking charge of the situation when an overseer is not necessarily needed.
"Have you forgotten my face?! That's not the bugyo's line, that's the shogun. Yeah, the wild one." - This is a quote from the historical television show The Unfettered Shogun (暴れん坊将軍/Abarero Shogun). The show ran from 1978 until 2003 and follows the adventures of shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa who sniffs out corrupt officials in the guise of ordinary Shinnosuke Tokuda.
"Cat's can't eat hot things." - In Japanese people that cannot handle eating hot food are said to have a "cat's tongue" (猫舌/nekojita). Episode 4 of Ranma 1/2 Nettohen that is centered around a similar joke.
"It's the same as the Dragon God, who conquers Mother Nature, and Buddha, who rules the entire world!" - This may be a reference to the Dragon King in Chinese mythology.
Episode 46: マフラー、あげます / リンクで待ってる
Mafura, agemasu / Rinku de matteru (I'll Give You a Scarf / I'll Be Waiting on the Rink)
Sakura, Rika and Miho while walking home from school witness a couple of students who they know are secretly dating, as the girl gives the boy a scarf, Sakura sees a portal open and another scarf emerge to strangle him. Rumors spread that those being given scarves as gifts will be attacked, setting everyone on edge. Rinne investigates but the strangling scarf never appears. Sakura realizes that he should be given a scarf to make it appear, and mentions the one she gave him before from her mother, but he says it was too nice to use and he has it stored. Rokumon suggests that Sakura make a scarf for Rinne herself and she agrees. Sakura realizes she agreed to knit the scarf but actually has no idea how, so she visits Haruka Igawa, the president of the knitting club to try and learn. After a few days of learning, as Haruka helps Sakura, the scarf appears in the club room and tries to attack Haruka, Rinne arrives just in time to chase it away, but he can't catch it. Rinne realizes that the scarf is a tsukumogami, an inanimate object that now has a soul, and that it is clearly trying to strangle Haruka. Rinne sets up a meeting to question Haruka, and when she begins to help Sakura finish her scarf for Rinne, the strangling scarf appears. Rokumon leaps out with a net to capture it, and Haruka explains she made the scarf for a boy she liked the year before but when she went to give it to him she saw another girl giving him a scarf. Haruka threw the scarf away. When Haruka apologizes to the scarf it becomes inanimate again. Sakura theorizes that it only wanted to be given away by her to someone she cared about. However, when Haruka gives the scarf to Rinne it strangles him and flies away again. Rinne manages to catch it, but a plain looking boy in a karate gi finds it, and asks about it. It seems he is just Haruka's type and when she gives it to him, the scarf is purified. Sakura even manages to finish up the scarf she made for him. Later, Sakura, Miho and Rika go to a skating rink and see an invisible force pushing children around. Sakura sees the spirit of a little girl is the one doing the pushing and asks her why. The girl's name is Yukina and she says she's supposed to meet someone named Shizuka for special training. It turns out that Shizuka is Shizuka Arakawara, a student at Sankai High who has been getting a letter from the ghost girl for the last five or six years. It turns out that Shizuka knew her in elementary school, but she died many years ago. The two skated together as children, but Yukina would sometimes be nice to him, and sometimes she'd be cold and indifferent. Eventually she wrote him a letter saying she would give him special training the next time he came to the skating rink, but he was sick and missed her before she passed away. Sakura tells Shizuka that Haruka's spirit has been waiting for him all this time, and so the group goes to visit her. Rinne uses a Color Ball for Spirits so that Shizuka can see her. Haruka doesn't recognize Shizuka though now that he's grown up. Rinne gets a Yorishiro Balloon that Shizuka can create a duplicate of what he looked like as a child. Unfortunately Haruka's child version says he just wants to play video games and he hates Haruka. It turns out that Shizuka accidently kissed Haruka, and when he reveals he has no memory of it, Haruka becomes enraged and begins to turn evil, attacking the child version of Shizuka. It turns out that Haruka was going to move away soon and wanted to make up with Shizuka before she did. As the child version of Shizuka holds hands and skates with Shizuka's spirit, he asks her if he can e-mail her, and she fades away, finally exorcised. Shizuka remembers her as his first love.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Atsuo Tobe (戸部敦夫)
Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
August 28, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The strangling scarf spirit can be compared to a fabric yokai called "Ittan-momen" (一反木綿/one bolt of cotton). This yokai is a strip of fabric that floats on breezes and wraps itself around its victims. They are said to have originated from Koyama, Kagoshima prefecture. Though the yokai has a basis in real life Japanese folklore it gained popularity after it appeared in the Gegege no Kitaro manga where it was known as "Rollo Cloth" in the English translation.
The female student tries to give a scarf to a rugby player and calls him "senpai". Senpai (先輩) means "senior" or "upperclassman", someone that is a rank above you in the hierarchy of your organization (school, work, etc.). "Kohai" (後輩) would be the opposite, the junior in the situation.
Sakura mentions her mother knitting a scarf for Rinne. That was in episode 22.
Haruka Ikegawa, the president of the knitting club appears. The first kanji in her last name is "garment" appropriately enough.
Once again, a small attention to detail is shown. After disrupting the scarf's attack on Ikegawa, Rinne and Sakura and walking together outside while he is wearing his Haori of the Underworld. The animators take special care to show that the natural lighting does not fall on him in the same way it does on Sakura who is right next to him. It is a subtle way of showing that he is out of phase with the living world while wearing his haori.
In Japanese culture a tsukumogami (付喪神) is an object that has existed long enough can gain a soul and become animated. Frequently it is said to take a century for the item to gain sentience.
The kanji on the tsukumogami capture net is "付" (tsuku), the first kanji in tsukumogami. By itself this kanji means "adhere" or "attach".
Rokumon mistakes the capital "R" on Rinne's scarf for a "B" and wonders if it stands for "binbo" (貧乏) which means "poverty-stricken".
Yukina's name is written in katakana so it is difficult to draw any particular meaning from it.
Shizuka Arakawara's last name (荒河原) is written with the kanji for "wild", "river" and "meadow".
"This is a yorishiro balloon, child-type." - yorishiro (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in.
Episode 47: あの頃のまま…
Ano koro no mama... (Just the Way We Were...)
As Renge shops on the Damashigami black market for tools the Life Span Administration Bureau has a secret bust. Kain rushes in to start rounding up the Damashigami, but Renge makes a quick escape, leaving her wallet behind. Later, Sakura brings Rinne some gyoza that her mother made, but just as he's about to eat them, a portal opens and Kain emerges with his pack of tracking dogs, Taro and Jiro. It seems that they are tracking the scent on the wallet and it has led them to Rinne's building. As the dogs eat the gyoza and Kain accuses Rinne of being the owner of the wallet, Renge enters to tell everyone to stop making so much noise. Sakura hands her the wallet, asking if its hers. She confirms that it is and that it has all of her savings in it... all 700 yen of it. As soon as Renge realizes that Kain is here, she lies about owning the wallet. It seems that Kain and Renge were classmates together, both at the top of their class and she had feelings for him before they went down different paths in life. He a hunter of Damashigami, and she a Damashigami herself. Sakura and Rinne realize she must have feelings for Kain since she gave up her savings in order to keep her work a secret from him. Since she lots her money she has to immediately go out and try to steal souls to make some money back, while Rinne follows along to stop her. As Rinne saves a group of students, Renge makes her escape just as Kain arrives and attacks Rinne, convinced that he has become a Damashigami like his father. Back home, Renge remembers her junior high days as she pined for Kain and almost confessed her love to him. Sakura talks to her about this and feels sympathy for her. Renge decides to try to pin her crimes on Rinne, and after Kain says he will give the wallet with 700 yen back to Rinne if he admits he's the owner he seems to briefly consider it. Finally Kain uses a Tsukumogami seal on the wallet to bring it to life and tells it to go to its owner. Rinne protects Renge from being exposed by tossing a smoke bomb and escapes into the Spirit Way with her. As Kain wonders what's going on, he tells Sakura and Rokumon that he suddenly remembers a strange rumor. He confides that he has heard that Renge never took the entrance exam for First Shinigami High School, and that she actually is a top student at Damashigami High. But because of all the time he spent with her in junior high, he refused to believe them. Sakura realizes that he may have feelings for her too. Meanwhile Rinne buys a Yorishiro doll to create a false Damashigami suspect to lead Kain away from both Renge and himself. As Rinne's trap works in throwing suspicion off he and Renge, his father Sabato arrives to steal the dropped wallet and Kain assumes that he is the true culprit, futher solidifying his belief in Renge's innocence. Sabato almost exposes Renge as his best agent, but Rinne and Renge knock him away and knock Kain unconscious. Sakura tells Renge that perhaps she should give up being a Damashigami now, but she refuses as she needs the money. Then Sakura tells her that she thinks Kain likes her too. Renge is so excited when he confirms that she means a lot to him, but instantly dashes her hopes when he says he's too busy to have tea with her and hopes she'll use any free time she has to become a top level bureaucrat like he always wanted to be. Renge thanks Rinne for his help keeping her job a secret, but goes back to work as a Damashigami.
Episode Staff:
Director: Hiroshi Ishiodori (石踊宏)
Animation Director: Kazuhiko Shibuya (渋谷一彦)
Script: Yuko Kakihara (柿原優子)
Storyboards: Hiroshi Ishiodori (石踊宏)
Originally Aired:
September 4, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
In the secret store the kanji written on the floor is "堕", the first kanji in damashigami. It means "degenerate".
The rabbit's shirt is an example of "ateji" (当て字) where a word's typical spelling is subverting and different characters are used to make the same sounding word. The rabbit's shirt says よろしく (yoroshiku) meaning "please treat me well" however it is written with fairly dark kanji (夜露死苦) (night, tears, death, suffering). This is an old phrase used by motorcycle gangs.
Sakura brings "dumplings" to Rinne as a gift. These are gyoza (餃子), commonly translated as "pot-stickers".
Rinne swings his scythe at Kain who catches the blade between his hands. This is a play on 真剣白刃取り (shinken shirahadori) or "stopping a sword with your bare hands." This is often seen in manga, anime and films.
In the flashback to Renge and Kain in the student council the poster on the back wall says "power saving" (節電/setsuden).
When Renge wants to confess her feelings to Kain she says "doki doki". This is the onomatopoeia for "thump thump" as in the beating of a heart.
When Renge is trampled by the group of girls confessing their love for Kain she makes an unusual hand pose that Rumiko Takahashi uses frequently in all of her work. When the index finger, pinky and thumb are extended Takahashi once simply referred to as the "oyakusoku pozu" (お約束ポーズ/running gag pose). It is a sign of surprise or shock but has no formal name. You can read about other unique hand gestures in our cultural notes.
"W-well, senpai! May I have your second bustton as a keepsake?" - It has become a common custom in Japan for a boy to give the second button of his school uniform (the button closest to his heart) to the girl he likes upon graduating from high school. This originated in the 1960 film Goodbye to Glory (紺碧の空遠く/Konpeki no Sora Toku).
In Japanese culture a tsukumogami (付喪神) is an object that has existed long enough can gain a soul and become animated. Frequently it is said to take a century for the item to gain sentience. The tsukumogami seal consequently places a soul into an inanimate object.
Yorishiro (依代) references an object that a spirit is drawn to dwell in.
Kain's dogs are named Taro and Jiro.
In the preview for the next episode Sakura asks "What's wrong Rokudo-kun's Father, you've grown dog ears," to which he replies "That's right, I've remembered my past!" and Tamako says "Sit!" Sabato is played by Kappei Yamaguchi who played the dog-earred Inuyasha in Rumiko Takahashi's prior series. Satsuki Yukino, who plays Tamako played Inuyasha's love interest, Kagome Higurashi. When she shouts "sit!" she forces Inuyasha to the ground.
Episode 48: 死神 桜!?
Shinigami Sakura!? (Sakura the Shinigami?!)
Sabato breaks into Tamako's house to steal a rare family heirloom, a powerful scythe that she needs to purify a black fox spirit. It seems that the scythe will bind itself to whomsoever first touches it. As Sabato tries to touch it he gets electrocuted by an anti-theft ward that Tamako placed on the scythe. The weapon goes flying and falls into the mortal world where Sakura finds it and is authorized as its rightful owner. Tamako explains that Sakura must now exorcise at least seven spirits with the scythe before it will leave her hand. Sakura beings to talk to an evil spirit and help him come to terms with his lingering attachment to the world, but Rinne gets irritated when the spirit flirts with her and ends up purifying the spirit instead of her. Tamako tries to leave Sakura in Rinne's care so she can hunt for the black fox spirit and get the 50,000 yen reward that comes from catching it. Tamako reveals that the scythe is named Oihagizuki and specializes in purifying people who have been possessed by fox spirits. Sabato arrives and lures spirits for Sakura to purify spirits so he can take the Oihagizuki and sell it. Renge interrupts on her way to find the black fox and Rinne and Sakura begin her training. That night, Sakura sends her first spirit, the long dead soul of an old woman who died on her way to the grocery store. The black fox arrives and Rinne attempts to chase it down while Sakura is busy with the spirit of a woman who suddenly turns evil. Rinne helps Sakura a bit more, but when the black fox returns being pursued by Renge, he engages her to prevent her from getting the reward. The black fox uses them against one another and knocks their scythes away, which Sabato quickly snatches up for himself, hoping to sell them. Unfortunately Sabato gets possessed by the fox while in possession of the scythes, leaving Sakura as the only one who can battle him. Rinne grabs Sabato and Sakura swings the Oihagizuki but hits Rinne instead. Suddenly, Sabato is distracted by the food that Sakura made for Rinne, and she is able to sneak up and purify the fox spirit. The fox spirit is also the seventh spirit Sakura needed to purify to remove the seal that binds the Oihagizuki to her. It turns out though, that because Sakura isn't a Shinigami, she can't claim the 50,000 yen reward. When the Evil Spirit Purification Ceremony comes around, Tamako returns trying to give the Oihagizuki back to Sakura, but she passes.
Episode Staff:
Director: Akira Mano (真野玲)
Animation Director: Takuro Shinbo (しんぼたくろう)
Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸)
Storyboards: Shizutaka Sugawara (菅原静貴)
Originally Aired:
September 11, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
The name of the scythe, Oihagizuki (追萩月), is written with the kanji for "chase away," "bush clover," and "moon". Bush clover is the flowering plant depicted on the blade, there are also crecent moons on the blade as well.
"Let's move on to the next!" "Yes, coach, I'll do my best!" - The different shading used here is meant to evoke the works of anime director Osamu Dezaki who is known for his sports anime such as Tomorrow's Joe (あしたのジョー/Ashita no Joe) and Aim for the Ace! (エースをねらえ!/Eesu o nerae!).
"Kon" is the onomatopoeia for the sound foxes make.
The food Sakura makes for Rinne has has him so excited is "kayaku gohan" (加薬ご飯). This is a rice, fish or meat, and vegetables. The other item is "inarizushi" (いなり寿司) sushi wrapped in fried tofu.
Episode 49: 沫悟 再び!?
Matsugo Futatabi!? (Matsugo Once Again?!)
Ageha buys a choker from a store in the afterlife that will supposedly keep whoever wears it close to her forever. Of course, she wants Rinne to wear it. Rinne finds out that its a way to monitor everything he does and, of course, refuses. Suddenly Matsugo and his black cat Kuromitsu appear and he captures the collar in his pawn pot to keep Ageha from putting it on Rinne. Matsugo has come by to renew his friendship with Rinne, and he and Ageha instantly dislike one another as they compete for Rinne's attention. Matsugo uses Spirit Way Bubbles on Ageha and Tsubasa, but they return and break his pawn pot. Ageha retrieves her collar and almost gets it around Rinne's neck but Matsugo jumps in the way to stop her. Rinne thanks him, and before he leaves Matsugo gives Rinne a gift...which turns out to be the same kind of choker that Ageha was trying to force on him. A few days later, Matsugo comes back and gives Rinne a plate with a drawing of the two of them on it to commemorate their friendship. It seems that over the ensuing days, Matsugo has given Rinne coundless gifts of "friendship." His neck idea is to do a school exchange with Rinne so that they can spend time together. Rinne grows tired of Matsugo's constant attention and so Rokumon decides to ask Sakura to come with them in hopes of Matsugo getting jealous and understanding that Rinne is interested in Sakura. Sakura makes it clear that she's just pretending to be his girlfriend, which makes Rinne sad, but it seems that secretly Sakura is actually excited about going on the trip with him. On the day of the trip, Matsugo is surprised to see Sakura, and everytime Rinne tries to introduce her as his girlfriend Matsugo goes out of his way to make noise so he will not have to hear it. Suddenly a girl starts to laugh and it turns out to be Anju, another Shinigami from First Shinigami High and a classmate of Matsugo's. As they travel through the orienteering outdoor course to collect three charms for academics, family safety and romance. Matsugo arranges it so that he spends most of his time with Rinne, while Sakura and Anju are together. Anju mentions hating Rinne, and Sakura realizes that she must like Matsugo, but Anju admits she's never been able to actually talk to him in person before. Rinne is depressed that his plan doesn't seem to be working when he realizes that the charms they are supposed to collect are normally 500 yen each and he would get them for free. He suddenly thanks Matsugo by grabbing his hands which thrills Matsugo but outrages Anju. Rinne grabs Sakura and explains the situation to her. She seems disappointed that he's so interested in getting the charms instead of spending time together. Rinne manages to get the academic charm as Matsugo plans to show Rinne that his friendship is better than Rinne's relationship with Sakura. He manages to separate Rinne from Sakura and goes on ahead with Rinne. As Sakura and Anju look for Rinne and Matsugo they overhear Matsugo ask Rinne why he likes Sakura. When Rinne responds that she's kind and gives him food and lends him money sometimes, Sakura becomes depressed. As it begins to rain, Matsugo finds an abandoned mountain cabin to take shelter in, but Kuromitsu, Rokumon, Anju and Sakura are already there. Rinne attempts to use the opportunity to act like boyfriend and girlfriend with Sakura but she's upset and Anju tells Rinne that they overheard his conversation with Matsugo about liking her for her money. Rinne is devastated as the rain stops and Matsugo snatches him away from Sakura. Sakura regrets even coming, and to add insult to injury by the time Matsugo and Rinne arrive, the second charms are all gone.
Episode Staff:
Director: Fumi Fujiitaka (ふじいたかふみ)
Animation Director: Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋秀之)
Script: Katsuhiko Takayama (高山カツヒコ)
Storyboards: Akira Nishimori (西森章)
Originally Aired:
September 18, 2016
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm on NHK E Television
Hideyuki Motohashi, the animation director for this episode, was the character designer and animation director on the first three Inuyasha films.
Ageha makes the sound "キラ" (Kira) which means "twinkle". He eye twinkles at the same time.
The kanji 質 (shichi) is written on Matsugo's jug. This means "pawn" as it to sell something to a pawn shop.
The sundry gives Matsugo gives Rinne have various labels on them. The photograph says "friendship" (友情/yuujou). The trophy in inscribed "Best Friend Matsugo Rinne" (ベストフレンド マツゴ リンネ).
Episode 50: 桜の賭け
Sakura no Kake (Sakura's Bet)
Sakura sighs in disappointment over Rinne's comments about her loaning him money, while Anju and Rokumon try to cheer her up. Anju insists on following Matsugo and Rinne and uses a Tracking Fireball to find them. Instead of leading them to Matsugo though, the fireball follows Kuromitsu, Matsugo's black cat. Kuromitsu is relaxing at a mountainside lake, but in the lake is a class of students being purified before passing on to the Wheel of Reincarnation. Sakura notices that there is a leak that will allow the students to escape before they become purified of their lingering regrets and so Anju snaps into action, ready to purify them herself. However as she flies in to use her scythe she insults the students and they turn on her. As they attack her, it draws the attention of Matsugo and Rinne who rush to help. Sakura is surprised to see him, and finds that she's happy at his arrival. But when Matsugo encourages Rinne to use his hard won Academic Charm to soothe the spirits, Rinne hesitates, which disappoints Sakura again. As they march up the mountain to get the final charm for romance, a Spirit Way Firework goes off, opening multiple different paths to the final shrine. Rinne grabs Sakura and pulls her through one portal, leaving Matsugo, Anju, Kuromitsu and Rokumon behind. Rinne uses his time alone with Sakura to try and repair the damage from his careless comment. Sakura isn't listening though and says that she'll head back down the mountain so Rinne can pursue the last charm alone. She remembers that she made a lunch for him, but when she turns around to give it to him, she finds that he's gone. Anju emerges from the bushes and says that she heard the whole thing, and that Sakura made a bet with herself to see if Rinne would choose her or the charm. Sakura realizes that she was doing it without being aware, and Anju points out that she never seems to show her emotions, so its hard to tell what she's thinking. Sakura goes off to look for Rinne, who didn't leave, he just fell into a Spirit Way hole created by the firework earlier. When he passes back through the portal he ends up right in front of the shrine with the final charm. Meanwhile Sakura has fallen into a Spirit Way portal as well and is thinking about her feelings for Rinne for the first time. Just as Rinne is about to get the last charm, a Spirit Way portal opens in front of him, teleporting him along the Spirit Way where he finds Sakura's backpack and realizes she may be lost on the path. Kuromitsu finds Sakura first and asks if she wants to look for her backpack or not. Sakura says she no longer thinks she needs it. Sakura ends up admitting to Matsugo that she and Rinne are not dating, just as Rinne arrives. Sakura walks away from him, admitting to herself thats he doesn't think about her as much as she thinks about him. Rokumon encourages Rinne to be honest and Rinne tells her that he knows he depends on her for food and money, but they both fall through the Spirit Path along with dozens of other students. Rinne misses out on the last charm but tells Sakura that he only wants to eat the lunch she made with her, while Anju gets the romance charm for herself. Sakura and Rinne make up with one another and eat lunch with Matsugo, Anju, Rokumon and Kuromitsu. At the end of the episode Sabato and Bijin arrive to announce season three of Kyokai no RINNE.
The soul wash room where dirty souls are laundered makes an appearance again. This previously appeared in episode 23.
The headband that the ghost is wearing says "pass" (as in an exam). The kanji is 合格 (goukaku).
The sign on the red torii gate says "Shinto shrine" (神社/jinja).
In the announcement for the third season of Kyokai no RINNE Sabato pulls a rope and a ball opens showing a sign that says "congratulations". The ball with the message inside is a "split ball" (割り玉/waritama).
