English Dub Review: Tsugumomo “Kanayama-san”

Are there enough laughs to keep this show going?

If Tsugumomo is a “supernatural action comedy”, this episode is straight from the comedy section. Kukuri and Kokuyou are still living on the playground after their local shrine was destroyed. They need money to do the malison forecasts so Kokuyou gets a part-time job.

Kiriha confronts Kukuri and asks where all her power’s gone. Kukuri’s more interested in building a sandcastle shrine. She says she can’t say yet. That makes sense, the mystery is what keeps this show going.

Meanwhile, at home, all of Kazuya’s secret-keeping has been for nothing – his family has known about her the whole time. His dad and Kiriha go way back. She’s basically a family heirloom and a sister-in-law in one. So the family does whatever Kiriha wants, and Kukuri and Kokuyou end up as extra roommates.

The group still needs money for their malison forecast, so they show up at another local god’s shrine. The rest of the show gets intense: it’s a hyper-focused concentration card game with a narrator and everything. Having a play by play of a memory game might feel like filler, but it’s entertaining. There’s no practical reason a malison forecast costs money rather than magic other than setting up a gamble. Seven episodes in, Tsugumomo is still redefining what it is and what it’s going to be. “Kanayama-san” filled in a little more background information and then stopped to play a few games. The show’s lighthearted moments are just as satisfying as its intense ones.