English Dub Review: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko “Day of Disaster”

Is this week’s episode a disaster?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

In the tradition of most tv shows and storylines, we get the “obligatory flashback episode” that’s intended to fill in gaps of information of past events that are intended to have importance later on for the present & future. And for this episode, this flashback was largely centered around a huge Aradama-related disaster that happened 20 years ago. It also further explains to us what, exactly, makes both Kanami and Hiyori tied to all of this, at least in relation to the main plot.

Mokusa’s other leader, Akane (who turns out to be Yukari’s sister) explains to Kanami and her friends that twenty years ago, a Kaiju-sized aradama nicknamed “Princess Tagitsu” attacked Sagami Bay causing mass destruction & casualties. A Toji unit led by Yukari was sent to battle it which Included most of the Toji teachers we know from previous episodes (Including a younger Yukina who isn’t a bitch) along with Kanami and Hiyori’s mothers: Minato and Kagari respectively. The entire episode itself is devoted to a series of exposition-dumps told from the older Mokusa members who were also there when the shit went down and does a good job filling in those gaps. Some of these reveals even shock Kanami the most as she grew up not even knowing about how legendary her mother was during her youth, nor did she even know that she was a Toji. As it cuts back to the story they were telling them, Yukari, Kagari, and Minato proceed to carry out this supposed secret technique to suppress Tagitsu, and while it was apparently defeated, nobody knows what that Technique was while Kagari and Minato were heavily injured.

However, Akane later investigated this technique and discovers that it would’ve involved Kagari sacrificing herself to banish Tagitsu to the netherworld, but their failure consequently allowed this creature to possess Yukari. In the aftermath, during Yukari’s rise to political power with the Sword Administration, Kanami & Hiyori’s mothers who should’ve been hailed as national heroes, ended up losing their Toji powers and retired to start families. But the injuries they suffered reduced their lifespans and they both died young. Though Kagari and Minato failed, Akane muses that their failure led to Kanami and Hiyori being born while also hinting at a deeper connection regarding the Okatana’s that were both passed down to them. The next day, Kanami and her friends undergo teamwork training while the noro syringe sample that Erin stole from Yomi is taken to Osafune Academy for research, But the episode ends on a cliffhanger when Yukari reveals that she has finally tracked down Akane’s location.

Our Take

Finally, some explanation of the incident that happened 20 years ago. Judging from the series of big reveals that are tied to the main protagonists, I think history might repeat itself because if you think about it, Kanami and Hiyori joining Mokusa is kinda like fate as they get to stop Yukari on the behalf of their mothers and clean up the 20-year-old proverbial mess they indirectly left behind.

Yukari not doing anything at the beginning could’ve been the predictable & cliche trope of a “boss villain just holding the story back till the finale” bullshit that Akiba’s Trip infamously did, but here, it comes around like a puzzle piece and explains just how cold & calculating Yukari was in waiting for the big payoff since she was hinted to be doing more than just weaponizing Noro. With these massive info-dumps, All of this feels like the plot itself could be wrapped up in far less time and could easily end the show with just 12 episodes yet this show is supposed to be 24 episodes long.

Let’s hope more is revealed as the series progresses.