English Dub Review: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko “Audience In the Prison”

Time to build a prison.

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

The episode begins as the Mokusa team along with Akane further investigate Maki who they now suspect as the Hooded Noro-Thief, but begin to realize that it could be two separate people. While this is going on, Kanami and her friends celebrate Sayaka’s birthday and they begin to discuss the identity of the noro thief in which they also suspect the same thing. the two separate sub-plots slowly converge as Kanami and her Team go and see Akane, who confirms that hooded Toji Assailant is not only two separate people but one of them is Maki, while the other isn’t even a Toji…

While they do confirm Maki being one of the two, the rest of the episode is spent on a series of plot-twists and big reveals that for once start to move the plot forward. In these big twists, we learn that Princess Tagitsu who made everyone’s life hell during the first 12 episodes is not only still alive, but her Aradama essence in the aftermath of 5 months ago  has manifested into a human form, and split into three separate people with each one, having different goals/objectives, with only two of them under Akane’s & Mokusa’s custody. After that mind-fuck of a reveal, Akane then makes a specific request to Kanami and Hiyori to accompany her the next day to the Ministry of Defense where they encounter one of the three Aradama beings named “Princess Takiri” who warns them that she shares a psychic link with the other two halves of herself and knows that Tagitsu is already making her next move, while the third Aradama called “Princess Ichikishima” is also in custody in a separate location.

Akane reveals to Kanami and Hiyori that her sister Yukari who was previously possessed, had been keeping three great aradama suppressed when everyone assumed it was just Tagitsu herself, and they were all released when she was defeated, with Tagitsu on the loose and now a separate entity. The other two Great Aradama Princesses Takiri and Ichikishima now require protection, with Kanami and Hiyori now assigned to guard Takiri in case Tagitsu attacks and wouldn’t you know it? She fucking does! The fights alone were the most impressive in that Tagitsu is skilled with Dual swords, but that’s to be expected from the Aradama monstrosity who possessed someone and used her body to get up there into politics. With Maki jumping in, they do manage to Repell Tagitsu, but not destroy her as she teleports away to Yukina’s location while saying to Yukina & Yomi that they must move ahead with their plan, The episode ends on an unsettling cliffhanger as Akane is informed by a familiar face that Tagitsu knows Takiri’s location.

Our Take

After dancing around the plot, and giving a series of odd character team-ups, Episode 16 shined the most by being more plot-focused this time around. We finally know who the hell the hooded Noro Thief is, and we do get other character moments such as the Student Ayumu looking up to Kanami and being a possible Candidate to Yukina’s Noro experiment, or the fact that Kanami & Hiyori begin to doubt themselves with the belief that none of this would’ve happened if episode 1’s chain of events never took place. It’s not often we get to see that level of self-reflection out of Kanami, she’s usually so damn confident, but sometimes character flaws and moments of vulnerability are good to have if you want your audience to connect with the protagonist from a storytelling standpoint.

The biggest reveal apart from the barrage of other reveals, however, was the episode’s closing twist. A specific character who was presumed dead is somehow still alive and we the audience assumed that it would’ve been the last we saw of this individual after episode 12.

Let’s hope the next episode further delves into the how and why this is even possible.