English Dub Review: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun “The Red House”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Nene and Kou enter the strange house and speak with what seems to be a tiny Hanako, but things are only getting stranger from here.

OUR TAKE

We’re down to the final five of the season and it looks like we’re taking time to give Kou some focus for once. Not that he’s necessarily been OUT of focus, he is one of the main characters after all, but there’s often so much else going on with Nene, Hanako, or even Akane or Aoi lately that he’s been kinda shunted back as of late. Thankfully, with all the apparitions gone for the moment, he’s gotten a lot more time in the spotlight and involvement with this arc, and by a few minutes into this episode, he basically gets it to himself. Oh yeah, it turns out that little kid is NOT a somehow child Hanako/Amane, but in fact his brother Tsukasa, who’s been part of the little Team Rocket gang that have been causing trouble across the series. We had seen how Hanako became a ghost some time during the first season, but how Tsukasa’s second life began has remained a mystery. Well, apparently Hanako, who was Amane at the time, got quite sick, and the doctor (who I guess was in the 50’s or 60’s based on when we know Hanako was alive), said he didn’t have long to live. Well, then he made a miraculous recovery! Only it was not a miracle, but a deal with the spirit of the house.

Yes, the house Hanako and Tsukasa lived in long ago seems to be capable of giving people whatever they want in exchange for a sacrifice, much like the world Number Six had that showed Sumire’s sacrifice long ago. So, after getting to celebrate Amane’s extended life, Tsukasa died…and then Amane would die himself not too long after, making that a total waste, and here we are. Still, if the boundary between the Near and Far Shores has closed, how is something as clearly supernatural as this still around, and if the baby Tsukasa says he could never leave, who was that we saw in the school? I guess all of that will have to wait, but in the meantime, we also see a bit into Kou’s backstory too, as well as what his secret wants are. He wants to be a competent exorcist for sure, but he also wishes his friends would be able to fight alongside him or even that his brother would admit that there are good apparitions, as well as being able to see Mitsuba again. Though thankfully, he is able to get past all of these illusions and focus on the task at hand. And we’ll see how that pays off next week!