English Dub Review: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko “Hero of the Next Generation”

The next gen of Katana.

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

After what should’ve been the final episode of Katana Maidens, the big question now is, what is there to fight after the main villain is dead? Why all of the aradama that it’s created. As the episode begins, a narrated info-dump tells us that during Princess Tagitsu’s defeat, it consequently spread a large portion of itself into the sky and rained down all over Japan with the unwelcome side effect of creating a plethora of aradama which puts the area under constant attack. Because of this, the government is being forced to temporarily use Toji academy students to combat the situation. After a four-month time-skip, we learn that Kanami and her friends are now part of the task force battling the aradama with the exception of Hiyori, who considers retiring from her Toji duties now that she’s fulfilled her mother’s last wish, while Kanami also befriends Ayumu, a student close to her dorm at”Ayanokouji Academy”.

Aside from a colorful new intro that potentially foreshadows three new antagonists, there really isn’t a lot of action in this episode but I think its intent is to give the proper breathing room while updating the audience on the aftermath of episode 12 since a lot can happen in four months. There’s even a courtroom scene where Yukari’s sister Akane is speaking in behalf of the Toji to clean up her sister’s mess in an effort to earn the government’s trust, despite them demanding answers from Yukari, which I’m shocked that they don’t even know that Yukari was secretly the one who caused most of this in the first place. Akane claims she’s recovering, while Kaoru is privately informed by her boss Maniwa that an unknown Hooded-Toji is stealing Noro, but they don’t have an answer to why.

We do get a few moments where Kanami is filled with doubt about her abilities making her feel isolated due to having powers she didn’t know she had when defeating Yukari after some troubling words Sayaka has pointed out to her, but later, Kanami has a heart to heart talk with her mother’s ghost in her dreams about them, while Kaoru & Maniwa confront the Elite Guard Suzuka, as they’re suspecting the culprit may be her former partner Maki. Meanwhile, We see how much of an evil Yukina is, as she secretly continues her noro experiments on Yomi, with assistance from the Ayanokouji school president. Upon hearing about the noro thief, The episode ends on a positive note when Hiyori decides to resume her Toji duties and reunites with Kanami for their new assignment.

Our Take

While this new story serves as an excellent setup for what’s to come, I’m left with so many questions, such as Why is Akane on trial? It’s clear that even with the new people taking over the Sword Administration, What’s left of Yukari’s family is still scrambling to clean up her mess while clinging to political power, It’s also not surprising that Sayaka’s former master Yukina is a possible foe, but why the fuck wasn’t she or Yomi arrested? and finally, I guess with Kanami being hailed as a National Hero for her efforts, I think it’s consequently made her feel isolated from a lot of her friends because of her overly high skill, and having no one who could match her competition-wise, could easily make her depressed.

As for Hiyori’s sub-plot of her considering retirement, It didn’t really feel pointless as her reasons for wanting to do so was valid, but It felt like she was being baited into coming back when the lady visiting her convey’s that last enticing sentence to somebody into making them reconsider.

With this new mystery of the unknown hooded Toji committing Noro thefts, I’m curious to know who the hell it could be as this show excels in reeling you in when it comes to unraveling mysteries.