English Dub Review: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko “The Last Goddess”

We got 4 episodes left. Let’s do this!

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

The episode begins when Yukari and Princess Ichikishima are what I like to call an “escort mission” in video games, where the two are doing their best to get away from Princess Tagitsu’s Imperial Guard lead by Yomi. With Kanami along with the main 5 other Toji protagonists being sent to make sure she gets to safety. Of course, much of that goes tits-up very quickly in a number of ways. It does establish legit character moments and interactions during the proceedings such as President Souraku later meeting up with Yukari and to confess her substantial fuck-up of begrudgingly helping Tagitsu by getting her students forcibly involved.

As Kanami and the others arrive to intercept the imperial guard, she manages to defeat the Noro-Brainwashed Ayumu while Maki and Suzuka defeat Yomi. But a good portion of the episode is spent on a recurring central theme that becomes a major part of this episode, which is “atonement”. and it’s properly conveyed through different characters who in some form or another, made questionable decisions that felt well-intentioned at the time, only to have them come back to bite them on their asses with Yukari, Maki, and President Sagara’s past fuck-ups being the clearest examples of this.

As the two continue to flee, Ichikishima wonders why everyone would go the extra mile to protect her Aradama ass when she considers herself unworthy. However, in a big reveal, Yukari reassures her, that it was thanks to Ichikishima’s personality that she was able to keep her sanity while being possessed for 20 years. And it’s here where the tension & sense of urgency begins to elevate as Tagitsu attacks, and Yukari stays behind to battle her. Ichikishima flees and encounters Hiyori, offering to fuse with her in order to save Yukari, The episode ends when Hiyori makes questionable decision, that in the process leaves Kanami to question if she’s ok.

Our Take

while there’s a subplot involving Hiyori that becomes the small focus between her & Kanami in regards to her coming to grips with the whole situation, This at its core, was a Yukari episode as we’re seeing how much of a Badass she is without anything possessing her. The sword-fighting scenes alone are some of the best highlights that use proper cel-shading in combination with well-paced action that’s easy to follow while the story does it’s best to sell the drama during the proceedings.

With the show slowly nearing its end, we’re starting to see the main storylines within this show tie up some loose ends with many of the characters to help further give the show a sense of finality, while delving into the multiple themes that I’m hoping they’ll explore when they full-on get to them. But with 4 episodes left, I’m curious to see what happens next.