English Dub Review: Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon “The Stolen Seal”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Tōga and Kirinmaru join forces to take on the threat of the Grim Comet during it’s appearance during their time.

Lady Zero muses to Tōga about the future of demonkind. He responds that whatever may come, she should always be herself. She vows to take the words to heart.

In the present, she disguises herself to approach Miroku. The monk recognizes she’s trouble, but fails to take action soon enough to prevent her from webbing him to the ground and acquiring the strength from his training to undo the seal on Setsuna’s demon blood.

Meanwhile, Setsuna and Towa are journeying to find a skilled blade sharpener. Towa idly thinks back to her hug with Riku.

Lady Zero consults with Kirinmaru in his office. She asks how he got the scratch on his cheek, and he reveals it was from his fight with Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha. He believes they’re all too weak to fulfill the prophecy. Lady Zero announces she’s going out for a walk.

The metalworker the twins are seeking turns out to be none other than Moroha, who’s excited to show off her professional skills. Moroha attempts to sharpen the blade of Setsuna’s Kanemitsu no Tomoe, but has no luck.

The three girls head into town, much to Moroha’s disdain. While there, Towa bumps into Zero, disguised as an apple seller. She quickly hypnotizes the older twin, and uses her to hold Setsuna still while she released the seal.

Setsuna’s demon blood runs wild and she goes on a rampage. After being freed from Zero’s spell, Towa attempts to absorb Setsuna’s demon power, but to no avail. She flees into the mountains, leading to Moroha going into Beniyasha mode and following her.

Towa follows at a distance on Takechiyo. Hisui and Kin’u arrive on Kirara. Kin’u explains she’ll be able to undo the seal if Setsuna can be held still. Towa moves to restrain her twin. She barely manages the feat, but Kin’u is able to reapply the seal.

During the present day, the Grim Comet appears once again in the sky. Towa’s teacher, Osamu Kirin, comments on the space rock before greeting Sota and Mei Higurashi nearby.

Our take:

Always good to hear Don Brown (who also voices a ton of characters, including King Kai in Dragon Ball Z) as Tōga, even if his final line if the episode is cheesy as hell.

Richard Newman (remember El Phantasmo from ¡Mucha Lucha!?) also makes a brief appearance as Tōtōsai.

The reveal that Kin’u is alive and well is a bit underwhelming, but hearing Jackie Lastra (aka Xiangling from Genshin Impact) being extra chipper more than makes up for it.

This episode seems to cover a lot of ground. We finally get some vague confirmation that Lady Zero is, in fact, the Dream Butterfly (and a hint as to why Sesshomaru hasn’t taken her down yet.) We see that Moroha may be developing a bit of a tolerance to the rouge. Or maybe she’s just getting better at controlling her demon powers? We get to enjoy Setsuna absolutely Hulking out on this random village.

But just as we’re closing in on the answers to some of this show’s mysteries, new ones are cropping right on up. Totosai’s appearance, Sesshomaru noting the change in the wind while Setsuna’s in her full demon form, and of course, Lady Zero’s cryptic remarks over a shot of Rin hint at plenty of storylines to be covered in upcoming episodes.

There’s also Towa being thirsty for Riku, but personally, I won’t complain if they just straight up drop whatever they’re thinking with that.

More interestingly, is Osamu Kirin supposed to be Kirinmaru’s reincarnation or something? They’re both voiced by Crispin Freeman (of Itachi Uchiha from Naruto fame) and seem to be aware of the danger presented by the Grim Comet.

But whatever connection there may be, along with additional answers to what Kirinmaru, Zero, and Sesshomaru’s goals are remains to be seen. And I, for one, can’t wait.