Eren Jaeger takes power of the War Hammer Titan in Episode 66

 

Episode 66 not only had non-stop action from start to finish but it left you wanting episode 67 NOW. Episode 65 ended with The War Hammer Titan seemingly forcing Eren into a stalemate. Episode 66 makes it clear that this is NOT the same Eren Jaeger you knew from the end of Season 1. This Eren is older and much more calculating than the one we knew at the beginning of Season 3.

When the Beast, Cart and Jaw Titans enter the battle, it looks like the tables have been turned on Eren and the Survey Corps. The Marleyian Forces are shocked and horrified to see the Survey Corps, which has been hunting Titans on Paradis Island for generations fearlessly taking on their Titans directly. Levi gives a long-owed receipt to the Beast Titan, dropping him like a bad habit out of nowhere. Jean and Sasha pin down the Cart Titan and she ends up being severely injured.

Then, our boy Armin debutes the Colossal Titan with a bang. Literally.

 

His line after emerging from the Titan form he took from Bertoldt at the end of Season 3 sums it up: “Is this how it felt for you, Bertoldt?” For those who need a reminder, when the Colossal Titan transforms it’s basically a nuclear explosion that gets set off. This is why Armin transformed off the cost on a raft–a transformation that wiped out the Marleyan Fleet rushing to provide backup–because if he didn’t, he probably would’ve instantly killed thousands of people in the city.

He didn’t do anything beyond that and he didn’t need to. The Marleyan Army now knows Paradis Island has two Titans and they know how to use them. Commander Hange later tells Armin he seems to have become more like her predecessor, Erwin Smith. He shrugs it off, saying he hopes to be a little like their former leader. Meanwhile, Eren patiently tries everything he can think of to take the War Hammer. The owner of the War Hammer crystallized herself like Annie, the Female Titan did.

Prior to Armin’s entrance, the Marleyan Army was sure they had Eren cornered. After his arrival, this gve Eren the space to focus on taking the War Hammer’s power. “If you had anything left, you would have done something by now.” he remarks before freeing himself and transforming again. “Me, on the other hand…I’ve got plenty of strength left.” When the Jaw Titan breaches his own Hardening, Eren figures it out: He grabs the Jaw Titan, tears off his limbs and then uses the Jaw Titan as a giant nutcracker above his head to devour the War Hammer Titan’s powers. He gets interrupted before he can finish off the Jaw Titan by the arrival of Reiner, the Armored Titan.

The preview for Episode 67 announces the Armor Titan falls which is a fair assumption: Reiner told Eren he basically had a death wish so…yeah. Assuming Eren takes the Armor Titan’s power next, he will have four Titan powers (Founder, Attack, War Hammer and Armor). The status of the Cart and Jaw Titans is currently unknown but both are critically injured. We also do not have confirmation Levi actually killed Zeke yet. Excluding Armin (Colossal) and Annie (Female), all of the Nine Titans are now accounted for. All but the Female Titan, who is crystallized are in the same place right now too. Things should get real interesting.

 

 

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Episodes 14 and 15 of Yasha-Hime: Princess Half-Demon sheds light on two of the biggest mysteries to now

 

If you haven’t been following the sequel to the legendary Manga turned Anime Inuyasha because you don’t like sequels to anime you like…your loss. I’m just gonna put it like that. For everyone else, keep reading. Fair warning, there be MAJOR plot spoilers for both Inuyasha and Yasha-Hime: Princess Half Demon in this article. If you’re not caught up to Episode 15 of the latter Anime, stop here!

Ok so as the name of the new series reveals, the focus of this story is on a trio of Half-Demons who are the daughters of Inuyasha and Kagome (Moroha) as well as Sesshomaru and Rin (Towa and Setsuna) respectively. The twins are cousins to Moroha due to their fathers being brothers on that note. As was revealed in Episode 1, Towa and Setsuna were split up as children during a forest fire. Towa ended up being raised by Kagome’s brother in the Modern Era while Setsuna would be raised by Sango and trained as a Demon Slayer in the Feudal Era. As was revealed in Episode 15, Moroha was raised by the Wolf Demon Tribe, which is led by Koga. For those who don’t remember him, he was Inuyasha’s rival in the original series. It’s likely she learned how to use Divine Power from Kaede as so far she’s demonstrated the ability to use Sacred Arrows and erect barriers. It certainly helps her mother Kagome is a priestess.

Anyway prior to Episode 15, one of the biggest mysteries of the series to that point is “Whatever happened to Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kagome?” followed by the obvious “Who is Towa and Sesshomaru’s mother?” For the second question, if you guessed Rin you would be correct. Rin was the orphaned human girl who accompanied Sesshomaru during the original series. Kagome, who is pregnant with Moroha at the time is present for the birth of Towa and Setsuna.

As the first question, Episode 15 explains this part. Prior to this, Sesshomaru is briefly seen when the trio journey to the Feudal Era from the Modern Era. They pass through the Tree of Ages, which played a minor role in the original series. If you’ve been following the series up to now, you will know about Kirinmaru. While Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s father Inutaisho–known as the Great Dog Demon of the West–ruled Western Japan, his counterpart Kirinamaru–originally from Mainland China–ruled Eastern Japan.

500 years before the original series, the Great Demons teamed up to destroy a comet fragment that would have destroyed Japan. Sometime after that, Kirinmaru went into a long slumber. As anyone who’s watched the series or saw the third Inuyasha movie should know, Inutaisho died saving Inuyasha, who was a newborn at the time and his wife Izayaoi.

The week after Setsuna and Towa were born, the same comet fragments returned but this time Sesshomaru and Inuyasha dealt with it. Sesshomaru is visited by Zero, a mysterious Demon and subordinate under Kirinmaru to warn him about the coming comet fragment. Kagome is tipped off by Riku, who clearly knows more than he was willing to reveal both then and since. As is revealed by Zero, Sesshomaru’s children are in danger along with Inuyasha and Moroha from Kirinmaru simply because they’re Half Demons (Quarter in the case of Moroha).

Zero reveals a prophecy from the Shikon Jewel relevant to him for viewers: At some point in the future, he will be slain by a being that is neither Human or Demon. Apparently, Kirinmaru intially laughed at the idea but that was before Inuyasha came along. It didn’t take him long to realize Half-Demons were was the prophecy was referring to and naturally, he personally hates them as well as humans in general.

Presumably acting on his orders, Zero had Homura set the forest where Towa and Setsuna were hidden. The three would meet in Episode 17 where Homoura would be consumed by his own flames. Sasshomaru’s majordomo Jaken had planned to eventually bring Rin to the place where he sealed the twins. Although Rin lies in suspended animation inside the Tree of Ages, clearly something happened that led to that. We’ll probably find out at a later time but she will be in for a shock when she is reunited with her children.

As for Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango and Miroku finally made their appearance in Episode 13 and as was revealed, Miroku sealed most of Setsuna’s Demon Blood. Shortly after Moroha was born, she was spirited away to the Wolf Demon Tribe which raised her. Joining with Kirinmaru, Sesshomaru used the Black Pearl to seal Inuyasha and Kagome in their father’s resting place, which is in another dimension. Jaken explains to Kirinmaru there may come a time in the future when they will need to Inuyasha and his Medio Zangetsuha. Satisfied with knowing Inuyasha is sealed away, Kirinmaru is ok with it.

…Whew.

It’s fair to say at this point Sesshomaru did all that he did to protect everyone from Kirinmaru. It’s also likely he figured out Towa, Setsuna and Moroha will be needed to take down Kirinmaru one day. He clearly knows all three are making names for themselves right now but is likely keeping his distance for their own good. One bit of plot that appears subtle in Episode 15 that’s easy to miss is the fact Zero can find people in their dreams. As it happens, Setsuna’s memories were taken by a Dream Butterfly and for the same reason, she is unable to sleep. Clearly there is a connection there.

There are still a few mysteries and questions the need answering such as “Whatever happened to Shippo?” but I’m sure we’ll find out in time. At the time the series ended, Shippo was planning to take the Fox Demon Exam. His absence doesn’t surprise me personally and I’m sure we’ll find out what he’s been up to at some point.

Riku clearly knows a lot more than he’s ready to reveal. We know he’s collecting Rainbow Pearls but at the same time he’s clearly not aligned with Kirinmaru. This is speculation on my part but I think he may be planning to make a new Shikon Jewel. He clearly knows about what happened to the original after it was restored and though he’s content to let the girls keep their pearls for now, no doubt he’ll make a move for them at some point down the road.

You can catch new episodes of Yasha-Hime: Princess Half-Demon on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 5AM EST Subbed. The English Dub is up to Episode 9 as of this week on that note.

 

 

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Crunchyroll’s Winter 2020-21 Lineup balances catching up with new shows

 

Go here for the full list as of January 3, 2021.

 

Here’s a partial list of Ongoing Series or New Seasons to existing shows:

 

• Black Clover (Ongoing)
• Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Ongoing)
• Attack on Titan: The Final Season
• Digimon Adventure (Ongoing)
• Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (Ongoing)
• Healin’ Good Pretty Cure (Ongoing)
• One Piece (Ongoing)
• Yasha-Hime: Princess Half-Demon (Ongoing)
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby Season 2
• Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 8
• That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2
• The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2
• Dr. Stone Season 2: Stone Wars

 

…Noticably absent are The Rising of the Shield Hero and The Promised Neverland. Both were announced to be getting a second season each. Still no word on when they will premiere. The new seasons we do know about are welcomed especially Dr. Stone and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

 

Black Clover has definitely defied many expectations in terms of staying power. I found out last year originally, the anime was originally only going to be 48 episodes long. Now it’s clocked over 150 episodes and counting. Same for Boruto, which many fans were initially hostile toward because of how much they loved Naruto + Shippuden. It has been gaining more acceptance and appreciation over the last 18 months I’ve noticed though.

We finally saw Miroku make his first appearance in Yasha-Hime: Princess Half-Demon this past week. At the end of the episode, Sango made a cameo appearance as well. As a reminder, they got married at the end of Inuyasha: The FInal Act and had three kids together, two of which we’ve seen so far: Their son and one of their twin daughters. We have yet to see Sesshomaru, Inuyasha or Kagome though we know Sesshomaru is connected to The Tree of Ages in some way yet to be revealed. Setsuna starting the series without memories of her childhood is clearly plot armor as we don’t know who her and Towa’s mother is yet. It’s easy to assume Rin but given she’s being held in suspension within the Tree of Ages, that’s no longer certain. Moroha being able to use Sacred Arrows and holy power–and with skill–despite being a Half-Demon prettymuch confirms she was likely trained by her mother Kagome.

 

Digimon Adventure (2019) is a remake of the original 1998 Anime similar to Dragonball Z Kai. This new series was likely done to help provide context to the confused young folks who may have watched Digimon Adventure: Tri and had no idea why they should care. The original series came under heavy criticism in the west due to the overt whitewashing by 4Kids, which did the English Dub. The remake uses everyone’s official Japanese names. Some of the characters were given English names for the English dub among other things. If you’ve only seen the 1998 English dub, Matt is Yamato for example.

 

Here’s a partial list for New Shows premiering:

 

• Dr. Ramune – Mysterious Disease Specialist –
• EX-ARM
• Given: The Movie
• Heaven’s Design Team
• The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter
• So I’m A Spider, So What?
• Tropical-Rouge Pretty Cure
• True Cooking Master Boy
•  8 More Titles TBA

The Hidden Dungeon Only I can Enter looks like a spinoff of Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? to me based on the logo and art style. Tropical-Rouge Pretty Cure as stated is a spinoff of Healin’ Good Pretty Cure. I figure for the 8 TBA Titles we’ll find out in the coming months. In addition, hopefully we will learn more about Crunchyroll’s future a few months after they were bought by Funimation. Time will tell.

I will provide more updates and reviews over the course of this year when I can. I’m feeling pretty excited about this year personally. Between Crunchyroll and Rakuten Viki, I know I have a lot to look forward to!

 

 

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