It took four episodes to find out why Ichiyo became a Kashi and what his motives are. His motives are to save his cat dad Hakugou who has been chosen by the previous Queen Mother of the West as a sacrificial pillar. That’s why he became a kashi in order to find a powerful being that can replace him. He also hates the Queen Mother of the West because of this, but ironically, his friend Hakushurin has been chosen as the next Queen Mother which shocked him when finding this out from Sanu.
This episode is also an origin story of how Ichiyo and Tenko met. Tenko was once a dangerous being known as Souryu who long has been sealed away in the depths of a forest. Ichiyo encounters him and is able to form a pact with him. Though, there is something clearly special about Ichiyo with the way he has wings on his neck and sings a lot differently than he does in the present. Could it be that the neck bandages suppress his singing voice?
Tenko in the past was a bit aloof and also amnesiac. Despite that, he was willing to accept Ichiyo and serve him. However, he seems to have forgotten his name. Tenko from the past was gorgeous. He sort of gives Inuyasha vibes from how he was encountered to the long white hair. On top of that, spending time with the Kashi Ministry Head had gotten Tenko to become the red-haired one we see today. How did the change happen? How did this red Tenko come to be? Split personality? Dormant state?
Other than that, there are a LOT of characters introduced in this episode and I can’t keep up! We have Sonto, the head of the Kashi Ministry, voiced by Satoshi Hino. He seems like a silly character with how he tells Ichiyo to not do this and that, but he does it himself. Then there’s Gaishi who looks like he could be Hiki’s twin, voiced by Tatsumaru Tachibana. Other than them, there’s also a guy in green with a scar on his face. I forgot his name, but he’s the one sort of responsible for changing Tenko from white to red. The Eight Immortals have shown up too. All of their designs are interesting. I do wonder if they’re good or bad. Though, the two people shown post-credit, the gas mask and the one in the bunny suit, reek of bad news.
It was nice seeing the origin story behind how Ichiyo met Tenko, but I wish this was shown earlier and not in Episode 4. I do wonder what’s going to happen next. What are your thoughts on this episode?
