REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon’ Episode 6 – “The Cat Juan at the Old Temple”

Yashahime leaning into the “monster-of-the-week” formula is working exceedingly well, and Yashahime Episode 6 might be the best installment yet in the show. The animation from studio Sunrise serves as a sequel to Inuyasha. It follows the daughters of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kagome, along with various descendants of the previous cast.

This time around, the ladies embark to investigate a series of disappearances in the mountains. They discover that demonic cats have taken over an entire village, and trace this back to an old temple. Comically, the lone monk at the temple, Juan, is the spitting image of an idol singer from Towa’s era. The plot of this episode is relatively predictable, but it is executed so well. It is an absolute joy to watch the antics of Towa, Moroha, and Setsuna. The visual gag of Setsuna maintaining complete composure as they fly off the bike was perfect, along with Moroha listening to music with Bluetooth earbuds.

Watching the three ladies interact is truly a high point each week. Moroha is a gem, and it is hinted that she is collecting money for reasons other than debt. Even stony Setsuna is showing subtle growth, taking notice of Towa looking after a young girl in the town. As much as she claims not to care, she seems to almost be the most attached to the group. There is power in these three girls no longer being alone, and that is felt in this episode in how they fight together. It is also a big moment for Towa, who still refuses to take the life of humans, even ones who may wish her harm. Setsuna isn’t heartless, she is just trying to make Towa realize that she and Moroha don’t live in as peaceful of an era. This is even shown in how Towa is the only one of the three whose sense of smell has dulled from being in the modern era. Towa is unable to smell approaching demons, putting her at risk.

Yashahime Episode 6 succeeds by leaning into what works well with this show: the characters and their misadventures. Even if the mystery of the episode was easily solvable, the dialogue between the girls, and really letting their dynamic grow out of the shadow of their parents, is ideal. It also prevents all the questions from earlier in the season be so distracting. With each girl having their own individual goal, the audience has more to focus on. Seeing Moroha dodge Towa’s questions is also intriguing, showing that she might have more going on than her carefree demeanor lets on.

All in all, Yashahime Episode 6 is a fantastic installment in the series, perhaps the best so far. Sticking with the episodic “monster-of-the-week” format from last time allows for the pure enjoyment of Setsuna, Moroha, and Towa’s antics. The audience really gets to have fun this week. Comedically animated gags highlight the personality of each girl and will have viewers grinning from ear-to-ear.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon is streaming now on Crunchyroll and Hulu.