REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon’ Episode 13 – “The Delicious Feudal Monks”

A few long-missed familiar faces grace the screen in Yashahime Episode 13, adding to the enjoyment of this episode. While still suffering from the franchise’s (including its predecessor’s) trend to not answer questions in favor of a monster-of-the-week format, supporting character Hisui gets more fleshed out this episode. The anime from Sunrise is a sequel to Rumiko Takahashi‘s Inuyasha series. It follows the main casts’ children as they embark on their own feudal era adventure.

Another of the Four Perils has appeared. This one is the demon Totetsu, and he has an appetite for monks. Kohaku splits up the Demon Slayers into teams to protect the monks around the area. He assigns his nephew Hisui to protect Miroku, accompanied by Setsuna and Towa. Hisui’s visibly reluctant to do so, prompting a reveal of why Miroku hasn’t made an appearance up until now: he has been training for over two years in an attempt to gain more power.

Hisui interprets this as abandoning his family, and Miroku running away. This provides a decent explanation for why Hisui is constantly with his Uncle Kohaku and not Sango or his sister. This relationship feels natural. Hisui is a teenager, and regardless of Miroku’s intentions, it makes sense that he wouldn’t take well to his father leaving the family for so long. The show’s brief window into Hisui’s relationship with his family was a welcome addition.

Miroku doesn’t provide much in terms of historical context for Towa and Setsuna in Yashahime Episode 13. It is known that Setsuna has encountered him before, but due to her memories being taken by The Dream Butterfly, she struggles to recall the interaction. Instead of offering information, Miroku just deems this to be “fate.” It tracks for the character, but still feels like a frustrating cop-out. Moroha is sidelined once again this week, although it is less noticeable. The comedy fits here. Although, having her not encounter Miroku also feels like a cop-out from having to provide any more of her backstory yet.

The usual frustrations aside, Yashahime Episode 13 has a fantastic fight scene that takes up a decent amount of the run time. The animation is lovely, providing multiple satisfying moments. Setsuna and Towa have tag-team attacks, Hisui and Hiraikotsu get some action as well. Towa flips and dodges Totetsu’s many vacuums. It is a blast. It is very hard to stay frustrated when the show consistently delivers fun, nostalgic battles. Setsuna takes the stage in a very unexpected way as well. As a viewer, this reviewer would have preferred more explanation but was cheering nonetheless at this reveal.

If at this point viewers have accepted that Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon isn’t going to be the most solid when it comes to plot, Yashahime Episode 13 will be a fun outing. A welcome insight into Hisui and a brief return of Miroku and Sango are icing on the cake of this episode. The highlight by far is the action, boasting some of the best animations for the series so far.

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