REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon,’ Episode 26 – “Demon Spirit of the Sea”

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Yashahime) is a fantasy/adventure anime from Sunrise. Having restored Setsuna to life and recovered from her exhaustion, Towa finds herself alone as Setsuna and Moroha begin searching for the mystical root needed to forge Towa a new sword in Yashahime Episode 26.

Rather than opening this episode with our trio of half-demon heroes, we instead catch up with what Riku has been up to. No longer serving Kirinmaru, Riku is setting out on a journey of his devising. But first, he needs to be pointed in the right direction. Luckily, Riku knows a guy who hears a lot of things.

This opening scene brought a much creepier tone to Yashahime Episode 26 than I was expecting to see. The glowing greens that envelope everything in their disturbing light give the scene a memorable aesthetic. While the scene doesn’t elaborate much on exactly who the figure Riku meets is, there can be no doubt the man is not one of the good guys.

After this opening, it is time to catch up with our protagonists. We soon learn that Setsuna and Moroha have left Towa behind as they begin their search for the root they were informed Towa needed to make a sword she can confront Kirinmaru with. They have left Towa behind out of concern for her having to fight with her still-broken sword. The duo’s search soon points them in the direction of a sea demon that is said to know the whereabouts of the person who can point them toward the root. Meanwhile, in Towa’s idle wanderings she stumbles across a bit of information that her intuition tells her will be of great importance to Setsuna. Having just managed to restore her sister’s life, Towa decides to leave nothing to chance and begins to search for her sister before a tragic fate can befall her.

I appreciated the core of this plot, as it revolves around both sides of the story acting out of a desire to protect each other. This general concern that is shared throughout the cast always gives the show a positive vibe that makes me want to see good things for the trio who are so often thinking of each other first.

While the prime focus of the characters was suitably endearing, there is a huge flaw in the episode’s wrap-up that undermines the episode completely from a narrative perspective. This moment feels like nothing more than a sloppy excuse to stall the larger narrative’s progression.

When Yashahime Episode 26 gets to its big confrontation, the action kicks up with an interesting twist that puts our heroes in a situation that forces them to adapt to a unique advantage their opponent has on them. The ultimate solution to the problem is a pleasant mix of charming and humorous.

The animation does a good job of delivering the style of combat that followers of Yashahime  should be used to by now. The standard super attacks get used, and the action is brought to life through all the classic anime styles that the series has delivered before.

So, when all is said and done, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Episode 26 brings a solid entry into the series, that’s only major flaw is how the writing undercut much of the episode’s point at the very end.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Episode 26 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.