REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon,’ Episode 31 — “Takechiyo’s Request”

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Yashahime) is a fantasy/adventure anime from Sunrise. Having bested their monstrous opponent at the end of the last episode, Towa and Setsuna find themselves squaring off against a new adversary. But as their battle with this new foe drags on, Towa will be forced to confront a hard lesson about herself. But will she be able to accept this truth and grow, or reject it, and by doing so endanger not just herself, but Setsuna as well, in Yashahime Episode 31.

This week’s episode revolves largely around Setsuna and Towa’s battle against a group of Earth-Demons. During the multiple rounds of battle, the duo comes face to face with some crucial lessons about themselves, as well as where their goals and concerns lie. Yashahime Episode 31 brings some interesting observations with its narrative, particularly where Towa is concerned. However, there are a couple of jarring moments that make the episode feel a bit awkward, even as it delves deeper into its main characters.

This awkwardness is most clearly felt early on in the episode when Setsuna randomly suggests to Towa that she should return to the present and leave the defeat of Kirinmaru to her. There is no context as to why she suddenly feels this way, or how she believes such a plan could even work, given that they spent several episodes this season acquiring Towa’s new sword which was billed as being critical to defeating the Demon Lord. Making this moment worse is the fact that it is promptly forgotten for the remainder of the episode. Even when there is a lull in their battle, Towa and Setsuna never engage in a follow-up about why she suddenly feels this way. While I suspect it will be addressed later, its lack of exploration here feels like an unnecessary dragging out of an interaction that should’ve been quickly resolved.

The other side of Yashahime Episode 31 focuses on Moroha as she takes up a bodyguarding job. What she comes to learn and where the episode leaves her creates an interesting situation that I look forward to seeing how it will play out in next week’s episode. Though it does feel odd that the series feels compelled to keep the main trio of characters split up as much as it has lately, particularly with so little explanation as to why they are separated.

While the bulk of Yashahime Episode 31 focuses on character development and random battles, there is a bit of building out of the show’s larger plot. I won’t go into details, but it is interesting to see the strands of the plot get laid out between some of the show’s support characters. It just frustrates that the show is so resigned to dragging out its story as much as it does.

The visuals in this episode bring the show’s plot in a clear way that manages to deliver both the character and combat of the episode well. While the design of the newest baddie Towa and Setsuna confront is fairly generic, it manages to capture the essence of the monster well.

When all is said and done, Yashahime Episode 31 delivers some solid character exploration even as the show’s main story largely stalls out. I hope the upcoming episodes reengages with the main narrative a bit more, rather than continue to claim time is of the essence in the quest to save Rin, even as no one seems to do anything to save her.

Yashahime Episode 31 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.