REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon,’ Episode 32 – “Nanahoshi’s Mini Galaxy”

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Yashahime) is a fantasy/adventure anime from Sunrise. With Setsuna heading north with the rest of the demon slayers and Moroha off on a mission for Takechiyo, Towa finds herself on her own. At least till a couple of familiar faces show up. This is fortunate for Towa, as they aren’t the only unexpected guests she’ll run into in Yashahime Episode 32.

Splitting a 24-minute episode into three separate storylines puts some serious restraints on what you can add to your story. With so much hopping between characters going on, it’s difficult for much of anything to get accomplished. This time crunch forces the story to either make little to no progress anywhere or to deliver rushed plot points that make the moments feel underwhelming. Yashahime Episode 32 opts to split the difference. Having some of its plots make little headway in this installment, while others feel like moments that should be given a bit more time in the show are blasted past.

Thanks to the aforementioned split storylines, this episode comes across as fairly underwhelming across the board. This is frustrating, as there are a couple of moments that feel like they are building to something significant, but are quickly cut short as the episode plows along to another storyline. This is particularly true of Towa’s storyline. As she continues to struggle with her need to rush headlong into danger, the episode presents just such a threat to her, only to quickly have it recanted without any significant result.

Moroha and Setsuna’s parts of Yashahime Episode 32 fall completely flat as both are treated as if they have been faced with significant adversaries, only to have these opponents fail to live up to the brief build-up the story tries to impress upon them.

The final major stumble for this episode is how it continues to ignore the major, time-sensitive plotline that this season is supposed to be pursuing. With three different plot lines going you’d think one of them would be doing something to move the focal point of the season forward. But unless you consider Towa’s continued inward struggle with her rashness story progress, nothing even attempts to move this season’s plot forward.

Despite the overall plot being underwhelming, there are a few moments that help the episode deliver some entertainment. A handful of nice moments, as well as the introduction of an intriguing side character, keeps the episode from feeling like a complete waste.

The visual side of Yashahime Episode 32 keeps the presentation of this week’s story in line with the series standard. The only real standout here is the new character viewers are briefly introduced to. The adorable new character is presented with a lot of charm. Beyond this, however, the show’s visuals simply present more of the same. Which is not in itself a bad thing.

When all is said and done, Yashahime Episode 32 delivers an ultimately forgettable episode. With little happening that pertains to the show’s larger story, this episode feels like little more than a way to keep the season’s episode count up.

Yashahime Episode 32 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.