REVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon,’ Episode 44 – “When the Grim Comet Falls”

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Yashahime) is a fantasy/adventure anime from Sunrise. Having saved an arena full of concertgoers from the demons being spawned by the presence of the Grim Comet, Towa, Moroha, and Setsuna are now ready to aid Kirin in his attempt to stop the comet’s destructive charge towards Earth in Yashahime Episode 44.

This week’s episode centers its attention solely on the action. With hoards of demons spilling from the Grim Comet, as well as from the Windmill of Time, both eras of Japan find themselves under imminent threat. While the story’s plot puts the primary focus on the present-day confrontation with the comet, I imagine many long-time fans of this franchise will get much more joy out of the moments that return to the Feudal Era as Yashahime Episode 44 has a bit of an Avengers: End Game moment with numerous long-time franchise characters coming together to stem the demonic onslaught. This sequence gives everyone that has popped in and out of this series for the past two seasons a moment in the spotlight. It’s always fun to see these sorts of moments come together.

While this coming together of the larger cast claims much of this episode’s hype, Yashahime Episode 44‘s focus is still in the present. The struggle to stop the comet from destroying our world is handled excellently. The confrontation never feels like it is being dragged out, nor does it go down so smoothly as to feel like an unearned win. Rather, the narrative manages to strike exactly the right level of struggle to make the outcome land just where it needs to.

But even as the episode’s marquee moment comes to a close, the story takes a left turn I did not expect. This twist sets up the remainder of this season for a surprising new threat, yet not completely out of left field either. This turn of events has me excited to see how the story will resolve the current situation in the future.

As one would expect of a story with the stakes of Yashahime Episode 44, the visuals set up the scale and impact of the numerous conflicts it presents to the viewer. New weapons, new moves, and augmented versions of characters’ signature attacks all get trotted out to wow the audience. These endeavors largely succeed, though a couple of moments feel like a character or two seem almost too powerful when compared to what they have been shown to do previously. But hey, it’s a hype episode. No harm in going a little overboard now and then.

When all is said and done, Yashahime Episode 44 manages to deliver in all the ways it needs to, while also ending on a surprising narrative flourish. It was a joy to see all the various characters get a chance to shine and I look forward to seeing what’s in store for next week.

Yashahime Episode 44 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.