Kyokai no Kanata - 03

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With the arrival of the Hollow Shadow, the main characters of Kyokai no Kanata face a dangerous foe while still learning to understand one another.

It’s actually somewhat surprising that the Hollow Shadow has reached the main characters already.  I was sort of expecting that to be the climax of the show, with Mirai and Akihito preparing for its arrival all throughout the anime.  Instead, the (current) big bad shows itself relatively early.

On the off chance that you’re wondering what exactly a youmu is, the beginning of this episode gives us some explanation.  A youmu is the manifestation of human animosity.  So “as long as people exist, youmu will exist.”  Based on events on this episode, this information is invaluable for understanding what’s going on, especially with the Hollow Shadow.

As the Hollow Shadow draws nearer, though, the other Spirit World Warriors begin showing what they can do.  Since the weaker youmu become more aggressive when the Hollow Shadow approaches, the Spirit World Warriors have to do their best to destroy them, or at the very least fight them back.  We see Ayaka and Hiromi both creating barriers to try to direct the Hollow Shadow away from the center of the city.  At the same time, Hiromi fights some youmu back with his awesome magical scarf.

With the Hollow Shadow comes Sakura Inami, who I’m tentatively assuming is the sister of the Spirit World Warrior Mirai had to kill after she was possessed by the Hollow Shadow.  My guess is that Sakura harbors some animosity toward Mirai for killing her sister, and thus is tracking her down in order to exact revenge.  An eye for an eye, so to speak.  Further, I would guess that her anger toward Mirai helps fuel the Hollow Shadow.  Why else would she have shown up at the same time as that dangerous youmu?

The next episode looks like it will be action packed.  I’m sure Akihito’s immortality will play a useful role in the fight against the Hollow Shadow.

Kyokai no Kanata Episode 4 Preview

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