A freak bus accident kills three children, one of whom is Haruka, a frequent visitor at the orphanage and Ouri's friend. Ouri tries to convince one of the orphan boys to attend the funeral but the boy only says that the accident has gained media attention. He does not want to embarrass Haruka's memory by letting everyone know that Haruka hangs out with them.
However, that evening, the people who are at the funeral witness for themselves Haruka rise from her coffin. Her parents immediately brings her to the hospital on an ambulance while the monk who presided over the funeral informs Keisei about the incident.
apparently, there are more than one "shikabane hime"
Later, Ouri passes by the funeral parlor, intending to drop something off, when he sees all the commotion. Then, he notices the talking cat again, and this time, it leads him to a back alley beside the hospital. There, he sees Makina just as she slips inside the building through the window. Only after some hesitation does he follow her in.
Meanwhile, Keisei, with another monk and a woman, is investigating the other two children who died in that accident. He keeps in contact with Makina, whom he has sent to the hospital alone to eliminate the shikabane. However, before Makina could even fire the first shot, the shikabane gets to her first, hitting her in the stomach. Ouri also arrives and the shikabane immediately transforms itself back into Haruka, who then plays on his sympathy.
With her target gone, along with Ouri, Makina walks around the city, searching for the two of them. Keisei calls, confirming that the other two kids have also turned into shikabane. While taking shelter under the eaves of a storefront, Makina notices a sentai promo poster and gets an epiphany.
Meanwhile, Ouri continues to walk around with Haruka. The girl has refused to come home and seems to be leading him somewhere. It turns out it's a playground and there, waiting for her, are two boys -- the same two boys who also died in that accident. As Haruka begins to run towards them, Ouri grabs her hand to keep her from going. But Haruka only reveals her true power as she sends Ouri flying.
Makina arrives then and answers Ouri's questions. She says that the children are shikabane, come back from the dead because they are too attached to life on earth. Ouri then wonders if Makina is the same as them since she too has come back from the dead. She admits she is but adds that her specific task is to kill shikabane.
nothing like watching a bloody, clothes-ripping gun-shooting scene
Afterwards, Makina turns her attention to the shikabane, who have by now revealed their true forms. She is overpowered at first and even more once the shikabane combine together to form a gigantic blog. The creature picks up Makina with little effort and proceeds to rip her hair out, until Ouri calls Haruka and tells her that he has something to give her. The creature stops and seems to hesitate, long enough for Makina to escape from its grasp and pulverize it with bullets. One shikabane manages to flee but it only gets as far as the stairs where it is smashed into bits by the woman who is with Keisei and that other monk.
Ouri holds what remains of Haruka in his arms. Makina then arrives and tells him to hand the shikabane to her. With a heavy heart, Ouri does as she asks and turns his back, hearing only the gunshots. And after the task is done, he thanks her. Later, Makina asks what it was that he wanted to give Haruka. Ouri shows her a drawing of the orphanage and the children in it, saying that Haruka's friend wanter her to have it. Instead, he gives her the drawing and leaves, just as Keisei and company arrive. Keisei then reveals that Ouri is his brother, much to Makina's shock. Much later, Keisei explains that Ouri is grateful that Makina killed Haruka because it was only through that he was able to let go of her.
COMMENTS:
Awwwww. Stuff like this makes me sad. Poor Haruka-chan. Although she is one ugly mother when in her shikabane form. Seriously, that scene at the hospital actually scared me for about half a second.
Anyhoo, great action this episode. I truly did not expect this episode would be that good. It's made me decide to stay with this show...at least until I can't stomach Ouri anymore and then it's down to the droppage list.
Just one teeny weeny issue: it's annoying how Makina keeps getting wounded in every battle and then all of a sudden powers up and deals the deathblow in the end. I mean, come on! It probably works for some people but it gets tiresome.
So I guess we can expect this to be a monster-per-episode story-telling approach.
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