The episode opens with Moroha narrating a recap of what happened to Rin, both what happened in the past and how she was freed from her curse at the end of the previous episode. She also talks about her parents ending up in the black pearl and how she had gotten it from Sesshomaru, and then had it taken away by Kirinmaru. This was the best way to open this episode, since these are both important plot points in this week’s story.

This episode also introduced the new opening for this season, and I have to say, I was kind of underwhelmed by it. From what we already know and from the visuals we see in the new opening, the tension is going to go up and the stakes are going to be higher… but this new theme song just feels a little too laid-back for what’s likely coming. It’s not a bad song, but right now, the tone just feels a little wrong. I hope that hearing this song more over the next few weeks will help me to appreciate it better.

The episode sees Rion encouraging Towa and Setsuna to have a reunion with their mother. They agree with her, and leave on Kirara. But as they do, Towa looks back at Riku and says she feels like she’s never going to see them again. A short while later, Rion delcares to Riku that she will be the one to confront Kirinmaru, but also adds that if she succeeds and kills Kirinmaru, that Riku will die, too. And that makes sense, since Riku was spawned from one of Kirinmaru’s horns. But we get dialogue from Riku that shows that he has no regrets, and he admits to falling in love with Towa. Even thought it appears he won’t get to be with her, getting to eat the “forbidden fruit” (which was an apple Towa gave to him in the seventh episode of the series when they first met) and experiencing the feeling of love are enough for him. Who knew way back when that simple gesture of sharing an apple would become something that would be referenced again much later in the series? Seeing this, though, it makes Episode Seven’s title of “Meeting through an Apple” mean more than it did on the surface way back when.

Meanwhile, Moroha applies her rouge to become Beniyasha to take on Kirinmaru in order to get the black pearl back. While she has powered up a little more since her last encounter with Kirinmaru, it obviously wasn’t enough to take down Kirinmaru. Sesshomaru senses what’s going on while he’s in the Tree of Ages with Rin, and he tells her and Jaken to stay there and not come out, whatever happens. And as Setsuna and Towa approach the Tree of Ages, they can see the battle that’s taking place.

In this episode, the eyecatches for the commercial break showed up a couple of minutes earlier than the halfway mark. When I realized that, I knew the rest of the episode would get intense. And sure enough, I was right. Sesshomaru takes on Kirinmaru, but Kirinmaru gives Sesshomaru the black pearl back. Kirinmaru makes it clear that if Sesshomaru loses this battle, he will have to bring Akuru to him (which was what he was holding over Moroha’s head in order to get the black pearl back). Before they can get too far in their fight, though, they are interrupted when Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha team up together to take on Kirinmaru. While the girls have gained some stronger powers and are starting to make a dent in their goal of taking down Kirinmaru, he’s still able to summon a large attack that he used against the Great Dog Demon. Sesshomaru jumps in the way, but before the blast hits him, he throws the black pearl to the ground, and it sucks in Moroha, Towa, and Setsuna as Takechiyo watches. Sesshomaru is hit with the attack, and he falls to the ground. Takechiyo grabs the black pearl and runs with it, but we don’t see what happens to him again in this episode. Rin and Jaken, meanwhile, come out of the Tree of Ages. The last we see of Sesshomaru, he’s obviously not doing all that great after being hit with that attack.

At the end of the episode, we see Moroha, Towa, and Setsuna walking around the Great Dog Demon’s burial area. Kagome and Inuyasha had seen something falling from the sky and went out to investigate. Kagome finds the girls first, and the reunion scene that takes place here starts out kind of amusing, but then becomes emotional. I will admit to shedding a couple of tears myself when mother and daughter were hugging at their reunion. It was interesting that the episode was originally setting up for Setsuna and Towa to have a reunion with their mother, but it ends up that Moroha finally gets to meet both of her parents instead.

And if that reunion at the end of the episode wasn’t enough, the preview shows that a character that we haven’t seen at all in this series is finally going to make an appearance in Episode 39. I’m very curious to see how the writers are going to incorporate this character, and hopefully there will be a logical reason for them to show up.

Additional posts about Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon:

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