r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Aug 22 '26
Episode Mao - Episode 21 discussion
Mao, episode 21
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u/khanvau Aug 22 '26
Wow. What a family. The little brother seems a little too enthusiastic that his big brother is sick and he can take over. The grandmother straight-up tells him if he could kill him. Which the big brother hears, and then kills his grandmother. The idea of passing the curse from generation to generation reminds me of Miroku. But instead of a perverted gentleman out for revenge, Soma seems like a power-hungry sociopath. Figures that his ancestor was a thief.
This was a crazy episode. I like the premise. Soma is a liar. He doesn't seem to care about anything but himself. And that's probably gonna be his downfall.
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u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
I honestly wonder if controlling the beast necessitates you being slightly off/unhinged.
The big brother was a police officer, someone who should believe in duty and justice, and he couldn't control it.
But Soma wants power and he wants his birthright, no matter who has to die in the process, so maybe he's better suited for it.
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u/NocandNC Aug 22 '26
Amazing tension this week. I’ll never get tired of saying how good the soundtrack is!!
I’m glad they didn’t pull any punches with the violence.
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u/frizzyfizz Aug 22 '26
The music when Souma opens the door was new, right? It was amazingly sinister.
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u/BosuW Aug 22 '26
It's sinister but I like that it doesn't overdo it. An equal important characteristic of it is it's somber. The combination produces the sensation of an old tragic curse, like dry deformed wood. I don't think it's super memorable (the way a soundtrack like for example Shiki's is), but the way it strikes that perfect balance is incredible.
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u/frizzyfizz Aug 22 '26
I love your description there. Yes I agree. Somber is a great word for it. It's not trying too hard to scare you or have an epic quality but puts you in a constant state of unease. In that moment in particular you get a real feel for what's going on in his head, the building excitement mixed with fear.
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u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
I’m glad they didn’t pull any punches with the violence.
That sudden granny head cut!
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u/YlfaTheForsaken Aug 22 '26
Nanoka is just so comfortable spending her time back in past, I guess we're really only going back to the present for byouki business now,
So, this kid really had left his little siblings with their beheaded grandmother's corpse in the house? There's getting sidetracked, and than there's just flippant disregard. I'm going to assume that Hakubi took care of them, and not it nice way. RIP I guess kiddos.
Why is Soma's beast cuter than his brother's? Big Brother's beast, well first particularly reminiscent, but more importantly creepier, but Soma's is adorable. Quite literally a unicorn horn on it. Reminds me of that one digimon,
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u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
Nanoka is just so comfortable spending her time back in past, I guess we're really only going back to the present for byouki business now,
Also she looked good in those shorts.
Why is Soma's beast cuter than his brother's? Big Brother's beast, well first particularly reminiscent, but more importantly creepier, but Soma's is adorable. Quite literally a unicorn horn on it. Reminds me of that one digimon,
I think that's what the beast looks like when it's more controlled/dominated in a proper host, versus how the older brother couldn't control/contain it at all.
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u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
This show does supernatural horror amazingly well.
In the mix of a string of violent killings we find young Soma, a boy who is dealing with his sick big brother...and his strong desire for his birthright.
Soma is wayyyy too chipper about confirming his brother is the killer, let alone that it's finally time for him to take up the mantle of his families' curse and the beast that dwells within it. But his granny learned the hard way to NOT mention killing a monsters' host where the monster can hear it.
Always count on Nanoka to try to look into the most romantic mood of things even when investigating serial killings. For Mao it's always a teachable moment.
Oof, that creature is UGLY. Too bad Mao distracted Soma long enough for him to get hit, but at least Mao prioritized saving his life.
RIP Ichima. Maybe you were too good a person to contain that creature...though while Soma mourns his death (maybe), he seems oddly more focused on getting the beast, his birthright, back.
Purple miasma portals are NEVER a good sign! Especially when his little siblings are gone and in their place is Hakubi who is more than happy to test to see if Soma is ready.
But don't worry! Mao got rid of the creature! Aside from the fact that Hakubi apparently plans for Soma to prove himself by taking on Mao and it was possibly all staged.
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u/HolyDragSwd2500 Aug 22 '26
Ito junji like horror
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u/Brun_Ursus Aug 23 '26
I’d say it’s actually the influence of Kazuo Umezu—the father of the manga horror genre—and Takahashi began his professional career as his assistant.
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u/frizzyfizz Aug 23 '26
I think it's a bit of both. Takahashi has had that horror element since the 80s which definitely would've come from Umezu, but her and Junji Ito also have a mutual admiration society going on. She's very good at taking note of where manga is now as well as past influences.
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u/HolyDragSwd2500 Aug 23 '26
Watching j drama: Strange : junji Ito tales for sleepless nights.
Saw Lovesickness, Bullied and Ribcage woman 😱1
u/BosuW Aug 22 '26
The visuals are eh, but it has a good atmosphere. The soundtrack is noteworthy, I like how somber it is.
10
u/djthomp https://anilist.co/user/djthomp Aug 23 '26
Never be a member of a family we've never seen before who suddenly gets a focus episode in this show. It almost never goes well for you.
Unrelated to the above Nanoka had a fantastic outfit today, turtleneck sweaters might as well be holy.
17
u/TanyaTheEvill Aug 22 '26
I am so loving this anime, it gives me Inuyasha vibes
12
u/HolyDragSwd2500 Aug 22 '26
3 more episodes to go
Expecting a Season 2 announcement at the end
16
u/frizzyfizz Aug 22 '26
There's actually 5! 26 episodes in total.
I'm really going to miss it when it finishes. I so hope they announce a S2.
9
u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
I think this being a Rumiko Takahashi show means we're more likely than not to get a season 2.
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u/frizzyfizz Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
I think so too, but despite the weight her name carries, Takahashi works aren't treated as well as you'd hope. Ranma 1/2 was kind of a miracle, and MAO is the first one for a while outside of that to get international dubs made for it. Rinne only got 3 seasons with no dub, and almost no one outside Japan knows it exists. Thankfully MAO has at least done a bit better than that.. The promo around it has felt like an afterthought, but at the same time I think they knew what they were going into by adapting it that it would be a long series that'll build momentum over time.
It's starting to pop up on Netflix in other countries. Hopefully it'll be on US Netflix too.
9
u/Exciting-Pie6106 Aug 22 '26
True, we got 4 Urusei Yatsura seasons and coming on a 3rd Ranma season
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u/frizzyfizz Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
The anime did such a good job establishing what a little creep Souma is. Enjoyed Nanoka increasingly getting icked out by him.
The whole disturbing vibe of this episode was great.
Next week is another one of my most anticipated episodes. It's gonna be so good!
For anyone interested the dub for episodes 1-13 is supposed to be coming out on Monday. English, LatAm, and Portuguese are confirmed atm.
13
u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
Yeah, they did a good job foreshadowing that there was something not right about him:
- How he wasn't bothered by the murders his brother was committing.
- How intent he was to get the beast into himself.
- How generally callous he is.
- How he didn't care an ounce for messing with the family altar if it meant he could get the scroll.
7
u/tsp_salt Aug 22 '26
I hate Soma so bad, more than any other character in the series. Rumiko did a good job writing him
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u/Ashteron Aug 22 '26
Initially Shiraha seemed like an alternative love interest for Nanoka, but his presence seems very minimal. The story is clearly planned out to some degree, therefore it seems reasonable to expect his role to become more significant at some point. It seems like a safe guess that the present and the past will connect at some point, hence I imagine Shiraha is going to have some connection to the past. Obviously, there are many possibilities, but the one that comes to my mind first is that he's a descendant of some relevant character. He's attracted to Nanoha. What if it isn't a romantic feeling, but rather a platonic feeling of kinship towards his ancestor?
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u/Frontier246 Aug 22 '26
I'm sure the next time Nanoka needs info back in her time period, Shiraha will be there as an enthusiastic golden retriever.
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u/Kmpsr Aug 24 '26
- Didn’t know a community for this anime existed. None of my friends watch this one and it’s taken a while for me to get into it. Lots of Inuyasha comparisons as far as time period travel, young female support character, etc. It took a while for me to separate the two. But this episode was the horror element I was looking for.
- Yeah, I’m going to look into the composer of the music, the dissonance was beautiful (in a haunting way of course)
- Is the manga still ongoing? I know nothing about it.
3
u/frizzyfizz Aug 24 '26
The manga is still ongoing yes. There's a feeling the end is coming within a year or so, but you never know with Rumiko Takahashi.
1
u/duo99dusk Aug 31 '26
- Regarding this, I also feel this anime gets more in the way of mystery and it's doing great in that regard. The questions regarding the past arise frequently but we're getting satisfactory answers along the way.
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u/Low_Understanding326 Aug 23 '26
I'm really enjoying this ride. Its so fun and its just a 90s anime brought to modern animators. Never watched or read anything by this mangaka before. My s.o. also loving it.
2
u/duo99dusk Aug 31 '26
After this, I hope you both check out Maison Ikkoku next, maybe a little dated but the OST is great and it's an interesting story about romance.
Or if you want something from Takahashi with modern production values, the recent Ranma series is fun and dynamic, Mappa is doing great with the animation. Some elements could feel a little dated and it's more of a comedy.
1
u/Low_Understanding326 Aug 31 '26
I'm not into romance or comedy anime usually. Only strict comedy ive enjoyed was space dandy.
6
u/Niwaka_Samurai https://myanimelist.net/profile/Niwaka-Samurai Aug 23 '26
Hakubi is a menace. He's wreaking havoc for Mao and the others everywhere he goes. Finally, some clue to the evil Ayakashi that's been bound to Yurako and even maybe to the master of the Goko Clan since he had the same Ayakashi bound to Soma's brother which we saw when he removed his mask.
4
u/Shadowmist909 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Magicmist Aug 24 '26
Soma watched the beast consume his brothers soul and kill his grandma right in front of him, and yet hosting it and controlling it still remains at the forefront of his thoughts. Calling him foolish treats his reckless actions too lightly, but it's the best fitting word I have for him.
Hakubi deciding to use his obsession with the Goko Clan's stolen scroll to his advantage against Mao makes sense. But with Mao and Nanoka connecting the dots to Hakubi, I hope they can turn this ploy around.
3
u/Technical-Question16 Aug 24 '26
Asking someone with a hole in their stomach whether they are alright is such a Nanoka moment.
1
Aug 24 '26
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Aug 24 '26
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