Kyousogiga TV – 06

Well after taking a break last week to explore real life locations in Kyoto, Kyousogiga is back with a jam-packed episode focused on Myoue once again.

There is a lot to think about in this episode from the reveal that Myoue was actually dead and revived as an immortal against his wishes to the fact that Koto’s Master is indeed her father and that Lady Koto appears to be her mother, the whole episode felt lightning fast but well paced at the same time.

I am I only one who found Monk Myoue extremely creepy in the flashbacks of how Myoue became immortal?  There is a flippant almost mocking edge to his interaction with the young Myoue that gave me shivers – it served as a stark contrast to the maternal warmth that Lady Koto seems to emanate.  Monk Myoue’s attitude seems to be that since the young Myoue threw away his life, he had every right to pick the child up and do as he pleases, foisting immortality onto him against his wishes and wilfully adopting him simply because Lady Koto said she liked children.  However at the same time the Monk isn’t forcing the young Myoue to do anything, once he makes the child immortal he simply steps back and gradually lets Myoue come to him on his own.  It seems to be a slow process judging by the changing seasons in the background, but the young Myoue does grow attached to his new chance at life, adopted parents and siblings.

I found it interesting that Monk Myoue could deliver the news of immortality in such a flippant manner to a clearly distraught and suicidal child – it made me wonder if perhaps the Monk is also afflicted with a “small case of immortality” and has become distanced from any feeling of horror at the idea of it, passing it off as “you’ll get used to it eventually”.  It would certainly make sense for Monk Myoue to also be immortal given the massive stretch of time this show encompasses – the siblings clearly expect their parents to still be alive and well, even now that they’ve left the static Mirror Capital.  The more we see of Monk Myoue the more there seems to be to him.  The cheerful, patient and intelligent man we see in Kurama’s memories is also the unnerving, aloof but ever smiling man from Myoue’s memories.

You can understand the wishes of the present-day Myoue in light of his past.  The Mirror Capital has indeed become like some sort of inescapable hell for him.  His duties, immortality and siblings all thrust upon him without his permission, and with the stabilising force of his adopted parents stripped away, Myoue’s life in the Mirror Capital is now a neverending cycle of boredom.  Koto’s arrival is a literal breath of fresh air and a valid way out for Myoue – he’s lived long enough to know that deaths release is what he wants.  After all his immortality is what is permanently separating him from his birth family, I’m sure the feelings that drove him to commit suicide as a child are still there.

Myoue seems to recognise that Kurama & Yase’s desire to reunite with their parents is much stronger than his own – even going so far as to warn Koto about their singleminded obsession and how she could get caught up in it.  Again this difference in attachment is probably down to their difference in nature.  Myoue had his entire life turned upside down by Monk Myoue & Lady Koto’s strange selfishness, he owes them his life but he never asked for anything they gave him – they actually took his right to choose when his life ends from him.  By contrast Kurama and Yase owe their very existence to their parents and have never known anything but the world they gave them, and they feel trapped and directionless without the input of their creators.

And then into this mix of family relations we have Koto who is perhaps the only true biological child of Monk Myoue and Lady Koto.  Koto’s arrival in the Mirror Capital shakes up the stagnant world the siblings have been living in, it’s entirely understandable that they are all drawn to her and she indeed proves to be the key to reuniting them with their parents – can’t wait to see them all together next week!

That being said I found it interesting that Koto didn’t recognise her mother from Myoue’s drawing, but did recognise Lady Koto once she met her in person.  Same for Myoue not really having a reaction to the picture of Koto’s father beyond “he’s way too young looking”.  While I am fairly certain that Koto’s father is Monk Myoue (they have the same voice & eyes), I’m not sure why he looks so young now, although I do wonder if it has something to do with him handing over his name & prayer beads to the present day Myoue.

So yes, yet another stellar episode for Kyousogiga – this show has all the makings of a classic, and unless it all falls apart in the next few episodes I’m fairly certain it is going into my favourites.