境界のRINNE ep 48
Kyoukai no RINNE 48

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Tamako decides to catch the Black Kitsune (fox) spirit since there is a ¥50,000 bounty attached. She catches her son Sabato stealing the unique Shinigami scythe Oihagizuki, but her protective barrier on it electrocutes him. Sakura recovers Oihagizuki, which then registers her as its master. Once she’s purified seven spirits, she can give the scythe up. Sabato attempts to steal it, but fails. Renge shows up, trying to get the ¥50,000 bounty. She and Rinne clash over this, causing them to lose their scythes.

Sabato collects the two scythes in order to sell them, but the spirit of the Black Kitsune soon possesses him. Kitsune-Sabato again attempts to take Oihagizuki, but as before, he is electrocuted. Renge thinks that since the barrier on the scythe is against men, she can use the unique scythe. However, since Oihagizuki doesn’t recognize her at its master, Renge can’t use it. Renge clashes with Kitsune-Sabato, but is defeated. Kitsune-Sabato starts eating the inari sushi Sakura prepared, allowing her to purify the spirit and free Sabato. With her seventh purification done, Sakura gives the scythe back to Tamako, but she’s not awarded the ¥50,000 due to being human. Sakura then turns down an offer to do more work.

Thoughts/Review:

Well, at least this episode was fun, even though it advances nothing.

Sabato Returns with Tamako and Renge

Other than a cameo or so, Sabato hasn’t been in many of the episodes of late. That’s been a good thing. A little Sabato goes a long way.

That said, Sabato constantly on the receiving end of an electrocution reminded me of Lum zapping Ataru in Urusei Yatsura. So that wasn’t too bad, especially when Tamako baited him into the first electrocution.

Speaking of Tamako, a character like her always amuses me since she normally keeps her eyes shut. However, when she opens her eyes, you know the stuff is about to go down!

Surprisingly, Renge returns to perform Shinigami work. Well, ¥50,000 will do that I suppose. Still, I found it funny that Renge would fight Sabato.

Sakura the Shinigami

I have to say that I enjoyed seeing Sakura as a Shinigami. Maybe she has a career path to pursue with Rinne once she graduates. 😉 She’d need a haori like Rinne has, but she can do it.

Kyoukai no RINNE 48 doesn’t advance the Rinne x Sakura ship. That’s not unexpected considering how Takahashi-sensei is. After all, we wouldn’t want to see actual character development and growth, would we? However, I’m glad we got to see the romance touched on. Sakura now understands how difficult Rinne’s job is. She’d make an excellent wife for Rinne.

Conclusion

In the end, Kyoukai no RINNE 48 is a fun episode that allows Sakura to experience life as a Shinigami. Beyond that, there’s not much to write home about.