Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03
半妖の夜叉姫 03
Hanyou no Yashahime episode 03

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Towa is annoyed that her sword Kikujumonji broke in the battle with the centipede youkai. Further, she’s angered at how this youkai defeated Setsuna. As such, Towa’s broken blade becomes a youki sword–an energy blade created from youkai energy. She injures the centipede youkai, but doesn’t kill it. As such, the youkai attacks Towa’s adopted little sister and other family. Setsuna uses this moment to slay the youkai.

Setsuna rejects Towa’s attempts at reaching out, claiming she doesn’t know Towa. Moroha tweaks Setsuna by addressing her as Setsuna-chan. However, she is able to determine that both girls are hanyou (half youkai, half human), and that their father was the dai-youkai, Sesshoumaru. Setsuna claims to not know whom her father is.

Back in the Feudal Era, the youkai hunters meet with Kaede to discuss Setsuna. Kaede confirms Setsuna is the daughter of Sesshoumaru. Back in the present, Setsuna challenges Towa, who doesn’t want to fight. A Hitokon youkai possesses Towa, bringing out her youkai powers. Thus Setsuna gets her battle. When Mei pleads with Towa, the Hitokon leaves Towa and possesses the girl. Setsuna expunges the tiny youkai, saving the girl.

Meanwhile, the youkai hunters report on how the Tree of Ages contained a Hitokon. This explains how Setsuna and Moroha were sent to the present time. In the present, Souta and his wife discuss the situation as they are sheltering Setsuna and Moroha. Souta is sure Moroha is the daughter of his older sister, Kagome. Setsuna and Moroha discuss things. Moroha determines that Setsuna has been cursed by a Dream Butterfly.

Thoughts/Review:

There’s a lot of mystery, but a lot of intrigue contained in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03.

Setsuna

The one thing I’ve noticed about Setsuna is that she has the air of her father, Sesshoumaru. That aside, we learned some interesting things about Setsuna in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03.

• She apparently hates the fact that she doesn’t have full youkai powers.
• Sesshoumaru gathered the newborn Setsuna and Towa from Kaede. No word on what happened to their mother.
• Years later, Sesshoumaru apparently had Setsuna seek out Kaede, possibly because at 14, she’d be considered an adult woman who’s being kicked out of the nest.
• Setsuna has amnesia, apparently caused by some youkai called the Dream Butterfly. As such, she doesn’t remember Towa or her parents.

Setsuna is all business, like her father. But she also cares for others, like her father. As such, I expect she’ll warm up to Towa and Moroha. That aside, she seemed indifferent traveling to modern Japan.

Moroha

Moroha is interesting. As of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03, she walks the line between a fun character and an annoying character. Be that as it may, we did learn a few things about her.

• She was easily able to determine that Kikujumonji was a fake and not the real sword.
• Moroha was able to confirm that Setsuna and Towa were related. Further, she was able to deduce that the twins were hanyou, and that their father was the infamous Sesshoumaru.
• While Setsuna attempts to keep her distance from others, Moroha is very passionate. One one hand, she’s happy-go-lucky. On the other, she’s very serious. And she cares about others.
• We got (partial) confirmation that Moroha’s mother is Kagome.
• Moroha has keen insights. She’s able to deduce a great many things, such as Setsuna’s curse. But then being a bounty hunter who specializes in youkai, she’d have to know something to be good at the job.
• I liked how Moroha reacted to being in the present time. This is all one big adventure for her and she’s rolling with it.

So while Moroha has the potential to be an annoying character, at the moment, she stays on the fun side. Hopefully, the writers keep her there.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I’m insanely behind, but I’ll wrap up my review of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03 with some final thoughts.

• Based on the first episode, I expected the three girls to immediately return to the past. But that didn’t happen. Frankly, I like that.
• We got to see Souta’s wife. So “yay” there. 🙂
• Its interesting that Kohaku apparently didn’t know that Setsuna was hanyou. Since he traveled with Sesshoumaru for so long, one would think Kohaku might have sensed something different about her. But then, why didn’t Kaede say something earlier?

In the end, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 03 was a fun episode to watch. I’m looking forward to watching more.