Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 26
半妖の夜叉姫 弐の章 02
Hanyou no Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi episode 26

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Riku pays a visit to the temimi youkai, Mimisenri, to learn what the old youkai has heard about the Rainbow Pearls. Meanwhile, Towa arrives at a coastal fishing village, lamenting Setsuna ditching her. She learns about a dangerous youkai that targets women with long, flowing hair. Meanwhile, Moroha receives a bounty on some lesser youkai. She inquires about Bokusenou. Jyuubei gives her a lead and a potential big bounty. As such, Moroha finds Setsuna on the coast and briefs her.

A nun struggles to carry to large, heavy bags to her hut. As such, Moroha and Setsuna help her. The nun feeds them, but then reveals herself to be the snake youkai Moroha had been warned about. The youkai reveals how she used to protect the village and had saved a human fisherman. She fell in love with the fisherman and came ashore as a sea snake to see him. The other fishermen attacked the snake as evil, and the fisherman she loved “killed” the snake.

In her rage, the snake youkai transformed into a Gorgon-like Medusa youkai, turning people to stone. This included the fisherman she loved. Now that her hair was snakes, she resented human women as she can never return to her old, humanoid form with beautiful hair. The youkai exterminators arrive with Towa to help Setsuna and Moroha fight the youkai.

Setsuna gets a vision of a red thread of fate. As such, she follows it to the ocean floor, where the stone body of the beloved fisherman lies. Riku assists the girls as Setsuna brings the body to the surface. Thanks to the red fate line, the man is able to apologize to the youkai and confess to her. She returns to her non-evil self. The yashahime leave, then remember they didn’t ask about Bokusenou.

Thoughts/Review:

Well, it seems we return to the youkai of the week stories with Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 26. I’m kinda bummed about that.

Gorgon/Medusa

It is clear that the production staff took influence for the snake youkai’s evil form from Greek mythology. As such, the “Sea Snake Woman” turned into something very much akin to Gorgon, with the head of Medusa in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 26. And then we are treated to a tragic tale of love, rejection, then redemption.

As a stand alone story, I didn’t mind the tale told here. For a start, the girls didn’t end up having to kill this formerly, benevolent youkai. Indeed, thanks to Setsuna’s new powers, she was able to help the Sea Snake Woman find redemption and revert her to her benevolent youkai form. So that was cool.

What I didn’t like, aside from the return to the youkai of the week formula, is the fate of the beloved fisherman. I gather that thanks to Setsuna, he was able to commune with the sea snake youkai. That means that even though he’s basically a statue, he’s alive. So what happens to him? The Sea Snake Woman went back to the sea, and we never see what became of the statue. Presumably, Setsuna ditched it back into the sea. Sucks to be him, eh?

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 26 is a filler episode as the girls continue their new quest. Riku’s appearances remind us that there are the Rainbow Pearls to deal with as well.