Ah, finally Byakko gets her background! I must say that this has turned into quite an interesting family-drama between Seiran, Chien and Seijuu. Their background doesn’t feel complete yet, but then again, there are still five episodes left and these can be used to fill in the blanks that we’re still missing like their parents and why Seijuu has decided to go after the Hyuugake Gentoushuu in Mayuki.
At this point, I’ve also started doubting whether Byakko will change sides or not. At the beginning of the episode, we see her about to kill her master, until he reminds her how he gave her the name Byakko. It turns out that she grew up with Youko (that was her name, right?). Then Chien took Youko away and she was all alone until Seijuu picked her up.
Seriously, Byakko’s mood took huge swings throughout the entire episode, especially after Mayuki (in Hyugake Gentoushu-mode) pointed out towards her cocky mode that she was in fact really unsure of herself. She was really fun to watch, though. One moment she was crazily uttering her name over and over, the next she dresses up in a fancy costume to lure Mayuki’s friends to a deserted location.
And I must say, that this has been one of the most solid episodes of this series yet. There’s no botched storytelling, nor any far-fetched mystery and for once everything felt believable, even Byakko’s insanity (the series built up very well for that, in my opinion). It was also refreshing that for once Seiran was out of the picture, so that none other than Chien had to protect Mayuki.
