Wow…
This episode was just incredible. This is what Tsubasa Chronicle should be, in every single way. A true masterpiece.
We get to see an episode entirely devoted to Kurogane’s past. He used to be the son of a demon-slayer and priestess. The country he lived in was the Japan Country, or rather Nihon Country. In this country, monsters and demons have been roaming free. Kurogane’s mother has been creating a barrier to keep their lands free, which takes a toll from her health. This border isn’t really perfect, and his father slays the ones that get through. An interesting fact is that Kurogane and Tomoyo seem to have different names. I think that that’s because of the different languages spoken in the worlds.
In any case, when he was young, Kurogane was an energetic little fellow. He really loved his mother, and he always looked up to his mother. Because his father was a demon slayer, he became inspired to learn how to fight. Over time, he began seeing his father as a rival. Then, at one night, it happened. Kurogane’s father ran into an extremely strong demon. His mother attempts to weaken it, even though her health already is incredibly weak, in order to help her husband. Still, she fails, and dies. Kurogane breaks when he sees this. When he sees his father, being devoured by the demon as well, he loses his mind and goes berserk.
That was so amazing. Afterwards, Kurogane has slain the demon, and continues to idly sit in his rampaged state. Tomoyo and her big sister then arrive, because of a dream she had. She then manages to calm him down, and he starts crying. In the end, it seems that Syaoran picked up a book in a library somewhere. This book told him Kurogane’s history. It’s indeed no wonder that he also starts crying afterwards.
With this episode, my respect for Kurogane has gotten even bigger than it already was. This episode explained bit about how he became the person he is today. We still don’t know what happened to him while he was under Tomoyo’s service, though I do have some theories. I believe that afterwards, he was admitted to the royal army, though somehow, he kept setting his mind on battles. He only wanted to fight stronger opponents, probably in false hope of getting his father and mother back. Over time, these feelings subdued a bit, though his lust for fighting didn’t. That’s why, once he was the strongest in the country, and kept causing trouble, Tomoyo decided to send him to Yuuko.
It was amazing because unlike the 4 episodes previous to it, it actually followed the manga 🙂