Ivan walked away. Shingo is dead. And Asuma is pissed because he didn’t even get to be the one who killed him.
Episodes 20 and 21 of Daemons of the Shadow Realm are probably the most packed the show has been so far, but they’re also two of the episodes I’ve enjoyed the most.
Asuma Had Been Waiting to Do That the Whole Time
Episode 20 wastes absolutely no time getting into the Ivan fight. Asuma deflects Right’s energy blast, nearly finishes Left, sends a deflected bullet through Yuru’s shoulder, and eventually backs off because the energy he absorbed from Left is putting way too much strain on his heart. That whole fight did a lot for Ivan too. He’s starting to feel like an actual threat rather than just another strong character who shows up to cause problems.
But Asuma finally going after Shingo was easily the best part.
He’s been hiding his killing intent behind Yozakura this whole time, right in front of Fujin and Raijin, and they never picked up on it because Yozakura was masking everything. Then he finally gets his hands on Shingo and you can tell this is something he’s been waiting for. Asuma wanted to kill Shingo himself because of what he did to the Kagemoris, especially his mother.
And then Ivan just kills him first.
Asuma being annoyed because Ivan basically stole his kill was hilarious. The fact that his response was basically “that wasn’t very nice of you” made the whole thing even better.
Ivan also tells Asuma that Yozakura is still alive, except she’s been reduced to this tiny moth-like form clinging to Asuma’s back. That feels like something the show is deliberately holding onto for later. Mineyama showing up afterward with dung beetle daemons that roll the bodies into balls small enough to fit inside a backpack was also such a ridiculous ability. I love how weird some of the daemon powers in this show are.
Higashi Has Been Running the Same Play Since the Sengoku Period
Episode 21 finally starts putting the Higashi stuff into a historical context. The previous twins showed up around 400 years ago, around the time of the Battle of Sekigahara, and Higashi had them fighting on the winning side. But even after that, he apparently turned them down.
That’s the part I really want an answer to.People are already throwing around theories about Tokugawa, the Date clan, and the whole Oshira-sama connection to Tohoku. None of that has been confirmed, but the pieces fit together pretty well.
Then Granny Yamaha recognizes Danji and Kiri almost immediately, which is probably the thing I’m most suspicious about.
Why does she know who they are?
She clearly knows more than she should, and I’m expecting that to become important later. I also just want Danji and Kiri to catch a break and actually get to live somewhere safe with their mother. The show keeps getting close to that possibility and then throwing another problem in front of them.
And Asa getting closer to Yuru again was probably my favorite quieter part of the episode. After everything they’ve been through, seeing them potentially become siblings again actually feels really nice. These two episodes had a lot going on, but that’s exactly why I liked them. The historical stuff, Asuma and Shingo, Granny Yamaha, Yozakura, and Asa and Yuru all feel like they’re slowly connecting to something bigger.