Half of this episode was a flashback…a very important flashback.
Young Yukari.
We begin with a flashback of the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay where Yukari, Hiyori’s mom Kagari and other familiar Toji fought against the Great Aradama that terrorized the world.
A young fangirl who would grow up to become a major pain in the neck. Also make sure to remember the gray haired twin tails girl.
Yukari and Kagari.
It was a fierce battle as the Toji barely hung on against the large army of aradama. Yukari and Kagari went onward to face the big dog because only they could perform a ritual strong enough to seal it. The others were ordered to stay back and help the soldiers on standby. One of them didn’t feel like waiting…
Minato. She looks familiar.
Minato came along to back the two up.
Back in the present we saw that Akane Origami, sister of Yukari Origami, was telling Kanami and friends about that fateful day.
Sana Maniwa.
She was joined by Sana Maniwa. The aforementioned dark skinned twin tailed girl and another one of the academy teachers. She, along with the other teachers we’ve seen up till now were in that group back then. Alongside Hiyori’s mother Kagari was Kanami’s mother as well…MINATO! Those who saw this coming, congratulations. Give yourselves medals because my jaw dropped. Even Kanami didn’t know. This could mean one of two things:
- The spirit inside Kanami’s okatana took the form of Minato.
- There is no spirit inside her okatana but SOMEHOW a part of Minato’s memories lives inside Kanami who communicates with her through her dreams.
The five presidents.
After the Great Aradama, named Princess Tagitsu, was “sealed” Yukari changed completely as she rose to prominence becoming the head of the Origami Family and ordering the construction of what would later be known as the S Equipment among other things. Kagari and Minato lost their Toji powers and went on to have Hiyori and Kanami respectively.
Akane researching the sealing ritual.
Akane grew more suspicious of what exactly happened during the ritual. She secretly researched the sealing ritual and found out that it required a Toji sacrificing herself. Said sacrificial lamb was meant to be Kagari. The technique involved using jin’i to enable the Toji to reach “infinity” speed and drag Kagitsu down to the Netherworld. Minato didn’t like this at all and at the last minute barely pulled Kagari out. This not only removed their Toji powers but shortened their lives.
When Akane saw Yukari speaking to something lurking in the deepest shrines her suspicions were confirmed, Princess Kagitsu swapped souls with Yukari trapping the latter in the Netherworld while the former concocted a scheme spanning over two decades to restore itself back to full power. The S Equipment, advancement in technology to power up the Toji and them hunting down aradama was all part of Kagitsu’s master plan.
Possible connection.
After the conversation Akane told Hiyori and Kanami that maybe this was fate. Their mothers’ teachings were passed down to them to carry on their legacies so it wasn’t all bad. Then Akane quietly looked at their okatanas wondering about a possible connection between the two.
Sayaka, the stray Toji.
We got a brief scene of Sayaka asking Mai what to do next because she was raisd her whole life to fight so she didn’t know anything else. Mai must protecc her while also think about her feelings for Kanami…I think. That’s what I got from the night scene.
Kanami and Dream Mama Minato.
Later in Kanami’s Dream World she told “Minato”, or at least the memory of Minato at age 17, about her recent discovery. However, every time Kanami dreams she forgets about the conversations she has with Minato upon waking up. The bright side is her body memorizes all the techniques Dream Mama teaches her.
The ampoule is alive.
After some team training from Sana’s veteran students and a discussion with Grandpa Friedman about the technology and its overall purpose to further “Yukari”s plans Sana took the ampoule with the “aradama juice” to Osafune for further research. However, unbeknownst to them the juice was alive and it informed the big dog of Akane’s location…
The show’s been getting better and better since the first fight with the Elite Toji.
The Yuri Empire 
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Firstly, I think the “dream” Minato is literally her toji self. As they said, they both lost their Toji powers after the event. I wonder if they liked each other? I mean, yeah, they had kids. But I am thinking they did this because they knew their lives were going to end soon, and they wanted to at least leave something to the world, instead of just being erased from history like Yukagitsu wants. Minato seemed VERY intent on keeping Kagari safe…and I think they said she was the reason that Kagari didn’t lose her life.
Suspecting a scene in a flashback when we learn the full truth where the ritual was proceeding, but then Minato decided there was no way she was letting Kagari die and leave her alone or something of the like, and thus the ritual is interrupted, Yukari is possessed, and flash forward to the present. Would explain why they refused to say anything about it, or do anything directly about it afterwards. They probably felt too guilty that they had done that to Yukari. Otherwise, if it was Yukari’s intent, I just can’t see a reason they would refuse to say anything about it.
Course, there’s also the possibility that their memories were taken too, and that’s why Kanami didn’t know her mother was a toji. That’s also a possibility to take into consideration.
I think Mai was honestly just struggling period with how to help Sayaka. I don’t think her mind was on Kanami, and I think she may have gotten over what she had for Kanami. it’s not exactly easy, especially for someone like Mai, to find an answer like that. I mean, Mai herself is probably struggling with her own self. And she’s not the type to be able to make decisions on the fly like Kanami is. Kanami would probalby have an answer right away, but it’s not Kanami’s position to make that answer, it’s Mai’s. She has to go out of her comfort zone, so to speak. A good hint of it was what that toji told her. It was not only advice that would help in combat, but advice that would help her overall.
it really has gotten so much better since then. I mean, it started with the Sayaka fight really.
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I knew it, the moment I saw Minato, I knew she had something to do with Kanami. My possible theory is that a Toji will have part of her consciousness imbued within the okatana so when Minato rescued Kagari and got corrupted in the process, she create some sort of a fail safe to protect what she left inside the blade.
From my observation, Kanami seems to be wielding the same okatana as her mother (the same hilt with the white cloth wrap) so the idea of Kanami’s mind coexisting in the same realm as Minato (or at least where she left off) is very likely. If this is the case, I wonder who wielded Sayaka’s okatana before her.
Let’s hope that Hiyori and Kanami won’t have to do a Kamikaze mission to destroy the great Oradama, they’re too young to suffer.
So Yukina was and is STILL a huge burden after 20 years?? Damn woman, how did u hold the title of school president til this day?
Also, that MaiYaka moment, so short yet so precious. I think Sayaka will be my fav in the show in no time
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I don’t think they’ll do a suicide. I’m pretty certain they’re going to find a way to make everyone happy.
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Yukina: burdensome Yukari fangirl back then, burdensome Yukari fangirl now. It really is a wonder how she survived all those years, unless she learned to piss people off only recently.
Sana, on the other hand…cool back then, cool as an adult. Hope she survives what’s coming next, though she does have a fair amount of death flags on her here as well. ;_;
Huh, so the Toji draw their powers from the Netherworld…essentially the same place the Aradama come from, right? Interesting, interesting. …Now I’m getting slight Ga-Rei:Zero flashbacks and seriously hoping this show doesn’t go anywhere in that kind of direction. It doesn’t seem likely, considering our heroines mindsets/Kanami/the general style of the show so far, but still…sacrifice etc is more in Ga-Rei: Zero’s direction, so let’s hope we’re not headed for some serious suffering.
Also means that the Jin’i works something like the common speedster powers for many superheroes, by accerelating time for the user, basically. Interesting.
Definitely didn’t guess that the dream-girl was actually Kanami’s 17-year old version of her mother, or that her mother was even involved in the Great Aradama incident, or even that she had a mother who was gonna be important to the show. Well done, show, on concealing that significance.
MaiYaka is justice. At the end during their little moment I just thought “dammit, just hug her! That’s clearly what she needs right now!” …So I hope/headcanon that Mai gave her a nice little cuddlehug just before bed. Would explain how Sayaka seems to be sleeping so soundly. Though she could just be hiding being awake like Mai sorta was.
I wonder if the Aradama in the test tube saw or heard anything more than just Akane’s location, or knows all the people who are there, or such…I hope not everything, like their plans, but it seems likely…/gulp. Next episode is likely gonna end in a disastrous and painful loss.
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I think it as it says, a bond of a new generation forged from the previous is without shadow of doubt the strongest. What happened in the past stays in the past as without that event, Hiyori and Kanami wouldn’t have been born and the friends they have met would have different lives without them. Minato and Kagari would agreed and never regret it as they cherished their daughters so much.
Katana Sentai Mikenger
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Pretty much.
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everyone should have a mom who trains them with useful skills in their dreams 😀
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True that.
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Hm, that wasn’t Chidori as I thought, but it was Minato. On top of that she’s Kanami’s mom AND she played an important part in the Great Aradama’s sealing. Cool beans, that.
Sealing the GA meant that a Toji had to be sacrificed and Kagari was the unfortunate candidate. She was prepared for that though. Minato wasn’t having any of that and saved her at the last moment…which meant that both their lives got shortened. Also, seeing as Minato’s jin’i wasn’t as strong as Kagari’s, I think that explains why she passed years before Kagari did. No regrets on her end, I’m sure.
Kanami’s quite fortunate in a way, she got sword training from her mother and she still is, only now its from when Minato was at her prime. This endless training probably explains why Kanami’s no pushover in battle. I wonder what super secret techniue was passed on to her.
Sana’s cool and with her and the Mokusa’s assistance, Team Kanami will have no prob–
Well, crap. “Yukari” knows where her sister is. This might not bode well…
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