The second episode of Ayakashi Triangle starts with Suzu helping Matsuri change into girl clothes. On their way to school, Suzu and Matsuri were talking and the first commented that he should not grope himself in girl’s form, while he asked her if she would not check herself had she been the one who got gender-swapped. Using sweets to distract her — and it was shown in the very first episode how Suzu loves to eat, especially sweets, Matsuri reminds her that she should ignore the Ayakashi.
After getting on the bus to go to school, Suzu gets disappointed Matsuri did not sit closer to her or next to her and realizes how they had grown apart when she gets to see Matsuri with a smartphone, and she did not have his contact. Unbeknownst to them, Shirogane is stalking them from afar.
Matsuri Becomes Popular As A Girl
At Hokusai High school, when Matsuri appears in his new form as a girl and calls the attention of both boys and girls there. Before Suzu could think over how distant the two of them had become, her friend Yayo clings to her thighs while Lu takes pictures of the two of them. Matsuri observed the scene and began to wonder if being girl friends meant they could freely touch each other like that, and if that type of interaction was the norm. When the three friends were talking, Matsuri noticed something and stormed out of the classroom. After that, Suzu left it too and went after her friend to see what was going on — possibly Shirogane?
Later on, Yayo and Lu, after Suzu introduced them to Matsuri, not only comment on how she is fashionable and a tomboy but also that she is “grammable”, that is, attractive and interesting enough to be suitable for posting on Instagram. But before —
Shirogane’s Plan Goes Awry
Shirogane, who had been stalking Matsuri and Suzu, summons a servant to steal the scroll where Matsuri had sealed his power from the ninja exorcist, however, he ends up trying to devour Suzu by himself, and Matsuri comes to her rescue. Had he told his friend the truth about her being an ayakashi medium from the very beginning, he could have led her to have agency, but that would not have served the purpose of the anime, which is to have him storming everything with his blows, which are good and well animated, spurring into action, saving the damsel in distress and providing even more moments for fanservice. In this save, the two girls almost kiss.
It seems that my authority as the kind of ayakashi is useless in this form — Shirogane.
Matsuri: A Girl Friend Of Suzu’s
Shirogane finally realizes he is too cute in his current form, looking more like a pet than a scary and powerful monster. He also notices how strong Matsuri is, who defeated his servant Tadare with a single blow. Matsuri, on his hand, also realizes something important — he does not have to be aware of Shirogane since there are other ayakashi that see Suzu as their target to replace him as the King of Ayakashi.
It is then revealed that, as part of Matsuri’s plan to defend and protect Suzu, he had asked her to be one of her girlfriends, so he could protect her better. She reflects that Matsuri is a boy, they sit next to each other on the bus, and exchange contacts, and both blush, but Suzu comments that it is not considered weird for girl friends to sit so close to each other. It is hilarious when Matsuri states that he will play the perfect girl in public because he is far from being a perfect girl, let alone behaving as such! Meanwhile, Shirogane keeps on stalking them and reflecting on how powerful Matsuri is.
When arriving home, Matsuri then questions his grandfather regarding his relationship with Shirogane. Turns out that, when he was younger, Seigen spent more than a decade fighting against Shirogane, who used to be an ayakashi so feared and respected to the point that humans used to worship him in a shrine. After a while, nevertheless, Shirogane became wilder and more violent, all of a sudden, and rumor has it that he stopped interacting with humans ever since. He further explains to Matsuri that Suzu’s life force, being an ayakashi medium, her reserve of haku (physical energy), has grown massive. After that, Matsuri reports his newfound news to his friend. At least it seems he decided to stop leaving her in the dark altogether. Ayakashi mediums’ haku levels are off-the-charts. Therefore, if an ayakashi devours such an ayakashi medium, it would gain incredible power.
A Super-Rare, Monstrous Calorie Dessert?!
It is funny and not out of character at all that Suzu defines herself then, from what she understood out of the explanation Matsuri gave to her about kon (spiritual energy), haku and ayakashi mediums, as “a super-rare, monstrous calorie dessert”! For her who loves dessert so much — this self-definition is more than fit. It gets even funnier when she pictures herself as such, the visuals are amazing! This episode provides more than just fanservice — it adds to world-building, and character-building, while also providing some very good laughs. One of the top moments is when Matsuri needs to go to the bathroom — you need to see for yourself. The horror, the shame!
Hard to imagine that, considering the censorship, die-hard fans of both Ayakashi Triangle and ecchi anime series must be dying to see the uncensored version, probably on DVD/BD only, for the bath scene alone. While being fanservice, it is interesting that, during this bath, Matsuri reflects on how hard it is to be a girl. To watch one’s skirt, not to spread one’s legs… Kudos for those moments of reflection.
When Suzu appears suddenly during Matsuri’s bath, the viewers can notice something is off about her, and it was Shirogane who tried to get his paws on the scroll once again. Shirogane is double wrong when he thinks he can open the scroll and not be chased by a naked Mitsuri. An amazing magical girl transformation puts Matsuri into exorcist ninja gear in this action-packed second part of the episode. Some new ninja tools are revealed as well.
The final moments of the episode are even more full of surprises and the closure is amazing, the mythology is expanding, and the cliffhanger makes the future of the story look good! Do not get fooled by the slow burn in the first half, and be prepared for more fun and interesting stuff to come next week. Ayakashi Triangle has become better than expected within the course of a single episode! Now, more fun and action and stuff to come with Shirogane looking so cute like a pet cat.