Overview (Spoilers Below): Himari and her friends go to investigate the unsettling rumors about Kagome Park, but the horror strikes too close to home when an uninvited guest comes knocking at Momochi House.
Our Take: Despite the events surrounding them in some of the previous episodes, Himari’s friends are still eager to explore more supernatural myths. This week’s episode shows that the mysterious Ayakashi at Kagome Park is no exception. You would think they’d learn after their first visit to Momochi House, but I guess not. However, unlike their previous encounters, this one appeared more dangerous than they thought, which spelled big trouble for Himari and her roommates. At first glance, this may seem like another episodic encounter with a random Ayakashi, along with some brief moments of character development. But apparently, it goes a lot deeper than I anticipated, as the Ayakashi, known as the Kagome Ghost, isn’t an Ayakashi after all. The Kagome Ghost broke through the barrier around Momochi House with Senno as its host. After spreading black feathers all over the house, frightening the lesser yokai, he reveals himself as Himari’s teacher, Mr. Nachi, which I can admit was a stunning surprise. It’s revealed that Mr. Nachi secretly planned to enter the Momochi House to claim Aoi as his shikigami, but that’s not even the shocking part of his mysterious scheme. The post-credits scene revealed that Nachi was responsible for leading the young Aoi to Momochi House and making him into a Nue. Thanks to its surprising twist, “A Raven-Black Storm” overcomes the series’s episodic formula to provide what seems to be the final arc of the season. At first, I thought Kasha would be the season’s villain based on his first appearance in “A Fourth Friend”, but the series proved me wrong with this episode, much to my intrigue. Although, that could change later on, maybe for its final episodes or a potential second season. With Mr. Nachi being revealed as the series’s true antagonist, it looks like Himari and the others are going to be in for the fight of their lives to protect their home and themselves.