Daemons of the Shadow Realm shows us one of the most wonderfully executed baited traps in Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child”. All with the intended target of the trap, a traitor within the ranks of the Kagemoris, taking it hook, line, and sinker. The resulting battle as well as the ripple effects from it give us an episode filled with bloody action and suspenseful drama.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child”: Details in Brief
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child” is the seventeenth episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, Ep. 10, Ep. 11, Ep. 12, Ep. 13, Ep. 14, Ep. 15, and Ep. 16 here) of this dark fantasy action adventure anime series overall, as well as being the first episode of the second cours. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, The Heroic Legend of Arslan).
Bones Film (Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ouran High School Host Club, My Hero Academia) is the animation studio behind this anime. Masahiro Andō is the director behind this anime, with Noboru Takagi as the writer, and Kenichiro Suehiro as the composer for the music.
Speaking of that music, the opening theme song for the second cours of Daemons of the Shadow Realm is “Back Shot” by Masanori Otoda. Meanwhile, “Kujaku” (孔雀; lit. ”Peacock”) by Kei Sugawara is the ending theme song for the same.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child”: The Good
As you can tell by the title, the baited trap plotline is the best part of Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child”. The trap itself turns out to be relatively simple: make Asa (voiced by Yume Miyamoto (JP) and Molly Zhang (EN)) appear to be alone after withdrawing much of her protection to support what is essentially a paramilitary operation. Then when the target of the trap shows up, they spring the trap, revealing that not only was the protection not withdrawn for the most part, but Asa isn’t even at the Kagemori manor to be present for any part of the trap. It’s the perfectly spun trap, and as I’ve said before, the fly flies right into it. Or rather, the fish swims right up to the anglerfish in this case. A most fitting choice here, since the bait is itself an anglerfish Daemon.
We saw who the trappee was in the final minutes of the previous episode, but this episode confirms that it is Akio Kuroya (voiced by Ryunosuke Watanuki (JP) and Zac Loera (EN)). Alas, we don’t know why he’s choosing to betray the Kagemoris. That will likely come in future episodes of Daemons of the Shadow Realm, perhaps even as early as the next episode. However, we do get a fantastic battle between his Daemons and the Daemons of Gabby (voiced by Misaki Kuno (JP) and Mikaela Krantz (EN)), featuring some smooth and stylish animation from the animation team of Bones Film. Oh, and copious amounts of blood and violence, both against human and Daemon. Heck, someone actually loses a whole arm, and blood is spurting from the stump for the whole scene. It’s certain to satisfy any action fan.
Oh, and this may just be my imagination, but Gabby’s attitude here makes me think that either she has a crush on Asa or that they’re already dating. This may just be my yuri radar being overly sensitive here, but the way she reacted to a casual threat to Asa makes her seem a bit more protective of Asa beyond mere friendship. Just a yuri fan’s thoughts here.
But What About Yuru?
That’s only half the story though. Yuru (voiced by Kensho Ono (JP) and Ben Stegmair (EN)) gets his own bit of action as well when he manages to take Hayato Shingo (voiced by Setsuji Satō (JP) and Eric Vale (EN)) hostage. Alas, it doesn’t last, but it does show how resourceful he is even when he’s a prisoner. As resourceful as his sister is for her role in the earlier trap. It creates an interesting duality between them, showing off their respective intelligences and capabilities. One with his own resources, and the other with the resources of an entire family. I’m already anticipating a reversal of this dichotomy when Yuru teams up with his own growing family.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child”: The Bad
Alas, Ep. 17 “Crybaby and Naughty Child” does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Yuru is incapacitated and no longer the hostage-taker, which creates a very tense situation. Unfortunately, the episode ending right on that moment basically leaves the audience (i.e. us) holding our collective breaths, waiting for the next episode to find out what Yuru’s ultimate fate is. At least the fate of the Kagemori traitor is pretty clear, and the next episode will just give us the nitty-gritty details.
Anime Recommendations
If even this amount of blood and violence wasn’t enough for you and you’re still left wanting for more, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, TRIGUN STARGAZE, and / or Kagurabachi. However, if you want more story-focused anime like the drama in this episode, then you might also like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, Journal with Witch, Witch Hat Atelier, and / or Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia.
What do you think of this week’s episode of Daemons of the Shadow Realm? Tell us your trapping thoughts in the comments section below.
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