Inu x Boku SS - Episode 10

Surprised?

Seeing as how slow the past few episodes were, I was starting to get fed up with the lack of plot development in Inu x Boku SS. Sure, the prospect of Kagerō returning gives me hope that the episode will be funny at the least, but I doubt that's what many people, including myself, are expecting from this series. So when Kagerō was giving his big S&M rant, dragging Ririchiyo along in the process, I had mixed feelings about the scene. On one hand, I truly got a good laugh out of how Kagerō attempts to classify everything as either a sadist or a masochist. However, I also realized that dragging Ririchiyo along while he does this means she won't be able to make it to her "coffee date" with Sōshi, which had already been postponed once before.

When Ririchiyo finally manages to return to Ayakashi Hall, that was when everything started to pick up. Sōshi really surprised me when it seemed like he was taunting Ririchiyo after she had went to apologize to him for not being able to make it to the "coffee date". However, this may have been the trigger necessary to allow Ririchiyo to finally realize that the "arrhythmia" she has been experiencing is actually love. The dialogue-less portion of the episode, accompanied by the great background music really accentuated the tension of that situation. I'm sure both parties involved are at a loss of what to do, wondering about what the other person is doing now.

However, it turns out that Sōshi's actions were based off the assumption that Kagerō had told Ririchiyo about the "important matter", making them seem a bit less sudden. The confrontation that came next between the former master and servant was undoubtedly the highlight of the episode. The calm and composed Sōshi, whose anger was obviously suppressed, going up against the arrogant troll, that is Kagerō, in a clash of blades was a very refreshing shōnen scene, given that the majority of this series has been shōjo-like so far. The cliffhanger at the end (not really a cliffhanger for me since I read the manga already) was like the icing on the cake of this episode.

All of next episode should focus on Sōshi's past. I'm hoping that every last detail in the manga will be adapted since this part of the story is very important to the plot. The final episode should theoretically cover Chapter 10 - the best chapter that I've read thus far and the perfect one to end this season with (assuming there's going to be a second season).