Episode eight of Isuca, titled “Trials,” is currently available on Crunchyroll for paid subscribers. Free subscribers can watch the same episode six days from now on March 20th.
I might as well begin by saying that Suseri’s mother is a manipulative c—t.
Suseri’s mother is using the latest event to point out that Sakuya, Suseri’s cousin, is not worthy of being the current head of the Shimazu Family. When Suseri calmly speaks out in defense of Sakuya, who successfully hurt Isuca, her mother tells her to “shut up.”
It is obvious that she is positioning Suseri to be the next head in order to get a grip on power. I think she wants to use Suseri as a puppet.
Suseri reveals her true disposition when she goes on a shopping trip with Shinichi. It shows that Suseri has it hard like Sakuya because she was raised to never raise her voice to anybody. That is a contrast from Sakuya, who is incredibly vocal.
I feel bad because the Shimazu Family has taught her to be a pushover when it comes to interacting with other people. It was saddening to see Suseri apologize to a guy that bumped her and ruined her clothes with ice cream.
It becomes the most awkward shopping trip.
I laughed when they run into Sakuya’s friends as the situation gets more awkward than it already is.
Things get funnier when they are spotted by another classmate.
Suseri is the obvious star of this episode because she starts to develop emotions and a genuine attraction to Shinichiro. It is the first time that Suseri was able to enjoy life as a normal girl and not as a candidate to lead the Shimazu Family.
This is the prelude to Suseri’s exorcism ritual, which she fails because the specter is powerful. Shimazu Family rules state that Suseri has to do it alone, but Shinichiro refuses to listen. It brings up the concept of an unexpected loophole, Shinichiro is not part of the Shimazu Family.
I laughed when Shinichiro was blunt about Sakuya, which I do agree.
The battle with the lightning beast is brutal, but Suseri succeeds with help from Shinichiro. She ultimately learns that it was important to break free from her upbringing to find the necessary resolve to subdue the lightning beast.
It was ultimately an enjoyable episode and I suspect Suseri has developed romantic feelings for him. I can imagine the two of them together because Sakuya is too abrasive. One would have to be insane to fathom a romantic relationship with Sakuya.
I am glad that the lightning beast, who Shinchiro named “Shiro,” is back.
This is a rare level-5 beast that they are talking about and it would have been a complete waste to keep him sealed forever.
