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Episode 1 Recap

The Early Years: Suzune, Jinta, Shirayuki, Motoharu

Originally, Jinta and Suzune weren’t in the best of households. Their original father, who would beat Suzune, they ran away from, and together they were rescued by Motoharu. He was the sentinel for a blacksmith village named Kadona. Sentinels, in Kadona, protected their Itsukihime, their princess, and also fought off demons to protect the village.

Motoharu, who was already a parent, didn’t just save Suzune and Jinta but took them in as his own and raised them as siblings to his daughter Shirayuki. She was the middle child between Suzune and Jinta, with Jinta being the oldest but despite being raised as siblings, Jinta and Shirayuki fell in love and Suzune was supportive, despite her own feelings for her own adoptive brother.

The Adult Years: Suzune, Jinta, Shirayuki, Kiyomasa

As years went by, Motoharu and Shirayuki’s mom, the Itsukihime, died, and she decided to follow in her mom’s footsteps as did Jinta follow in Motoharu’s. However, while the sentinel was treated as a lone position, the chieftain installed his son, Kiyomasa, to also be a protector of Shirayuki, renamed Byakuya in honor of her new position.

In these times, things were originally peaceful, though it became clear to anyone who knew that there was something different about Suzune. She remained eternally a child despite everyone else becoming adults. Because of this, she was forced to hide in Jinta’s now home, Motoharu’s former, though Suzune would sneak to Shirayuki’s temple and hide beyond the veil Shirayuki would sit.

In many ways, nothing changed while they were in private, even though formalities dominated Jinta and Shirayuki’s conversation while around others. But, soon, things changed.

The Betrayal: Suzune, Jinta, Shirayuki, Kiyomasa

With the Cheiftain’s influence, and despite knowing Jinta and Shirayuki’s feelings for one another, he arranges their marriage and gives Shirayuki a day to spend with Jinta, as a normal girl, before she is to commit to Kiyomasa. During this day, an extended date, Shirayuki is in bliss and Jinta, who has grown stoic in time, is happy but never forgetting his vows to protect the princess.

The date ends for them with Shirayuki confessing her love in words, and Jinta committing to showing it through actions – and this is the last sweet moment between them, for demons approach the town. One demon Jinta faces head on as the other goes to see Suzune. You see, Suzune seems to exist within a prophecy of the foresight demon, who has seen over a century into the future and knows, if Suzune learns about Shirayuki marrying and being with someone who isn’t Jinta, that would break her.

As predicted, it does, and Suzune, who allows herself to age, kills Shirayuki and the timing is made so by the time Jinta defeats the other demon, nearly losing his arm in the process, he can have Shirayuki die in his arms. With that, any love between Jinta and Suzune becomes strained, nearly severed, and Suzune, with losing Jinta’s love, vows destruction with him being one of the last things in the world she will destroy.

But, 170 years later, sometime in the 1970s, the world still exists and thanks to Jinta absorbing part of the demon he fought, he is still alive, seemingly hunting Suzune, perhaps with the intention of peace, maybe reconciliation, but a willingness to go to war.

New Cast and Characters

Suzune (Reina Ueda)

Suzune is Jinta’s little sister, likely by bond than by blood, who is a demon. However, to hide her identity, she would cover her demon eye, which is red, and suppressed her powers and demon nature to stay the size of a child. However, after a major incident, she rapidly grows up, her powers get unleashed, and her demon nature no longer becomes something she suppresses to continue living with Jinta.

Jinta (Taku Yashiro)

Jinta is a young man who has long to become more powerful, more agile, and more dependable, even when he was looked up to and thought of to be all those things. But, with having to take care of Suzune as a older brother, he worked on being brave, with taking on Shirayuki as an additional little sister, later on love interest, he had to be stronger and a leader, and as a sentinel for the Kadona village, it seemed he reached his goal.

However, a battle with a demon changed Jinta and Suzune assuming her brother was betrayed changed nearly all of his relationships.

Shirayuki (Saori Hayami)

Born and raised in Kadone, the daughter of the Itsukihime and sentinel, Shirayuki, upon being met, was a bit lonely because her father often had to go out to face demons on the outside of town and because of the rules of the village, Shirayuki couldn’t spend time with her mom. This made Suzune and Jinta a God-send as siblings, friends, and Jinta a eventual crush.

However, as time went on and things happened, Shirayuki assumed her mom’s role as Itsukhime and Kadone was never the same.

Motoharu (Chikahiro Kobayashi)

Motoharu is Shirayuki’s father who was the sentinel of Kadone. He also became the adoptive father of Suzune and Jinta after discovering them, after Jinta ran away from his father for striking Suzune.

Kiyomasa (Kentarō Kumagai)

Kiyomasa is the son of the chieftain of Kadone, who is made into a co-sentinel with Jinta due to his crush on Shirayuki, who his father arranges to marry Kiyomasa.

Other Noteworthy Information

• Aired (HiDive): April 1, 2025
• Director(s): To Be Determined
• Writer(s): Deko Akao

Review

Highlights

• Getting Jinta and Suzune’s Complete Backstory In One Episode

On The Fence

• How Things May Shift Due To Jumping To A Drastically Different Period

Overall

Our Rating (80/100)

It isn’t often that any anime starts with an hour-long episode to properly set a foundation for itself. Never mind almost present itself as a movie, with those who don’t check the runtime potentially surprised that things are still going, as it establishes what will become a lifetime, potentially on sight, threat of battle between Suzune and Jinta.

But the benefit of pouring so much time into the two is that it creates a very complicated relationship. Suzune shrank herself to fit into Jinta’s world, and held back the pursuit of her own happiness, and attempted to be satisfied if Jinta was happy with someone Suzune could trust, and who would let her share in their happiness. The level of complexity you have to imagine Suzune went through, mentally, physically, and maybe even emotionally, to remain a child, brings a level of heartbreak to this all. Then considering her rapidly growing up with a negative influence in her ear? Followed by being unrecognizable and rejected by the only person, demon or human, she has loved and felt loved by?

In my mind, the best villains live in the extremes. They either are the type you love to hate or hate to love and with Suzune, you can’t remove her beheading Shirayuki, in front of Jinta, and how that traumatized him for life. Yet, based on the information she had, and how Shirayuki responded to accusations, considering this is a scripted fantasy, a part of you also gets why Suzune reacted as she did. It’s not something you can condone but, released from the possibility of trial, jail, and execution, never mind Suzune suppressing what we are told are natural demon urges, you can understand why she did what she did.

Here comes the part though which could undo all this praise: The time jump. Going from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s, a little past 1970 to be specific, is a notable shift. Also, trying to bridge all that time Suzune and Jinta have been alive, maybe meeting up, battling, then separating, at best, or Jinta forever seeking her out, presents a challenge. Not an insurmountable challenge, but it is the kind of shake-up that can coerce an audience to have a readjustment phase that may never lead to them getting right back in the zone, and instead there being dissonance due to jarring changes.

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