Episode 16 – Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2

Who would have thought that the garbage pit Hanako and Nene fell into last week would lead directly to Number Six’s yorishiro? This convenient turn of events meant we could take it slow this week on Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. This week’s episode delivered more atmosphere than plot development, submerging us in one of Number Six’s memories that is equal parts fantastic and mundane. “Sumire” introduced a character who was ostensibly new but all-too-familiar, which brought the story back to basics, returning the focus to Nene and Hanako. The episode’s leisurely pace offered up more time to appreciate the little details that make Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun shine: its color, its style, and its comedic timing.

Last thing I knew, Nene and Hanako were down in a pit with some creepy crawlies. Now suddenly, they’re being accosted by villagers. From the villagers’ traditional masks to the prominent Jizo statues in the backdrop, this eerie village has a folkloric vibe, which makes sense because it isn’t quite real. A mysterious, beautiful young girl named Sumire rescues our duo, only the word “rescue” isn’t quite right, because she says she plans to keep them as pets. But there’s something familiar about this girl’s threatening sense of humor that only grows stronger when Sumire binds up her hair in Aoi’s familiar loops, then when the villagers refer to her as the “Akane girl.” If she is not a direct ancestor of Aoi’s, she’s certainly a spiritual predecessor of hers. There’s a little bit of a Chosen One trope at play here. While Nene still seems to be just some girl who was able to perceive Hanako due to her impending death, Aoi has a mystical pedigree that makes her particularly inclined to the other side. Never in a million years did I expect Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun to have an explanation for why Nene’s friend’s spooky rumors were always coming true. I assumed it was a simple plot device; turns out it was a surprisingly complex plot device instead. Now the reason Number Six was so set on kidnapping Aoi has fallen starkly into place. What will happen when Aoi and Sumire meet? I expect their well-matched shrewdness will result in a battle of wits.

Just like the current version of Aoi, who appears to be in thrall to Number Six, Sumire doesn’t exactly have Nene’s best interests in mind. In the bath, she reveals the kanji paper on her neck that identifies her as a yorishiro, making herself vulnerable and sympathetic before she pleads with Nene not to peel the paper off before her wedding day. (I would like to know what happened afterward in the bath—since Nene turns into a fish every time she gets wet.) Of course, Nene of all people is an easy mark when it comes to romantic happily ever afters. She was doomed from the moment Sumire spoke about her marriage. Sumire gave Nene a bracelet with bells that was Nene’s undoing. While she’s wearing the bracelet, the masked villagers mistake Nene for Sumire, even though the two girls look nothing alike. Even in peril, Nene’s romantic sensibilities don’t leave her. She imagines herself kissing Number Six, whom she doesn’t love, and that’s what sends her running for the hills. Nene isn’t about to get married off and miss out on her own Prince Charming! When the villagers drug Nene to make her less of a flight risk, the animation morphs into a dreamlike sequence: the line art is more stylized, the colors more saturated. It is the most beautiful part of the whole episode.

And where is Gon, er, Hanako, during Nene’s flights of fancy? Sumire recognized his power and used her wiles to get Nene alone: first by teasing Hanako about wanting to see Nene naked in the bath, then with actual violence—an electric shock from a spiritual barrier of the same kind that jolts Nene out of her gorgeously animated trance. Of course, Number Seven himself would never be defeated by a mere yorishiro, and Hanako makes his heroic arrival just in the nick of time. Both in his touchy-feely rescue and earlier, when he pet Nene’s forehead while she fell asleep the night before, Hanako has been more visibly affectionate and protective toward Nene lately. Perhaps it’s tied to his concern over Nene’s shortening lifespan. It’s a visual reminder of how far this pair has come; even when he continues to refer to Nene as his assistant, it’s clear that in two seasons they’ve grown so much closer, leading to a lot of screenshot-worthy frames. This episode didn’t provide many answers, and there’s a lot more to Number Six’s deal than was revealed this week, but this episode’s romantic and fantasy visuals were works of art.

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Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll and Hulu on Sundays.

Lauren is a freelance journalist with a focus on anime fandom. Both of her kids are named after Gundam characters.