Momo Kyun Sword

Episode 10

Momo Kyun Sword episode 10 continues the serious tone of episode 9, focusing on the start of the war between the Celestial Realm and Onigashima, with little to no fanservice present. Despite this welcome focus on story and characters, the previous nine episodes have not done enough to get the viewer to care about these characters, which means the cataclysmic events on the horizon are much less compelling than intended.

The war between Celestials and Oni is presented as sprawling and operatic, with magical castles rising from beneath the sea and bolts of energy laying waste to the land. This is all animated much better than the previous few episodes, and the original score delivers some genuinely excellent music to accompany what's happening on screen. Alas, all this can't help the story itself. The leaders of the two sides, Oni King Jakiou and Celestial Maiden Sumeragi, monologue at each other about the inescapable nature of their races and the cruelty of war…which would be though provoking, if we were invested in this conflict in any way. The show is expecting us to care that Sumeragi, who has only been presented as an irresponsible ditz until now, feels so sad about having to fight the Oni, and just wants to give peace a chance. Huh? Jakiou comes off as less grating, though he's still a pretty boring version of the stereotypical “bombastic demon king” character. Still, the forced drama of the Celestial/Oni War is never offensive or stupid, which is more than can be said for Momoko's scenes.

Momoko seems to have survived the fight with the green ogre guy last episode, and joins up with the Celestial Maiden Squad in a last ditch effort to stop Jakiou. On the way there, she stops at her grandparents' house, and receives another startling revelation: they, like the animal trio, knew her origins from the beginning and hid them from her. Again, Momoko has consistently said her greatest desire is to find out where she came from, and now she finds out her family has kept the truth from her for her entire life! Any actual human being would feel betrayed. Instead, Momoko cries and tells her grandparents how much she loves them. I know she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but this is getting ridiculous. When characters act in ways completely contrary to how people actually behave, it takes the audience out of the story to a severe degree. That Momo Kyun Sword is finally trying to tell a good story is admirable, but when the characters are still as unintentionally idiotic and frustrating, the effort is for naught.

Despite mostly failing in its attempt at real drama, Momo Kyun Sword episode 10 does pull off some things well. The war scenes are fairly well animated, and a huge step up from previous fare. The music is at its best too, mixing orchestral and electronic pieces in a way that effectively conveys the tone each scene is going for. Additionally, the final few seconds tease that a main character not present for most of the episode may prove to be the wild card in Jakiou's scheme to conquer Japan. If things are going the way I hope they are, then the upcoming conclusion to the series may be its finest hour.

Rating: C

Momo Kyun Sword is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Miles Nelson has been an anime fan since 1997, and has been writing about it since 2013. You can read his articles at My Geek Review.