WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, "The Cat Juan At the Old Temple," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Funimation.
Episode 6 of Yashahime, "The Cat Juan At the Old Temple," showcases the classic conflict of cats vs. dogs -- or rather, cat demons vs. dog demons. It begins when Corpse Dealer Jyubei refuses to pay our heroines more than a pittance for the skull they got from Tokotsu. To get a more substantial bounty, they are sent off to a small village, which turns out to have been completely overrun by cat demons. The half-demon princesses mowing down hordes of creepy demonic cats makes for some amusing action -- though perhaps disturbing if you're a cat lover.
Much fuss is made this week over Towa's inexperience. Setsuna in particular constantly chides Towa on her inability to leave the morals of the modern era behind. As far as Setsuna is concerned, it's kill or be killed in the Feudal Era, and Towa needs to adjust. Towa refuses, however, not wanting to turn her back on the morals of her peaceful upbringing.
Setsuna and Moroha can both smell demons immediately once they reach the village, but Towa cannot. Since she's never smelt demons before, she thinks it might just be that she doesn't recognize the odor. Whatever the problem is, it's a symbol of Towa's lack of experience. She may have a lot of talent, but she needs to hone her demon-hunting skills.
At a temple, the source of the cat demons, they find the local priest Juan. Juan just so happens to resemble Mei's favorite modern-day idol, Julian. Towa fangirls over him as her comrades look on with bemused scorn. They decide to stay and wind up battling the central cat demon who's been pulling the strings. Unfortunately, it just so happens to have possessed Juan.
As the battle rages, Juan becomes a symbol of the conflict over Towa's morality. As he resembles Julian, Towa cannot bring herself to hurt him, even if it potentially means her own demise. Setsuna wants her to get over her modern morality and kill Juan. Towa refuses, and when she saves him, she creates the path to the future wherein his descendants will eventually include Julian. Towa's refusal to turn on her principles directly leads to a better future.
Towa is only able to defeat the cat demon by using Tessaiga, a new power. This is the ability to only target demon energy and not human energy, thus saving someone who is possessed. If this power seems familiar, it's because it belonged to the one and only Inuyasha himself. Towa discovers this power not by listening to Moroha and Setsuna, but by being true to herself.
"The Cat Juan At the Old Temple" serves mostly as a breather in the main storyline, not particularly advancing the plot against Kirinmaru or the quest to regain Setsuna's dreams. Instead, it offers a bit more character development for Towa, as she decides to stick to her principles no matter what. Moroha and Setsuna don't seem overly impressed by this, but perhaps Towa's modern attitude will rub off on them before long. In the meantime, at least they don't have any more cats to chase.
