WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 23 of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, "The Three Princesses Strike Back," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Animelab and Hulu.
The penultimate episode of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, "The Three Princesses Strike Back," certainly lives up to its exciting title. Setsuna and Towa hire Moroha to go after Zero -- which seems like a waste of money as Moroha undoubtedly would have gone if they'd just asked -- and things get off to an action-packed start. Setsuna is still fuming over Zero's meddling with her Demon side, though it has apparently given her a new weapon: a blade of blood, a latent ability inherited from Sesshomaru -- perfect for exacting her revenge.
Zero is the main focus here, so Kirinmaru does not appear much in this episode, his presence mainly reserved for a visit to Sesshomaru's mother. While there, he makes note of the Windmill of Time, which apparently is missing a pinwheel belonging to someone named Akuru. Time travel is obviously a big feature in this series and Inuyasha, but this windmill is still a mystery, likely a teaser for things to come in Season 2, assuming it comes.
We actually get a look at Akuru, or at least the pinwheel, as a small child holding the toy cavorts past Sesshomaru at the Tree of Ages later on. Sesshomaru doesn't seem too concerned, which is interesting in and of itself, although Sesshomaru isn't the most expressive guy. Either way, we can presumably chalk all this up as things to be revealed later on.
Another stray note on Kirinmaru is that it seems even more likely that he and Mr. Kirin are one and the same as, when he talks to Papa Sota in the present, the camera cuts immediately to Kirinmaru in the same pose, concluding the other's thought. There's no real clarity here, and it seems unlikely there will be time to resolve it next episode, given how things shake out here.
It doesn't take long for the violence to start once the princesses find Zero. Zero initially holds everyone off successfully, though Moroha comes close to getting in some good hits. Still, since they're fighting where the Great Dog Demon perished, his ashes interfere with Moroha's attacks. There's a great Moroha moment here, as Grandpa Myoga chastises her for fighting at the site of her grandpa's death, to which she basically says she couldn't care less. In her opinion, they have a chance of winning the fight, and it would be foolish to quit. This proves to be a mistake, as Zero promptly takes control of the Rainbow Pearls. Characteristically powerful, Zero prepares to wipe the floor with the princesses yet again.
This is an interesting moment, as we see that Riku's attempts to please Zero by gathering the Pearls were more or less in vain. Seeing her transformed tears sends Zero into a rage, especially since she's in the place that caused them to begin with. Still, it doesn't stop her from gathering the Pearls and, just as she's about to unleash a devastating attack...Setsuna uses the blood blade to kill her.
This moment leads to some interesting revelations. As Zero finds herself on the path to the underworld, she pauses to chat with Sesshomaru's mother. This is hilariously petty, as the two not-quite-women trade insults, obviously both bitter about each other's relationship with the Great Dog Demon. The main takeaway, however, is that Zero is happy to be dying. Since she is linked to Rin, her death will mean Rin's death, which means Sesshomaru will suffer. Little does she know that Sesshomaru won't take this lying down.
Sesshomaru and Jaken are hanging out at the Tree of Ages when they realize something is happening with Rin. As she starts to awaken from her sleep, Sesshomaru realizes that Zero's dying and that Rin will die as well. Sesshomaru is about as aloof as you can get, but it seems clear -- and Kirinmaru seems to think so too, based on his conversation with Sesshomaru's mother -- that he actually does care for his family and wants to take care of them. At the very least he wants to keep Rin around and uses his Tenseiga sword to save Zero's life, resurrecting her and saving Rin from death's door.
The penultimate episode closes with all the key players united and ready to battle: Towa, Setsuna, Moroha, Riku, Zero, Sesshomaru and at-the-last-minute Kirinmaru. There's a fun moment where Sesshomaru and Setsuna trade some cold banter -- both father and daughter aren't huge fans of conversation, apparently. But either way, it looks like the last episode of Yashahime will end with a tumultuous fight.
At this point another season feels like a given -- there's almost no way a single episode could find time for both an epic battle and a satisfying conclusion to Inuyasha, Kagome and Rin's stories, much less the stories of their children. We'll see next week -- one way or another.
