In Episode 9 of Kemono Jihen, we see a huge development for Kabane. He now has multiple girls fighting over him! Let’s take a look at how in the world this happened. (Spoilers for this week’s episode below!)
Picking up after the end of last week’s episode, Episode 9 starts out with the resolution to Shiki’s family situation. Aya, the pink-haired little girl who is the product of Tademaru’s research into the golden webbing has traveled with the Kemonoists to a hospital where Kumi can be treated. Aya believes that Shiki will hate her since she is responsible for causing all this suffering for their mother.
Instead, Shiki welcomes her, affirms her place in his family, and even lets her call him Big Brother. He points out that, without Aya, Kumi would have remained lost and may have even died. The bonding of her two children restores Kumi back to health and sends her on the road to recovery.
After some time spent healing and taking care of his family, Shiki returns to the Kemonoists. But, much to his annoyance, Aya comes with him. She’s come to negotiate a deal with Inugami about starting a clinic. she wants to use her golden thread to help heal Kemono.
While here, she makes a move on Kabane. She asks him to go out with her, and Kabane, not really understanding what that means, agrees. This proves uncomfortable when Kon enters the room and declares she wants Kabane to fight her. When she sees Aya, the two girls immediately enter a territorial mode.
Aya and Kon will no doubt continue to battle for Kabane’s affection for the foreseeable future. Despite the fact that he hardly seems to understand the meaning of “love” (much less the meaning of “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”), Kabane has clearly had quite the impact on both girls.
Aya reveals the reason she is fixated on him right away. When he fearlessly took on Tademaru and his Kemono, she was in awe of his skill and determination. Kon, on the other hand, is less direct about why she has her feelings. We can guess that they stem from the way Kabane has treated her and acted in front of her. He clearly puts an emphasis on protecting his friends. Kon can see this and admires it.
Kemono Jihen has started to flesh out some romance with Episode 9. Only future episodes will reveal if Kabane will ever truly understand what “love” is or how others feel.
Catch up on Kemono Jihen on Funimation before next Sunday’s episode!
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