The first act of this episode focuses on Yuzuriha, the young girl from way back in episode 1 who had the dog. We do get a glimpse into her back story and learn that Inuki is, in fact, a spirit companion.
You'd think that this would be viewed as a positive, having an animal spirit would be awesome, but she seems to think otherwise. She sees it as something that isolates her from others, depending on how much she draws attention to him, it's not outside the realm of possibility that others would mock her for it. In fact, she becomes elated when she finally does find people who can see Inuki.
You could see it as fluff, but it was a nice bit. It helped further establish Yuzuriha's personality before she officially joined the group with Princess Hinoto.
Speaking of Hinoto, she attempts to explain to Kamui what his role in upcoming events are. While she doesn't attempt any sort of deception, she does attempt a lie of omission by focusing on Kamui's potential role as savior, choosing to ignore the possibility that he would become the destroyer as a way to help coax him into fighting for good. Unfortunately, Hinoto's sister Kanoe crashes into the dream and reveals the rest of the story.
I have to say, the Dragons of Earth have a pretty tough sell. "Kamui, join us so that you can wage war on God and destroy the world"...who would sign up for this? It's one thing to not want to get involved with something as heavy as a divine war or being overwhelmed by something of that magnitude, but choosing to work for the side that will result in the destruction of the planet? Kamui's a schmuck, but he's not genocidal. I might buy that he would be stunned that he could even be capable of bringing about the apocalypse, but beyond that, I don't see how this is even a debate.
Before Kamui can get any more information, Hinoto essentially ragequits and calls off the vision. Not surprisingly, Kamui is upset at this, but this is interrupted by yet another vision cast by some unknown party. This gives each of the seals a chance to show off their abilities while introducing themselves to one another. On the one hand, it was a bit shoe-horned in, but with a cast this big featuring characters who go absent for episodes at a time, it's nice to get little refreshers like that.
The episode ends as Kamui ponders his role in things to come. It seems to end on a hopeful note as we see that Kamui still harbors some affection for Kotori. The fact that he's cool with Inuki sitting by his side also gives Yuzuriha some hope.
A lot of it is exposition. It's OK, but a lot of it is stuff we already knew, though to Hinoto's credit, she does go into more detail about the seals and dragons and whatnot. It's a tad convoluted, but you get the gist. Despite the epic scope, I preferred the opening scenes. It was light, but you still got a feel for Yuzuriha and her general outlook. I found it odd that she offered Inuki ice cream as that generally isn't good for dogs, but that was before the reveal that he was a spirit anyway. I did get a kick out of the fact that the dog actually shakes his head when he declines the offer.
The characters are starting to come together so things should be able to start moving at a brisker pace as we move ever deeper into the series.
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