Aw hell yeah, it’s time to write up some Eccentric Family. Season two’s first couple episodes have mostly just established our two big additions to the cast, but that’s pretty alright by me – it’s been wonderful to meet all these great characters again, and already interesting to see how their society has shifted since last time. The show’s own throat-clearing allowed for a pretty comfortably structured article too, so I guess that’s nice.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below!

“I am not a tengu. What is a tengu? That old, frail thing right there?”

Discuss how this show is deeply invested in the meaning of things – what it means to be a human, tengu, or tanuki

“You choose to live, reliant on the pity of creatures like tanuki. You should be ashamed”

And Nidaime’s return offers a new angle on parents and children

Talk about how the moral will emerge slowly – like how in the first season, it was only in the final episode that the professor admitted to “ideological defeat”

“The Conjuror Tenmaya”

Kaisei is in a backpack. Very funny “character animation” for this conversation

Kaisei always hiding is a nice representation of the quirky assumptions of this world

Once again, Yasaburo is relied on for strange jobs around town. He complains, but he’s highly competent and good at dealing with a wide variety of people. He also very rarely loses his cool, an important quality in a leader

“Everything in the world is entertainment to me”

This guy shares Yasaburo’s attitude

“I’m much greater than any tengu”

He… hypnotized Yasaburo?

Professor Yodogawa!

The Thursday Club that advises against tanuki hot pots. Lol

This sequence of visiting the master artist in the woods is gorgeous

Ayameike, the master artist

Yasaburo is extremely good at respectfully guiding whoever

Tenmaya urging Ayameike to sell his paintings

Tenmaya is in many ways a more extreme version of Yasaburo

Tenmaya works for Jyurojin of the Friday Club

“Tenmaya was in this painting of hell.” Huh

“The age when tanuki are tricked by humans is upon us”