Please note the SPOILER warning, many key elements and developments of the anime, Kannaduki no Miko are revealed in the following paragraphs, do not continue reading if you do not want to know the various plot twists.
Kannaduki no Miko - Episode 3: Shell of hidden love
Flashback to Himeko’s childhood, she’s on a beach with her parents and her father decides to make a pendant from the half of the double-sided seashell she found, the same pendant she now wears around her neck.
Present day, Chikane’s family pays for the town’s rebuilding and medical expenses resulting from the attack. Himeko starts living with Chikane in her mansion, since her dormitory was destroyed. The army of maids in the mansion is led by Otoha.
It should be clear by now that Chikane feels more for Himeko than mere friendship, despite some hints and innuendoes, it is not obvious if Himeko feels the same way.
However, their living together means they get to bathe together (on opposite sides of a tub as big as a swimming pool but still…) and we finally see our first real sign that Himeko is not immune to Chikane’s physical charms when her heart starts racing and she feels dizzy at the sight of her hostess’s nudity and she wonders to herself if she is strange for feeling that way since they are both girls. Oh, and in one of her cutest moments, Himeko demurs and blows bubbles in the water when Chikane notices her discomfort and asks if anything is wrong.
Himeko changes into one of Chikane’s pajamas and blushingly comments that the clothes still carry Chikane’s scent. She gets worried that Chikane would find that weird, while Otaha overhears their conversation and seethes that she was not quick enough in bringing Himeko a new set of pajamas. Otoha is obviously carrying a fierce torch for her employer and her subtle antics rebelling against Himeko’s presence in the house are hilarious (do not worry, her antics are harmless).
It appears that homosexuality is kind of taboo in this world, Chikane seems to have a good grasp of what her feelings mean, but Himeko is not aware that such a possibility exists. Of course, Himeko could just be clueless, but for the adept Chikane to be so hesitant in expressing her desire, she must have good reason to fear that Himeko might not welcome a confession of love.
We cut to the Orochi headquarters and here is what we learn, Reiko gives the best one-liners, Nekoko loves to give others shots, Miyako is Girochi’s elder sister (his cowed behaviour in her presence is so funny and clever because of her nun-like garb and his ever present chains, think discipline) and Mikayo has a crush on Tsubasa. Also it seems like Nekoko is planning to attack the priestesses soon.
Chikane and Himeko go to school together and they meet Souma at the entrance. The whole school is in an uproar about how close a nobody like Himeko is to the two revered students (this is hilarious, Chikane and Souma are both shown separately as bathed in light and they literally sparkle but then the focus shifts to Himeko and you hear the students wondering “Who is that girl?!”). Souma asks if Himeko is alright and she says yes, thanks to him. He reiterates his promise to protect her while Chikane looks on sadly.
For the rest of the day, Himeko is the target of bitter and disparaging remarks from the other students as they talk about her unworthiness to live with Chikane and it culminates into someone pushing her down a flight of stairs. Souma appears at the foot of the stairs to save her and he shouts for the culprits to show themselves. Of course no one steps forward to face Souma’s wrath and Himeko begs Souma not to pursue it.
The students at the stairs make snide remarks about there being more opportunities but they suddenly look up in horror to see that Chikane has witnessed everything and overheard their conversation. The students desperately protest that they are not the culprits but Chikane’s gaze is cold as ice and she wordlessly turns on her heel and walks away, leaving terrified students in her wake. Once again, Souma has saved the day and not only did Chikane not protect Himeko, she was the indirect cause of her almost coming to harm, Chikane might be more angry with herself than with the students.
The two girls return to the Oogami residence and are presented with their priestess robes, which will enhance their power (the robes have been passed down through the generations of Oogami priests and are probably the same ones used by the former Solar and Lunar Priestesses). Himeko’s is red, while Chikane wears purple. They enter a deep cave with Kazuki and learn about the ritual they have to perform, which involves the breaking of six holy swords shielding the shrine confining the Sword God. In the meantime, Souma gets stronger due to the power of the Orochi but also suffers from frequent mental attacks.
Back at the cave, they manage to break one sword but while chanting to break the second one, the ritual goes awry when the image of the silhouette of a girl getting stabbed flashes through their minds, a stream of fire heads right for Himeko but Chikane shields her, resulting in her arm getting hurt. They stop the ritual but Himeko feels guilty for Chikane’s injury and blames herself for the premature end to the ritual, because she feels there is no way Chikane could have blundered.
They stop at a beach on the way home (Chikane loves the deep vastness of the ocean) and Himeko wonders to herself if she is not supposed to be with anyone, because everyone close to her always gets hurt. Chikane tries to cheer her up by telling her about how only one pair of a double-sided shell will match perfectly, so it might be the same for humans, that there is one person in the world who is waiting for Himeko, and Himeko alone (it is uncanny how Chikane manages to know the loneliness Himeko feels). She continues to say that until Himeko finds her other half, she will always protect her.
Nekoko suddenly appears over the ocean in her flying mech and unleashes a huge wave at them, they are engulfed in the water and Chikane tries desperately to hold onto Himeko’s hand but they are pulled apart by the strong current. Nekoko tries to blast them but gets kicked by Souma’s mech, which suddenly appears out of the ocean, cradling an unconscious priestess in each of its giant hands. The battle is pretty funny but we will fastforward to the part where Souma destroys the other mech (Nekoko is rescued by the bird) and the priestesses slowly regain consciousness.
Chikane wakes up and stares at her disobedient hand, the hand that was not supposed to let go of Himeko. With a furious look on her face, she violently slams her hand against the hard surface of the mech carrying her. This was an unreal and incredibly emotional moment. The self-hatred Chikane felt was exposed in that one brief moment with such brutal frankness. Once more she made a promise and once more she broke it.
Then we pull back to see Chikane slumped in defeat while Souma’s mech stands in the water, tenderly gazing at Himeko. The writers really know how to add salt to the wound. End shot of Tsubasa (Orochi leader) riding his mech with a sinister look in his eyes.
