Synopsis: A girl named Yoriko befriends a girl who might have the secret to defying the laws of natural decay.

The episode begins with a man with glasses who fell asleep on the train. He is returning home after the death of his grandmother. When he awoke, he finds a man carrying an ornate box sitting across him. The man seems to be talking to himself or someone unseen. The man with glasses then hears a faint voice. The man across him asks him if he heard it. He opens the box and inside it is a head of a woman. Strangely, the head moves and makes a sound.

The episode then takes us to the 27th year of the Showa era (1952) and introduces us to Yoriko Kusumoto, from an all-girls school, who becomes infatuated with her classmate, Yuzuki Kanako. One day, Yuzuki asks Yoriko to walk home with her. Yoriko is surprised that someone as wise, noble and beautiful as Kanako would speak to her.

Yoriko narrates how she and Yuzuki would spend time together. One day, Yuzuki asks Yuriko if she knows about the “five decays of a heavenly being”. Yuzuki explains that a tenyo, a celestial maiden, doesn’t get sad or suffer like humans but are still destined to die. The phrase “five decays of a heavenly being” are signs of this occurrence. The signs are: the wilting of the flower hairpiece, the soiling of their robes, sweating of the armpits, blurring of vision, and lastly, the loss of joy. After hearing this, Yoriko thinks that her mother should have died at birth.

At home, Yoriko finds her mother putting on make-up. Her mother tells her that Sasagawa will be coming over. That night, Sasagawa comes to take a box of doll heads from Yoriko’s mother, Kanae, who seems to be a doll maker. Sasagawa then gives Yoriko a Kimekomi doll. He says he made the body while her mother made the wig. According to him, Kimekomi dolls were first made by a noble named Takahashi who was in charge of the general affairs of the Kamigamo Shrine. He fashioned them out of wood left over from builiding the boxes that hold the shrine items. Sasagawa explains further that dolls are boxes that hold the soul. Yoriko looks at her doll and is frightened to see it move. She drops it and suddenly runs outside.

Yoriko then finds Yuzuki dancing in the moonlight. Yuzuki tells here that they are the same. She invites Yoriko and she tells her that bathing in the sunlight brings one closer to being a corpse. It is only in the moonlight that one can be free of the bonds of life. The two then revel in that light until they are interrupted by a man who tells Yuzuki that it is time for her to go home.

Since then, the two continued to enjoy walks at night. Still, Yoriko had no idea of who Yuzuki really is. One time, she asks her why she chooses to spend time with her when she’s not smart and her family’s poor as well. Yuzuki responds that it’s she is Yoriko and Yoriko is Yuzuki. Yoriko is Yuzuki reborn, and she is Yoriko reborn. Yoriko, however, is puzzled since both of them are alive and couldn’t be reincarnations of one another. Yuzuki tells her that once one is dead, time does not matter. When she dies, she will become Yoriko and when Yoriko dies, she will become her. She says that it has been like that, and it will always be, for eternity. Yuzuki then ties a string around Yoriko’s wrist. She says it’s a spell called the String of Fate.

Yoriko’s mother soon finds out that her daughter is out at night because of Yuzuki. Yoriko is mad that her mother would think ill of her friend. She tells her mother that Yuzuki is her past life. Yoriko’s mother is horrified that Yoriko has been poisoned with nonsense. This infuriates Yoriko more and she tells her mother that Yuzuki isn’t dirty like her. She will never get ugly nor even get old. Yoriko says she doesn’t want to be old like her mother. Her mother, then tells her, that one who doesn’t get old is no longer human. It is already a mouryou.

After that, Yoriko stops speaking with her mother and continues to see Yuzuki. Yuzuki narrates to her how one time, she went to visit her sick mother who hated her. She grabbed Yuzuki’s neck all of a sudden and told her to die. Yuzuki then grabs Yoriko’s neck and starts to strangle her. Yoriko tells her she wouldn’t mind being killed by Yuzuki because she’d be reborn as Yuzuki right away. Yuzuki then tightens her grip around Yoriko’s neck and then releases her saying it’s not yet time. She then invites Yoriko to see a lake together during summer vacation. Yoriko agrees and they plan for that trip.

On the night of the 15th of August, Yoriko and Yuzuki put their plans to action. At the train station, however, Yoriko finds Yuzuki crying. Yuzuki then tells Yoriko that the time has come. A strong wind blows revealing a pimple in Yuzuki’s neck.

The scene then shifts to a man who has fallen asleep inside the train. He is awakened by strange sounds and finds the windows being covered with bloody handprints. Dead soldiers peer from outside and the air is filled with the sound of ammunition. A wounded soldier drags himself towards the man and calls him Sgt. Kiba. The man calls the soldier Lt. Sekiguchi. The train suddenly comes to a halt and the man awakens from his dream. He goes outside and finds some commotion.

We then see Yoriko crying. There seems to be an accident. The man from before arrives and introduces himself to the train staff as Detective Kiba from Tokyo Police. He watches as some man carry Yuzuki, who according to them, is still alive. Detective Kiba asks if it was an attempted suicide but the conductor tells him they don’t know about it yet. The only witness is Yoriko but they can’t get anything from her as she is sobbing in grief. Detective Kiba approaches her and asks her if the victim is her friend. Yoriko stops crying as she faces the detective. She shooks her head and tells him that she is her past life. Yuzuki smiles faintly.

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The theme of the episode seems to be the transience of youth and beauty. Even tenyo, despite being divine in beauty, are bound to fade away and this is preceded by five signs. Yoriko seems to believe that Yuzuki is not bound by the laws of natural decay. She believes that Yuzuki will remain young and beautiful forever.

In contrast to Yuzuki is Yoriko’s mother who serves as a reminder to Yoriko that she will one day grow old and become ugly. Because of this, Yoriko hates her mother. We see two scenes in which Yoriko’s mother is facing the mirror wiping her face (with some cosmetics perhaps). Cosmetics serve to enhance beauty and hide flaws, even the effects of aging. Yoriko, however, wishes for something that is more powerful than cosmetics, something that defies the law of natural decay. Her mother tells her that one who breaks that law is no longer human but already a mouryou.

In the end, Yuzuki had a pimple. The sight of it caused disillusionment in Yoriko. Like the tenyo, like ordinary mortals, Yuzuki is no exception to the law of natural decay. She too can grow old and become ugly. Yuzuki too must have realized this as she said that the time has already come for her. The pimple then served as a sign of her decay.

It is unclear whether Yuzuki attempted suicide or whether Yoriko pushed her. This too is probable and for certain, Yuzuki wouldn’t mind being killed by Yoriko, in the same way that Yoriko wouldn’t mind being killed by Yuzuki. The two of them believed that when one of them die, they become the other. At least with this sort of continuity, one could say that the two live forever, as Yuzuki saids that things have always been like that and will always be.

Interestingly, Yoriko’s mother is a dollmaker. Sasagawa explains that dolls are boxes that hold the soul. Unlike the human body, a doll’s body is more persistent, retaining it’s form, unless of course, it is physically destroyed. A doll, then, is a mouryou no hako, a box of a spirit.

I wonder what was the head in the ornate box held by the man at the train. Could it be a mouryou no hako as well?

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I think Mouryou no Hako is one of the interesting shows of the season. It reminds me of Mononoke for its mystery and symbolism, and of Hakaba Kitarou for its atmosphere. Furthermore, both Mouryou no Hako and Hakaba Kitarou are set in the Showa period. The first episode also somehow reminded me of Blue Drop: Tenshi-tachi no Gikyoku, mainly because of the shoujo ai tones.

The character designs are done by CLAMP. While not as lavish as most of their works, Mouryou no Hako still retains the CLAMP touch, particularly the large expressive eyes. The animation isn’t something brilliant but still fitting for the mood of the show.

Mouryou no Hako certainly isn’t an anime for everyone. If one couldn’t stomach the mystery of the show, one is better off watching shows like Macademi Wasshoi! instead.

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