Aoi, a girl who can see ayakashi, lived with her grandfather (Shiro) and they were very close. After Shiro died, Aoi found out that he has caused some mischief and she was the collateral for his debt! Unless she could get the amount of money in time, she’d need to either marry an ogre-ayakashi, or get eaten by demons. Will she be able to collect the money in time?
Kakuriyo is one of my top favorite anime. It stars Aoi Tsubaki, a girl who can see ayakashi (spirits). Her mother left her as a child because she had high spiritual power (like her mischievous grandfather) in a dark, cold room that shook with lightning and thunder. Aoi soon saw a friendly ayakashi, that hid under a mask. She thought it would eat her, but when it didn’t, she was in awe. It asked if she wanted food to eat, and she said she wanted her favorite meal from her mom. The ayakashi gave her a glowing orb, and when Aoi ate it, she started to tear up after tasting the familiar taste. Later, she moved in with her grandfather (Shiro), who can also see ayakashi! She was taught to cook, and take care of herself and others. She befriended friendly ayakashi, (like her little buddy, Chibi the Cappa) and lived life in peace. Until her grandfather passed.
After Shiro Tsubaki’s death, Aoi learned to move on without him. One day, after walking around and feeding Chibi, she saw a male ayakashi with an ogre mask on. He said he was hungry, so Aoi gave him some food. The next day, in the spot where the ayakashi previously was, there was a wrapped package with a hairpin tying it together. Picking it up, Aoi gets sucked into a portal to the land of spirits. On her way through the portal, she sees the male ayakashi she remembered from before.
After arriving, she finds out that her grandfather has a massive debt that he never payed off, and the ayakashi needed the debt to be payed. She also found out that if Shiro couldn’t pay, the master innkeeper (or ogre god) would marry his granddaughter, our protagonist, Aoi! The girl was frustrated and didn’t want to marry a random ogre-ayakashi she’d never met before, so she tried to get a job in Tenjin-ya, (the inn she was taken to). Nobody hired her, since she was a human girl. She had to be careful too, because some ayakashi tend to eat humans. The master innkeeper didn’t help her find a job, he just threatened her, but later called her his bride and told everyone they were together. Aoi, being taught by her grandfather to cook, had lots of experience in the culinary world. She has strong spiritual power, meaning the ayakashi love her food and it restores their energy. She opened a restaurant for ayakashi, and the most visitors of Tenjin-ya loved her. She also met a fox-spirit named Ginji, who in my opinion is the sweetest character in the show, and he helped her with her new restaurant.
Aoi has many adventures in the land of ayakashi, all of which she’ll remember forever. It’s an amazing show that features adventure, romance, and a slight bit of comedy! I’d recommend this to any SpyxFamily fans, because the genres compare wonderfully. You should give this show a shot if you haven’t seen it already! 🙂
(Rated TV-14 for violence and language)
