Kabu hasn't said much since the curse took hold. He knows exactly whose fault it is, and carrying a turnip for a head everywhere he goes isn't letting him forget it. Not far into the forest, a pilgrim in a wide-brimmed hat stops them to ask what they're doing, listens, and points them toward a town that has recently been having mysterious trouble. He calls himself Kinoko. Before he goes he sings them a little advice for the road, which amounts to trusting the forest and listening out for where the trouble is.
Mazekane is the kind of town that used to be proud of itself. It elected Mayor Morokoshi on a promise of prosperity, and the restoration projects he started have since become projects to cover his own house in gold leaf. The rest of the town is falling apart, public money keeps disappearing, and he has suspended elections indefinitely in the name of stability. Now, the villagers say, a demon comes out of the cornfields at night and tears up the crops.
This is where they meet Ume, a beautiful girl with pink hair, and Kabu develops a crush for about as long as it takes to work out that she's a complete otaku and a mad scientist who is only interested in the demon so far as she can study it. She is just as interested in Kabu's turnip head, and keeps trying to take a sample of his leaf.
Ume has noticed that the demon only attacks at night, so they wait up for it. It is a monstrosity in the shape of corn, and every kernel they knock off grows straight back. Kabocha reads its rhythm and lands most of what she throws. Kabu swings his scythe like someone who has read about fighting more than he's done it. Neither matters, and they retreat beaten and discouraged.
Ume finds them afterward and sings, cheerfully, that a mistake is just an experiment, and every failed one teaches you something a clean success can't. So they go back over the fight, and realise the demon never once went near the mayor's estate. The next morning they confront Morokoshi about what his village needs. He barely hears them; he's like a man possessed, and only interested in his gold. When he bends down to pick up a dropped coin, they notice a small green sprout on the back of his neck.
That night the demon is stronger than it's been, and it seems to know their every move before they make it. Mid-fight, they spot the same green sprout on the back of its neck and the pieces fall into place: the demon is the mayor, and the sprout is the cursed seed. Hitting it there isn't enough. It's only when Kabu's scythe pulls the seed out that the corn falls away and Morokoshi is left standing in its place. Kabocha reaches for the seed, but it's too powerful for her and she snatches her hand back. Nobody sees the splinter that lodges in her palm.
Kabu purifies the seed, and Mazekane begins to put itself back in order, starting with the election Morokoshi cancelled. Ume gives them an omamori pouch she made from the corn demon's husk, so they have something safe to carry the seeds in. They ask her to come with them. She says she still has more learning to do, and stays. On the road out of town, Kabu and Kabocha find the pilgrim in the wide-brimmed hat waiting for them, already pointing the way to the next one.
OPEN THE BEAT SHEET ▼
- 1On the road into the forest, a pilgrim in a wide-brimmed hat asks Kabu and Kabocha what they're doing, then points them toward a town that has recently been having mysterious trouble. He sings them a little advice for the road: trust the forest, and listen for where the trouble is.
- 2Mazekane's villagers say a demon comes out of the cornfields and destroys the crops. Kabu and Kabocha know they're on the trail of a seed.
- 3They meet Ume, a beautiful pink-haired girl, and Kabu has a crush for about as long as it takes to realise she's a total otaku and a mad scientist who is interested in the demon only so far as she can study it. She's just as interested in his turnip head, and keeps trying to take a sample of his leaf.
- 4The town is run by Mayor Morokoshi, who was elected on a promise of prosperity and has since diverted the restoration money into gold leaf for his own house and suspended elections to keep things stable. Nobody likes him much.
- 5TURNING POINT — Ume tells them the demon only comes out at night, so they wait up for it. It is a monstrosity in the shape of corn, and every time they knock a kernel off, it grows back. They retreat beaten.
- 6CRISIS — Ume sings 'Mistakes Have the Power': a failed experiment is still data. Going back over the fight, the team notices the demon never went near the mayor's estate, and starts to connect the mayor's greed to the demon's behaviour.
- 7TURNING POINT — They confront Morokoshi about what the village needs. He's like a man possessed and only interested in his gold. When he bends down to pick up a coin, they notice a small green sprout on the back of his neck.
- 8In the final battle the demon is stronger than before and seems to know their every move. Then they spot the same green sprout on the back of its neck and realise it's the mayor, and that the sprout must be the cursed seed.
- 9Knocking at the back of its neck isn't enough; it's only when Kabu's scythe pulls the seed out that the demon falls back into human form. Kabocha reaches for the seed, but it's too powerful for her and she pulls her hand back. Only the audience sees the splinter that lodges in her palm.
- 10Kabu purifies the seed and Mazekane returns to order, with the elections Morokoshi suspended going ahead as planned. Ume gives them an omamori pouch made from the corn demon's husk to carry the seeds in. They ask her to come with them. She says she has more learning to do, and stays.
- 11CRISIS — On the road out, Kabu and Kabocha meet the pilgrim again, already pointing them toward the next town.
SUPPORTING CASTMorokoshi▼
ART DIRECTION — Mazekane's cornfields at night: the corn demon looming over the gilded rooftops of the town behind it, kernels sprouting back where they've been knocked away. In the foreground, Kabu and Kabocha brace with scythe and kunai while Ume crouches beside them, notebook open, completely absorbed.
Kanazawa has a local nickname — 'little Kyoto' — that it has earned in the most literal way possible. Most of Japan's major cities were bombed during WWII and rebuilt from concrete. Kanazawa wasn't touched, which means its samurai quarters, geisha districts, and Edo-period merchant houses are still standing and still in use. You can walk between all three in an afternoon.
The craft Kanazawa is most famous for is gold leaf — 99% of Japan's output, hammered into sheets so thin they're translucent, applied to lacquerware, temple columns, ceramics, and yes, ice cream cones. The Maeda lords built the industry deliberately, pouring generations of agricultural surplus into making their city the cultural rival of Kyoto and Edo.
That last part is worth noting. The gold leaf — the thing Kanazawa shows the world — was built on rice. The shimmer was real. So was what it was covering.
