Content warning: Sexual assault, child abuse, slut-shaming, gore, manipulation, gaslighting
What’s it about? Jinta and Suzune, runaways from an abusive family, find themselves in the village of Kadono, where they are taken in by a family with a unique position–the guardian is the sentinel of the village, and the daughter, Shiroyuki, is next in line to be the village’s princess, a shrine maiden kept far away from everybody else and protected by the sentinel from demons. Jinta, to remain close to Shiroyuki, chooses to become a sentinel, remaining forever at her side as her protector. But where does that leave Suzune?
The “madonna-whore” complex is an idea of Freud’s that men, and therefore the society built around their psyches, have a tendency to see women as perfect, pure saints or debauched, soiled sluts. There is no in-between, and once a woman is deemed a slut, she is doomed to be soiled forever–which is a large part of how women’s sexuality and position in society is regulated.
Sword of the Demon Hunter wants you to know that it is doing something with the “madonna-whore complex.” Just what it’s doing, it’s not sure about, but it’s very dedicated to doing something! I lost count, in fact, of the number of times this show puts the word “slut” or “whore” in the mouths of its villains (and let’s be clear, never its protagonists!). The idea is arguably, in fact, the professed main villain of the show–though the extent to which the show succeeds in unpacking this complex and charged idea is “second half of Wonder Egg” levels of mess.
If this does not turn you off, or alternatively you are ready to go full “Sickos HAHA YES,” at some real mess, feel free to go and watch the show and come back. Since it is such a commitment at an extended hour premiere, I am going to divide my review into two parts—a relatively spoiler free section, and a spoilerific section.
To finish my spoiler-free thoughts: the show is quite entertaining, and beautifully animated. The world-building is largely handled through show-don’t-tell, which is uncommon in light-novel adaptations like this. The complex system of shrines and shrine maidens the show sets up allows it to meaningfully ask questions of our responsibility to the communities that raise us. Watching Shiroyuki and Jinta attempt to navigate what they each owe to their communities and fumble and struggle to maintain their individuality within a collective structure was thought-provoking. There are so many symbols of this throughout the episode–whether it is the various names the characters go by, the language they use around one another, the literal screen between Shiroyuki and the rest of the community, all of it made me wish that I could watch a whole series just about this community.
Spoilers for the whole episode
Are the children out of the room? Good.
This show really thinks it is critiquing the madonna-whore complex by showing how it pits women against each other—lampshaded clearly when the female demon kicks Shiroyuki’s lecherous betrothed out saying “this is a lady’s fight!” It wants so badly for us to know that it does not see Shiroyuki as the “slut” in the way that Suzu is manipulated into–in fact, showing us how Shiroyuki’s asshole fiance is ready to sexually assault her, and how she doesn’t actually want to have sex with him. Point in this show’s favor, definitely, showing how women are blamed for their own vulnerability within systems that treat them as political and sexual objects.
However, the show massively reinforces another stereotype: that of the yandere. When Suzu’s love is revealed to be possessive and arguably pseudo-incestuous (remember–not blood related!!!), I was really taken for a loop. There is almost no indication, no hints whatsoever, during any of the rest of the series that Suzu was suffering in any way. Nor was there any sign that her love for Jinta was anything other than that of a sister. One could arguably read her possessiveness as stemming from her fear and history of abandonment, as the show seems to want us to. In fact, it is quite interesting to ask why a girl would feel the need to remain small and child-like to feel worthy of love–and how this would make her vulnerable to manipulation using the madonna-whore dichotomy. But it is hard not to see the show as engaging in lazy writing that gives these things way too much explanatory power to justify creating a yandere girl.
All of this makes for a deeply frustrating watch! I’m not sure I’m going to continue it, just because the show seems to love to engage in shocking imagery for its own sake–whether it be the child abuse the show opens with, the sexual violence against Shiroyuki, or the images of Shiroyuki’s body being stabbed over and over by Suzu. And that does not even begin to address the last ten seconds–where it is revealed that much of the show, it looks like, will take place in the present. What even will this show be?
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