In Episode 8 of The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, the reality of leaving his family dawns on Mikado’s father and the implications are big.
The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window has done a fantastic job of conveying a consistent plot yet with a new theme per episode. And Episode 8 is one of the greatest, with its concentration on the idea of having a place to return to or having someone as an anchor, which also nicely ties into the title: “Loneliness.” This episode is also one of the scarier episodes in terms of psychological terror, and it reveals why Mikado’s father turned evil when he abandoned his family.
As everyone tries to help Erika escape “sensei”, they find incriminating proof so that she can legitimately be free. Mikado and Hiyakawa utilize astral projection to explore the sensei’s compound, while Mukae and Erika use their barriers to keep them safe, moving them via smartphones. The way powers are used in the series is unusual yet still doesn’t feel too farfetched, adding to the reality without taking away from the unsettling mood.
As they enter the facility, Hiyakawa learns it’s the same spot as his former sect. Because of his rampage years ago, the site is now full of negative energy, and this is likely why “sensei” picked it — to absorb this energy. Mikado tries to cleanse the spot with his strength, but instead, it awakens a horrifying-looking spirit, somewhat reminiscent of Sadako from The Ring franchise. It is evident that this spirit is a part of “sensei” as it looks and speaks just like him, but for some reason, it appears miserable.
Mikado’s cleanse undoubtedly has a wider effect than he even knows, as the enigmatic “sensei,” Mikado’s father, is suddenly overcome by visions from his past. At the same time, his “helper” tries to pull details about his history out of him. His defence falls for a second as he starts to remember his wife, but he regains consciousness just in time to see through his assistant’s plans and instead curses her to forget about what he said. This sequence demonstrates that “sensei” can use curses to influence memories, and this is probably how he removed any traces of himself from Mikado’s mother, even how he lets himself forget about his wife and kid.
Erika’s father, who turns up to also be a cult member, greets “sensei” and apologizes for Erika’s actions. But his coldness towards his own daughter provokes “sensei” because Erika’s father still has a family that he can return to — although he doesn’t care for them at all — sensei has nothing. He then becomes dizzy and blacks out from his wrath and confusion. While the anime doesn’t depict it, he certainly kills Erika’s father and his own helper at this point.
From “sensei” ‘s jumbled thinking, it’s easy to piece together that his mental state is already ruined. Mikado’s power released some of the final memories that he had left in the house, represented by the awful spirit at the opening of the episode. This explains why the spirit looks so unhappy and bewildered — it’s been experiencing a curse.
Mikado’s father cursed himself for forgetting about his family so that he wouldn’t have any flaws others could exploit, and he became brutal as a result. Deep down, he regrets abandoning his wife, but he turns this remorse into resentment for being abandoned, even if it’s the other way around. But his hatred might be what has been powering him all along since he uses negative energy to execute murders for money. The anime does an even better job than the manga at expressing “senseihorrific “‘s character and demonstrating how torn he is between his past and present.
As often noted in this episode, practically everyone in the occult world has someone to return to, an anchor that accepts them for who they are and expects nothing in return. Even Hiyakawa now has Mikado to keep him grounded. But Mikado’s father lost his anchor when he abandoned his family and forgot his past, so today, he has entirely lost his sanity and humanity. It also makes him tremendously dangerous, as a man who has nothing to lose.
