Following the conclusion of Azazel’s arc, where we also see a darker side of Kohaku, Arata gets the news that he’s most likely a direct descendant of Abe no Seimei. While it was heavily implied since episode one, Arata now reflects on himself and his relationships with the Anothers he’s closest to. This is when Huehuecóyotl takes him on a journey to Seimei’s Garden, passing by many other local Anothers and disturbing them on their way to find the garden. Kohaku has a touching moment with Arata, explaining to him that he hasn’t really existed for a thousand years because no one knew his name. Of course, we don’t think he’s literally saying that, but the meaning behind it gets to Arata who starts to realize just how Kohaku thinks of him.

This poignant scene is made even more so when Arata realizes that the beautifully serene gardens are hidden to the eyes of all but certain beings, making this place truly special. The animation and touching moment is quite powerful in this scene.

Arguably one of the most moving and critical scenes of the series is that of the dream demon near the end of episode 9. Arata gets dispatched to meet up with two others from another ward and the government to help improve relations. They begin to investigate why one of their own member’s son was having nightmares and ended up in a coma. After finding the demon, Arata comes to an understanding with it and agrees to help the demon find friends in exchange for releasing the children in comas and to no longer cause harm to anyone else.

Kanoichi, a member from the main government office, exorcised the demon as soon as this accord was reached, earning him Arata’s wrath. This is a paramount scene because we now see three factions within the anime. Those like Kanoichi, who see Anothers as abominations that need to be put down; those like Theo, who sees the good in Anothers yet also knows that they aren’t human and thus can’t be treated as such; and lastly, there is Arata, who sees the Anothers more like people since he can communicate and sympathize with them.

The opening episode for the anime involves a Romeo and Juliet style romance between two different species of Anothers who usually fight, tengus and angels. You can basically equate this to a dog falling in love with a cat. Their meeting and subsequent attempt at eloping causes an uproar and nearly starts a war between the two species. However, Arata’s powers are revealed here, showing that he can communicate with both Anothers and humans. It’s a great start to the season and has some great scenes of the Anothers interacting.

A disturbing but pivotal episode of the season is this one right here. Finally, Azazel’s hard work is nearly complete and it’s almost time to bring his beloved back to life in a new body he made from various women over the years. We finally get confirmation that Kyouichi’s sister is indeed alive and well, as well as Arata’s childhood friend, Izumi. This scene is gut-wrenching as Arata is the only human who can hear the reanimated woman’s screams and pleas to just let her go and be dead as the body she’s in isn’t hers and feels disgusting. This isn’t the first time Azazel has done this, much to Arata’s horror, but he’s relieved when both Izumi, Kyouichi’s sister, and many other women are given back what was taken from them by the demon.

It can be argued that the climax and most interesting scene of Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin is when Arata goes up against Kanoichi and somehow saves all of Japan from devastation. Kanoichi misunderstands the situation at the Olympic Stadium and forces Arata out so he can begin destroying the cocoons—the cocoons which belong to belong to Manari-sama, a powerful Another. She would have her babies spin their silk into thread so that they could fly to Izumo and offer it to the sun god, Oshira-sama, in order to get his blessings of the sun and survive through the winter. She nearly turns into a tatarigami and would have destroyed all of Tokyo (and Japan), but Arata uses his lineage to buy some time. Gathering as many Anothers as he could through promising favors, Arata just barely manages to fulfill his promise and undo Kanoichi’s wrongs. It’s a pivotal episode where we can see not only the danger of Kanoichi’s decisions but Arata’s as well.