Riddle Story of Devil - Episode 8

There aren't many challengers left in the "game" to assassinate Haru Ichinose - the trouble is, the remaining candidates are amongst the most dangerous.  Besides which, it seems that even Haru winning the game is a valid result in the eyes of those overseeing the latest iteration of the Black Class.

In something of a break from the norm for this show, our attention is split two ways this week - well, three ways if you want to count Banba's split personalities.  Alongside Banba, this week also allows us to delve into the history of the lightning-fast expert assassin that is Isuke Inukai, and how she was raised at the hands of (and indeed even named by) the assassin who killed her parents.

With a typhoon approaching (much to Nio's delight), the time seems ripe for somebody to strike as the weather front carrying it arrives - lo and behold, Haru's umbrella contains a notice of intent to assassinate her from Banba.  When Haru and Tokaku are attacked by Isuke however, they assume that she used someone else's name for her proclamation to try and gain an upper hand - a ploy which seems to have been somewhat successful, leaving Azuma injured.  Against such a skilled opponent, Tokaku barricades Haru away so that she can track down Inukai... a grave mistake, as there was no trickery involved in the note received by Ichinose.

Setting two assassins into action has certainly upped the ante and changed things up a little in this week's Riddle Story of Devil, and it's something that the series probably needed just to ensure things stay fresh. However, I do hope that this doesn't come at the extent of not prying into Banba's past a little more as it seems like a potentially fascinating one - perhaps we'll get to grips with that next week.  For now though, things are tantalisingly set up, and for the first time in a while it feels as if Haru is in genuine danger; something that the show could perhaps have managed to produce more often to give some added tension to proceedings.