| No.
| Official English title
Original Japanese title
| Director
| Writer(s)
| Animation Director(s)
| Original air date[17]
|
| 1 | "O Ye Winds of Heaven"
Transliteration: "Ama Tsukase" (Japanese: あまつかせ) | Tsutomu Mizushima | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Takayuki Goto | July 8, 2011 (2011-07-08)[1] |
|---|
|
Saya Kisaragi's a cheerful, honest and kind girl, who trains as a shrine maiden under her father Tadayoshi Kisaragi, spending her days quietly with her schoolmates Itsuki Tomofusa, Yūka Amino and Nene and Nono Motoe. During her journey to school, Saya meets a small dog. However, those outside her family are oblivious to her secret life as a swordswoman dedicated to slaying monsters called Elder Bairns. That night, she faces and defeats a Jizo Elder Bairn. |
| 2 | "It Is for Thy Sake"
Transliteration: "Kimi ga Tame" (Japanese: きみがため) | Yukina Hiro | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Shinji Itadaki
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | July 15, 2011 (2011-07-15)[18] |
|---|
|
Saya is seen hunting down a Bat Elder Bairn at night. The next day, she stops by the coffee shop to see Fumito Nanahara, who offers her some pink marshmallow-like guimauve. During school lunch, Itsuki tries in vain to woo Saya. Saya herself is attracted to Shinichirō Tokizane, another classmate who rarely speaks but watches her. That night, Saya fights a Flower Elder Bairn. |
| 3 | "As for Man"
Transliteration: "Hito wa Isa" (Japanese: ひとはいさ) | Hiroyuki Hata | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Mariko Ishikawa
Minoru Ueda
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | July 22, 2011 (2011-07-22)[18] |
|---|
|
After enjoying breakfast with Tadayoshi at the coffee shop, Saya runs late for chemistry class, having to stay after class to clean up for her homeroom teacher Kanako Tsutsutori. Saya invites a few of her classmates to the coffee shop, where they learn that a baker has gone missing. The culprit is a Train Elder Bairn, which Saya then slays, but she is unable to save the baker. The Train Elder Bairn tells Saya to honor the covenant before dying. |
| 4 | "That Has Made Me Sad"
Transliteration: "Nageke Tote" (Japanese: なげけとて) | Kohei Hatano | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Takaaki Fukuyo
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | July 29, 2011 (2011-07-29)[18] |
|---|
|
Saya asks Tadayoshi for the meaning behind the Train Elder Bairn's words, but he brushes her off. At school, Saya encounters both the mysterious dog and Shinichirō. That night, a Gryphon Elder Bairn and his two minion Elder Bairns devour a group of fishermen, holding one of them captive. While confronting the three, the Gryphon Elder Bairn says that the covenant between humans and Elder Bairns, called the Shrovetide, must be honored. |
| 5 | "Meeting in the Way"
Transliteration: "Meguri Ahite" (Japanese: めぐりあひて) | Yasutaka Yamamoto | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Junko Watanabe
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | August 5, 2011 (2011-08-05)[18] |
|---|
|
Saya begins experiencing headaches when she tries remember her past. She later successfully defeats a Monk Elder Bairn, but continues to ponder the Elder Bairns' references to the Shrovetide. Due to rain, Saya's class to tell ghost stories, leading to Kanako to retell a legend about the Elder Bairns, in which Saya suffers another headache and faints. The next day, when Nene visits Saya, both of them are attacked by a Centipede Elder Bairn. |
| 6 | "Dashed by Fierce Winds"
Transliteration: "Kaze o Itami" (Japanese: かぜをいたみ) | Takayuki Hamana | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Chieko Miyakawa
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | August 19, 2011 (2011-08-19)[19] |
|---|
|
Saya defeats the Centipede Elder Bairn, but Nene's already dead. The next day, Nono is also absent from school, and Kanako informs the class that the school will be closed due to the recent disappearances. Saya's later met by the dog from days earlier, which reveals its ability to speak. Meeting Nono, who confronts Saya on Nene's fate, Saya sees that a Shadow Elder Bairn's controlling Nono. Saya destroys the Shadow Elder Bairn, but Nono and several passersby are killed. |
| 7 | "As Pitiless As the Storm"
Transliteration: "Ukarikeru" (Japanese: うかりける) | Hisaya Takabayashi | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Akiko Nagashima
Toshiya Washida
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | August 26, 2011 (2011-08-26)[19] |
|---|
|
Saddened by the deaths of Nene and Nono, Saya's struggles to remember to whom she made her promise to protect everyone. The dog later says that it is there to oversee the granting of a wish. The next day, she arrives at school to find it empty besides Kanako. On the way back, Saya witnesses a policeman being killed by a Samurai Elder Bairn, who casts doubt in her mind over whether to trust Tadayoshi. As Saya kills the Samurai Elder Bairn, who tells her to ask who she really is, she's discovered by Shinichirō. |
| 8 | "Within the World"
Transliteration: "Yo no Naka yo" (Japanese: よのなかよ) | Hiroyuki Hata | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Masataka Kawano
Minoru Ueda
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | September 2, 2011 (2011-09-02)[19] |
|---|
|
Saya tells Shinichirō about the Elder Bairns & he offers to help. Returning home, Saya finds Tadoyoshi collapsed from an apparent fainting fit. The dog again confronts Saya, asking what would happen if she broke her promise. As she suffers another headache, she remembers the promise came with a reward and a punishment attached. After a few days without Elder Bairn attacks, Saya returns to school. As she walks with Yūka to class, a Spider Elder Bairn appears and attacks the students. With no escape available, Saya's forced to unsheathe her sword in front of her friends. |
| 9 | "Against My Wish"
Transliteration: "Kokoro ni mo" (Japanese: こころにも) | Yukina Hiro | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Takahisa Katagiri
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | September 9, 2011 (2011-09-09)[19] |
|---|
|
Saya struggles against the Spider Elder Bairn as she's immobilized by headaches and flashbacks. Although she kills the Elder Bairn, everyone aside from herself, Itsuki and Kanako have been killed. Returning home & lamenting to the dog, who poses more questions about her nature, she's visited by Shinichirō, who didn't attend school. Saya then realizes that her class were the only students in the school. Shinichirō's attempt to confess his love for Saya's halted by Tadayoshi's arrival. Saya then questions why she doesn't know her mother's name. |
| 10 | "Since 'Tis by Its Breath"
Transliteration: "Fuku Kara ni" (Japanese: ふくからに) | Yoshiaki Kyougoku | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Akiko Kumada
Fumi Morita
Kyoko Kotani
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | September 16, 2011 (2011-09-16)[2] |
|---|
|
As Saya struggles w/ the realization of the gaps in her memories, a Skeleton Elder Bairn attacks, killing Shinichirō when he returns to check up on her. After killing the Skeleton Elder Bairn, Saya begins to question her identity before passing out. She's nursed by Fumito, who gives her coffee and guimauve before going to see Tadayoshi. As Tadoyoshi goes off somewhere, Kanako stops by the coffee shop and asks Saya to see some scrolls in her shrine. Kanako reveals that nearly all of Tadoyoshi's books are blank & new. Shocked, Saya's led outside and confronted by the still-living Nene & Nono. |
| 11 | "Whom Then Are There Now"
Transliteration: "Tare o Kamo" (Japanese: たれをかも) | Atsushi Kobayashi | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Chieko Miyakawa
Junko Watanabe
Takayuki Goto (Chief Animation Director) | September 23, 2011 (2011-09-23)[2] |
|---|
|
Kanako, Shinichirō, and Nene and Nono reveal themselves to be part of a "main cast" surrounding Saya, playing roles intended to awaken Saya's memories for their own reasons. All the "main cast" members who died are still alive, while the expendable extras are really dead. As they force Saya to drink the blood of the Elder Bairns, which she'd allegedly been drinking whenever she passed out, they reveal she's linked to the Shrovetide, a period in time when Elder Bairns can freely devour humans. As Saya starts to remember things as a result of drinking the blood, a Cerberus Elder Bairn appears and the group's confronted by Itsuki and Yūka, who question their motives for interfering. |
| 12 | "If Remembering Me"
Transliteration: "Wasurejino" (Japanese: わすれじの) | Tsutomu Mizushima | Nanase Ohkawa
Junichi Fujisaku | Takayuki Goto
Akiko Nagashima
Shinji Itadaki
Ryoko Nakano | September 30, 2011 (2011-09-30)[2] |
|---|
|
Saya remembers her nature as a Elder Bairn, captured and brainwashed by Fumito, who wishes to free her from an oath not to feed on humans. Saya kills the Cerberus Elder Bairn, the crazed half-Elder Bairn Tadayoshi, and an army of multiplying Bunny Elder Bairns as her friends and the townspeople are killed. As Fumito and Yūka escape in a helicopter, Fumito shoots Saya through the head, revealing to her that the guimauve was made from the blood of Elder Bairns. Now alone, Saya tends to her wound and heads after Fumito, while the dog says her wish to stay herself has been fulfilled and that it is now time for her next wish. |
