EPISODE CONTEXT

Coming off Episode 24's self-contained case involving a cursed idol, this episode marks a clear tonal pivot at roughly the midpoint of the 45-episode run — lightweight case-of-the-week storytelling gives way to something more serialized and threatening. Yukihira's abduction is not just a crisis to resolve; it is the series' formal introduction of a sinister organization whose shadow will stretch across the back half of the season. Episode 25 functions as a turning point, and what it sets in motion makes the episodes that follow feel meaningfully different from everything before it.