The Demon Girl Next Door Vol. 6, Chapters 67-71 (Operation Rescue Shion Ogura) and the Hero's Journey

Focusing on the inner and outer problems that Vogler applied to Titanic, let’s take a look at the operation to rescue Shion Ogura.

Why choose this episode? Because out of all the various incidents that occur throughout The Demon Girl Next Door, this episode’s inner and outer problems are remarkably straightforward and clear-cut.

On top of that, the episode is thick with an aura of mystery, and I also wanted to unravel the reasons behind that.

This article contains serious spoilers through Volume 6 of The Demon Girl Next Door. {: .prompt-danger}

The Hero’s Journey: An Overview#

As usual, let’s repost an outline of Vogler’s version of the Hero’s Journey.

For more details on the Hero’s Journey, see here.

The "Hero's Journey" Model (from p. 282)

The hero (or heroes) of the story ventures along these stages.

A brief summary of each stage is shown in the table below.

#	Stage	Summary
1	The Ordinary World	Shows the heroes’ everyday life. Establishes the stakes.
2	Call to Adventure	Hints at problems with the status quo and raises the adventure’s stakes.
3	Refusal of the Call	Demonstrates the danger of the adventure to the reader.
4	Meeting with the Mentor	Prepares for the adventure. Offers advice and bestows magical gifts.
5	Crossing the First Threshold	The adventure actually begins. Passes the point of no return from the ordinary world.
6	Tests, Allies, Enemies	Learns the rules of the Special World.
7	Approach to the Inmost Cave	Prepares and plans to enter the deepest cave.
8	The Ordeal	Confronts the greatest fear. Death and rebirth of the hero. Transcendence of ego. Initiation.
9	Reward	Claims the sought-after elixir, the missing person, knowledge, etc.
10	The Road Back	Attempts to return to the ordinary world. May be pursued by the reward’s owner.
11	Resurrection	A reenactment of death and rebirth. Must be purified and reborn as a new being before returning.
12	Return with the Elixir	Brings the reward back to the ordinary world to serve the community.

Act I: Departure#

The episode begins in Chapter 67, where Shion Ogura gets sucked into the Yoshida family’s barrier.

Ryoko Yoshida, who was present at the scene of Shion Ogura’s disappearance, delivers the Call to Adventure to ShamiMomo.

Momo issues a Refusal of the Call with, “Let’s put these glasses on her grave,” but Shamiko connects a telepathic phone call to Shion Ogura, who is trapped in the interdimensional rift.

In this episode, four different Mentors make an appearance.

The first is Shion Ogura herself. It might feel strange, but Shion takes on the archetype of the Mentor who imparts information. She quickly relays the current situation and provides Momo and company with the knowledge needed for the rescue.

The second is Mikan Hinatsuki. She becomes a Mentor who provides the magical items necessary for the upcoming adventure, granting Shamiko a magical beacon. The third Mentor, Ugallu, is also a gear-supplying Mentor.

The final and most crucial Mentor is Ryoko Yoshida. She shares her deduction with Shamiko that Shion Ogura is likely a demon (or at least someone tied to Light and Darkness). She also tells ShamiMomo, “She’s not a bad person, so please save her.” She is the type of Mentor who gives the heroes the push they need.

Through the power of a talismanic charm using a waka poem, ShamiMomo completes Crossing the First Threshold into the pocket dimension folded inside the barrier.

Though I may leave for Mount Inaba, whose peak is covered with pines,

if I hear that you pine for me, I will come straight home to you.

— Middle Counselor Yukihira (Poem No. 16), Kokin Wakashu, Book VIII (Parting): 365

Incidentally, an actual charm that uses this waka apparently exists in real life.

For example, when a pet cat goes missing, haven’t you seen an old grandmother write this poem on a strip of paper, turn the cat’s bowl upside down, and place the paper underneath it?

While this poem laments a parting, it is also known as a talismanic charm chanted in hopes that a person or animal who has gone missing will return.

Could it be that they used the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu simply because they were rescuing Ogura Shion?

The Outer Problem and the Inner Problem#

At this point, the problems facing ShamiMomo have become clear.

(Note: In this analysis, I will treat ShamiMomo as a single composite hero. They share almost identical problems, and there isn’t much interpersonal friction between the two of them here.)

[Outer Problem]
- Rescuing Shion Ogura
[Inner Problem]
- Becoming friends with Shion Ogura (especially Momo)

The outer problem is rescuing Shion Ogura. However…

Just as Vogler states:

Every hero needs both an inner and an outer problem.

there is also a more psychological, inner problem facing ShamiMomo.

While Shion Ogura and Momo share a loose cooperative relationship, a wall still stands between them. They have to overcome that barrier.

Furthermore, as the boss of her sole-proprietorship demon enterprise, Shamiko has to successfully mediate between the two.

Act II-A: Descent into Trials#

Upon reaching the interior of the barrier, ShamiMomo immediately encounters a glasses-wearing Shion Ogura.

She represents the Reward of this adventure, as well as a precious Ally in this Special World. She continues to give ShamiMomo guidance as a Mentor who knows the ins and outs of this space.

In order to escape the alternate dimension, they must overcome a Test: a spot-the-difference game. ShamiMomo clears the Tests in rapid succession.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, observing the situation inside the alternate dimension through the magical beacon, they notice an abnormality. The Shion Ogura with ShamiMomo is acting strangely. Ancestor suspects that Shion Ogura herself might be “some kind of difference.”

Shion Ogura then smashes Shamiko’s mobile phone, severing their means of communication with the real world. Shion Ogura, who was presumed to be an Ally all along, might actually be an Enemy.

As an ominous tension settles over both the real-world crew and the reader, Momo, of all people, heads out alone to look for differences. Shamiko makes an Approach to the Inmost Cave by finding herself left all alone with the suspicious Shion Ogura.

Shion Ogura seems to hold a favorable impression of Momo Chiyoda. Shamiko suggests that she use this opportunity to change what she calls her. It looks like the inner problem has been solved, but sadly, that is not to be.

Act II-B: Initiation#

It is revealed that the companion they had been traveling with wasn’t Shion Ogura, but a descendant of the demon “Gusion,” and that the final difference is the scenery visible from Gusion’s room: “the landscape where Momo-chan failed to save the world.”

The moment Shamiko erases the final difference, Gusion vanishes into nothingness. Immediately afterward, Momo returns carrying the real Shion Ogura, wrapped up like a rolled mat (sumaki).

Throughout this entire sequence, “death”—the defining hallmark of The Ordeal—crops up everywhere.

Indirect and unavoidable though it was, by completing the spot-the-difference game, Shamiko brought death upon Gusion (a “death dealt by the hero”), and Shamiko witnessed it (the “hero witnessing death”).

On the other hand, Gusion—the hidden hero of this episode—can be said to have sacrificed herself to increase Shion Ogura’s chances of survival (the “death of the ego”), or to have become a “hero cheating death” by surviving as an e-book on Shamiko’s phone.

Furthermore, in light of the events from ten years ago revealed in the latter half of Volume 6, we realize that chronologically speaking, Gusion’s appearance in the first place was already a Resurrection.

Act III: Return#

As their Reward, ShamiMomo obtained the real Shion Ogura and the e-book edition of Gusion. All that remains is to take The Road Back to the real world.

However, having had all its differences resolved, the barrier space loses internal pressure and explodes via a mechanism akin to a supernova. This imposes a strict time limit on their escape, thrusting ShamiMomo once again into mortal peril.

And thus begins the Resurrection stage.

Their Road Back and Resurrection are brimming with the motif of the “Magic Flight.”

The fact that attempting to bring back the e-book version of Gusion raises the escape’s difficulty makes it feel as though the Special World is trying to reclaim the Elixir.

Momo activates her Second Harvest Form—the very one thoroughly mocked as “Mount Super-Lame”—and roller-skates along a thread spun of magical power connecting the Special World and the Ordinary World.

This escape method is, quite literally, a Magic Flight.

What’s more, Vogler writes as if he had anticipated this exact plot development:

The Resurrection can be a potential misstep for a returning hero who may be walking a narrow sword-bridge from one world to the next.

p. 305

Shamiko and Momo succeed in carrying Shion Ogura and the e-book version of Gusion safely back to the ordinary world.

Momo pouts about her tacky form, but Shion Ogura is the only one who appreciates its functional beauty. With that, Momo and Shion Ogura reconcile, and Shion casually declares her enlistment into their united front: “Let’s keep protecting the town together.”

Were the Problems Solved?#

Did ShamiMomo solve the problems they faced?

[Outer Problem]
- Rescuing Shion Ogura
[Inner Problem]
- Becoming friends with Shion Ogura (especially Momo)

Both the outer problem and the inner problem were brilliantly resolved. What’s more, Shamiko brought back an extra elixir in the form of the e-book edition of Gusion.

Impressions#

Of all the stories in The Demon Girl Next Door, this episode is one of my absolute favorites.

The first reason is that it pulls off so many tricky techniques—cleverly exploiting the four-panel comic format to advance time in parallel on the right and left sides, revealing right at the start that “the last difference is Shion Ogura’s glasses,” and so on.

The second reason, as demonstrated above, is that the structure of the problems is crystal clear, and seeing them resolved so cleanly delivers an immense catharsis.

The third reason is that the suspense surrounding Shion Ogura’s ungraspable identity is intensely thrilling—or rather, genuinely terrifying. This is basically half a horror manga at this point.

But the biggest reason of all is that the charm of Shion Ogura (Gusion) suddenly shone so brilliantly. Despite likely starting out as little more than a background mob character, she abruptly turned into an overwhelmingly central figure.

I’d always harbored an inexplicable sympathy for Shion Ogura, so that made me pretty happy.

Wild Over-Interpretation (Hiyayakko)#

Throughout the first half of Volume 6, the theme of “death” appears repeatedly. Perhaps this was laying the groundwork for the events in the latter half of the volume.