WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, "Meifuku, the Meioju" now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Animelab and Hulu.
Episode 9 of Yashahime spends most of its time on a bittersweet story of demonic father and son, while also making time to introduce us to the next of the four perils -- only to dispatch him just as quickly. If the episode has a theme, it is the importance of familial love and support, and the challenges that can be overcome through it.
The titular Meifuku the Meioju turns out to be a turtle yokai whose father was killed by the next of the four perils, Konton. Konton is presented as an aesthete who will magically vanish anything he considers to be distasteful; unfortunately, this comes at the cost of anyone who gets in his way. Konton is powerful, but he is not invincible, and this is where Meifuku's father comes in. Meioju shells are basically impervious to blows, as it turns out, even diamond, and Konton killed Meifuku's father to steal this armor.
Meifuku is presented as a timid child (he's only 50 years old! Practically a baby). He misses his father and has been shadowing Konton for 10 years, hoping to get his revenge. In the end, he is able to do so with the help of Towa and the others, but most importantly with the help of his father's spirit. His father encourages him to aid in the final push against Konton, and Meifuku is able to fire a Dark Lightning Cannon, allowing his father to finally find peace. It's a touching little story, and Meifuku is finally free to grow up knowing his father is resting easy.
While most of the focus of this episode is dedicated to Meifuku, it also makes time to offer a very important piece of character development for Moroha. Thus far, Moroha has been presented as fairly happy-go-lucky and boisterous. She is so confidant and sure of herself that it seems difficult to believe she has any real problems, outside of her debt.
"Meifuku, the Meioju" shows us that Moroha actually has a very common problem: loneliness. The start of the episode has Moroha trying to get Setsuna and Towa to come on a bounty hunt with her, and when they say they aren't interested, she lashes out and storms off. Afterward, she confides to Takechiyo that the life of a quarter demon is very lonesome and that she was hoping that her cousins would support her and provide her with camaraderie. Towa and Setsuna wind up going on the bounty with her anyway, and her relief is mostly played for laughs. Still, this moment shows us a little more of what makes Moroha tick, not an easy thing to see given her bluster.
In the end, Meifuku prevails out of the love and support of his father, along with the half-demon princesses, and the princesses prevail because of their familial support in each other. Konton is forced to flee, and sits in a cave by himself, angrily planning his revenge. It's a stark contrast: Konton, alone and defeated, and the princesses, together and victorious. It's clear that in spite of their differing personalities and objectives, Towa, Setsuna and Moroha are becoming closer, and learning how much stronger they are together than on their own.