Which Chapter Features Yamanba's Final Scene? A Walkthrough of the Original Manga Posts

The final scene comes after breakfast in Volume 7's "Yamanba"

Within the range of original manga posts we were able to confirm, the last appearance of Yamanba herself is after breakfast in Volume 7's "Yamanba." Yamanba touches on the light the three of them saw and begins to speak as if she had seen it herself. Along the way, her hands tremble purple and something small appears, as her condition suddenly becomes unstable. Even so, she mentions preparing dinner and heads off to wash the dishes—this is the endpoint of the original posts following Yamanba.

What matters is that this is not a scene that directly shows Yamanba's death. What is depicted is the strange turn after breakfast, and Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi worrying about what comes next inside the dark house. Based on this depiction alone, what happened to Yamanba afterward—whether she lived or died—cannot be confirmed. This post is not the chapter that confirms her death; it is a final scene open to multiple readings.

From a warm dinner table to a change that is hard to explain, the mood flips in just a few panels. A sharp-edged ending that leaves the calm intact while only the unease grows.

It begins with the three gathering ingredients in the mountains

Before arriving at Yamanba's house, Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi are gathering ingredients in the forest. Hachiware hums the name of marrons glacés and picks up fallen items from the ground into a basket. Chiikawa gathers them too, telling Usagi that this is a forest they found recently. Usagi pops one into his mouth, and when asked how it tastes, laughs and rolls down the slope. Finally, Hachiware delights in the sweetness spreading through, while Chiikawa briefly notes the chewy texture. A leisurely opening that gives no hint of the tension to come.

Eventually, Chiikawa and Hachiware discover a large body hanging upside down from a tree by ropes. Startled by the sudden sight, they approach and check whether it is all right. The hanging body moves near the ground and appears to shift into a different posture. Even after nightfall, the two keep watching the movement under the same tree, still unable to tell who the figure is. Despite the eerie encounter, the kindness of the two, who stay and worry instead of leaving, moves the story forward.

Warm hospitality continues at Yamanba's house

When the three approach out of concern, Yamanba laughs and says she feels no pain from having been hung upside down. She then invites them into her home and prepares a dish simmering in a pot along with food containing beni shoga (red pickled ginger). Hachiware delights in the flavor, and Chiikawa and Usagi also receive the meal. Yamanba thanks them for their help and urges the three to eat more.

After the meal, a large box of sweets is brought out. Yamanba asks them to wait a moment and takes out a piece of paper with a picture of a mushroom-shaped sweet on it, but what she shows next is a photograph with a note saying it is something she made herself. The store-bought-looking appearance and the homemade explanation don't quite connect, and the three look back and forth between the paper and the photograph, watching to see what is about to begin.

Yamanba stirs a dish that seems ready to overflow from a large pot, cheerfully remarking that the sounds seem to glow. The three end up spending the night at the house, and in their bedding at night, they discuss how to repay the kindness of being taken in. Hachiware suggests making breakfast, and they align their feelings for the next morning. This flow of the hosted side trying to give something back draws Yamanba and the three much closer.

Unease returns indoors at night

During the night spent at the house, unease flashes through once. Chiikawa and Hachiware stop in their tracks beside a large, shaggy body lying on the floor, a small lantern between them. Even when a short, breath-like sound comes from the figure, they cannot tell what it wants. With minimal background and props, only the two's shock and the large body before them stand out. Precisely because of the memory of the warm meal, the strangeness of the quiet room becomes striking. Not pushing the fear with loud theatrics is the distinctive temperature of "Yamanba."

The flow from making breakfast to the final strange turn

In the morning, Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi notice a sound beyond the shoji screen. Thinking someone must be up, the three peek in and see a large shadow on the screen. The source is Yamanba, shaving a hard block on a stand. What she holds appears to be dried bonito, and the suspicious sound changes into the sound of breakfast being prepared. A brief morning misunderstanding—frightened by a shadow, then reassured by cooking.

When the three offer to help Yamanba make breakfast, she initially declines, saying she could not ask that of guests. But when they insist they want to do something, Yamanba accepts their offer. Usagi carries vegetables in a basket, Hachiware handles the cooking, and Chiikawa also moves around near the table. Steam rises from the pot—an intimate time as host and guests shape breakfast together in the same kitchen.

When freshly cooked rice and several dishes are laid out on the table, the three start breakfast as they are urged to. Hachiware says how delicious it is, and Yamanba sings with joy at spending time with the three while eating herself. In the very next post, the strange developments pile up at once: talk of light, hands trembling purple, something small, and mention of preparing dinner. Because the kindness has been built up fully before it crumbles, the final change leaves a strong impression.

Fan Theories | Did Yamanba Die, or Was She Only Asleep? (an interpretation shared among Japanese fans on X)

Regarding whether Yamanba lived or died, there are two major fan theories among Japanese fans on X. One reads it as death by poison. Some posts cite her voice before collapsing, the strange way she fell, and a snore-like sound as grounds for thinking it was Usagi's scheme. The other reads it as her simply falling asleep from a sleep-inducing mushroom. Some posts take the clue that Usagi also drank the miso soup and fell asleep, interpreting it as falling asleep. Both are fan interpretations; the original manga never states whether she lived or died.

Fans who support the sleep theory note that since the story moved on to a different tale afterward, her condition cannot be settled unless the three revisit Yamanba's house. It is a view that leaves the ending open, leaving even whether there is a revisit to the reader's imagination. The death theory weighs the final physical depiction heavily, while the sleep theory weighs Usagi's reaction after eating the same meal, so even for the same scene, the points of focus differ.

As for the anime, some fan posts discuss Yamanba's scene as the rapid development at the end of Episode 310. There are also voices saying the pace felt far stronger in the anime than in the original manga, suggesting that the impression of the strange turn varies by medium. The split in answers stems less from a lack of information and more from the fact that a calm breakfast and ominous physical depiction are placed side by side. The ambiguity itself has become a lingering aftertaste that makes people want to keep talking about it.

After the final scene, the story moves to different characters

After Yamanba's own scenes end, the same Volume 7 shifts to "Ano-ko Dekatsuyo." Rather than returning to Yamanba's condition to give an answer, a story of another large being begins. The story closes the aftertaste with no explanation, switching forward while readers are still concerned.

Ano-ko, watched over by small black creatures around her, plays using a stick-like object. She lies down on the ground, or shakes a lifted companion as if matching it to a sound, and when the other takes distance, she lets go of the object in her hand and gazes after where it went. The focus shifts to how a large being other than Yamanba interacts with small companions.

In the following posts, Ano-ko chases a group of small gray figures and turns her attention to one wielding a stick-like weapon connected by a chain. While a satisfied Ano-ko proceeds through the forest, Dekatsuyo shrinks back in a tree's shadow, and Ano-ko passes by without noticing. Instead of showing Yamanba once more and leaving an answer, a new near-miss begins to move. A quiet, sharply cut scene transition.