© Matsui Yusei/Shueisha/Escape Boy Production Committee
Damn, this show has no right to be this interesting and compelling. We’ve already been treated to a massive show filled with dark atmosphere and gore a few weeks ago; all this episode has to do is live up to its title and deliver some nasty stuff to get us into the next big scene. However, despite being the true owner of the recently stolen title “Perverted Boy and the Disruption of Holy Power”, this week’s chapter The elusive samurai Somehow, some of its ideas and imagery managed to get deep into my heart and into my mind. We still get to laugh at this perverted boy, which only makes all the surprising depth that follows that much more exhilarating.
It turns out that this pervert no Genba, but most importantly Tokiyuki, as his efforts to obtain Yori Shige’s random future vision catalysts led his retainers to suspect that their young lord was developing a debauched taste fit only for the most blue-blooded nobles. Honestly, if this silly plot was the focus of the entire episode, I wouldn’t complain because it made me laugh a lot. Like I always say, the dumbest jokes only become funnier when their execution has been overly polished and worked over, and The elusive samuraiof The impeccable production values only make things more interesting as poor Tokiyoshi hears his best friends fervently rally together to unwaveringly support their master’s sick perversion.
The real meat of the episode emerges when some of the encounters with Nourige and Shizuku delve into the magical and mythical nature of this setting. Tokiyuki’s time spent with Shizuku and the forest spirit not only looks adorable, but creates an endearing, almost romantic spark between the two children. I don’t mean romance in the relationship sense – at least not completely ——But the meaning of “classical poetry and painting with a capital R “romantic””. After weeks of brutality and bloodshed, the animation’s beautiful artistry is brought back to the natural world, showing the connection our heroes have with the land they walk on when they allow themselves time to commune with the spiritual plane. How powerful connections are.
This atmosphere of magic and wonder is only compounded by chatting with Yorishige, and also serves as a thesis statement to explain why this show exists in the first place. At this time in Japanese history, where the ancient and modern worlds collided so violently, it’s here that you can have concrete human stories of real historical figures colliding with supernatural mythology, which can only thrive when there’s no doubt and doubt . As Yori Shige said, the story of time The elusive samurai It simply cannot exist outside of this specific moment in Japanese history, as the practical boundaries of technology and secular thought would prevent it from taking root as anything other than a boring fantasy. I’ve been commenting for weeks The elusive samurai has always reveled in this infectious admiration for its setting, despite how horrific, strange and tonally inconsistent that setting proved to be. What else can we expect in a world where gods, men, heroes, children and otherworldly demons walk side by side, vying for control of the fate of nations?
This blend of the magical and the mundane is why I like to take a detour to visit the Ashikaga brothers: Takaidera and Tadayoshi. Up until now, Kojuji has been described as one of those otherworldly demon types whose instincts and powers are so sharp that nothing can stop his attacks. However, when his brother is used as a foil, the man becomes more human, and Gao’s monster feels particularly threatening when set against the concerns of a “mortal” man. The scene where Zhongyi discovers the dark and confusing magic mouth surrounding his brother’s Buddha statue is one of my favorite moments in the show so far, as it forces both Zhongyi and the audience to question whether Gao realizes how darkly altered his soul is. have to. This villain could take this story to the next level.
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The elusive samurai Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which can also be found in twitterhis blog and his podcast.
