© Matsui Yusei/Shueisha/Escape Boy Production Committee
We have one more kid left to meet from the gang that showed up The elusive samurai’s OP and ED anime, so I knew we would have an episode introducing him sooner or later. Sure enough, we didn’t have to wait long before “Winter’s Child” delivered the goods by having Fubuki jump out of the forest and start swinging his dual-wielding swords in every direction. This is an excellent development, as Fubuki provides another layer of personality to Tokiyuki’s followers that will certainly make their future adventures more enjoyable. Also, dual-wielding swords is always disgusting. Using dual-wielding swords more in combat means I’m a happy camper every time.
The good news is, everything surrounding Fubuki’s dual-wielding sword fighting is awesome too! This is a relatively transitional plot The elusive samuraithe weird villains mostly take a back seat while the kids carry out missions and further develop their connections. Tokiyuki and his retainers need to attack because Yorishige apparently frequently loses the ability to predict the future. Not only does this give the show a good reason to give the kids more alone time, but it also makes for some particularly funny jokes, like Raishige being an over-protective helicopter parent for Tokio – and generally making everyone feel Scared (more than usual, yes).
However, it’s when Fubuki shows up that Winter’s Children really ups its game, and not just because of the fantastic – if mostly incidental – fights. I also loved the little jokes and moments of growth, such as Tokiyuki realizing that Kojiro and Ayako were taking it easy on him in training, allowing him to win a few easily and boosting his confidence. I also really like the whole concept of a gluttonous castaway like Forby going to great lengths to train the recently orphaned people of a remote village in the arts of self-defense and guerrilla warfare. Here is another example The elusive samurai Combining goofy humor and a young cast with the brutal and violent reality of living in war-torn 14th century Japan. Sometimes you just gotta learn to buck up, dig some death traps with your friends, and learn how to murder adults with arrows, you know?
Perhaps with the exception of Xuanzhang, none of Toki’s other young retainers have much backstory or complex motivations, but The elusive samurai Always finding ways to make up for this by making us like the whole unit. The vibrant art and gorgeous animation also go a long way in this department. This means that, by far, the worst episode of the show is still very likable and funny. You won’t find me complaining about this anytime soon.
grade:
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.
