The acting in this episode was sublime. Its biggest purpose was to set things up and hint a lot, but the delightful acting made it a wonderful episode to watch. Especially the tension that was generated between the different characters was amazing.
Something is really telling me that Hashiba Hideyoshi’s days are numbered. In the previous episode he already went with that ridiculous get-up, but this episode really hinted that something’s going to happen to him. Especially since he finally refused to simply be Senno Soueki’s assassination tool, right in front of his face. The artists and animators did an amazing job to really draw all kinds of intricate details in their non-verbal communication. Oh, and then there was also that rape scene.
On top of that, there were also these small details like that small intimate moment in which Sasuke gets his wife a small present. I really like how the creators portrayed his relationship with her: finally we have a romance where everything is right: you can see that they both love each other and to their best to support each other. There is no drama whatsoever and they really fit well together considering the time, setting and culture that they’re in. Heck, even Tiger and Bunny had to pull the dead wife twist: Sasuke really has just a happy family that are a large part of his life, yet know that they have no business in the story.
The real story in which grown up men fight over their toys like little babies! I really cracked up at the scene in which they accidentally broke that precious pot over their negotiations. Negotiations that were serious business, by the way, so I can’t wait to see what comes out of it, especially after what happened to Hideyoshi.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
i love this series, but had to drop it on account of it’s not being translated for most of the episodes. psgels, you probably said this before, i couldn’t find the page, but you’re watching the raws, right?