Saiunkoku Monogatari – 24

Holy god, this anime is just getting better and better! I loved this episode to bits. Not only was it hilarious, some of the speeches, monologues and dialogues were brilliant! I can’t believe how much thought has been put into this anime. Now that we’re nearing the hearts of books 4 and 5, Saiunkoku Monogatari gets more interesting by the minute. It already starts out good when Sa Kokujun comes to free Ensei and Seiran. He’s the third grandson of Sa Chuushou, if I recall correctly. He’s been stationed alongside his eldest brother, Sa Soujun, whom we saw in the previous episode and kept an eye out on Kourin, Eigetsu, Ensei and Serian while they were captured. He’s in love with Sa Enjun’s granddaughter, Sa Shunki, I’m not sure whether this is known to the rest of the Sa-clan, but the fact remains that they don’t find him suspicious and he’s not too happy with their plans. In any case, I loved how Ensei lectured him when he released him. He’s one of those guys who keeps hoping for other, stronger people to do something. He hoped that Ensei would just go and rampage and everything would be all right. This also showed how easily influenced he is, as we later see him in the episode take initiative to guide Eigetsu and Kourin to Kinka. Speaking of Kourin, I’m surprised how strong she became after her stay in the Sa-Province. When she still was a servant of Sa Enjun, she just was a random scared servant. Same with when she returned. She was just too scared to be hated by Shuurei to show her true strength. But now that she’s shown her side when she’s not scared, she’s become awesome. 🙂 I also love how each of the characters go their own way, and do what they have to do in their own way. While Shuurei (she looks great with her hair down, by the way) is in the merchant’s guild, travelling without being seen, Ensei and Seiran travel a bit faster, while working as bounty-hunters, capturing the Satsujinzoku in the meantime and Kourin and Eigetsu have to make sure that nobody finds out that Kokujun has betrayed the Sa clan and Kourin actually is Shuurei. And yes, Ensei’s picture was hilarious. Also, I keep wondering what’s up with Senya? He’s definitely got an eye on Shuurei, but who does he work for? He seems to know Shuurei’s identity, as he’s been dropping lots of hints about Shuurei and her companions, which means that he definitely wants something from her. But is it to protect her in some way, by marrying Shuurei before the Sa-clan gets the chance to do so, or does he work for the Sa-clan and is simply luring Shuurei to where he wants her?]]>