Short Synopsis: This episode fleshes out some of the members of the Ittou-Ryuu
Highlights: The ending.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
So, the Ittou-Ryuu has its own enemies too, and this episode shows them as they get rid of those who are in their way. The first seems to be some sort of ronin, the second one looks to be a merchant. I didn’t quite catch what exactly it was that made them anger the Ittou-Ryuu, but they served as nice material to flesh out Hyakurin and Giichi, even though interestingly enough, the two of them don’t seem to be this series’ main characters. In fact, we haven’t even met two of the more important characters of this series yet.
This episode also properly introduces the monk, or Shizuma Eikuu, as he tries to get rid of Manji in the second half of this episode. The guy’s an immortal too, and he’s been living for 200 years, and he actually tries to get rid of Manji by hitting him with a poisoned dagger. What striked me the most was at the end, when Manji is actually writhing in pain, because his worms don’t work, and especially Rin’s voice-acting was excellent. Her voice-acting was powerful, without being melodramatic. Her voice-actor did Kakunojou from Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto before, which was another roe that sounded great and that was set in the Japanese history.
Sorry for off-topicness, but I got GREAT news! A season 2 for Natsume Yuujinchou has been confirmed!! It’ll air January 2009! I have proof!
http://imagepot.net/image/122206725832.jpg
are hyakurin and giichi part of ittou ryu?
I assumed that they were…. but now that you mention it, I can’t recall having seen that confirmed.
no, hyakurin and giichi AREN’T part of ittoryu (the contrary, at the very least^^ this should be clear by now). As i suspected…. they (BT) are making a whole mess out of the storylines mixing them together to get the ball rolling faster….. but people aren’t understanding the plot points correctly.
Hyaku and Gii appear in the manga from vol.5 onward (while in the anime we’re at the beginning of vol.2…. out of 23 vols, and counting), and they’re basically the best side characters EVER. They deserve their own story-arc once the introduction’s DONE, not during it….