Category: Finished Series: Action

And so starts the second major arc of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto. I’m still not sure what the troupe is going to do, as so far, it seems to be entirely focusing on Akizuki. This episode especially delivered a great deal of background from his side. The new major antagonist also has yet to be introduced as well, apart from Soutetsu, that is.

As expected, a few new faces and names appear in this episode. First of all, the army which we saw in the past few episodes seemed to be heading for Yokohama. Something tells me that it’s going to play a rather significant role in the next few episodes. How will this involve Akizuki? In any case, the commander of this army is Oomura Mazushirou. At least, I think he is. He’s in any case the strategic planner. An acquaintance of Katsu also came with this army. I think he oversees the delivery of supplies. I don’t think his name was mentioned. Either that, or I couldn’t pick it up.

We also get introduced to Sakamoto Ryouma’s wife, Oryo. Akizuki will probably meet her in the next episode. For now, she’s staying with the troupe. She currently is the only tie to the main story they’ve left. Akizuki, meanwhile, runs into an acquaintance of his own. When he was young, he trained at a dojo. The strongest member of this dojo was Okita. It’s interesting to see that Akizuki already had this huge determination he’s got now. I think Okita will be a temporary character, though. He didn’t look too healthy during this episode, coughing up blood and running off on his own despite this injury and all.

This episode also gave a very clear view of Akizuki’s time with Sakamoto, instead of the flashes we’ve been seeing during the previous episodes. It seems that Sakamoto was killed by an unknown group, different from the Shinsengumi. It’s also interesting to note that right before Akizuki met Sakamoto for the first time, he detected a spirit, or supernatural activity. When he started to go after it, he found Sakamoto instead.

It’s really been a great episode. Despite it mostly spent its time introducing the upcoming arc and its characters and providing background info on Akizuki, all these things succeeded each other in a quick pace, making this episode very enjoyable. So many things happened during this episode, and for once, none really felt out of place, compared to the previous episodes, which were sortof bothered by the brainwashing scenes.

Ooh, this was a very exiting episode: Akizuki vs Kanna, Nakaiya Juubei shows himself and tries to manipulate Katsu with the lord’s head, Soutetsu attempts to seal the lord’s head at the same time and the troupe infiltrates the same mansion in which all of this happens. Basically, 90% for the episode was one big action scene. But was it a good episode?

I’d say it is. I really enjoyed all parts except when Nakaiya manipulated Katsu and his companion. I’m not sure why, but I never really liked the brainwashing scenes in Bakumatsu. The background music also asks a bit too much from the viewer. Still, the other parts were excellent. It’s clear that Akizuki and Kanna have about the same amount of fighting experience, which really results in a battle of speed, stealth and strategy. Really enjoyable to see. Finally we have a fight with a villain who actually has a personality and a bit of a developed character. 🙂

It also seems that the troupe knew that Nakaiya Juubei was about to make his move. I’m suspecting Soutetsu told them, in order to turn them into a diversion. Their role isn’t too big. They spend most of the episode searching for Nakaiya’s location. Apparently, he hid himself well in a rather large building. At one point, Kanna also runs into Kakunojou, and he has some kind of strange deja vu. It seems like he recognized her from somewhere. Whether this is good or bad, I’m still not sure off.

The episode also takes a strange turn when suddenly, the main villain gets killed. I didn’t pick up the exact details, though I’m suspecting that Soutetsu now has turned into the main antagonist, unless Juubei has some kind of way to get back from the dead, like he did ten years ago. You’d wonder what those around him will do from now on. Will Glover be out of the picture as well, or will he start making his own moves now? And what will Kanna do afterwards, now that his employer is dead?

This episode definitely was different from all episodes thus far. There was almost no action, it just involved people talking and preparing for the next episode. It turned out pretty well, in my opinion. This was an excellent episode, though I do suspect that the action junkies will be put off by it.

So many things happened during this episode. The most important of them is probably Soutetsu. He’s left the Kakunojou Troupe in order to take care of a few things. He first goes to Akizuki’s home village, and there he lets the local residents bake strange kinds of vases. Apparently, they have to be just perfect, as he rejects quite a lot of them before he finds the vase he’s looking for. I don’t know how, but apparently this is the way to summon a demon. Shouten-sama and his assistant find this out as well. The question now remains: on whose side is he? This gets even more mysterious when we see him meeting up with Nakaiya Juubei, of all persons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the troupe wonders where the heck he went, and they thing back to the time at which he joined them. This provide a few nice flashbacks. It seems that Yuyama and her two companions ended up in the theatre-business, when they found that they had talent and needed money. At a certain point, Soutetsu started following them, and at one point, he asked to be their scriptwriter. Afterwards, the rest of the troupe came.

Nakaiya Juubei, meanwhile, hasn’t been sitting still himself, as he’s preparing yet another demon. With this, he attempts to brainwash Katsu, who was meeting his superior about his recently destroyed headquarter. He succeeds. Kanna plays an interesting role in this. He thinks he’s helping Nakaiya into breaking in the building and holding Katsu hostage, though it seems that his help wasn’t needed after all.

Also, I loved it when Glover gave the Japanese a handshake, and they didn’t understand what it meant. ^^

You’d wonder about the meaning of the red star. I’m not sure whether something about this has already been said in the anime, but I think it’s a crucial part into summoning the demons to the current world.

Interesting. In essence, this episode was just a combination of episode four and five. We have the same play about Hario Genba, in which now the three brainwashed goons attack, instead of Magozou. There’s another ritual, like the one we saw in episode five, we see the same guys, plotting to take Katsu’s brothel hostage, the English appear again, in all of their overconfident glory. Katsu attended the play yet again, along with H. S. Parkes and a few more of his friends (including the two guards we saw in the first episode, being attacked by Soutetsu) and Kanna Sakyou no Suke is yet again the person to save the day.

But there are differences. First of all, the first half of the episode gives some interesting background information. Both about the history of Yokohama, which seems to be quite bloody, as the history of Akizuki’s sword. Nakaiya Juubei also negotiates with Kanna. I’m not sure what he’s up to, though, as he ended up saving the day at the climax of the episode.

This episode also went a bit further than both episode four and five. In episode four, the audience never noticed that someone was trying to kill Yuyama. This time, they did. In episode five, the fighting didn’t reach its climax because of the English and their bagpipes. In this episode, it did. Also in episode five, the English may have made a lot of noises, they never really did anything. In this episode, they did. They killed every single one of the ones who held the people in Katsu’s brothel hostage, and never even tried to prevent the place from burning down to the ground. That’s another one of the differences: Katsu has now lost his main headquarter.

Also, the play was very similar to the play we saw in episode four, with a small exception: the emphasis on Nakaiya Juubei. Kakashi gets dressed up as some kind of weird parody of him. It’s definitely another one of Soutetsu’s statements.

I’m also not sure whether I liked the three brainwashed goons. It’s good that they’re dead now, as they didn’t really have any background. Nakaiya could have sent a bunch of zombies and it still wouldn’t have made any difference. But there’s one thing I do like about them: their entrance. When compared to Magozou, these guys lack any form of subtlety. They were quite funny when they just entered through the front door and their eyes began glowing during their numerous grunts, and not to mention how they appeared on the exact right moment Kakashi summoned them. ^^;

I think that one of the main themes of this anime is the relationship between the Japanese, and the foreigners. I’ve read somewhere that the Japanese are very xenophobic(I think this came from the translation notes of Popolocrois 2003, with Luna being afraid to let others find out her true form), and the way the English acted during the kidnapping puts an emphasis on this. What we’ve got here is two clashing lifestyles, who need to learn to cooperate with each other, but refuse to.

Again, a few new names:

Karasuma Kurouta: He’s the guy with the beak-like head accessory.

Ryuu Kaien: He’s the small guy, incredibly fast, white hair.

Hajizuka Genzai: He’s the huge guy. These three were seen at the beginning of the episode, where they were recruited for Nakaiya Juubei. Suddenly, the supernatural element also returned to the series when they were possessed by another inadequately sealed demon. This caused them to lose their mind, become loyal to Nakaiya Juubei and increase in both power and speed.

Hata Meifuu: he’s under the service of Nakaiya Juubei. He’s some kind of shaman, able to use supernatural powers in such a way that he can try to manipulate the inadequately sealed demons.

A few more things I found out after watching episode 3: Katsu actually holds a very important position. He’s just an unfortunate bystander who got involved with the story as he happened to be near the Kakunojou troupe often. Akizuki’s current mission is chasing after those demons, Shouten-sama probably gave him this mission. But what does Sakamoto Ryouma have to do with this?

Just as with Asatte no Houkou, I’m beginning to see a pattern. First, we have an episode which introduces the new characters, new bad guys, et cetera. The episode afterwards features the climax of that episode. I’m not sure whether this is a good idea, though. I think that an irregular pacing is better for series as Bakumatsu.

Also, one thing that’s been irking me about this series is its bad guys, and most especially the goons who get sent after Yuyama and Akizuki. They just lack depth and background. All we know of Hario Genba was that he once killed Yuyama’s parents, though what he did afterwards never becomes clear. Magozou is even worse, as we never really get to know him. I think that’s a pity, as it really would contribute to this series.

This episode wasn’t really anything special, apart from a number of small details. I liked how Soutetsu actually was discovered, and how H.S. Parkes sent out his English guards in order to scare away the three attackers. Notice how the Japanese officials are enraged by this? Should provide good material for in the future. Still, Parkes’ Engrish is too evident. And why was Nakaiya Juubei suddenly so gloomy at the end of the episode?

The cliff-hanger also was interesting. It’s obvious after you see it, as Kanna Saikyou no Suke does have English connections (after all, he was appointed to Katsu by Parkes).

Seriously, that was such an awesome episode. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto makes a good chance of becoming this season’s best anime if this quality remains at the same level. This episode focused on Akizuki’s past a bit, but mostly on Saigo Magozou’s (not Takamori, apparently, the two of them have the same last name. Does that mean that they’re related?) attempts to assassinate Yuyama. I’m not sure why, tough. Apparently, Yuyama stands in Nakaiya Juubei’s way in some kind of manner.

But first, another name. Ever since the previous episode, the official site has been updated to include Katsu’s bodyguard. His name is Kanna Sakyou no Suke.

We start the episode where we left off the previous time. Magozou has been surrounded by both Akizuki and the troupe. Now, he uses some kind of explosive to create a smokescreen and escape. Benimaru and Kobako then arrive, and thank Akizuki for what he did in the previous episode. The latter, however, just walks away.

We then switch to the next day, in which the troupe is performing a play in front of an audience. And seriously… they’re good. Akizuki and Soutetsu have a little talk, which forces Akizuki to remember his old master, Sakamoto Ryouma again. At least, I think that’s him. Ryouma also mentions Katsu for a bit.

We then switch to Nakaiya Juubei and Magozou. It seems that the former has acquired the building plans for the theatre, which will prove to be a great advantage for Magozou. Back to Akizuki, he’s training for a bit until Kobako arrives with an invitation of some sort. I think that Katsu asked him to deliver this, which would suggest some connection between the two. It seems that Katsu also is getting worried about the fact that Akizuki’s still living on his memories of Ryouma. We see the flashback of his assassination again as well.

We then switch to the troupe again, performing a play about Hario Genba. It’s very interesting to see that Soutetsu actually wrote a play about the history of the members of the troupe. Ah well, it’s a good source of inspiration (^_^). Magozou, meanwhile, is wrapping some cloth around his gun, while eating a bit. I’m not sure for what purpose that is. To conceal his weapon? To add extra firepower? In any case, it seems that he’s already sneaked into the theatre, waiting for the right opportunity.

A conversation between Nakaiya Juubei and TB Glover later, we switch to the next day, where it seems that the troupe will be performing for a huge play. It is here where Magozou will be attempting to try his luck, as everyone will probably be too busy with making the show run in order to pay any attention to other things. Akizuki, however, also seems to be present. An interesting note: either the troupe has hired extra actors, or it consists out of more than just the characters, important to the story. I’m guessing the former, as at one point, the stage is filled with lots of people at the same time.

Both Akizuki and Soutetsu are keeping an eye out, while Magozou waits for the right moment, at a spot right above the stage. Unfortunately, he waits too long, so Akizuki finds him first. And this is where things really turn awesome. Especially because the play below is just continuing like nothing happened. Magozou attempts to escape, but then runs into Soutetsu and shoots Kakashi no Keishin’s shoulder in the process. He eventually ends up right next to the stage with no sign of his pursuers and a clear shot of Kakunojou, when suddenly the stage gets filled with numerous extras, playing for government officials and other people, who all obstruct his view of Kakunojou.

He then turns desperate, and he runs on the stage himself, putting on an act of his own. Akizuki then rushes in and kills the guy, and the audience loves this, thinking it’s all part of the act. Magozou, however, has one trick left up his sleeve: a number of bombs, hanging from the ceiling. He attempts to shoot them, though Kanna no Sakyou Suke prevents this.

Kkunojou attempts to thank Akizuki, though he walks away again. Once more, he wasn’t able to protect the ones who hired him. I think his problem is that he doesn’t know the meaning of teamwork. For as far as I know, he’s been doing everything on his own, and he never considered the help of others. The fact that they actually did try to help him didn’t appear in his mind.

Another thing: the supernatural elements. For the past two episodes, there has been absolutely nothing supernatural appearing, even though this forms a large part of the story (the red star, the unsealed demon). I’m suspecting that this will turn into an important focus later in the story. I actually like how the creators did this.