I’m going to continue hoping this one cour business was always the plan, and we haven’t been struck by some sort of extinction event like we were with Hoshiai no Sora. Because never would the phrase “just when it’s getting good” be more apt than if Sengoku Youko were simply ending after the prologue. It would be like Rurouni Kenshin (a series featuring the same actor in a leading role) ending before Kyoto, I suppose. But there was never much chance that was going to happen, even if the production committee was cagy with broadcast plans. With Mizukami, I don’t feel nearly so confident.
Therefore I’m not going to say the series is going out with a bang – that’s just too horrible to think about. But if it is going into intra-cour hiatus, it certainly is leaning on the accelerator. We have two major battles going on here, Barry vs. Shinsuke and Douren vs. Jinka Yamato – but those are really just the prologue (just as this cour itself is). Douren is a heavyweight in every sense of the word, and he seems to have an answer for just about everything Jinka can throw at him. But when Jinka decides to take hands-on in approach, the tide shifts.
Even his opponent was aghast that Jinka put his spectral hand inside his noggin and rooted around. But he must have flipped the correct switch, because he gets yet another yet spiritual power-up. Seriously, this guy has more tails than the U.S. Mint. Still, I don’t think we can really say Douren would have been unable to withstand this attack, because we just don’t know. Something or someone interfered, distracted his attention at the crucial moment. Whether intentionally or not again, we just don’t know.
Whatever the reason, Douren is down for the count – much to Yazen’s chagrin. He determines that it’s time to cut bait, not even bothering to see what happens with Barry – who he describes as merely a collection of stuff that was about to be disposed of. Not being a fighter himself, Yazen figures he has nobody left who can stand against Jinka Yamato. He decides to apply a scorched Earth strategy – burn what’s to be left behind and play his trump card. Or, as manga readers have come to call it, Yazen’s moving castle.
Meanwhile, Shinsuke and Barry continue their dance inside the mountain and then, after Arabuki tricks Barry into blasting a hole in the ceiling, up in the sky. Arabuki is embracing this role as Shinsuke’s wings as well as his weapon, enjoying the fact that his “master’s” own dearth of spiritual power leaves him free to do pretty much as he pleases. Once Arabuki slices away Barry’s battle suit it’s pretty much just a fistfight at that point. But unfortunately for Barry, Yazen’s manipulations haven’t left much of the original, and one solid punch is all it takes to put an end to him.
That Barry’s death offers Shinsuke neither solace or satisfaction is pretty obvious. The more interesting question is whether he would have killed Barry if he knew that’s what his attack would do. Barry is dead and Shakugan is no less a rock than she was before. Now Shinsuke’s a killer and what did it get him? But there’s little time to ponder that, as Yazen’s moving castle – also known as Taizan – lumbers into action. Taizan, of course, is the whole reason Yama no Kami recruited the trio to her cause in the first place, and Rinzu puts in a call as soon as it’s clear Taizan has entered the fray.
Mizukami fans weren’t surprised that Planet With revealed a fascination with mecha, because Mizukami tipped his hand with Sengoku Youko. And Taizan is certainly a terrifying presence on the battlefield. But as Inga (who always seemed like the sharpest knife in the drawer where the Dangaisyuu were concerned) notes, there’s always going to be someone more powerful than you, no matter how relentlessly you chase power for yourself. The thirst for power only ends one way if left unchecked, and a moving castle is no match for a walking mountain (and a pissed off pilot).
Nicc
March 29, 2024 at 7:50 amI really appreciate the pace of the battles in this series. There’s no unnecessary fat. Remembering the late Toriyama, I believe that Goku vs Frieza went on for nearly two cours. Maybe it wasn’t that long, but it certainly felt like it. Modern watchers would probably gouge their eyes out out if a single battle lasted for half a year.
In this episode, we wrap up two duels. We Barry and Douren unleash their ultimate attacks at the end of the previous episode. Douren’s special move involves manipulating space and time and it allows him to attach with hundreds of punches at once. He hopes to get it to the thousands someday. Jinka manages to survive that barrage, but he seems to be a bit out of it. So, he takes new that spirit hand of his and ummm… literally picks his brain with it. This move shocks everybody, including Douren. After digging around in his brain for a bit, he manages to unlock his seventh tail. At this rate, he’ll get all nine tails before this cour ends. Now, it’s his Jinka’s turn to unleash his special and see if Douren can handle this one. Douren is about to dodge it instead when some cloaked figures suddenly pass through. It distracts him long enough that he can’t dodge and instead he eats the whole blast. Yeah, that was pretty weird. They definitely weren’t the Dangaisyuu and I wonder if they they just happened to pass through or, like you said, if it was done on purpose. Nobody else saw them, either. In any case, Douren takes the full brunt of that energy ball and throws in the towel.
Then, we’ve got Barry vs Takekichi. The tight quarters makes it difficult for Takekichi to battle and Arabuki has been insistent on having open space. This confirms that Arabuki really has a will of its own and not just what Takekichi has been projecting onto it. They do eventually bust out into the open where Arabuki tells Takekichi to just forget about the revenge. Understandably, Takekichi is a bit annoyed that an evil, demonic sword achieved enlightenment before he did. With his help, Takekichi slices the mecha in half, but it’s still not over yet. The battle continues on the ground, but now it’s a fistfight. They trade some blows, but a solid left hook takes Barry out. With no spritual energy left, there’s nothing to hold Barry’s patchwork body together and it just disintegrates. Right, that scream from Shinsuke probably wasn’t as cathartic as he hoped.
Yazen’s own plans are falling apart too with Douren defeated and Barry as bloody puddle. The remaining Dangaisyuu also decide to get out of Dodge and Inga thinks it’s time that they returned to their original purpose. Yazen is no fighter and so he decides to use Taizan to get out of there and start over, if possible. Seeing Taizan transform into a giant mecha unlocked this old memory of mine when I once saw the toys of Fortress Maximus and Scorpnok at a department store. So, Rinzu makes the call for her mistress, but it looks like she’ll need a bit of time to get there. In the meantime, all the gang can do is run until the Mountain Goddess does show up. Naturally, she brought a whole mountain with her and KO’s Taizan with a single strike. Well, that was quick. It’s not over yet as Yazen and Kuzunoha as still kicking and they have one more trump card. It looks like Yazen is capable of spirit transformation too and I wonder if he just intends to escape or battle it out first.
Guardian Enzo
March 29, 2024 at 10:28 amMizukami doesn’t dick around. His economy of storytelling – lots of content with no fluff without feeling rushed – is one of his superpowers.
Vance
March 29, 2024 at 11:38 amI got spooked when Jinka said he found out what could be a suitable vessel for becoming a katawara. Assuming that wasn’t a random throwaway, he plans on turning himself into a katawara through his brain.