Sengoku Youko: Senma Konton-hen – 10

Not for the first time, I’m struck by just how much happens in a typical episode of Sengoku Youko (it strikes harder in anime form for sure). Even more, that Mizukami Satoshi manages to maintain this sort of pacing without sacrificing character drama (and development). What most mangaka can only do with slow, gradual build-up he’s able to accomplish with action. When you look at something like Spirit Circle it really stands out – it’s a very short series but absolutely epic in terms of character and pathos. In a sense, Mizukami can write plot-driven stories that act like character-driven stories (and that’s a unicorn-caliber talent).

A boy fighting his father is never a pleasant affair. But things are complicated between Senya and Jinun, to say the least. We didn’t spend a lot of time with them before Senya took over as the protagonist but it was clear there wasn’t a lot of communication between father and son. As such there’s a lot of subtext to this fight (a Mizukami hallmark). Senya is fighting to save his old man, basically. It says something about what a noble soul he has that Senya bears no grudges – it would be easy enough to do so. But what he cares about is Jinun being free, and even if he is the strongest human (as the Mountain Goddess speculates) he’s still no match for her. Theoretically…

Senya is smart enough to realize that Jinun is stronger and vastly more experienced than he is, and doesn’t seem especially rusty for having been asleep eight years. He unleashes pretty much every weapon in his arsenal, including his “Goushinten”, firing a thousand arrows of energy upon his opponent. But Jinun always seems to have an answer. He even deflects Senya’s “Senki Yatou“, his ultimate attack utilizing all the katawara inside him. That one is at least enough to get Dad’s attention – and an admission that his son is pretty good in his own right. But the dragon doesn’t appear to be taking any real damage.

There’s nothing in Sengoku Youko that can’t be severely complicated by the arrival of the Tribe of the Void. They show up in the middle of the battle (as seems to be their M.O.) and whisk Jinun away to the spirit world. But Senya follows (back in child form, naturally) – and so does the Mountain Goddess, since they’ve also abducted Taizan. And this time around there’s a new face among them (Hayama Shouta), who very much acts as if he’s in charge. He has the appearance of a child himself, although whether than means anything with the Void People has not been established.

It’s this new brat who immediately sets about breaking Jinun’s mind (also their M.O.). He starts off by asking Jinun what motivated him to let a thousand katawara be implanted in his son. The dragon replies that in a world where the weak are doomed to exploitation and despair, he wanted to give his son the power to pursue his desires and protect those he loves. It’s a strained argument, but you get the idea that this is the first time Senya has heard his father explain himself. Jinun also confesses that he’s a failure, because he was unable to protect the boy’s mother (also the first time Senya has heard such talk from his father).

The Void child’s other attack is the presence of Nadare, the dragon Jinun says is inside him. Senya suggests it could be the Tribe of the Void’s ability to manipulate images and memory, but the exact relationship between Nadare and Jinun is unclear. He even unleashes what he says is Ameratsu, the being at the top of the Shinto pantheon of Gods. Eventually Tsukiko decides to intervene in the fight on Senya’s behalf (incorporating what Kokugetsusai has taught her, it seems) and is drawn into the spirit world herself. But there she’s helped by Taizan and Jinun (who seems to have switched places with Nadare) and her father – whose arrival in the spirit world is in response to her plea for his support in the real one.

What a mess, indeed. Jinun is seemingly gone and Nadare in his place catches the Mountain Goddess by surprise, and inflicts serious damage. The Void People finally retreat with Nadare as their prize, leaving Senya and Taizan for another day. Yazen and Kuzunoha are observing this from wherever the Mountain Goddess has them holed up researching Jinka. He refers to the Goddess as Ooyama no Mitsuchihime – which I believe is the first time we’ve heard that name – and tells Kuzunoha that she’s been hurt badly enough that she’ll be too weak to break Jinka’s barrier. This fight is over, but its repercussions will be felt for a long time…

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2 comments

  1. N

    I’m actually not (that) late for this one since the show is on break for a few weeks until the start for the next half of this cour. I suppose we could use a little breather after what happened in this episode. Jinun has been in hibernation for 8 years, but doesn’t even feel the least bit groggy. Indeed, it is clear there hasn’t been a whole of communication between father and son. From we we saw from their first appearances, it was a relationship between a commander and subordinate. Now is a good opportunity to talk with their fists. For starters, it looks like Senya’s katawara have completely gotten over their fear of Jinun and so they can fight at full strength. Senya needs it as his dad is able to counter everything he’s throwing at him. It takes consecutive castings of his ultimate move to get his dad’s attention, indeed, and he was still able to tank it, yikes.

    Then, yes, the Tribe of the Void strikes again and this time they have a new member along with the usual duo. He doesn’t seem necessarily stronger than the other two, but he’s got a really big trump card. They have a little chat in the spirit world and that’s how we learn about what made Jinun decide to make Senya the way he is. Jinun was motivated by being unable to protect Senya’s mother and to give Senya the power to live in this world. It is clear that this is the first time that Senya has heard all this. The new Void member than reveals Nadare, Jinun says is the dragon inside of him and I remember that he mentioned how it took the help of Kokugetsusai to help suppress him. He then unleashes Ameratsu and then something happens to Jinun that made Nadare take over his body. In the meantime, the other two Void people can’t do anything to Taizan with big sis around and so they have to withdraw.

    They’ll have to settle with getting Jinun for now, but the Mountain Goddess isn’t about to let them escape. However, Nadare is powerful enough to actually seriously injure her. Tsukiko then decides to intervene and unleashing a new move that she learned from her secret training with Kokugetsusai. The Void people decide to take her in, but she’s able to escape with the help of Jinun’s spirit and that of her father. Nadare than takes the pipe as a parting shot. Yep, it’s a big mess. We get to see Kuzunoha and Yazen for the first time in this cour and it seems that Yazen has figured out something on how to restore Jinka. However, the injured Mountain Goddess (I think the fortune teller may have mentioned her real name earlier) is now too weak to break that barrier. We’ll find out in a couple more weeks about how the group proceeds from here.

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