I would certainly like to like Ao no Miburo. Hey, I’ve never covered two “Ao no” anime in the same season, as unlikely as that seems given there are seemingly hundreds. Not to mention it’s getting a big push in Kyoto. I’m seeing cross-promos and advertising all over town, and it’s always nice to see another series set in the old capital. But ultimately wanting to like a show isn’t enough – it has to deliver the goods. The first two episodes at least were very inconsistent and resolved no doubts on that score.

On the plus side, this was certainly the best episode of the three. It lacked the signature overwrought climactic speech by Nio, for one thing. It also started to delve into the morally ambiguous nature of the Shinsengumi (even if they weren’t called that yet). It’s clear that this is going to be a story that paints in primary colors, but that can work when you have a really interesting premise. The vehicle for most of this was the introduction of Tanaka Taro (played by deservedly up-and-coming leading man Horie Shun) another 13 year-old living at the Yagi Villa.

Taro is in the service of Serizawa Kamo (who would be the Shinsengumi’s first lead commander), and like Nio an entirely fictional creation. Serizawa was reportedly not much different than he’s depicted here – brash and evil-tempered, and thus prone to intemperate actions. Hijikata and Okita warn Nio to steer well clear of Taro, the reason obviously being that he’s Serizawa’s personal punching bag. Taro is accepting of this – he’s basically an urchin who’s grateful to sleep even in a closet if it’s not covered in piss and shit and have food in his belly. Nio is a busybody and every bit as naive as Taro calls him, and is not.

The incident at the heart of this episode is the killing of Toroichi, one of the Miburo who came with the Roushigumi from Edo. I don’t believe this is based on a real event (I could be wrong) but Toroichi has been planning to sell out the Miburo, which seems to be the reason Serizawa kills him. He paints it as a drunken rage slaying (which seems in-character) and orders Taro-kun to clean it up. But Nio interferes and soon figures out that Serizawa planned the whole thing, presumably because he knew Toroichi was a traitor. Serizawa denies this to the end even as he’s threatening Nio’s life, but I suspect that’s what actually happened.

Serizawa may indeed have killed Toroichi to protect the Miburo and painted it as a random act. But he’s still the guy that’s beating the crap out of a little boy for fun, so I have no sympathy for him. This premise will work better the more it grounds itself in this sort of cloudy morality, though. That was the reality of the Shinsengumi (and their Imperialist rivals), and not there was a wide range within the group as far as integrity and personal conduct. If we stay in this mode Ao no Miburo has a chance – and I’m curious to see how it depicts Saitou Hajime as a kid  (even if that’s not historically accurate, as he’d have been about 18-19 here), who gets his spotlight next week. For now at least, I’m staying with it.