Well now, that was certainly an interesting turn of events. What with Episode 20 being almost entirely off-script, we were at a bit of a crossroads. Would there be a course correction, putting us back on the layline towards the next fixed point in the manga? Or would the reboot continue to chart a new direction, on a slightly different tack from the manga and the first anime? We got our answer in pretty convincing fashion, I think. And it was a fascinating way to get there, too.

There were original developments on both fronts here with the potential to significantly impact the story. In Kyoto Usui crossing paths with Misao, Kaoru, and Yahiko this early was a big change. There was no way they could possibly survive that encounter without undercutting the believability of the story – their established strength and his are too firmly set (and the gap too wide). So something (someone) had to intervene externally. It might have been Hiko (that in itself would have been a big change) but no, it was Anji.

I’ll buy this, as written. It was perfectly in-character for Anji to do that, because he’s been perfectly consistent – no unnecessary killing. He’s even got it “written into his contract” with Shishio that he makes the call on killing or not. Also, Anji intervened to save Misao in the manga too, but it happened later and was over in a flash. In effect this wound up being more or less materially the same as the manga, with the exception that Anji’s nature was demonstrated far more clearly to the three good guys. That’s a little more character development but not a sea change, so all in all I’ll score this treatment a win.

The zaku have their moment in the sun (well – moon) as well. Arato holds out against Henya and Kamatari long enough to let his injured men evacuate, though the two Juppongatana inflict serious damage to the remaining officers still able to fight. Fires are springing up all over. but Arato – ever the pessimist – has arranged for firefighters from the neighboring domains (Shiga, Koka et al) to come and lend a hand. They manage to limit the spread of the blazes (though it was heartbreaking to see all those gorgeous kyomachiya pulled down as fireblocks). Megumi, meanwhile, treats friend and foe alike, true to her beliefs as a doctor.

With the fire plan pretty much a bust and the inescapable reality that Shishio has put one over on them, the Kyoto Juppongatana deciding to pack it in for the night isn’t all that surprising. That allows the focus to shift back to the Rengoku, where Houji determinedly uses himself as a punching bag rather then let Sanosuke proceed unchecked. But the blind pig has found his acorn, and Sano enters the engine room – kindly offering the plebs inside the chance to flee. Houji, as ever incredibly loyal and fearless, uses his own thorn-drawn blood to douse the grenade that Sanosuke has loosed. So Sano just uses a Futae no Kiwami to blow ones of the ports apart, setting the ship on its inexorable journey to the bottom of Osaka Bay.

A lot of that confrontation was original but it lands in the same place – Sano destroys the ship. Of more weight is what’s happening on deck, where we got the massive cliffhanger of Kenshin about to unleash Kuzuryuusen on Aoshi (Shishio’s eyes get as big as dinner plates). That prospect defied my ability to reconcile it with the course of the story as originally written, but the timing of Sano’s sabotage is spot-on. An explosion from the boilers rocks the ship just as Ken and Aoshi are in mid-attack, and while that pissant Aoshi does try and land a cheap shot in the chaos, neither attack had the chance to manifest itself. And so that butterfly flits away safely…

Houji prostrates himself before Shishio in shame, but the hitokiri isn’t so vain as to blame his loyal dog. Sano was a wild card, but the real problem was Saitou’s planning to combat the fires and especially Kenshin divining the main prongs of Shishio’s master plan. Shishio blames himself for dropping his guard, but makes it clear it won’t happen again. And he pays the Kenshingumi the compliment of telling them they’re now not only worth killing, but that killing them is necessary before he can take Japan and re-forge it in the fires of his vengeance.

With that, this phase of the battle is over. Shishio extends an invitation to Aoshi to settle his score with Kenshin when he’ll have time to savor it. Saitou has a moment where he could have taken a run at Shishio, but Yumi throws herself in the way and he hesitates long enough for Soujirou to return to Shishio’s side. And Kenshin stops Saitou from engaging with the two of them. Why? Because in doing so, Saitou would have been stopping Shishio’s loyal men from abandoning ship – and Kenshin was not about to let them sacrifice themselves. If one ever needed proof that this is still Himura Kenshin and not the Battousai, there it is. He’s still a man who acts in accordance with his beliefs, much to his enemy-turned-ally’s aggravation.