OP: “KATAWARA” by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION
Senya may be carrying a thousand demons around inside him. But this season of Sengoku Youko is more like a thousand character introductions. They’re going to come fast and furious for a while, many of them the very best in Mizukami Satoshi’s oeuvre. And while we’re on the subject, I might recommend skipping the OP (which is a shame, as it’s good) if you’re new to the series. As so many of them are it’s full of spoilers, stuff I’d certainly not have wanted to see at this stage in reading the manga.
There’s a lot happening here. And you know, this may be emblematic of what Senma Konton-hen is going to be like, because there’s a lot happening in the remaining manga too. And at 22 episodes this adaptation is going to have to hurry – not drastically, but just a bit. First and foremost is the matter of Tsukiko tagging along, trying to get Shinsuke-“sensei” to take her as a student. He makes the logical argument – she should stay with her mother. But the girl replies that her uncle is taking care of her mom (that makes Shinsuke question whether he should have given half of Furokake’s money to her). Shinsuke also points out that he’s nobody’s sensei – that he’s really a failure at life. But Tsukiko is having none of that.
As for Senya, the rice ball Tsukiko offers him opens the floodgate of regret and tears, for obvious reasons. He winds up having it stolen by a strange little creature when he’s finally ready to succumb to his hunger, and his demons urge him to shred it to bits. But Senya declares that he’s done with fighting. Indeed, that he’s going to find a way to become human. He eventually splits the onigiri with the little creature, who seems likewise to have no memories of his past – a coincidence Senya finds strangely amusing. Having been fed, the creature gets in line behind Tsukiko as a camp follower for Senya and Shinsuke.
Eventually, Tsukiko dubs the creature Nau (Toyosaki Aki) which seems to be its favorite word. Senya elaborates on his plan to Shinsuke, and expresses his concern that his presence could bring danger to the town they’re approaching, prompting Shinsuke to give him a “peace and quiet” charm (obviously ineffective). Tsukiko is puzzled about Senya’s determination not to fight, on the grounds that only the strong are able to protect themselves. Senya rebuts this quite eloquently – “fights only happen when someone fights back”. Shinsuke (who Nau has dubbed “-senbei”) notes that the boy sounds like a monk.
You’ll certainly hear echoes of Thorfinn’s eventual epiphany in Vinland Saga in Senya’s childlike reasoning. And he faces the same problem – how does one avoid violence in a brutal and violent world, and one that’s endemically unfair? Both Sengoku Japan and the Europe of the Middle Ages fit this description, and both Senya and Thorfinn have to reconcile this with their stated resolutions. Senya has an even more immediate problem in that due to his very nature, violence is continually seeking him out.
It finds him first in the person of Happonmatsu Kenki (Nozuyama Yukihiro). He introduces himself as the new head of the Night parade of 100 Demons, which Senya foiled last week, and states his intention for revenge. When Senya refuses to play, Tsukiko once more grabs the sleeping Shinsuke’s Arabuki and launches herself at an opponent. Shinsuke eventually rouses herself, baps her hard for his stupidity, and confronts the katawara himself. Let the record show this is a hilariously on-point Easter egg, as Happonmatsu and Shinsuke ponder whether they know each other and Happnmatsu says “I feel as though maybe we were maybe meant to have met before, but y’know, these things happen” (he was supposed to have appeared in the first season, but he was edited out).
It doesn’t stop when Shinsuke easily sends the zaku flying. The one pulling his strings was Tago (Oohata Shintarou), the leader of the 100 Demons, And he soon shows up with a far more formidable associate in tow – Mudo (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu). Mudo’s human form is a boy about Senya’s age, but he’s a dragon. This sets the demons inside Senya recoiling in terror, and unsettles him deeply for reasons he can’t understand. Both Mudo and the demons mention the name “Jinun” and this triggers an even deeper foreboding. Mudo is insistent on a battle with the one he’s heard is so strong, but again Senya abjectly refuses. And again, Tsukkiko blithely leaps into battle herself – this time with a powered-up (that’s good water) Nau as a steed.
Shinsuke once more rouses himself to try and protect the kids, but he’s no match for Mudo. And while Tago is no match for Tsukiko, she’s no match for Mudo either. Mudo knocks Shinsuke cold and when he wakes, a familiar visage is there to greet him (one which also revealed itself to Tsukiko in the onsen – “what a manly sneeze!”). Mudo clearly realizes that if Senya is unwilling to face him, taking Tsukiko is the ultimate provocation. And already, Senya’s nascent guiding principles are facing the ultimate challenge to their practicality and legitimacy.
ED: “Yoru no Sui” (夜の隨) by Hiroki Nanami
Jindujun93
July 25, 2024 at 10:53 pmYou know the amount of spoilers in the OP is absolutely ridiculous when you’re not even halfway through the material and they already include a few things from the second-to-last chapter into the OP. Sheesh. (As a manga fan, I love all those panels and shots I recognize though, especially the recreation of the volume 13 cover. Manga readers who skipped the OP, don’t look at that one either!)
Back when I was reading the manga, Aki Toyosaki definitely wasn’t the voice I was imagining for Nau, but honestly, I love that choice – mostly because she’s probably one of my favorite female VAs (after Mamiko Noto, I guess), so having her in a story I really like is always a plus. I’ve seen some people say that Mudo’s voice is deeper than they imagined, but I can live with that.
But yeah, very good episode. Knowing what’s ahead, I absolutely can’t wait for the next few weeks, because god will that be a ride.
Jindujun93
July 25, 2024 at 10:55 pmI meant anime-only viewers who skipped the OP of course, not manga readers. Things that happen when you type faster than you think.
Guardian Enzo
July 25, 2024 at 11:07 pmI would tend to agree about Toyosaki. She’s fine, not what I had in mind at all though (which was something like Kappei Yamaguchi, ROFL).
ruicarlov
July 26, 2024 at 6:59 amI have no idea how the manga goes, but even I could tell how spoilerific that OP was, even without much of the context. (deleted) (even thought I expected it). Can’t unsee it now, sadly.
Guardian Enzo
July 26, 2024 at 9:31 amJust cause the spoilers are in the OP let’s not also have them in the comments.
Nicc
July 27, 2024 at 6:53 amAlright, we got the OP for the new season and, yeah, it’s full of future spoilers. I personally don’t mind them spoilers that much and sometimes I seek them out. I remember when I was watching “Avengers: Infinity War” a few years back. “Oh no, all those characters got dusted! I didn’t see that coming!”. Well, I already found out a few days before.
Our duo is now a trio as Tsukiko insists on coming along. Shinsuke doesn’t try that hard to push her away as he remembers he was feeling the same as her when he decided to follow Jinka and Tama. He still insists on not training her, though he might change his mind like Jinka eventually did. Tsukiko sort of seals the deal with the onigiri, though Senya keeps his share for later.
Later that night, Senya encounters this Pokémon-like creature while he’s considering eating that onigiri. It manages to steal it from him, but he uses his powers to corner it and then just splits it with him. Sharing food is solid path for friendship, isn’t it? Here’s one more to add to the party and it’s eventually named Nau by Tsukiko. Whatever it is, it can talk and has intelligence. Shinsuke has seen enough weird stuff that he doesn’t even care anymore. Senya makes the determination that he no longer wants to fight and to find a way to become human. It’s a contrast to Jinka, who wanted really wanted to become a katawara, thought he got much more than he bargained for. Shinsuke seems resigned about his weaknesses, though that might be the alcohol talking. He might be in a better place if he could put down the sake.
Just when Senya has declared his pacifism, of course somebody comes around to challenge him to a fight. It seems to be a leftover from the Parade of 100 Demons. Shinsuke is drunk and so it’s up to Tsukiko do battle. She borrows Arabuki for a second time and the encounter doesn’t go well for her until Shinsuke wakes up again. Yeah, there was some fourth wall breakage in that exchange between Shinsuke and Happonmatsu. It did sound like to me that there was supposed to be an encounter between them before this point, but the adaptation put it here now and so better late than never. In any case, Shinsuke sends it flying, but it’s not the last we’ll see of the Parade of 100 Demons.
The leader of the group, Tago, later shows up and this time he summons a much bigger fish. This kid, Mudo, is a dragon and all of the demons inside Senya start freaking out. It seems that their trauma with Jinun extends to all dragons. Mudo knows who he is while the name of Jinun starts to stir up some memories within Senya. Mudo wants to battle, but Senya again refuses. Mudo already KOed Shinsuke earlier and Tsukiko once again steps into the fray. Lessons learned, she doesn’t take Arabuki again and instead took a weapon from Tago. This would be a complete mismatch if it wasn’t from the help from Nau, which seems to be a local water god. Just like Senya, it seems to have lost all of its memories. She’s doing a good job to at least keep up with Mudo, but she’s unable to even put a scratch on him.
Right, Mudo then decides to take her hostage and Senya must now make a choice to either keep staying his hand or realize that there are times when he needs to fight. Granted, watching the OP already seemed to spoil a good amount of stuff, but I still want to see how it goes. Even if Senya fights, it’ll be a difficult one as the demons inside him are terrified. Oh yeah, and we got a few cameos of Tama too, who is showing up earlier than I expected.