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