After a two-week hiatus, Sengoku Youko returns at last. And doesn’t skip a beat, naturally. As I noted before the break , Mizukami Satoshi has the remarkable ability to write plot-driven series that act like character-driven series. It doesn’t seem to matter how much goes down in any given episode, the story always remains about the people. There’s almost no chaff in his works, only wheat – everything is relevant but at the same time, you’re never wanting for texture and depth. He’s a rare specimen, one of those mangaka who do things nobody else could pull off.

Where to start, really. Pretty much every important living character was involved here in some way. Ooyama no Mitsuchihime is still laid out by Nadare haven’t kicked her butt (well, her gut). But she still recognizes that Tsukiko was using some weird juju during that fight. And when Tsukiko refuses to turn over her gourd voluntarily, the Mountain Goddess goes into berserker mode and reveals that she knows Kokugetsusai has been possessing Taizan (and helping Tsukiko). But she’s not herself, and can’t stop Kokugetsusai from fleeing with Tama and Tsukiko in tow.

Things are indeed a royal (even Divine) mess. And Ooyama no Mitsuchihime dumps responsibility for everything on Senya (a growing theme) – take care of everything while I sleep it off (and it sounds like that may take a while). Defeat your father, defeat Nadare, take out the Tribe of the Void, kick Kokugetsusai out of her brother, break the barrier and subdue Jinka. Piece of cake. Poor Senya – he just wants to be left alone and figure life out, and battles never cease finding him. There’s much talk of fate in this ep – Senya’s in particular – but as it stands it doesn’t seem to have been very kind to him.

One might accuse Mizukami of fourth wall breaking with that speech among the TotV trio about Senya’s fate. But it makes sense in the context of the story. Those three are trying to change the fate of their entire country (which was wiped out by a meteor strike). They need to make a major upheaval to fate to make that happen, and that means Senya. He has big main character energy (well, because he is), and that makes his fate a very powerful force indeed. And one that’s massively difficult to change. The leader’s plan – build an army of katawara to take on the thousand katawara in Senya. Many eyes need to witness the event if Senya’s fate is to be changed.

The seeds of a major conflict emerge as both Senya and the Tribe’s child leader come up with the same angle as the key to their plan. Senya has had the chance to talk to Yazen and Kuzunoha, who’ve been ordered by the Goddess to tell Senya everything he wants to know. Senya has crafted a plan to break Jinka’s barrier without the Goddess’ power, using the one katawara who might be powerful enough. That would Banshouou, the massive cloud katawara that staged the Senya-Mudo showdown. Unfortunately Tribe-boy has also declared that Banshouou will be drafted into his army, to become his cloud fortress. The hitch – no one knows where he is at the moment.

Tama declares that she’ll split off from the others and find Banshouou, leaving Senya, Nau, Tsukiko, and Taizan-Kokugetsusai to return to the village. Which they do, where Shinsuke is doing Shinsuke things. He’s humble to say the least, but always at the center of things – saving Senya for starters. Now he’s changing the world one katawara at a time, acting as a sort if inpatient substance abuse clinic to break them of their human jones. People are toxic, Shinsuke tells his current patient – eating them turns katawara violent and evil. Break that habit and they’ll be happier, and able to coexist with humans. Shinsuke is this story’s quiet man, but that doesn’t lessen his importance one iota. He’s the heart of Sengoku Youko.

One of the things Yazen told Senya, it seems, is that his unique existence has caused him to evolve into something beyond human or katawara. And thus Yazen is unsure if Senya will be able to remain himself much longer. Already desperate not to draw the village into the coming battle, Senya (again) slips away on his own. Except Nau, ever-loyal, refuses to be left behind. And when the morning comes so does Tsukiko. She’s determined to chase Senya down, and Kokugetsusai declares that he’ll follow. Whatever Kokugetsusai’s other motives are, he’s clearly in this to try and help Jinka given their strong connection.

It seems as if Shinsuke is fated to be left behind yet again. But when Taizan makes contact with him, the binding force of the land transfers to him – he is a Land God after all, and proves to be compatible. Hanatora declares that Shinsuke and Raidou are now free to leave – and accompany Tsukiko – but that Taizan is now bound to the village as the new Kami. At this news Kokugetsusai drops him like a hot rock and promptly ports over to Hanatora so he can join the Jinka-saving party. What they don’t know, however – which Tama has just been shown by Hakkeneko – is that the Tribo has already sniffed out (with a dragon’s nose) Banshuou, and seems to have made him into their fortress in the sky. But if it were going to be easy, it just wouldn’t be Senya’s lot in life…

ED2: “Banri Ikkū” (万里一空) by Rainy