(CR) Sengoku Youko

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

After last episode I don't know if my heart can take many more of those. I'm still recovering from the last episode of Migi and Dali.

Buckle up, Buttercup. We're still in the prologue here.

[Frontier]

Every scene with Shaku in the theme songs is going to hurt like heck .

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Every scene with Shaku in the theme songs is going to hurt like heck .

Unless they edit her out.

At the bare minimum the 2nd cour will have 100% new OP/ED sequences, if not songs as well.

[serenade_beta]

Dang, I didn't expect Shakugan to die already. I actually expecting them to do a "Nah, everything is good" near the end, but it looks like she is gone.
True, the "You guys should marry" thing was a death flag, now that I think about it, but still

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Every scene with Shaku in the theme songs is going to hurt like heck .

I know what you mean. Though I guess eventually they'll make a new one...

That OP made me think things would be ok! Though now that I think on it...could be seen in a tragic light in a couple spots. It definitely has that feel to it now. Especially with how many cute little moments Shaku has in the OP.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Unless they edit her out.

At the bare minimum the 2nd cour will have 100% new OP/ED sequences, if not songs as well.

Considering this is White Fox I can't completely rule out they'll update the OP.

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Dang, I didn't expect Shakugan to die already. I actually expecting them to do a "Nah, everything is good" near the end, but it looks like she is gone.
True, the "You guys should marry" thing was a death flag, now that I think about it, but still

Another obvious death flag was the mother naming the kids after Shakugan, I guess they're easy to miss because it happens so early in the series.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

That OP made me think things would be ok! Though now that I think on it...could be seen in a tragic light in a couple spots. It definitely has that feel to it now. Especially with how many cute little moments Shaku has in the OP.

I thought the OP obviously telegraphed something bad would happen to her but reading your comment made me realise it's one of those "it's obvious for those who know the source material" thing.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Blaat

Another obvious death flag was the mother naming the kids after Shakugan, I guess they're easy to miss because it happens so early in the series.

I thought the OP obviously telegraphed something bad would happen to her but reading your comment made me realise it's one of those "it's obvious for those who know the source material" thing.

Honestly I thought the OP was a good sign . It felt like there was a solid main four and obviously some drama in the past and present for those characters. At most I figured Shinsuke was tackling drama related to his own past. Maybe there'd be a Shakugan rescue mission and that there'd be some drama in something almost happening. Obviously that wasn't what it was getting at !

In that sense I suppose it's a well done OP. Whether one knows or doesn't know what is coming can allow a person to see different things in it. Makes me wonder what else is hidden in plain sight for this OP that I haven't pieced together ?

[Frontier]

Okou doesn't understand quite what happened, but she understands the loss of Shakugan, especially in light of not being able to see the twins that bear their name. And that loss is etched into Shinsuke's face, a face that now is stuck in a permanent scowl, rage dwelling in his heart .

So...Shagukan isn't EXACTLY dead. They're basically in some kind of hibernation state to recover their energy, but even if they do awaken it might be in 100 years or they might even just become a natural fixture. Either way, Shinsuke will probably never see Shaku again and it doesn't change anything for him

Shinsuke comes off like a crazy person talking to his sword and swearing bloody vengeance against the Dangaisyuu, but it turns out Arabuki actually IS sentient! Though Shinsuke's still pretty determined to kill as many Dangaisyuu as he can. For his part, Jinka just seems a little more subdued than usual .

Another village that regularly sacrifices a human to a katawara to protect it from bandits? I would've thought they'd be all in on stopping that, but it seems by Tama's standards it's not a situation they can interfere in for the villages' sake and because she thinks it's a fair trade since it doesn't happen regularly...but tell that to the brother and older sister who have to deal with her being the sacrifice. It's enough to make Shinsuke get up and lash out at Tama because HE'LL be the one to kill the Kagomori. Though Tama still cares about him, and likewise .

So much for killing the Kagomori though, because Resshin saves him the trouble of that AND finding Resshin so he can get his revenge for Shakugan. Though Shinsuke is still fight way above his weight class against Resshin .

I thought for a second Shinsuke would be so desperate he'd be willing to give his body to Arabuki so he could win the fight...but no! A sword shouldn't control a swordsman, a swordsman must control their sword! Arabuki was really not expecting Shinsuke to talk back !

But with new control over Arabuki, Shinsuke is able to cut off Resshin's arm! Though apparently 99% of Resshin's body is a weapon, even his own head, so that won't finish him. Though Shinsuke doesn't even need his sword to beat the tar out of him with his fists !

Well, thanks to the Kagomori for using his last breath to knock Resshin out. It's not like Shinsuke was in this for a fair duel, he just wants to kill Resshin, but is this what Shaku would've wanted? Is this the Shinsuke Kagan respected and Shakuyaku loved? It seemed like he really wasn't going to go through with it .

But Yazen interrupts the fight and gets Yazen to retreat, otherwise he'll blow him up, but not before the two sear on their real names to reunite and settle this. Takekichi will once again battle...Barry !

Wow, Shinsuke's not taking any of Jinka's snark any more! Though the only thing keeping the group together now is their mutual goal of defeating the Dangaisyuu. Any friendly vibe seemed to die with Shaku .

Didn't expect to see the gang run into a hot Mountain Goddess on their journey, but all the better to keep them away from Jinun. I'm not sure if we can really trust her though .

Oh, so Jinka has fairy eyes? I probably should've paid more attention to how unique they are. I wonder if he unlocked them, would he be more powerful ?

Forget about just Jinun, Senya is powerful enough to take down those two Tengu bodyguards. I don't think they have a chance against either of these two at this point .

[Blaat]

Quite curious to see what Shinsuke haters think of the character right now as his character just changed radically.

Interestingly enough this episode only adapted 2.5 chapters instead of the usual three. One curious change is changing the seasons, in the manga it's winter and that is why Tama wants Shinsuke to wear extra clothing while in the anime it's spring. Also Shinsuke punching Araki is way more satisfying in the manga (a great panel) compared to the anime. Another interesting change is Jinka and Shinsuke about to fight each other until Tama interfered is an anime original there is a fire side conversation but it's way shorter.

[Guardian Enzo]

Modern anime fans seem to struggle with big character arcs. LNs have conditioned people to expect characters to pop out of the egg fully formed in the first episode.

[Kanon]

Shinsuke has gone full edge... almost. He isn't so far gone he'd kill an unconscious man. It wouldn't have been a satisfying revenge anyway, Barry needs to suffer before dying. I personally liked Shinsuke better before, but there's plenty of time for more development.

I like that despite being rather idealistic, Tama remains pragmatic. She considered the deal between the katawara and the village fair and would have let that girl be sacrificed. It makes sense, she's well aware their actions have consequences. With the katawara gone, the villagers are going to have to protect themselves, and they may not have what it takes. None of that will be on them, though.

[Guardian Enzo]

Tama is a smart cookie.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Shinsuke has gone full edge... almost. He isn't so far gone he'd kill an unconscious man. It wouldn't have been a satisfying revenge anyway, Barry needs to suffer before dying. I personally liked Shinsuke better before, but there's plenty of time for more development.

I like that despite being rather idealistic, Tama remains pragmatic. She considered the deal between the katawara and the village fair and would have let that girl be sacrificed. It makes sense, she's well aware their actions have consequences. With the katawara gone, the villagers are going to have to protect themselves, and they may not have what it takes. None of that will be on them, though.

Though better to go out on your own terms rather than sacrifice an innocent who doesn't want to die just to protect yourselves, if you ask me, but that's where Shinsuke, as a human, differs from Tama.

[Wandering Soul]

Shinsuke's anger has dulled somewhat. He didn't finish off his unconscious opponent, but his scowl remains even to the end of the episode.

The village is left in an ambiguous situation. It's now up to the villagers to defend themselves as they can't rely on a sacrifice anymore. I do like how Tama made it clear that she thought the deal was fair and would have let things be.

[FlareKnight]

Ok. So we're going with a "she's alive, but she's alive in a way that she is pretty much dead" sort of direction. As of this moment 2/3 main characters still with us are human and probably won't be alive in 100-1,000 years. So it doesn't really do anything for Shinsuke's side of this. Unless he gains the secret to immorality or she wakes up significantly sooner than 1,000 years it's not going to matter.

And not exactly surprised that Shinsuke opens this one up looking like death. That kind of loss is just gut-wrenching. Anger is pretty much the most natural emotion to be consumed by in that moment. Both outward and inward. If he'd been stronger, if he could have used that sword properly, who knows what could have happened. Shinsuke had his troubles, but he did there was some lightness to him overall. But no shock that he's been hit hard by this.

Honestly even if Shinsuke wasn't consumed by rage he probably wouldn't be cool with what is going on here. Ironically I suppose he wouldn't have found out since he wouldn't have been so angry that they'd have been asked to stay on the outskirts. Point being though...he wouldn't be cool with this. Especially with the sacrifice not exactly wanting to die...Plus if Shinsuke just looks the other way then shouldn't he just consider Shakugan's death not a big deal since it was one death in exchange for 3 lives (more if you want to count Tama who was in the shack as well)? It's tough because sometimes lives really are just numbers from one perspective, but they are also actual lives for the people living them.

Both sides are going to be innately biased. Tama can see the Katawara side and it's not one life every other day. But Shinsuke also can't help but consider every life valuable. And yeah it's a tough call since presumably this thing is doing the protecting part of it. But...there's gotta be a better deal on the table than this. And I agree that it's hard to call for balance and coexistence if this sort of arrangement is considered valid. At that point shouldn't those creepy monks be given a pass if they are saving more lives than they are taking?

I'm glad though that Shinsuke and Tama did calm things down before he went off. She does care about him and he does care about her as well. They just have different perspectives and are dealing with all this in their own way.

Kind of funny how all that doesn't even matter since Resshin took care of the problem. No debates on whether he should get carved up! I love that the sword tried for the possession route, but it didn't fly. Mostly because...Shinsuke is too pissed off for that. Someone else getting revenge in his place, even using his body, wouldn't be good enough.

Though he did end up going for a "who cares so long as I kill him" choice. Which I mean...fair enough. I don't blame him for thinking it's fine so long as he wins. Especially since it is as much about himself as anything.

But I suppose this is a better choice. Probably...Not like he'll see Shaku again even when he dies since she'll be resurrecting sometime after that. But I suppose doing this in a way she can be proud of has some value. Not that he had much time to go back and forth on it before Resshin retreated. He'll be back and they'll definitely have their chance to settle this.

That's the tough thing. Even with more power Shinsuke can't regain what he's lost. The grief is just eating him up because he's got nowhere to go. What he wants most he can't get no matter what he does.

I suppose one thing to take from this is that Shinsuke and Jinka can openly squabble now. Shinsuke is too angry to be scared of Jinka. Though they will both at least listen to Tama when she tells them to knock it off. The balance is definitely off for the group right now. But not much anyone can do about it.

They are just moving along now. Dragon trailing behind them and they aren't exactly in great shape. Not sure if unsealing Jinka's eyes will do all that much, but I presume that will be one goal for the short term. Also RIP Tengu. Sure hope them getting one-shotted was part of the plan.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Ok. So we're going with a "she's alive, but she's alive in a way that she is pretty much dead" sort of direction.

The fact that they bothered to tell us that suggests to me that we'll see her again.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

The fact that they bothered to tell us that suggests to me that we'll see her again.

Maybe. My hands are kind of thrown up on that one. Seeing her again could just be an end of series time skip of Tama chilling out there in 500 years when she finally returns.

There's a couple ways it goes. Either she returns significantly faster than expected (either through force of will or getting a boost somehow) or she doesn't. Could just be a "let's make the future she returns to a good one" sort of thing. But I'm not going to disregard the possibility that she makes a miraculous return near the end of the series.

[Twi]

Even if she would pop up in a couple of hundred years, Shinsuke and Jinka would be long dead by then. They're only human, after all.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Twi

Even if she would pop up in a couple of hundred years, Shinsuke and Jinka would be long dead by then. They're only human, after all.

I'm not ruling out at least one of them evolving past being human at some point.