Don’t look now, but we’ve met almost half of the Juuppongatana already. They truly are the spine of “Kyoto”, as critical to the arc as Shishio himself. And like the Phantom Troupe, this band of villains aren’t all cut from the same cloth. That makes them far more interesting to be sure. In fact for my money the Juupongatana and the Spiders are probably the two most fascinating criminal organizations in shounen manga. Their aims and style could hardly be more different, but in narrative terms they both pack a tremendous punch (like a mantis shrimp).
In point of fact the two newest additions to the cast made cameos last week. Sadojima Houji (Itou Kentarou) is the one who welcomes Yumi and Shishio back to their Kyoto kave. He musters the zaku for a salute, says a few words to stoke the fires, and generally betrays no obvious sign of what his talent it. But it’s clear he feels on secure footing with Shishio, as he’s comfortable confronting him with his disagreement on a decision (to use the Ten Swords to take out the Battousai). Houji is in the inner circle to be sure, but apart from that he remains a mystery.
There doesn’t seem to be too much mystery with Sawagejou Chou (Okamoto Nobuhiko, continuing the usual suspects casting pattern). An Osaka boy, he’s the first to arrive in response to Shishio’s summons. “Chou the Swordhunter” seems to be all about just that, swords. He clearly has skill with the blade (as he demonstrates later in the episode) but he’s also a serious sword otaku. And when he hears from Houji’s spies that one of Shakku Arai’s katana was left behind, Chou determines to head out to Seiku’s shop and claim it for himself.
Despite Shishio’s admonition not to make too much trouble just yet, you get the idea that Chou is not exactly a paragon of self-restraint. He plays around with Iori for a bit (kendama doesn’t seem to be his game) but when the parents arrive he goes straight into blackguard mode and takes Iori hostage. This is pretty tense stuff, as you get the sense that Chou is the sort that’s capable of pretty much anything. But his threats convince Azusa to spill the beans on the location of the last sword (which her husband refused to do). It was given as an offering to Hakusan Jinja, she tells him. But Chou takes Iori with him, ostensibly to make sure she was telling the truth.
Misao (who provides a rakugo-style cold open this week, an affectation I don’t remember from the first anime) is meanwhile berating Kenshin for not bullying Seiku into making a sakabatou for him (though Nenji tells her in no uncertain terms why it wouldn’t have worked). Frankly Misao starts to get on my nerves after a while (as she always has) – she’s better in modest doses. But she does play a critical role here, as she decides to try and convince Seiku herself and winds up observing what’s happening with the Swordhunter. She immediately tells Nenji (using the Oniwabanshuu’s carrier pigeon network) and before you can “Oro!” Kenjin has zipped over to Hakusan Jinja to rescue Iori.
Nenji and Misao are certainly right to worry about Ken taking on one of Shishio’s Ten Swords without even a reverse blade of his own. But having brought this on himself and carrying more karmic baggage than any man could cope with, he doesn’t hesitate for an instant. Using only the lexicon of Hiten Mitsurugi and his scabbard he lands some blows on Chou and foils the enemies attacks. It’s hard to get much of a read on Chou here – even the half-unarmed Kenshin runs circles around him but, but he says he was holding back against a weakened opponent.
It’s no newsflash that Kenshin is a serious badass. We don’t know what percentage of his power Chou is using here, but Ken certainly bests hm in the early going. This is just not a guy you want to piss off, and using a hostage – and a baby at that – to force the issue seriously pisses Kenshin off. Kenshin lands multiple hits but they do no damage, thanks (ironically) to the presence of Chou’s swords. Including an extremely strange one wrapped around his waist. It’s a strange place and circumstances for the opening salvo of the war between the Battosai and his successor, but when you’ve committed yourself to the life Kenshin has, the road is always going to be full of such detours.
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