© 松木いっか/小学館 / 日本三國製作委員会
“Reunion of Mortal Enemies”
What They Say:
Thanks to Yayakichi’s strategy, Ohga restores her authority and rises once more. Though the Yamato forces are pushed to the brink, Ryumon and his strategist, Kaku, have already entrusted a bold plan to a young man to break this dire stalemate.
Review: (Please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Aoteru has been standing by for much of his own series, waiting for his opportunity to contribute to the war effort. The advantage has been shifting back and forth between Yamato and Seii, most battles won by psychology more than combat, and our perspective has also been shifting depending on the most interesting story to tell as they clash. Ohga was almost defeated by Ryumon’s bold maneuver to shake her confidence, but her strategist Yayakichi sacrificed his life and legacy to give her another chance. After spending most of the previous episode on Seii, it’s time to shift entirely back to Yamato this time, almost entirely to our original protagonist.
Ryumon and Kaku are not in the best of health. The former let himself be burned alive and shot to successfully prove his point, and Kaku has been struggling with health issues while taking unhealthy doses of various drugs. There’s still much to do with regard to Seii and the war, especially since Yayakichi’s sacrifice effectively undid the victory Ryumon’s less fatal sacrifice earned Yamato. Of course, they’ve always been set up to fail thanks to even their own side led by an incompetent coward of an emperor and an authoritarian sociopath eager to grab more power by proving Ryumon’s command ineffective. So the current military leaders have to rely on their promising young protege to step in and achieve what they cannot in their current predicaments.
Aoteru has never fought with anything but his mind, his quick wit, and sometimes excruciating patience. It’s been a while since we’ve really seen him at work, but his deadpan approach, apparent disregard for his own safety, and very verbose but fast-paced monologues remind us of his unique idiosyncrasies and strengths. Like a microcosm of Ryumon’s contingent within Yamato, Aoteru goes into every situation seeming to have no way of succeeding and always manages to beat the odds. In his case, it’s always just about knowing the right thing to say to somehow get through that impossible obstacle. Ironically, in this case, he only progresses thanks to Taira, his archenemy who first required him to exercise unimaginable restraint to stay alive and eventually get back at him.
We’ve seen that Taira’s son, Tonotsugu, has more humanity within him. Perhaps there’s some shred of that remaining within the elder Taira, but we’ve never seen him in a position of vulnerability like the one that forced that surprising honor out of his son. He almost teases at the potential of a more nuanced characterization throughout the episode, but it’s no great shock when his every word boils down to an act to manipulate the emperor and anyone else who isn’t already a blind sycophant. On one hand, he takes plenty of opportunities to antagonize Aoteru and mock him about his wife who he had killed, and of course, the only reason he lets Aoteru in is to put on a bout of theatrics to argue his right to depose Ryumon and assume command of the military. On the other hand, he has never shown any hesitance in having people beheaded for upsetting him, and he’s letting Aoteru say a whole lot that’s contrary to his authority.
Ultimately, we still don’t really know what Ryumon, Kaku, and Aoteru are planning, even by the end of this episode. Aoteru finally makes his declaration right as it ends, but that only raises more questions regarding what they’re trying to accomplish and how they plan to get it by Taira as the emperor has all but handed him Ryumon’s position. So in that respect, perhaps we could’ve gotten a bit more information by this point, but the slow burn is building up the anticipation effectively. A brief scene of Tsune fighting his inner thoughts about how much he believes in Aoteru is also a delightful look at his reluctant support.
© 松木いっか/小学館 / 日本三國製作委員会
In Summary:
Aoteru finally returns to center stage. It’s a slow burn as he tries to convey Ryumon’s plan to the emperor, but it reminds us why he’s such a compelling protagonist. It’s an episode full of quick wits and impressive restraint, and it leaves off with a cliffhanger that will be very interesting to conclude.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Prime Video
Kestrel Swift
A lover of media obsessed with superlatives and rankings, Kestrel Swift has found his home niche in anime since being exposed to it in the late 90s. As with all media, he’s constantly seeking the best of the best. To further deepen his connection with his passions, he has written thousands of reviews for the Fandom Post and is the only person to appear on every episode of the podcast Fandom Post Radio (available everywhere you find podcasts), which he cofounded and named.
