Settling the Score! A Dog-Shooting Competition and then…
Episode 5 of The Elusive Samurai begins with one of the Suwa residents discussing Sadamune’s lead over Tokiyuki in the dog-shooting competition. Then, we continue observing Tokiyuki and Sadamune’s battle. Tokiyuki’s not doing too well. Yorishige tells him that Tokiyuki must combine his evading and shooting skills to defeat Sadamune in this competition.
After taking a moment to breathe and contemplate his situation, Tokiyuki shoots Sadamune in the neck, earning himself two points. Simultaneously, Sadamune falls off his horse. Tokiyuki performs a Parthian Shot seconds later, earning himself the victory over Sadamune. Yorishige confronts Sadamune and reminds him of their deal.
Sadamune yells at Yorishige, departs the area, and contemplates his battle with Tokiyuki. He questions if Tokiyuki is a Hojo family member at first but abandons the thought seconds later. Sadamune doesn’t believe Yorishige would be foolish enough to present a Hojo family member to him. Meanwhile, Yorishige tells Tokiyuki he asked someone to spread rumors of “Hojo clan sightings” across Japan.
Yorishige argues this will keep their enemies busy. Then, we cut away to an elderly fellow conversing with a child. The elderly fellow shares his grievances with the child and tells him he will inherit his name and principles. He leaves the boy (Genba) with advice and hopes he’ll adhere to it all. Then, we return to following Tokiyuki and the others.
Yorishige reminds Tokiyuki of their situation. Tokiyuki and the others spot Sadamune from afar. Sadamune informs Yorishige and the others about a new Imperial Command. Yorishige must forfeit the lands north of Lake Suwa to Ogasawara. Sadamune says retainers living in the corresponding regions must re-locate in ten days.
Yorishige holds a meeting with his fellow Suwa inhabitants. Some want to go to war but Yorishige refuses to let that happen. He asks everyone to leave besides Tokiyuki. Alone, Yorishige asks Tokiyuki to recruit Genba to the Elusive Warriors (Tokiyuki’s faction). Moreover, Yorishige wants Tokiyuki to order Genba to steal the Emperor’s Imperial Command from Sadamune’s home.
Yorishige informs Tokiyuki about the Imperial Command debacle. He argues if the person Sadamune informed them about goes missing, it can buy them time to strategize. Tokiyuki, Ayano, Kojiro, and Shizuku depart to Kikyogahara Village. Shizuku asks the locals if they know where they can find Genba. The residents flee the scene, leaving our heroes confused.
Genba arrives and greets our heroes seconds later. Tokiyuki introduces himself as Chojumaru and wants Genba to join the Elusive Warriors as a retainer. Genba knows Tokiyuki is a Hojo and wonders if he should sell Tokiyuki out to Sadamune for money. Genba shows everyone that he stole their goods. He promises he won’t rat anyone out to Sadamune if they give him 100 Kanmon (yen).
Tokiyuki questions if Genba wants more than cash, much to Genba’s surprise. Shizuku tells Genba that the Suwa Grand Shrine will pay him for his services. However, Shizuku tells Genba that if he helps Tokiyuki, Toikiyuki will offer him a province. This province will help Genba earn a lot of Kanmon.
Kojiro whispers something in Genba’s ear and Genba backs away. He’s not happy that Kojiro and Shizuku are making him feel uncomfortable. Genba tells Tokiyuki he wants him to tag along on this thief quest to swipe Sadamune’s Imperial Command. Genba and Tokiyuki are near the warehouse where the Imperial Command is stored. They discuss a plan and head to the warehouse. During their quest, Tokiyuki tells Genba he feels no shame in following orders.
Also, Tokiyuki wants to do this out of respect for the Suwa folks’ kindness. Genba shares a tale with Tokiyuki about a past thief outing and departs. Tokiyuki eavesdrops on Sadamune’s discussion with the warehouse guards. He tells the guards he wants them to complete a new task. The men leave the warehouse and Tokiyuki realizes this version of Sadamune is Genba.
Genba and Tokiyuki enter the warehouse and Genba informs Tokiyuki about his mask’s morphing capabilities. Tokiyuki ponders if Genba used these powers in the past to discover his true identity. Genba finds the Imperial Command. He removes his mask and morphs into Tokiyuki. Genba asks Tokiyuki if he thinks it’s wise to trust someone like Genba.
Somewhere, a man eavesdrops on Genba and Tokiyuki’s discussion. He asks other men to report his discovery to Sadamune and to perform different tasks. The episode closes with the man planning to murder Tokiyuki and Genba.
The Episode Review
Tokiyuki’s building a clever line-up of subordinates for himself. The Elusive Warriors are becoming a powerful team with folks like Ayano, Kojiro, and Genba joining the fray. However, only time will tell if Genba is someone Tokiyuki can fully trust. The episode did a nice job of giving us a glimpse of Genba’s abilities, too. His mask’s morphing powers will likely be the talk of the town amongst anime fans.
The sheer potential of those powers can serve Tokiyuki well for future infiltration missions. Moreover, the infiltration mission itself is exciting. It puts the previous dog-shooting competition to shame. That competition’s climax wasn’t all that great. Although it makes some sense given Sadamune’s situation, it’d been better if Yuusei Matsui had crafted a better finale for it.
Nonetheless, it’s nice seeing Tokiyuki defeat Sadamune and get revenge for the shrine maiden Sadamune harmed in episode 4. All in all, this was a neat chapter of The Elusive Samurai. It has its visual shortcomings and questionable narrative segments. However, the tale is far from finished yet. We’re optimistic matters will get better from here.
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