The Elusive Samurai – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review

A Perverted Kid and Disturbances of Holy Power

Episode 8 of The Elusive Samurai begins with Fubuki sharing his plan with Tokiyuki and his friends. Shizuku assists Fubuki and tells Ayako and Genba what they’ll be doing. While everyone is discussing the plan, Tokiyuki pulls Fubuki aside. The two have a sparring match and Fubuki is impressed by Tokiyuki’s elusiveness. 

However, Fubuki realizes Tokiyuki isn’t a great swordsman. Tokiyuki praises Fubuki’s skills and explains why he wants to improve his swordsmanship. Fubuki promises to teach Tokiyuki the Demon-Heart Buddha Blade technique. It’s a difficult technique that can only be used in one-on-one duels. 

Fubuki argues their chances of victory are high and explains why. Then, we cut away to Shokan and his troops stationed near the mountains. The narrator discusses Shokan’s war tactics and Shokan shares his goals for this upcoming battle. The battle commences and Shizuku’s forces start firing arrows at Shokan’s army.

Shokan is impressed by his enemy’s tactics and Fubuki is grateful for his forces’ skills. However, Shokan, Furan, Shiro, and Byakkotsu overcome the traps and arrows and infiltrate the village. Others survived too, but Shokan insists they let him and his trio handle this phase of the plan. Fubuki monitors the four from afar and acknowledges their strength. 

Then, Ayako and Kojiro ambush the four and try to murder Shokan. However, Shokan’s armor makes it difficult for either child to land a decisive blow. Ayako and Kojiro lead Shokan into Tokiyuki’s hideout. When Shokan enters Tokiyuki’s hideout, Ayako and Kojiro lock the door and flee. 

Kojiro tells Ayako to have faith in Fubuki’s plan as he argues it’ll help Tokiyuki defeat Shokan alone. Tokiyuki confronts Shokan about the village’s children’s parents, asking him if he ordered his men to slaughter their families. Shokan says he did and explains why. Then, Shokan and Tokiyuki prepare to duel. 

While that’s happening, Ayako and Kojiro join Fubuki. Ayako and Kojiro plan to fight Shiro while Fubuki handles Furan. Meanwhile, Tokiyuki continues evading Shokan’s attacks. Shokan speculates what Tokiyuki’s plans are.

We enter a flashback. In it, Fubuki shares an alternative plan with Tokiyuki. He says Tokiyuki can opt for this plan if he feels he can’t defeat Shokan with his skills. Fubuki says it’d be in Tokiyuki’s interest to rely on his skills to win. He tells Tokiyuki how to handle his sword and we return to the present. Shokan’s left arm is bleeding and he’s left confused.

The episode ends with a shot of Tokiyuki looking at Shokan in his Buddha stance.

The Episode Review

The Elusive Samurai episode 8 features the showdown between Shokan and Fubuki’s forces. The battle itself was fast but contained praiseworthy moments. From compelling war tactics to excruciating gore, fans will enjoy this chapter’s action and informative segments. At the same time, Cloverworks Studios might be having trouble on the visual side of things. 

One may wonder if they blew their budget too early with the earlier chapter’s impressive animation. From jarring CGI character models to sloppy animation, this episode isn’t all that great visually. Although some fans can look past those visual inconsistencies, others may not. Some will argue it’s hampering their investment in the battles set within episode 8. 

That aside, it’s nice seeing Tokiyuki fight Shokan on his own. While it’s awesome to have allies at his side, fans wanted to see Tokiyuki fight a foe alone. Based on the chapter’s closing moments, it appears Tokiyuki’s new Buddha technique will grant him a victory. 

Simultaneously, we shouldn’t underestimate Shokan as he may have tricks in his pocket. But all in all, this was a decent affair of The Elusive Samurai.