Date Masamune gives Yukimura a dance lesson…? But who’s really leading?
Looks like Rokuro’s jealous~
Yukimura is called in to meet with the rest of the lords, including the ever-flamboyant Date Masamune, who spends the entire episode wearing what looks like a dead pink rat around his neck . An official letter arrives saying that all weapons much be sheathed at the meeting, but how will Yukimura defend himself when he’s challenged to a duel by the One-Eyed Dragon? A “shortcut” through the forest leads to unexpected results…
Impressions:
The set up for the final fight in the episode eclipsed the introduction of the new character, which made me feel cheated. They’re all travelling to the tea party between the leaders of the houses, and along the way, they pick an orphan that tried to kills them (big surprise there), and name him “Benmaru.”
Rokuro is really, really transparent when it comes to Yukimura. Just watching him is so much fun, because he both semi-implies that Yukimura and him have more than a master and bodyguard(?) relationship. The kid they pick up originally had the same last name as Rokuro, so Yukimura gives him another last name- his “other” name, as he calls it. The thing is, Benmaru (the kid) calls “Rokuro” a stupid name, and initially rejects it outright. I suspect that Yukimura gave the family name of “Rokuro” as a sign of faith in his friend, and that’s why Rokuro was so offended when Benmaru called it stupid.
Though, Rokuro’s pointed criticisms of Yukimaru’s skirt(yukata?)-chasing at court was almost suspiciously put there to try to divert most viewers into thinking they have nothing between them. But then again, you have to think about who are the typical viewers of a show full of hot bishonen…
Date Masamune went and challenged Yukimura at court to sword battle…not a good idea, considering the ban on unsheathing weapons. I think he was trying to manipulate Yukimura into being “accidentally” killed. Good thing Yukimura is such a brilliant clown, or else he wouldn’t have been able to pull off the trick that he did. Yukimura tries to pretend to be the fool, the slacker that knows nothing, but he actually has a full awareness of the situation. By fighting only with his fan, he’s clearly not the aggressor, and by disarming Masamune the way he did with a seemingly accidental trip, he gets himself out of a sticky situation. So, we have the political undertow of the show finally becoming ripe! After all, what do you get other than that when you have a tea party with all the feudal lords of Japan and a destructive headpiece on the loose?
Oh yeah, just as a general FYI, Isanami doesn’t get kidnapped this episode. Unless you count the horse running off with her after it panics.