Impression
What do you need in order to let a caged bird free?
Myoujou’s school festival is on the horizon, and the Black Class have decided to perform a Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet! Or at least, their unsuspecting sensei has. It’s not exactly a unique set up – so much so that I was actually really glad that the episode didn’t play out according to my clichéd predictions, which involved having Haru play either of the star-crossed lovers and someone deciding to cleverly swap out an acting prop for some real poison or sleeping drug. Anyway, this week’s assassin was Haruki, who was willing to appreciate their facade of peace until she was reminded of exactly why she was there. While she was just as vicious and unfeeling as the other assassins in targeting Haru, I found myself managing to like her a bit more. Unlike the others, her wish to help out her family was a genuinely selfless one – it wasn’t a wish made out of self-interest for once, and she was willing to dirty her hands to achieve it. That fact was undeniably proven right at the end of her attempt to kill Haru once and for all – the beams might have killed Haruki too, but she was okay with that as long as her family would be kept safe. As with the others, we have no idea what’s happened to her – but I hope it ends somewhat happily for her at least.
Admittedly though, she’s got a twisted definition of “liberating” Haru from her various burdens. Tokaku evidently thought Haruki had a method of getting Haru away from all the attempts on her life, while Haruki’s only answer would have been to kill her and end her suffering. And Haru continues to take the cake for being far too naive – although it’s true that there was no advance notice active (Haruki had the balls to give it to her up front) it’s still rather bizarre that she was lured all the way out there. Tokaku apparently wanted to talk to her about something… but why would she ask to do it in an isolated area at night? Don’t they live in the same room?
We were also treated to another piece of the puzzle surrounding Tokaku – who seems to be the only surviving heir to the Azuma clan of assassins, who were of prominence in the past alongside the Kuzunoha. Notably, the eyecatch mentioned that the Azuma were a branch family who broke away from the Kuzunoha, which might have relevance if one of the other assassins have ties to the main family. Like Nio, Tokaku has no other relatives, but I’ll bet that they didn’t all die of natural causes. Or maybe they did, if we make “natural causes” a synonym for assassination. The death of Tokaku’s mother in particular is probably what put her firmly on the path to becoming an assassin from a really young age, as previous episodes have already hinted – which is something her aunt tried to discourage. With bits and pieces being gradually revealed, I’m hoping all of this will bear fruit later, with Tokaku’s past returning to haunt her and affecting her relationship with Haru. Which is, at the moment, still very sadly platonic. Where’s my promised yuri?!
As a note, the manga has not actually shown this assassination attempt. The latest chapter shows her clearly readying herself for it emotionally and telling Nio what her wish was, but nothing past that. You may now read the manga without fear of spoilers, and I would advise doing so. There is depth to these characters that the anime is missing, and frankly seeing Tokaku and Haru both be much more competant and badass during all the previous attempts is worth it in its own right (in the manga it quickly became clear that Tokaku was by far the best fighter out of anyone there: during Isuke’s illegal attempt near the beginning, Tokaku fought off Isuke’s attacks on her with her back turned while reading a message on her cell phone). It makes it much more clear how Tokaku’s presence actually works as a deterrent: everyone there realizes that she is hardcore dangerous, and that rushing blindly against her would be suicide.
You got me there, I haven’t read it yet looks around sheepishly Rest assured I’ll get round to it though.
Arguably, the anime also somewhat highlights the existence of Tokaku as a deterrent (through her lineage) although some of the assassins do seem to be mocking the decline of the Azuma bloodline rather than being outright afraid of it. It’s as if even they know she’s been nerfed!