While we didn’t get any racing this episode, it was still really great to get lots of focus on Kosame. He’s always been a pretty fun character and I’m glad that they didn’t just make Kosame out to be the comic relief worrywart character. He was able to overcome the trauma from his past and in turn was able to relay that same message to Hototo.
Our main group get back into the race only to be stunned at what they find. The other (non-important) racers killed, except for Gil. He explains that five men on horseback with snake tattoos attacked them and left with a parting message. People will die in this race. It’s ominous and very scary to hear, but once Hototo learned that these men had snake tattoos, he was adamant about going after them and surprisingly Appare agrees on it. Though his reason was more for the loss of valuable racers though I’m sure he cared about Hototo’s personal matters as well. The group head to the port town and they have a run in with the five men, and Hototo finds the man with the neck tattoo. All were captured, except for Kosame and he was left with shame and anger at his cowardice.
Kosame’s past wasn’t anything we weren’t expecting, though I do wonder who that random samurai was and why he killed his mother. I know some samurai weren’t exactly the best people and would sometimes attack people for no good reason, and maybe with Kosame’s case that’s exactly what it was. It’s very unfortunate, and it’s sad that ever since he was a child he dealt with this guilt even though there was nothing he could do. I’m glad he was able to face his traumatizing past and pick up his sword for real this time. If there’s one thing I guess I can complain about, is that I wish that Kosame had maybe relayed this with his friends but with the way things were set up this episode with everyone captured and on the brink of being hanged, there was no chance for that. Still, Kosame was able to talk to someone at least and face his past with his own resolve.
Also wow his sword is sharp to be able to cleanly cut those guns in half, but apparently well kept katanas can really be that sharp. A gun and sword fight is always cool to see, and I always wondered who would be more at an advantage. Kosame cutting that bullet in half was super cool but I thought it would have injured him a bit with how it came at him square in the chest, the two pieces piercing his shoulders/arms or something. It’s fine, it’s anime. The fight was very fun and we finally got to see Kosame’s true strength that he kept shut away. Hototo was able to rekindle a bit of his friendship with Kosame since he’s been saying hurtful things to him, such as not knowing what it’s like to lose a close relative. I think after this Hototo will see Kosame in a different light. Also, it was cute that Appare had so much faith that Kosame would come back for them. Though…he’s very brave to not freak out with a noose around his neck. Ohh Appare… :’)
The ending reveal was not surprising at all. The man with the neck tattoo wasn’t Gil, just another random henchman. Just like pretty much everyone watching the show suspected, “Richard” is actually the real Gil T. Cigar. Not shocked. Also, it doesn’t help that Kenjirou Tsuda is voicing him since he’s known to play villains. So…there it is. It’ll be interesting to see what’ll happen next and what he and the people he’s working with plan to do, though it looks like the guy in the suit just wants him to focus on the race.
Next week looks like a super chill episode, it’s literally called “short break”. I like episodes like these since it’s always fun to see the characters interacting with each other, but with the short amount of time we have for the race it’s a little worrying. Still, laughs should be had for next time.
