Sengoku Youko

Episode 5

After a speedy, but fairly self-contained entry last week, Sengoku Youko has put all of its weight back on the accelerator, and we're back to barreling down the road at a hundred miles an hour. You'd think the premise of Zanzou's sister—revealed to be one of the Dangaisyuu's “four beast leaders”—showing up as the next assassin would be enough to fill an episode. Yet “Higan” sees fit to drop at least three other twists into the mix—introducing even more new villains, unsettling the status quo we'd only barely established, and throwing in a game-changing reveal about one of our main characters within a span of maybe 10 minutes. I certainly can't complain about this show not giving me enough to work with.

I can complain, however, that the speed with which all these story points are presented means they never really get to settle like they should. The reveal that Shakugan has been harboring two personalities (both her original human self and the Katawara she fused with) is a cool twist that gives her (they?) more depth, and some much-needed focus after sitting on the sidelines for a couple weeks. Yet because we're moving so briskly, we never get a clear idea of the difference between Shaku and Kagan's personalities, or really digest the ramifications of their whole situation. Likewise, Kagan's relationship with the spirit that became Higan gets about five lines before we barrel into a fight scene that, while cool, is just as swiftly interrupted by the big bad dragon man. These individual ideas are neat but there's no room for them to breathe—especially when they involve a character who most definitely won't be returning.

Higan/Hino certainly packs in a lot of pertinent ideas before she's gone, at least. Like everyone else in our cast, she's motivated by a desire for power—and specifically to eschew the shadowy and secretive heritage of the Raidou clan. Where her brother, Zanzou, is content to lead a low-profile existence and hone his skills for his own sake, she wants recognition, the time in the sun that comes with being powerful enough to make the rules—and she's willing to do whatever necessary to achieve that strength. In a lot of ways she feels like the end product of the path Shinsuke so desperately wants to walk. She is willing to throw away whatever is necessary for the sake of power, yet is ultimately still a disposable tool for the ones offering it. The sheer abruptness of her entrance and exit make those ideas feel a bit clumsy but it has just enough texture that you can imagine the much longer story that must have led her to these final moments.

Likewise, Jinun's arrival feels out-of-the-blue, but still manages to establish a compelling perspective. He shows up as the Dangaisyuu's personal judge, jury, and executioner—totally confident that he not only has the power to take out Higan but also that he is totally right in doing so. Like a certain other Mizukami dragon, his unwavering belief in his own violent form of justice makes him the perfect antagonist for our heroes; not just powerful and intimidating but also incapable of being dissuaded from his hunt. It doesn't matter if the people he's been sent to kill are actually guilty, or even a threat. All he needs to know is that the rules dictate their destruction—and the rules are always right.

Those are all cool elements and everything introduced here does a lot to enrich the overall story (or else holds potential for future episodes). It's just that this episode feels like trying to shovel a sidewalk in the middle of a blizzard, with something new piling on top of whatever you just got a handle on. It's enough to make me wish the show would just skip the OP or ED some weeks, if only to offer a few precious extra seconds to any given scene.

Rating:

Sengoku Youko is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.