While illusions knock out Jinbei, Hibachi takes on the Insect-man Saizo by herself.
What They Say:
“Dream of the Butterfly”
Content: (please note that the content portion of a review may contain spoilers)
Last week’s episode ended with Hibachi apparently in mortal danger, and this one begins with Jinbei racing to save her. Things almost go completely sour when it turns out that this was an illusion put on by the Insect-man Saizo and Jinbei finds himself charging right at Hibachi, but the illusion is broken just in time. At this point Hibachi tells Jinbei to step aside, and watch her fight. The small amount of recognition Hibachi showed when she heard Saizo’s name in the last episode is explained when Hibachi reveals that she learned Saizo’s story as a child — he was a ninja that wanted to learn the forbidden attacks, but when his master wouldn’t show them to him, he killed his master and took the attacks for himself. For the most part, these forbidden moves seem to involve illusion, as that is his main form of attack, and he’s quick to throw more illusions at Hibachi, making her think she’s tied up, that her attacks are passing through Saizo, and giving her a dream where her grandfather comes to rescue her and tells her he accepts her as the heir to the Chinpou style. When she appears to be doing too well, however, he turns the illusions on Jinbei, so that as he thinks he’s saving Hibachi, he’s actually fighting her to the death.
While it’s awesome to see the one female fighter in the show get the focus here, there were a couple of things that I found bothersome about her fight. First, her inner thoughts when the fight began implies that she wasn’t doing too swell until Jinbei was there to watch her. Then comes the very end of the fight, when Hibachi finally breaks through Saizo’s illusions (after a too-long speech about what it means to be strong). Though it’s been her fight, and Jinbei’s mostly been getting in the way or causing a distraction the entire time, he’s the one who gets the final, winning blow. It’s mighty disappointing move that takes away much of Hibachi’s glory, made doubly frustrating since it’s been implied since episode one that Hibachi is a stronger fighter.
At the end of the episode we see the other characters moving along. The remaining members of the City Patrol get closer to Sanada, and as our brief time with them closes it’s implied that Koikawa will get the showcase fight next time. We also see Mugai, the Mushibugyo, and the rest of their entourage continuing through the tunnel to regain her power. While all seems calm and easy on their side, a shadowy blob that had come out of Saizo’s body appears and connects with the shadiest-looking no-name guy in the group, and we realize the real danger: Hibachi and Jinbei only defeated a shadow of Saizo, and now he knows who the Mushibugyo is, and what she plans to do.
In Summary
This was another fast-paced fight-focused episode, and even with the panty flashes it’s great to see Hibachi duke it out. But I can’t help but feel disappointed with the way it ended, not only turning Hibachi into yet another girl that Jinbei must rescue, but also making it frustratingly clear that as the main character, Jinbei will always get the best moments. This episode did remind me of some mysteries that still haven’t been revealed, like how the Insect-men turned into insects in the first place, and what, exactly, the Mushibugyo is that made her so powerful, and gained her such enemies that would take her strength away. I am hopeful that the Mushibugyo will get her powers back soon, if only to throw another element into the mix of overpowered characters, and maybe, finally, start to answer some of these questions.
Grade: C+
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 13″ Apple Macbook set to 720p
