No more surprises here, just one big battle to put an end to Orochi.
What They Say:
Episode #12: “Brothers, Gathering Under the Sun”
The Kumoh brothers are finally reunited for the final battle against the Orochi and the Fuma…
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Everything that can go right for the good guys does so for this conclusion to Laughing Under the Clouds. With all of it’s surprises and cliffhangers spent, we have a scant amount of time to take the orochi down and save as many people as possible.
Tenka makes his bold entrance and is able to have his brother Chutaro use the sacred family swords to drive the orochi from Soramaru. Tenka’s lack of participation in the action can be attributed to his weakened state from the orochi infection. He sets up his brothers to land the final strikes and take the glory for themselves while he hangs back. They had to find a way to check his boundless badass power from earlier in the series.
The Orochi is free of it’s human vessel and soars into the sky, gathering itself for a massive attack on the countryside. The giant snake starts shooting laser beams everywhere and destroys a good amount of the town, probably killing scores of people in it’s rampage. Botan attempts to draw it’s attention and is rescued by her reincarnated lover.
The Yamainu troop find their hands full with all the Fuma clan ninjas. Sousei takes a stand along with his men, eventually joining Tenka to confront Shirasu. However Shirasu’s brother steps back and attempts to rid his brother of the two biggest obstacles in his way, sacrificing himself in the process. The ploy doesn’t exactly work, and the townsfolk come to the Yamainu’s assistance, ganging up on the ninja and escaped cons with farm tools.
Chutaro has one final confrontation with Kagami. Why Chutaro was so dead set on helping the mass murderer find redemption is beyond me. Kagami eventually departs amicably leaving Chutaro with one of his blades to fight back with.
So the fights all happen as you would expect, except for one unearned and questionable decision to include that green haired rookie in with the final strike. Really? You want me to believe that he earned a place there alongside Soramaru and Chutaro? The excuse as to why Soramaru is able to defeat Orochi makes no sense. It’s like the author didn’t quite know how to take out such a big monster with the mortal cast. The final blow is cast, the snake monster is destroyed, the sun starts to come out once more.
Then there is a matter of Shirasu. With his brother’s attempt to take out Tenka and Sousei ending in failure and his own death, and his clan killed or captured, Shirasu has nothing left to live for. He betrayed those who thought of him like a fourth brother, and in the end all he can do is leap off a cliff to his own demise and save the good guys from bloodying their hands. At least, we assume it was to his death.
So all’s well that ends well. There’s a picnic, and everyone is invited. The tension between the Kumoh brothers and the Yamainu are gone. The ninja girl sticks around to crush on Soramaru. Tenka is alive… But…. why does Botan still exist? Shouldn’t she have disappeared once again? What a weird cop out.
In Conclusion:
Laughing Under the Clouds exists in a place where all mediocre anime lives. It’s not terribly offensive, but it’s not really worth making time out of a busy schedule to watch either. The ending doesn’t feel deserved, and Shirasu’s motivations, or lack thereof, are never explained. Even the orochi itself is never really explained. Was there a reason at all for Botan and Hirari to have been involved in the plot? What the show did do well was cliffhangers and surprises, dropping bombshells at the end of each episode which was enough to keep me watching, but the payoff at the end wasn’t great. It really comes down to how likable you find the leads, and how invested you are in their struggle. I never really cared about the Kumoh brothers the way that the show wanted me to.
Episode Grade: C +
Streamed by: Funimation
Review Equipment: 27” iMac running OS 10.9.5, via Safari 7.0.6, FIOS 15/5 Mbps connection. Your milage may vary.
He was able to defeat the orochi thing because of the sword he was using. Also, since the orochi suposally ate the kumoh family swords the last time it was in existence then some how the kumoh blood was the only one who could defeat it.