The mysterious night attacker continues to plague Buou Academy. It may take more Master Samurai to be able to defeat it. Fortunately for Team Muneakira, there are a couple more girls available.
What They Say:
Episode 9: “The New Master Samurai”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Things get more complex as the episode opens with a lot of exposition. First, the mysterious street attacker seems to have possessed Mataemon, who has a weird aura and even attacked Kojiro before Kojiro’s counter-attack releases Mataemon from the possession. Mataemon was muttering something about the stone and now Kojiro is curious. Elsewhere, a group of spiritual masters are repairing a barrier with Yoshihiko supervising. It appears that the Chingo Stone, the mysterious thing the street attacker is after, is some sort of artifact damaged during the battle against Amakusa that ended the previous series in the franchise. The barrier is necessary to protect it, and the stone may be necessary to protect the entire country.
In the meantime, Hanzo and Matabei are continuing their “training” to be able to kiss Muneakira and become Master Samurai with some…help? from Kanetsugu. It’s not going well. And Jubei has run off since Muneakira, Sen, and Yukimura are convinced that Inshun is the street attacker. Sen’s been unable to learn anything about the Chingo Stone from her elder brother (who is deliberately ignoring her), so they think about going after Inshun, which sets off Jubei who has become friends with Inshun. On her own, Jubei comes across Musashi, who agrees that it’s unlikely that Inshun is the street attacker, but if she is, Musashi promises to deal with her herself.
At night, Kojiro watches as Mataemon is again possessed by street attacker. The forces arrayed against it are more serious this time however. Not only is Muneakira and his group, and the Academy’s Discipline Squad deployed, but Musashi has taken it upon herself to track down this mysterious entity. And Inshun too. Musashi catches up to Inshun and the two fight as Inshun refuses to tell Musashi what is really happening, and Musashi takes that as evidence that Inshun is the attacker. Meanwhile, Kojiro continues to track the transformed Mataemon and it happens that the attacker comes to the dojo when only Muneakira, Hanzo, and Matabei are there (Sen, Yukimura, and Kanetsugu having gone ahead when the report came in of Inshun being sited in the city).
Things take a dangerous turn when the attacker captures Hanzo and then also grabs Sen, who had heard the voice of the attacker and came back to the dojo. In this situation, Matabei has no other choice than to be kissed and turn into a Master Samurai. She does (and now she wields a massive calligraphy brush) and manages to free Hanzo, but Sen continues to be gripped by the monster’s tentacles (it’s always tentacles isn’t it?). So, now it’s Hanzo’s turn to become a Master Samurai. With her enhanced abilities, and one really gigantic scroll, Hanzo and Matabei are able to free Sen and disperse the evil ki that is emanating from Mataemon. Before they can get any answers, however, Kojiro comes and whisks Mataemon away.
In the end, they packed a lot of movement and exposition into a single episode, making up for the somewhat “fillerish” feel of the previous few episodes. The plot is kicking into overdrive. What’s fortunate is that it doesn’t feel overwhelming, even though we not only learn more about the Chingo Stone and the mysterious night attacker, but also get not one, but two girls upgraded to Master Samurai (though one feels slightly sorry for Matabei and Hanzo, who do not rate their own episode for elevation, something that even Kanetsugu got earlier in the season). Some important hints are also provided by Gisen, who continues to hang around the dojo for some reason (one begins to wonder why Gisen is still here, not that I mind). Perhaps the Dark Samurai’s challenge to Muneakira is just a pretext for them to hang around town, and their real aim all along has been the Chingo Stone. Perhaps we will find out next episode.
In Summary:
The mysterious night attacker’s identity is revealed to be Mataemon, though Mataemon herself is completely unaware of its actions, as it appears to possess her body. Kojiro is aware of it, but doesn’t seem to know what to do. Inshun is also tracking it, but Musashi has now gotten the wrong idea: that Inshun is the night attacker. You would think the division and disarray among the Dark Samurai would help Muneakira, but as the Dark Samurai’s intentions are still unknown, that is not necessarily the case. But at least he is better prepared for the final fight, as both Matabei and Hanzo have now attained Master Samurai level (necessity being the driving force behind the kisses this time). Whether they will be able to face the Dark Samurai, and unravel the mystery around the attacker and the Chingo Stone, is yet to be seen.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard