What They Say:
“The Insect Hunters Attack!! Battle of Hachijo Island!!”
The Insect Magistrate is in danger and all military groups must set out! But as the groups set a bug attacks Edo and Jinbei must decide to save the town or follow orders.
Content: (please note that the content portion of a review may contain spoilers)
Following up on the final events from last episode, Jinbei and the rest of the Insect Magistrate’s office, including the Samurai House Patrol and the Shrine and Temple Patrol (the leaders of which we saw a couple episodes back) run to take a boat to Hachijo Island, where the Magistrate has sequestered herself. For reasons that aren’t delved into, if the Magistrate dies, Edo is doomed, so it is imperative that everyone rushes to protect her. There’s a moment of real conflict for Jinbei, when it seems like he needs to make a big character-building decision: either stick to his oath and go save the Magistrate, or stay behind and fight the giant Insect threatening Oharu and the rest of Edo. But this moment of anguish, which could either reinforce his values or cause drama later on, is solved almost as soon as it’s presented as the Samurai Patrol so Jinbei and the rest can go save the Magistrate. What a waste.
Despite Jinbei’s moment at the beginning of the episode, and his short conversation with the Magistrate, Koikawa gets the best character moments in this episode. Realizing that their enemies in this fight are the Insect Hunters, he flashes back to the death of his mother, and finding the one who killed his mother seems to become his priority over defending the Magistrate. Then things take an interesting, and probably detrimental, turn when he catches up with Mugai, and overhears one of the Insect Hunters mentioning that Mugai had been their leader, and Koikawa’s reaction, if it doesn’t get someone killed, will certainly delay the Magistrate’s strongest fighter coming to her aid.
This episode really surprised me with it’s fast pace, as just about everyone gets involved in their own fight. Koikawa fights Manako, a droopy-eyed Insect Hunter waiting for them on the ocean; Hibachi takes on another woman, Mashiro (though this fight involves too many snipes about body image); and Tenma uses his Shikigami against another Insect Hunter with a gun. Even the Magistrate takes on three of the Insect Hunters with her own, strange poison powers, and stands her ground pretty well — or would, if Jinbei didn’t keep getting in the way thanks to his ignorance of who she is and what she can do. Most other shows of this type would have really milked these fights, dragging them out to the detriment of the excitement. There are a couple instances of over-introsection, like when the Magistrate wonders why her mind is elsewhere in a fight, but overall things happen quickly enough to stave off boredom and keep you invested.
In Summary
Overall this is an exciting episode, as the show moves from one fight to another. Jinbei is still dumb as dirt and flat as paper, but other characters get good moments, namely Koikawa, who is finally on the verge of facing the people who took his family from him, as well as uncovering what will probably be a personal betrayal. And the Magistrate has some good screen time, showing that she’s more than just a quiet girl who is for some reason in charge of Edo’s protectors — she also has special powers, and is a skilled fighter to boot. All of the storylines end on a cliff-hanger — fights not quite finished, secrets revealed — so that for the first time, there’s real anticipation in waiting for the next installment.
Grade: C+
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 13″ Apple Macbook set to 720p
