What They Say:
“Training With Father! The Thirty-six Blades of Fuji!”
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The episode begins in the middle of a massive Insect attack, reminding us (because I completely forgot) that Jinbei and company left for Hachijo Island in the midst of a huge battle. The crew begins fighting immediately, and Jinbei gets a shining moment as he saves Haruo, who is, again, in grave danger, and has, again, managed to lose her clothing. Then everything comes to a swift end, as Jinbei’s father suddenly appears, taking down a mountain of insects all on his own.
With the battle done, we get to see Jinbei interact with his father for the first time since the short flashback in episode one. Though his father comes off as kind of a hard-ass — he beats Jinbei up as way of greeting, then tells him he could never disgrace the Tsukishima style because he’s not good enough to be considered a master — his demanding personality works well with Jinbei’s eager-to-please demeanor, allowing them to get along easily and cutting back on any unnecessary drama.
We soon find out that, unsurprisingly, Jinbei has no memory of his fight on the island when he went berzerker and almost killed everyone. Kotori has decided to keep this as a secret while he digs up more information, so Jinbei’s left in the dark for now. That doesn’t matter for too long, however, as his father announces they are going on a three day training journey so he can help his son stop being so embarassingly weak. This of course gets a little over the top, as his father causes a Mt. Fuji to errupt, and tells Jinbei he must use a secret Tsukishima technique in order to keep it from killing everyone below the mountain. This pans out predictably, as Jinbei repeatedly fails until the last minute, when determination causes him to figure it out and learn the technique. Luckily, there were some tender moments as Jinbei’s father smiles over his son, which helped a little to make up for the routine plot.
Mostly the other characters don’t do much in this episode (though Nagatomimaru has a ridiculous, wonderful speach) but the Magistrate does get some focus. Still concerned with what happened to Jinbei, she attempts to talk with Mugai about him, but he, despite having abandoned his old friends to protect her, treats her with some rudeness and won’t answer her questions. She then makes a bit of a bold move, and sneaks out of her chamber to find him. She doesn’t quite make it, though, pulling back when she sees Oharu with him, but after eavesdropping on their conversation — he’s determined to work hard so he can one day meet the Magistrate (he stil doesn’t know it’s the girl he met) — she regains some hope. These scenes did work to make me feel more tenderly towards the Magistrate, as the emphasized a bit of her shyness, and also her powerlessness, since she’s not suposed to leave her room, and can’t meet with the people she wants. While she still feels a little flat, like most of the other characters in the show, she’s becoming more endearing.
In Summary
Several hints pop up throughout this episode about a past that may be secret even to Jinbei: his father makes mention of a mother we’ve never seen whose blood apparently causes Jinbei to learn quickly; the Magistrate mentions that there has to be something special about him for her hair to have caused such a change; and even Kotori thinks there’s something about Jinbei that bears looking into. This should just ratchet up the anticipation, but Jinbei’s been such a hapless, straightforward character until this point that all these potential secrets feel tacked on. The show may do more to develop his character as we go, but otherwise these new developments might wind up feeling forced. The new villains hinted at during the end credits of the last episode make another teasing appearance, so perhaps some soon-to-come intrigue, and possibly action, will help distract from other flaws.
Grade: C+
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 13″ Apple Macbook set to 720p
