It’s time for a history lesson and a look at what’s really going on.
What They Say:
A ninja must serve a lord, and Recca Hanabishi has sworn to serve the person who can defeat him in battle. But despite his martial prowess, a penchant for traps, and his family’s fireworks, his battles amount to little more than schoolyard brawls. Ninjas died out long ago, and though he’s always felt a connection, it’s all just pretend. Or is it?
When a mysterious woman confronts him and tells him he’s the last survivor of an ancient clan of ninja – the chosen one born with the power to control fire – his whole world is turned around. A battle ensues, and he finds out just how true her claims might be when he summons flames from his hands. How much does she know, and what does she want with Recca? Is he really the last surviving member of the Hokage? And what about Yanagi, the girl with the power to heal any wound? Might she be the princess Recca longs to serve?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The end of the arc inside Kurei’s mansion is one of the more interesting aspects of the show as it takes the focus away from Kurei again and what he’s trying to accomplish and instead keeps the focus on Recca. With Kurei having Yanagi in his grasp and the possibility of her being hurt now, Recca’s gone all out by removing the armguard that he has and lets all of his dragons free. This is a huge moment as we learn from Kagehoshi about the various totem style fire elementals there have been over time and how the eight headed hydra dragon is the most powerful of all of them. Seeing this immense power flow from Recca’s hand uncontrolled is very well done as is how it plays out. The dragons, as we’ve learned, are ornery bastards and don’t like doing what they’re told. But Recca’s force of will impresses them and a deal is struck, though it’s one that could cost Recca his life depending on how it goes. Recca’s mastery of the dragons truly begins here and to me this is one of the best aspects of the show since it’s not simply training, training and more training that gains his mastery but his force of will over them.
The series hits its quiet time at last though and for a couple of episodes the cast is allowed to settle down and just talk. Heading off to Kagehoshi’s secret house which is really well designed and amusing as it’s in the middle of a cliffside, she starts in on the tale of what’s really going on, who she really is and why all of this is happening. The story goes back four hundred years when Kagehoshi was the wife of the clan leader and gave birth to Recca. Due to his not being a flame wielder like his father he was presumed to not be able to take over the clan when he came of age, due to his father having sired a boy before who could named Kurei. But Recca displays the ability himself eventually and sets into motion a power struggle that should not have happened which plays right into a war that was cutting down many of the ninja clans at the time.
Kagehoshi does all that she can to ensure her sons survival and casts a spell that will separate them for all time but send him to some place safe in the future. The negative effect on her is that it makes her immortal but also that the two can never actually touch until the spell is broken, which will mean her death. The tale is much more detailed and interconnected to things as it’s told and we get some commentary on it from those listening to Kagehoshi, even the disbelieving Recca. This is one of those origin sequences that really wowed us over and had us become all the more interested in the show than we already were. It just doesn’t feel like most other shows with this kind of tale woven into it.
The threat of Kurei is still out there though and with all this new information, the group has decided to not just wait for him but rather to take the time to train and get themselves prepared for what’s to come. With all that they know now plus the way they’ve grown with their weapons, the downtime where they split up to train in different areas is much needed and helps to individualize all of them more and to give them some screen time to be away from each other and comment on all that’s happened. It’s a good break from what we’ve seen across the first three discs and is the necessary amount of exposition and set-up for the next arc.
In Summary:
While the show has flaws and some of the animation just doesn’t cut it sometimes such as the third episode here in some areas, the show’s writing and characters have just such a strong appeal to me and even crosses over to my wife that it’s admittedly easy to overlook that. When this show is on, it does exactly what it intends to do and it entertains us. This batch of episodes goes a long way in clearing up some of the mysteries from before and setting the stage for what’s to happen next. Very good stuff and very enjoyable.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Viewster
