The night raid.
What They Say:
Episode 4: “Back to the Capital”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The previous episode ended in betrayal, as a few of the men recruited from the stormed village turn on the defenders in desperation to make a bargain with the invaders. Kuchii strikes down the one who struck the princess, but the element of surprise is lost. With no choice but to flee or fight, Kuchii has a few men evacuate the princess and he leads a strike force on the night raid anyway.
The best-laid plans rarely go off without a hitch, but the betrayal was a massive setback. While some of the lower enemy commanders are shook, the leader of that branch of the invasion, Kim Bang-gyeong (which I think was translated differently in the subtitles, but the dude is Korean) remains unfazed. In fact, the vice-marshal also stationed in the conquered village, Liu Fuheng, is itching for a fight. So much so that he almost ignores the summons from the commander to return when he gets a chance to square-off against Kuchii. It also turns out that ninja-like figure who attacked Kuchii back at the beginning of the series was a forward scout from the Mongols. (He did have blond hair so realistically, who else could he have been working for.) These are our named antagonists for the series that we’re finally meeting, and they do seem to fall into easy archetypes.
The Tsushima regiment almost resign themselves to the fact that the civilians that were taken captive, the women and children, can’t be rescued. Kuchii makes the difficult but necessary decision to retreat when a force from the hill descends and gives them a chance to rescue the captives. The reinforcements are from the Toibarai, an independent nation within a nation. We’ve caught a glimpse of them once before but how they knew what was going on and why they intervened is lost on Kuchii until it’s revealed that they are answering a summons for them had already gone out. Still, they are certainly owed some sort of restitution.
The animation in this show definitely fares better when it’s one on one action. Unfortunately, the nature of the nighttime attack means that most of the action is in the dark in this episode. Very, very dark. The filter only makes things even darker.
So while the raid didn’t go exactly as planned, Kuchii and the others were successful in rescuing some of the townsfolk and they all retreat back into the mountains to return to the capital. Along the way they stop to rest and lift the spirits of the downtrodden. Mochi is passed out and the princess has survived to encourage her people’s continued survival.
During the break we get probably one of the most shonen-esk moments in the series as the son of the traitor’s villager is given a pep-talk by Kuchii. “Live for the sake of getting revenge against your father’s killer, even if your dad was a traitor.” Hackneyed stuff, to be sure, but Kuchii seems to love inspiring people.
The episode ends on yet another shocking moment, although it’s one everyone should have seen coming. I mean, they left the capital undefended for the most part and it’s on a bay. Did they really think the invasion forces were going to ignore it?
In Summary:
Angolmois continues at a brisk pace. We get a good look at the commanders of the invading fleet and they are stern stuff. The battle scenes are still struggling whenever more than one-on-one fights are being depicted, but the duels aren’t terrible. The filter is still a little much though. The stakes keep getting raised on the surviving Tsushima forces, and it’s truly turning into a situation where winning means survival. Kuchii and the princess might have the support of the people right now, but the best they can hope for is hiding the survivors of these attacks in the mountains.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
