What they say:
Joran survived the poison Asahi gave her. Now it’s up to her save her and get them away from the ruthless Tokugawa government, which is now starting to flex its might against oppressors.
The review:
Content (Please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
So all that stuff about Asahi choosing revenge over her only family turned out to be a total lie. In a twist, not only does Yukimura survive, but the “poison” Asahi got from Tsukishiro was really a drug and a means to create an elaborate plan for the two of them to escape Tokyo. Tsukishiro instructs Asahi to give Yukimura the drug and convince everyone that she is dead within three hours since that’s how long she will appear dead before the effects wear off and she awakens again. A young messenger boy and Kuzuhara drop by at the precise times Tsukishiro mentioned. I’m not sure how she knew this. Perhaps more will be revealed later about the true depths of her knowledge. We’re still in the dark on the contents of that notebook she found hidden in that wall some time ago.
After the others bury Yukimura and leave, Asahi ferociously digs at the ground to free Yukimura from the coffin so she isn’t buried alive and suffocates. She makes it out but not before having a dream about her life.
First, she thinks of her former coworkers who ask her about her “type” of man. They tell her they rely on people when life gets tough and want someone to cling to. Then in a somewhat terrifying moment, Hanakaze hands Yukimura her unborn child who turns out to be Asahi and calls her “Onee-chan” and tells her she “killed” Yukimura. At which point Yukumira is clearly distressed. There’s no getting around the fact that Janome’s death and her brother’s words have cut deep. She’s struggling to cope with killing so many people, including Asahi’s family. She’s still suffering from the PTSD that has caught up to her. That’s all before her coworkers push her into the abyss among rose petals. The art here is great and the imagery is purely haunting. Rose petals symbolize strong emotions such as love and passion. Scattering them throughout the space and juxta-positioning them with a black background shows us that her feelings are all scattered inside her (literally inside her dream world here) with no direction or unity simply floating in emptiness.
As for Tsukishiro, she’s the one who survived that car shootout but not without cost. She’s injured and taking pills which clearly have a hallucinating effect and she wanders aimlessly swinging her blade while soldiers (speaking English for some reason) chase her down. She still has the refined blue blood from Janome and it’s unclear what she intends to do with it. Like the notebook’s contents, that will probably hopefully be revealed at a later date.
Kuzuhara, the last remaining member of Nue left, is the most interesting of the bunch. He hunts down the doctor at the hospital Tsukishiro stayed at and we get a bit more insight on who Kuzuhara is and what might be in store. The doctor says that eventually, something has to give. The Tokugawa method of clamping down on the opposition isn’t sustainable and at some point anti-administration resentment will peak and won’t be controlled anymore. Foreshadowing, maybe? Kuzuhara simply says if he could live in a world purely followed by logic he would give anything for it. That might explain his steadfast support for the Shogun. It’s simple and authoritarianism can do all the work based on his idea of logic. They tell him to do something so he does it. Not because he’s afraid or because they’re blackmailing him, but because to him, that’s just the way the world works and should work.
Speaking of Kuzuhara and the Shogun, the latter finally shows himself this week (albeit hidden behind a door that obscures his appearance) at a Cabinet meeting. It’s not much but it’s something. The show appears to be setting up Tokugawa as the main antagonist here. After abruptly cutting the Cabinet meeting short, he gives Kuzuhara an important mission. He needs to reclaim the blue blood along with “the original” wielder of its power Yukimura. This reveals in the process that it wasn’t chance that Kuzuhara found a young Yukimura. The Shogun specifically sought her out for her power and trained her to bring her over to his side. I’m curious on what exactly this blue blood can do and what it truly means. It’s clearly important if the Shogun and his scientists are both trying to obtain it for their own purposes. And now Kuzuhara must track down his ex-subordinates. The Shogun also wants to stomp down harder on protests and gives the police the authority to call upon the military if that’s what it takes. He also mentions that the protests are backed by England and that the French are not yielding in negotiations. I’m interested to see if foreign powers opposing the Shogun’s rule will have any major story implications or if it’s simply an extra detail to expand on the state of the world. Either way, it’s an interesting topic. That might also explain why the soldiers trailing Tsukishiro were yelling in English. Although that’s just a guess.
While Yukimura and Asahi have a touching moment escaping to the ship port that the Treasurer intended to use back in episode 2 and introducing themselves for the first time with their real names (Yukimura instead introduces herself as Sawa Kasumori), Kuzuhara is clearly on a mission and not happy about it. While walking down the street, he sees police officers harassing a protester and instead of helping the officers he kills them and walks away.
What compelled him to do this is a mystery. He could be enraged that Yukimura is likely still alive and betrayed him and he’s taking his anger out on them, or he could secretly resent the Shogun for his orders. Either way, the shot at the end of Yukimura and Asahi arriving in a new prefecture doesn’t bode too well as long as Kuzuhara is on their trail. I wonder if this is the end of Book 2 since it seems like a good turning point for the series, or if it will continue for longer.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much action this week. Though that isn’t to say there wasn’t any violence. The scenes where Kuzuhara murders the police officers and the doctor are quite bloody. It’s probably best to think of this series as more of a drama than an action series at this point. That’s a shame because the action scenes added a real depth and unique art style to it that elevated it to more than just a hammy revenge story. We haven’t seen any more of the supernatural since the end of Janome as well, and might not for a while. It all fits into the one problem I have with this show and that’s that the show isn’t making full use of its potential. It has a fantastic unique art style, and a plethora of ways to make statements about gender politics and authoritarian governments. However there is hope that things can still go in that direction. Book 2 is definitely meant to serve as a lull period between the first and subsequent acts. How long that lull continues is anyone’s guess.
In summary:
Joran The Princess of Snow and Blood is still artfully beautiful and thematically engaging. The story continues to move in unexpected directions and keeps the audience on their toes. However, there’s still a lot of potential there to explore more of the world and its characters. If you’re looking for eye-popping action, you may be disappointed. But there’s still plenty of blood to go around in this assassin drama.
Grade: A-
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
