The Elusive Samurai Season 2 ‒ Episode 9
After a spike in quality with the introduction of Mima Sasaki, The Elusive Samurai takes another dip back into the merely “okay” with “The Man Called Masahige Kusonoki.” The episode contains all of the usual hallmarks of the series' quality: Funny jokes, quality animation, great chemistry between its band of young heroes. However, it also suffers from this season's distracted structure and meandering pacing. This week's adventure feels composed of equal parts wheel-spinning and retreading old ground. At least the title character we meet is interesting enough.
Before that, I have to voice my complaints about how The Elusive Samurai is constantly ballooning its cast without stopping to make sure we're invested in the other new characters who have yet to truly shine. Mima was great last week, but she's already slipping into the background as a perpetual banter machine, which is the role that every other one of Tokiyuki's retainers occupies most of the time. Throughout this episode, I kept thinking about the likes of Fubuki, Yoritsugu, and that whole Kanto Hisashiban gang that first got introduced way back in the first episode of the season, all of whom have barely gotten anything to do while The Elusive Samurai rolls along its lazy path to the next stage of the Hojo clan's uprising. Maybe that's why I still can't shake the feeling of nothing important having happened all season, even when we get developments like the plan to assassinate the Emperor himself. Fubuki gets a couple of moments this week that indicate something is brewing with his arc, at least, but I don't know, man. I'll believe it when I see it.
As for the man of the hour, I appreciate what this Masahige guy brings to the table, at least in concept. The show has honestly done very little with the whole “Elusive” aspect of its premise this season, so it's neat to see a grown-up mirror of Tokiyuki, and their crazed head-bobbing duel is the single funniest moment of the whole episode. With the stakes supposedly reaching a boiling point, it makes sense that our hero would need to find a way to level up his skills, and what better way to do so than seek the guidance of an Elusive Master who has been home-grown in enemy territory?
That said, I can't say that this episode is terribly engaging, at the end of the day. My biggest issue with how Masahige is used comes down to his whole spiel about how the weak need to think outside the box to outmatch a stronger opponent. Sure, his examples are all well and good, but it feels like this is the lesson that Tokiyuki has been learning over and over again since the series began. By the time the episode wraps up, it feels like the whole adventure was just a stretched-out excuse to give the kids a vital clue that will lead them to whatever violent crossroads Fubuki is headed towards next week. Or the week after. Or whenever the show decides to get around to the main point. We've only got a few episodes left in the season, and at this point I am glad to know that, one way or another, The Elusive Samurai will have to start moseying along towards the finish line.
Episode Rating:
The Elusive Samurai Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.
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