OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
The good guys pick up the pieces from the battle and begin making plans to fight back if needed.
OUR TAKE
We’re at the penultimate episode of the season which, as expected, is mainly about things cooling down from the Great Kyoto Fire three-parter that happened just last episode, which thankfully didn’t really spread much beyond a few buildings. But of course this will not be the last time the Shishio Clan make such a big move, and everyone knows this, but the goal for right now is mainly resting. The wounded are taken care of, including Okina, who begins to fully recover and tells Kenshin that he probably will have to kill Aoshi, whose heart has likely been consumed by evil. Kenshin, however, disagrees, as the fact that Okina is still alive seems to indicate that Aoshi has not quite given up all of his humanity quite yet, even his sparing of the old man may have been subconscious, and declares he will bring Aoshi back to them. This turns out to be a massive relief to Misao, who despite her tough front the past few episodes has actually still held hope that Aoshi might return and was crushed by the possibility that he may die, even after everything he has done. It seems some feelings and connections are not so hastily thrown away, by either side of this conflict.
But as mentioned, the Shishio Clan is not just going to be gone for the rest of the season, as the end of the episode shows Shishio ordering all of the remaining Ten Swords to gather together. Now obviously we do not have the time for another big fight, even if they try to cram one into the finale next week, so that’s not what this scene is about. No, it seems that Shishio’s pride has really been hurt by his plan going up in smoke, pun intended, and he’s hoping to get some payback. However, even without the narrative understanding that they cannot make any big moves like that in a single episode, there must be a purpose to this that will become clear. And with that, we are finally down to the final episode of the season. It’s been a long road of rather uneven pacing, but we just have next week to find out what we’ll be left on until they decide to adapt the rest of this arc. And if I’m being perfectly honest, my guess is that it will be even more falling action and set up for next time. But there’s only one way to find out!
AloJapan.com