天下制覇

 

I miss the Big M already.

Impressions:

Oddly enough, despite the 6 week hiatus and the death of a main character, we’re not only using the same OP with only a couple changes, but we’re somehow back to the first ED. The OP is rewound to a remix of the earlier version as well. The parts with Yoshimori that were replaced with Gagin are back, though the early part with Gen slashing up random monsters are replaced by shots of Masamori and the Urakai. Oddly enough though, the later shots of Gen walking with the Kekkaishi and him fighting alongside Yoshimori are still in. I also find it funny that the sponsors interstitial is now totally blank.

Anyway, this episode felt very strange to me. We’ve had the last month and a half to mourn our hearts out for Gen, and then here’s another look back over the life and times of the demon-armed wonder. I miss him and all, but this would have felt much better before the hiatus instead of after. The Gen chapters of the story are over, let’s move on. Lots of new characters this episode as well. I can’t really bring myself to care overly much about the ‘monsters’ of the Urakai seemingly betraying the Yagyu since they were always portrayed as evil anyway. Hopefully the anime-original Sakon will have a bit more of an interesting power than just creating little black holes, though next episode looks to be mostly comic relief plus Hekian’s initial attack/observation of Karasumori. I should have that up probably tomorrow, depending on the time I’ve got. It’s already all capped, I just haven’t had a chance to watch it yet since I had to track #38 down using… abnormal… means.

The Yagyu hold a solemn funeral for Gen.

At Kokoboro HQ, the Princess sleeps. Byakko and the others discuss what happened to her. Byakko says that they need to gather more information. Byakko leaves it to Hekian. They also discuss what to do about the Yagyu’s continued interest in Karasumori and about them interfering more. Sion is a bit more worried than most, especially with their brute force, Gagin, now dead.

A man comes up and introduces himself as Gagin’s subordinate, Sakon.

He tells them that he’ll take over Gagin’s work and crush the Kekkaishi of Karasumori. Byakko chastises him a bit for intruding, but Sakon begs again and Byakko relents.

As Sakon walks away, Kaguro leaps down in front of him. Kaguro doesn’t have anything nice to say about Sakon’s former master’s intelligence and how he died like an idiot. Kaguro wonders if Sakon would be able to do any better than the failed master.

Sakon grins at Kaguro, then hops backwards. He summons energy to his hand and something looking like a black hole begins to form on it. Kaguro tells him to stop, as there’s no way that would hurt him. He turns and gives Sakon a final warning not to underestimate the brats of Karasumori. He already did Sakon a favor by killing the most interesting one, the Shishio punk.

Gen’s funeral ends with all of the Yagyu praying in silence. As soon as Masamori ends the silence, Atora starts bawling and calling out to Gen. His casket is taken away.

Later, Atora reflects on a stone scarred with Gen’s claw marks. Hiba comes up to her and tells her all about following him and how at the end, his heart was in the right place and he was thinking about his friends.

Atora yells at him to shut up and falls to her knees. Hiba calls Gen an idiot for dying.

Other Yagyu members think about the funeral in their own ways. They wonder what’s so important about Karasumori that they have to protect it. Two try to tell the third (Sen), that it was because he was a friend, but Sen throws it back in their faces, saying that Gen was never a friend to any of them.

He flashes back to Gen fighting another Yagyu member in training as they all watched. Gen refused to take the fight seriously and easily destroyed the guy’s claws. Angrily, he got up and called Gen a monster and questioned if there was anything human left in him, after all, he even attacked his sister. This struck a bit of a nerve in Gen who turned around in anger and attacked the guy viciously.

Back in the present, Sen finishes explaining that that’s why Gen wasn’t a friend… although… there was another time…

In this flashback at the end of a waterfall, a monster is roaring. The Urukai members are standing around when a gigantic ogre rises from the water. Only Gen moves forward to fight it.

They all think that it’s too dangerous and want to retreat for back up. Gen tells them to just stand aside and he’ll deal with it. He transforms his arm and attacks. Even though he’s not doing a ton of damage, he keeps attacking. The ogre is able to follow his movements though and punches him into a wall. Gen manages to recover and leap away before it can follow up. The ogres blows collapse a ton of rocks, chasing off the other Yagyu members and even burying one, who digs himself out and yells at Gen that this is his fault.

The other Yagyu members have retreated to a senior member and are complaining to her about Gen’s conduct in fighting the monster. She asks them where Gen is, but they are forced to admit that they left him behind.

Later, Sen walks to the kitchen for some water alone. He looks outside and sees Gen staggering in, very badly injured. He moves to help Gen, and accidently kicks some bottles, alerting him to his presence. Gen looks back and says that the fight is over. Sen doesn’t understand why Gen fought the monster on his own and tries to get Gen to at least explain himself, but Gen just says that this is his punishment.

Sen is a bit pissed and doesn’t understand Gen’s martyr complex at all, but thinking back on it does make him a little sad. His friends ask him if he really liked Gen. Sen blushes, but chews them out, saying that he hates guys like Gen.

Yoshimori is moping on his desk. Masamori comes in and tells him that it’s time to go. Yoshi asks about Tokine, but Masamori cuts him off and says that it’s not for her. At the funeral grounds, Gen’s father comes up to Masamori. He starts to thank Masamori but his sister storms over and bitches them out, yelling at Masamori to go home.

We get to see the flashback of Gen hearing his sister say that she understood Gen was a monster and then Gen attacking her once again.

Masamori and Yoshi both look downcast as she again tells them to leave. Masamori says that he understands, and hands her a collection of letters that Gen wrote to her while he was with them. His sister breaks into tears and yells at them one more time for taking him away before crying into her father’s arms. Masamori turns to leave, but Yoshi lingers.

He tells Gen’s sister that Gen was a true friend to him and apologizes for what happened. He starts to run away, but she stops him, asking if he was Gen’s friend. Yoshi immediately responds in the affirmative and keeps running.

As the two Sumimuras walk home, both say that they’ll make Kaguro pay.

In a hut, the Windmaster of the Urakai is meeting with Byakko. The two talk about an agreement to share their knowledge. The Windmaster is worried about the growing power and influence of the Yagyu and is willing to deal with the Ayakashi to help stymie them. Byakko is just his usual manipulative self.

At Karasumori, Madarao tries to cheer up Yoshimori a bit.

Yoshi’s just a bit melancholic at the moment, and still working his way through the anger phase of grief.

Tokine comes up behind him and yells at him for moping. He yells at her to shut up, but she knows that he’s grieving. She hops up and sits next to him. He calls Gen an idiot for dying over Karasumori. She tells him that Gen did his best for Karasumori, and perhaps it was the best thing that happened to Gen. Yoshi doesn’t believe it, and says that it’d have been better if he never came. Tokine looks directly at him and says that she doesn’t believe that.

Yoshi chokes back the tears again. Tokine thinks that they’re still in this together. Yoshi stands up and declares to the world that he’s not going to cry any more and will become stronger. Tokine nods in agreement.