The Elusive Samurai episode 11 aired on Saturday leaving me more disappointed than anything else. Aside from the opening starting almost a full 8 minutes into the episode, the series has overrun its stay with antagonists trying to be their quirky and awkward, yet power hungry, selves. When situations get serious, they always end with a laugh. At some point, I thought this episode might turn out to be a little different—nope. It just went left again when I was hoping for a right turn.
Where The Disappointment Falls
The Elusive Samurai has a lot of charm to it that I can understand why many would enjoy the series, and it’s (sorta) there for me too. The time period is different. The main cast of characters, along with their designs, are interesting enough to watch for 23 minutes every week. And the production staff has done an incredible job. Yet, at what point does the series start to take itself seriously?
Almost every single antagonist we’ve practically been introduced to so far has to be weird in some way, shape, or form. Even Golden Kamuy doesn’t hammer into this dynamic that much and it’s widely known for its obscure, adult humor. But for once can we have a villain in this series that is, I don’t know, somewhat normal? I feel like one who looks at all the others with disdain would be a breath of fresh air.
Not only this but right when the episode starts to get serious with Tokiyuki not accepting the plea of death from the soldiers fighting alongside him, he gets drunk (somehow) from sake being splashed on his face. He didn’t drink any. He didn’t inhale any vapor from it being heated up. He didn’t soak in it for hours. He went full Rock Lee, drunken fist-like simply from it touching his skin. Then to make matters worse, he starts attacking the soldier with…his butt.
In the scenes to follow, he has a “hangover” from it while riding on a horse. Then once he realizes he’s being chased, and has a quick heart-to-heart talk with Kojiro, he immediately flips the switch and is all of a sudden better. No hangover at all, almost as if he chugged two bottles of Pedialyte filled with liquid IV and ate a delectable bacon, egg, and cheese.
After what is supposed to be a big moment for this 8-year-old kid who’s acting more mature than all of the adults around him, the story immediately divulges into slapstick humor and just makes the entire situation feel pointless in the end.
I’m not saying the series can’t have any humor at all. Hell, I like the idea of a little humor in a series that’s about practically nothing but war. Soldiers throughout history have found ways to cope with the darkness that comes from a battlefield, and this series had an opportunity to express that differently with a bunch of kids. Nope. “Hey, Tokiyuki. I just slashed 20 men with my sword while riding horseback. Haha! I’ll follow you anywhere no matter what. Anyways, want to go play a game of tag?”
It’s one thing if the series properly sets the characters up for those moments of relief and shows the kids grieving at some point after every battle they partake in then has the joyous moments. But it’s another to just act like what occurred didn’t happen at all. How can I take The Elusive Samurai seriously when it doesn’t take itself seriously in big moments?
The Counter Argument for Disappointment
On the flip side, I can see how some people look at all that occurred in episode 11 and think there’s a purpose there. Tokiyuki may have had his ridiculous moments, but from his retainers seeing him stand for his fellow soldiers not dying and live to see another day was the inspiration for them. It was a solid, but not unique, way of them coming to respect Tokiyuki more than they already do.
In a way, this has constantly happened throughout the series. So if that’s the perspective you want to take when it comes to these moments of unnecessary humor, so be it. The series is targeted to a teenage demographic in the first place. In a way, I understand what series creator Yusei Matsui is going for…kind of.
The only counterargument I can see to the villains acting the way they do is that Matsui wanted them to act this way to play in perfect contrast with the main cast, who are simply just a bunch of trained kids with normal personalities and outlooks on life. In other words, the adults act more like bratty kids while the actual kids act like mature adults (sometimes).
Otherwise, why do we need them to make weird faces on a repetitive basis? Is it for us to get so fed up with them that it just makes us root for Tokiyuki and his group to defeat them? Or is it along the lines of “Yeah, we can’t let this guy rule over people”? I’m all ears for this because at some point things need to change. I originally thought we had that with the Takauji brothers from episode 10. The development of something intriguing was undoubtedly there and it got me hyped for what’s to come. Then episode 11 brought me back to reality.
The final counterargument to all of this is that these situations are training moments for Tokiyuki until things really get dicey. All the humor and everything that comes with it is just some sort of test run for Tokiyuki and that whatever the Takauji brothers have in store for is when all this ridiculousness comes to an end.
The Elusive Samurai Episode 11 Wrap-Up
I apologize to the staff that worked on The Elusive Samurai episode 11 because, like the repetitiveness of what I just talked about, they, too, have been consistent but in a much better way. The production is staying on top of everything from start to finish every week and the staff and cast both deserve their flowers. I’m just patiently waiting for this story to take a turn for the better.
Episode 11 rating: 5.5/10
If you’ve enjoyed The Elusive Samurai then vote for the episode in our Anime of the Season poll! The season finale for The Elusive Samurai will be released on Saturday, September 28, on Crunchyroll.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©Fujino Omori, Toshi Aoi, Kodansha/Wistoria: Wand and Sword Production Committee
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