The Elusive Samurai Episode 5 Review - An Interesting Character Emerges

The Elusive Samurai episode 5 showed us that when the series specifically focuses on Tokiyuki and his group of friends, the series seems to flourish a bit more. Now, with the introduction of who is their soon-to-be next member, the series not only becomes more interesting but there is more room for opportunity, both in story and character development.

Join The Club, We Have Jackets

The current group, as it stands, is very frontal in their approach to conflicting matters. They usually attack the problem head-on rather than trying a workaround. That’s where Ganba Kazama comes into play. His ability to replicate the face of (almost) anyone he sees reminds me of the Faceless Men we encountered in Game of Thrones.

But excluding the “a man has no name” spiel, Genba takes pride in who he is and wants people to know about him. That being said, his character provides a growth opportunity for Tokiyuki. He’s going to have to trust people who will take backdoor measures in order to help what he wants to achieve. Even Genba himself asks Tokiyuki if he’d be able to trust someone like him.

I’m partial to characters like Genba in stories. Although most of the time, they have a rather dull personality, Genba, on the other hand, is rather colorful. Conniving, but still colorful. He’s the type of character where if he didn’t have Tokiyuki and the others come along at this point in life, he may actually be a worthwhile antagonist.

Even at one point in the episode, the cunning Yorishige didn’t realize that Genba infiltrated the shrine as Moritaka Suwa. He only became suspicious after he left, proving just how capable Genba is. Remember, Yorishige was even the one who suggested Tokyuki to get in contact with him in the first place.

While we still understand the strengths others in this series possess, Genba seems to be a cut above Tokiyuki, Shizuku, Ayako, and Kojiro. His character will give way to many infiltration and deception missions on the road to taking back Kamakura. What I wonder is if he’ll teach the others the trick of his trade (and vice versa) or will he continue to be the distant member.

The World Beyond

I love how Yorishige is the one character looking at the bigger picture while he’s basically forcing Tokiyuki to focus on what’s in front of him one step at a time. It adds another layer of contrast with their characters already smothered in it but it smoothly keeps the story going. Yet, episode 5 of The Elusive Samurai is really the first time we see Yorishige forced to confront what’s in front of him.

The fear of losing the land that was inherited by him and everyone at the shrine by their ancestors proves to be a critical situation, even for him. Whether he saw it coming or not is up for question, but there’s still no debate that Yorishige is very capable in any scenario—and he has to be. Tokiyuki and his friends are all still kids and it’s best to keep that in mind.

He’s the only adult figurehead that Tokiyuki can lean on so a lot of the responsibilities in the series so far rest on his godly shoulders. But the main allure of Yorishige is that we still don’t know if all that he’s doing for Tokiyuki is either genuine or if he has an ulterior motive. But that’s just series creator Yusei Matsui’s mastery at work. We went through the same with Kurou-sensi throughout most of Assassination Classroom in a similar way.

The Elusive Samurai Episode 5 Wrap-Up

The Elusive Samurai episode 5 didn’t do anything major in terms of production as the first few episodes brought. There was some unique framing here and there with a touch of creative storyboarding but nothing mindblowing. It was an entertaining introduction episode for a new character with unique abilities that left me wanting to see more of him.

Episode 5 rating: 8/10

If you enjoyed The Elusive Samurai episode 5 then vote for the episode in our weekly poll! Episode 6 will be released on Saturday, August 10, on Crunchyroll.

Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©Fujino Omori, Toshi Aoi, Kodansha/Wistoria: Wand and Sword Production Committee