Nippon Sangoku The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun

Episode 5

If I ever get around to teaching courses on screenwriting and film analysis, I'm going to bookmark Nippon Sangoku as a perfect example for how to make interesting, entertaining art out of exposition and politicking. This entire episode is, if you couldn't tell by the title of “The Borderland General Corps Marches Out,” all about detailing Yamato's reaction to the coup d'etat in Seii that we witnessed last week. Specifically, we get to see how this political powderkeg creates a logistical battleground of its own, as the Taira Clan and General Ryumon's side of the military clash over how to best take advantage of - or strategically avoid - all-out war with Seii and Dictator Wajima. This is, in short, another episode that consists entirely of dudes talking to other dudes about military maneuvers and political policy, and it's still, for my money, easily one of the most gripping shows on television.

For instance, take how weird and farcical this very tense situation becomes once we realize that Taira's son, who teams up with dear old dad to try and persuade the Emperor to stay the course and strike Seii, is literally a snot-nosed brat who is just walking around in grown-up clothes that don't even fit him. It's an absurd touch that highlights the very real danger of this green and nervous emperor being led astray by self-serving weasels who very obviously have no interest in helping anyone but themselves. It also serves to make the General that much more heroic and sympathetic by comparison.

Moving a bit closer to ground level, we also see Aoteru and Yoshitsune dealing with the fallout of the Taira's scheming. I'll admit, this is where all of the talk of Lieutenant movements and military stratagems started to lose me a bit, but the scene still simmers with the pair's electric chemistry. It's fascinating to see Aoteru, the one ready to make a scene and stick his neck out, while Yoshitsune has to make our hero see reason and hold off for a more opportune time to try and wrest control back from the Taira. Even in episodes like this, we still get great little morsels of character development to chew on.

The best part of the episode, though, is probably Kaku's confrontation with the would-be defectors who actually want Dictator Wajima to win the war. Their arguments are compelling: The Tairas suck, and Wajima is cute and sweet. Kaku, of course, has experience dealing with the likes of The Gentle Dictator, and he gives a stirring (if somewhat obvious) lecture on how we can't just trust charismatic demagogues with aspirations for complete military power just because they've got a cute smile and a sick face tattoo. To be honest, 90% of what made me love this scene is the score, which finally gives Kevin Penkin a chance to showcase his talents with a chaotic, jazzy composition that sounds very unique compared to his work on Made in Abyss and Apothecary Diaries.

I've been feeling like the lack of a true, blue Kevin Penkin banger was one of this series' few drawbacks, thus far, so you have no idea how glad I was to find myself tapping my toes and snapping my fingers as Kaku did what Kaku does best. While this isn't necessarily my favorite episode of Nippon Sangoku yet, it's pretty impressive that even its most “middle of the road” chapters run circles around most of the anime competition.

Episode Rating:

Nippon Sangoku The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

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.