Sword of the Demon Hunter

Episode 15

After last week's bizarrely pointless episode, this week's is decent enough, assuming you're not so worried about the action promised by the show's title and are happy with talk-heavy period drama. The episode also has coincidental resonances with the current news, which it would be remiss not to mention.

Last weekend saw a national election for Japan's House of Councillors, with new parties eroding the power of a long-standing establishment. Some voters may have been swayed by fears of immigrants corrupting Japan's culture. Then there's the trade hardball that Japan's currently playing with the US of A, and America's not inclined to play nice.

Tariff wars aren't the same as the gunboat diplomacy of the nineteenth century. But there's still a frisson to the anime's discussions of foreign pressures on Japan, and people vowing to preserve Japan's identity, with rival factions upholding the shogun or else putting their faith in the Emperor. Of course, we know how it'll turn out, but this episode's dateline is only 1862, with the Meiji Restoration six years away.

The most interesting idea in this episode is the suggestion that both demons and samurai are equally threatened by the social changes, so why not make common cause? That's the suggestion put to Jinya by Hatakeyama, a wily lord who engineers a meeting in his mansion with the swordsman, having noted Jinya's prowess carving up demons in Edo.

Much of the episode consists of Hatakayama trying to persuade Jinya to join his team, and Jinya's courteous insistence that he must stay a ronin, masterless, even while he can't say what truly drives him. The subject of Nana isn't raised, though Hatekayama may know of her, as he has a demon as a swordsman – Tsuchiura, who's roughly the size of Ken in Fist of the North Star, and itches for a fight. We'll see him in action in the episodes to come, assuming the opening titles aren't lying.

Like other conversations in the series, the debate is long but engaging, with the intimacy of a good story. The episode's back half is less satisfying, with lots of talk about an Emperor-supporting faction without us getting to see more than one drunken member (though I like his little moment when he bumps into Jinya and Miura in the bar). I hadn't heard of the Tosa party before, or of their founder Takechi Hanpeita, but they're both historical – you can read about them on Wikipedia, or else dodge the possible spoilers.

The story of the murderer Sugino and the cursed blade takes second place, with the kind of neat twist the series does well. Just because you've been in contact with dark magic, it doesn't license you to disown your crimes. The final fight was subdued visually, but the use of sound to convey a weapon made of wind was an effective surprise. Jinta's “kill with the hilt” move was a new one on me, but given his demon strength – and the fact that his foe is, for once, just human – it makes sense. It wouldn't work on Tsuchiura, though…

There's a nice little reference to Miura's now-married status at the start of the episode – his wife goes by the name of Kinu. (Well, she couldn't keep her moniker from the first season.) Please let us see their family life soon!

Also, last week, I forgot to give due credit to the operatically moody new opening song by the band Alexandros, which was recently heard serenading horse girls in the opening song for Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray. I thought their English-language Demon Hunter number had clear overtones of Britain's Oasis – time for another listen to “Falling Down,” as heard on Eden of the East.

Rating:

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Sword of the Demon Hunter is currently streaming on HIDIVE.