This episode set up the battles that will probably take place in the next few episodes. Gabimaru and company began their infiltration of Horai, the palace of the Tensen.
Episode 5: Humans and Sages
Episode Rating: 8/10
Fuchi explained the rough layout of Horai, the palace of the Tensen, based on what Mei told him. There was a sluice gate under the palace leading out to the ocean. Though the sea was crawling with gigantic monsters, they were trained to not attack boats leaving through the secret palace exit. The plan then became obvious: sneak into the palace, acquire the elixir, and escape the island via the sluice gate. In order to deal with the threat of the Tensen, the group needed more training in Tao. Shion explained more about Tao attributes while Yuzuriha and Gabimaru provided difficult training in both Tao and Shinobi techniques for the whole group.
(Side Note: It was funny when Yuzuriha and Gabimaru wore glasses when playing the role of teacher for the group. Sagiri remarked that Gabimaru was very logical, after which Yuzuriha said he was a nerd. I’m a nerd myself, and I don’t mind a little fun with it.)
I understand Tao a bit better now thanks to the expanded discussion and the subtitles over the kanji characters Shion etched into the ground. Sagiri and Shion have wood as their Tao attribute. Gabimaru and Tamiya have the fire type of Tao. Yuzuriha and Touma have the Earth subtype. Only Fuchi possesses the metal attribute. Last of all, with the water subtype, there’s Mei and Nurugai. Hopefully, the image below helps. Thanks to Mei, we also learned the Tao types of the Tensen. Tao Fa uses wood and Ju Fa uses fire while Mu Dan and Rien both possess the earth attribute. Gui Fa is alone with the metal subtype. Meanwhile, Ran and Zhu Jin both have water-themed Tao.
Shion also explained that hindering means decreasing someone’s Tao. If one element of Tao hinders another, then attacks will be effective. We weren’t given an example, but if I’m understanding correctly, I can make one up. If Gabimaru (fire) fought Shion (wood), then he would have a good chance because fire hinders wood. I’m still not sure how all this will play out or what all of the hindering combinations are. Hopefully, it will become clearer as the fighting picks up in the next few episodes. In other notes, Nurugai tried to say something to Shion with an anxious look on her face. In response, Shion said grimly, “Don’t worry, Nurugai – I haven’t forgotten.”
After the training, Gabimaru had an important moment with Mei. He asked her what she truly wanted. I love how kind and thoughtful Gabimaru can be. Mei said she wanted more than anything to see Rien and Grandmaster Shufu one more time. She wanted to understand why they changed into such callous people. But she said even getting one final look at them would be enough. After that, Mei wanted to leave the island and live a normal, peaceful life. Gabimaru wanted this too. He was willing to help Mei achieve her goals. I think this was an incredibly sweet and meaningful moment.
(Side Note: I still don’t fully understand Mei, and I don’t know if I’m missing something obvious. The main thing I’m confused about is whether she is permanently a child or not. When she was full-grown and doing experiments with Rien, was she still mentally a child? Or was that the effect of having her ovule cut out? But in that case, why did expending Tao make her age increase? Regardless of not completely “getting” her, I like Mei as a character, especially in contrast to most of the other grim and/or violent characters. She has a strong sense of right and wrong and gets upset when people are hurting. Mei is a brave little angel and I want her to be happy.)
Meanwhile, Choubei took part in a ritual he didn’t know the purpose of with the Tensen. When it was over, Ju Fa insulted him and tried to strike him. Choubei blocked the blow and a fight might have started if not for Rien, who told Ju Fa to stop. Then he called Choubei to come with him. Rien showed Choubei his lab, which housed a huge white flower that Rien called Banko. It was one of the flowers that devoured the life force of humans and turned it into Tan for the Tensen to drink. Unlike most of the flowers on the island, Banko could process large amounts of Tao at once – in other words, it could slowly suck the life out of many people at the same time. There were several suffering human faces and body shapes among the roots and vines making up the stalk of Banko. Choubei realized that the Tensen would probably try to do this to Touma, too.
Rien prepared to “study” Choubei by cutting off parts of his body to examine his Tao more thoroughly. Meanwhile, Gabimaru and the “good guys” prepared for their attack on Horai. Their mission began at midnight. They snuck into the palace and split into several groups based mostly on Tao compatibility. Going back to Choubei, he was basically consensually tortured by Rien. He decided to take a gamble and tipped off the Tensen to the fact that enemies were on the way. Rien and the other Tensen now knew that Mu Dan’s killers were coming. But Choubei wanted one thing in return for this information. We didn’t hear his condition, but I assume it was to let Touma live.
Gabimaru, Sagiri, Yuzuriha, and Mei were in one group headed toward Rien’s lab. On the way there, they encountered Ran. It was like he appeared out of nowhere because he had disguised his presence until the last minute by dampening his Tao. According to what Mei said earlier, Ran was someone who tried to achieve true immortality by meditating. His Tao attribute was water, which was especially bad for a match-up with Gabimaru. The plan was to run if it came down to fighting the Tensen. Retreat would be the only feasible option to avoid casualties. The episode ends on this tense moment.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 