Keiji has always bothered me.  I see him as the weak link in the chain.  He runs around all over the place, but never really succeeds in anything he does.  Sure, he got the leaders to unite against Nobunaga, but I think they would have done it without him.  He also seems to walk one-step behind absolutely everything in the series.  This week they give him his own episode.  Either my memory is foggy, or he seriously bucked up between seasons.  Since this is my post, I’m going to go with the latter, because it makes me feel better.

Man, even the foot soldiers can't be bothered with Keiji!

Before we get to Keiji, though, I’ve got to talk about Kenshin’s brilliant power play.  If Toshie takes his town, he’ll simply take Toshie’s town.  Fair trade, right?  Kenshin makes him choose between power and family.  Toshie is a good man, not a massive tool, so he takes his ball and goes home.  He walks headlong into perhaps the most obvious trap in the world.  Who needs to drop an army on someone’s town when you can surround him right where you want him?

I can’t believe Toshie never anticipated this.  You just threatened the God of War as his enemy!  You can’t expect to walk away completely unscathed!  While I commend him for knowing he had to walk away before, now I’m going to call him an idiot for not surrendering.  You might lose your “honor,” but Kenshin obviously planned this attack and his forces far outnumber you.  Even if you win, you still lose!  Actually, I find it quite delicious that this mimics a smaller version of what happened to Masamune.

You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"

Keiji tried to warn his uncle to walk away beforehand, but he got the cold shoulder in return.  Nephew is not happy with you at all, sir.  He drops in and challenges Toshie to a duel.  I have to say, I have never seen so little blood in a deadly fight since I watched Noir.  I can believe it with Keiji, because he’s supposed to walk the path of peace through communication.  Maybe he dulled his blade on purpose, who knows?  But Toshie?  You nailed him dead to rights with your trident and didn’t even pierce the armor.  Maybe this newfangled plot armor is a little too good.

Kenshin knows he has proved his point and magnanimously lets his enemy leave.  He also makes a little observation.  They fight for a common cause, but their methods oppose each other.  Keiji wants to talk, while Toshie wants to fight.  They can’t realistically coexist.  Years ago, the pair forged a bond of blood.  I find it fitting that their bond washes away in the pouring rain.  It’s like the heavens are crying with them.

I'm pretty sure once you beat up your old man, you're done.

Yukimura continues his journey, when he decides to make camp in a town.  Here, he sees what Hideyoshi’s methods have brought on the people.  The men have all left, transcripted into the army and destined to fight until they die.  Only the women and children remain.  Yukimura can’t ignore it, he’s too good at heart.  I wonder, if Toshie saw this scene, could he continue to stand by his master?

In Keiji’s brief flashback before he goes bankai all up in Toshie’s face, he remembers Hideyoshi standing over a dead woman’s body.  He’s smiling.  Whether this is Hideyoshi or Keiji’s love doesn’t really matter, even though I’m interested in the answer.  The point is, he has sacrificed everything in the name of power, in order to enforce “peace.”  Is this really a world worth fighting for?

By the way, you guys forgot to exorcise Nobunaga's castle.

Oh yeah, and Masamune still lives.  He still talks with gratuitous English.  He still wants Hideyoshi’s head on a silver platter, now more than ever.  He has an opportunity to claim it, but he will lose in spectacular fashion.  If he won, we probably wouldn’t have a show anymore.  Don’t worry though, he won’t stay down for long.  He never does.

I am sick and tired of your incessant bullshit, Hideyoshi!

You never fully appreciate what you had until you have lost it.  You don’t appreciate your financial security until you can no longer pay the bills.  You don’t realize the value of youth until you have become old and gray.  In Masamune’s case, he has lost a valuable ally and a trusted friend.  It sends the world crashing down around him.  Enough with the sorry stuff.  Let’s see what happened and in what position the great One Eyed Dragon has found himself.

Oh get ON with it, Rak!

What is up with villains and other people trying to tell the hero what his odds for success are?  It rarely if ever matters to them.  I remember watching Star Trek as a kid.  Spock would always come up with some ridiculous odds, like one in a septillion, and Kirk would just shrug it off and succeed.  As a more recent anime example, Kamina taught us to kick reason to the curb and go beyond the impossible!

Actually, we have a startling parallel with the latter case.  In this scenario, Kojuurou is simply outmaneuvered and outgunned.  He has to split his attention between protecting the hostages and himself.  Not just that, though, but he also has to restrain himself from unleashing his full power.  All of the hero characters have amazing attacks, which can decimate an entire area.  If he used one, he could injure or kill the hostages.  I half expected someone to use their Big Damn Heroes moment of the season to come rescue him, as happens so often in these series.  It simply wasn’t meant to be.  Shigeharu’s plan to capture Kojuurou succeeds.

Mission failed! Try again from your last save?

While we’re on the subject of Shigeharu, this guy is a more feminine version of Ivy from Soul Calibur.  I suppose it tells you a lot about my opinion of her character, but that’s neither here nor there.  The key feature here is the ridiculous lolhax whip sword.  From a distance, he looks like your normal, everyday warrior of the Sengoku Basara universe.  Then suddenly, BAM, you get hit from fifty feet away by a rapidly expanding sword.  What kind of an attack is that?  Where do all those sword segments come from, anyway?  Does he have his own personal hyperspace arsenal or something?

I do like the relationship Shigeharu and Hideyoshi share.  In the first season, Nobunaga had his generals, but he treated them as a means to an end.  They treated him largely in kind.  By comparison, these two “villains” have a respectful relationship.  Shigeharu wants his master to succeed more than anything, to the point of his exhaustion.  Hideyoshi looks out for the commander-in-chief of his forces and trusts his tactical opinion.  It also gives a sense that they aren’t evil, they simply have different ideals.  I like anime using this concept as it makes for far more interesting conflict.

There's at least 20 times as much blade as should be here.

Poor Masamune, your inexperience is showing.  Losing Kojuurou might have crippled him for now, but I think it will ultimately make him better.  As of right now, he relied on him far too much for advice.  Masamune prefers the balls to the wall, head-on collision style of attack.  It makes for entertaining fights, but very poor strategy.  By the time he engages his real opponent in combat, his troops have had enough.  They cannot fight anymore, even for their enigmatic leader.

Fortunately, he has more than enough hot blood to make up for his weakened troops.  Making him angry achieves the same effect as stirring a hornet’s nest.  Whatever comes out will beat the tar out of you, so all you can do is to run like hell.  Shigeharu obviously did not consider the power of sheer, murderous rage.  Even with the power of GAR on his side, I have doubts Masamune can truly win this fight.  Even if he repels the attackers, his lands remain open to attack.  His status as the main character offers him strong plot armor, but he still needs to learn quickly to protect his soldiers and other subjects.

Guys? Hey guys! I wouldn't do that if I were... oh never mind.

I will go on the record as saying I like the Dynasty Warriors series.  Yes, it’s repetitive button mashing, but there’s just something about seeing entire armies decimated by a few choice warriors.  Thus, when I heard about the second season of Sengoku Basara, I quickly watched the first to prepare myself.  If you liked the hot-blooded, over-the-top action and light political maneuvering of 2009’s campaign against Oda Nobunaga, then you’re ready for this new challenger to appear.

ITSA SHOW TIME!

As the episode starts, very little has changed in the world of Sengoku Basara.  Shingen and Kenshin are still attempting to bury each other while their armies fight in the background.  Masamune still revolves his plans around decimating all his opponents in one big brawl with a liberal sprinkling of gratuitous English.  Yukimura still has a rivalry with the One Eyed Dragon. Keiji is still running around spouting messages of the apocalypse.  Wait, if he has a warning, that means a new general is approaching, right?  Yes, and it is none other than one Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a truly imperious man who appears to be about 15 feet tall.  He can reflect a hail of arrows and split the heavens with a single punch.  He has come to take control of Japan.

Your puny arrows do not scare me!

Before we go any further, perhaps you’d like to know a little about the real Hideyoshi.  He succeded his lord, Oda Nobunaga, and continued his campaign to control Japan.  He actually succeeded in this, ending the Sengoku period and unifying the nation.  Even Masamune pledged allegiance to him.  During his reign, he solidified the peasant and samurai classes, giving Japan some much needed stability.  He also improved the culture of Japan, especially so by spreading the tea ceremony.  Unfortunately, his successors died, and he named his nephew to succeed him.  He and another powerful general, Maeda Toshiie, died within one year of each other.  Tokugawa Ieyasu used the power vacuum in a bid to seize control, and succeeded.

But does this matter world of Sengoku Basara?  No, especially because Ieyasu died in the middle of last season.  However, it does give you some flavor for why Hideyoshi is such a big deal.  Now we just have to see how the generals will align themselves to stop him.  Or will they?

OH SH-

Enough with the history lesson.  Our three main generals are none too pleased with Hideyoshi’s appearance, especially Masamune who sees him trying to take his role of Official Plan Derailer.  They like even less his enormous strength and excellent maneuvering which leaves them at a sore disadvantage.  Fortunately, Kojuurou sends an order to retreat before they commit to a losing battle.  Hideyoshi could pursue, and probably crush them, but he has already sent a clear message.  He has arrived, he is here to stay, and they had better watch their backs.

This is especially true because he has masterfully manipulated his appearance.  First, he has spies in all three of the general’s camps.  It becomes very hard to strategize when you never quite know when information will leak without your knowledge.  Second, he has used the informants to surround their armies.  If they wait, he can besiege and easily crush them.  They have to move now to prevent the noose from tightening any further.  Masamune will spend his time regaining control of his territory, while Yukimura slips through the enemy lines to gain allies.  They will need all the help they can get, especially because Kojuurou finds himself ambushed by Hideyoshi’s supporting general, Shigeharu Takenaka.

Fortunately, Shingen's punches apparantly heal wounds!