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!

Saburo Sakai

Subtitled: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Naval Air Force by Saburo Sakai with Martin Caidin and Fred Saito

Every kid growing up seems to think they’re either extremely special, extremely plain, or extremely weird; I fell into the weird category. Almost from the moment I learned to read I sought books normally reserved for “adults”. By sixth grade that meant Tom Clancy novels like The Hunt for Red October, The Cardinal of the Kremlin and military history books. My focus eventually shifted onto greener pastures and I never picked up another book in either genre until just recently.

I had this book sitting around on my one bookcase for many months; it was a hand-me-down from my Dad, he thought I might be interested since I watch a fair amount of anime and am interested in learning more about the country and culture. I was slightly interested but this wasn’t the type of book I read anymore so I just let it sit there. Coming off a multi-day party at my sister’s house with people coming in from all over the state and featured lots of D&D, barbecuing, and fireworks over the Memorial Day weekend; I needed something to unwind on that didn’t require much effort and I decided now was as good as time as any to give Samurai! a chance.

When I finished reading Samurai!, I mentally kicked myself for not picking this up sooner and since I figure there’s probably at least a few people out there that would really enjoy this book as well, here’s my review.

Final  Score: 11.5/12  Near Perfect
Rereadablity: 3.5/5  Medium

Pros: Fast-paced, gripping, deeply interesting from a historical standpoint and also from the standpoint of learning about the life of an amazing person, easy-to-read and doesn’t require the reader to be an expert on the Pacific theater of WW2
Cons: Would have been perfect except the book stops at the end of WW2 and from what the book mentions, in passing, of Saburo Sakai’s life after the war, I would have really loved to read an in-depth account of what happens to him after the war

Book Review

Samurai! was originally published in 1956 and is an autobiography of Saburo Sakai, one of the greatest Japanese pilots of WW2 and either it’s first or second top flying ace to live through the war. Sakai talks about his humble birth, early personal set-backs, his career in the Navy as a fighter pilot from the early conquests of the Japanese empire to it’s crushing defeat and his eventual marriage while facing the uncertainties of living through the war.

I expected a book such as Samurai! to be one of those dry historical books that even someone like me, who likes history, to find boring. At least, I thought to myself, I could find out if this was a good book to read when I needed something to put me to sleep. I should have known better; how many times have I had an anime completely surprise me? By the fifth page I was hooked and hooked badly; everything else was a distraction until I could finish.

What I failed to properly account for, among other things, was the quality of character that Saburo Sakai possessed and the deeply interesting life he lived. Reading the book one realizes how humble he was; for a man with 64 confirmed kills and dozens of more probables during WW2, I expected long accounts of his kills to convince us of his great skills but that wasn’t the case. Instead, he spends a great deal of time talking about his friends, his subordinates, and his exemplary superior officers. He also repeatedly goes in-depth about the courage and determination displayed by Allied pilots that he witnessed firsthand as well as his mistakes. One specific example was his description of the time that he survived being attacked by 15 Allied planes at once without sustaining even a single bullet hole on his plane. His comrades on the ground watched his aerial acrobatics and mobbed him in joy, praising his flying ability when he came back alive but he berated himself then and in the book for making such a rookie mistake that allowed those 15 planes to attack him.

I don’t want to spoil too much more of book so I’ll end the book review section by saying that I highly, highly recommend Samurai! – it has positively everything a person could want in a story, including a love story.

A very injured Saburo Sakai.

Connecting Anime to Samurai!

Expect spoilers of both the book and the anime shows I talk about, so read on at your own risk.

Gurren Lagann has been on my mind recently; everyone, including myself, knows it’s over-the-top and absurd and a bunch of other adjectives that let people dismiss it as, at best, a supremely entertaining but shallow anime. Yet I always had a nagging feeling that there was depth to Gurren Lagann that raised it above the moniker of being entertaining but shallow into being a truly great work; I just couldn’t convincingly say why I thought that though.

Reading Samurai!, I began thinking about how grounded in reality Gurren Lagann actually is. Saburo Sakai was born into a profoundly poor family in a poor area of Japan and had to eek out a living on a 1-acre farm. His father dies while Sakai is young and he turns into a teenage delinquent when all his hard work in high school doesn’t translate into good grades and he feels frustrated at his low status as a result. He eventually falls for the first girl he becomes acquaintances with after leaving his village. He joins the Navy as a means to prove his worth and rapidly raises from the very lowest rank to becoming an officer in only 11 years. When he visits his old village after becoming an accomplished pilot, the village master suddenly is very proud that Saburo Sakai came from his village. Even how, after surviving the war Sakai is denied a truly happy ending when his wife dies very young a few years after the war ends, reminded me of Gurren Lagann.

Most amazingly, Sakai witnesses a series of events that is eerily like Kamina’s death scene. An explosion has knocked everyone on a Japanese bomber unconscious except for the flight navigator. The navigator takes control of the plane, even though he has no knowledge of flying, and barely gets it back to base where a new problem appears. He absolutely has no clue on how to land the plane and is very hesitant to try since he’ll probably kill everyone on board so he starts flying in loops around the base. On the third loop, with fuel running out, the navigator begins the landing and Sakai can tell it’s not going to end well when the pilot suddenly wakes up. The pilot lands the plane and then lapses back into unconsciousness.

So maybe that’s it, at least part of the reason for the greatness of Gurren Lagann, if one strips away the fluff to Gurren Lagann, we’re left a very accurate portrait of heroism and a testament to what one person can really achieve.

Connecting Saburo Sakai’s life to anime doesn’t stop there. If his life up to the end of WW2 seemed very Gurren Lagann-esque, his life after the war took a very Kenshin-like turn. He made a vow never to kill again and declined the repeated offers to join the new Japanese Air Force. Instead, he opened a printing shop and hired the widows and other family members of close friends that died during the war. He didn’t live in the past and found friendship with the Allied pilots he fought against.

And once again I find an amazing similarity between Sakai and an anime. The forward of the book was written in 1956, just after the cease-fire on the Korean peninsula and Sakai ends the forward by saying that if Japan needs him someday in the future because Communist forces threaten the nation – he would fly again to defend his country but he prayed fervently he won’t need to. Fifty years of hindsight knows that turn of events never happened but in the case of Kenshin, he was called upon to save the nation from Shishio even if that would mean breaking his vow.

There’s other moments in the book that reminded me of a specific anime to a lesser degree. I question the high number of christian schools found in anime so I had to chuckle when I read that Saburo Sakai’s high school was a school run by American Methodist missionaries. There was also the Melancholy of Haruhi moment when Sakai, who had been his small town’s top student, discovers that he isn’t special at all when he goes to high school in Tokyo and finds hundreds of better students. And the story of how he got to the marriage altar felt like something straight out of a Key story.

In conclusion, I wasn’t looking for it but after reading Samurai!, I gained a new level of respect for shows like Gurren Lagann and Kenshin. I already liked them a lot because it’s nice to find shows that showcase true heroism but I never really thought how true-to-life these shows could be.