Hakuouki Hekketsuroku – 14, 15
Episode 14
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「蹉跌の回廊」 (Satetsu no Kairou)
“The Cloister of Failure”
The battle for Koufu Castle begins, and with it the unfolding of events in accordance to history. More specifically, the unrest within the Shinsengumi (i.e. Kouyou Chinbutai) was depicted a lot more, after many of them had all come to the stark realization that the days of katana and spears is over in the face of guns and cannons. As a result, the two Shinsengumi captains that would later leave the group due to disagreements with Kondou — Nagakura and Harada — were shown at odds with their old school commander when he insisted that they continue with their attack to retain their honor. This was after word had already gotten out that Imperial forces had taken over the castle, and a good half of their own forces deserted the campaign in the middle of the night. In comparison to the Battle of Toba-Fushimi where they vastly outnumbered the enemy and still lost, this was just utter suicide. The only one able to calm them and not betray Kondou’s decision was Hijikata, who asked them to hold off while he went back to Edo for bakufu reinforcements. However, the battle still went on, and goes down in history books as the Battle of Koushuu-Katsunuma, where the Shogunal forces were outnumbered ten to one and suffered a crushing defeat.
As per history, Kondou does narrowly escape this suicidal campaign, for which Hakuouki plays up Chizuru’s fictional involvement. She earnestly decides to remain with the Shinsengumi and fight, and makes a promise with Hijikata to protect Kondou and not die. Interestingly enough, they played up Kondou’s decision to go off and die on the battlefield after charging in and realizing that he sent off all his men to die in a losing fight, to which Chizuru “saved him” by convincing him that he has to burden the hardships of living on to keep the Shinsengumi together for the sake of all those who died before. With the retreat order finally issued and Nagakura and Harada going to the front lines to recall their troops, the really big fictional moment was the revelation that Chizuru’s father, Koudou, had unleashed an army of improved, undying Rasetsu that can walk around during the day. As surprising as that was, it went one step further by showing that Shiranui didn’t even have any what their pure-blooded demon researcher was up to.
Episode 15
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「遠き面影」 (Tooki Omokage)
“Distant Vestige”
In the next episode, the momentary truce between Harada and Shiranui put pretty weird spin on the rivalry that was built up in season one, but did open my eyes to the possibility that Kazama and his followers may no longer be the ultimate antagonists in this series. After all, Kazama stopped Kaoru from killing Okita, after the latter busted on the scene to protect Chizuru and wound up succumbing to the effects of his incurable tuberculosis. In Kazuma’s eyes, killing Kaoru was his way of dealing with what he deemed lack of demon pride and disgracing the Yukimura name, which was somewhat ironic seeing as Koudou had just betrayed Satsuma and gone off with his own ambitions of reviving a new breed of Yukimura demons. Even though Koudou and Kaoru had betrayed him, Kazama was still concerned about retaining the prestige of the pure-blooded Yukimura demon bloodline. What’s more, he proved to be a noble demon of sorts, by agreeing to give Chizuru some time to try and find her father and talk to him before he’s hunted down. Again, all in expectation that Chizuru has some demon pride within her.
As for Kaoru himself, I’m still not completely convinced he was sincere about his feelings about trying to reunite with his twin sister Chizuru, given how he’s been shown to be jealous of the fact that she got to live a peaceful life while he had nothing but hardships. Even when he was killed, he questioned why it always has to be her while he continues to get the short end of the stick. However, I do feel there was some part of Kaoru’s character that did want to be reunited with Chizuru, though I’m willing to bet it had become completely twisted after all this time. The interesting bit that he revealed was that the Yukimura line was nearly wiped out by humans after refusing to help overthrow the shogunate, and that Koudou isn’t actually from the Yukimura family, but a branch one that protected Chizuru during the strife. With this revelation, the death of her brother, and loss of identity on who she is, it was kind of hard not to feel sorry for Chizuru, who felt like she had been living a lie her entire life.
If that weren’t bad enough, Nagakura and Harada do leave the Kouyou Chinbutai at the very end of this episode, after getting annoyed over how Kondou runs the unit. In reality, it was Shinpachi who wanted to leave and Sanosuke following him as his good friend — something that Okita seemed aware of without even being told. At this point, I’m curious as to whether they’ll make a reappearance in the series, seeing as they never do return to the Shinsengumi historically. Unsurprisingly, Saitou remained after getting some renewed motivation from Chizuru in the previous episode. The question is, what will become of the Shinsengumi now that they’re in disarray and Kondou is acting completely irrational in the preview? Sannan looks like he’s still doing his nightly rounds (of feasting), whereas Saitou will be meeting with Amagiri. As the downfall of the Shinsengumi is nigh, the only semi-good ending I can foresee happening is stopping Koudou. I can’t wait to see how all that unfolds.
Preview
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October 20, 2010 at 4:33 amShirt
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I’m totally down with the bi-weekly posts on this show. It gives me time to catch up as well. D:
October 20, 2010 at 4:41 amlkaze
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this anime look good, is it good?
October 20, 2010 at 11:07 amviral
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If you like bishounens, then yes, otherwise, well, no, not really.
October 20, 2010 at 11:44 amDivine
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I wouldn’t be fooled by the ill-informed view that people not even watching the series have. As I mentioned in the Fall Preview, this series goes well beyond the bishounen one it’s been made out to be and provides a very interesting mix of fiction in a non-fictional samurai context.
October 20, 2010 at 12:55 pmviral
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Well, I AM watching the show, so it wasn’t just an “ill-informed view”. The characters are weak (2/3 of the guys have the same peronality, while Chizuru doesn’t have any), the animation is nothing special, the plot is really messed up, so I can’t see why this anime is considered good (other than the bishis).
October 20, 2010 at 1:13 pmbunny
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hafto agree with Viral there. I watched the entire first season, simply cus I watch almost anything with swords in it. The show itself is mediocre At best…
October 20, 2010 at 6:23 pmlkaze
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who should i trust divine or viral. i guess i just watch the 1st epi
October 21, 2010 at 10:35 amDivine
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You should take into account that I’m someone who enjoyed Senkou no Night Raid when a lot of people (Japanese fans included) found it boring. Hakuouki is a slow starter, but gets better as things move along. If you have an interest in history, it makes it even more enjoyable.
October 20, 2010 at 4:41 ammaster_recrecia
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oh man, this keeps getting more and more interesting. apparently, subs are slow. thanks for posting reviews for Hakuouki S2! highly appreciated. :-)
October 20, 2010 at 4:46 amClaire Phoenix
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Thank you so much for the screencaps and the summary~
So fast Chizuru brother Kaoru die in the hand of Chikage.. =_=
October 20, 2010 at 5:54 amshibahara
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thank you very much for the review!! (since subs have been pretty slow)
it’s nice to see lots of action going throughout the episodes~
October 20, 2010 at 6:55 amfirecow
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If only the subs were faster but of course that won’t happen. I still love this show than any other fan service show any day.
October 20, 2010 at 7:09 amEnna
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Thank you for not dropping this show. Really enjoying this season so far.
October 20, 2010 at 8:32 amDivine
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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the Western uniforms aren’t only for show. Some Bakufu soldiers actually wore them at some point. See here.
October 20, 2010 at 10:09 amShirt
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Haha, no way! That’s pretty cool. I always loved Rurouni Kenshin. Partly because of it’s story based on historical time periods. It’s great to see this show has people doing research. Thanks for the reference. :]
October 20, 2010 at 9:46 amLee
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Seeing that producers are mixing up different game routes, the only way for Sano and Shinpachi to appear again in anime is if they decide to take bits and pieces from Saitou’s route again. Because in other routes they never come back. And, for example, the scene in which Shinpachi hugs Chizuru and Sano is from Sano’s route – the scene in which actually he and Chizuru decides to take off to search for her father, and Shinpachi understoof that and wished happiness (something like that, don’t remember the details).
The pep talk with Saitou at night is taken from Saitou’s route, one of the best scenes, I think.
Well anyway, I honestly wish they chose Sano’s route as the main one instead of Hijikata… I think Sano’s was the most interesting one. And I feel sorry for Okita, because it seems his character has been totally abandoned.
October 20, 2010 at 10:20 amLilian
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I really wonder how they’re going to end this anime, considering how in the game all the guys *SPOILER* Show Spoiler ▼
October 20, 2010 at 10:26 amShirt
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Really, guy..? At least use the tag. >:1
October 20, 2010 at 11:46 amDivine
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I don’t know how serious you were being, but please use spoiler tags in the future. I’ve edited your comment to include with the appropriate tags.
October 20, 2010 at 12:58 pmTsuki
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I think Lilian might be referring to how, historically, all the guys Show Spoiler ▼
, with the exception being, I believe, Saito.
I’m not too familiar with Japanese history, though, so correct me if I’m wrong here. The historical aspect to this anime does make it interesting, but it just doesn’t motivate me enough to watch the rest of the series =.=;;
October 20, 2010 at 2:34 pmciaossu
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Actually out of all the guys portrayed in Hakuouki, Show Spoiler ▼
survive historically. The survivors even Show Spoiler ▼
October 20, 2010 at 3:09 pmLee
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Actually Harada’s also thought to have stayed alive. There were even rumors about him escaping to China or something… But it’s not officially known whether he survived or not.
However, Saitou, even though he survived, he still died kinda… early, I’d say. Because of all the spying, including drinking and all, he did.
October 20, 2010 at 3:10 pmLee
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Uh, sorry, I forgot to put it under the spoiler tag. Please edit it if you find it neccesary^^
October 20, 2010 at 3:27 pmviral
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I don’t think this counts as a spoiler, since the anime only loosely follows the history, so the ending will be propably different too.
October 21, 2010 at 4:58 amTsuki
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Ahaha looks like I stand corrected :P
I was aware of Saito being Show Spoiler ▼
Considering how Hakuouki is a fictional story set in a nonfictional setting, though, I’m assuming that the creators took a lot of creative liberties while writing up the plot. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the characters do not follow in the footsteps of their real-world counterparts.
October 20, 2010 at 6:35 pmpami
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I love saitou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 20, 2010 at 6:38 pmlily
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Thank you so much for the summary
October 20, 2010 at 7:40 pmCait
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Thank you for blogging Hakuouki again!!! :) This season is already considerably more fast-paced than last season! I can’t believe Kaoru died already, I thought he would play a bigger role in the series, but I guess not… o___o and I’m definitely looking forward to the next episode! Uh oh, tension between Hijikata and Kondou… :|
October 20, 2010 at 9:05 pmJay
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Thank U 4 the summaries!!!!!!!
October 20, 2010 at 11:22 pmbleu
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Thankyou, Divine, for not giving up on Hakuouki. I’ve yet to see another blogger continue with this, and its great to just understand what exactly is going on – especially history wise.
As for these episodes, most of us who know the game are pretty sure which route the anime is heading… I see the animation quality has declined, esp. with the Kaoru scene, but I guess that’s just DEEN’s problem – I’m surprised they managed to make it look good so far. Will look forward to the next ep! :D
October 21, 2010 at 9:32 amblair
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Yeah! I love this anime!! ^__^ Thank you so much for doing this for all of us!
October 21, 2010 at 9:02 pmcoco0106
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Thanks for blogging this! bi-weekly updates are awesome!
October 22, 2010 at 1:19 amAnne
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Thank you for this! Bi-weekly updates are good enough, and with all this excitement in the plot..!
October 22, 2010 at 4:29 amWheate
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Thanks Divine! This show is awesome ^^ Blbalabla NEED faster subs!!
October 23, 2010 at 11:03 amTrina
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Love this anime! thanks a lot !!
October 27, 2010 at 2:06 pmTiggerz
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Just a minor detail, Koudou is from a branch family rather than Kaoru and Chizuru…
November 4, 2010 at 11:54 pmDivine
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Noted, thanks. It’s actually sort of a big detail that I misheard.
October 30, 2010 at 7:19 pmjdckbs
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When Kaoru said “why?” it is more likely he was asking why she would rather go with the shinsengumi than to be with her own brother, rather than your interpretation that he was asking why it always has to be her. I don’t get how anyone could ever feel sorry for chizuru, even if Koudou isn’t her father she had a good life and she is really stupid for forgetting that she had a brother.
November 4, 2010 at 11:57 pmDivine
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I felt it was more in reference to how only she was saved before when he was taken in by the Nagumo family. The reason being is Kaoru didn’t just ask “why”, but “why only you”.
November 5, 2010 at 6:22 pmhakuouki rox
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what day does hakuouki come out? i really want to know!!
November 17, 2010 at 5:16 pmciaossu
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raws come out monday, subs usually by friday (at least for Dattebayo’s; Ruri’s also doing it, but they’re REALLY SLOW and behind by almost a month)
November 5, 2010 at 6:51 pmKit
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Hi Divine, I was just wondering if you’re still going to continue blogging Hakuouki on a biweekly basis? (: