「愛と忠」 (Ai to Tadashi)
“Love and Kiss”

It’s true – every dog has its day, even the ones at the bottom of the food chain. Kanetsugu finally joins Muneakira’s harem as his new Master Samurai this week and the moment of truth was certainly well worth the wait. Hyakka Ryouran’s personalized version of Hatsune Miku has always been a riot to watch and it’s hard not to take a little delight in hearing Toyosaki Aki sink her teeth into such a snooty and audacious role. There could hardly be a person less suited to be an honorable samurai than Kanetsugu – she is clumsy, petty and extremely loud, just to put it mildly. Laughing at her misfortune is the root of many humors in this show and the self-proclaimed warrior of love is chiefly the subject of derision for the other female leads. Such a character does not always work in anime, but what makes Hyakka Ryouran ticks is its shameless humor (and mouthwatering fanservice), and Kanetsugu fits neatly into the box as the lead character that draws out the comedic moments of the show.  She’s obviously a polarizing figure and I’m not at all surprised that the fan base is split about the portrayal of her character.  As for me, I have always been extremely fond of Kanetsugu and clearly, I’m not the only one – she tops the list of the last Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls popularity poll, even Juubei was no match for her crackbrained charm!

This episode couldn’t have been simpler, but there’s a frenzied and happenstance-like atmosphere that makes the show such a blast to watch. The Shinkage Meido Café popularity contest screamed bad idea right from the very first moment and indeed, Kanetsugu’s plan backfired hilariously on herself. The comical effect was fantastic and similar to the pantsu-thief gag last week, this one played up the eccentricities of all the characters –the S&M relationship between Sen Hime and Hanzou, Sasuke’s moeblob allure and what I would describe as a very peculiar bond between Juubei and Musashi. It wouldn’t be Hyakka Ryouran without the usual nastiness and verbal abuse, but this show can also be guilefully sentimental at times and such warmth to the material is what we saw in Kanetsugu’s journey to “Master Samurai-hood”. For starters, it looks like we have a great friendship brewing in the backdrop as both Sasuke and Kanetsugu stood up for each other when they confronted a seemingly berserk Mataemon. In fact, I was ecstatic to see things not working against Kanetsugu this week – it’s not like the poor girl doesn’t try hard enough. It felt like a well-deserved reward to finally see Muneakira and Kanetsugu kiss, and the over-the-top action sequences that ensued were truly a remarkable sight to behold – especially Kanetsugu’s Naoe-Style Warhammer Technique!

With Muneakira locking lips left and right so frequently, I wouldn’t be completely taken aback if Matabe or Hanzou forms a kissing-pact with him sooner or later. They certainly seem to be interested in the idea, or maybe it’s just the frustration seeping through as they realized Kanetsugu has somehow leapfrog ahead of them. No question, I continue to be very impressed with this show and for my money, it’s probably the best comedy of the spring season. The Samurai Girl’s former foe, Yagyuu Gisen (Mizuhara Kaoru) will likely pay the Shinkage dojo a visit next week and judging from the sheer hilarity that she brought during season one,  that can only be good news!

tl;dr: @SeishunRC – Kanetsugu has been added to Muneakira’s harem. I caught a #HatsuneMiku! #HyakkaRyouran #Anime

Shameless Plug: I’m on twitter now! Follow me @SeishunRC for comments on anime (18 shows this spring) and manga (Magi, Fairy Tail, Claymore etc). If you have any feedbacks or simply wish to have a chat, you can also reach me at Seishun@randomc.net. I promise I won’t bite!

Full-length images: 10, 13, 17, 23.

Preview

42 Comments

    1. The uncensored version that airs on A-TX I think is 2 days behind the streaming/over-air release. So it’s actually available “censored” first. (It’s actually pretty light censoring, which is kind of hilarious in that regard)

      Uncensored version is normally available a few days after.

      SQA
      1. @SDF Ikr, I also noticed they put flowers on all the girls in the end sequence; personally I like how the inkblots look its a funny yet cool way to censor so I don’t really mind.

        agr0n
  1. I don’t usually watch this show, but I skimmed an episode. I just wanted to comment that the only other time I’ve heard the MC’s VA is in hentai.

    Which is hilarious to me.

    Tis all lol

    EmD
      1. Hehe well Stilts isn’t the only twintail lover out there. While my favorites are ponytails I too like the occasional twintail (looking at you Nyaruko-san’s Kuuko). But if I were to list down why I like Naoe, it’s because of her ojou-sama speech pattern, and despite not being too bright she looks sharp in that uniform(especially her tie).

        Zhinvu
    1. Ditto. Since episode 1 of Samurai Bride the hating on Kanetsugu by the others(well mainly Sen and Yukimura) was going a bit too far, even with her personality. So I also like this episode for the fact Naoe finally gets to Master Samurai status.

      Zhinvu
  2. I really liked how Kanetsugu for once was capable of hoding her own in battle.

    https://randomc.net/image/Hyakka%20Ryouran%20Samurai%20Girls/Hyakka%20Ryouran%20Samurai%20Bride%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
    Those two when realised Kanetsugu has beaten them to become Master Samurai…

    Just a sidenote: Kanetsugu – a butt monkey for jokes – is forming quite a relationship with real monkey aka Satchin. Satchin, contrary to rest of the girls (save Jyubei harmless form) is easily accepting everyone, and Kanetsugu in her tsundere way welcomes it.

    ewok40k
  3. Yay! Naoe-ism for the win!

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Hanzo and/or Matabe eventually form contracts. I mean, Yukimura and Sen DID try to get them to do it in Season 1 only this time, they’re actually showing their own interest when they were quite hesitant before. I guess it also doesn’t help that, sadly, without Master Samurai powers themselves, as demonstrated, they’re probably not going to be of much use against the Dark Samurai. Especially when Yukimura and Sen were soundly defeated even WITH their Master Samurai powers, and even Naoe ended up cracking her Master Samurai-powered hammer against Mataemon (whose own blade didn’t have a scratch on it), and all Naoe did was “wake her up”.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  4. YES! Always loved rooting for the underdog (pun intended), and so glad the dog really had her day.

    Though it was simple, the episode played up the pity factor pretty well and served a reminder as to why she was being looked down upon. Plenty of humor to go around whenever Naoe’s involved, though.

    Other than the over-the-top action sequence (That ‘Love’ insignia showing up in the sky after her special move – awesome!) and the favorite of yours truly showing up in her casual/sleeping robe (Sen Hime), I suppose the one other thing that piqued my interest was whether ALL the Dark Samurai had the dangerous tendency to go berserk at certain intervals like Mataemon did.

    It’s +1 to Muneakira’s unintended harem. Wonder how many more he will add at the end of everything. :p

    Owaranai
    1. +50 Seishun Points. The “Ai” insignia that shoots up to the sky is pretty awesome 😉
      Oh yes, Sen Hime looks absolutely gorgeous in that sleeping robe, too bad there wasn’t a good cap for it >.>

      Seishun
    1. We’re not entirely sure how the curse works. It seems like Muneakira can’t lift his sword and take an active role in battles at the moment, and… that’s about it 😡

      Seishun
  5. Here it is!The show that will keep me from sinking in the dark depths of (delicious)lolies(crap!it’s becoming worst by the day…)and make me stay on the “path of the righteous”!………is what I’d like to say but this episode wasn’t one for it.If anything,Sasuke actually helped me down the dark path.

    On a more serious note…..ah hell,I can’t be serious with this anime.My sides end up hurting whenever Kanetsugu takes the spotlight.I’m glad to see the producers took notice of her popularity and decided to give her more screentime than the 1st season as well as let her do what she does best.

    So withouth further ado: All hail Kanetsugu,the Master Samurai of comedy!

    MgMaster
  6. What I don’t get is how people *animeultima* complain that this season has less action and is more boring than the first. Because only 3 eps have been shown so far so its unfair to compare three eps to an entire season, plus if you were to look at it this way, the first 3 eps in teh first season had the same amount of fighting as the first 3 eps here….that’s why I just don’t get people sometimes. Anyways~! Gotta love all of the BGM used here in this ep, I don’t know why, I feel sad for the Dark Samurai’s everytime they show up (despite them doing nothing really) because of the depressing-ass BGM they play in all their graveyard scenes.

    SDFSDG
  7. That episode was really good, I love Kannetsugu even more now. I always feel bad for her as everyone makes fun of her but it’s so funny I can’t help but forget this feeling. This time though, that side of the coin won over, especially when the episode switched from the usual humor to sadness with Kannetsugu overhearing Sen Hime and Yukimura. It’s true there’s not many clumsy and barks-more-than-bite type of characters that work that well. In the end, it was quite a heartwarming episode, and the fight was pretty good, with Kannetsugu’s NEW HAMMAA.
    Can’t wait for next week.

  8. FINALLY, my favorite character is a master samurai. The episode was simplistic and all of the events were expected, but I still liked it nonetheless. Can’t get enough of a snobby Toyosaki Aki.

    Annyms
  9. My fav girl of the series got to be a master samuari finally. lol. She was actually able to fight on par with the crazy bad girl too. Of course they gotta train but currently Kanetsugu is the strongest of the good girls lol. Jubei will come back and of course be the strongest again but until then I hope the other girls get there asses kicked by Kanetsugu for awhile. They deserve it for always looking down on her. I know she was the comedy relief for most of the series but dunno she always stuck out to me as one of the better characters of this series. ^^

    Also had no idea Kanetsugu was so popular I guess my taste at 31 years old isnt off yet lol. I’ll have my gf watch this series from the start so she can watch season 2 with me. So far I’m loving it. I think the maid cafe thing is kinda not needed but its ok. I’m sure they’ll turn serious and train for these “dark samuari” soon enough. But again go Kanetsugu! You deserve it girl!

    chaosdemon06
    1. Kanetsugu is extremely popular, she’s the samurai girl with the largest fan art collection 😉
      I’m not sure if she’s any stronger than Sen Hime or Yukimura. She broke her hammer, but didn’t manage to inflict so much as a scratch on Mataemon 😡

      Seishun

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