「節制 TEMPERANCE」

By the end of this episode, I’m sure many of us were thinking, “that sure isn’t the last time we’ll see him.” After all, defeat does not necessarily equate to death in the world of The Fool, so we may yet see Brutus’ true purpose soon enough, such as you know, stabbing Caesar and all that jazz. The foreshadowing has already established itself in the beginning of this episode with the ultimatum from the Round Table, so it all becomes a matter of when Caesar’s death will eventually happen and whether or not that death happens before he lays a hand on Ichihime.

However, Caesar will have to go through many a mecha to get even close to the object of his lust, with Hideyoshi now onboard as a full-fledged regalia user. It is quite fitting to see Hideyoshi finally rise to the occasion as Nobunaga’s potential equal–after all, it was historical Hideyoshi himself that took up the Oda legacy when Nobunaga died an untimely death. Now that the show has finally developed all of the core offensive characters–Nobunaga, Jeanne, Mitsuhide, and Hideyoshi–we can finally start getting invested in the choices that they make or the fates that befall them going forward. Nobunaga has a family to avenge, Jeanne has a world to protect, Mitsuhide has a lord and princess to assist from the shadows, and Hideyoshi must rise to the task to meet Nobunaga as his equal. It’s nice that everyone has their goals, but with the upcoming battles ahead, at least one of these characters will most likely fail to reach their goals in time. Such is the tragedy that befalls each character in reality–Nobunaga dies by fire by Mitsuhide, Mitsuhide suffers defeat by Hideyoshi, and Hideyoshi himself would die after a failed conquest of Korea. Jeanne of course shares the same flaming fate as Nobunaga, which highly indicates that at least one character will fail, where the failure will most likely occur from one character wishing to thwart the efforts of another. However, that is something to reflect on in the second half. We still have a decisive battle to witness in the near future.

It shall be a treat to see Nobunaga, Jeanne, and Hideyoshi in an all-out battle in the upcoming episodes, which I presume is happening before the 13th episode concludes. With each having their own abilities, it will be interesting to see them square off against other Giant War Armors. With Takeda, Caesar, and Uesugi forces up against a unified Oda, Yamatai, and other lesser clans, we will see a bloodbath next week, as well as many an important character shedding blood, as the next episode’s title–Death–signifies. I sure hope that the CGI budget for this show has been saved up for this moment, because they’re going to need a whole lot of action to create a perfect climax for the first cour to end on.

 

Preview

18 Comments

  1. Giving power(a regalia in this case) to one of his subjects that want’s to kill him if he ever show’s weakness in front of him. Oh man,Nobunaga took his “fool” nickname to another level.

    MgMaster
  2. I’m glad that Hideyoshi is finally getting some development. I was afraid he was going to be the one of the trio who just got left out. Nice to see that he has some backstory as well and a interesting motivation to boot. Very entertaining episode though I kind of cringed at the scene where they broke into enemy territory and they were literally surrounded by a bunch of people with guns and they just stood there. I mean seriously not one of them fired a SINGLE FREAKING BULLET the entire time. What’s the point of giving them guns if they aren’t going to freaking use them? Bah….it irritates me more than most people for some reason which is why i tend to dislike shows that have guns in general because of how unrealistic they are =/.

    On another note someone needs to seriously nerf Da Vinci and Mitsude. Those two thinking together are just OP.

    leatherhead333
  3. Temperance indicates you have a clear, long-term vision of your goals in life, allowing you to achieve spiritual balance and satisfaction(the angel cautiously tests the waters before moving forward, whilst mixing the water in both cups to achieve perfect balance).

    The Temperance card mainly revolves around Hideyoshi’s character, proving he is more than just the ‘monkey’of the group. By changing his life’s goals from vengeance, to helping Nobunaga gain absolute rule of the Eastern Star, he has managed to achieve a new sense of fulfillment in his life and a more balanced perspective in coping with his sister’s demise. It also displays Hideyoshi’s ambitious streak, his clearly affirmed goal of ruling the Eastern Star should Nobunaga fail to live up to his standards of greatness.(of course Nobunaga knew.)

    Temperance also represents coordination and synergy when working together as a group. Everyone’s combined efforts(Himiko’s information, Mitsu’s strategies, da Vinci’s inventions, and ground work by Nobu, Jeanne, Mitsu and Hideyoshi) culminated in an overall Oda victory, a new War Armour for Hideyoshi and a blow to Caesar’s forces and reputation(which sinks by the minute amongst his Round Table peers!!!).

    zztop
    1. Death in tarot usually rarely, if ever,refers to actual death. It primarily indicates significant change from the old to the new, although we’ll have to see how its themes apply to the next episode.

      zztop
  4. Takamagahara(高天原) in Japanese myth is the home of the Shinto deities, the ‘Plain of High Heaven’. A fitting name for the unique flattop mountains ‘floating’ in the clouds which serve as a trading post for the West.

    Interestingly, Takamagahara buildings are designed in a very Tibetan style, with its command post buildings resembling the Potala Palace of Lhasa.
    http://chictraveler.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/potala_palace.jpeg

    zztop
  5. Episode 10, where the deus ex machina arrows return once again to grace us with their single shot destructive power. Barring that little annoyance, looks like everything has finally been laid out for the inevitable battle. Only question at this point is who is going to die in the next two episodes?

    Pancakes
  6. So glad Hideyoshi got proper development, as he’s my favorite of the male hero trio.

    I feel so shallow, as I want Brutus joining the heroes (Giant War Armor and all) for no other reason than because his seiyuu is pretty much my favorite among males (much Jeanne’s is my favorite among female’s). Not that I really expect it to happen (nor do I expect him to survive). If I’m proven wrong, I’ll laugh.

    starqo
    1. I belive that Brutus will survive. He will likely steal Caesar’s seat on the Round Table. But it is likely he will stay an antagonist, and Hideyoshi’s rival.

      Regarding Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, historically just came to prominence until the death of Nobunaga. Since the protagonist of this anime is Nobunaga, unless he actually dies at Honno-ji, i think Hideyoshi will remain a secondary character.

      But the fact he revealed his true self to Jeanne, and the fact Jeanne is the one that has all this visions and technically is also the main character of the series makes me wonder. I am really looking forward what the studio has planned. I would be surprised if Nobunaga dies and Hideyoshi becomes the protagonist for the likely 2nd season.

      Shadow
      1. Oh, I never thought for a moment that Brutus died here. I meant that I doubt he’ll survive the whole series. Heck, him making it until the penultimate episode would amaze me.

        And like I said, I fully expect him to stay an antagonist (in not outright villain) through the whole story. That being said, if he does take over Caesar’s seat in the Round Table, I hope he gets something better than the standard Falco. I don’t even care if he just takes over his lord’s Quo Vadis.

        starqo
  7. I actually feel bad for Caesar this time around – he successfully anticipated something that’s supposed to be impossible but fell just slightly short on the execution – apparently you need to be two impossible things ahead to beat the Oda forces.

    If anyone’s doomed to failure it’s Mitsuhide, who is already sowing the seeds. He has gone from drugging Nobunaga’s wine but immediately telling him afterwards to murdering Nobukatsu and continuing to keep it secret, not telling Nobunaga which retainers are actively plotting his murder, he was about to go assassinate them too without even discussing it with Nobunaga when Ichihime interrupted him. Eventually he’s either going to go way too far and be found out or Nobunaga is going to do something unanticipated and thoroughly foul up some hidden scheme.

    Mahavira
  8. I find it interesting how both the series main protagonist and antagonist, historically were betrayed. I feel that just when things move forward for a final clash between Caesar and Nobunaga betrayal on both sides will cut it short.

    I feel we will see a lot of backstabbing on the series as it reaches the end. It get’s me hyped, it’s been a while since i’ve seen an anime with Shakespearean levels of betrayal and backstabbing.

    Shadow

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