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「冬の子供たち」 (Fuyu no Kodomotachi)
“Children in Winter”
The times they are a’changing. And that extends to how war is waged as well, a theme that keeps popping up over the past few episodes. In older times, warfare was “genteel” so to speak- you fire an arrow, the enemy fires an arrow. The enemies declare themselves in some little speech to each other, follow the gentleman’s code of honor, and may the best person win. But in the turbulence of the overthrow of the shogunate and in the changing times, gentility is not a value so much as a leash and a new era calls for new tactics. One that is less gentlemanly, as Ogasawara and his cronies expound on. Trickery is the name of the game, which mischievous, active kids like Tokiyuki and Genba excel at. Ogasawara and his Superman eyesight and Ichikawa Sukefusa are not too far behind.
What a time for Yorishige to lose his prophecy skills. Nothing’s in his control anymore and it drives him crazy (well, no more than he usually is, let’s be honest- he just directs it at the bloodline now). I mean, Yorishige does have a point about preserving the Hojo bloodline. If the Hojos become extinct, game over. But shielding Tokiyuki from all danger and the contingent responsibility isn’t terribly different from the puppet rule Tokiyuki’s father was roped into, and we all saw how that ended. Letting them go out on their own is the best course of action. No way can you get through a high stakes game like this without taking some risks. Not to mention, no kid likes to be babied, and these young’uns have been training hard. Experience is the best teacher, so this is actually a good opportunity to level up, as is the wont with shounen series. And with that, Tokiyuki leaves the nest.
It doesn’t take long for the gang to get in a scuffle with a new mystery man- this one a wielder of two blades. While it’s clear this swordsman is no joke, it also makes Tokiyuki realize that Ayako and Kojiro have been going easy on him. Not sure if that should be comforting, maddening, or a bit of both. Though she carries no sword, Shizuku proves her worth in putting an end to the fight when it turns out she and the fierce opponent know each other from a few years back when she helped him out. His name is Fubuki (Toya Kikunosuke), which means snowstorm, BTW and the snowflakes on his clothing carries a nice allusion to that. Friend or foe? While his initial greeting certainly screamed the latter, once everyone has a nice sit down, he’s obviously the former- assisting the villagers in fending off Ogasawara’s forces. Not only is he kind-hearted, he also has a good head for strategy. I feel a lot better about him now than I did at the beginning of their encounter.
Having suffered the loss of the adults and not about to wave goodbye to their homes on top of that, Fubuki and his band of helpers are an elegant illustration of the era of hide and seek (sneak?) warfare. In this style, size doesn’t matter if wits and a little but of luck are on your side. And wits they have- traps, straw men, and the like proving an equal match to the raiding adults. If the saying “you get what you pay for” holds true at all, with the amount of food “paid” to Fubuki (a whole load of offerings and the village supply of rice, sheesh), he’s gotta be a pretty valuable asset. The good news is, Fubuki is single and ready to mingle, practically begging for a lord to take him on. It just so happens that Tokiyuki is in the market for such a retainer/sensei.
I do want to say- while the visuals were not as astounding as last week, the music score certainly made up for that. The soundtrack, particularly during the village scene was quite lovely and understated. It seems like the series has been flip flopping every other week in terms of mind-blowing visuals, which I guess it makes sense budget-wise- it does seem unsustainable to pull out the stops every week.
Tokiyuki has stumbled upon not just one, but two hidden gems- Fubuki and the village. The vital strategic location of this village in the woods could turn the tides, depending upon which side gets it first. If Ogasawara uses the two pronged attack, he’d have the village in the bag and the area in his pocket, as Fubuki explains. A rather terrifying prospect and as such, I don’t think that running away is the best choice here, though pitching in to defend it is also super risky.
Ogasawara adds a new ant-agonist to the line up in the form of the bloodthirsty Shoukan. Like his insect friends, Shoukan wants to take delectable properties, piece by piece, and has no qualms about how many he slays to get it. (Trying to have his cake and eat it too, he makes sure to use “Nami Amida Butsu” as a get out of Hell free card.) This leads him to a small village and Suwa territory and while I can’t claim to have the foresight of Yorishige, I do get a strong premonition that we’ll see a face off between him and Tokiyuki’s gang pretty soon.
End Card
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