Sengoku Youko: Senma Konton-hen – Episode 01 Review

「千鬼夜行」 (Sen Oni Yagyou)
“Thousand Demon Night March”

With all due respect to Yonaoshi Kyodai-hen – which is really rather a lot – for me this is the true premiere of Sengoku Youko. Both in the sense that this is when Mizukami’s writing goes from good to great, and that the “World Reform Siblings” arc was truly a prologue. Like all good prologues it has repercussions which will be felt through the rest of the series. And it did a great job setting up the various storylines to follow. But past is prologue, as the Bard said – and the present is here to take center stage. Time for the main event.

First and foremost of course that means Senya. Shinsuke (and the superb Kimura Ryouhei) is here, but Senya is the protagonist of Sengoku Youko. He didn’t play a major role in the first season but that changes now. Mizukami Satoshi has a lot of great character arcs (in this series alone) but for my money Senya’s might just be the best. If you’re a fan of pathos (as I am) Senya has it in droves. From the moment of his birth to the moment he was sealed by the Mountain God, that kid didn’t catch a lot of breaks. And the road ahead is no cakewalk to say the least.

That said, Senya is lucky to have Shinsuke at his side. He’s hardly become a master swordsman and he’s a little (well, a lot) too fond of his sake. But he stuck around with Senya when he didn’t need to, waiting for him to wake up, because otherwise there was no one. They’ve come to rest in a village where humans and katawara seem to peacefully coexist. Senya remains unconscious, and he and Shinsuke are staying at the hut of the katawara Furokake (Akihara Teppei). When the boy finally wakes, he remembers nothing of his past – leaving Shinsuke with another big choice to make.

Shinsuke doesn’t take long to come to a decision. Senya, he reasons, is better off not knowing anything more than his name. His loss of memories is a sign from the Gods – a signal that the boy should start over without all the burdens of the past heaped on his shoulders. To that end he kicks Senya out of the hut and tells him to find someone to play with. Which he does, soon enough – it’s a village, not a city. But Senya is sorely lacking in the social graces – even introducing himself is quite the novelty. The first opportunity to do that is to a young villager named Tsukiko (Uchida Maaya). She says she was the one who discovered his unconscious body, in fact.

Soon enough Senya is in fact playing – at swordfighting. The first sign he might not be totally normal is that he easily thumps the three village boys who take him on as a group. Then when Tsukiko – the strongest in the village, apparently – takes her turn, he leaps far above her head to evade her attack (though she still winds up the victor). The dreams Senya endures are the final proof that he’s not just another kid – a thousand demons reside in him, celebrating their release from the dragon’s power and demanding the opportunity to fight.

Shinsuke’s aim here is to protect Senya from having to fight. And a noble goal it is. But this idyll can’t last, and even Shinsuke probably knew that from the beginning. The strong attract the strong – though the first incident is of the random variety, when a gang of katawara bandies raid the village and kidnap several children for dinner. Shinsuke takes his turn at fighting them off, but he’s too drunk even to stand – and Tsukiko can’t wield Arabuki. It’s obvious to Senya what he has to do – if Shinsuke brought him to this place so he wouldn’t have to fight, that must mean fighting was something he was good at.

Senya offers the first glimpse of his “Semki Yakou” (night parade of a thousand demons) attack, and the bandits are no match for it. But the real problem is the strange being who’s been hovering on the periphery of his vision – a mad God (Toriumi Kousuke), almost certainly drawn to the village by Senya’s strength. This time it takes everything the boy has to come out on top – and the collateral damage includes Tsukiko’s father, laid low by Senya’s demon arm as he’s sent flying by the mad God. And the village is damaged by the fireballs caused when Senki Yakou clashes with the Mad God’s spiritual armor.

What’s refreshing her is though Senya blames himself – as he would, of course – Furokake and the other villagers thank him for saving them from the God. Even Tsukiko seems to bear no grudge. Even so, there’s no way they can stay there – indeed, anywhere, given what Senya is. And Shinsuke is not to be trifled with in a drinking contest. Shinsuke tells the katawara that he’d originally thought to leave Senya behind as he continued his search for the Thousand-tailed Youko (Jinka) – a chance to give him a normal life. But it was never going to be that easy for Senya to leave his burdens behind him. Past is prologue.

We’re set for 22 episodes for the remainder of the story, as it turns out. That’s a couple less than I was hoping for, though with Hanada Jukki writing and White Fox’ professed love for the material (which is why it got three cours in the first place) I think it can work. There’s so much great stuff to come – a raft of great new characters, a bevy of twists and turns, and most of all Senya’s navigation of the trials that await him. It’s Mizukami at close to his very best – and animanga doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.