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「千夜の八年」 (Sen’ya no Hachi-nen)
“Senya’s Eight Years”
Not for the first time, I’m struck by just how much happens in a typical episode of Sengoku Youko (it strikes harder in anime form for sure). Even more, that Mizukami Satoshi manages to maintain this sort of pacing without sacrificing character drama (and development). What most mangaka can only do with slow, gradual build-up he’s able to accomplish with action. When you look at something like Spirit Circle it really stands out – it’s a very short series but absolutely epic in terms of character and pathos. In a sense, Mizukami can write plot-driven stories that act like character-driven stories (and that’s a unicorn-caliber talent).
A boy fighting his father is never a pleasant affair. But things are complicated between Senya and Jinun, to say the least. We didn’t spend a lot of time with them before Senya took over as the protagonist but it was clear there wasn’t a lot of communication between father and son. As such there’s a lot of subtext to this fight (a Mizukami hallmark). Senya is fighting to save his old man, basically. It says something about what a noble soul he has that Senya bears no grudges – it would be easy enough to do so. But what he cares about is Jinun being free, and even if he is the strongest human (as the Mountain Goddess speculates) he’s still no match for her. Theoretically…
Senya is smart enough to realize that Jinun is stronger and vastly more experienced than he is, and doesn’t seem especially rusty for having been asleep eight years. He unleashes pretty much every weapon in his arsenal, including his “Goushinten”, firing a thousand arrows of energy upon his opponent. But Jinun always seems to have an answer. He even deflects Senya’s “Senki Yatou”, his ultimate attack utilizing all the katawara inside him. That one is at least enough to get Dad’s attention – and an admission that his son is pretty good in his own right. But the dragon doesn’t appear to be taking any real damage.
There’s nothing in Sengoku Youko that can’t be severely complicated by the arrival of the Tribe of the Void. They show up in the middle of the battle (as seems to be their M.O.) and whisk Jinun away to the spirit world. But Senya follows (back in child form, naturally) – and so does the Mountain Goddess, since they’ve also abducted Taizan. And this time around there’s a new face among them (Hayama Shouta), who very much acts as if he’s in charge. He has the appearance of a child himself, although whether than means anything with the Void People has not been established.
It’s this new brat who immediately sets about breaking Jinun’s mind (also their M.O.). He starts off by asking Jinun what motivated him to let a thousand katawara be implanted in his son. The dragon replies that in a world where the weak are doomed to exploitation and despair, he wanted to give his son the power to pursue his desires and protect those he loves. It’s a strained argument, but you get the idea that this is the first time Senya has heard his father explain himself. Jinun also confesses that he’s a failure, because he was unable to protect the boy’s mother (also the first time Senya has heard such talk from his father).
The Void child’s other attack is the presence of Nadare, the dragon Jinun says is inside him. Senya suggests it could be the Tribe of the Void’s ability to manipulate images and memory, but the exact relationship between Nadare and Jinun is unclear. He even unleashes what he says is Ameratsu, the being at the top of the Shinto pantheon of Gods. Eventually Tsukiko decides to intervene in the fight on Senya’s behalf (incorporating what Kokugetsusai has taught her, it seems) and is drawn into the spirit world herself. But there she’s helped by Taizan and Jinun (who seems to have switched places with Nadare) and her father – whose arrival in the spirit world is in response to her plea for his support in the real one.
What a mess, indeed. Jinun is seemingly gone and Nadare in his place catches the Mountain Goddess by surprise, and inflicts serious damage. The Void People finally retreat with Nadare as their prize, leaving Senya and Taizan for another day. Yazen and Kuzunoha are observing this from wherever the Mountain Goddess has them holed up researching Jinka. He refers to the Goddess as Ooyama no Mitsuchihime – which I believe is the first time we’ve heard that name – and tells Kuzunoha that she’s been hurt badly enough that she’ll be too weak to break Jinka’s barrier. This fight is over, but its repercussions will be felt for a long time…