Saturday 16 August 2014

Anime review: Sengoku Basara Judge End episode 7

We're past halfway through Sengoku Basara Judge End and most of the overseas streaming services seem to have caught up with the Japanese broadcast. Aside from Animate TV's regular Judge End preview gallery, there hasn't been much news coming out of Japan this week due to it being the annual Obon period. Normal updates should resume next week!

Please note that this weekend's episode of Judge End is being broadcast on Japanese television a couple of hours later than usual due to a football show.

How to watch

Now that the official simulcasts are beginning it's been confirmed that the alternate title Sengoku Basara -End of Judgement- is being used outside Japan. I'll keep using Judge End for consistency but they're the exact same show.

These are the official ways to watch Sengoku Basara Judge End at the moment:

Television (Japan only)
This week's initial television broadcast on NTV is at 03:55 on Sunday morning (Japan time), a few hours later than usual. The YTV and BS Nittere broadcasts are shown over a week late.

NTV On Demand (Japan only)
This is a premium service. Fans can pay ¥900 to watch the whole series or ¥300 to see an individual episode. The first episode is free and the previous week's episode is shown for free on Fridays and Saturdays. The series airs slightly earlier than the television broadcast at 24:00 local time.

Hulu (Japan only)
Fans who pay Hulu's ¥933 monthly fee can watch the episodes slightly ahead of the broadcast time.

The following Japanese streaming services will also be streaming Judge End; if you can't wait then it might be worth checking them to see whether any work in your region. I imagine they'll make the episodes available shortly after the television broadcast and some will be showing it for free.

AcTVila, Bandai Channel, Best Hit Anime Douga, d Anime Store, DMM.com, Google Play, GyaO Store, Happy Douga Anime, Hikari TV, JCOM On Demand, Movie Full+, Nico Nico Official Channel, Rakuten Showtime, Tsutaya TV, TV Dogatch, U-NEXT, Video Market

FUNimation (US only)
The episodes are streamed weekly on Saturdays at 14:20 Eastern Time with English subtitles. Subscribers can watch the latest episode on the same day it's available in Japan while free users have to wait a week. FUNimation also have the home video rights, so if the stream is popular the series should eventually be dubbed into English. Even though the videos are region-locked, fans outside the US can still visit the site and rate the videos to show that there's demand!

Anime Digital Network (France only)
ADN are offering the series online with French subtitles. So far, the first four episodes are available. They charge a monthly fee for the service.

J-ONE (France only)
A French-subtitled broadcast will take place on J-ONE - Canalsat (50) and Numericable (38). It now seems to have begun, so the schedule can be viewed at the link.

Viewster (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway only)
The show's broadcast was announced as being 'day and date with Japan' but it's taken a while for them to catch up. They seem to have settled into a rhythm now and the first six episodes are already online with English subtitles. Viewster is a free ad-supported service.

Like many fans around the world I live in a country which has been excluded from the licensed simulcasts. In spite of this I feel very strongly about supporting the official translated version when it's available rather than resorting to piracy. The Japanese distributors will use the official viewing figures to see how successful the show has been while the US anime distributors like FUNimation use them to decide whether to give new titles home video releases, whether to dub them and whether to go the extra mile and produce a high quality premium release. If we want Sengoku Basara Judge End to receive a decent western release and raise awareness of the series, we need to make sure people are watching the official streams if possible. Please get your friends to watch it too if you can so that the industry can see that there's an audience out there. It might help to visit the official streaming sites and leave supportive comments there too, even if you live in a country where the video itself is blocked and you had to watch it some other way.

I'd rather not say how I'm watching the Japanese streams but it's not that difficult to find a method with some searching.

Important reminder

Sengoku Basara: Judge End is not a continuation of the previous anime adaptation. It's a brand new story and none of the events in Production I.G.'s version of Sengoku Basara have taken place in its timeline. Please don't get confused trying to match the old story to the new one; this anime is a complete reboot of the entire Sengoku Basara scenario. The story takes place after the fall of Oda Nobunaga.

Summary

The rest of this post contains spoilers for the first seven episodes of Sengoku Basara: Judge End and some low quality screenshots. Please note that I'm watching the show in untranslated Japanese and using my preferred spellings for character names; they won't necessary match the localised spellings if you're watching one of the subtitled versions!

The story so far

Prior to the events in Judge End, the warlord Oda Nobunaga was betrayed and killed at Honnouji by his retainer, Akechi Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide was subsequently defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who went on to lead his powerful army across the land.

The series began with the Toyotomi army launching a major attack on Odawara Castle, home to the Houjou clan. The Date army tried to interfere and were brutally defeated by Ishida Mitsunari, a loyal warrior renowned as 'Toyotomi's Left Arm'.

Despite their overwhelming strength, the Toyotomi attack was stopped when Tokugawa Ieyasu rebelled against Hideyoshi's methods and killed him in combat. Hideyoshi's loyal strategist Takenaka Hanbee died at Odawara too, leaving Mitsunari behind to curse Ieyasu's name and swear revenge against his former ally.

Since that day, Mitsunari and his loyal retainers have been working to expand the former Toyotomi army by building alliances with the Mouri, Chousokabe, Shimazu, Ootomo, Tachibana and Kobayakawa clans. Although they sought an alliance with the former Toyotomi retainer Kuroda Kanbee as well, he has since left to search for Fuuma Kotarou - the legendary ninja employed by the Houjou clan - who might hold the key that can unlock Kanbee's shackles.

At the same time, Ieyasu is travelling around Japan to unite other commanders and form an 'Eastern Army'. Aside from the shattered remnants of the Houjou clan, Ieyasu has been struggling to gain supporters; his respectful approach is no match for the scheming of the Western Army's tacticians. In addition, Ieyasu is keeping Oda Nobunaga's sister, Oichi, locked away beneath Sunpu Castle after an unexpected encounter, even though her supporters from the former Oda army have been pressuring him to hand her over to them.

After some soul searching, the newly appointed general of the Takeda clan - Sanada Yukimura - decides that the Takeda forces will join the growing Western Army, while his longtime rival Date Masamune declares his allegiance to Ieyasu's Eastern Army.

Elsewhere, Maeda Keiji has joined up with the powerful Saika mercenaries and the oracle Tsuruhime to try to locate his missing aunt, Matsu, who was reportedly abducted by Ieyasu. In reality, Matsu is secretly being held captive in Kobayakawa Hideaki's castle under the watchful eye of his inscrutable advisor, the monk Tenkai.

During the investigation, Saika Magoichi challenges Chousokabe Motochika to question the truth of Ieyasu's attack on his homeland - the attack which led to him joining the Western Army and turning his back on his old friend. With both Keiji and Motochika uncertain about Ieyasu's real intentions, it seems there are some lingering mysteries which need to be solved...

Episode 7: Ankoku ('Darkness')

Motochika and Keiji ride to Sunpu Castle together to confront Ieyasu. Their approach is watched by Masamune and Kojuurou.


The pair overhear a pair of Tokugawa soldiers anxiously discussing Motochika's arrival, and become suspicious.


Ieyasu greets Motochika warmly, as a friend. Encouraged by Keiji, Motochika asks whether Ieyasu was the one behind the attack on his men back in Shikoku.


Ieyasu is plainly baffled.


Motochika wavers and wonders who was really responsible if it wasn't Ieyasu. At that moment, Masamune turns up to reveal what actually happened. The two terrified Tokugawa soldiers explain how the flags, which were used as evidence of Ieyasu's guilt, originally fell into enemy hands.


Tadatsugu is furious at the way the soldiers acted.


It gets worse, though; when pressed for more details about the attack, the soldiers implicate Motochika's bitter enemy: Mouri Motonari of Aki.


Motochika is both enraged and heartbroken.


Elsewhere, Yoshitsugu meets with Yukimura and tells him that Oichi is currently being held prisoner at Sunpu Castle.


Yukimura is to sneak into Sunpu Castle and retrieve Oichi.


Yoshitsugu tells Yukimura that he won't be working alone.


Tenkai and the former Oda retainer Isono Kazumasa will accompany him.


They'll be assisted by Tenkai's 'ninja', a withdrawn woman who strongly resembles Matsu.


Back in Sunpu, Masamune wants to know more about what the Western Army is up to after what happened with Motochika. He decides that a trip to Osaka is needed.


With Motochika's problem settled, Keiji takes the opportunity to privately ask Ieyasu about what happened with Hideyoshi.


They talk about the way that Hideyoshi changed and bond a little.


Keiji asks Ieyasu about Hideyoshi's last words, and sheds tears when he hears that his old friend was thinking of Hanbee right at the end.


Ieyasu heads off with Tadakatsu, leaving Keiji with his complicated emotions.


Magoichi and Tsuruhime interrupt Keiji's reverie to bring him news.


Magoichi has discovered where Matsu is, and she's already on her way to Sunpu!


The scene shifts to the rescue party making its way from Osaka to Sunpu. Kasuga and Yukimura are leading the column of soldiers on horseback.


Sasuke teases his teammates with his usual banter, then quietly swears to take care of Kasuga if anything happens to her.


The trio also wonder about Tenkai's mysterious new 'ninja' with obvious suspicion.


Motochika has finally reached Mitsunari and confronts him, asking whether Shikoku was attacked on his orders. It turns out that Mitsunari doesn't know anything about it.


Motochika is still furious though since the scheme was organised by Mitsunari's friends, even if he didn't know what was going on. He announces that he's leaving the Western Army.


This gets Mitsunari's attention; he's not prepared to tolerate betrayal!


In the end, Motochika leaves, muttering that he doesn't dislike the earnest look in Mitsunari's eyes.


Mitsunari goes straight to Yoshitsugu and speaks to him quite harshly, telling him that he mustn't lie to him and that he doesn't want Yoshitsugu to be like Ieyasu.


Mitsunari then rides away from the castle.


The rescue party has reached Sunpu Castle under cover of night.


After the ninja investigate, Tenkai discovers Oichi's whereabouts more directly by threatening a Tokugawa guard.


Yukimura and Sasuke sneak under the castle. Yukimura makes their infiltration attempt a little less subtle by calling out to a mysterious figure he takes to be Oichi.


It's actually a trap, and Fuuma Kotarou attacks the intruders.


Tenkai and his ninja appear on the scene just in time for the four of them to be surrounded by Keiji, Magoichi and a group of Tokugawa soldiers. Keiji yells when he recognises Tenkai's ninja as his missing aunt. But Matsu seems to have been drugged; she doesn't react to Keiji at all.


Although Sakai Tadatsugu thinks that his troops have the upper hand even with the hostage, Tenkai is strangely relaxed. Suddenly, the Oda soldiers break through in a surprise attack!


Tenkai introduces himself and describes Matsu as an old friend. She turns her blade towards the attackers without saying a word.


Unnoticed by the ambushers, Kasuga is sneaking deeper beneath the castle when she comes across Tsuruhime. By following her, the two of them discover Oichi. She appears confused, addressing Tsuruhime as Ranmaru.


The blood shed by the fallen Oda and Tokugawa soldiers begins to seep down through the floorboards into Oichi's prison. The blood agitates the dark hands, which begin twitching violently and free themselves.


Kasuga reveals herself just in time to save Tsuruhime from the dark hands, and stands her ground against Oichi.


Tenkai recognises Oichi's power awakening as dark tendrils snake through the castle's narrow corridors. Moments later, everyone falls through the floor into the caverns below the castle.


Sasuke spots Kasuga slumped unconscious in one of Oichi's dark hands. Oichi seems confused and euphoric at the slaughter taking place around her.


Kazumasa rushes towards Oichi to save her, but Tenkai backstabs him right in front of her.


Thinking back to the past and his days as Akechi Mitsuhide, Tenkai tells the other warriors about his plans for an 'Oda revival'.


When he moves to strike Matsu down, Yukimura leaps up to stop him while Keiji rushes to protect Matsu.


At that moment, Oichi howls and Magoichi is forced to fend off the rampaging dark hands. The heroes are forced to retreat.


Tenkai laughs as the caverns crumble around him. Sasuke and Yukimura successfully escape through an underground waterway, though they aren't able to bring Kasuga with them.


When Matsu regains consciousness, Keiji and Magoichi are overjoyed to discover that she is back to normal.


Far away from the dramatic events unfolding in Sunpu Castle, Mitsunari has gone to visit Hideyoshi's grave.


He's not happy when he hears Tadakatsu approaching.


Ieyasu tries to get through to Mitsunari, telling him that it's still possible to avoid a fight.


Of course, Mitsunari isn't willing to listen after all that Ieyasu has done.


When it becomes apparent that they can't resolve this with words, Ieyasu leaves, telling Mitsunari that he'll meet him again at the promised place.


There are now 30 days remaining until the Battle of Sekigahara.

--

This episode contained a large amount of original content and lots of different warriors all clashing together, which was great. I really enjoyed it! It's a shame that the mystery of Matsu's disappearance was over so quickly, but everything's now in place for the Battle of Sekigahara and Tenkai's plot is out in the open, so there's a lot of potential for unexpected twists. It was only a week or two ago when the Western Army was looking unbeatable!

Kazumasa didn't last long. I hope that Kasuga will be ok. She's replaced Matsu as Tenkai's hostage; a very dangerous position to be in now that he's stopped pretending to be honourable.

Next week's episode will be titled Yakusoku ('Promise').

20 comments:

  1. Lolol WTF well that was great. Every single freaking character (ok not all) crammed into Ieyasu’s basement and wreaking havoc. He is in for shock when he comes back to his base. Great to see Oichi's full freaky power on. Lol at Tenkai ”hiding” Matsu by giving her a matching mask, awesome disguise dude.
    I wondered if Mr Hot Limit was going to bite the dust there but angry disposable Oda dude died instead, how fortunate.

    After the previous angsting it was suprising how short the Aniki and also Keiji angst moments were, quite effective scenes though. Poor Aniki.

    I didn’t notice that Kasuga is now a hostage instead, I sure hope JE won’t disempower/nerf mainly the female characters now that things are getting serious.

    Hmm what was that at the end? Vague hint of possible Mitsunari and Ieyasu reconciliation?!

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    1. Haha, it's probably no wonder that Magoichi's investigation was able to locate Matsu so easily as soon as she was out in the open. Though the Tenkai cosplay mask still seemed to trick a few people...

      I'm a little worried for poor Kingo, now - it is difficult to imagine that Tenkai is going back to the Western Army now (and if he tries, Yukimura might raise a very reasonable objection). Who's going to look after the cowardly gourmet from now on and protect him from the influence of people like Sourin?

      Kasuga was so cool in this episode that I'm sure she'll be fine, though probably very angry if she's allowed to regain consciousness. I get a thrill whenever someone uses one of their proper moves from the games *_*

      I wonder whether Sakai Tadatsugu actually uses any kind of weapon at all, unless he's a fist fighter like his boss? Maybe he just stands around with his rippling muscles and orders other people to attack. Otherwise, he seemed to be unarmed even in his own ambush...

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    2. They're doing a good job with Kasuga in this adaption; I don't usually care much about her but I like her more in this. Oichi grabbed her with the dark hands so she is in danger of being absorbed most of all. They could possibly use her as a hostage to manipulate the Takeda/Kenshin. That would truly suck and be bad writing. 4 out of only 5 female warriors in need of some male rescuing.

      I also love when they use the game moves!

      Yes now that Tenkai has teamed up with his ultra murder ally Oichi, will Kingo be discarded or hang out with them? He wanted to join up with Ieyasu and there is a good chance that he will do it. He was even blushing when Ieyasu offered a manly bond with him ha.

      As for Sakai, he probably just stands around and orders people while flexing his muscles in cool JoJo poses.

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  2. Either Kasuga's dead, Tenkai expects to be able to revive Nobunaga before Kenshin can mobilize, or I've completely misjudged Kenshin. One of the three.

    I hope only the center is true. ;; I don't know if I'd have it in me to actually like this anime anymore if they killed her off or ruined my image of Kenshin, lol. Anyway wow never expected that role for Matsu! Definitely a very action-packed episode! Clearly things really will be picking up steam from now on!

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    1. It's very possible that Tenkai hasn't thought this through all that well in his crazed desire for more Nobunaga :)

      I don't think they can possibly kill Kasuga off; she's far too tough in this adaptation (even if half my Twitter timeline shrieked 'butt!' in admiration when she got her cool battle scene this time)! Everything is Sasuke's fault for jinxing them when he started feeling protective on the way to the castle...

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    2. Hm, I didn't consider that. You're right, Tenkai isn't exactly... well known for thinking straight when it comes to Nobunaga. Especially based off of SB4, ahaha.

      Ah, indeed, don't get me wrong I love that she got a great battle scene, Oichi too! Especially happy Tsuru got to interact with her, if a bit disappointed they didn't really connect. I'm just very protective of the Uesugi, so aha. I also may be a bit of a hypocrite as I don't mind the characters dying in the games but that's because there are multiple routes. In these adaptations, unless they're Mitsuhide, Dairokutenmaou himself, or inexplicably Ieyasu, they gone for good.

      Also kinda glad that Motochika finally wizened up and decided to ask Ieyasu himself. He's a dunderhead but not enough to be tricked as hard as he was in his default route of SB3 itself, I think.

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    3. I have worried about characters being killed off, too. JE is obviously not shying away from being tragic. Raindrops, you said that the writers had taken some inspiration from the stage pays if I remember correctly. And that makes me think of the Utage stageplay D: Total slaughterfest.
      I wonder if they're going full original story mode now or continue to be faithful to SB3 in some ways.

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    4. Mewshuji: At least they will probably reset the story again if they do another anime adaptation after this, but I think that making Yukimura and Sasuke emotionally invested in Kasuga's fate is a good sign she's still ok for now. Poor Yukimura really doesn't need another reason to get angsty so soon after recovering from his worries about Shingen. And yes, I agree about Motochika - that's one advantage of the quick pacing, I guess. It didn't feel as though he was tricked for too long and he acknowledged how foolish he'd been, then took immediate action; he came off rather well. I'm interested to see whether Keiji's group will stay linked to Ieyasu's or continue as a third faction when it's time for the final battle.

      Lumi S: Noo a Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage ending would be way too depressing even for Judge End! At least, that's what I think so long as Hisahide doesn't show up. He seems to be capable of turning anything into a massacre just by getting involved.

      I think we'll see deaths from Tadatsugu and maybe Gyoubu (*sob*) but I'm hoping that the others stay safe (though it's probably inevitable that Tenkai's scheme is going to cost a few Oda-related characters their lives). I guess it's possible that either Ieyasu or Mitsunari will lose badly at Sekigahara as well if they want to be shocking and kill one of their leads.

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    5. There will definitely be character deaths, but yes as long as Matsunaga doesn't suddenly shows up to explode everyone there probably won't be Utage leves of crazy. I hope.
      I kinda don't want Tadatsugu to die now I've started do like him a bit. If Gyoubu dies, Mitsunari will be so fucking sad...and he doesn't need more of that at the moment :(

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  3. Really tired, i'll comment tomorroow (its 2 AM now)

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  4. I was happy to see Kasuga, Keiji and Motochika again, and I especially liked that Kasuga and Sasuke shared a scene, but... I promise this is the last time I'm being a Debbie Downer and an unfairly biased character fan, but whatever happened in this episode I just can't get over how they had Yukimura actually sneaking(!) into Sunpu Castle to kidnap(!!) someone... and then he just looked on as Tenkai was being his usual cruel self, until there was a plot excuse for him to be outraged. (And this is supposed to be after he's pulled himself together and got out of his slump?!) Also, I was kind of waiting for Masamune to at least mention him (since he ended up having no part in Masamune getting out of his own slump), but not even that... I've been trying to enjoy this show for what it is, but at the same time I've been feeling that what they're doing with Yukimura is just too much for quite a while now, and I guess this episode was the straw that broke the camel's back. :/

    I think from now on I'll just stick to reading your summaries - well, unless something truly awesome happens, which is, at this point, rather unlikely. :/ It's really too bad.

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    1. Well Yukimura found himself in really unexpectedly bad company but he did it too free Oichi. Remember, he thought that Ieyasu was being a bad guy.
      Yukimura and Sasuke clearly disapproved of the killing of the guard, it just wasn't time to start something.
      Clearly your feelings as a fan are very different from mine, I have enjoyed Yukimura a lot in JE. Plus he is a total hottie :D

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    2. It's not the story development (although I have issues with that, too)... it's the idea of him, of all people, sneaking around under cover and not confronting something that he doesn't approve of. Being honorable, direct and disliking underhanded things are some of Yukimura's basic character traits, and this was painfully out of character for him. What's next, stabbing someone in the back because he's the enemy and it's no time to find another method, so it's OK? :/ This just further strengthens the impression I'm getting from the show in general, that writer has no grasp on the characters...

      Perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective, but I've been having an increasingly hard time accepting (never mind enjoying) JE's treatment of Yukimura, and, along with my other issues with JE and this episode in particular, I guess this was the last straw. :/

      By the way, I do agree that he looks very nice, unfortunately the nice design is wasted on this animation and character "development"...

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    3. Ah, finally got back from work and the conversation has developed!

      The way I saw it (as a person less emotionally invested in Yukimura ^^) is that he was so worried about Oichi that he was doing his best for what he thought was the greater good. When it cut to him and Sasuke after Tenkai attacked that poor guard, I could almost feel the tension - but he seemed to acknowledge earlier in the episode that he had to work with the team for such a risky mission to be successful.

      I would have liked a more traditional approach with him just bursting through the main gates alone (even if the others ignored him and snuck in anyway...it could have been pretty funny depending on how it played out) but I guess they're trying to show that he's trying to be responsible and work with the army he's allied with. The Yukimura I'm used to is always going with his own feelings (or those of Oyakata-sama, as much as he's able to understand what his mentor would do) but his relationship with Mitsunari isn't a completely equal one any more than Masamune is on equal terms with Ieyasu, and he has to show a slightly different side of himself in order to function in the Western Army.

      I think that Yukimura has a lot of potential in the Western Army now that it's already been fully formed halfway through the series; he's the only person on that side who I'd consider truly honorable without his heart being clouded by blind loyalty (Muneshige) or anger (Mitsunari). Without him there, the whole faction looks like a bunch of villains with some morally ambiguous helpers at this point in the story, while Yukimura alone helps humanise it. His fight with Mitsunari showed that joining was a decision he put a lot of thought into, and if Gyoubu hadn't strung him along by making it about a kidnapped girl then I'm sure he'd have been very difficult to persuade into a castle infiltration. I'd really like to see a scene of him kicking up a fuss at some later sneaky plot to make this part of his personality more clear to new viewers.

      However, I completely understand how you feel if watching him being walked all over, plot-wise, is making you annoyed. I'm probably a cruel person since I don't mind watching Masamune's reputation being stomped on at all ^^;;

      Apologies for the drowsy rambling!

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  5. Where to start from ? 1) Oda's soldiers with swords taken down by Tokugawa's soldiers with guns? Aren't the Oda's soldiers the ones that use fire weapons the most? 2) Mitsunari vs Motochika, loved it, a very passionate moment (like it was back in the game) 3) Finally Mitsunari is questioning Gyobu about his schemes and him if he'll do that again 4) Tadakatsu's flying animations in this episode are so LAME 5) Brainwashed Matsu treated as Tenkai's Ninja ? That's a twist 6) Masamune like to jump off from heights then he disappears with Kojurou to nowhere 7) Ok Yukimura accepted since he did think they were going to rescue Oichi but how is he going to be with the West anymore ? Maybe Gyobu will convince him that Tenkai made it all by himself (its the truth after all) 8) Kasuga saved Tsurihime, good job 9) Tsurihime = Ranmaru to Oichi 10) Fuuma hit and run 11) Oda comeback again ? Let's see 12) Kenshin join the fray to rescue Kasuga ? Hell Yeah

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    1. The amount of points in this summary shows just how much they're packing into each episode, doesn't it? :D

      I think Gyoubu will be able to smooth things over with Yukimura and keep him loyal to Mitsunari, so long as he shows how shocked he is about Tenkai's betrayal. Mitsunari will probably be really angry which will help convince Yukimura that they really were tricked (perhaps they can even convince him that Tenkai was acting on Ieyasu's orders somehow since the Tokugawa had prepared an ambush and 'brainwashed' Motochika to leave? Hmm...).

      Kenshin returning to the main plot again would be awesome!

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  6. So I missed this in the SenBasa lore, but if Mitsuhide is the one that betrayed/killed Oda, why does he want to revive him? Or is that actually wrong, 'cause I still haven't caught up with the animes >.>

    So much stuff went down this episode. Mitsunari, all things considered, isn't an awful person. Very honourable dude all around, just major rage issues. So it was nice to see him end things peacefully (more or less) with Motochika. He's still way too nice to Yoshitsugu, lol. Going by the game, it doesn't seem like he's out to betray Mitsunari and even cares for him in his own way, but he's gonna make sooo many enemies for his boy, yeesh >.>

    But yeah, I hope Mori is ready for the pain. Even after all this time, I could never really find myself liking his character. He's just a okra shaped dick, srsly. But I guess his Sunday incarnation helps to compensate his misdeeds, olol

    I'm glad Yukimura won some brownie points at last, saving Matsu and all. He's my fave character, but I can't help but cringe when I see him stumbling so often. Even Masamune is seen as mature a lot of times, Ieyasu got a major overhaul in his character of course, but Sanada keeps falling. It's so disheartening. It's like they wanna keep him a Shingen-fanboy puppy for his entire life. I know they tried to give him a "struggling" arc in SB3, but then they never went beyond that -_-

    (Ugh, sorry, digressing. Anyways...)

    I kind of want to see Kasuga get saved by Kenshin, but unless Oichi and her shadows are brought to the battle field (and how creepy if she still keeps holding on them bodies the whole time O_O) to be engaged in battle, I dunno...I guess escaping is just as good, although it would be nice of Sasuke and Yukimura tried to go back for her somehow...

    As for Oda, I figured there was a 50/50 chance of him showing up. As omnious as that vision of Ieyasu was covered and crying blood, if there's a bigger threat to make Mistunari have to work with Ieyasu, that whole drama can be avoided for a while. Maybe ignored at the end even (or they can do a surprise counter-attack where Ieyasu kills him without really meaning too, awww...).

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    1. "He's just a okra shaped dick" Lol! Agree that his Sunday self redeems him a bit.
      It was great that Mitsunari actually confronted Otani about doing things behind his back. Shows some sort of honour and thinking skills.

      Spoiler???
      Mitsuhide wants to revive his lord because basically, he wants senpai to notice him (SORRY)
      No one is as awesome and exciting as Nobunaga so he defintely needs to come back and give him attention and fight him again. That's his motivation, seriously.

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    2. Some good points, but I have to stand up for Motonari! I have no idea why but I love his horrible personality to pieces. He reminds me of a cat. Of course, even though I love him anyway, Okra definitely deserves everything he gets.

      The (relatively) kind way that Mitsunari speaks to Gyoubu is scarier than his usual approach of drawing his sword every time someone upsets him. If I was Gyoubu during that scene I'd have been sweating in terror under the bandages ^^;

      I'm sort of curious about what happened to Tsuruhime during the fighting, I forgot about her after Kasuga charged in to the rescue. It would be sweet of Tsuruhime to worry about the mysterious infiltrator who risked her life to save her.

      It's looking as though every single faction (of those which appear in Judge End) has a good reason to keep appearing for a while yet.

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  7. well still no masamune good appearance :( is he really a main character in this show l don't think until now yukimura and Ieyasu appear more than him that make me super sad Unfortunately but l'm going to drop this show because masamune isn't a main character any more :"""(
    also l have many friend who drop this show for the same reason too T___T

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