Two Sengoku-era heroes meet for the very first time in the opening episode of samurai action series. After a brief prologue where both men are looked upon as gods, we get back story on how they first met on the battlefield and then their first fight together. What you need to know is that Kanetsugu is the serious one and well respected for his expertise as a general. Keiji, on the other hand, is very eccentric for his time, but he is also an absolute monster in battle. This series will essentially become the story of how the two of them came to be legendary in their time.
I’m going to start with the production levels on this episode. A lot of the effort went into the scene where the two protagonists meet. The sound of Keiji’s biwa along with sakura petals flying through the air created a very interesting mood. The change in tone as Keiji anticipated Kanetsugu’s desire to attack was also well illustrated. However, for the most part, the production levels were pretty poor. Keiji and Kanetsugu seemed to vary in height from anywhere from 6 feet to 12 feet tall while their necks were as thick as the waste of one of the prostitutes they were sitting in front of. In fact, it sort of felt like I was watching Sengoku Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure at times.
That’s where the real problem with this first episode was. For all the eccentricity it was trying to portray in Keiji’s character, it never felt all that interesting. Even if he’s able to use a Stand, it didn’t do a good enough job at keeping me awake. It actually took 2 attempts to watch this episode because I checked out 6 minutes in the first time. Kanetsugu, meanwhile, was just a passenger in the opening installment. Occasionally riding on his 12 foot tall horse, but more generally providing exposition.
Reasons to Keep Watching
- A non-genderbent Sengoku-era story
- Has a JJBA-lite feel
- The protagonists feel larger than life at times
Reasons to Drop
- The amount of money that went into the production looks minimal
- Lots of nothing happening
- Feels like it took twice as long to watch as it actually did.
My Verdict: Really too uninteresting for me to continue watching. I know I dropped JJBA really early when that aired, but the first episode there had me slightly emotionally involved. This one just washed over me and not in a good way.
Lower Mid-Table 