It is The Elusive Samurai episode 6, and Kazama Genba, an important character, gets the required attention and the most awaited episode-long appearance.
In the previous episode, he didn’t get his chance to shine since most of the episode passed to set up the instance of his introduction, but in this episode it’s different.
Kazama Genba, a thief by profession or one could say the forefather of Ninja in ancient Japan as shown in The Elusive Samurai episode 6, is portrayed as an eccentric, money-loving, and mischievous boy with an immense trust issue.
That’s why, it is paramount to discuss those characteristic traits of Kazama Genba and many more.
Table of Contents
Unconditional Trust Is Difficult
Since the 5th episode Kazama Genba’s Trust issue has been quite visible and that’s why he only trusts money more than anything since it can’t backstab like living breathing humans.
That trait of Genba is displayed in full bloom in The Elusive Samurai episode 6, since in this episode he decides to betray Tokiyuki before he can backstab him, and the reason for such paranoia is the misfortune his father faced while working for his lord, who paid him in betrayal in exchange of his loyalty.
The injustice his father faced made Genba put up a guard around him and made him more cynical than other kids his age.
This aspect of him is portrayed in the scene where he escapes with the Tokiyuki after completing his infiltration mission in Sadamune’s residence.
Genba and Tokiyuki were being chased by Ichikawa Sakefusa.
Genba decided to leave Tokiyuki behind and escape alone, and this was the instance where Genba’s untrusting nature came to light, as he thought why not betray Tokiyuki before Tokiyuki betrayed him?
On the other hand, it seemed that Tokiyuki never was able to trust Genba entirely, but he had another reason, which he came clean about to Genba also, which is, that he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to trust someone unconditionally.
This conflict of different reasons for the same characteristic features of Genba and Tokiyuki is something that in turn shows the common aspect that could help them to bond over, since Tokiyuki took an oath of never betraying him even if he couldn’t trust Genba.
Genba’s Trust Is Tested In Peril
In The Elusive Samurai episode 6 untrusting Gemba is presented with a test where the bet is his life.
The choice was either to save his own life by discarding Tokiyuki who came that far by trusting him, or survive together with him.
The opponent was Ichikawa Sakefusa, the human radar, capable of detecting his target in darkness by their sound and the bull’s eye marksman Sadamune.
The bizarre animation of Sakefusa’s ear and Sadamune’s building eyeball speaking added to the eeriness of the scenes in the dark forest, letting the viewers feel the vibe of impending danger.
This animation also depicts the disoriented mind of Genba where he loses hope for escaping and decides to betray and abandon Tokiyuki.
However, Tokiyuki’s self-sacrifice sealed the deal for Genba which made Genba turn Sadamune and Sakefusa into the target of his trickery, and the most unexpected twist was that they actually didn’t steal the Imperial Edict but rather burned the room where that was in.
Genba didn’t give in to Tokiyuki’s charisma either, since he demanded a province if Tokiyuki succeeded and money during the process(Tsundere Discovered).
However, from being wary of Tokiyuki, facing danger together, to overcoming that by teaming up, this whole process is proof of Genba’s budding faith in Tokiyuki in the face of peril.
Truthful Genba And Inspired Tokiyuki In The Elusive Samurai Episode 6
After the mission was done in The Elusive Samurai episode 6, it was time for celebration, and here the real Genba came out of the shell by the influence of alcohol.
Well, it was the Muramachi period and there was probably no age restriction for alcohol or maybe that’s what the plot required to show a moment of relief for Genba after his long and arduous childhood.
Mischief of Genba was something refreshing in itself since he was shown as a much more cynical kid than his age up till this point.
On the other hand, Tokiyuki seemed to have found his directive to follow after experiencing much with his teammates/retainers.
Happenings At The Enemy Camp
Although not related to Genba another most important incident in The Elusive Samurai episode 6 is the rebellion of the crown prince against Ashikaga Takauji and how Takauji suppressed that.
There was a bone-chilling instance that portrayed the futility of public opinion, which only followed the victor along with animation which can easily cause disorientation for the viewers, specially when a newborn baby with an umbilical cord is shown.
On the other hand, the funny instance of Sadamune throwing a tantrum for the Imperial Edict in his possession had been destroyed, while all other vassals were trying to take credit for Sadamune’s achievements, which made a mess of official documents, the Emperor said “Troublesome”, which became a lifeguard for the Suwa region!!
The incompetency of the Emperor is shown in a short sequence in a funny manner.
Final Thought
After watching The Elusive Samurai episode 6, although it felt a little bit rushed, this episode didn’t lack excitement or any sort of stimulus, since betrayal, newfound trust, flashy action, thrilling chasing scene, all was present there.
If anything was off, that may be its idiotic ending scene with bottom lowered Genba, but it also had its charm in itself.
Besides all these, the humorous chemistry between Sadamune and Sakefusa was something out of the box.
This episode unlike other episodes didn’t have much humor element and that was justified according to its theme, but humor was seldom placed here and there at just the right time.
So, The Elusive Samurai episode 6 in its all seriousness is a good enough episode and doesn’t fall short compared to the other episodes of The Elusive Samurai.
That’s why it’s okay to wait for the next episode.
