The Elusive Samurai episode 8 shows a situation of turmoil in which Hojo Tokiyuki, for the first time in his life, joins a full-blown war with his confidantes.
All the retainers of Tokiyuki and the new teammate Fubuki, join in this battle against Shokan and his minions, making this an eventful episode.
From the level-headed strategy of Fubuki to the bravery of Tokiyuki, there are many things, worthy of taking note of, so without further delay, let’s start the discussion.
Table of Contents
Breaking Out Of Own Shell Of Weakness
Hojo Tokiyuki had already realized his weakness in the previous episode of The Elusive Samurai after watching Kojiro and Ayako fight Fubuki with more power than they used while training with him, and it is shown in The Elusive Samurai episode 8 that Tokiyuki decides to overcome that weakness.
However, if this had happened 6 months before, then it would have been pretty obvious that Tokiyuki would have given up further progression given his pessimistic nature, however, the difference is, that he has grown quite a lot in the past half a year and now is quite ready to face harder challenges.
So when Tokiyuki was seen requesting a swordsmanship lesson from Fubuki in The Elusive Samurai episode 8, it kind of proved his newfound conviction and the integrity he maintained.
Otherwise, there were no more suitable scenes to show this subtle change that happened in Tokiyuki.
Oh! There is one more scene that shows his change in mentality and proves his resoluteness, that is when he alone faced Shokan in a closed hut.
Above everything, the decision Tokiyuki made to join in the war albeit inexperienced by trusting Fubuki’s decision proves his action of breaking out of his own weaker shell of the past while maintaining the conviction to trust his confidants unconditionally.
Nicely Choreographed War Scene
The war against Shokan and his goons which takes place in The Elusive Samurai episode 8 is laid out in quite an organized way, without any discrepancy.
From the unwavering march of Shokan’s army to the Elusive Samurai team’s joint effort with the Suwa Archer team, everything shows in a way, how a small-scale war happens.
The Elusive Samurai episode 8, spares no effort in showing the minimum grotesque cruelty of the war and also doesn’t lack in the department of praising the heroes with enough screentime that doesn’t offset the balance.
All the strategies that were displayed in The Elusive Samurai episode 8 are ingenious, especially the strategy, where Fubuki uses the frozen river to stop the enemies on the track and uses a pincer attack of arrows from behind the mountain.
The undaunting Shokan’s quick-wittedness and ruthlessness in sacrificing his ally force to build a path across the frozen river is an extraordinary element, that added more shade to his character.
After Shokan’s team overcomes the Suwa Archers with heavy causality, they engage Kojiro, Ayako, and Fubuki, and this transition is so smooth that it doesn’t feel like two different events at all rather it feels like a single flowing sequence.
From the beginning of Suwa Archer’s engagement with the Shokan squad to Shokan’s engagement with Tokiyuki, the whole process feels like a relay race in which Tokiyuki possesses the baton as the last runner.
All in all, the whole war sequence and its atmosphere are nicely presented in The Elusive Samurai episode 8, which boasts a good choreography.
Shokan’s Personality As Shown In The Elusive Samurai Episode 8
One of the most important characters in The Elusive Samurai episode 8 is the enemy commander Shokan.
So it is quite natural to discuss him as shown in this episode.
In short, Shokan is perverse in nature and seeks pleasure in the misfortune of children, he is money-hungry, battle junky, and usurper by nature.
In that time period, it was natural for the strong to prey on the weak, however, Shokan’s character is portrayed as one who feels preying on the weak as his duty and calling.
The way Shokan always measures each and every kid’s value by the money, he lays eyes on, brings out the required filthiness that shapes his character, and what more is the expression shown on Shokan’s face when he came clean about his preference couldn’t be more evident.
His ruthlessness in casting away his ally to active victory and fearlessness in front of eminent death make him one hard-boiled man.
Merciful Killing Art
Up until now in The Elusive Samurai, Hojo Tokiyuki is shown to be an expert in escaping technique, his fighting skills are severely lacking, though in episode 2 he gets to land a lucky killing blow on his enemy, but that doesn’t mean he is competent enough to kill someone.
That’s why in The Elusive Samurai episode 8 when Tokiyuki was in desperate need of learning a means of at least protecting his own life, Tokiyuki was bestowed a unique skill of swordsmanship by Fubuki, named Demon-Heart Buddha Blade.
According to Fubuki, this is quite contradictory sword skill which is, on one hand, some of the merciful sword techniques and on the other hand the most cruel one among all of the sword killing art.
This skill actually shines at the very end of The Elusive Samurai episode 8, where Tokiyuki faces Shokan, though in this episode the entirety of this sword skill is not shown, most probably the next episode is the one where we will get to see it’s splendor.
Final Thought
After watching The Elusive Samurai episode 8, it is absolutely clear that as the first episode with proper war content in this series, this could be called a successful one, since it has the right amount of tension, twist, and cruelty.
So, in other words, this episode could be the most well-balanced episode among all the other ones aired previously, which makes the next episode more anticipating.
