The final episode is finally here, The Elusive Samurai episode 12, and it closes the curtain with the signature style of the series and the protagonist Hojo Tokiyuki, that is, escaping from peril.
This season’s final war arc, which started in the previous episode, continues and ends in The Elusive Samurai episode 12.
Now, if we focus on the important points in the content of this particular episode, that would be mainly the battle between Wada Yonemaru and Kojiro.
Besides that, the main focus point is Hoshina Yasaburo and his army and citizens successfully escaping from the clutch of Shinano-no-kami Kiyohara.
So, without further delay, let’s get to the point.
Table of Contents
The Most Important Showdown Between Yonemaru And Kojiro
Though in the previous episode, Yonemaru didn’t get much screentime and was soon forgotten as the episode progressed, in The Elusive Samurai episode 12 Yonemaru seems to become someone who gets more focus than the villain who got more focus in the previous episode, Shinano-no-kami Kiyohara.
Now, that doesn’t mean Yonemaru gets to shine on his own, Kojiro is the character who draws out the true version of Yonemaru.
Though Genba’s disguising as Yonemaru did first attract attention, what truly made Yonemaru more prominent and presentable is the battle sequence where he fought with Kojiro.
Now, let’s move on from Yonemaru and see how Kojiro is presented in The Elusive Samurai episode 12.
Kojiro was a kid who would think with his sword first and always focused on one-on-one confrontation.
However, since this episode shows a time that is quite a bit later than that period, he is shown to become a bit mature somehow.
Kojiro now seems to think about the overall situation first, like when on the battlefield, rather than winning against the enemy, he seems to focus on overturning the problem by assisting his struggling comrades.
However, a last episode without a bit of epic battle doesn’t sit right, isn’t that right?
So, there it is the showdown between Yonemaru and Kojiro.
The battle was a classical sword battle on horseback and was shown in a very practical way.
A battle between a full-grown adult and a mare kid comes with all sorts of challenges for the younger one, and that aspect is explored in detail in The Elusive Samurai episode 12.
Showing Kojiro suffering due to his disadvantages in body weight, reach, and experience, this episode does more than enough to make it clear the utter disadvantages that he was facing against Yonemaru.
So, when Yonemaru was caught off-guard by Kojiro’s comrades of Kojiro and dragged down from the horseback and held back forcefully, only then did Kojiro landing a finishing blow on him seemed more plausible and maybe presenting that practicality was the aim of this episode all along.
Besides that, Kojiro acknowledging Yonemaru as a great one and finally leaving Yonemaru’s head intact even after winning and striking him down showed Kojiro’s maturity as he learned to respect and learn from the superior one, despite him being from the enemy camp.
So, in the showdown between Yonemaru and Kojiro, as much as Yonemaru gets the spotlight, Kojiro’s maturity gets a chance to shine more than that.
Focus Of The Battle In The Elusive Samurai Episode 12
The focus of the battle in The Elusive Samurai episode 12 seems to be more about survival and escaping than winning just as it was in the previous episode.
The whole concept of escaping from the clutches of Shinano-no-kami Kiyohara seems to be shown as one hell of a strategic retreat planned by Fubuki.
On the other hand, Tokiyuki shows his perversion of getting excited about facing the life and death situation and escaping that, however, that does work in the favour of the escaping party of Hoshina Yasaburo, and that was more than enough.
Fubuki’s plan of using the smog to delude the enemy into thinking the other side of the river is occupied by Hoshina’s ally army by using only war flags was one ingenious addition to the strategy.
Especially Fubuki’s execution of the plan, which would strike fear into the mind of Shinano-no-kami Kiyohara, was a success, that disrupted the formation of the enemy army, helping Hosina Yasaburo to escape with his party and citizens.
With all these instances, the overall episode gets enough traction, to keep the overall content more entertaining.
Final Thought
In the final moment, Sizuku and Ayako are informed about Tokiyuki and his team’s return from one of the Yorishige’s future visions, so, this last episode, The Elusive Samurai episode 12, doesn’t exclude any of the main characters at its last leg.
Besides, the last scene where the team Elusive Samurai is shown to be riding toward the distance somehow has the vibe of the team’s progress toward the upcoming adventure, namely retaking Kamakura.
So, leaving an appropriate hint and feel of the impending future event and making one hope for another season release, this series, The Elusive Samurai finally closes its curtain.
