The Elusive Samurai is NOT What it Seems

For the boy to become a hero, he had to lose everything.

Summer is keep moving forward, and we have another impressive-looking show: The Elusive Samurai or Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi, adapted from Weekly Shōnen Jump by CloverWorks.

First Impressions on The Elusive Samurai

It looks amazing. The art style, background, characters—everything is miles ahead of a typical anime. It’s CloverWorks; they know that the first impression is everything. Then, you’ll see their spiraling downfall as they struggle to maintain the same quality. Their recent work, WIND BREAKER, was great all throughout, but their other highly praised works went down the drain, e.g., The Promised Neverland and Wonder Egg Priority. Seeing how much attention is given to minute details is mind-boggling. This is also why I am skeptical that this level of quality will be preserved until the end of the anime.

The next section has minor spoilers. If you have watched the anime, click the arrow to reveal it.

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The first episode adapted the first chapter of the manga, which is 50 pages long. It encapsulated everything the story is about. It’s a lighthearted, fun-loving story—until things go horribly wrong. It nonchalantly shifts into gore and violence. It balances the two aspects effectively, but the tonal whiplash is inconceivable. The world is grim and dirty; the so-called shogun is nothing but a puppet of some greedy war mongrels, and an ally can turn into an enemy in the blink of an eye. In the midst of all this, our protagonist is trying to make the best of it. Despite hating violence, he’s thrown into this hellhole of a world. The opening really fools you if you don’t know what the story is about. The title “The Elusive Samurai” sits perfectly with the premise.

The characters are likable. You have the violence-hating, easy-going, happy-go-lucky protagonist named Houjou Tokiyuki, and his overly creepy mentor, Suwa Yorishige, who really creeped me out in the manga panel. It’s kind of funny now hearing the same voice as the ‘Satoru Gojo‘ in another character who is also cocky. The villain’s introduction might be the best part. Ashikaga Takauji is this violence-loving, intimidating monster; a clear opposite of Houjou. I love how both of them are represented as yin and yang; one is good at killing and the other is good at surviving. This story focuses on their opposition.

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After Thought

I suppose we can wait and see how the anime plays out. There are a lot of colorful characters shown in the OP and ED, and I can’t wait to see what unfolds. The manga started in January 2021. With 16 volumes published, it’s still ongoing. That says a lot about its popularity. This show is definitely a must-watch this season.

The show is being aired weekly on every Saturday on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Thank you for reading ♡. Let us know your thoughts and what’s your watchlist this season. Keep an eye out for more first impressions. Join our Discord server & Telegram chat for the memes and check out our YouTube channel for extra content. Take care y’all 👋.