Encounter in the Forest is the 6th episode of the Kyoto Inferno (2nd Season) and 30th episode overall of the Rurouni Kenshin 2023 anime adaptation.
Synopsis[]
Sanosuke is lost in the forest on his way to Kyōto, when he meets a strange corrupted Buddhist monk who has a powerful fisting technique, product of years of training. Sanosuke asks the monk to teach him that technique, and the monk agrees with a condition: Sano must learn the technique in one week, or die. Will Sanosuke be able to learn that powerful technique in just one week? Who is this mysterious monk in the forest?
Summary[]
To be added
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Himura Kenshin
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Myōjin Yahiko
- Takani Megumi
- Saitō Hajime
- Yūkyūzan Anji
- Sagara Sōzō
- Seta Sōjirō
Anime Notes[]
Once again, this episode uses flashback scenes in a peculiar way:
- Sanosuke remembers his fight against Saitō, and later watching the by decapitated head of Sagara Sōzō. Those scenes are shown in black and white.
- Immediately after, Sanosuke remembers his first fight against Kenshin and some moments with the Kenshingumi. Those scenes are almost black and white with a slight amount of color.
Trivia[]
- This episode was titled after Acts 72 and 73, that are parts 1 and 2 of the same story.
- Sanosuke is seen trying to eat a Manjū. It is a traditional Japanese confection, made of a small, dense bun with a sweet filling.
- In japanese culture, the Jizō is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. Jizō is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards.
- In the japanese folklore, the concept of Horiki refers to the holy powers of Buddhist magic wielded by the followers of Mikkyo Buddhism.
- The anime explains the concept of Hakaisō: A depraved monk who has violated the principles of Buddhism.
- In the scene where Sanosuke sees the ghost of Sagara Sozo, he mentions the fact that Sozo does not have feet. According to Japanese folklore ghosts are depicted as semitransparent spirits that don’t have feet and legs.
- There were a couple of references to real locations in Japan:
- Nakasendō (中山道, Central Mountain Route), also called the "Kisokaidō" (木曾街道), was a real route of the era. It was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyōto in Japan. It had a total of 69 stations (staging-posts) between Edo and Kyōto.
- Anji mentions the town of Shimosuwa. It was part of ancient Shinano Province, and was administered as part of the territories of Suwa Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Edo period, Shimosuwa-shuku developed as the 29th station on the 59-station Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyōto.
Gallery[]
To be added