Sanosuke's Betrayal: The Fateful Reunion (左之助の裏切り!? 運命の再会 Sanosuke no Uragiri!? Unmei no Saikai) is the 23rd episode of the Rurouni Kenshin anime.
Synopsis[]
During a small visit to the Akabeko, Sanosuke kindly accepts an errand for Tae and Tsubame, to get them the latest popular nishiki-e prints during their busy day. To Sano's surprise, he discovers prints of his late mentor Sagara Sōzō and that makes Sanosuke recognize the artist's name as an old friend. Who is the artist that makes the nishiki-e prints nowadays? What is this person's motives in this new Meiji era?
Plot[]
Ten years ago, during the fringes of the Bakumatsu Revolution and the establishment of the Meiji, Shindō Tatewaki arrives on horseback to rendezvous with Sagara of the Sekihōtai. Tatewaki applauds the Sekihōtai for a mission well done, and rewards them with execution by firing squad. Among them on that night of treachery, alongside his leader and mentor, a young Sanosuke watches in horror as his comrades are murdered before him.
In a dim room, an elderly gentleman grins. Before him, in uniform, a squad of warriors await his next move. Dropping a picture of Sagara onto the floor, the man drives his sword into it; it is now time for the Sekihōtai to arise again, after ten long years.
Tsubame trying to tell Sanosuke to get her a nishiki-e painting
At the Akabeko, Tae asks Sanosuke, who is dining as usual with his friends, if he can buy her a color woodblock print, since he seems to have a lot of free time. Sanosuke figures he might as well do it being a nice guy and all. The one Tae wants is called Iba Hachiro by Tsukioka Tsunan. Before Sanosuke leaves, Tsubame stops him, but shyly tells him that she forgot what she was going to say. Sanosuke understands and leaves, promising to return with two Iba Hachiro. The stand that sells the paintings is not too far away, and there, Sanosuke meets up with Kenshin and Kaoru. After telling the nosey two what he's doing for Tae and Tsubame, Sanosuke asks Kaoru for a loan. Kaoru grumbles, demanding that she get paid back for a change. Once Sanosuke purchases the two paintings, he browses through the others and finds one with his boss, Sagara, on it. Immediately, Sanosuke asks the stand owner where Tsunan lives. The owner tells the ex-gangster directions, but says Tsunan doesn't like to be bothered. Of course, Sanosuke doesn't care as he walks off.
Tsunan and Sanosuke as kids with the Sekihōtai
Sanosuke makes his way to the next town and knocks on the door of Tsukioka Tsunan. There is no answer until Sanosuke calls the artist by his real name, Tsukioka Katsuhiro. It's been a long time since the two have seen each other, former Sekihōtai members. Both Sanosuke and Katsu spend time together reminiscing of the past over cups of sake. Katsuhiro suddenly brings up that it's been ten years since Sagara and the Sekihōtai were assassinated. Ever since then, he's been planning to take revenge on the government to set up a new one were there would be true peace like Sagara wanted. To accomplish this plan, Katsuhiro will use bombs, which he shows off to Sanosuke. Sanosuke tries to talk some sense into his friend, but Katsu refuses to listen. He tells Sanosuke that he doesn't need to force joining the revolution upon himself if he doesn't want to.
Robberies with the usage of bombs have been occurring lately. The painting of Sagara that Katsu painted is always left behind the scene, and the men that are suspected are remaining members of the Sekihōtai. When Sanosuke hears of the news, he goes to Katsu's place, only to find no one's home and the bombs missing. Sanosuke goes around town, asking nearly everyone if they've seen Tsukioka. He doesn't get an answer until two of his friends report that someone in a gambling hall on the east side is boasting that he's got a lot of money with the Sekihōtai. Evening falls upon Tokyo and Sanosuke waits until the man nicknamed red-nosed Shinzo is through gambling. Shinzo walks the streets by himself to an unknown destination until he is jumped by Sanosuke, demanding to know everything about the new, imposter Sekihōtai.
Tsunan Tsukioka appears to support Sanosuke in the fight
Shinzo leads Sanosuke to a place where the "Sekihōtai" discuss their plans. The true identity of the imposters is the Shiranui Yakuza lead by the man who tricked the Sekihōtai, Shindō Tatewaki. Sanosuke makes his presence known and takes care of the imposters with his fists outside. A couple of minutes into the fight and Katsu joins to wipe out the imposters. Once the true former Sekihōtai members are victorious, all that is left is Tatewaki, but he wields a gun. Kenshin watches on, Sakabatō ready, as Sanosuke charges for the high ranking police official. Tatewaki pulls the trigger, firing a bullet, but quickly, Katsu pushes Sanosuke away, taking the hit to his shoulder. In rage, Sanosuke punches Tatewaki directly in the gut, knocking him out, and tosses him into the pile of laid out bodies. The police whistle is heard, signaling that they're nearby. As fast as they took care of the "Sekihōtai", Sanosuke and Katsu leave the scene.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Shindō Tatewaki
- Sagara Sōzō
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Sekihara Tae
- Sanjō Tsubame
- Himura Kenshin
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Tsukioka Tsunan
- Shuuji
Anime Notes[]
- There are some differences in the events of this episode between the anime and the manga: In the manga an aiging Shindō Tatewaki does not appear.
- Some instrumental parts of the song "2 Of a Kind!", which is an image song of Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani, is heard at the scene where Sanosuke is asking his friends if they've seen Tsukioka, and also in the fight scene against the fake Sekihōtai.
Trivia[]
- The Nishiki-e is a type of Japanese multi-coloured woodblock printing, a technique used primarily in ukiyo-e. It is created by carving a separate woodblock for every colour, and using them in a stepwise fashion.
- Some of the Nishiki-e paintings showing on the stand where Sanosuke is trying to buy the Iba Hachiro one are real historical paintings:
- "Beauty Looking Back" - Painted by Hishikawa Moronobu in the late 17th century.
- "Otani Oniji III" - Painted by Tōshūsai Sharaku in 1794.
- "Comb" - Painted by Utamaro in 1798.
- Kenshin asks if Sanosuke is interested in "Shunga" erotic printings: it was a popular genre of ukiyo-e, and most of the ukiyo-e painters also produced shunga as well.
- This episode uses the "Postcard Memory" scene effect:
- It is a freeze-frame shot at the end of a scene where a character movements come to a stop and turn into a still image full of line shades and brightly colored.
- Also called "Dezaki Effect" (named after anime director Ozamu Dezaki) it is used to accentuate humor, sadness, romance, or action.
Gallery[]
