Savage Han'nya - Honorable Shikijo is the 11th episode of the Rurouni Kenshin 2023 anime adaptation.
Synopsis[]
Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko scramble to rescue Megumi from the Kanryū residence. They are confronted by Han'nya, a spy of the Oniwabanshū. He trifles Kenshin with his martial arts skills and his "Arm-extension Spell", but Kenshin successfully conquers him when he uncovers the secret of the technique during the fight. After that, Sanosuke has to fight with another member of the Oniwabanshū named Shikijō while Kenshin and Yahiko go on. Is Sanosuke going to be able to defeat such a great opponent? How strong is Shinomori Aoshi, who is waiting for Kenshin at the Ballroom Hall?
Summary[]
In the entrance of the mansion, Kenshin offers Han'nya a chance to step aside and the latter refuses, saying that the Okashira's orders are absolute. He enters a Kenpo stance and Kenshin apologizes to him, saying that he cannot hold back because time is valuable. Han'nya says likewise and the battle between the two commences. Han'nya charges straight towards Kenshin landing a hard punch directly on his face, followed with a spinning back fist. He proceeds to attack Kenshin, while he is on the ground, but Kenshin dodges just in time.
Yahiko asks Kenshin why he's on the losing end of the battle and Kenshin says that despite being able to predict Han'nya's moves, his arms stretched right before his eyes. Han'nya tells him that if he can't see through his technique, he won't last one minute against the Okashira. He says that the moment the two faced each other, Kenshin was under his spell. Meanwhile up in the second floor, Aoshi senses that the battle has begun.
Kenshin enters the Shin-ken stance, a defensive stance that allows the user to quickly respond to an opponent's attacks, but makes it difficult to perform offensive maneuvers. Han'nya, recognizing the stance, asks if his opponent has already chosen the path of a coward, saying that such a man does not deserve to battle the Okashira and that he will die by his hands. Han'nya once again charges towards Kenshin, but this time, Kenshin dodges the attack just in time and hits his opponent in the face, with the sheath of his sword, causing his mask to fall off.
Kenshin says that Han'nya's spell was simply the stripes on his arms, which created an optical illusion, causing his arms to appear thicker than they actually were, which caused Kenshin to misjudge the distance between the two earlier on. Han'nya realizes that the purpose of Kenshin's Shin-ken stance was to make it easier to calculate the distance, thus allowing him to see through the illusions.
Han'nya's mask then falls off, revealing a completely disfigured face. He says that he comes from a really poor town in the countryside and that he has been through many hell-like situations and has fought many battles, believing in the Okashira. He vows that for the sake of the Oniwabanshū, he will win the battle, pulling out metal blades from his hands. Kenshin then asks him what pride he has in holding Megumi hostage. Han'nya tells him to shut up and charges straight towards him. The two fight and Kenshin seals the battle with a forward slash that knocks Han'nya out, but suffers a slight cut on the shoulder during the exchange. Before passing out, however, Han'nya says that Kenshin stands no match for Aoshi.
The group then heads towards Megumi and Sano looks at Han'nya for a second, thinking to himself how powerful the commander of skilled warriors like Han'nya, Beshimi and Hyottoko must be. On the way towards Aoshi, the group meets with another member of the Oniwabanshū named Shikijō, who is using a chain and an iron ball. Kenshin dodges his attach, but when Shikijō tries to attack again Sanosuke catches the iron ball and declares he will fight Shikijō. Kenshin grabs Yahiko and they pass through Shikijō, so only Sanosuke stays to fight him.
Shikijō lets de iron ball on the floor by freeing the chain, and uses it to imprison Sanosuke. After one hit Sanosuke destroys the chain by brute force, and both of them start fighting with their bare hands. Shikijō seems to have an advantage, and even when Sanosuke dodges some hits, Shikijō does a headbutt directly to Sanosuke's skull. He explains that he has been a part of the Oniwabanshū since years ago, and that in the Bakumatsu he used to be a member of the ishin shishi and sneaked inside Edo's castle, but he was defeated by a 13-year-old Aoshi, who was surprised by his abilities and offered him the chance to join the Oniwabanshū and use their performance-enhancing drugs.
The fight continues and Shikijō also expresses admiration for Sanosuke's abilities and offers him as well a chance to join the Oniwabanshū and use their performance-enhancing drugs so he can become stronger, perhaps even stronger than Shikijō himself. Sanosuke declines and tells him that Kenshin is another kind of leader who fights for the common person in this new era, and that people like himself surround Kenshin in hopes for a better future in the Meiji era. He says that Shikijō should meet Kenshin in order to understand the true nature of leadership and goals.
After Shikijō does headbutts directly to Sanosuke's skull, Sanosuke responds by crushing Shikijō's hands, headbutting himself into Shikijō and then finishing him off with a punch to the forehead. After knocking Shikijō out, Sanosuke tries to go up the stairs, but faints in exhaustion to his own wounds in battle. Meanwhile Kenshin and Yahiko who are already at the second floor open the door to the Ball Room. Standing in front of them is Aoshi. Kenshin asks him where Kanryu and Megumi are and Aoshi tells him to ask him with his Sakabatō, while he responds with his own weapon, a short looking blade.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Han'nya
- Himura Kenshin
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Myōjin Yahiko
- Shinomori Aoshi
- Takani Megumi
- Takeda Kanryū
- Shikijō
- Kamiya Kaoru (In Sanosuke's Thoughts)
- Sagara Sōzō (In Sanosuke's Thoughts)
Anime Notes[]
- There are several differences between the anime and the manga regarding the events of this episode:
- The original manga uses comic relief in the scene when Yahiko scolds Kenshin for letting Han'nya hit him a couple of times, with Yahiko humorously attacking Kenshin. The anime does not implement that moment of comic relief and plays the scene more seriously.
- In the anime, there is a scene of Kanryū going to the Observatory room in the third floor and talking to Megumi through the door in a vain attempt to to convince her to keep working for him (to which she refuses). This scene is not present in the original manga.
- The second half of the Sagara Sanosuke versus Shikijō encounter is different from the original manga and the first anime adaptation.
Trivia[]
- The episode was titled after the original of Act 24.
Gallery[]
