The Oniwabanshu Strike is the 9th episode of the Rurouni Kenshin 2023 anime adaptation.
Synopsis[]
The Oniwabanshū have arrived at the Kamiya Dōjō, so Hyottoko and Sanosuke fight while Beshimi watches from atop a tree. Meanwhile, Yahiko tries to help somehow on the battlefield. Sanosuke manages to defeat Hyottoko after outsmarting his fire-breathing technique. When Beshimi targets Megumi, what can the fighters do to save her? Is Kenshin going to stop the Oniwabanshū before more people get hurt?
Summary[]
Hyottoko appears out of nowhere and breaks through the Kamiya Dōjō's surrounding wall. He confirms that he is among the Oniwabanshū and commands the group to return Megumi. Sanosuke tells Kenshin to leave Hyottoko to him, although Kenshin advises him to be weary because the opponents are members of the Oniwabanshū. Sanosuke says that no matter the challenge, he refuses to back down. He then punishes Hyottoko straight in the gut, but the latter laughs grabs Sano, and breathes fire on him. Sano barely manages to escape. Hyottoko is impressed but says that he won't be able to survive a second round. Beshimi was watching the encounter nearby.
Kenshin then jumps into the fight, saying that Hyottoko's attack is merely a childish trick that won't affect him in the least. This angers Hyottoko, who attacks Kenshin, but Kenshin blocks off the attack by slashing his sword through the flames, preventing them from touching him. Meanwhile, Megumi, who sees the battle, attempts to make her escape, but is caught by Kaoru, who tells her how shameful her action is, i.e., abandoning those protecting her. Megumi says that the Oniwabanshū will have no mercy on even women and children and that Kaoru should save her own life while she has the change. Kaoru refuses, saying that no matter who the enemy is, Kenshin will always keep his promise to protect her. On the battlefield, Hyottoko's flame runs out, and Kenshin remains unaffected by it, to the former's surprise.
Sanosuke then returns, saying that this is his battle and he wants to battle Hyottoko himself without help. Hyottoko, meanwhile, has drank a gallon of oil and is once again able to use his fire technique. Sano charges straight towards him. Kenshin notes that a straightforward attack is much wiser than backing away since this reduces the risk of being affected by the flame. Sanosuke grabs Hyottoko’s gas bag from his mouth and takes it off. Hyottoko attempts to punch Sanosuke, but he finishes off Hyottoko with a hard kick right to the face.
Megumi is stunned by Kenshin and Sano's power and asks who they are. Kaoru says that they are her close comrades. Yahiko says he is also among them. Beshimi, who is nearby, is angered by Hyottoko's defeat and decides to finish off Megumi right there for causing him all that trouble, regardless of Kanryū's orders to bring her back alive. As he fires his poison dart toward Megumi, Kenshin notices it, and Yahiko quickly jumps in the way, causing him to be struck on the arm. Kaoru tends to him, but he says that it is nothing he can't handle before suddenly collapsing on her.
Beshimi is angered that he missed his chance, but comes out into the open, saying that the kid (i.e., Yahiko) had it coming for interfering and that he'll be dead within one hour. He then says he'll kill them all immediately, starting with the swordsman (i.e., Kenshin). Kenshin then attacks him from above, knocking him out, but to Kenshin's surprise, Beshimi’s body is changed with a simple log while falling to the ground. Out of nowhere, Han'nya appears in front of Kenshin, who demands he give Kenshin an antidote for Yahiko’s poison. Han'nya refuses, so Kenshin attacks him, but Han'nya protects himself with hidden gauntlets on his wrists. He then punches Kenshin (who falls to the ground) and grabs the unconscious Hyottoko and Beshimi. Finally, Han'nya escapes after telling Kenshin that he's surprised by his skills and is looking forward to challenging him soon. Kenshin realizes that Han'nya, too, is a very skilled warrior.
Afterward, Kenshin and Kaoru check on Yahiko, and Kenshin states that he has experience treating cuts and bruises but not poisoning. Before Kaoru can suck the poison out of Yahiko's arm, she's stopped by Megumi, who admonishes her from sucking poison out of the wound. She details doing that causes infections and that an ordinary person cannot treat such an ailment. She analyzes Yahiko's conditions and identifies the poison, thereby ordering Kenshin and the others to bring her specific ingredients necessary to neutralize the poison. She then picks up Yahiko, bringing him back inside the Dōjō while Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Kaoru run to buy the medicine Megumi ordered.
Sometime later that night, Yahiko recovers under Doctor Gensai's watch, who tended to Yahiko at this time. The doctor tells the two that Yahiko will fully recover after three to four days. Kaoru thanks the Doctor, who says that it was the written instructions (from Megumi) telling them how to prepare the antidote that helped him. He then tells everyone that he recognizes the name of Megumi from the famous Takani family of doctors. He says that Megumi's family disappeared in the war and that Megumi became the assistant of a famous doctor three years ago.
Megumi tries to leave the Kamiya Dōjō, but is stopped by Kenshin, who asks her what she is doing. Megumi says she's planning to go, but Kenshin answers that there is nobody in Aizu waiting for her. Megumi breaks down and explains that, at the beginning, she did not know the doctor she was working with was involved in the drug business. Megumi explains that some time ago, Kanryū accidentally killed the doctor, so Megumi is now the only person who knows the procedure to fabricate the Spider's Web. Kanryū will never stop chasing her. Kenshin says some comforting words to Megumi, and then Kaoru, Oguni Gensai, and Sanosuke join to make her feel a little better.
Back in Takeda Kanryū's mansion, Han'nya informs Aoshi that Beshimi and Hyottoko were defeated by the swordsman they fought at the Dōjō, so they will need some time to recover. Han'nya also says that he himself won’t be able to fight because when he confronts Kenshin and punches him, Kenshin hits Han'nya in the liver, so he won’t be able to fight for about three days. Still, he is capable of doing some spying activities meanwhile. Aoshi is surprised, knowing that the swordsman must have the extraordinary skill to have been able to pull off something like that, and so orders Han'nya to find out who he is. He thinks to himself that the swordsman may, in fact, be the legendary Hitokiri, Himura Battōsai, since he has red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Himura Kenshin
- Hyottoko
- Myōjin Yahiko
- Takani Megumi
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Beshimi
- Han'nya
- Oguni Gensai
- Shinomori Aoshi
Anime Notes[]
- There is a difference between the anime and the manga regarding the events of this episode:
- In the original manga, When Kenshin defends against Hyottoko's Fire Breath, he does a spinning shield maneuver until Hyottoko runs out of oil. This contrasts with the anime where Kenshin hacks and slashes the fire.
Trivia[]
- The episode was titled after the original of Act 17.
- It is revealed that Megumi is from Aizu, a region located in today's Fukushima prefecture in the northeast of the Tōhoku region of Honshu
- This is the third series episode with a post-credits scene featuring Takeda Kanryū claiming his awaiting prize from an arriving ship at Tokyo Bay.
- This is the first episode in the series that includes several English-spoken sentences (the ship captain talking to Kanryū in the post-credits scene).
Gallery[]
To be added