Subculture Anime Blog

Awesome samurai girl and the indifference master.

Summary:

As Miharu approaches the school in the morning with the recent events in his mind, he again states that he wishes to be indifferent. Kumohira trains with Kouichi in their dojo, but he finds that Miharu is unmotivated as usual when he suggests that it is his turn. Kumohira and Kouichi suddenly sense something above them, as a young girl falls through the roof in search of the Shinrabansho. She attacks Kouichi in the belief that it is him, but Kouichi reveals that it is actually Miharu who holds this. Kumohira reveals that he knows this girl from when he taught in Tokyo, and the girl further explains that she is a Fuma ninja. The girl introduces herself as Shimizu Raimei, then declaring herself a samurai. When Kumohira wonders why Raimei has come to the school, she states that she wanted to see what kind of person the holder of the Shinrabansho was. Despite her challenging attitude, Miharu leaves the dojo with little reaction.

Later during gym class, Raimei observes as Miharu plays basketball. He is seemingly defenseless, but he easily tricks those on the other team to score a goal for his team. In English class, Raimei suspects that Miharu is only acting indifferent because of his position as a ninja. When she throws a few pencils in a violent way at him, however, she finds that he really does have a slow reaction time. After class, Raimei reminds Miharu of his position because of what he holds inside of him. Miharu suspects that Raimei also wants his power, but she quickly denies this. When Raimei asks Kouichi about Miharu’s attitude, he replies that he always acts like that as the “indifference master”. When Raimei asks Kumohira about Miharu during lunch, he explains to her that Miharu is the type that wouldn’t want someone crying over his death. Kumohira assures Raimei that Miharu would never use his hijitsu for himself, but Raimei suspects that he is still vulnerable to greed as a human being. Realizing that the Kairoshu are after Miharu’s power, Raimei states her resolve against them.

Raimei loses Miharu despite marking him later that day. Miharu meanwhile studies a ninja book in the city, when he sees a troubled bird that has fallen out of its nest. Raimei sees Miharu while he puts the bird back in its place, but she is quickly forced to save Miharu when he almost falls off the high platform he is on. Miharu thanks Raimei before walking away, making Raimei realize that Miharu’s heart is still caring despite his wish to be indifferent. Watching Miharu as he picks up his things, Raimei wonders if it is not lonely while always being alone. Raimei decides to ask Miharu what he plans on doing, so he tells her about Kumohira’s suggestion that he study ninja techniques. This gives Raimei the idea of taking him to the Fuma villiage, though she finds that Kumohira is against this later. Raimei finally convinces Kumohira after revealing the various dangers Miharu would be facing, taking the group to the train station. The group prepares to leave after having Miharu change his ridiculous clothing, but they find that Kumohira does not plan to go with them. Kumohira finally admits that he has a fear of riding trains, but Miharu is able to get him on the train with his usual devilish ways.

During the train ride, Raimei attempts to start a conversation to break the silent atmosphere. This leads to Kouichi wondering if Raimei has a boyfriend, since it seems like she would. Raimei thanks Kouichi for his compliments, but she implies that he isn’t her type. The conversation switches to the book Miharu is reading, which has a picture of the author Kotarou Fuuma on it. Kouichi explains that Kotarou writes a lot of the ninja technique books for the Nabari world, and Raimei further explains that few know what his true appearance is like because of his ability in disguise. Kouichi notices that Raimei is well informed about this, but she replies that it is only because of her parents’ connection with the author. The two wonder further about Kotarou, but Miharu suggests that it is fine without knowing. After all, this is what ninja are about. When the conversation switches to the now falling rain, the sleeping Kumohira thinks about his hatred of the rain. Back when Miharu was a child and being carried by his brother Tobari, Miharu wondered where their relatives were. The ninjas after them eventually revealed that Tobari had killed them, suspecting that he also wanted Miharu’s power. However, Tobari denied this while refusing to give up Miharu to anyone.

When the group finally reaches the city, they begin to travel towards the Fuma village via bus. With Kumohira still passed out from the train ride, Raimei wonders about his coming from a foreign country. Kouichi confirms that he did, further revealing that Kumohira was born in Ireland and guided by his grandfather to learn the ninja arts. When the group finally gets off at their stop, Miharu wonders about the entrance to the Fuma villiage. Raimei reminds him that a ninja village wouldn’t be made so noticeably, as she leads them down the steep hill next to the road. Raimei panics when it seems as if there is no barrier around the village, however, and the group is shocked to see Fuma ninja fall to the ground around them.

Preview: The team faces trouble against a new foe.

Impression:

First off, I ended up obtaining three Veltpunch albums through iTunes and other means last week after watching the first episode. I’m really loving the use of such bands in new anime, and I’m sure it’s great exposure for those who would have otherwise gone without a lot of hype. So now I’m doing free promotion AND buying albums? Man, what has happened to the industry! Anyways, this episode was pretty awesome all around. I started sampling the manga last week as well, and this episode followed pretty closely to it despite some minor changes. I loved the introduction of Raimei as suspected, and her voice work is handled well by Fujimura Ayumi (Nene in Touka Gettan, Ayano in Kaze no Stigma). It’s funny, but even when I read manga, I always enjoy the animated counterpart so much more. Well, I guess that’s why I watch so much more anime than I read manga.

This episode was pretty light on action, with the exception of a few scenes, but I did enjoy all the humor that was implemented. There were also all the obvious set ups for character and plot development. I’m really loving the concept of Miharu’s indifference. I’ve found that a lot of people do not understand this type of attitude, but those who can will really appreciate his character even more. There will of course be a lot of development with this throughout the series, so I will probably end up talking more about that later. I’m also interested in the foreshadowing dealing with Kumohira and Miharu’s brother. I’m sure the two names’ similarity isn’t a coincidence. Probably the only thing that is bothering me about this show at the moment is the massive amount of ninja terms that are used. I’ll probably get to the point where this isn’t a problem, but yeesh, I didn’t pick up Japanese to talk like a ninja. Also notable was the funny engrish that Kumohira spoke. …Everyone loves engrish! Next week will be pretty high on action with the introduction of probably one of the most interesting characters, so I again cannot wait to see more.