Onimusha Ending Explained: The animated version of Onimusha was a fun and entertaining ride for its viewers. But what happened in the end? Read ahead to find out. This new Netflix series is based on the video game franchise of the same name, developed and published by Capcom.
The inspiration behind creating Oimusha came from the 1996 video game Resident Evil by Yoshiki Okamoto. He wanted to recreate its elements and base his story on the Japanese Sengoku period.
This animated series is produced by Sublimation and directed by Shin’ya Sugai, along with Takashi Miike as the chief director. All the characters are voiced by a group of star-studded cast members, including Akio Ôtsuka as Musashi Miyamoto, Toshihiko Seki as Kojiro Sasaki, and others.
Onimusha Plot
The plot centres around Musashi Miyamoto, a legendary samurai called upon to go to a village and kill Iemon, a defector of a feudal lord. Musashi takes the Oni gauntlet with him along with Kaizen, a Buddhist monk and meets his other peers to journey towards his mission.
Along the journey, he defeats many Genma monsters who infected the village and uncovers the mysterious disappearances of the villagers. Musashi also meets a young girl, Sayo, who leads him to the truth about the whole situation.
What was the motive behind Iemon’s evil acts?
From the beginning, we hear how Iemon has taken over a village and formed his own little base without informing his Lord and betraying him in the process. Later, we see that he is doing all this because of a gold mine that has been found in the village and plans to have the gold to himself.
He also turns the villagers into monsters called Genma and even resurrects dead fighters from the past who can become a part of his army. But why is he doing that?
From a young age, Iemon was confused about whether he wanted to become a samurai or not. Even after becoming a pupil under Kensuke Matsui and excelling in all his training, Iemon was not sure about which path he would take.
But when his master pressures him into saying his true intentions and graduates him towards adulthood, Iemon expresses his dark desires. According to him, all the samurais of Japan should be killed because they lack spine. They are not as fearsome or responsible as they used to be and have only become lap dogs of the Shogunate. They do not care about the impending dangers Japan faces from foreign nations, and hence, Iemon wishes to create an army of samurais that are wolves and not sheep. So, when he finds out about the gold mine, he is determined to have it for himself.
Who was Kojiro Sasaki?
Kojiro Sasaki was a renowned historical figure who was also a famous samurai In the Edo period of Japan. He was considered the greatest rival of Musashi and was defeated and killed by him in a battle.
Iemon resurrects him with mysterious powers and turns him into a Genma so that he can have Kojiro in his army of skilled fighters. In the last battle, Iemon presents Kojiro in front of Musashi so that Kojiro can defeat him and make him join Iemon.
But things do not go as planned, and Iemon fails to control the force that Kojiro is, and things go quite reversely for Iemon. He most certainly made a mistake when he decided to make Kojiro his ally.
Also Read: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 15 Review: One Family Reunites, While Another Crumbles
Who defeated Iemon?
Generally, it should be villain versus hero, and that is what I thought would happen when I was watching the series. However, we did not see Iemon cross hands with Musashi because Kojiro Sasaki did not leave any hands for him to use.
When Iemon orders Kojiro to decapitate Musashi so that Iemon can force him to become a Genma, Kojiro does the opposite and cuts both Iemon’s legs and hands to make him stop his nonsense.
Then we realise that Kojiro was never into whatever plan Iemon was thinking of. He didn’t care about the big picture or about ruling the world and just wanted to fight like a man against his old enemy, Musashi.
After such an encounter, Iemon tries to manipulate Sahei into helping him become a Genma, but that strategy fails as well. Sahei brutally suffocates him and poisons him to death.
Also Read: Onimusha Review: Unsheathing the Gore and Glory of Musashi’s Quest