The Elusive Samurai Episode 5 Review: A Thief Joins The Squad

The 5th episode of The Elusive Samurai had another new character join the squad. Let us see how this episode turned out.

The Elusive Samurai Episode 4 Recap

This anime is delightfully unhinged, and I love that about it. The episode kicks off with the new emperor, Godaigo, praising Ashikage and bestowing upon him the honour of using a kanji character from his name. Godaigo even offers Ashikage an official position, but Ashikage declines, allowing his not-so-innocent retainers to claim the reward instead.

While this might paint Ashikage as a generous figure, his steward notes that he seems less human than before—a suspicion confirmed when we see his terrifying, demonic eyes that are sure to haunt me. Meanwhile, another character vying for the title of creepiest is Sadamune, the new lord of Shinano. His unsettling personality and grotesque, bulging eyes give him an inhuman aura. Yet, despite his disturbing demeanour, Sadamune is a brilliant archer, which we witness firsthand later in the episode.

Sadamune was the first to betray the Hojo clan, and now he’s tasked with hunting down any surviving members within the Suwa household. With Suwa falling under Shinano’s domain, there’s little they can do to keep Sadamune’s menacing presence at bay. However, Yorishige devises a plan not only to counter Sadamune but also to have him unwittingly train our hero, Tokiyuki.

Tokiyuki, though inept with swords, is a promising archer. He needs to refine his skills without losing his agility and escape abilities. This leads to the controversial dog hunting competition, where Tokiyuki faces his hunter and potential mentor.

The Elusive Samurai Episode 5 Review And Recap

Today’s episode picks up from the part where Tokiyuki fights against Sadamune, that too on horseback. The goal here is simple, Tokiyuki will have to target the dogs or Sadamune himself to get the extra points he needs to win the tournament. But something like this is extremely difficult for him because Sadamune is staying in his blind zone so that he can’t shoot Sadamune directly. Plus, Sadamune is also crashing into Tokiyuki’s horse the moment he’s trying to shoot other dogs. This is a very peculiar situation from which our hero cannot see any way out.

However, Yorishige instructs Tokiyuki to be elusive and attack at the same time. But how can one shoot arrows while running away from the enemy? Well, there is one way and our hero attempts just that. Because of his flexibility and his nature to be evasive all the time, he can shoot from angles no one could. And we get a great example of this when he successfully pulls off the famous Parthian shot.

But Sadamune is not someone who can take the taste of defeat without doing something. Thus, he completely disregards the battle and rushes to the capital to get an emperor’s edict to counter the Suwa clan. Things become especially bad when Sadamune comes back very soon with an unjust order from the emperor. But there is one way everything can be solved, and it involves stealing the emperor’s order.

Hence, our hero and his elusive warriors are set on a journey to locate and appoint the infamous thief Genba. Only he is skilled enough to pull this sort of treachery. But can he be believed as he is someone who is only moved by money and money alone?

Verdict

Today’s episode was again very fascinating as we get to see a new character with a pretty interesting way of thinking. Genba faced a very hard time while growing up this is why he is realistic to a fault. Towards the end, it was still debatable whether he was a friend or a foe, but I believe he will become a retainer of Tokiyuki in the future.

Also Read: The Elusive Samurai Episode 4 Review: Unhinged And Hilarious