Review of The Elusive Samurai

Don't be fooled by its whimsy, NigeWaka may turn war into child's play but it does so with a mature brutality which perfectly captures the tone of the times. The samurai had an obsession with death, to a point where they will reject life in order to die. For them, your life might as well be defined entirely by how you die and there is no greater honor than to die honorably in battle. NigeWaka takes this notion and spits on it, choosing to follow the story of a boy who is a master of evading death and how it's life, not death, that makesfor greatness.

Tokiyuki could have easily become another samurai. A boy whose life is surrounded by and defined by death and without much to live for, it's only through his mastery of evasion that he is able to live. Through his journey we watch his worldview change. Initially believing that his purpose is to die with his clan, when push comes to shove he chooses to discard his pride and live instead. While this is partially due to his childish nature and how he enjoys the "game" of evasion, it comes in tandem with the maturity of a true lord that understands that there is no real honor to be found in death. Tokiyuki is a fantastic eye into the world of historical Japan as he begins to usher in updated values to those he leads. He is no great warrior on paper, lacking great swordsmanship or physical prowess (he's 9), but because he places life on the highest echelon he is able to overcome far greater opponents due to this fundamental difference in values.

Just like Tokiyuki this is an anime defined by death. War is a constant and corruption rears it's ugly head at the highest level of power. Beyond it's typically bright colorful aesthetic is a show that isn't afraid to broadcast the brutality of war. Villages are raided, innocent civilians massacred and beheaded. Death doesn't lie around the corner but rather shows itself outright. It isn't necessarily a juxtaposition for it to be broadcast within such normal looking environments because this way of life is what was normal for the time.

The presentation as a whole are this anime's strongest quality. Most clearly this is an extremely beautiful show. Everything is full of color and life, landscapes are well crafted and clearly aim to impress. Action sequences are extremely fluid and equally full of life. Actions are performed with utmost creativity, the way each character moves contains a piece of their identity. Tokiyuki and Genba have this kind of playful energy to their agility as they almost dance their way through the battlefield and evade the clutches of death. Gods of war such as Takauji seem to embody death itself, performing executions as naturally as they breathe. Specialists such as Sadamune have their greatest features (in this case his eyes) exaggerated to the utmost degree to make it seem as though he's channeling the supernatural within this one focal point.

But more so than mere artistic style is the camerawork. The way scenes are composed and operate seem like an accelerated version of real life film. The camera is almost alive, constantly moving about and manipulated by the actions of it's surroundings. Quick cuts and parallelism are used abundantly, a ball falling to the ground is intertwined with a severed head meeting the floor, an action will begin in one location and finish in another. This creates a far more satisfying "live" experience as scenes become more fluid and clever. Paired with the absolutely beautiful presentation and this creates an extremely pleasant and unique viewing experience.

Unfortunately not everything gets to enjoy this same level of polish, most evidently in terms of the characters. Tokiyuki and Takauji work extremely well but the remainder of the cast, both friend and foe, end up suffering. While it makes sense in the grand scheme of things for Tokiyuki's retainers to fundamentally have a kind of master-follower relationship, this does not fall in line with Tokiyuki's character, who is a hyperactive friendly extraverted child. The elusive warriors do have the airs of being friends in arms but because there isn't sufficient time dedicated to developing their relationship this ends up falling short in the back half, especially as the group continues to grow in size. This isn't to say they have poor chemistry or anything, but the characters themselves are lacking. Dedicating some time to Tokiyuki's training would have aided this immensely but that aspect ends up being shelved in favor of missions.

The antagonists are where the show really falls apart, especially when the first impression is Takauji who exerts this commanding aura over all who cross him. In contrast, what we get for recurring villains end up being cartoonish evil, leaning heavily on the cartoonish end, and obnoxious. Sadamune does well in comparison but each consecutive antagonist ends up being less serious than the last which creates a severe case of tonal whiplash, which is another one of this series' glaring issues.

There's a time and place for everything and this NigeWaka generally manages to balance its execution well. However in the final quarter especially the show ends up losing sight of how to properly distinguish between silly moments and brutal combat. One liners and cutaways end up becoming increasingly frequent as you near the end which when paired with the incredibly difficult to take seriously antagonists makes for a very jarring experience when it leads into countless casualties and on screen executions. It's a real shame because they demonstrate that they know how to do this extremely well with Tokiyuki, who finds joy in evading the clutches of death, but ends up dropping the ball with everyone else.

NigeWaka is a supremely entertaining thrill ride featuring masterful visuals and an entertaining cast of characters navigating a world which isn't afraid to kill them at any moment. While it stumbles a little near the end, for the most part it balances the carefree wonder of a child with the mature brutality of war perfectly. A real technical marvel that easily manages to place itself ahead of the pack on all fronts, a truly whimsical experience.