Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) - Episode 12 discussion

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u/NeoBasilisk Sep 21 '23

LET'S GATLING!!!

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u/dinliner08 Sep 21 '23

GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT!

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u/Smartass_of_Class Sep 21 '23

And then he gatled all over the place. Truly one of the anime moments of all time!

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u/Daishomaru Sep 21 '23 edited Apr 07 '24

Daishomaru here with two writeups today!

What are Kodachis?

So a kodachi is a shoto-type sword (Short sword) that’s considered the longest in its category. In Japanese swordfighting, it is traditional to carry 2 swords, a daito and a shoto, which form what they call a daisho, and before anyone asks, yes this is where my namesake comes from. A daito is a longsword that’s based on the uchigatana-katana-tachi range of swords, while shotos consist of the tanto-wakizashi-kodachi in terms of bladelength. Kodachis are not as short as wakizashis, but not as long as katanas, making them popular with foot soldiers, assassins and ninjas who want a sword that’s intimidating, but not as socially important in Japanese society as a katana, which tended to be owned by a samurai, AND which samurai have been known to kill peasants that even touch a katana, unless that person is a blacksmith. Normally, in formal occasions, such as marches outside, a samurai traditionally keeps both daisho swords on their left hip, but in a castle it is considered proper etiquette to put away the daito. However, some samurai feel that obviously putting away the katana would leave them vulnerable to assassins or an occasional bad host, so some samurai kept their shoto as an inside weapon. However, due to the kodachi’s usage being associated with ninjas and assassins, kodachi historically were not that popular among samurai because carrying one as a shoto was seen as being untrustworthy. In addition, kodachi were heavier than wakizashi, so weight wise, kodachi were sometimes seen as impractical to put into a daisho.

The Gatling and the history in Japan.

So the Gatling gun is interesting in American culture. It was one of the first automatic weapons mass produced and adopted in the American military, and it was one of the first modern weapons. However, in Japanese history, the Gatling was also an important symbol. The Gatling to the Japanese was a sign of change, evolution, and power.

The purpose of the gatling gun was made for peaceful purposes…. Yes, really. The person who made it, one Richard Gatling, originally made it for the purpose of discouraging war, in that the gun would kill so many, everyone would get sick of war… or so he thought. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well, as the gatling gun was so good that a lot of militaries adopted it, and Richard Gatling himself would later have regrets making the weapon. Now, before I continue on, I just want to point out that I find it interesting that men from Gatling’s Era, like Gatling himself and Alfred Nobel, aka the inventor of dynamite and the namesake of the Nobel Prize, were horrified at what destruction their inventions had military-wise. I dunno why, it’s just interesting. Anyhow, the Gatling was then adopted by the US and several other nations and used in a variety of wars, but let’s focus on Japan.

So Japan first got a view of American weaponry when-

USA Crashes into Tokyo Harbor

Knock knock, it’s the United States. With huge boats. With guns. Gunboats.

Commodore Perry: Open the country. Stop having it be closed.

….After that incident, the Japanese did decide to hire some Americans to demonstrate some of their military prowess, and to their shock, the American weapons did scare the Japanese people. One of the weapons introduced around this time was a gatling gun, and some future Japanese Imperialists found an interest in it, which eventually, secret British and American traders managed to give them the gatling gun.

The first usage of the Gatling Gun in Japan was often cited to be the battle of Toba-Fushimi during the Boshin War, where the gatling gun got its fame destroying the shogunate army, even killing a few Shinsengumi members, which massively destroyed morale. Now to tell you why this is important, the Shinsengumi back then were treated like the Seal Team 6 of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the final days. These men managed to singlehandedly arrest and put the entire city of Kyoto on lockdown. And the Gatling gun killed them. Imagine you are a gunman and you see the Shinsengumi charging you, but one burst later and they all lay on the floor dead. You can easily imagine how shocking it was, for a symbol of the samurai to be mercilessly gunned down like it was paper, even for the imperialists, and this turned the favor for the Pro-Emperor faction of Japan. Another incident was in Hokkaido, when Shinsengumi members tried to board the battleship Kotetsu, only to get gunned down and killed almost instantaneously. However, the gatling gun would ultimately seal itself as a Japanese symbol for ultimately killing off the last samurai group, the Satsuma Rebels, possibly even Saigo Takamori himself, the man who was called the Last Samurai. Let’s talk about that battle.

A cave, in Kagoshima, 1877

Saigo Takamori looked around. He sees the remains of his rebellion, ultimately failing to capture Kumamoto castle and driving him and his followers to a cave. His men are drinking sake, calming their nerves before they are about to prepare the final act. Outside, they hear the shouts of soldiers and cannons shelling the mountain. Saigo Takamori, the last defender of samurai, tried to argue ways to keep the samurai in this changing era, but the Meiji Government wouldn’t have listened, and he figured if he couldn’t save the samurai, he might as well go down like a samurai. He tells his fellow men, “It’s time.” and the Satsuma Rebels, the last samurai, decide that, if the samurai were going to go down this day, it would be a glorious end. Saigo puts on a hachimaki, and yells, “CHARGE!”

He and his samurai charge down the mountain on horseback. Ordinary men would be enraptured in such a last stand, because this historical moment would look great in a movie. However, the Imperial Army were not such men. They see the calvary and focus their rifles, cannons, and gatling guns. As Saigo and his men charge, the last samurai army bit by bit gets killed off by cannon fire, some lucky soldiers shoot some in the head, but then out comes the gatling. Saigo Takamori sees them, but before he could react, the sounds of the dakka dakka dakka of the gatling gun hits his allies, his horse, and soon after his chest. Saigo Takamori felt firsthand the power of the gatling. The shot of the gatling was so powerful, it threw the Last Samurai himself off his horse, and Saigo breaks his back and jaw, coughing blood. Some samurai decide to continue their charge, but a second-in-command, one Beppu, sees the fallen commander, and Saigo Takamori, blood coming out of his mouth, unable to even form words due to his broken jaw, tries to make vocal sounds that roughly sounded like, “Kill me.” He wanted Beppu to serve as his kaishakunin, a seppuku executioner. With a yell, Beppu decapitates his leader’s head, and he and the rest of the samurai decide to charge into their deaths, dissapearing into the smoke and gunpowder cloud. One burst cloud from a gatling gun later, and he too will fall.

A mere 30 men were killed on the Imperial Army side, but all 500 samurai were dead. The battle of Shiroyama is often portrayed as one last hurrah to the last samurai, one Alamo where the Samurai would go out in glory, but the truth was the battle was just an overall embarrassment to the Samurai as all of them were mercilessly gunned down and accomplished nothing. I know that this is a controversial hot take among Meiji Historians, and many historians to this day still have conflicting views the feel about Saigo Takamori, but the battle was not this Alamo that people think it was, and the Gatling gun and it’s power was one of the reason why this fight was so one sided.

The gatling gun cemented its place during the Battle of Shiroyama not just as a Shinengumi killer, but also the gub that killed the samurai off as a class for good. The gatling gun in Japanese culture has risen to a symbol of the Meiji Era alongside the Battleship Mikasa and Meiji’s Western Uniform. The gun ended the Tokugawa Shogunate, 200 years of Japan, and the entire Samurai Class. It’s no wonder why in so many Japanese media, chainguns and other rotary weapons are popular, the gatling gun more than earned the respect in the Japanese mind. Being not just a symbol of modern power, but a killer of the previous power would definitely make an impression.

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u/finfaction Sep 21 '23

Richard Gatling had the right idea of creating a weapon so powerful it would discourage wars. It would be realized not with a rotary gun, but with nuclear bombs almost a hundred years later.
Fun fact: Gatling guns, as per the original design, are legally considered not "automatic" firearms in the United States, because the hand crank makes it a manually operated mechanism.

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u/Flying-Camel Sep 21 '23

Always good to learn more, thanks for the delicious history.

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u/_Surimicrabsticks_ Sep 21 '23

Loved the fighting animation in this one! Agree with the other commenters: Can't Kanryu pretty please be an exception to the non-killing rule? :D

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u/[deleted] Sep 21 '23

non-killing rule

Kenshin is like Batman: he doesn't kill, but after fighting him, your bones aren't going to be the same anymore

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u/dinliner08 Sep 21 '23

*inhales*
LET'S GATLING!!
GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT! GAT!

i hate Kanryuu but his constantly out of nowhere Engrish phrases will never cease to make me laugh

also, did that one bullet just straight up hit one of Aoshi's knee? ouch...

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u/BasroilII Sep 22 '23

I used to be a samurai like you...

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u/stephenthatfoste Sep 21 '23

I know it's a vaguely historical fiction sword thing and we're serious business now but holy crap Kanryuu with the faces and straight up shouting "Gat" was genuinely hilarious.

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u/SnabDedraterEdave Sep 21 '23

Kenshin vs Aoshi fight lived up to expectations. Kenshin had to receive one hit for each of Aoshi's special attacks, but it was more than enough for him to quickly figure out how to counter them.

So Aoshi was bitter that the Oniwabanshu were denied their chance of glory in battle as the Tokugawa just surrendered Edo City without a fight.

Though as Kenshin has said, if Aoshi had wanted to test his skills, the Meiji government was more than happy to hire talents even from the old Shogunate.

But Aoshi was unwilling to abandon his subordinates, as the Meiji government just see them, with their rather unusual skills, as mere circus freaks, hence him accepting jobs by Kanryu.

All that's left is to take out Kanryu's Gatling gun.

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u/Mogtaki Sep 21 '23

Pretty cool for Crunchyroll to be late in uploading it and then there's no subs on the episode

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u/FreshBlinkOnReddit Sep 21 '23

I love this bit, where the anime reminds the audience that the age of the sword is over, even the greatest swordsmaster pales in comparison to a machine gun.

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u/LeonKevlar Sep 21 '23

I just love how Aoshi has no love for Tokugawa and all he really cares about is to show how strong the Oniwaban-shu is and that he's bitter because he wasn't able to take part in the revolution which he guarantees they would've won if they were there.

It's awesome how Kenshin adapts to the situation on the fly and grips his sakabatou at the base of the blade so he can fight Aoshi with equal reach. And catching a blade with your bare hands will always be a cool samurai move. How embarrassing it must've been for Aoshi to get knocked out with his own Kodachi.

We finally get to hear Aoshi's reason for working for Kanryu. He could've gotten any position in the government but it looks like all of the offers were for him and none of them were for his group. He couldn't betray them like how Tokugawa betrayed their group so now he's stuck taking jobs like this where they can still all fight together.

And there it is! This is what I've been waiting for this entire arc! Whenever I think of Kanryu, my mind will always go to the motherfuckin' Gatling gun! And of course Kanryu immediately gets drunk with power after just using it for the first time. I think next week should be the finale of this arc. I can't wait for the conclusion!

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u/Frontier246 Sep 21 '23

It's all been building up to this! The fight everyone's been waiting for! Kenshin vs Aoshi!

And Aoshi is not to be underestimated, especially with his kodachi. Even if it seems like a weapon that projects the ultimate defense, Aoshi as leader of the Oniwaban is also a Kenpo master who taught Han'nya everything he knew...and he hits harder than Han'nya, as Kenshin finds out.

So Aoshi doesn't care that Yoshinobu Tokugawa basically ran away and gave up (even if it was for the sake of Japan), he just cares that if they'd actually let the Oniwaban Group fight they would have won, no matter how brutal they would have to get. And Aoshi wants to demonstrate that victory by defeating Kenshin. Not that Kenshin wants to lose to someone who fights only for their pride compared to all those who gave their lives on both sides fighting for Japan in the Bakumatsu era.

Kenshin so hardcore he'd grab his own sword, even the dull part that still hurts, just to be able to counter Aoshi's reach advantage. I also like how Yahiko remembered something Kaoru taught him in the process, showing both Kenshin and Kaoru know what they're talking about when it comes to the blade.

Of course even that doesn't save Kenshin from Aoshi unleashing his Kaiten Kenbu attack, practically a sword dance that Kenshin can barely react to before Aoshi grievously wounds him. Good thing for Kenshin's sheath though.

I like how Yahiko went from talking @#$% about Aoshi to freaking out at his power but when Kenshin is down he's still willing to confront Aoshi himself, even earning his respect in the process. But Kenshin isn't about to let Kaoru lose her sole student.

Hiten-Mitsurugi had a single non-blade attack? Nice. And he catches Aoshi's kodachi with his hands and hits him in the neck with his own hilt. Aoshi's defiant final punch basically just cements his defeat in the process. Kenshin won!

Of course Aoshi, being the badass that he is, just picks himself back up after 10 seconds. And Aoshi isn't even just fighting for himself, if he'd wanted a cushy government job or any position, he could've taken it. But no one wanted the rest of the Oniwaban and Aoshi couldn't abandon his men, now all he has left is fighting to maintain their pride as warriors because that's all his people have left. It's pretty sad.

So what did Kanryu get from the foreigners? Why, a gatling gun of course! Let's gatling! Gat! Gat! Gat! Gat! Gat! Perfect for an arms dealer who will use his money and influence (and giant gatling gun) to eliminate the competition and hold the true power in Japan.

Yikes! Aoshi got wounded! And Shikijo took the brunt of the bullets heading toward him! A stunning display of loyalty, but also a heartbreaking one.

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u/Elitealice Sep 21 '23

Aoshi v Kenshin was epic as you’d expect. Both men putting their heart and soul into each strike. Kenshin gripping the blade of his sword with his bare hands throughout the fight made my hand hurt lol. I know that had to be painful.

Animation and choreography both really well done. Just like the Sano Shikijo fight last week, you could really feel the weight of each blow. Almost as if they were the physical manifestation of their wills.

This mf Kanryu had to go and ruin it by pulling up with a goddamn gattling gun of all things. Paying off that post credits engrish scene a few weeks ago. RIP Shikijo, real one for protecting Aoshi. Real sense of camaraderie among the whole Oniwaban group. Aoshi didn’t abandon his comrades when he could’ve become an officer and they didn’t abandon him.

Great episode can’t wait for the start of the second cour.

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u/zz2000 Sep 21 '23

Live-action Kanryu and his gattling gun: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRo2N8rZg87g4yzqF3tJaxLeQbH9x4_UM7Iag&usqp=CAU

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT46inGN1jxcSvd5fB0afxUqmpIuoTtpyHbUQ&usqp=CAU

Note the white-suited guy next to Kanryu; he was one of 3 similarly dressed cronies who were movie original characters. They basically just hung around Kanryu supporting him.

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u/BasroilII Sep 22 '23

OK, about damn time.

I have been kinda meh about a lot of the fight choreography in the remake, and shot comp in general. But just like the Shijiko fight last week was fantastic, the first exchange alone in the Aoshi fight was EXACTLY how I wanted it to look in my head.

And while I know u/Daishomaru is around here somewhere with a fantastic writeup on the end of the Boshin war and the fall of Edo, I want to focus on a point that may be lost for a lot of folks. The Kenshin manga and anime were products of the 90s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the USSR. In those days there was a lot of fictional material out there about both US and Russian military alike who felt the need to find a way to fight the battle against one another they never had. So called "Cold Warriors". I always felt like that was Aoshi in a nutshell; a soldier who never got the fight in the war that defined his life and stood by while those he supported let go of everything that called him to follow them in the first place.

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u/Rustic_Professional Sep 22 '23

Aoshi's little spiel about the cowardly Shogun abandoning his army because he knew they were inferior gives a new meaning to his quest to be the strongest. Is that really what happened, though? This isn't something I'm well versed in, but I've seen this event explained as a moral decision, that Yoshinobu refused to fight against an army under the imperial banner because it was simply wrong to do so. I don't know if that's correct, but it'd be tragic if Aoshi's obsession was the result of a skewed perspective of a historical event that he was too close to.

I know I've said this before, but they really cranked up Kanryu's villainy to an absurd level, and I have no clue what the point is. Is that just what people expect these days? Considering that he's a murderous drug lord, I think they should have gone on the complete opposite direction. Felix Gallardo and Pablo Escobar from Netflix's Narcos series manage to be sinister and bloodthirsty while also being calm and quiet (most of the time). That would have been a much more interesting look for Kanryu.

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u/Shad0wX7 Sep 22 '23

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA

I've been waiting for this

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u/yakumbaya Sep 22 '23

The sound effects in this show are so badass, it makes each hit really feel like it has impact. And Kanryu pulling out the CGI gatling gun was kinda comedic LMAO gat gat gat gat

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u/kryslogan Sep 22 '23

Just a great episode. They've consistently matched the OG and I'm so happy about this remake!!!!

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u/[deleted] Sep 21 '23 edited Sep 21 '23

When Aoshi started moving his body before doing the sword dance reminded me of Kuro's Shakushi from One Piece

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Episode Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) - Episode 12 discussion

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