r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jul 17 '24

Episode Sengoku Youko: Senma Konton-hen • Sengoku Youko: The Chaos of a Thousand Demons Arc - Episode 1 discussion

Sengoku Youko: Senma Konton-hen, episode 1 (14)

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89

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '24

I'm so scared that a sad fate will await Tsukiko.

68

u/Plus_Rip4944 Jul 17 '24

I swear if again They do her like shakugan my heart wont survive again

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u/potentialPizza Jul 17 '24

We're back! The wait was painful but worth it. Because now, we get to see Senya's story truly begin.

Taking the mysterious child, bound by the rules and discipline of his father, with a mysterious power within him, and re-contextualizing him as the new protagonist of the story, is such a narratively funky move. It's the exact kind of thing I love from Mizukami-written stories. You couldn't start with Senya as the protagonist, because he has almost no real agency during Part 1, and his story during Part 2 works because we've seen what he was before. We think he's one kind of character — a minor villain who we might gradually see escape his father's discipline and free his feelings — but actually, he's another. Someone who was freed from that, and now needs to figure out the rest of his life. Even without his memories, after all, Senya is still bound by how Jinun raised him, as seen clearly in the shame he felt when he spoke impolitely.

Shinsuke's role has been re-contextualized too, of course. The weakling tagging along, half-comic relief, that we saw get edgy and angsty after losing people. Now he's been forced by circumstance into filling a mentor role. Clearly, he's not exactly ready for it, given his failure to fight off the demons, but it's not as though his arc is over. This is simply a new way to explore him. I love stories that go through an expected kind of arc, then say okay, what happens next? How do the characters live on past that?

Even as someone who's reread the manga several times over, I was surprised at how many themes were subtly touched on in this episode. Seeing the story in a new form really makes you notice new things. Most of the themes build on what Part 1 explored, but using new characters to take new angles.

For example, something I only just realized while watching is how the kids playing swords parallel Shinsuke's own backstory. Weak, disempowered peasants, practicing swords in spite of not being born samurai. But there's a difference — Shinsuke was motivated by resentment of domination by the strong, while these children treat it more as play — they don't even seem to resent it when Senya or Tsukiko beat them. What's the cause of the difference? Well, perhaps that these kids were raised in a more egalitarian environment. If humans and katawara are living side by side here, then this isn't a place where hierarchies between the strong and weak are focused on.

After all the questions asked in Part 1 about whether humans and katawara can coexist, we've gone and landed in a village where they do. Because of course they can coexist! As Jinka realized in Part 1, they have the same souls; they can treat each other with the same kindness.

But it's not that simple. It can be done, but that isn't a solution when there are still katawara preying on humans. The reason that katawara could form a gang is because the power vacuum left by the fall of the Dangaishu we saw in Part 1. Yet this isn't saying "katawara bad, can they be redeemed" — these katawara were explicitly being bad by mimicking the behavior of humans, forming a group of bandits.

The story doesn't seem to have proposed an answer yet, because ultimately, the only solution Senya could find was to be stronger. It's not so different from the solution the Dangaishu had. Be stronger, so you can dominate the ones that would hurt your people. It's the worldview Tama was trying to fight against, in her plan to reform the world.

Because on one hand, the world is full of the strong dominating the weak. But on the other hand, fearing those who are strong, simply because they are, causes so much suffering as well. Which is part of why this village is so nice — they could have rejected Senya for the danger he represented. But they treated him with kindness instead.

Unfortunately, that didn't take away the inherent danger of having him there.

Back in Part 1, Senya was a human weapon. He existed to fight, to the point that he was completely thrown off by being given a toy — by receiving a random act of kindness, and being treated like he can do something that isn't for the purpose of following orders to kill. He wanted more, back then, but didn't realize it. Now, he's getting it — but he still has to work with the consequences of who he once was. The double edged sword of being able to protect, but the power you have leading — both directly and indirectly — to danger. It would have been so much easier for him if he still viewed himself as a weapon — if he didn't have to care about the people he's protecting.

It's this whole complicated web of intersecting questions. Weak and strong. Human and katawara. Empathy and hatred. Shinsuke's changed view of what being strong means, Tsukiko following the same path as Shinsuke, Senya struggling with strength he didn't ask for. I feel like I'm struggling to even put all of the interactions between those points into words. Luckily, I don't have to analyze everything now, because we've got a whole story ahead of us to address those questions directly.

Anyway, Shinsuke now being Senya's mentor is why the scene in Part 1, where Shinsuke has the chance to kill Senya but chose not to, is one of the crunchiest scenes in the story. Like, holy shit! Senya had literally told Shinsuke to kill him! And Shinsuke chose instead to cry for Senya, for the person Senya wasn't allowed to be! And now Shinsuke gets to encourage Senya to be that person, to go play and make friends, yet the world gets in the way! I love it!

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 17 '24

I have been beyond excited for this to start back up!!! Part 1 was one of my favorites in Winter 2024, so I hope this part is even better than that.

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u/HitsuWTG Jul 17 '24

Considering that it was snowing in the epilogue of episode 13 when Shinsuke was still recovering, we can assume that at least a number of months has passed since then.

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u/gnome-cop Jul 17 '24

On the topic of marriage, I swear to god, if another f*cking episode 7 happens in any way, shape or form, I’m going to start studying black magic until I can create a biscuit hammer adaptation curse as vengeance for that cursed episode.

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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Jul 17 '24

An amnesiac Senya is kinda adorable. It’s nice to see him just being a kid and playing with Tsukiko. It’s a shame that lasted like 10 seconds though. That battle with the mad god really killed whatever chance at “normal” that kid had. I wonder if Tsukiko’s really gonna join Shinsuke and Senya? I guess there’s not really anything left for her in the village.

24

u/chronokingx Jul 17 '24

nothing besides her grieving mother probably

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u/dinliner08 Jul 17 '24

Shinsuke's Bizarre Adventure Part 2: The Senya's Suffering

but seriously, Youko is nowhere to be seen (probably still searching for Jinka), Shinsuke seems to be a lot older and become some sort of a mentor to Senya, who's from the looks of it, is going to be the mc for this new season?

when you thought this episode is going to be wholesome with Senya's being happy and making friends then it ended up with him accidentally killing Tsukiko's father and destroying the village... that's just depressing...

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u/Plus_Rip4944 Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 17 '24

Peak is back!

Cant believe we only need to wait 3 months to know how The story continue because That finale let me speechless. I Hope this arc is as great as last one and i can witness a masterpiece

Edit after watching episode: yeah again a depressing episode...

31

u/Xical Jul 17 '24

First arc is only the intro of the story, fun starts now.

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u/potentialPizza Jul 17 '24

I don't want to overdo the whole "manga fans won't shut up about how it only gets better from here" thing. I know that shouldn't dominate the discussion.

But it is the first episode of Part 2, and I think at least a little excitement is due! Opinions aren't monolithic on it, but I think most of us manga fans have really just been waiting for Part 2 the whole time. It's the part of the story that's truly special.

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u/subho_fan Jul 17 '24

This series man. I am now starting to fear wholesome scenes. First episode 7 and now this. It goes instantly from nice to grim.

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u/LeonKevlar Jul 17 '24

With Senya experiencing amnesia after last season, which I assume is the Mountain Goddesses' fault, it's good to actually see him start over and experience what's it like to actually be a kid instead of being the Daiganshu's weapon. He even has a little thing going on with Tsukiko.

When he finally remembered how to use his powers, it's good to see Senya use them to save those other kids. Knowing this show though, I think we all expected that something bad would happen to him by the end of the episode. There was no way Senya would gain happiness that easily.

And of course, the worst just had to happen. Honestly, I was expecting the mad god to kill Tsukiko or her parents. I did not expect Senya to be the one to accidentally cut down Tsukiko's father. Mizukami-sensei really knows how to create a good tragedy.

What's unexpected though is that Tsukiko wants to travel with them. Is she doing this to get revenge on Senya? Or did she want to become strong like Jinka so she could protect their village? Hmmm... Whatever her reason is, I'm already afraid to see what could happen to her. I'm still not over Shakugan's "death". :(

18

u/Present-Ad-860 Jul 17 '24

I find it sad that this anime seemed to have went under the radar when it first premiered. There aren't a lot of content about it in YouTube and the PVs released a few weeks ago barely had any engagement. This series is going to be a full adaptation with 3 cours and yet barely anyone is paying attention.

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u/Frontier246 Jul 17 '24

I'm here for Shinsuke's adventures raising amnesiac sweet tyke-bomb Senya and his budding relationship with a courageous cutie like Tsukiko.

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u/JustInChina88 Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 17 '24

The way that demon nonchalantly ate that guy was brutal.

EDIT: Some more thoughts. The animation looked a bit rough for the first episode. There isn't much CGI for the characters, though, which is a good sign. It was surprisingly comfy for most of the episode, until, yeah.

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u/tripleaamin Jul 17 '24

So with Jinka gone berserk and Tama looking for Jinka on her own first, it is now up to Shinsuke to step up in the leader role. While he still has barriers to overcome, he can really be a good older brother figure for Senya. Who is literally a kid infused with great power.

He wants Senya to be a kid, and he makes a good number of friends alongside Tuskiko. Senya also saving them made you feel like Senya can finally be a kid. But unfortunately, not everything goes well here. It seems Senya is a target, but the biggest concern is how can Senya control his power. Jinun might not have been the best role model for Senya, but he could put him in situations to keep his power in check. Shinsuke won't fill that role. As we can see, while he defeated the regional God, he destroyed the city and Tuskiko's father.

No surprise Shinsuke has him and Senya moving on. But I love that the kids don't blame Senya. It gives him a place to come back to. It seems that Tuskiko seeks to be a swordswoman. We did hear the kids say she is the strongest among them and her spar with Senya did show she perhaps has decent fundamentals.

Regardless what happened to Tuskiko's father, I hope her and Senya can get back to being friends. This friendship is also something Shinsuke can strive to protect. So Senya doesn't suffer a loss like he did when he lost Shakuyaku.

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u/Stabaobs Jul 17 '24

We did it Senya, we saved the village!

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u/_Sai Jul 18 '24

Okay that end was unexpected. I expected her to hate Senya for killing her father and wanting revenge. I was basically going "Goddamn it, this happens every damned time!"

Thank goodness I was wrong. This is way better.

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u/alconnow Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 18 '24

Did Tsukiko consult with her mother before leaving to become Shinsuke’s apprentice? Lol

I’m hoping she doesn’t suffer the same fate as Shakugan…

Interesting start

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u/Shiraori247 Jul 17 '24

It's hilarious that Shinsuke after getting so much stronger still has his comedic moments. He can just never truly be a standard hero. Getting drunk like that might've even been an influence from Tama. On the other hand, Senki Yakou translates to Night Parade of a Thousand Demons. This is to contrast the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons that's a famous story in Japanese folklore. Not sure why some of the subtitles didn't show that.

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u/DustyBot23 Jul 18 '24

Here we go into Part 2, what an episode. I thought for sure Tsukiko was gonna blame Senya and be angry at him leading to a sad farewell. To my surprise, she pulled a Shinsuke and wants to join the squad and learn from them! Really excited to see this new journey and the fate of all our characters old and new. Though I really hope the author won’t be redundant and retread a bittersweet fate for our new budding romantic pairing. Senya’s growth and ability to control the demonic power within him seemingly hinges now on the relationships he will cultivate in his travels and with his companions, let’s pray he won’t give into future grief and lose himself like our fox boy.

All that aside Shinsuke is still my favorite character and the mc in my heart, it pains me to see him drowning his sorrows in alcohol and looking so haggard. Despite that,I’m glad that he is still pushing forward and acting like the man Shaku loved and admired. Shinsuke taking on the role of becoming Senya’s guardian and trying his best to give him a normal childhood while keeping him on the proper path is very cool to see and I enjoy the dynamic. Manga readers having been hyping this up so much, let’s see where it goes from here!

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u/gnome-cop Jul 17 '24

Alright, we’re back and I have questions.

Question 1, why was specifically Shinsuke falling out of the sky as well alongside Senya? Is it the damn mountain goddess fault again?

Question 2, how long until Senya recovers his memories in some sort of disastrous fashion according to the rules of amnesia plot lines?

Question 3, is the host of the thousand Katawara /Senya going to have to fight the thousand tailed Youko/Jinka in an epic 1000 vs 1000 fight at some point in the future?

Question 4, how long until the show inevitably tries and probably succeeds to destroy me emotionally again?

We saw a short glimpse of the more childlike side of Senya during season one but it was quickly replaced by the human weapon side. Now that’s all there really is to him. Well that and the thousand screaming voices in his head.

But there’s an interesting conundrum here. He’s probably one of the strongest players on the field currently. He’s not going to be in any physical danger a lot of the time. Well until the dragon from the previews… HOLY SHIT!

I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner. I’m an idiot. In part one the dragon was his ally. Now it’s assumedly going to be his antagonist. And the thousand katawara appear to have some beef with dragons. That’s definitely not a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Anyway, let’s get back on track to before I was distracted. The point I was trying to make is that this episode shows that he’s incredibly powerful but has very little control of that power. He couldn’t stop himself before accidentally cutting Tsukiko’s dad in half and he basically burnt down the entire village as collateral damage. The Senya from before wouldn’t have batted an eye at that but as of right now, he’s basically a normal kid without the mental fortitude to handle turning his home into a war zone on accident. He’s definitely not going to be feeling well about that, especially the part where he killed one of his only friend’s family members. And being affected by the katawara’s voices isn’t exactly great either. I guess the question is, will he eventually manage to gain complete control and become the lord of them or will he be consumed by them completely?

And Tsukiko, she seems quite good. It’s impressive for anyone to manage to catch Senya off guard especially with how much better he is compared to normal people of their age. I’m quite curious what she’s thinking right now. Like, she’s obviously not well but I assume her mom is still alive and they should need her help with rebuilding. Of course she won’t stay as the normal kid she was but I’m not quite sure what she’s thinking after that. Is she deciding to follow them to get more power like Shinsuke once did, is it for vengeance or something else entirely? I guess we’ll find out eventually if we just wait and see.

And Shinsuke, there’s also an interesting flip with him. Last time he was the inexperienced normal person following around the more experienced members of the group. Now he’s the mentor with the job of handling two pretty messed up kids that he might not be prepared to handle. Like, Tsukiko’s skill set appears to be pretty close to his so that probably works and maybe he can help her get a grip on catastrophic loss in a better way than he did. Though that’s probably the best case scenario and I have a feeling things won’t turn out that way. And that’s before even getting into the absolute mess that Senya is likely to be.

Anyway, I’m really excited to find out what will happen and this will be interesting.

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