English Dub Review: Kochoki “A Meeting”

 

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

In Spring 1553, Kichou’s father Saitou Dousan, known as The Viper, decides to meet with Nobunaga after his rebellion against the principal line, though his son Yoshitatsu objects, thinking this might drag them into war. Nobunaga reluctantly accepts, as this meeting going well could silence his critics pushing for Nobukatsu to take over. He asks Kichou for pointers on how to impress him, but she says she wasn’t that close, having apparently been trained in a ninja village but not knowing until later that she was his actual daughter. She also gets pressure from Kaede, her former friend/sister, that she should rejoin the Saitou clan because she won’t be able to protect her husband. This gets under her skin, pushing her to overwork herself and re-hone her ninja skills, but Nobunaga tells her not to worry. Oddly, she also gets a gift from her brother Yoshitatsu in the form of a kimono with a peacock pattern, which is a nice gift, but she senses sinister intent.

The meeting takes place at Shoutoku Temple, the exact midpoint between Owari and the Saitou’s domain. As they prepare, Nobunaga visits the market, but finds that the war he’s caused has done unnecessary harm to innocent peasants, and his usual rebellious nature isn’t earning points with Douson either. However, at the meeting, he acts totally formal and sparks an interesting conversation regarding merchants and the potential manipulations of the markets. They decide to collaborate on a law to regulate this, so things are going pretty well. Yoshitatsu, fearing for his position Nobunaga gains Douson’s favor, calls in Kichou and calls her out for wearing the peacock kimono he sent, claiming it to be an insult because peacocks eat snakes.

Douson knows this was his scheme, but decides to see how Nobunaga can handle this situation. He does this but pointing out that the peacock on the kimono is bowing, using it as a sign that a former enemy can become an ally. He also claims he will transform the world and give it a sense of hope, but Yoshitatsu attempts to spoil the good time by sending his troops to assassinate Kichou. They’re interrupted by Nobunaga’s own forces arriving with several armed muskets. Douson admits defeat and the two clans join forces, with Douson certain that Nobunaga will transform the world.

OUR TAKE

I guess you could kind of call this a Kichou episode, considering it revisits her scheming father and her former life, but the focus on her kind of peters out before the end. I wouldn’t say I’m super invested in her character as it is, but I would have probably appreciated it more if she had been more active in the discussions, as well as being the one to see through her brother’s plot and rise above it. It kinda seemed like that was where things were going, with her initially feeling like she had to go back to her old ways of training to protect Nobunaga, but then realizing they can work together to make this alliance and prove to her father that she has changed for the better. We do SORT OF get that in the end, but it was too focused on Nobunaga. It’s his show of course, but this seemed like the time to give his wife more development. A subservient wife character isn’t NECESSARILY bad if you write her with enough agency, but this seemed like a wasted opportunity.

The meeting itself did show off the multiple angles, plans, and counter plans on display, which I guess would make sense considering how intense the politics were for something as dire as this in a time of war. It really felt like a multi-player chess match (or I guess it would be Shogi in this case), with Nobunaga’s side having their own ends, Douson having his own reservations, and Yoshitatsu trying to maintain his role as successor. Of note was the peacock kimono scheme, which sounds pretty ridiculous when you describe it, but negotiations like this can be undone by even the most minor detail. Though what I thought was most interesting was Douson being fully aware of this being a ruse, but testing Nobunaga for what his response would be. It’s one thing to look for any excuse to discredit a guy, it’s another to be invested in whether or not that guy can get out of that if he needs to. This certainly isn’t thrilling political theater, but more scenes like this would probably help my view of the show quite a bit. We’ve still got a little over half way, so it’s certainly likely we’ll be seeing more of that, but it could turn into more off screen battles. We’ll have to wait and see.