[AF-F]PeaceMaker Kurogane 04

***spoilers****







ok.. just have a question.. is this series supposed to have more magic stuff like that necromancer guy?? For some reason I thought the series was suppposed to be just no-bs swordfighting...

What happened to the animation?! I really hope that they go back to the style of the first three episodes, fast!

This ep definitely doesn't look like it's following the manga, unless it's something farther off from the scanlations I read. I was sort of expecting them to introduce Yamanami Keisuke and Souji feeding the pigs, then the really cool Souji vs. Tetsu rematch.

On the other hand, PMK's Saito Hajime is about 600 times creepier than the Kenshin version, the only similarity being that soba fetish. And he speaks to dead people, which is very very nice.

The necromancing stuff seems way out of place mood-wise though. Is this true to the later manga, or is this a filler?

And, is Nagakura Shinpachi's voicing done by Yamaguchi Kappei? I noticed in this ep, when he's taunting Tetsu, he sounds very much like Inuyasha.

Yup. Nagakura Shinpachi's voice is done by Yamaguchi Kappei. That might explain why I like Shinpachi so much even though personality-wise he's nothing like Inuyasha or Ranma.

The voice actor (I can't remember his name) for Ichimura Tatsunosuke is also the voice of Rurouni Kenshin's Sagara Sanosuke.

Saitou Hajime is spooky beyond belief. o_O He also looks like he's stoned (you'd think Hijikata would be the stoned looking one with all the stuff he's been smokin'!)

Magic + Ninjas + kenshin knock off?

Im giving this show 5 more episodes to "shape it up" ; like my friend says.

This season's shows were no where as good as last season's.

Last Exile
Gundam Seed
Onegai Twins

Ohh yeah and

Gilgamesh (godlike watch 4 eps youll love it...)

Its fine to have girly looking guys maybe 1 or 2 but do you really have to introduce 2 new girly guys every episode?

Especially that pedofile that wanted to see the "cute boy"...

Woot! I wasn't really a huge fan of Shinpachi, but if he keeps up those taunts that make him sound like Inuyasha, I might go into fangirl mode without meaning to.

Didn't realize Sanosuke's Voice got ported over too, but it's been a while since I've actually watched RK. Thanks for that, Morrigan.

I sure wished I knew if Souji's voice was done by a lady or a man too, because I can't decide if it's really a lady with a deep voice (Kenshin flashback) or just a guy with a particularly upbeat voice.

Can't wait till they get to the "shinobi dancing in the moonlight are beautiful" part of the manga...but if Ep 1 is any indication, they're probably going to keep that scene on hold for a while yet.

AnimeNfo lists Souji's voice as done by Saiga Mitsuki, a woman.

When I first started watching anime, I found it odd that women did the voices of some male character, but now I really like it. Especially since some do the voices really well. Like the voice actresses for Himura Kenshin and Seta Soujiro in RK. I like Tetsunosuke's voice too (I didn't realize it was done by a woman).

AnimeNfo lists Yamazaki Susumu's voice as done by Nagashima Yuko. I wonder if they mean his voice when he is in his female disguise, as his normal voice sounds too masculine for a female voice actor. Either that or they mixed up him and Ayumu.



I can't wait to see that too. It probably is going to be on hold a bit. I read a spoiler on who that other shinobi is and judging by what happens in this episode, that character's introduction is probably going to be a couple episodes away (if not more).

I just finished watching this episode (I've seen the raw, but it makes a lot more sense if it's subbed!) and I must say my all time favourite scene is the one where Toudou Heisuke tried to guess what Hijikata-san's new page looks like. That was just classic.

Is this a typo? Last I knew, you were dissing Gilgamesh.

Anyway, if this show wanted to be a no BS period swordfighting show, it wouldn't have an opening theme that sounds like Limp Bizkit. Nor would it have gallons upon gallons of blood spilled whenever someone dies. I liked this episode for several reasons.

A. Tetsu's whining was kept to a minimum.

B. A Hajime Saitou to rival the one in Kenshin.

and C. It flowed well.

I think the third one is the most important. The first three episodes felt like the couldn't decide if the show was a screwball comedy or an action/drama. This one provides both in very high quantities, much more than any of the previous ones.

I'm gonna stop complaining, because I am now much more hooked than I was before. This was an excellent episode, and I hope it continues to get better.

There has to be a screw-up there. His male voice sounds...rather male. When I first saw Yamazaki Susumu and Ayumu, I kept wondering if those two were the same person. Then I read the manga, and it cleared that up, so now I'm left wondering if they're twins? And I'm still waiting for Ayumu's role to be revealed, which means waiting on translations of the manga. *twitch*



Yes! I was kind of hoping they'd stick in that one cute panel from the manga with the rabbit, budgie and hamster too, where it's established Heisuke "is into cute animals". I fell off my chair when I saw that. Which brings us to the million dollar question of "What exactly is a guy like Hijikata-san cornering the market in cute boys for?" Unlike Souji, Heisuke seems to be a genuine perv.

I can only imagine the trauma Yamanami is going to bring into the picture when they introduce him.

Necromancy stuff still threw me though. I truly hope this isn't going to be like the last few eps of Kenshin brought forward, magic using and far too random non-plotness and such.

When Tetsu first goes to Ayumu after getting cut by Susumu, I had two thoughts about her. 1. She was Susumu in disguise. Rather stupid since I doubt he would've had enough time to "change". But they look an awful lot alike so I wasn't sure. 2. They were married/lovers or similar. Since they have the same surname and Ayumu seemed to tiptoe around how well she knew Susumu, this was actually my likeliest choice.

Then I read the manga and it makes much more sense, since Ayumu makes a vague reference to Tetsu being what a brother is supposed to be like (I get the impression Susumu isn't normal as far as brothers go). Someone mentioned to me that they are fraternal twins, which would explain a lot.

I read the manga translations at MangaCity, but they've only gotten up to the end of volume two of Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker and I can't find anywhere that has translated further than that.

Budgie? Huh?

I didn't realize Souji was a perv at all. I just though he was a bit on the wierd childlike-girly side. I love him anyway. Heisuke is an interesting new introduction. I love the Sanosuke and Shinpachi duo, but I want to see what humour Heisuke brings to the group.

Saitou is just a creepy, creepy, creepy introduction. I don't blame Tetsu for jumping when Saitou came up behind him. Wierd, creepy stoner I-see-dead-people person...

Now, Hijikata? Who peed in his Wheaties?! He yells at Tetsu, what, three times in this episode? Granted Tetsu is something of a git and deserved it, but... he really needs to calm down before he developes an ulcer or something (that smoking isn't helping either). It's odd that he should be so close to Souji and Kondo, who are both rather laid back.

I got the biggest kick out of that sentence!
*wipes tears off of face*
I thought Hijikata was cute. He's trying to run a very tight ship, and Tetsu is screwing up his world. For some reason, I think it's hilarious. Maybe it's the utterly exasperated expression on his face.
Presumably, Hijikata could've just lopped off Tetsu's head, but instead he's trying to tame him.
Tetsu is trying so hard to get into trouble, and Hijikata is going nuts trying to keep him out of trouble.
And Hijikata is so scary ... but he hasn't laid a finger on Tetsu - who is pushing his buttons.
I love the irony.

I personally prefer the necromancy to Kenshin's physics-defying stunts. I mean, one or two is okay, but there's a certain point in just about every RK episode I've seen where I've just stopped believing it. Don't get me wrong... I love the show, and this issue doesn't feature prominently in the second season, but... well, I guess I'm just not that into shounen anime.

PmK has awesome fighting, however, and I think it works very well with a fantasy-like tone. I mean, RK would have been BETTER with such an atmosphere.

And oh my god, Saitou RULES! He's grown on me immensely. So utterly creepy, awesome and strangely amiable. And his fight in the end of this is the best one we've seen so far.

But please people, tell me that Tetsu gets cooler later on! I hate the little twerp! He's the sole reason I initially didn't care for the first episode! Everyone is cool, except for him!

Didn't anyone notice that the drawings this episode were off from the previous episodes

Try Manga News. There is another place out there called The Juppon Gatana (irony of ironies, yeah) with translations up till half of the third volume.



I think this was in the third volume, sort of forgot where exactly it came from, but when Heisuke is first introduced in the manga, and he goes on about how cute the new page must be, there is a panel where Shinpachi says, "Oh, yeah, you're into cute animals." which has a picture of a rabbit, a budgie and a hamster in it. The anime has a better grip on that scene in general, but the manga was funnier.



Yes, by the third volume, they sort of establish Souji is more "child-man" than "questionably child-man". No, he's probably not a perv, but it kind of makes you wonder what on earth is happening off camera sometimes. Of course, in the third volume, there is that one scene where he drags off Hijikata to a candy store by the ponytail, which makes you re-question all previous assumptions again. Souji's just a cool character like that. Heisuke is actually described as being overtly honest too (more like bumpkin), rather than a perv, but some of the things he says...



Hijikata looks to be one of those kind yet mean characters. Love the vicious streak in him and all the characters out here though.

I kinda liked Kenshin's physics-defying stunts. Probably grew up with too many Hong Kong kungfu productions on my part. The use of magic didn't seem right to me in the context of a pretty-much historically based samurai anime. On the other hand, it does give a lot of license for Saito to go...stoned and creepy voiced, so it's not so bad.

My point is, physics-defying stunts don't either. Now, I'm well aware that 90% of the historical samurai shows ever made feature such stunts, but ya know - that doesn't mean they work.

Necromancy is actually more believable, as it's actually explained within the plot. I would just wet myself if I saw an explanation as to why Kenshin could do some of the sh*t he did.

See, I don't really watch anime for the filmmaking, I watch it for the storytelling. And in terms of storytelling, this series is turning out MUCH better stuff than Kenshin's early episodes. I am extremely anal about contrived situations, deus ex machinas and other lame plot devices. Although I try not to let such stuff lower my enjoyment of an anime, I do prefer it when the writers actually put some brains into what they're presenting us.

Fortunately, gonzo's been on a good streak lately, with Last Exile and all. Hopefully, they won't go rusty halfway through this series. Of course, it helps that it's based on a manga...

In this I agree. There are some truly spectacularly animated things out there with lame writing to back them up. And like you, the appeal of PMK to me was the story, and also in a big way, the history. One thing I truly appreciated about PMK was its closeness to the historical subject at hand, whereas Kenshin barely pretended to be more than fiction in a period setting. Sort of like the difference between the darker, grittier Kenshin OVA and the lighter, fluffier Kenshin TV series/manga. It's true, PMK has its boy manga moments too, especially in the manga proper. If they left the Heisuke introduction, for example, exactly as it happened in the manga, then we'd have a lot of nonsense to watch. Funny nonsense, but nonsense still.

However, I think you might be a bit too harsh on the Kenshin series, in that while the early episodes were not as serious as say, the Kyoto Arc, it was good progression in its own way. I felt it was necessary to actually know the Kenshin gumi as we did through the first season, contrived histories or not, before we could truly enjoy the Kyoto Arc. PMK seems to be working on a different model, in that the main plot is the backbone from which all the character introductions and such spring, but PMK also must have a shorter, tighter (historical) timeframe to work with, being about the Shinsengumi. Kenshin had that small benefit of being in the Meiji, so everyone's dark past was related to the Tokugawa period. New conflicts had to be fantasized on the fly and strung together, which didn't always work to the series' benefit, and sometimes became utterly ridiculous (but somehow, always also at the points where the TV writers refused to follow the manga).

Back to my point, I think it's just the different story model at work rather than a difference in quality of storytelling/scripting/setup. I do agree though, PMK does, so far, look better organized plotwise, because it does appear to have a main plot as a backbone.



Probably, again, the differences in personal taste quotient. With all due respect, as you've already said, 90% of historical samurai shows feature such stunts, and I guess it depends a lot on individual experiences with them. Stunts like that don't have to work, that is true, and when they fail, they fail hard. But the history of martial arts fiction is full of mad skillz, it's part of the entire appeal even, whether its in writing, animation or live-action shows. I think a large number of the enthusiasts expect their heroes to be larger than life, even if those figures are historical. And while realism is nice too, the point is, the superhuman-ness is a part of the experience and culture.

Which brings me to why I thought the magic use was the one that was out of place in a historical manga (stress on historical, since there are other period manga out there where the premise demands magic, like Inuyasha). Because like you, I did appreciate the realism inherrent in PMK. There is a vicious, cruel beauty behind the movements of the characters in battle, because of that extra human touch. Hitokiri behave like hitokiri, not heroes, and definitely not superheroes, and the actions define this brilliantly. And in spite of what I'm saying, I'm truly glad that this is the route the producers took too.

So that's why the necromancing bothered me. It's the wrong sort of anime, in my humble opinion, for it. Of course, this is still early in this particular storyline. They might actually make it rock, and I very likely will enjoy it anyway. Eh, but now I'm rambling into the unseen future. Hey, it's nice to hear a different view! Thanks for that.

Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from!

Please don't get the impression I don't like Kenshin! I think the Kyoto arc is one of the coolest anime I've ever seen. The first season is rather unfocused, though, and Kenshin would be a far better series if they had started it out as interesting as it eventually became.

On the other hand the OAV series was brilliant! I confess that I was expecting something along the lines of the Kenshin OAV series when I first started watching PmK. Ya know, dark, heartrending drama, beautiful, symphonic music... only with a more extended TV show feel. A bit more humor, slower pacing.

I got something very different than what I expected. In fact, my sister, a big fan of the RK TV series, who refuses to watch the OAV(chicken), called it an immature show. Just shows what false impressions can do. I probably wouldn't have been turned off by the childish humor and hard rock soundtrack so much if I had been expecting it.

But it's shaping up to be an excellent show, and it's a shame that my sister(and many other people, I'm sure) probably wont give it a second chance.

PMK does look to have those Kenshin OVA dark moments though, doesn't it? The very cool opening of the first ep was the first hint of what it could be, really, further down the line. Then I nearly croaked that first ep when Tetsu's dad told him Nippon was going through "changes" and that he should be a "pissu-maker".

In some scenes, it is gloriously, unapologetically boy manga, but I wonder if the duality wasn't intended? That cruel thread that runs under it is what makes it good. In spite of how humorous even the most light-hearted characters can be, there can be no mistaking they're cold blooded murderers where it counts, really the children of oni. And unlike Kenshin, they won't think twice about slicing the enemy in two.

I got a little weirded out by the hard rock tracks too at first, but then it does sort of work for the eps in its own way. Now I can't imagine this thing otherwise. I'm not too big on the Op either. The Op's scenes are lovely, the music it's worked to is not. But the Ed is nice. I dunno, I just thought it worked with its scenery. Definitely slams in the fact it's based in boy manga though.

Somehow, knowing that the Shinsengumi are all fated to die (except the one)tinges it with a bittersweet edge...

I don't know about that "destined to die" thing, destined to lose but I don't think every single one of them dies.



I personally prefer the OP (atleast the rock parts) over the ED, I think the music for it is a good choice for PMK

Ah, no, not every member of the Shinsengumi, but I remember reading somewhere all the original top-tier members of the Shinsengumi didn't live long, at least, the ones they've shown thus far: Okita Souji (died of TB), Hijikata Toshizo (died of a gunshot wound in battle), Yamanami Keisuke (tried to desert, caught by Souji, performed seppuku), Toudou Heisuke (deserted, killed for deserting), Yamazaki Susumu (killed in the Boshin War) and Kondou Isami (beheaded by the Choushu). Harada Sanosuke and Nagakura Shinpachi left the Shinsengumi after the Boshin War. Sanosuke was killed in the Ueno War.

The only two top-tier men who did survive well into the Meiji was Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi. The former became the police officer we knew and love in Kenshin, the latter was pardoned by the Ishin government and became a kendo instructor.

Whether or not we see this in PMK is dependent on how far into the future its timeline goes, but I believe the first to drop off the radar was Yamanami. According to Hitten Mitsurugi Ryuu, he was known as a gentle character, and that definitely came through in the manga. It would be a hell of a scene to watch Okita struggle with his execution, but that's only, again, if PMK even goes that far.

Maybe one of the PMK Japanese manga readers...?

Also, we don't know how faithfully this will follow history. Of course, I think it'd be really cool if it worked out exactly as it did in real life.

Kenshin was pretty faithful to history, but then, Kenshin didn't deal with as many real historical figures as this one is. I guess we can only hope.

Umm...some of us would appreciate it if you guys would stop spoiling the story please.....thanks.

Ack. Sorry about that. Figured I was responsible for most of the spoiling, so really, sorry.

At least for the last post, it was not spoiling the story, since it was history after all. And an history that PMK's audience already know well.

This episode was funny, exciting, and in the very last scene, endearing (I know some of you can't stand Tetsu--but I love this spunky, energetic little twerp). Ah, would pay to see a fight between Saitou of RK vs. PMK's Saitou....But who the heck *was* that go-playing, shadowy man? I was surprised by the fantasy developments in this episodes: it's an unexpected (but intriguing) departure from the naturalistic Rurouni Kenshin.

Exactly my worries too. It was the feng shui-magical weirdness at the end of the RK anime that really pulled the whole thing down. And in that one case, was mostly because the show refused to follow the manga at the end. Still don't know if the fantasy element in this ep was part of a later manga arc with PMK, though it is taking more than a few liberties with what happens around this time in the manga.

Sakura Wars meets Kenshin!!

It's all good...