Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi

Tokiyuki Houjou, a carefree eight-year-old noble, is content with the serene life in Kamakura and shows little regard for the serious responsibilities that come with his eventually succeeding his father as the next shogun. Instead of dedicating himself to rigorous training in swordsmanship or archery, Tokiyuki excels in the art of evasion, skillfully dodging his advisors and discovering perfect hiding spots. However, his peaceful existence is shattered when a sudden coup brutally wipes out his clan.

Overwhelmed with guilt for being the sole survivor, Tokiyuki contemplates joining his family in death. However, his fate takes an abrupt turn when the enigmatic priest Yorishige Suwa suddenly shoves him onto a battlefield. Yorishige, who prophesies that Tokiyuki will one day become a great hero, leaves the boy with no choice but to navigate his way free of enemy soldiers. As Tokiyuki struggles to survive against these foes, he finds a new thrill in raising the stakes of his usual hide-and-seek games.

With a renewed sense of purpose and the promise of powerful allies from Yorishige, Tokiyuki vows to avenge his family—not through his capability to fight, but through his extraordinary talent for running away.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Houjou, Tokiyuki Main

Yuikawa, Asaki Japanese

Suwa, Yorishige Main

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Shizuku Supporting

Yano, Hinaki Japanese

Fubuki Supporting

Toya, Kikunosuke Japanese

Nezu, Kojirou Supporting

Hino, Mari Japanese

Mochizuki, Ayako Supporting

Suzushiro, Sayumi Japanese

Kazama, Genba Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Ogasawara, Sadamune Supporting

Aoyama, Yutaka Japanese

Ashikaga, Takauji Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Kou no, Moronao Supporting

Miyauchi, Atsushi Japanese

Umehara, Shouta Producer

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Fukushima, Yuuichi Producer

Matsumoto, Miho Producer

Reviews

Sep 28, 2024

Tkit

Recommended

Well-written

Abstract art pieces, advanced visual storytelling, inspired direction and enormous creative energy wasn't what I expected going into Elusive Samurai, but here we are. The sheer quality of artistry put on screen here is even more puzzling when taking into account how simple this story is. The whole plot of the anime works only because it was skillfully elevated with great care and passion.

First it is important to note that between those amazing highlights there is a whole bunch of normal anime and this normal anime looks great as well. Art Style is of course enjoyed depending on taste, but you can be certain that ... this isn't a generic looking random show, but bright colorful and energetic one. Even the character designs while fitting with the historic period, are often bonkers and enjoyable. There was a lot of effort put into animation from more mundane/comidic moments to epic fights. Those fights are helped by great choreography full of fluid movement and direction. The biggest strength of the Elusive Samurai shows in the fact that where others would have stopped at having great fights Elusive Samurai decides to show in a creative way more about characters. Sometimes a great sense of hearing will be represented by a gorgeous sequence, characters backstory will have a different style representing his feelings, emotions as a whole might be shown visually, a display of overwhelming power will become an otherworldy spiritual experience. With great direction and good focus a sense of disorientation in character will be skillfully portrayed. As I said the whole show isn't like that, but a lot is which is great to witness and used in a way that makes this competent, but simple story much more engaging. Quickly talking about sound, voice acting is very good but ost, while hitting during the highlights, was pretty unnoticeable.

I talk a lot about simplicity because it is true. Motivations are flat and many of the characters feel one note, but that doesn't mean everyone is like this. The whole plot is focused on the asymmetrical conflict of protagonist vs antagonist. Tokiyuki (good guy) has very engaging chellange of turning from a carefree, kind child into a responsible, charismatic leader while Takauji (bad guy) is a great execution of a simple, evil antagonist. His presence, power and attitude make him great to watch and the violence he is capable of give him a scary aura. Lesser antagonists are also mostly fun. Often very over the top, but in one example even given a small arc making me excited for the future of the rest of them. So yes story isn't anything special, but it's competent enough to be made special by the artistry surrounding it.

Now time for the bigger problem. This show is a comedy that tries its hand at mixing itself with tragedy and serious violence. Again comedy is subjective (I enjoyed it), but sometimes the jump from funnies to drama felt too jarring, it felt like a less skilled Gintama. Now it wasn't the worst attempt at doing something like that I saw, sometimes they do it well, but for someone unaccustomed to this approach bad mixing of tones can be a deal breaker. Either way be ready for a wacky show that tries to be serious from time to time.

To summarize I love abstract art enough to almost disregard all of the flaws in here, maybe despite them you will love it too.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Tkit (17)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Sep 28, 2024

ZeroMajor12

Mixed Feelings

Funny

I'll keep it short. This is an anime where perverts are the focal point of every conflict, hear me out.

Coming from the same author who made Assassination Classroom, you'd be surprised to see how much gore this anime lets out, it's such a drastic change in tone and stakes, yet it does it in such a playful way, the only way to describe The Elusive Samurai is psychotic perverts fighting each other for their own 'fetishes'.

The story starts off like an average coming-of-age plot about a young samurai, but like the title implies, the guy sucks at fighting and he also happens to be a ... shota. If you're familiar with the name 'Nagisa Shiota', this is the author doing the same thing with his protagonist again. From there on, you're introduced to the series' first perverts, Yorishige Suwa, who exhibits every behavior of a stranger trying to groom children, but that's okay since he also has a child and has divine energy emitting behind him, so he has to be a good guy right? This is where you realize that every character introduced here will be a bunch of weirdos from there on. Later on, you get the MC, voiced by an actress, enacting lines of a flushed child who just discovered his fetish of confronting death and 'elusively' runs from it (pun intended). It's an anime about relishing on the desire to live out your twisted fantasies in the sight of the battlefield.

Animation-wise, the anime for the most time looks good since it has CloverWorks name in it but you can tell it has some moments where it feels off. By the time they shifted to 3D animation, it becomes a battle of tolerance. But if you can keep up, it's not that bad. The anime also includes the time to paint antagonists the party has to encounter in the most psychopathic, dubious, and unholy of all expressions to ever exist. You have multiple characters that are recognised by their cartoonish-like characteristics, for instance, enlarged ears that makes a man look like a monkey. A character that looks like your savior-incarnate only to be a vile killer. A man whose eyes are about to pop out anytime and a thief who can literally shape-shifting his face into anyone they want to and make their same behavior.

Speaking of characters, you just entered the lottery, ladies and gentlemen. In this environment of redundant perverts, there are in fact normal characters in this anime and it shows on the face of people who reside with the main character or central antagonist of the anime. Unless for a few exceptions, the story doesn't completely forget how a normal person acts. You're just shoved into the perspective of an abandoned noble meeting an endless amount of perverts that you might worry if the abyss stares back at you. You're never going to find a cast this twisted other than degenerate hentais with dubious roles or fanservice propaganda.

I'm not going to say that the anime is flawless by any means. The pacing for something that is meant to be chaotic and bamboozling ends up feeling slow and predictable. For something that wants to make a mature but playful tone, it ends up getting stale quickly once you know exactly what the characters' antics do. There's rarely any development, since most of that sweet 24 minutes per episode is focused on introducing bigger bad guys in a contest of becoming the incarnate of the Seven Deadly Sins, but only in Japan. And whenever there is one moment of character development, it's only given to Tokiyuki for very little development. The characters might have good design and a reason to exist, but without any reasonable development to grow alongside Tokiyuki, it makes them look like your cast of Naruto's chunin students who were set up to be rivals with different set of skills. Their supporting characters are made to be introduced, act like friends and rarely got feedback for their own growth as well.

It's sufficient in multiple aspects, like a jack of all trades, but likewise it also means the anime doesn't excel in any of them. You'll leave thinking of a decent experience, but you'll find yourself too bamboozled to make words out of the fetishes you were exposed to in this anime.

Thank you for reading.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by ZeroMajor12 (71)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Oct 5, 2024

Gsarthotegga

Not Recommended

Elusive Samurai has solid production values, exciting animation, and coloring at times—in fact, pretty often. Certain scenes remind me of a lavishly animated late 1990s or early 2000s OVA, acting as something like this generation's Hakkenden but with less artistry and a shonen rather than seinen mentality. There's plenty of corner cutting, however, whether it's the use of eye-poking CGI for characters, a slew of stills with motion lines or shaking, or Dezaki-styled "postcard memories" inserts. Nonetheless, the animation is only exciting at a few points, mostly in the first half and a handful of fights later on. Though it's mostly a pretty standard shonen ... in tone, certain scenes have an arthouse flair, pairing well with the emotions expressed. They especially do a great job of capturing the exhilaration of combat, as the main weaves around arrows and flips past swishing swords, or the backgrounds come alive in an abstract rush of color as he acrobatically makes his way to his destination. The art is usually vivid, sans the occasionally murky surroundings or a shoddy drawing here and there. The character designs for the little tots and cackling villains are distinct, and there's occasionally some decent action.

The comedy is mostly obnoxious or plays upon awkward shotacon pandering that is the sanitized otaku equivalent of a white van with no windows and heaps of free candy or lost puppies. The scene where the MC meets the priest (uh oh) on the tree is one of the shrillest, loudest scenes in anime—a truly impressive feat! There's no way one can take this seriously in the beginning, for even when the tears rain down from the MC's googly eyes, and he has lost hope because his clan has been massacred, they pull the same slapstick comedy routine with absurd faces, bulging eyeballs about to pop a la Graves' disease, and the unbearable screeching of ten year olds and shining manchildren! I'd honestly say it's on par with the tone-deaf comedy of Demon Slayer; poking fun at tragedy and drama dynamics can work well, but the humor is usually oozing with unwanted tropey animeisms that are forced into the script as part of the shonen model rather than meshing well. Fortunately, the series becomes lighthearted and whimsical instead of playing it up as a hammy dark drama, and even the oftentimes gruesome blood sprays and gore explode into cartoonish chaos, so the tonal clashes aren't too pronounced, and the humor does mellow overtime.

While the concept is acceptable for a story, the execution is less than stellar, and the themes, script, story, and characters are where this series is weakest, flailing like cement clown shoes into Japan's deepest lake. There's your typical quick introduction to a samurai clan, followed by rivers of blood, and finally a bunch of pint-sized heroes rising up to lead an army and save the day. The story meanders around without aim, gradually introduces the bloated cast of thin characters who barely register as archetypes, and shows their special abilities and potential, which means a touch of espionage, a big battle or two with cavalry and soldiers, numerous solo battles, and a whole lot of slinking off into the night with their tails between their legs.

The MC lacks proficient combat skills, but he can run away like a champ, while finding many opportunities to lecture adults and inculcate them in the art of retreat. By shonen standards, he's serviceable, foregoing the blockheaded idealism or obliviousness of plenty of others. His traumatic past informs his thought process, and his capabilities grant him with a balanced set of strengths and weaknesses, resulting in more tension and growth than the most bargain bin of shonen. The rest of the characters are basic, and when the MC remarked that he didn't know who Shizuku was because she seemed so mysterious and steeped in the arcane, it reminded me that I could say the same about even the simple Jacks of the cast, most of whom I can't remember the name of. The villains, though similarly lacking nuance, are a bit more entertaining, as they're often sadistic dirtbags, like the traitorous uncle who split too fast, or the eye-bulging archer Sadamune, or even the monkish samurai with literal ants in his pants who has a rare character arc.

It could have been a 4-5 in the middle to late portion of the series, but it's so mediocre as it goes on and has a bland final arc, lacking the polish and thrill of the visual elements in the earlier portion of the series. There's not much else to say. It's just a dull shonen with a sloppy-taco story and plain-riceball characters. There are bursts of stylistic excess, but they aren't impressive enough to maintain much interest for those who have seen the most celebrated visual works in anime, which is a huge problem because that's the only thing this show has going for it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Gsarthotegga (132)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Chanbara

by pumpkin_man

27 Entries · 23 Restacks

Best of the YEAR 2024

by DreckDued

12 Entries · 2 Restacks

Best-animated episodes in anime

by inazumera

20 Entries · 2 Restacks

'Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi' Gets Second Season

The official website of the television anime adapting Yuusei Matsui's Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi (The Elusive Samurai) manga announced a second season on Monday. Pr...read more

Oct 6, 8:47 AM by Nioxys | Discuss (23 comments)

Summer 2024 Simulcast List [Update 6/6]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Summer 2024 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Jun 28, 2:58 PM by Snow | Discuss (15 comments)

	Really unpopular anime for how Top tier visuals are Prfpnd_179 - Oct 3	8 replies	by Cyclox52 »» Oct 13, 6:00 AM
	Poll: Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 28	73 replies	by saeran_choiiii »» Oct 12, 8:35 AM
	Poll: Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 14	59 replies	by lordgaara »» Oct 10, 7:12 PM
	Who is this for? BiobulletM - Aug 9	37 replies	by Sajonji »» Oct 10, 1:06 AM
	[leak] season 2 is decided deg - Oct 2	7 replies	by KuroCiel »» Oct 9, 11:24 AM