‘The Elusive Samurai’ collection overview: Breathtaking interval anime appears like a subversive successor to ‘Shogun’

At its coronary heart, The Elusive Samurai is a basic underdog story, nevertheless it topples expectations with Tokiyuki’s peculiar potential. It’s not a simple promote within the honour-obsessed stoicism of medieval Japan, however CloverWorks brings his flight to life with such fluidity that the act of operating turns into one thing near an artwork type. The best way Tokiyuki slips via the chaos of battlefields, his actions animated with nimble grace, makes the concept of fleeing as compelling as any sword battle.

A nonetheless from ‘The Elusive Samurai’
| Photograph Credit score:
Crunchyroll

What actually units the anime aside although, is the outstanding visible panorama that CloverWorks constructs round Tokiyuki’s journey. The animation is — merely put — beautiful. It’s not simply the daring color palette or intricate backgrounds that catch the attention, however how the collection performs with texture and movement. The opening episodes unfurl with stunning illustrations stuffed with wealthy reds, deep blues, and painterly greens so lush, that they virtually soften off the display screen in a mélange of vibrant hues. However the serenity of those scenes is rapidly undercut by moments of sudden, brutal violence. The distinction is sharp, virtually stunning at instances, and it drives house the precariousness of Tokiyuki’s scenario — he might be able to run, however there’s no escaping the bloody, unforgiving actuality of his world.

Tokiyuki’s story kicks off after the autumn of his household, the highly effective Hojo clan, which is betrayed and decimated in a coup. This might simply have set the stage for a well-known Hamlet-ian revenge plot, however the anime chooses a extra playful, subversive method. Tokiyuki isn’t any blood-thirsty avenger; he’s a resourceful, slippery protagonist who depends on his wit and pace moderately than brute power. It’s a welcome departure from the heavy, tragic heroes we witnessed far too typically in samurai tales, and that lightness is carried via within the present’s forged of eccentric supporting characters.

There’s Yorishige, a clairvoyant priest with questionable strategies (voiced by the identical VA that gave us Gojo Satoru), who mentors Tokiyuki with religious insights and disturbing humour. Then there’s the ragtag group of “Elusive Warriors” that rally behind Tokiyuki — a band of misfits whose quirks add levity to the grimmest conditions.

However don’t let the comedy idiot you. The stakes in The Elusive Samurai are very actual, and the present doesn’t shrink back from the harshness of its historic setting, or sanitise it. There are moments when the brutal political realities — massacres, mutilations, public executions — come crashing via the brightly colored animation like a slap to the face. The pilot alone begins in a near-idyllic imaginative and prescient of Tokiyuki’s life earlier than plunging into the graphic bloodbath of his household and their retainers and the present thrives in these moments of tonal dissonance, leaping from lightheartedness to the macabre with out lacking a beat.

A nonetheless from ‘The Elusive Samurai’
| Photograph Credit score:
Crunchyroll

One in all its boldest inventive selections is the way it makes use of its warping artwork types to replicate these tonal shifts. At instances, the visuals are lush and virtually dreamlike, significantly in Tokiyuki’s quieter moments of contemplation or escape. At others, they develop into jagged and distorted, particularly throughout battle scenes or moments of utmost emotion. The ninth episode, “My Buddha” specifically — a stunning fever dream of shifting types and surreal physique distortions — is experimental genius. It’s moments like these that elevate The Elusive Samurai past the confines of typical shounen fare, even pushing it in direction of, dare I say, excessive artwork.

As fairly as it’s to take a look at, nonetheless, The Elusive Samurai finds its true brilliance within the rigidity between previous and current. Whereas ostensibly set in medieval Japan, it typically appears like an underhanded commentary on extra trendy concepts. Along with his fast ft and faster pondering, Tokiyuki rejects the standard notions of honour and heroism that permeate the style. His journey is one in all survival, not simply within the bodily sense however emotionally and psychologically too. It’s about understanding when to choose your battles, when to cover within the shadows, and when to bide your time till the world shifts in your favour. And that makes him one of the crucial compelling younger anime protagonists in current reminiscence.

There’s one thing undeniably fascinating about this charming boy who merely is aware of learn how to run for his life — and perhaps, someday, reclaim his place on this planet. And whereas Tokiyuki could spend a lot of the collection on the run, The Elusive Samurai is already racing towards one thing a lot better — a spot among the many most visually ingenious anime of 2024. With a stunning, genre-defying first season, it’s not exhausting to think about it rising as a darkish horse contender for Anime of the 12 months.

The Elusive Samurai is presently streaming on Crunchyroll