A New Battle! The Mysterious Beauty From Nowhere is the eighth episode of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series.
Synopsis[]
After one of Sanosuke's friends dies from opium overdose, a mysterious woman shows up and asks Kenshin's help and protection. She is being pursued by the Oniwabanshū onmitsu, an elite group of ninja who are under the orders of a shady businessman. Who is really this mysterious woman? Why is she being pursued by the businessman?
Plot[]
Sanosuke gambling with his friends
A mysterious woman, later identified as Takani Megumi, is running away from two people that are chasing her. Meanwhile, Sano is gambling with his friends, Ginji and Tomo, seeking Kenshin's advice while doing so. However he is constantly losing each game he plays. Despite this, he seems to be in a good mood, until he is told that a friend of his named Yoita passed away. He learns from Ginji, that Yoita died as a result of opium, which he was misled into believing was beneficial for him and by the time he realized what he had taken into his body, it was too late.
The woman running away in the beginning suddenly appears in the house where Sano and his friends were gambling. She notices Kenshin's sword lying next to him and jumps towards him, embracing him and asking for his help. The two men chasing her also appear and identify her as Megumi. One of them tries to capture her, but is easily tossed aside by Sano (who is in an especially bad mood, after learning of Yoita's fate). It is learned that these two are henchmen for an underground criminal, named Takeda Kanryū. Megumi is asked why they are after her and she claims to have no knowledge of what they are after.
Beshimi appears without being noticed
Thereafter, a small man appears (Beshimi), laughing and accusing Megumi of being a lying deceiver, in the pretense of an innocent woman. Megumi vows to him that she will never return to Kanryū and he throws spiral darts towards her, which hit Ginji and Tomo in the face, causing blood to draw from them. He then tells Megumi that he will fire the next ones at both her legs. He fires away, but Kenshin blocks the darts with a nearby mat, saying that even though he doesn't understand what is going on, he cannot allow innocent people to be hurt. He and Sano then punch the man in the face, making him fly out of the house.
Kaoru beats up Kenshin to a pulp
Back at the Kamiya Dōjō, Kamiya Kaoru and Myōjin Yahiko continue training. Kenshin and Sano return home with Megumi and Kaoru is not too happy to see her, especially after she begins flirting with Kenshin right in front of her, calling him "Ken San" and "handsome" in a sensual tone. This causes Kaoru to start beating up Kenshin to a pulp, despite the fact that he didn't do anything. Megumi is surprised by Kaoru's rash and unlady like behavior. Kaoru asks her about her association with Kenshin and she simply says that Kenshin is important to her and will protect her. Megumi then asks her the same question, only Kaoru is dumbstruck. Megumi doubts that a little "sweaty" dōjō girl like her can be Kenshin's lover. Megumi then starts holding Kenshin in a sensual manner, asking him whether or not he prefers her to Kaoru. This completely enrages Kaoru.
During that incident, Kenshin notices someone spying on them.
Kanryu Takeda eating at his mansion
Elsewhere, the two men who were attempting to retrieve Megumi earlier are mercilessly executed, under orders by Kanryū, who is seen eating dinner in the company of a man standing next to him, whom he calls Okashira (i.e. commander). The Okashira is shown not to be a henchman for Kanryū, since he acts independently and clearly tells the latter not to butt in to his affairs. Kanryū is okay with that, as long as Megumi is retrieved. Han'nya then appears and tells the Okashira, Megumi's location in the Kamiya Dōjō. The Okashira orders him and another one of his underlings, Hyottoko, to help Beshimi retrieve her.
The Oniwabanshū Okashira identified
Back in the Dōjō, Megumi informs Kenshin of Kanryū, saying that he has 60 bodyguards and separate from them are his most dangerous associates, the Okashira's soldiers. She tells Kenshin that these soldiers are distinct from his other bodyguards and are members of the Oniwabanshū, defenders of the Edo Castle, a group that gave command to a 15 year old prodigy named Shinomori Aoshi (the Okashira), just before the Bakumatsu. Megumi thinks to herself that if the Oniwabanshū pursues her, even Kenshin won't be able to help her and that she must escape somewhere else soon.
Kaoru eavesdropping Kenshin's conversation
Kenshin then asks Megumi why Kanryū is so bent on finding her, but she refuses to answer him, saying that it is none of his business. Meanwhile, Kaoru attempts to eavesdrop on their conversation, however Sano notices this and reprimands her, saying that her position as Shihandai (assistant master) of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū has been dampened. She tries to make excuses, saying that she only wants to know what is happening since Kenshin and Megumi have been spending all night together in a single room.
Yahiko wants to fight too
Kenshin then comes out of the room and tells Kaoru and Sano that they are dealing with the Oniwabanshū, who are probably already aware of Megumi's location. Kenshin tells Kaoru that there will most likely be trouble ahead, but that she can be assured that he will protect her. Yahiko, who has been hiding underneath the floor of the Dōjō the entire time, suddenly appears and says that now that he knows what's going on, he wants to get in on the action too, saying that he too is part of the Kenshingumi (i.e. Kenshin group, a term he just coined).
Hyottoko's flame technique
Hyottoko appears out of nowhere and breaks through the Dōjō's surrounding wall. He confirms that he is among the Oniwabanshū and commands the group to return Megumi. Sano tells Kenshin to leave Hyottoko to him and although Kenshin advises him to be weary, because the opponents are members of the Oniwabanshū. Sano says that no matter what the challenge is, he refuses to back down. He then attacks Hyottoko with a punch straight in the gut, but the latter simply laughs, grabs Sano and breathes fire on him. Sano barely manages to escape. Hyottoko is impressed but says that he won't be able to survive a second round. Beshimi is watching the encounter nearby.
Kenshin unaffected by Hyottoko's attack
Kenshin then jumps into the fight, saying that Hyottoko's attack is merely a childish trick that won't affect him in the least. This angers Hyottoko, who attacks Kenshin, but Kenshin blocks off the attack by spinning his sword around extremely quickly in the face of the flame, preventing it from reaching him. Meanwhile, Megumi, who is seeing the battle, attempts to make her escape, but is caught by Kaoru, who tells her how shameful her action is, i.e. abandoning those who are protecting her. Megumi says that the Oniwabanshū will have no mercy on even women and children and that Kaoru too, should save her own life while she has the change. Kaoru refuses, saying that no matter who the enemy, Kenshin will always keep his promise to protect her. On the battlefield, Hyottoko's flame runs out and Kenshin remains unaffected by it, to the former's surprise.
Sanosuke defeats Hyottoko
Sano then returns, saying that this is his battle and he wants to battle Hyottoko himself without help. Hyottoko, meanwhile has drank a gallon of oil and is once again able to use his fire technique. Sano charges straight towards him. Kenshin notes that a straightforward attack is a lot wiser than backing away, since this reduces the risk of being affected by the flame. Sano punches Hyottoko right into the mouth and the latter is hurt badly, but punches him right back in the face. Hyottoko regurgitates out all of the oil, due to the punch. Sano then finishes off Hyottoko with a hard kick right to the face.
Yahiko gets poisoned by the dart
Megumi is stunned by how powerful both Kenshin and Sano were and asks who they are. Kaoru says that they are her close comrades. Yahiko says that he is among them too. Beshimi, who is nearby, is angered by Hyottoko's defeat and decides to finish off Megumi right there for causing him all that trouble, regardless of Kanryū's orders to bring her back alive. As he fires his poison darts towards Megumi, Kenshin notices it and Yahiko quickly jumps in the way, causing him to be struck on the arm. Kaoru tends to him, but he says that it is nothing he can't handle before suddenly collapsing on her.
Han'nya takes his comrades and retreats
Beshimi is angered that he missed his chance, but comes out into the open, saying that the kid (i.e. Yahiko) had it coming for interfering and that he'll be dead within one hour. He then says that he'll kill all of them right there, starting with the swordsman (i.e. Kenshin). Kenshin then attacks him from above, knocking him out and almost simultaneously, Han'nya appears out of nowhere, grabbing his comrades and making his escape, after telling Kenshin that he is surprised by his skills and is looking forward to challenging him in the near future. Kenshin realizes that Han'nya too is a very skilled warrior.
Sanosuke finds some opium left by Megumi
Right afterwards, Kaoru is about to suck the poison out of Yahiko's arm, but is stopped by Megumi, who tells her that sucking poison out of the wound causes infections and that such an ailment cannot be treated by an ordinary person. She analyzes Yahiko's conditions and says that the poison is from a thorn apple, thereby ordering Kenshin and the others to bring her specific ingredients necessary to cure the poison.
Megumi takes care of Yahiko
She then picks up Yahiko, bringing him back inside the Dōjō but as she does leaves, three mysterious tiny packets drop from her pocket, which are picked up by Sano. He has a taste and realizes that it is opium. Sano is disturbed by this and begins to suspect Megumi. Back in the Dōjō, Yahiko continues to suffer and is being watched over by Megumi, Kenshin and Sano, as Kaoru runs to buy the medicine Megumi ordered.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Takani Megumi
- Himura Kenshin
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Takeda Kanryū
- Beshimi
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Myōjin Yahiko
- Shinomori Aoshi
- Hyottoko
- Han'nya
Anime Notes[]
- There are several differences between the anime and the manga regarding the events of this episode:
- In the original manga there is an initial scene at the Kamiya Dōjō where Kaoru is worried about where Kenshin is, and Yahiko tells her thay they went to bet. This was omitted in the anime.
- In the manga Kenshin's advice to Sanosuke results in him constantly winning gambles, in contrast to the anime, where it results in him constantly losing.
- In the manga Sanosuke and Kenshin quickly discover the opium packets that fall out from Megumi's clothes (while they are still on the gambling hall). This is in contrast with the anime where only Sanosuke discovers it later that night after the fight with the Oniwabanshū at the Kamiya Dōjō.
- In the manga Kaoru beats up Kenshin because she believes he won Megumi as a gambling prize (a result of Sano's suggestion to keep the truth from her), whereas in the anime she simply beats him up, after seeing Megumi flirt with him.
- In the manga after that scene with Kaoru at the Dōjō, a friend of Sanosuke brings the Kenshingumi to a bridge in town where there are the corpses of some thugs that attacked them. In there, they see Takeda Kanryū and Shinomori Aoshi. All of these scenes are omitted from the anime.
- Kenshin has a little scuffle with Han'nya in the manga, before the latter makes his escape. In the anime, however, Han'nya simply commends Kenshin's skills, before escaping immediately.
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the first time opium is mentioned in the anime.
Gallery[]
