Katanagatari 12

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That's how the episode starts. A very sad moment, Togame dying between Shichika's arms. Emonzaeomn purposedly didn't shot her vitals to allow her to speak her final words.

She tells Shichika that she lived her life scheming, using even her own emotions as pawns. But in the end she was happy... She also told Shichika to forget about her and live his life. The final request of Togame, oddly enough, is for Shichika to spread the use of cheerio over Japan.

This was a beautifully sad scene, very moving and well done. The great thing is that it's at the beginning, this way they have the rest of the episode to lift our mood.

Shichika infact wants to get killed and he heads to the castle seeking for Emonzaemon.

His resolve is unshakable

His mind is set

At the same time princess Hitei was received by the Shogun who has 11 bodyguards with him.
Shichika enters the castle and he really has another look. He is the completed deviant blade and now he doesn't have any restriction. The orders "don't break the blades" and "protect yourself" are not effective and he can show his full power.

The soldiers facing him are of no effect and princess Hitei proposes the Shogun her Emonzaemon and his 11 bodyguards will use the 12 deviant blades to oppose him.

The following fight is really epic as Shichika faces them one by one and makes short work of them. He breaks all the blades and kills many of the bodyguards. The poor little girl holding Seito Hakari (the sheat) gets only hit on the head and not killed.

Zettou Kanna

Zantou Nakamura

Sentou Tsurugi

Hakutou Hari

Zakutou Yoroi

Sautou Kanazuchi

Akutou Bita

Bitou Kanzashi

Outou Nokogiri

Seitou Hakari

Dokutou Mekki

The last opponent is Emonzaemon with Ento Jyu. When asked if he is seeking revenge Shichika answers that he wants to be killed and believed Emonzaemon is the only one who could be able to do it.

The fight is fierce and spectacular. Shichika moves extremely fast to apparently avoid the shots, but then he gets close to Emonzaemon and reveals he didn't try to avoid them. He decided to take them from the start. He doesn't need to protect himself anymore!

An impressive fight!

When it looks like Emonzaemon would be the winner Shichika finishes the fight with his final completed "Shichika Hachiretsu Kai". Entou Jyu is destroyed and Emonzaemon final words are for HItei hime.

Entou Jyuu

Shichika reaches the last floor where the Shogun and Hitei are waiting. Before the fight with Emonzaemon started she told Shichika he could have killed her if he defeated Emonzaemon. She also revealed him that for Shichika to win was according to Shikizaki's plan and for her either to complete the plan or to stop it was good. Shikizaki Kiki saw that a hundred years from now Japan would be invaded by a foreign country and destroyed. To avoid this he had to change history by destroying the current shogunate.

Shichika gets to the last floor and Hitemi hime tells him he can kill her. But he says he has the strenght to kill just one more person. He approaches the Shogun. He wants to make him an example. He kills him with an incredibly powerful attack (if there was any need of it!) screaming "cheerio"!

!!

After the ending song we see Shichika drawing a map of Japan at a small stand by the roadside. He went with Togame's dream in the end. Hitei hime sits near him, even if he tells her he doesn't want her to follow him :)

She looks happy, finally

Hitei hime wears Emonzaemon's mask over the head and seems a much more lively and happy person. She tells Shichika that Shikizaki's plan to destroy the shogunate and change history failed in the end. Simply, the successor of the previous Shogun stepped in and took the charge. Shichika tells her that it's not such a problem after all. They have to believe in the future warriors to be able to defend Japan when the invasion will come.

They seem to enjoy their journey together :)

The two resume their journey...

It was a beautiful ride till the end. Very sad story, but definitely beautiful. Shichika grew from the soulless killing machine at the beginning to a full person. Even Hitei hime is shown to be happy in the end.
Togame's story is really sad and they were able to convey strong emotions. The choice of putting the saddest parts at the beginning of the last episode is very good. The ending left me sad, but still happy and I felt the story was complete.

Katanagatari is an unusual anime for being spread over a year with one episode each month. The episodes are longer than usual and they are all very good. I hope we will get more anime like this.

Ultimately for me this is one of the best series this year, if not the best!