Warning: SPOILERS for The Elusive Samurai episode #1
Summary
Weekly Shonen Jumphas enjoyed a wave of impressive successes with many popular series debuting to critical and viewer acclaim, butThe Elusive Samuraisets powerful impressions in Summer 2024. The series benefits from Yusei Matsui’s complex blend of comedy and historical epic. Still, the anime production of CloverWorks' team has crafted an elevated experience that expands on the Shonen Jump manga. One scene inThe Elusive Samurai’sfirst episode is especially shocking, as an innocent moment between Tokiyuki, the protagonist, and Kunitoki, his half-brother,is cut short by the brief shot of a falling severed head.
The Elusive Samuraiis exceptionally cavalier about its gory scenes, more so thanAssassination Classroomby the same creator. Due to depicting the violent proceedings of the Kenmu Restoration from 1333 onward,viewers are given this scene as a warning of what’s ahead.Yet, the specifics behind what happens now leave fans with many questions.
What starts as a playful scene where the two brothers talk about their future in the Kamakura Shogunate transforms into a shocking moment when the plot turns dark inThe Elusive Samuraiepisode #1.
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The Elusive Samuraihas a deceptively playful opening, with Tokiyuki Hojo demonstrating his gifts for running and hiding. Still, the scene marking the middle of the episode, where a game of kemari cuts to a severed head hitting the ground, is particularly jarring. It’s punctuated perfectly, down to the dull thud of the head in a blind-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that could be mistaken for the white mari ball hitting the ground.But this moment indicates a one-month time skip where Tokiyuki Hojo’s half-brother, Kunitoki Hojo, was beheaded, as Takauji Ashikaga began his overthrow of the Kamakura Shogunate.
While the shot is barely less than a second long, the white hair tie indicates it’s Kunitoki’s head, as it’s the same tie shown in the previous scene, as confirmed in the original manga’s first chapter.
The tone instantly shifts to a merciless slaughter as the Hojo clan and the Kamakura Shogunate endure a massacre at the hands of Takauji and his loyal soldiers.The Elusive Samuraishows the devastating violence in the following quote,“For the boy to become a hero…he had to lose everything.“However, the beheading scene inThe Elusive Samuraiis just different enough from the manga,one of the best hits to be reading right now, that it may spark additional questions from the viewers and even some research into the historical context.
The Beheading Scene in The Elusive Samurai May Be Foreshadowing
The falling head scene inThe Elusive Samurai’sadaptation is Kunitoki’s death. Still, the crucial details, namely the mention of his death, are curiously omitted inthis Shonen Jump sleeper hit. This could just as quickly be due to not wishing to show more gruesome details of a child being violently executed, however. For those who know about the true story of Tokiyuki Hojo, this may be connected to one key event that has not yet occurred in the manga.
Tokiyuki and Kunitoki’s innocent moments together, while Kunitoki plays Kemari, being cut short by this scene, is a cruel end to a character who didn’t deserve his fate. The future is also dangerous, with Tokiyuki’s first major fight starting inThe Elusive Samuraiepisode #2.The Elusive Samuraiis ideal for fans craving aShonen Jumpseries that handles character deaths and shocking gore withthe year’s best visuals.
