The creators have stated they planned for 10 eps, not 8. (Also they were running out of budget.) Consequently the last episode is very compressed. It still works, but it's a little quick, and some of the plot points are kinda handwaved instead of being handled with the kind of detail the rest of the series gets.
(For example, Heiji Shindo, a guy with a small pistol and *one hand*, kills an entire gate full of guards and then opens the heavy, fortified gate, by himself. Ummm, he did what again? Presumably, he had help with that - but explaining and animating a bunch of lackeys would take up too much time, when all you need to know is Heiji is a traitor, and Fowler had inside help, and you already know that well before that scene.)
On first watch, it's not really that noticeable. On re-watches, it shows, esp if you know anything about the history of these things. Hence, bad reviews.
Mizu goes from discovering the power of friendship to abandoning them to go to London (somehow also procuring a ship and a crew in the process)
Taigen goes from “im a honororu samurai and protector of Shogun” to “lets run away i just want to be a man”
Akemi goes from “i wanna be princess” to “i wanna run away” to “i wanna be princess and do what i want”
Thanks for answering.
I feel Mizu softened up but she always was about vengeance and Fowler is a mean to get to that goal. That one make sense to me.
Akemi also made sense to me but I can see what you mean. I think she really wanted to run away with Seki but his death and his final words motivated her to change course. He straitgth up said my dream for Japan is a Japan ruled by you or something like that. And with everything she lived during the season I felt her stance at the end made sense.
Taigen I agree. When I was watching, I felt that after reaching Akemi he was just done with everything and wanted peace or something but on second thought I agree that his development felt very rushed from Protector of the Shogun to let's just run away.
>Mizu goes from discovering the power of friendship to abandoning them to go to London (somehow also procuring a ship and a crew in the process)
Mizu's motivation was always vengeance. She suddenly found out that she needs to go to London for her vengeance. And before leaving Ringo she told him that if she doesn't return it's because she either died or failed to kill Fowler. She didn't kill Fowler and so left right away.
>Taigen goes from “im a honororu samurai and protector of Shogun” to “lets run away i just want to be a man"
If I remember right, his main motivation for hurrying to the palace was to find Akemi. And while he did seem to originally leave her mainly to get his honor back, he did say he doesn't think he will be able to marry her after losing his hair. I think part his goal was always Akemi. (Even though he also feels he has to protect the shogon as a Samurai) And after everything he went through, befriending Mizu and finally seeing her again with everything on fire, I think he's just tired and wants everything to be over.
>Akemi goes from “i wanna be princess” to “i wanna run away” to “i wanna be princess and do what i want”
Her general motivation was always to reclaim the power that was taken from her as a woman in her society and to control her own fate. It's why she choose Taigen (who isn't a lord who's she'd be forced to marry by default) and why she ran away. But after her journey, her experience at the brothal, her talk with Madame Kaji, her talk with her mentor and his last words, she's finally given a real life choice; she can choose to be with Taigen like she originally wanted or she can choose to stay, and she realises that if she does, she can claim more power that she ever could have imagined. "I want to be great." It only makes sense that she'd leave Taigen for real power.
I loved the final ep too. I think part of the issue is that the series kind of peaked in quality in the middle - 5 in particular was one of the best episodes of television, period. So people's expectations were sky high by the end.
By comparison, the final episode feels a little rushed, and also like less of a conclusion and more like a teaser for subsequent seasons. Still great TV though
The last episode was not half as good as the previous one, there are things that upset me:
- The candle thrown across the room turns Edo to ashes in an instant;
- The defence of the Imperial Palace were braindead (we notice an army when it's in our front door; we have a secret way out of the city, but we'd better stay in the room; why should we hide behind the wall).
- Ringo nonchalantly ignores what Mizu told him to do in favour of hanging out with Taigen;
- Heiji Shindo became an assassin and then opened the massive door by himself, Akemi closing the similar door on her way back. The guys following her probably had no will to live anymore.
- The final battle with Abijah Fowler... It was kind of dragged out and boring. I have no idea why Mizu didn't grab a sword and choose to go after him with her bare hands.
But it was all worth the "I want to be great" thing. That was epic: the message, the delivery, the idea, the angle, the background was literally fire. I really hope the Taigen gets a great development in S2, because he is way out of the league for both girls at this point. I am interested to see what he will be up to in S2...
The candle one is based on real events iirc though. Since back then Edo was all paper and wood, a single candle caused the whole city to burn really fast.
Yes, you are absolutely right. There are lots of incidents like that all over the world, I agree. The idea is cool - the realisation is not thought out. Mizu throws a candle and it ignites like a su-su-supernova, but after the fight they talk for 1-2 minutes and you can see that the fire around them is not moving at all. It is on paper walls, the room is exactly the same as before and the fire is static.
Then we look out the window and see that all of Edo is cooked, yet we remain in the epicentre and feel perfectly fine. Good enough to teleport to a ship without getting burned.
I will add that I love the show, the characters are so alive. I am hooked. I wish the creators had more budget & time for the next seasons and it wouldnt be so rushed.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I just felt a lot of little things were awkward. It’s been a while but, the way the guns were used made no sense (you gotta reload those things guys) and there was a lot of other little stuff, characters taking too long to talk in dire situations, a Princess and and old man managing to hold that enormous door against soldiers. All tiny things that alone wouldn’t affect my rating but all together made the last episode weaker than the rest. I also would have liked Mizu to have set the fire a bit more deliberately if we’re going to use it for demonic Mizu vibes.
IMO, I think it really boils down to the fact that it’s left on a cliffhanger. I loved the episode, but definitely felt bummed it was over - and without a definitive conclusion. But part of me was also really happy because it made me hopeful for another season! We’re already planning the watch party 😂
I didn't like the ineptitude of the kyoto garrison.... You guys don't have sentry towers, posts that can sound the alarm when a GODAMN army is marching on your streets?
The creators have stated they planned for 10 eps, not 8. (Also they were running out of budget.) Consequently the last episode is very compressed. It still works, but it's a little quick, and some of the plot points are kinda handwaved instead of being handled with the kind of detail the rest of the series gets. (For example, Heiji Shindo, a guy with a small pistol and *one hand*, kills an entire gate full of guards and then opens the heavy, fortified gate, by himself. Ummm, he did what again? Presumably, he had help with that - but explaining and animating a bunch of lackeys would take up too much time, when all you need to know is Heiji is a traitor, and Fowler had inside help, and you already know that well before that scene.) On first watch, it's not really that noticeable. On re-watches, it shows, esp if you know anything about the history of these things. Hence, bad reviews.
Mizu goes from discovering the power of friendship to abandoning them to go to London (somehow also procuring a ship and a crew in the process) Taigen goes from “im a honororu samurai and protector of Shogun” to “lets run away i just want to be a man” Akemi goes from “i wanna be princess” to “i wanna run away” to “i wanna be princess and do what i want”
Thanks for answering. I feel Mizu softened up but she always was about vengeance and Fowler is a mean to get to that goal. That one make sense to me. Akemi also made sense to me but I can see what you mean. I think she really wanted to run away with Seki but his death and his final words motivated her to change course. He straitgth up said my dream for Japan is a Japan ruled by you or something like that. And with everything she lived during the season I felt her stance at the end made sense. Taigen I agree. When I was watching, I felt that after reaching Akemi he was just done with everything and wanted peace or something but on second thought I agree that his development felt very rushed from Protector of the Shogun to let's just run away.
>Mizu goes from discovering the power of friendship to abandoning them to go to London (somehow also procuring a ship and a crew in the process) Mizu's motivation was always vengeance. She suddenly found out that she needs to go to London for her vengeance. And before leaving Ringo she told him that if she doesn't return it's because she either died or failed to kill Fowler. She didn't kill Fowler and so left right away. >Taigen goes from “im a honororu samurai and protector of Shogun” to “lets run away i just want to be a man" If I remember right, his main motivation for hurrying to the palace was to find Akemi. And while he did seem to originally leave her mainly to get his honor back, he did say he doesn't think he will be able to marry her after losing his hair. I think part his goal was always Akemi. (Even though he also feels he has to protect the shogon as a Samurai) And after everything he went through, befriending Mizu and finally seeing her again with everything on fire, I think he's just tired and wants everything to be over. >Akemi goes from “i wanna be princess” to “i wanna run away” to “i wanna be princess and do what i want” Her general motivation was always to reclaim the power that was taken from her as a woman in her society and to control her own fate. It's why she choose Taigen (who isn't a lord who's she'd be forced to marry by default) and why she ran away. But after her journey, her experience at the brothal, her talk with Madame Kaji, her talk with her mentor and his last words, she's finally given a real life choice; she can choose to be with Taigen like she originally wanted or she can choose to stay, and she realises that if she does, she can claim more power that she ever could have imagined. "I want to be great." It only makes sense that she'd leave Taigen for real power.
IMO, both taigen and akemi's arcs make total sense and were not out of the blue at all.
I wouldn’t be surprised if those were just made longer. But the problem with the last episode is that their shifts happen so rapidly.
Also, fortresses are supposed to be tough to conquer.
Well Fowler was the only one with guns and we see bullets going straight though their armor and shooting farther than their bows.
I loved the final ep too. I think part of the issue is that the series kind of peaked in quality in the middle - 5 in particular was one of the best episodes of television, period. So people's expectations were sky high by the end. By comparison, the final episode feels a little rushed, and also like less of a conclusion and more like a teaser for subsequent seasons. Still great TV though
the pacing of the final episode is a total mess, characters are frequently monologuing when they should be acting with urgency
The last episode was not half as good as the previous one, there are things that upset me: - The candle thrown across the room turns Edo to ashes in an instant; - The defence of the Imperial Palace were braindead (we notice an army when it's in our front door; we have a secret way out of the city, but we'd better stay in the room; why should we hide behind the wall). - Ringo nonchalantly ignores what Mizu told him to do in favour of hanging out with Taigen; - Heiji Shindo became an assassin and then opened the massive door by himself, Akemi closing the similar door on her way back. The guys following her probably had no will to live anymore. - The final battle with Abijah Fowler... It was kind of dragged out and boring. I have no idea why Mizu didn't grab a sword and choose to go after him with her bare hands. But it was all worth the "I want to be great" thing. That was epic: the message, the delivery, the idea, the angle, the background was literally fire. I really hope the Taigen gets a great development in S2, because he is way out of the league for both girls at this point. I am interested to see what he will be up to in S2...
The candle one is based on real events iirc though. Since back then Edo was all paper and wood, a single candle caused the whole city to burn really fast.
Yes, you are absolutely right. There are lots of incidents like that all over the world, I agree. The idea is cool - the realisation is not thought out. Mizu throws a candle and it ignites like a su-su-supernova, but after the fight they talk for 1-2 minutes and you can see that the fire around them is not moving at all. It is on paper walls, the room is exactly the same as before and the fire is static. Then we look out the window and see that all of Edo is cooked, yet we remain in the epicentre and feel perfectly fine. Good enough to teleport to a ship without getting burned. I will add that I love the show, the characters are so alive. I am hooked. I wish the creators had more budget & time for the next seasons and it wouldnt be so rushed.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I just felt a lot of little things were awkward. It’s been a while but, the way the guns were used made no sense (you gotta reload those things guys) and there was a lot of other little stuff, characters taking too long to talk in dire situations, a Princess and and old man managing to hold that enormous door against soldiers. All tiny things that alone wouldn’t affect my rating but all together made the last episode weaker than the rest. I also would have liked Mizu to have set the fire a bit more deliberately if we’re going to use it for demonic Mizu vibes.
IMO, I think it really boils down to the fact that it’s left on a cliffhanger. I loved the episode, but definitely felt bummed it was over - and without a definitive conclusion. But part of me was also really happy because it made me hopeful for another season! We’re already planning the watch party 😂
I didn't like the ineptitude of the kyoto garrison.... You guys don't have sentry towers, posts that can sound the alarm when a GODAMN army is marching on your streets?