Hope you like flashbacks, because episode seven of SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI MASTER has a huge chunk dedicated to showing us how Kurokage was in the past. There’s also the small matter of the battle between Yumi and Fubuki.
Kurokage, Hanzo and Yume
I’ll start with the flashback that focuses on Kurokage, which is actually interspersed throughout the episode. It pretty much shows how Kurokage firmly believed the ninja world was black and white. Of course, he discovered that it was more grey, and decided to take it upon himself to eliminate the evil from it. This did not sit well with his superiors, so he was branded a renegade and went into hiding. Eventually, he ended up meeting his granddaughter, Yumi, and raised her after her parents were died.
Fubuki wields Kurokage’s fan
With the flashback stuff out of the way, I can focus on the present in which Fubuki and Yumi are just about to fight. Fubuki wields a black fan – in fact, the very same one that Kurokage was shown wielding during the flashback.
This youma smells like a human
Behind the scenes, Homura’s Crimson Squad and Hebijo confront the youma that is guarding the captive Hanzo shinobi. She is perfectly capable of human speech, but she isn’t exactly forthcoming with any answers about who she is.
Ice Queen Yumi
As Yumi and Fubuki continue to fight, Yumi unleashes her Ultimate Secret Ninja Art: Ice Queen. It is pretty much a transformation technique that increases her power, though it does have a time limit.
Fubuki uses her Shinobi Transformation
Just as it seems that Yumi has the upper hand, Fubuki uses her Shinobi Transformation. The tide of the battle soon turns, and Fubuki is able to defeat Yumi. Yumi remembers that Fubuki was another girl that Kurokage took in – the two were practically sisters. Kurokage took Fubuki in before the other Gessen girls, which is why only Yumi remembers her.
Fubuki declares war on all shinobi
Yumi and Fubuki may have been like sisters, but they walk very different paths now. Believing that the shinobi world is full of nothing of hypocrisy, Fubuki declares war against all shinobi. She intends to wipe out both good and evil shinobi, with the aid of the youma.
That brings this episode to a close. I guess exploring the past of Kurokage could have been an interesting idea, but I didn’t really get much out of it. I think the only new thing we really learned from that flashback was that Kurokage wielded a black fan – the same one that Fubuki currently uses.
The stuff happening in the present is a little more interesting, fortunately. Fubuki vs. Yumi hasn’t been my favourite fight from this show, but we did get to see Ice Queen Yumi. I’d prefer to see more from Ultimate Asuka or Crimson Homura, but they don’t exactly have any ties to Fubuki, so it makes sense.
I thought that the whole Fubuki thing would be resolved in this episode – I was slightly wrong. Fubuki is still an enemy, but it does seem like the youma are going to be the biggest threat moving forward. It just so happens that Fubuki is on their side.
Not the most thrilling episode of SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI MASTER we’ve had, but I suppose with the stuff about Yumi and Fubuki now out in the open, the future episodes can focus on the clash between youma and shinobi.
Rory Muses 