The Elusive Samurai #16 Reactions: Shinano Mask comes to the rescue right when the Young Lord's in mortal peril!

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16 eps in and fr, war ain't just abt winning, it's abt strategically falling back and biding your time lol. Changing tactics based on numbers to flip the odds when you're outnumbered is so goddamn satisfying!! That said, wiping out messengers is obv crucial since leaving a fort empty just to hunt them down makes total sense 💯

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Tokiyuki wanting to stay on the battlefield is super childish, but tbh you'd have to be cold-hearted not to get touched by his pure sincerity. Yuikawa's acting was great, but Nakamura's emotional delivery went crazy. So many wacky moments, but that just makes the heavy emotional parts hit harder ngl.

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Historically, Suwa Yorishige didn't leave much behind regarding his actual personality, but considering he carried a kid on his back and managed to temporarily sack Kamakura, the guy must've been lowkey cracked. The fact that his true motives are a total mystery just makes him so shady lmao.

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Ah yes, the legendary Kiyohara no Shinano-no-kami Kokushi Hakushi Sakon Shosho… bro really pulled up. According to official records, he was apparently a capable enough aristocrat to be reappointed as Shinano governor, so it's not totally impossible he actually knew his way around war and literature. Explains why he's pulling off such wild power moves rn 😂

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Yorishige (voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura, absolute goat) casually rolling up right when the main characters are in a pinch is peak badassery. Getting told to fall back—aka running away—and flat out refusing proves he's doing way more than just fleeing!

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The way everyone switches from goofy banter to dead serious mode is wild. And those archaic ending particles like "arimasumai"… trying to keep up with the plot while processing all that dialogue is impossible lol.

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Seeing Tokiyuki get his moment to shine early on is great. That slowly developing pseudo-parent-child dynamic is peak. Asaki Yuikawa is genuinely locked in as Tokiyuki fr fr.

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Even back in season 1, when Yorishige asked him to "help me get my divine powers back," the guy looked genuinely stoked. You love to see it.

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So glad I caught this live again. Sadamune is an antagonist, but he's tactically brilliant and genuinely cares for the common people, which lowkey makes him a great warlord.

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Freaking "Love Warrior! Shinano Mask" in ep 16 was art. The "because I want to be useful to you!" line deadass had me tearing up a bit ngl 😭

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Today's ep was an absolute bop too~ Shinano Mask had me dying, and then that convo between Tokiyuki and Yorishige right after totally broke me 😭

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Realistically speaking, you'd think sniping the guys carrying the portable shrine would solve everything, but of course it's never that easy smh…

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I mean, it's basically using a literal chariot to trample infantry, but messing up their footing definitely feels doable.

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Hold the fuck up, is that dude eating something straight up not invented in 1300s Japan lmao www

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Doing a whole ass puppet show with knitted dolls is such insane attention to detail… (did the mf knit one for everyone?!)

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Lord Sadamune holds back for absolutely no one. Ngl, he's way too overpowered for a boss showing up this early in the game.

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Muromachi warriors are basically just an extension of Kamakura samurai, so at the end of the day they're all just absolute freaks of nature, huh…

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The values back then were probably super fucked up, but hey, staying alive is priority number one fr.

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Swear I heard somewhere that Umino's descendants turn out to be the Sanada clan, aka Tokugawa's ultimate arch-nemesis? 🤔

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This scene was already great in the manga, but getting voice acting attached just elevates it to a whole new level.

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This psycho Masaaki Ogasawara is genuinely getting on my nerves as much as Carlo Ancelotti does.

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Shijou just looks like a totally normal guy keeping up with a bunch of absolute freaks, which is hilarious.

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The fact that the guy who most heavily inherited Munahiro's blood is also treated as part of the squad is so hype.

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If weird portable shrines and dark Onmyoji are showing up, this is basically Sunday morning anime now lmao!!!

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That face Yorishige makes going "Mmh?!" while chewing on meat is top tier, gotta love him lol.

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Breaking ribs to make yourself stronger, wtf kind of logic is that?! 💀wwww

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The Hoshina party really only lock in when they're staring death in the face (though usually in the most unhinged way possible)

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Suwa-chan… stop pulling up like a literal goddamn rocket ship lmao 😭

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Oh right, he's literally a shogunate prince… keep forgetting that minor detail tbh…

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Not that this squad of 100 Suwa riders is even the main force, mind you….

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Genba's ass must be completely shredded from running all over the place. Is that an antique shogi board?

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Wait a minute, is that even a real shogi board with that many squares?

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It's a genuinely emotional moment, but it's kinda hard to take seriously when the dude's still rocking literal deer antlers on his head lmao.

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This is the kind of absurd, over-the-top portable shrine you'd see in Sengoku BASARA or some shit.

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Ayako's old man really is just built different, absolute peak brute strength ^^

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Such a goddamn good scene and then they just slap a serial killer in the mix, make it make sense lol

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Bro literally transformed into some kind of cursed yokai, what is Yorishige even doing at this point

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Ah yes, a combat portable shrine. Wait, what the fuck is a combat portable shrine lmao.

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Bro really plot-armored his way through the whole war and survived till the very end didn't he

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Abandoning a fort with poor defense to switch to guerrilla warfare is actually 200 IQ.

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What kind of lineage does Ayako think her dad comes from lol

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Reminder: this is a fictional story set in the Muromachi period, istg.

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Having scouts makes a huge difference when you actually need to know what the enemy's up to.

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Ugh, Sadamune… As scummy as he is, gotta respect how the guy's always three steps ahead.

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Hitting a bullseye from that kind of distance?! Absolute legend…

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Ah yes, the legendary, historically documented Shinano Mask~~!!

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That uncle chasing them around with a boulder is genuinely terrifying wtf 😭

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Fubuki's over here going "We can totally win this battle," but like… are we sure about that??

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Ogasawara Sadamune really saw through all of it from the jump 👀

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Worst disguise in human history… bro thinks he's Great Saiyaman lmaooo