Sengoku Basara season 2 has begun! Are you ready, guys?

Put ya guns on!
~ Date Masamune, Engrish-spewing hero of Sengoku Basara ~

So yeah, this blog has been pretty much dead for over a year. Again. Some people might know that I've started scanlating Souten Kouro (I'll be releasing more chapters this summer), which I was reviewing on this blog loooooooooong ago (until they stopped subbing it).

As you might recall, the other series I was reviewing was Sengoku Basara, the overly energetic adaptation of the game series of the same name (and, in a way, of the historical Sengoku period, kinda. It's hard to say. It's... just insane. In a good way). After the last episode, a new season was announced, and there it is! Sengoku Basara Ni has become, taking Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood's slot on TV (said series is amazing, at least after 37 episodes. Everyone and their mother has reviewed it so far, but you're better off watching it yourself. It's that good).

Sengoku Basara was by no means a masterpiece, but it was incredibly fresh in its over-the-top-ness. The villain, as you recall, was played by Norio Wakamoto, who is... well... an amazing ham. You had the passionate Sanada Yukimura, loyal to his Oyakata-sama, Takeda Shingen (who rides while standing on horses. Which isn't riding, but it's awesome). You had the eyepatched Date Masamune (who rides horses with motorcycle-handles) and Katakura Kojuro, his right-hand man (okay, if you insist, he's called his Right Eye). You had Uesugi Kenshin, ambiguously-gendered rival to Takeda, and Kasuga, his loyal ninja girl (loyal? I'm sorry, I meant to say that his touch gives her an instant orgasm. Hell yeah!). You had the other ninja, Sarutobi Sasuke, voiced by Koyasu Takehito, who's played many roles, but is always recognisable. Sasuke works for Takeda and is the "straight man" during Yukimura and Takeda's shout outs. I'll ignore any homoerotic undertones in this series, since they hardly play a role.

Anyway, Sengoku Basara Ni, episode 1. Takeda has a final fight with Kenshin, while Yukimura fights to stop Masamune from intervening in this showdown. Amazing fighting from the very first moments, but Yukimura ends up falling against Masamune, when, unexpectedly, a fourth army shows up, willing to beat everyone unless they give up. Their leader is the humongous Toyotomi Hideyoshi, accompanied by masked man, Takenaka Hanbei. Takeda and Kenshin join forces and have their soldiers fire arrows at them, but Hideyoshi freaking waves them away, leading to a lot of casualties for the good guys (yeah, you're pretty much sure by then that Hideyoshi is the new big baddie). Masamune and Kojuro take on the two, but they have to retreat. After that, we are introduced to the new opening theme (half-way through the episode) and after we are shown the opening animation to season 1 (I'd watch it any day, really), we get the aftermath (including a scene featuring Maeda Keiji, voiced by the same actor as Bleach's protagonist, Kurosaki Ichigo. Seems Keiji knows Toyotomi, and I certainly hope he gets some focus, since last season, he didn't really do much. It wasn't a cameo, and it was certainly not worth being considered a protagonist back then, so it'll take some effort to impress me this time), as well as a friendly reminder of the running gags between Takeda and Yukimura. And again, as straight-faced as Sengoku Basara can, they punch each other with impossible power, discussing their tactics. Okay, I'm being inaccurate, it's more like Yukimura keeps lunging at Takeda, and Takeda smacks him further and further, while Yukimura argues that they should attack Osaka right now, since Toyotomi won't be expecting it. Takeda says that it's obviously a trap, and that they'll have to go to the west and ally themselves with a third party, since Toyotomi will probably ally himself with Mouri Motonari (who wants to get even with Chosokabe - don't worry, these two only showed up in the first episode of season 1 and in the last one. Maybe they'll get more screentime, as they seem to be pretty popular in Japan). After they agree, we get the ever-classic shout-out between the two. By that, I mean that they yell each other's name repeatedly. Here's the clip. Yeah. Sengoku Basara is full of these. And that is not bad. The last scene in the episode features Masamune's camp in Oushu. Incidentally, Masamune had the same intention to attack Osaka, but Kojuro says they should try to pacify their surrounding regions, else they lose all their territories. However, there seems to be a spy among them, since Toyotomi even knew of their surprise attack. In the very end, we see Kojuro run into Hanbei, who reveals he has the spy as a hostage. In exchange, he offers him to join them. Next episode seems to be about Kojuro joining them, or at least getting out of service for a while.

That's Sengoku Basara Ni, episode 1. It's really good to see the survivors from last season, and it's also good to see some new characters and some less-seen ones. It's by no means a series that will boast with a great plot, like FMA, but it looks like it will be very solid. You see? (to quote Masamune's English words - a bit better this time).

I'll be trying to watch some more of this season's anime, but I'm quite sure I'll review all of Sengoku Basara Ni.

That's right. This blog will live. It. Wil. Live!