Animehouse

Hm. Huh. Is there really that much I feel the need to say about The Elusive Samurai episode 3? No, but actually yes. A lot is reiteration of its previously proven visual greatness, alongside concerns about a narrative that can keep pace with Yamazaki’s vision. A considerable side however is talking about the contents and execution of this episode thanks to the borderline excessive environment animation.

So, let’s start with the really curious part about The Elusive Samurai episode 3- its staff! You’d think that an episode such as this one would have to have a divergent staff list to sustain itself, and you’d be correct. While the prior two episodes thrived on airtight staff lists that pushed the creative limits of individuals, this third episode chooses overwhelming creative force as its form of expression. Because of that, the staff adds a lot to their ranks- largely in the form of 2nd key animators, but also by breaking up the one-person animation direction show that Nishiya was revelling in. Of course, it’s absolutely to be expected when you’re dealing with so much rotation and 2 dimensional animation work, but it’s still interesting to see just how divergent the staff is for this episode by….. a pen name?

That last bit is incredibly interesting for primarily two reasons. The first, this is an insane effort to undertake under a pseudonym. The staff behind the name clearly has to be towards the top of the industry to be able to deliver to this degree, so opting to not associate with the finished product is very odd. Secondly, this is the first time this pen name has popped up. You can search it out on Google and you won’t even get a single page of results for it. Incredibly curious decision that I’m absolutely dying to learn more about.

Anyways, I already let a little slip about the style of this storyboarder, so I’ll save them for last and chat about the incredible visual work from color designer queen Kazuko Nakashima, and the outstanding environments provided by Ayumi Kojima. It’s obvious that Nakashima excels with monotone color palettes, but The Elusive Samurai episode 3 really pushes the limits of that as a form of expression for Tokiyuki’s mentality. Also, they’re just plain beautiful, you know? The harshness and desaturation of the colors at the shrine? The sunset oranges that stain the lake? The cool and distant greys that dominate the forest during a thunderstorm? It’s really hard to not say that Nakashima is one of, if not the, top color designer in the industry currently.

And a lot of that confidence comes from the great environment work provided by Kojima and their artistic cell. While the previous episodes have had the environments play a bit more of a background role, The Elusive Samurai episode 3 puts more focus on them for the sake of the back half, and Kojima absolutely delivers when placed under that magnifying glass. With the monotone nature of a lot of Nakashima’s colors, and the minimal composition applied by director of photography Yuuya Sakuma, Kojima’s backgrounds gain an almost cel-like quality to them. For those that don’t know of the peak of cel anime- it’s just damn beautiful, is what.

Speaking of damn beautiful in The Elusive Samurai episode 3, obviously I do need to say a piece about the environment animation. Unfortunately, I don’t know if there’s really words that can do much to expand on ‘god damn, look at this stuff man’. Thankfully, I can add a little bit in the form of extra details and information. In this case, Mr./Mrs. Pen Name (舟窪理治) is a bit of a tease with the episode. Easing into the insane work, they add pieces of environment animation here and there to prime the viewer for the quite literally godly feast that is the fight of this episode.

Additionally, it’s the type of work that… “disables”, the staff’s ability for individual expression. It’s an interesting choice, as it pulls the second half of the episode further away from Yamazaki’s tight creative vision, but in doing so it can expose an entirely unique section of this production. Yamazaki’s faceless characters still exist, the great character animation remains, the blending of reality and fantasy is there- the front half is decidedly Yamazaki’s Elusive Samurai. But the back half? It’s completely dominated by this unnamed storyboarder.

Altogether, The Elusive Samurai episode 3 is a bit like magic. We’d been treated to greatness with the prior two episodes, but the team decided it was already getting too monotonous, so they completely switch up the back half of the episode to send every viewer shooting out of their seats in excitement. It puts us on our toes for what might come next, and completely negates the sluggish and tiring nature of some of the extended humor within the episode.

It’s a wonderful degree of awareness, but it makes me feel like Yamazaki and Cloverworks are limited by the contents of The Elusive Samurai, which is a shame. This team already has their pens ready to sign their name on the walk of anime fame, but the story has a hand steadily in place on their wrists. If they can make it just a little deeper into the story, if they can just get to somewhere really good and serious, they can leave that mark for eternity. So, here’s hoping that the series can make that a reality before this season finishes.