Impression:

I was talking to my friend Vaughn about the way that this season would end for Mushibugyou and we were pretty much right. A very shounen ending happened. Jinbei magically gained control of some amazing powers with very little explanation, the Mushibugyou regained her memories through the power of love, and Jinbei won the fight even though he spent most of the series being really weak.

A very blurry shot of Jinbei using the Tsukishima Style: Meteor Drop.

That was honestly a fairly good summary of this episode. The Mushibugyou did force her hand through Jinbei, but that didn’t stop him. While Jinbei was transforming, the gang started to fight Yukimura. He inhaled the poison from the well and that made him extra powerful. Not even Mugai could land a hit on him as a bunch of futile attacks were announced. Jinbei transformed and we got a funny explanation from Kotori regarding the phenomenon. Apparently, Jinbei is half insect hunter on his mom’s side. Also, the insect hunters hate the Mushibugyou because the Eternal Insect which gave her the poison powers killed a bunch of them and bathed in their blood. That entire explanation took less than thirty seconds. Instead of going crazy, Mugai told Jinbei to man up and he took control of the crazy powers. He then proceeds to reason with the Mushibugyou by hugging her and letting his warmth refresh her memories. The gang plus the Mushibugyou proceed to unleash more attacks while Jinbei recovers from the poison. He does and “wins” the fight by using Tsukishima Style moves that he never used before. I guess those are in his blood as well. Everyone lived happily ever after and they all returned to Edo. Having said that, Jinbei still thinks that Princess Naa is a servant, Yukimura is obviously not dead, Jinbei still gets to second base with Oharu.

That would have been extremely romantic if Jinbei wasn’t the protagonist of a shounen series.

Current Opinion of the Show:

I did enjoy this series. Overall, it was pretty entertaining and it had one of my favorite ships from recent memory. One complaint that I have is the fact that they really laid it on thick with that final fight. One thing that I hate about a shounen ending is the fact that they show every other character cheering for the main character like this is a football game or something. That and combination attacks kind of piss me off. It is usually a pointless fourth of an episode that makes me cringe. Something else that was laid on a little thick was the romance between the Mushibugyou and Jinbei. Why would I say that if I love the couple so much? Much, it isn’t perfect. Regaining her memories after hugging Jinbei is one thing. However, they could have avoided a lot of cheesy bullshit if they didn’t have her say that his heart saved her. Also, I love how close they are, but they did not need to have the Mushibugyou say Jinbei that many times. They really needed to calm that down. Did I like anything about the ending? Jinbei used some cool moves and they left everything pretty much open for more material. Also, the quick explanation for Jinbei’s transformation and the history lesson made me laugh. Talk about concise.

Let’s not pretend that this wasn’t beautiful.

This is what I was focused on, but it didn’t really live up to the hype. I think that they were doing too much in bad ways with this episode as far as the romance goes. Unfortunately, it is hard to live up to that last episode in terms of romance. That scene in the well with the exploding memory bubble was ridiculous. I do have some questions regarding this couple. Will it ever be canon? That is the million dollar question. Even though they are really pushing it, the love isn’t coming from Jinbei. With Hibachi and the ever-present Oharu in the way, I think that we might not get a Jinbei x Mushibugyou endgame. That sucks, but I could also see this series abandoning the romance altogether. What makes me say that? Well, I just wrote an article that explains some of the bullshit that shounen series pulls when it comes to romantic plot lines. They get thrown away more often than they should. Will Jinbei ever find out that the servant is actually the Mushibugyou? If not, then I will be mad. The worst thing is that it could happen. Would a new season have less focus on the relationship between the Mushibugyou and Jinbei because there may be a heavier focus on the Insect Hunters and various other shounen fights? Possibly, but the other plot lines do link to the Mushibugyou, so it is unlikely. I honestly can’t see the focus ending. Having said that, I think that we may see more of Mitsuki in a possible second season. That is half plausible and half hoping. Overall, I just want more from this series.

Nice dick joke.