Episode 102

EPISODE 102

妖狐変化！忍び寄る殺意 (Youko Henge！Shinobi-yoru Satsui)

Yoko Transformation! A Creeping Bloodlust

First Broadcast: October 22, 1994

Equivalent Manga Chapter(s): chapter 162 (WSJ #17, 1994, April 11)

Summary: Kurama returns to the Human World, saying he has a plain to raise six powerful warriors for Yomi.  To keep him in line, Yomi’s right-hand man Shachi sends a demon to possess Kurama’s new step-brother and keep him hostage.  Kurama is actually having Genkai train some of the fighters Yusuke and co. defeated in the Dark Tournament: Chu, Rinku, Jin, Toya, Suzuki, and Shishi-Wakamaru.  In a year’s time they all grow as powerful as Kurama promised.  Impressed, Yomi gives Kurama Shachi’s job.  Enraged, Shachi ambushes Kurama later.  Turning Yoko, Kurama kills him easily.

Anime/manga differences after the jump.

Differences from the Manga

(What's all this about?  Read here)

• The episode starts with a scene where Shachi talks with Kara (the demon who later takes possession of Kurama’s stepbrother).  Kara has been observing Kurama and says he hasn’t done anything suspicious.  He wonders why Yomi is so interested in Kurama, and Shachi says they apparently used to be friends, but he still doesn’t trust the guy.  Meanwhile, Yomi and Kurama are talking.  In order to help Yomi win the coming war, Kurama has a plan to bring him six people with powers greater than 100,000 points.  He says he’ll go to the Human World to check on the progress of these recruits.  After that things get into manga material, with Kaito talking with Kurama at Meio High School.

• When Kurama explains about his biorhythm, in the manga he says that ever since the Dark Tournament about once a month he’s had the sensation of simultaneously being both Shuichi Minamino and Yoko Kurama, and that lately this cycle has shortened, especially since reuniting with Yomi.  In the anime he only says that “lately” he’s had this feeling about being both Shuichi/Kurama, and doesn’t mention things getting worse since meeting Yomi.  To illustrate this, the anime has a scene of Kurama/Shuichi’s family eating at a restaurant, where he goes outside and starts to transform into his Yoko form.  He’s interrupted by his stepbrother and reverts to normal.

• Speaking of the stepbrother, in the anime Kurama explains that the kid’s name is Shuichi Hatanaka during the above mentioned scene, while in the manga an exposition box explains that later on (and also notes that the kid is 13 years old).  In the anime Kurama notes that having two Shuichis in the same family could be confusing, which may partially explained why Kurama’s human name remains “Shuichi Minamino” even after his mother remarries.  If he changed his last name from Minamino to Hatanaka, he’d have exactly the same name as his stepbrother.

• When Kurama threatens Kara, the anime shows him starting to shift into his Yoko form.

• Koenma discusses with Kurama about how the six recruits have gotten even more powerful.  In the manga he notes that the Spirit World will find out about them if they don’t strengthen the barrier.  Presumably he’s referring to the charms shown hanging everywhere around the cave where the group is training (this is the same sort of thing Tarukane used to keep the Spirit World or anyone else from finding out about Yukina).  In the anime he just says that at this rate the Spirit World will find out about them, leaving it unexplained why the Spirit World hasn’t noticed yet.

• There’s a little more dialogue as Kurama meets his recruits, who turn out to be fighters from the Dark Tournament.  Nothing added is too notable though.  We also see more of the group sparring with each other.

• Small subtitle mistake: Toya talks about the group raising their base stamina (tai-ryoku) but the subtitles have him say base spectral power (yō-ryoku). 

• After the mid-episode eye catch, there’s a lengthy filler scene of the recruits training.  Chu walks a tightrope while drunk; he falls off but uses his energy to break his fall.  Rinku uses his yo-yos to smash up the beautiful natural landscape.  Genkai notes that their powers haven’t reached 100,000 points yet and they need to train more.  Suzuki, Shishi-Wakamaru, Toya, and Jin agree and fly off (apparently they can all fly now).

• Next is another anime-only scene, with Shachi talking with Yomi.  Shachi continues to be suspicious of Kurama, and doesn’t believe he’ll really bring in six guys with powers over 100,000.  Yomi, in so many words, tells Shachi to shut up and buzz off, which makes him even angrier at Kurama.

• In the manga Yoda simply confirms that the six recruits all have powers over 100,000, while in the anime he uses his little pocket calculate/scanner thing and reads off specific measurements for some of them.  Jin has a power of 120,800, Chu is at 121,600, and Toya is at 123,000. 

• Alright, so what’s the point of all these numbers anyway?  Well, to sum up, last chapter/episode it was established that the three kings make up the majority of the military strength of their respective nations.  This is especially true of Raizen’s country, which has virtually no strength outside of Raizen himself.  So once Raizen dies, his nation will become totally irrelevant and it will all come down to a war between Yomi and Mukuro’s countries.  Yomi and Mukuro themselves are dead even in strength, but Mukuro has a significant lead on Yomi in terms of quality and/or quantity of underlings.  This is evident in that while the second strongest warrior in Yomi’s kingdom (Shachi) has a power of 37,800, Mukuro’s second-in-command (Kirin) has a power of 89,500.  Since Yomi and Mukuro’s powers aren’t predicted to change much, this means the only way Yomi can try and gain the advantage is to recruit better fighters.  Hence Kurama’s offer to bring in six warriors with powers greater than 100,000; that’s in essence six guys stronger than Mukuro’s No.2 man, which should put Yomi way ahead.  In the anime though we’re never told specifically how powerful the three kings or their No.2 men are, so we have no context for what Jin and co. having powers of over 100,000 means, other than it being a really big number.  

• On that note, in the anime Yoda chews into Shachi for being really powerful but a crappy tactician.  During the last 500 years he never even tried looking for anyone with a power over 100,000, while Kurama found six.  During this speech, Yoda says that Shachi is the second strongest person in their kingdom, even though going by the manga at least this should no longer be true now that Jin and co. are here.  Yomi likewise praises Shachi’s power but effectively calls him a moron, even though technically even Shachi’s power shouldn’t be too impressive anymore.

• In the manga Shachi measures regular Kurama’s power as 1,902 (he laughs that it’s not even 2,000), while in the anime it’s increased to 8,902 (he laughs that it’s not even 10,000).  Not sure why they’d change this; did they think 1,902 was insultingly low or something?  Anyway, Kurama’s Yoko form has a power of 152,000 in both versions.

• In the manga once Shachi charges Kurama, Kurama instantly reaches his Yoko form and effortlessly kills Shachi.  In the anime though human Kurama dodges Shachi’s trident for a while (Shachi notes that at 8,000 Kurama is no match for him), before transforming and finishing the fight.  Shachi dies instantly in the manga, while in the anime he survives just long enough to read his power measuring device, which shows Yoko Kurama’s power as 152,000.  He then dies of his injuries.  Also, Shachi is shown as able to fly in the anime, or at least glide.

• Once Shachi’s dead, the anime makes a point of showing Kara come out of the body of Kurama’s stepbrother and disappear, saying his job’s done.  Kurama’s brother then comes to his senses and wonders where his brother is.