Episode 20

EPISODE 20

奥義激突!七人の朱雀 (Ougi Gekitotsu! Shichi-nin no Suzaku)

Secret Techniques Clash!  The Seven Suzakus

First Broadcast: February 27, 1993

Equivalent Manga Chapter(s): chapter 42 (WSJ #43, 1991, October 14), first half of chapter 43 (WSJ #44, 1991, October 21)

Summary: Suzaku splits into 7 people and subdues Yusuke, electrocuting him as he’s forced to watch Keiko and Botan try to survive.  But Keiko and Botan use a ruse to escape, while Yusuke uses what he learned training under Genkai to break free from Suzaku.

Anime/manga differences after the jump.

Differences from the Manga

(What's all this about?  Read here)

• After Suzaku splits into seven, we get a Koenma and Jorge scene.  The two note the hopelessness of the situation, and Koenma wonders where Kurama and co. are.  We then see the gang fighting off the plant guys some more.

• When it looks like Iwamoto and the other demon bug people have skewered Botan and Keiko inside the locker, the manga immediately shows that they were really hiding somewhere else and left Keiko’s scarf sticking out of the locker to distract the bug goons.  In the anime though there’s a fairly lengthy series of filler scenes.  First, the seven Suzakas start shocking Yusuke to death.  Then we see Koenma and Jorge watching things as always.  The two despair, and Jorge points out that King Enma will probably want to spank Koenma at least 10,000 times for failing to deal with the Four Beasts.  Then we get more of Hiei and co. fighting the plant guys.  Kuwabara tries to use his Spirit Sword to pole vault up to the same window Yusuke entered the tower through.  He fails miserably, but finds that Hiei and Kurama have finished taking care of the plant guys outside the tower anyway.  They enter the tower but find yet more plant goons.  Finally, Yusuke hears Genkai’s voice telling him Keiko isn’t dead, and we finally see her and Botan rush out from their true hiding place and beat up the bug-possessed thugs.

• In the anime Yusuke also hears Genkai’s voice telling him to remember his training, while in the manga he just has a flashback to their training all on his own.  So basically, in the manga Yusuke just hears Genkai’s voice as part of his flashback, while in the anime it seems like Genkai is somehow talking to him telepathically.

• As Yusuke concentrates his mind so he can use his full power to break free from Suzaku, the anime shows various rather random clips.  It’s mostly scenes of the gang’s fight with the Four Beasts, interspersed with Atsuko crying, and Keiko kissing Yusuke to bring him back to life.

• The episode ends 12 pages into chapter 43, as Yusuke blows the Suzakus away and challenges them all to a final showdown.  Chapter 43 goes all the way up to Yusuke killing all but one Suzaku and the survivor using the bodies of the others to heal and split into seven healthy Suzakus again.