This was the worst episode so far lol
[gallery size=”full” columns=”1″]Since this episode featured a new character, let’s learn what that weird basket on his head might mean.
A komusō (虚無僧, komusō?, Hiragana こむそう; also romanized komusou or komuso) was a mendicant monastic of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism. Komusō were characterised by the straw basket (a sedge or reed hood named a tengai) worn on the head, manifesting the absence of specific ego. They are also known for playing solo pieces on the shakuhachi (a type of Japanese bamboo flute). These pieces, called honkyoku (“original pieces”) were played during a meditative practice called suizen, for alms and as a method of attaining enlightenment. The komusō was also used as a disguise by ninja
虚無僧 (komusō) means “priest of nothingness” or “monk of emptiness”
– 虚無 (kyomu or komu) means “nothingness, emptiness”
– – 虚 (kyo or ko) means “nothing, empty, false”
– – 無 (mu) means “nothing, nil, zero”
– 僧 (sō) means “priest, monk”
Komusō Priest Playing Shakuhachi on the streets of Nagoya
Kitsune's Thoughts 
Basket head is gonna be an emo version of Manji… just spoiling you from the manga -.-
Emo version of Manji? lol That sounds interesting.
I have not read all the manga and, probably, will not find enough time to read it completely, so any insight into future events in the story is appreciated – I don’t mind spoilers at all 🙂
Manga > Anime
Despite how nice the characters are drawn… the atmosphere’s not the same. Fights seem less epic. Background noise… I mean, music… is terrible. Voices… are just meh. Nothing spectacular.
=spoiler=
Basket head, as you might have already foreseen, is also immortal but he also discovered a poison that can stop the worms from regenerating beings like himself and Manji. The wound he dealt, that small cut, was laced with the said poison so Manji suffers quite a bit when old injuries come back… but it isn’t enough to kill him.
“Meh” fight ahead that has a lackluster end. Enough spoilers for now…
I agree that the manga looks better than anime.
Yup, it looks like that poison was effective to some extent. Good to know that it was not lethal ( otherwise the series would end too soon 😛 )
The episode seems lackluster, but those who’ve read the manga understand there is a lot going on here, this is setting up the introduction of the Mugai-Ryu and characters who become pretty important later on.
The anime does have a very different feel to it, and there’s the obvious earlier introduction of characters due to time constraints, but Samura creates his mood with changing his media (pencil to pen, watercolor, etc.) animation is different. And I agree, there’s a good amount of music in the show that’s terrible, but not all of it. And I do appreciate all the nods to important panels in the manga.
Yes, anime feels quite different from manga. They do introduce characters quite early indeed. Overall, I prefer manga over the anime, but the anime has some interesting moments.