“Raid! Oden and the Akazaya Nine!”

This episode gives us a bit more of a look at how Oden is handling life at this point, continuing to do his performance in the Flower Capital no matter the weather as people mock him or as parents try to keep their kids from joining it. The reality is something most aren’t aware of but Oden does as he needs to in order to do the right thing and does so for several years. It’s only after the fifth year does it begin to change with Orochi finally showing and making some real noise in Wano as he comes to Kuri and goes all blustery as the villains often do. To Oden’s horror, Orochi wants to build weapon factories in this city that has prospered so well and makes clear that he is the one in power here. Pushing Oden to such subservience is going to work only so long and you wait to see where Oden’s breaking point is with this.

Discovering that Hyogoro and his wife have been handed over to Kaido is pretty much it, it seems. That everything eventually leads to that twilight moment with him and the nine that became samurai under him provides for a great visual moment and helps to restore what it is that Oden truly represented, though it would take longer for that to be really restored in the eyes of many. So much still went on in the land of Wano after that which lead to where it is in the present period. What we get in the post-eye-catch sequence is pretty great for those that love the action side of the series and I don’t think they skimped much here at all. It has a lot of moments where each of the characters get to shine without a ton of quick cuts and it allows for real positions to be staked out and made clear in the larger fight that they’re facing.

In Summary:

Oden keeps dancing naked in the Flower Capital and losing all the trust of the people. One day, Orochi comes to Kuri and reveals his evil plan for the Land of Wano as well as his brutalities against the country’s mobster and Oden’s friend, Hyogoro and his wife. Despairing and in a rage, Oden finally decides to take down Orochi’s supporter, Kaido.

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

乂⍱‿●乂