This episode is all about Tahoumaru, Hyakkimaru’s younger son, and the one who’s been able to live a normal life of comfort thanks entirely to his father’s sacrifice of his firstborn. Now that Lord Daigo’s good fortune seems to be literally running dry (drought has gripped his lands that threaten to ruin the crops), he pays a visit to the Hall of Hell, where he sees a vision of what has become of that first son.
But again, this is not about Hyakkimaru, but his little brother, who is tired of his father keeping secrets and his mother praying to a headless diety. Daigo gives him no answers, and he runs off to brood in the same place he always has, which is why it’s so easy for his lifelong companions and bodyguards, Mutsu and Hyougou, to find him.
Tahoumaru happens to be the nearest of Daigo’s son to the lake monster, and while other Daigo samurai dismiss the villagers’ pleas for help out of hand, Tahoumaru shows he has a kind heart that inspires loyalty in his people.
He agrees to defeat the beast, which they set out to meet with their boats firmly tied to the shore, and discover to be an enormous crab. They get a few licks in, but when the crab retreats to beneath the surface of the water they have to withdraw.
Tahoumaru is angry they failed in the first go, but is determined to finish the crab off lest it claim more of his people. He rejects the suicidal idea of Mutsu and Hyougou to wear explosives in their clothes so the crab will blow up when it bites them.
Instead, he makes use of the geography of the area, and the extremely fast and efficient engineering and construction skills of the villagers. He manages to have sluice gates built between two lakes. I’m not sure how he managed such a labor-intensive feat (in the middle of a drought no less) but it definitely proves Tahoumaru does not mess around when he sets his mind to something.
They manage to lure the crab monster through one gate, which slams behind it, and then drain the artificially-made lake, trapping it on dry land and evening the odds. Tahoumaru and his friends rush in, further inspiring the people.
The crab proves smarter than it looks when it throws rocks at the gate to re-flood the lakebed. Mutsu very nearly gets eaten up and Tahoumaru’s big (and definitely expensive) plan looks headed for ruin…until Hyakkimaru swoops in to finish off the crab. For the first time, Tahoumaru gets a look at the older brother he never knew—and still doesn’t know—he had, while high up in the hills, Lord Daigo seems to be witnessing the meeting.
While previous episodes had depicted Hyakkimaru as a bit of a spoiled, moody brat, here we see that he’s actually a good lad, if a bit impulsive and liberal with resources both human and natural. He’s also brave and highly skilled with the sword, though he still relies a lot on his two friends while Hyakkimaru has spend most of his life on his own.
The meeting itself is surprisingly anti-climactic, though I wonder if they’ll really part ways so soon without Tahoumaru getting an answer to his question of who the young lad with the prosthetic arms was. Even if Tahoumaru did stick around to chat, Hyakkimaru can barely speak.
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