The fight is basically divided into three - Joan goes one on one against Toyohisa; Gilles against Yoichi, and Joan's troops against Nobunaga. While it may seem odd that Nobunaga gets to take on grunts, considering he is more of a strategist than a fighter, this makes sense. Yoichi for his part, is been on the sidelines for much of this series and this episode pushes him a bit on the spotlight. Toyohisa meanwhile, questions Joan's gender upon their meeting, which plays a role with not just Joan's past, but also the outcome.
We then peer into Joan's past where she was executed via burning at the stake for being a witch and cross-dressing as a man, a charge that's pretty much close to her historical counterpart. Likely having been mocked as she was burned is what caused her sudden change of behavior, as well as giving her powers of fire. Gilles de Rais was only given a much shorter origin. This is probably because the real Gilles de Rais was apparently a child murderer whose modus operandi would bring in the ire of feminists if portrayed in the series.
Back to the battle, Gilles is dominating over Yoichi and even against Nobunaga's troops for being totally persistant and not slowing down after being hit by so many arrows. It is only when Abe no Seimei, the leader of the Octobrists (the ones who assist the Drifters, of which Olminu is part of), that the Drifters gain the upper hand. Using Butch Cassidy's Gatling Gun, Gilles was literally shredded into pieces by the rapid gunfire before turning into salt. This seems to imply that the Ends, in order to gain advantage over the Drifters, were given mystical powers likely from the Black Lord.
The best part of this episode is of course Toyohisa vs Joan. In truth, though, it was 2 on 1 as Olminu provided the much needed assist to Toyohisa to keep Joan from using her powers. However, upon realizing Joan's a woman, Toyohisa chose not to kill her as he finds it dishonorable to kill women. Joan is later rescued by the Black Lord's troops and escapes.
I'm somehow reminded of a scene in Gundam W where Chang Wufei chose not to kill Lucrezia Noin after their encounter, saying it's against his principle to kill women and weaklings. While Toyohisa's view on women dictates his decision not to kill them at all, in today's environment, such gesture would also be seen as a slap in the face, even though Toyohisa's beliefs are with good intentions. The guy was super pissed seeing the female Elves used as sex slaves by the Orte soldiers and have all but one executed.
Episode 8 continues in the aftermath of the last one. Yoichi is demoted back to being a sideliner after feeling helpless in failing to kill de Rais. He learns as well that his former master Yoshitsune, has seen the whole thing and gloats at him for his performance before disappearing. Not sure what Yoshitsune is actually planning, but he is on the Ends's side.
We then learn a bit about the Octobrist's leader, Abe no Seimei. Having existed long before even Yoichi's time period, he was one of the earliest Drifters to enter the new world and later formed the Octobrists to find and assist other Drifters in the war with the Ends. Although Seimei is knowledgeable about the Drifters themselves and the time periods they come from, as well as extensive knowledge of sorcery, he knows little else. Evident when Nobunaga goads him for not having enough knowledge to develop the Wild West firearm tech Butch and the Sundance Kid possess.
And yes, Nobunaga was totally in love with the Wild West tech and how it is several times more effective than the rifles built in his era. He is then determined to craft those weapons instead and is more motivated than ever to meet the Dwarves.
Through his conversation with Seimei, we learn the Drifters' ultimate plan for the new world - gaining allies from several demihumans fighting against the Orte Empire and establishing a multi-racial federation, allowing each race to have their own government, but overwatched by the military force with Toyohisa as the leader, as well as enforce the "Warrior Code" among everyone. This is just like the ambition McGillis Fareed wants in reforming Gjallarhorn in Iron Blooded Orphans. When Seimei asked why Toyohisa and not Nobunaga himself, the latter explains that his method of rule is what led to his eventual betrayal and demise, and doe not wish to see it happen a second time. While Toyohisa is inspirtational to the Elves, he lacks any experience in governing - a position Nobunaga willingly takes in as his top advisor.
Nobunaga's explanation on Toyohisa's charisma is shown in the final scenes when the Elves refuse to aid the Dwarves due to the eternal feud between the two races. Toyohisa decides to go alone with Yoichi and Nobunaga, to which his resolve aspires the Elves to follow him. Old Man Hannibal is left in Olminu's care while Butch and the Kid remain with Seimei.
Speaking of Hannibal, he and his friend/rival Scipio got separated during their escape. The latter ends up with a race of Wolfmen where the fighter pilot Naoshi Kanno establishes himself as a god. The seperation of the two strategists left Hannibal in a demented state, but shows a moment of badassery when Toyohisa attacks him and Hannibal points the sharp end of a stick right into Toyohisa's eye just as he was about to be cut down.
I personally have little care for the other Drifters mainly because the series gave very little focus on them, but it was cool to see that moment with Hannibal giving Toyohisa a lesson. Apparently, Hitler, who established the Orte Empire, was also a Drifter. I am aware that even in Japanese fiction, there is this weird fascination with Nazi Germany. But I cannot blame them seeing that they were allies before. This is even featured in Scipio's encounter with Kanno when, not having a common tongue, Scipio declared himself as Roman, to which Kanno figures he's from Italy, thus a part of the Axis forces - and beats him up anyway.
With just 4 episodes left, it is not likely that the series will be able to wrap things up. I'd like to know who the Black Lord is, as well as Murasaki and Easy, the ones who bring the Drifters and the Ends to the new world in the first place (we also don't know the name of the new world). Still, the series hasn't disappointed me so far and I'm expecting a bloodbath in Toyohisa's campaign to rescue the Dwarves next episode.
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