Samurai Deeper Kyo: Volume 3 (Review)
Thursday, 5th November 2009, 17:25

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Introduction
Where’s a postal strike when you need one? I have not been looking forward to this third volume of Samurai Deeper Kyo, and its arrival, delayed only by a measly two weeks was greeted by groans of dismay. It does prove though that time is indeed relative. Do something you enjoy, and the time simply flies past. Watch an episode of Samurai Deeper Kyo, and you’re there for days on end, or so it seems. This third disc has seven episodes on it, a total running time just ten minutes short of three hours. I may not live long enough to see the end of this one.

The year was 1600, and the Battle of Sekigahara was coming to a climax when warriors Kyoshiro Mibu and Demon Eyes Kyo faced each other across a carnage-strewn battlefield. Except their battle was rudely interrupted by a whopping great meteorite, and the two vanished in the explosion. Four years later, Kyoshiro is working as a medicine seller, when a bounty hunter named Yuya captures him. She doesn’t have him in custody for long, as a Kenyou demon attacks, intent on slaughtering Kyoshiro. The demon isn’t expecting Demon Eyes Kyo to wake up and tear him apart. Somehow, the soul of Demon Eyes Kyo has become resident in Kyoshiro’s body, and now that he’s finally awake, he wants his original body back.

14. Satan Again
Benitora’s eager to rescue Yuya, but Yukimura advises patience. Kyo on the other hand is more intent on searching for his body, but that insouciance is just a mask. He’s been hurt worse than he’s letting on in the previous battle, and though he fails to admit it to himself, his concern for Yuya is a distraction. While the others search for Yuya, and face off against the Jyunishinsho, Kyo is left to recuperate with Okuni at his side. But Okuni has some telling questions regarding his fractured memory, and what really happened at the battle of Sekigahara. Meanwhile, the identity of the Dark Lord is about to be revealed.

15. Our Friend Red Tiger
Yuya’s at a festival, a rather familiar festival from her past. She sees her brother again, and then relives his murder. The killer turns out to be none other than Kyoshiro Mibu. She wakes up in a dreadful meadow, flowers and skulls, an enchanted place where people are driven to relive their darkest moments. Meanwhile, Kyo is battling the Dark Lord himself, Oda Nobunaga. The warlord has been resurrected, although he lacks a permanent corporeal body, which is why he wants Kyo’s. Kyo is outclassed against the warlord, and it falls to Benitora and Migeira to rescue him. Seeing a chance, Benitora races after Nobunaga, but the price for buying Kyo time will be a high one.

16. Perfect Victory
Always one to look after his minions, Kyo sets off to rescue Benitora, but Okuni gets there first. The recently unmasked spy keeps on switching sides, but this time she’s helping Benitora against Nobunaga, something that earns his ire. It’s all that is needed for the rematch between him and Kyo to begin. Elsewhere Akira has found Kyo’s body, frozen in ice, but he’s about to turn traitor to the Jyunishinsho too, freezing the others, including Yuya. In the middle of the battle now raging between Kyo and Nobunaga, suddenly Kyoshiro reawakens.

17. The Secret Talk of Girls
Nobunaga has been defeated, but elsewhere events are turning against Demon Eyes Kyo, as Akira makes off with his icebound body, leaving Yuya trapped in ice, unable to do anything but think. It’s time for a flashback sequence. Then, when Sakuya appears to Yuya, it’s time for another flashback sequence.

18. Nurturing the Devil
Akira gives everyone an ultimatum. He has Kyo’s body, and he’s taken Yuya’s life. Kyoshiro tries futilely to stop Kyo from reawakening, but Kyo is really ****ed off at Yuya’s death. What looks to be a fight to the death is halted first by a not dead Yuya’s arrival, and then by a firestorm that destroys the forest. Now the Mibu clan are on the move following Nobunaga’s defeat. Rather than operate from the shadows as they have done for centuries, they’ve decided to become the open rulers of Japan, and shape the future to their design. Kyo still wants to find his body, and a lead to Akira points to Muramasa village. But when they get there, they find Sakuya instead, in the hands of the Mibu.

19. Thunderbolt Attack
Now Makora has joined the Mibu, causing more consternation for Sasuke. Kyo on the other hand has met with Muramasa, and realises that if he is to have a chance of defeating the Mibu, he has a lot yet to learn. It may be that he will never have a chance, as the Mibu have targeted former clan member Muramasa for assassination, and soon one of their number named Shinrei has Kyo at his mercy, and is preparing to finish off Muramasa. Then Muramasa picks up Kyo’s sword…

20. Far Away to Absolute Zero
Now that is how a Muramasa Sword is used. In the hands of its creator, Shinrei is hardly a worthy opponent, and Kyo’s signing up for classes. Using it takes a horrible toll on Muramasa though. Migeira and Okuni have reached Kyoto, following another lead, and they are horrified to find the capital reduced to ashes, just like the forest. It’s no surprise that Akira has hidden Kyo’s body there, and it’s no surprise that the Mibu have made their influence felt. What is surprising is the identity of their agent, another of Kyo’s former minions, Hotaru. Soon, battle erupts between former allies Akira and Hotaru.

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