The fighting tournament reaches its conclusion and afterwards Goei takes an exhausted Haukfu and Koukin to an old hot spring in the mountains. Whilst they relax and recover from their ordeal an encounter with an old acquaintance reveals the extent of Hakufu’s destiny.

The story is moving along a lot more quickly now; it has to be said that it’s a welcome relief to see what is recognisable as a story in the first place. There is more emphasis on the free will vs. destiny theme as Ryofu tries to undermine Totaku’s power base and as Goei seeks a way around the fate that awaits her daughter. Don’t be under any illusion that this is the main event here though: as you might expect from a ‘hot springs’ episode there are nauseating amounts of fan service and misplaced comedy that make yet another appearance.

It’s ironic that a show that goes to such lengths to be ‘sexy’ and ‘exciting’ ends up achieving the opposite but anyone who’s followed the show this far will know better than to expect otherwise. At least there are still plenty of fights to pass the time, including a scene between Hakufu and the street fighter she met in the first volume: the ending to the tournament isn’t quite as pivotal as it could have been however. That said it is interesting to see how Hakufu learns a little more about the fighters’ customs and techniques through her experiences; this is reinforced on the short break in the mountains where she continues to train.

In some ways the speed-up of pace sometimes hinders the viewer’s understanding but at least it prevents things becoming too much of a bore. The political side gets more attention and as a result the series moves away from being a succession of set-pieces along with their overdone, gratuitous not-quite-nudity. The struggle to break free from the age-old fates and rivalries could have been used more effectively (a lot more effectively in fact) but it’s proving to be the most compelling source of entertainment value of a show that no doubt neatly fits into the category of ‘guilt pleasure’ for most fans.

As much as the show has improved in some ways unfortunately I still can’t bring myself to like it, even on the shallowest of levels. As a straightforward action-comedy it seems to be just going through the motions and ticking the boxes for the various required themes and plot devices. With the likes of the more recent Tenjho Tenge giving us similar stuff with much more style, something spectacular has to happen in its final volume to prevent it being almost completely forgettable.

In Summary

My criticisms of this show haven’t changed much in this volume but at least there is some exploration of the underlying themes of conflicting loyalties and allegiances. The hot springs episode is every bit as gratuitous as you’d expect but at least the series as a whole hasn’t got any worse as it ends its penultimate volume.