Katanagatari

[Ryllharu]

I actually disagree with you shinta. I doubt Shichika feels anything from killing Tsuruga Meisai. He said it best himself, he is Togame's sword. Swords don't feel anything, they are merely tools to be used. That was the beauty of that scene. Shichika didn't care, he was being used by Togame to acquire the swords. She was the one who felt guilt and regret at having to kill Meisai. She chose not to complete her comment because it was already done, and she had already agreed to the deal. She didn't like it, and wasn't happy about it, but she knew the outcome would happen this way as soon as Meisai suggested that method. Negotiations had broken down, a mortal duel was inevitable, and with her sword, the outcome was settled.

By that point, Togame had already unsheathed her blade and the battle begun. An exchange of blows can be equated to her hunt for the original sword, the start of the fight with Shichika the final exchange, drawn out to Meisai pulling the sword and using her ultimate technique. With that, Togame had equivalently found the weakness in Meisai's technique, and applied her final strike. Meisai tried to appeal to Shichika on multiple fronts, and failed both times. Meisai was fighting with a sword, Togame wielding him.

I loved that Togame tried to win this sword via reason. If this was simply one fight after another, the series might falter a bit for me. Instead, Togame tried reason; it may have failed, but she intentionally kept her sword sheathed during that attempt. She told Shichika to play outside, presenting herself in the least threatening way possible. Even when she was attacked and saved by Meisai, she did not break her vow to keep him placed aside. He eventually told her that wouldn't be possible after the Maniwani attack, but she was determined to not let it break down. Also, Togame was the one who regretted having to kill her. Togame agreed with Meisai's principles and mission. If she wasn't absolutely determined to collect all the swords for her own ambition, she would have liked to leave them be. She wanted to take the swords without violence involved.


Lastly, I seem to remember seeing something exactly like the Sentouryuu style in another series. I can't remember where, but I really like the concept of using an opponent's sword against them and then disposing it. As a style, it was the perfect parallel to the Kyotouryuu. Both are supposed to approach their opponent "unarmed" and then abandon the sword. Kyotouryuu smashes, removes or otherwise destroys the sword, followed by a kill. Sentouryuu steals it, kills, then casts it aside. The difference in the styles is that Sentouryuu still requires a sword for the killing blow, leading up to the poison of the Deviant Blades. Meisai grabbed them. She did not fully cast them aside as she should have. She gave them away, but always kept them close. That slowly corrupted her, though her motives were still pure. She relied on the swords, perverting her style. She may not have used them to fight her opponents (like the Maniwani), but she relied on them to help her defeat Shichika. Perhaps the outcome may have been different if she had tried to use Shichika's strength against him (like Judo or Aiki-jujutsu).

But the best part of the Sentouryuu? Meisai tried to use it on Togame. She tried two different methods to "steal" Togame's sword and use him to allow her to win. So in a way, she was still true to her form.