All right everyone, let's get out of here!
"In an age where 'honorable death' was common, this boy outraced all that befell him and tried to defeat its ruler. Thus began the tumultuous life...of the elusive samurai prince."
— Chapter 1
The Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君 Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi) is a Historical Fantasy/comedy manga written by Yuusei Matsui, which began serialization in January 2021 in Weekly Shonen Jump. An animated adaptation by CloverWorks is currently in production.
The story is set during the Kenmu Restoration (1333-1336) and early Nanboku-chō period (1336-1392), both of which were part of the obscure, transitory era of Japanese history that took place between the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates. Many details from this period such as the roles of key historical figures, notable events, religious traditions, political customs, and war strategies were researched and portrayed in the story as faithfully as possible.
With that being said, The Elusive Samurai was written by the same guy who wrote a manga about a sadistic demon who devours human mysteries for sustenance and another manga about an octopus shaped teacher whose students are trying to kill him so he doesn't blow up the Earth. Since many of the specifics of this little known era have been lost to history, the author made sure to fill those gaps with the same signature bizarro flair that permeated his previous works rather than writing a grounded period piece.
The hero of the story is the nine year old Tokiyuki Hojo, a forgettable historical figure whose name you won't remember once your history exam is over. The young lord, kind and unbefitting of a warrior, was content to grow up to be another puppet leader just like his father...until his entire family is suddenly overthrown and slaughtered by the armies of the warlord Takauji Ashikaga.
As his hometown of Kamakura is captured by enemy troops, Tokiyuki is forced to flee to survive with the help of Yorishige Suwa, a shady priest who claims to have the power to see the future. With his only other allies being a few eccentric young retainers, the young lord must evade capture and learn the ways of war so he can seek revenge and restore his family's former glory. His only weapons? An extraordinary love for evading death, and a superhuman ability to flee and hide.
The Elusive Samurai contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy:
- A contemporary Buddhist scholar described the real Takauji as being "merciful, tolerant, and generous" (though said scholar was a favored associate of Takauji so make of that what you will), and it's not entirely clear why exactly he turned on the Kamakura shogunate in the first place. In the series, Takauji is depicted as an Affably Evil betrayer who doesn't bat an eyelash at committing brutal atrocities and whose courteous exterior masks a malicious bloodthirst, to the point where other characters literally see him as demon possessed.
- Toki Yorito, as briefly detailed in the Taiheki, was simply a strong opponent who was able to stand on par with Tokiyuki's army despite a massive difference in armed soldiers and his own monster strength. When he shows up in this series, this is explained by him using his limited amount of men as fodder to take out the rest of Tokiyuki's forces, while he is portrayed as The Juggernaut.
- Artistic License – History: Hojo Tokiyuki was a real figure who escaped Kamakura after his family's deaths and was sheltered by Suwa Yorishige while he planned his return to power. Given the exaggerated nature of the characters, and Yorishige's power of seeing into the future, it's clear the manga will not try too much for historical accuracy.
- Assassin Outclassin': During the Kyoto arc, the Elusive Warriors manage to lure Takauji away from his retainers before launching a 3 on 1 attempt on his life. Takauji easily counters by grabbing Kojiro's and Fubuki's swords with a single pinkie each and catching Tokiyuki's arrow between his nose and his lip. All at the same time.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Led by the traitorous Takauji, the destruction and takeover of Kamakura was a massacre that claimed the lives of Tokiyuki's brother, father, and most of the Hojo clan. When he finally gets the chance to ask why he did it, Takauji smiles and replies that he doesn't really know, it just turned out that way. To add insult to injury he doesn't even recognize Tokiyuki as he says this straight to his face.
- Chekhov's Gag: Fubuki is impressed by Tokiyuki's strange but effective ability to attack Hoshina with his running away muscles. Several volumes later, Fubuki uses that ability as the basis for a new technique that allows Tokiyuki to simultaneously flee and deal a lethal stab to his opponent.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: According to Yorishige, the strength of divine power is directly proportional to the people's faith in the gods. The power and influence of the gods is destined to wane as time goes on and humanity starts viewing miracles as natural phenomenon rather than the work of divine beings.
- Combat Pragmatist: Tokiyuki and his allies have no problem bucking the traditions and honors of warfare of the time period if it means achieving victory, only really respecting said traditions when it's practical to do so.
- Decapitation Presentation: Beheading an enemy commander's corpse and parading the head around the battlefield as proof of victory was a common tactic used to break the opposing army's morale to the point of surrender. This is exactly what happens to Shokan after he is slain by Tokiyuki and Fubuki in combat.
- Doomed Hometown: Kamakura, the political capital of Japan, goes from Tokiyuki's peaceful home to a city reduced to blood and ruin by the end of the first chapter. This prompts him to flee to the Suwa Shrine, where he embarks on a quest to win over support from loyal retainers across the land who are still willing to fight for the Hojo cause.
- Dub Text: When the first chapter recounts what happened to the Hojo Clan, the English version much more directly implies one of them was sexually assaulted.Japanese: The daughter: Kiyoko was looted and murdered.Raw
English localization: Attackers violated and murdered Chikaaki's daughter Kiyoko. - Foregone Conclusion: The real Hojo Tokiyuki ultimately failed to defeat Ashikaga Takauji (who became shogun and remained in power for the rest of his life), losing control of Kamakura twice before fleeing to an adjacent province where he was captured and beheaded by Takauji's allies. Though whether or not the manga will be faithful to real events remains to be seen.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: To combat Iwamatsu's massive blade, Mochizuki grabs the armored corpses of two fallen soldiers and uses them to block the powerful slash. He then proceeds to swing them at Iwamatsu and parry his strikes like a pair of swords.
- Historical Fantasy: The story is based on the wars of early 14th century Japan, but divine powers are portrayed as real (nevermind the absurdist elements that aren't technically magical).
- Honor Before Reason: Hoshina and his retainers are so obsessed with dying a glorious death for the sake of honor and pride that they'd rather die defending their home turf against an invading army with superior numbers instead of help secure a safe retreat for the residents of their territory. When Hoshina revels in the idea of dragging Tokiyuki's friends into his suicidal plan, Tokiyuki becomes so pissed off that he berates him for his selfish reasoning, splashes a flask of alcohol across Hoshina's face, and attacks him in a drunken stupor until he finally agrees to evacuate and regroup.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The title of each chapter is always followed by the year it took place in.
- Improvised Weapon: While Ayako is proficient at using swords and polearms, her primary fighting style revolves around whacking her opponents with whatever she can get her hands on. This includes but isn't limited to large boulders, drums, drumsticks, and a wallet filled with rocks for ease of bludgeoning.
- King Incognito: During his two years in hiding, Tokiyuki goes by the alias Chojumaru, the orphaned son of the chief guard at Suwa Shrine. Only his closest retainers, Yorishige, and a handful of people from Suwa Shrine are in on the secret, and it's an effective disguise because only high ranking officials and nobility had ever seen his face.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Running away in general is always seen as a cowardly self preservation tactic by opponents; however, the series uses fleeing the way the protagonists do as a good thing, as it allows them to live another day and accomplish their goals rather than dying senseless deaths for glory or loyalty.
- La Résistance: The secret resistance movement that wishes to take Kamakura back from the Ashikaga clan and the Emperor is built up over the course of two years and includes members of the Suwa Shrine, several disgruntled retainers around the Shinano region, and remnants of the Hojo clan who managed to escape the massacre.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Yorishige is an eccentric priest who spends a large chunk of the story being a loudmouth with a goofy smile on his face and smothering Tokiyuki with annoying displays of affection. But when it's finally time to lead the rebel army in the campaign to recapture Kamakura we learn exactly why he's revered as Suwa-Myojin, the god of war. He is able to use his divine foresight to wield a bow and arrow with extreme precision, dodge attacks with little effort, and gracefully repel multiple swordsmen with nothing but a blunt ceremonial blade. Witnessing this godlike skill in the midst of combat bestows a massive morale boost on the entire army like a surge of magic.
- Master of Disguise: Genba can use his ninja skills and moldable clay applied to his mask to mimic anybody's voice, height, and appearance. Sometimes the fox ears on his mask stick out of his disguise, but very few people tend to notice or question them.
- Mood Whiplash: The story has light comedy moments contrasted to dark events, but seldom quite so abruptly as the first chapter where Tokiyuki's hometown is taken over by the army of the Ashikaga shogunate.
- In the first few pages, we're introduced to a comically greedy girl who plans to marry Tokiyuki when they grow up, and it's all very silly. A couple of pages later, she's seen lying on the ground after being raped and murdered by a bunch of soldiers.
- The older brother of Tokiyuki plays with a ball while encouraging his younger sibling, the ball falls, and the next panel shows the child's head falling after a soldier decapitated him.
- Power Stereotype Flip: Though it involves mundane skill rather than a superpower, Tokiyuki's extreme evasive abilities—initially at the cost of being unwilling to attack—don't reflect his personality the way you might expect. Far from being a coward who avoids danger, he's a Thrill Seeker who loves getting as close to death as possible.
- Production Throwback: In Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, one culprit who was greedy for influence and power is depicted as an anglerfish when he finally admits to being the murderer. The same anglerfish appears on Takauji's deformed body as it sucks up all the charisma from the battlefield, causing thousands of Kamakura defenders to surrender upon the mere sight of him.
- Running Gag:
- General Nitta gives his men the impression that he has no idea what's happening around him, so almost every panel he's in has a "?" hidden somewhere in the background. Some are partially obscured by a speech bubble, panel edge, or background object, while another is the body of a decapitated man shaped like a question mark.
- Uncle Yasuie takes the phrase "wears his heart on his sleeve" to the next level: whatever he's truly thinking appears on his forehead as text that is visible to other characters.Yasuie: They wanted me to kill myself too, but I said, "I care not for my life...but I must avenge you by restoring Hojo rule!"
Yasuie's forehead: "I just didn't want to die."
Ayako and Kojiro: There's something on his forehead... - In a nod to the fact that historical experts know next to nothing about his real life counterpart, Tokitsugu Suwa is often drawn as if he were invisible. Some characters don't notice when he's around while others can't see him standing right in front of them.
- Scary Symbolic Shapeshifting: Many "Nanboku-chō Tag" scenes depict Tokiyuki's opponent as a grotesque, inhuman demon representing their specialty for a single page. This ranges anywhere from Tokiyuki's uncle drawn as a gambling oni to the Kokushi of Shinano becoming a giant, flaming skeleton grafted to a war machine.
- Shout-Out:
- Chapter 2: The board game is a 14th century version of Momotaro Dentetsu (hence the comment about it seeming futuristic).
- Chapter 34: Yorishige imagines Sadamune interrogating Tokiyuki while wearing the glasses, bowtie, and coat of Kid Detective Shinichi from Case Closed.
- Chapter 39: The color page for this chapter featuring Tokiyuki and Genba posing in front of a train is a nod to the Enoden Bicycle Bro
photobombing incident. - Chapter 49: The panel where Yasuie looks at his reflection in the water to make sure he looks the part of a poor, pathetic samurai mirrors the scene in Glass Mask where Maya enters the forest to prepare for her role as the wolf girl Jane in Forgotten Wilderness.
- Chapter 50: Genba's reaction to falling into debt after losing multiple games of sugoroku is drawn in the style of the gambling manga Kaiji.
- Chapter 60: Kaori from City Hunter does her signature 100 ton hammer gag while the cast discusses the logistics of their upcoming invasion.
- Chapter 61: As the Nakasendai War commences, the rebellion rising up to take back Kamakura is portrayed as Yorishige slapping Sadamune and the Kokushi the same way Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards.
- Time Skip: Tokiyuki's recapture of Kamakura lasts only one month before he is once again driven out by Takauji's forces in 1335. The story then jumps to a brief intermission arc about the events leading up to the formation of the Northern and Southern Courts in 1336 before skipping ahead to 1337 to resume Tokiyuki's story.
- Unmoving Plaid: On the manga's various cover arts, this is how the patterns on robes and clothing of various characters are depicted - a single portrait superimposed over whatever the cover's character happens to be wearing.
- Villain Has a Point: The Kanto Hisashiban believe the Ashikaga were heroes who overthrew the corrupt and ineffective Hojo regime and that they are arbiters of justice trying to maintain a fair and unbiased rule. Although from his perspective the Ashikaga were villains who betrayed and murdered his clan, Tokiyuki is aware that the Hojo weren't saints and acknowledges that they have a point.
