I’m happy, okay? That I got to see Hijikata-san. Even though he has nothing but strife in the days to come… He had… He had such a fearless look on his face. It’s killing me.
Although the ufotable adaptation does have some some lighthearted and funny moments, unlike Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru, not every battle will always succeed without any casualties.Unmarked spoilers ahead.
List the examples in chronological order if possible.
General
- The opening can be seen as heartbreaking and sad, since we see the six main characters visit the place where their former masters were killed tragically.
- To explain further, only Mutsunokami, Izuminokami and Horikawa are in the places they were killed. Tsurumaru's presentation shows him in a place washed in white, which traditionally was color of grieving. History says his master was slayed while still a child, and Tsurumaru was dug out of his grave by a rival clan.
- More on Horikawa and Izuminokami, they don't visit the same places despite being the same man's swords. Izuminokami has been sent away before the final battle, though, so it's logical he wanders the streets of the town, while it's Horikawa (who was used till the end) who stands on the fields of Hakodate.
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Anime
Commander
- Mutsunokami takes out his frustrations on an already dead Revisionist by shooting them repeatedly. Becomes a tearjerker when you realize that it's only because he just witnessed the slaughter of so many innocent lives by the Revisionists.
Master's Order
- When the mission results in a large body count, Mutsunokami gets very conflicted and you can see that the number of deaths is having a profound effect on him and maybe his feelings towards the continuing goal of the Time Preservation force. What makes it even worse is realizing that the rest of the team doesn't seem to care about anything but the mission — this also suggests that since this instance of near-genocide hasn't changed history, they probably don't deem those people who died as important. Subverted, when you remember Horikawa's reaction to the fire breaking out on the opposite bank of the river from just ep.1.
What I Wanted to Protect
- Although the conversation between Konnosuke and the Second Unit about the pocket watch is pretty funny, it also puts the other members at a disadvantage. This means that everyone else will experience difficulty knowing the exact moment and time the Retrograde Army will make their next move, save their captain, Izuminokami, who is in charge of carrying said watch.
The Fires of War
- The team takes critical injuries all around. Izuminokami gets cut and almost drowns if not for Mutsu, and Tonbokiri is gravely wounded, with his yari cracking in the process. What's worse is that no one was expecting Tonbokiri to get hurt like that, since he was more of a support and had no death flags up to that point.
- Izuminokami is horrified by the destruction of Edo at the hands of the Revisionists. Blinded by rage, he takes out his anger on them and attempts to kill them all without coming up with a strategy.
- At the end of "The Fires of War", this ends up becoming a Downer Ending, where the Second Unit is forced to retreat back to the Citadel by Konnosuke. History may not have been altered, but many lives were lost and half of the Second Unit was horribly injured from the battle.
The Citadel
- This episode ends up becoming a Bittersweet Ending for the Second Unit. Everyone in the Unit makes it out alive, Tonbokiri wakes up from a comatose state and history isn't altered, but Izuminokami suffers from a Heroic BSoD after the destruction of Edo. He feels guilty about being unable to protect the city and the innocent people who are forever lost. He is desperate to get stronger in his current injured state and secretly blames himself for Tonbokiri's injuries.
Protect History
- Unit 1 witnesses the aftermath of the Street Slasher's reign of terror as not only did many die, but several others were also left grieving over the lost of their loved ones. Topples over into Heartwarming Moments as the members of Unit 1 reveal that after completing their missions, despite not being ordered by the Saniwa to do so, they choose to help those who were affected by the Historical Revisionists in anyway way they can. In this instance, they themselves cooked and shared the food they made with everyone in the village.
- Before returning to the citadel, the First Unit decides to stay and help the villagers who have just lost their family, friends, and love ones to the Street Slasher by providing them with food to eat. Although the First Unit did manage to protect history, they know very well that they can't bring back the dead, so they do what they can to alleviate the village's feelings of lost and pain, even if just for a moment.
- Despite Izuminokami making a full recovery, he still blames himself for Tonbokiri's injuries and has doubts as to whether or not they really did "protect" history. He is however, slowly mentally recovering from his Heroic BSoD.
Former Master
- It was painful for Mutsunokami to see a wounded Ryoma Sakamoto trying to escape the pursuing samurai, since Toudans must reign in their desire to meet and interact with their former master's as much as possible. Mutsunokami ends up helping him anyway and later on treats Ryoma's wounds.
Where Loyalty Leads
- At the beginning of the episode, Horikawa asks Mutsunokami about his former master, Ryoma.Horikawa: "Hey Mutsunokami, Sakamoto Ryoma got away this time. But two years from now, he'll get attacked again, and dies, right?"
Mutsunokami: "You sure say some harsh things."
Horikawa: "Oh, I'm sorry. But when you met with Ryoma, didn't you want to tell him? About what his end would look like?" - When Izuminokami unexpectedly encounters his former master, Hijikata. He is really happy to see him again, but is sad to know that Hijikata is fated to experience nothing but strife in the years to come and he of course, can't do anything about it since this is the natural course of history, as intended.
- At the end of the episode, Horikawa and Izuminokami come into conflict with each other due to their differing views on interfering with history. Horikawa wants to change parts of history by preventing his former master, Hijikata Toshizo's demise, which is set to happen in a few years time. Izuminokami, on the other hand, wants to protect history and leave his former master's fate as is. Who can really blame the two, they were the former swords of Hijikata Toshizo after all.
- The above point is actually doubly sad when you consider it's just one big misunderstanding. Horikawa doesn't want to change history per se, he just want Kanesada to recognize and acknowledge those feelings causing wishful thinking, acknowledge that they are still somewhat attached to the former master (who ordered a creation of Izuminokami, by the way). Since he's a newbie, though, Kanesada feels the need to redirect him onto the right track, and be the responsible one, accidentially dismissing what made them partners in the first place in Horikawa's eyes.
- Cue Horikawa apologising to Kanesada's back for what is about to come.
Iron Law
- Izuminokami confides in Mutsonokami about the last time he saw his former master, Hijikata, back when he was just a sword. Before the Battle of Hakodate, his former master entrusted his young ward Tensunosuke with the task of delivering him to his brother-in-law in Tama. Though a tearjerker since this marks the day Izuminokami would forever part ways with his former master, it can also be seen as heartwarming, since Hijikata did this as a means to leave a memento of him to one of his closest relatives before he died in battle.
- Horikawa tells Izuminokami that the reason why he wants to prevent Hijikata's tragic fate is because he was there at the Battle of Hakodate and witnessed his former master's death. Unlike Horikawa, Izuminokami wasn't by Hijikata's side up until his demise, so it makes sense why Horikawa feels so strongly about changing the course of history. Which turns out to be somewhat of a smokescreen, that's also a continuation of a misunderstanding from the previous episode.
- At the end of the episode, Horikawa asks Izuminokami to break him."Will you break me, just like Hijikata-san did to his subordinates? I don't care if you do. If you don't break me now, I'll pursue my own loyalty."
- All the while this is happening, Mutsunokami arrives just in time to horrifically witness Izuminokami about to end Horikawa's life. He quickly runs up to them as he tries to stop Izuminokami from striking the killing blow, Horikawa on the other hand, has already accepted his fate.
Battle of Hakodate
- Izuminokami couldn't bring himself to strike Horikawa down and reluctantly watches Horikawa walk away as the latter pushes through with his plans to prevent the death of his former master Hijikata. Knowing Izuminokami, he probably didn't want to lose someone important to him again, which would explain his letting Horikawa go despite the potential consequences of his actions.
- Horikawa is actually more than just an "important person". Even though he was first to manifest, Izuminokami was forged much later than Horikawa, at the request of Hijikata who wanted to have a long sword created to fit his wakizashi, so Kanesada smith he requested that from was said to use that wakizashi as a reference. Yes, Kane-san is based on Horikawa, and have had him as his partner since the very beginning, therefore, regardless of their seniority in manifestation, he probably cannot bring himself to slay a companion he basically owes his coming to existence to.
- It's actually a bit heartbreaking that Horikawa does seem to feel he's insignificant enough for Kanesada to actually break him.
- After the young girl Horikawa manages to save regains consciousness, she wonders where her mom went without realizing she's the only one who survived the fire. Although Horikawa is willing to help her search for her mom, there's a chance that her mom might no longer be alive.
Katsugeki
- Horikawa infiltrated Shinsengumi only to protect their history from within. He basically made himself look like a traitor in the eyes of Saniwa, his new friends from the Second Unit, and most importantly his partner sword, only to make sure their mission will be carried out, with minimal changes that wouldn't disturb the flow of the actual history, but alleviate some of the regrets of Kanesada.
- After the First & Second unit managed to defeat the Retrograde Armies, Izumonokami and Horikawa rush towards the Hakodate battle grounds to watch Hijikata Toshizou's final moments. Izuminokami sadly watches on, while Horikawa breaks down in tears after witnessing Hijikata's demise. Again.
Manga
- In the manga, after the steamship exploded, the casualty count was much higher than compared to what was shown in the anime adaptation, since both foreigners and local villagers alike, were caught in the explosion.
- Chapter 4 plays a little differently from the manga version of "Master's Order". After Mutsunokami saves one of the passengers from drowning, he is horrified to know that the passenger lost his right leg after the steamship exploded.
