#choukichi

Enonoka (エノノカ): 100 cm Cikapasi (チカパシ): 100 cm Asirpa (アシㇼパ): 120 cm Chōkichi (長吉) 134 cm Beniko (紅子): 141 cm Yamada (山田): 152 cm Yōyanke (ヨーヤンケ): 161 cm Tsukishima Hajime (月島 基): 164 cm Yamada Fumie (山田 フミエ): 167 cm Shiraishi Yoshitake (白石 由竹): 170 cm Ogata Hyakunosuke (尾形 百之助): 171 cm Koito Otonoshin (鯉登 音之進): 173 cm Sugimoto Saichi(杉元 佐一) : 175 cm Kiroranke/Yulbars (キロランケ/Юлбарс): 184 cm Tanigaki Genjirō (谷垣 源次郎): 185 cm Gansoku Maiharu (岩息 舞治): 193 cm

Extra:

The Arisaka is drawn as 128 cm long without the bayonet and as almost 160 cm long with it.

The Russian guys that attack Sugimoto during his circus show are 180 cm, 185 cm and 187 cm.

HOW TRUSTWORTHY ARE THESE DATA?

Now... Noda, in his fanbook, didn’t give heights, he just tells us if the characters are taller, shorter or of the same height as some others.

However, as you can see, if we add the old and the new heights given by the anime settei, they match with Noda’s prospect, so I'll say the anime is accurate enough.

1 Cikapasi (100 cm according to the anime) 2 Asirpa (120 cm according to the anime) 3 Nagakura Shinpachi, Ienaga Kano (160 cm according to the anime) 4 Henmi Kazuo, Inkaramat, Anehata Shiton 5 Tsukishima Hajime (164 cm according to the anime) 6 Nikaidō Kōhei, Nikaidō Yōhei, Okuyama Kantarō 7 Kadokura Toshiyuki 8 Kirawus 9 Hijikata Toshizō, Usami Tokishige, Sofia (168 cm according to the anime) 10 Shiraishi Yoshitake (170 cm according to the anime) 11 Ogata Hyakunosuke (171 cm according to the anime) 12 Edogai Yasaku 13 Tsurumi Tokushirō, Koito Otonoshin (173 cm according to the anime) 14 Sugimoto Saichi, Toni Anji, Wilk (175 cm according to the anime) 15 Vasily 16 Nihei Tetsuzō 17 Kikuta Mokutarō 18 Kiroranke/Yulbars (184 cm according to the anime) 19 Tanigaki Genjirō, Ariko Rikimatsu (185 cm according to the anime) 20 Ushiyama Tatsuma (188 cm according to the anime)

Yeah, this request is done because we need more GK.

Some data first.

This episode last 23:40 minutes and has an opening and an the ending. It covers part of chap 151, part of chap 154 and 4 other chaps of the manga, chap 155, 156, 157 & 158 for a total of around 96 pages (I’m discounting the covers) basically covering half of Vol 16.

The episode is titled ‘The immortal Sugimoto Harakiri Show’, which is actually the title of chap 156, chap 151 being ‘Muskies’, chap 154 being ‘Remaining Time’, chap 155 being ‘Yamada Circus Troupe’, chap 157 being ‘Karafuto Island Great Circus’ and chap 158 being ‘Key Performer’.

And now into the anime.

SUGIMOTO’S GROUP

Manga: Sugimoto’s group stops in an Ainu village, Sugimoto suggesting to spend the night there. Koito would like to reach Toyohara, which has better inns but Tsukishima says they’ll do it the day after so they’ll be able to do some shopping as well. Enonoka gives Cikapasi her father’s hohciri, explaining him that boys in Karafuto wear it until they turn ten.

Anime: This scene is completely removed in the anime.

My two cents: Normally I’m against cutting scenes but I’ll admit the first page isn’t really relevant as for the second, since the topic will come up later, the story could skip it.

THE MUSK DEER

Manga & Anime: Asirpa sees an animal she never saw previously. As Kiro explains her it’s a musk deer Ogata shoots it down, likely thinking they could eat it. Turns out the meat isn’t good and the pelt can’t be sold but they’ve a musk gland which, properly handled, can be sold to a high price, albeit currently smells horrible as Asirpa and Ogata discover. Kiro explains more about the musk deer explaining seasonal workers in Karafuto are called like “muskies” and this happened to him and Wilk as well. Kiro then tells her Wilk’s first prey was a musk deer and this allowed him to cut his hohciri. He then proceeds to explain her what an Hohciri is. Asirpa remembers she used to wear one and thinks thanks to that story she could discover something about her father and also remember something about him.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, when Kiro explains boy cut the Hohciri off after their first kill the scene moves to Enonoka tying the Hohciri to Cikapasi’s hair, explaining him he’ll have to cut it off once he manages to kill a prey on his own, all this under Tanigaki’s gaze. In the anime this scene is removed, albeit it will come up later.

- In the manga Kiro smiles as he explains about musk deer and how they were called muskies, with Asirpa looking surprised at hearing this, Kiro getting up as he explains. In the anime Kiro doesn’t smile until he says what a hohciri is, Asirpa isn’t shown and they remain all crouched down. Asirpa’s surprised face is shown later, when she had heard what a hohciri is, possibly because it has caused her to remember something.

- In the manga she seems pleasantly surprised when she realized ‘that’ was an hohciri. In the anime she just stares at Kiro.

- In the manga Kiro’s head was lowered and his face heavily shadowed and barely visible when he said ‘I see’, as for Ogata he seems to look ahead with a firm expression. In the anime Kiro’s head is only barely lowered and showed from profile as for Ogata his expression seems sad or disappointed.

My two cents: In the manga when Kiro smiles as he remembers things, one gets the idea Kiro looks at those memories fondly so his lack of smile in the anime instead ands up on giving the feeling he’s looking at them with regret, which ends up changing slightly his characterization. Honestly, although Asirpa has shorter hair in the flash back, in the close up in the anime she doesn’t seem that much younger than she is now even though she should be at least 7 years younger if not more.

Basically the anime tries to imply she has grown up merely by making her head bigger in the transition between her younger self and her current one. You might notice it better if you put Asirpa’s current hairstyle on her younger self.

I’m not quite satisfied of how they depicted Kiro and Ogata in the end or of how they changed the framing of many scenes or the position of the characters to simplify them. They were doing a much better work with them in the previous episode. Still it’s not a big deal and I get they wanted to make things simpler to animate. On a VERY positive note they fixed Kiro’s character design so he finally doesn’t have a black weird animal on his chest but normal hair same as in the manga.

Oh, also maybe it’s just me but the scene in which Asirpa and Ogata smell the musk deer gland came out funny, same as the one in which Shiraishi said Kiro’s body was covered in musk.  As for the scene of Cikapasi, Enonoka and Tanigaki, it makes sense it was removed since they removed the 2 starting pages and since we’ll recover part of it later it’s not a big deal plotwise… even though all this will bring less focus on Cikapasi’s figure causing him to look an even minor character than what he already is.

CHAP 151 IS INTERRUPTED HERE

THE OPENING STARTS HERE

WARNING: The anime removed the whole Youichirou arc, which went from chap 151 to 154. As we can see Youichirou in the opening...

...is reasonable to assume they didn’t plan to cut him entirely but merely to move his arc later. At least I hope so. It would make sense as this episode covers a lot of pages so they wouldn’t have managed to fit the Youichirou arc here and they could probably postpone it to after the circus show. However we know the next episode contain the Vasily arc... and I think Youichirou arc as more sense if viewed BEFORE this arc as it was meant to be seen. Of course maybe it’s just me.

CIKAPASI AND TANIGAKI IN TOYOHARA

Manga: This scene doesn’t exist in the manga.

Anime: The anime shows Cikapasi and Tanigaki walking through the city, Cikapasi happily looking at his and Tanigaki commenting he likes it because Enonoka gave him that and telling him to remember he won’t be a real man until he cuts it off. We see a flashback of Enonoka tying it to Cikapasi’s hair before Cikapasi replying he knows. They then hear Sugimoto’s voice yelling to wait and turns toward it.

My two cents: This scene was likely added to compensate the fact they cut Cikapasi receiving the hohciri previously. Maybe it’s a matter of translation though, but it feels like the anime is already pushing the pairing Cikapasi/Enonoka by remarking how Cikapasi likes the hohciri because it came from Enonoka or how he’ll be a ‘real man’ when he’ll cut it. While it has its reasons to exist, the result is that the scene with Tanigaki and Cikapasi that was in the manga later and that showed them worrying for Inkarmat gets cut (they’ll place it in a ‘Golden Douga Gekijou’ 25 though) and, in addition, makes useless for them to hear Sugimoto screaming as in the anime they’ll join him only when they’ll hear Koito shooting.

THE CHASE

Manga & Anime: Sugimoto, Tsukishima and Koito are running after a boy, who stole Sugimoto’s bad inside which there’s a copy of Gansoku’s tattoo.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, Tsukishima proposes to split into two groups to catch the boy in between them and leaves Koito with Sugimoto. In the anime this is cut and Tsukishima remains with the group.

My two cents: It’s a pretty small bit and the scene of them running after the boy is pretty fun in the anime. Now… it’s true Tsukishima’s plan will bring nothing but cutting it is a bit sad as it’s one of the few times Tsukishima is proactive.

TANIGAKI AND CIKAPASI SEARCHING AROUND

Manga: Tanigaki and Cikapasi are showing around photos of Kiro with no result. As Tanigaki asks Cikapasi if he’s tired, Cikapasi claims he can’t forgive Kiro for stabbing Inkarmat and will give his everything to track him down. Tanigaki thinks to a bedridden Inkarmat while Cikapasi goes on and claims he’s sure she too is fighting so he has no right to complain of being tired. Tanigaki tries asking info to another man but, by mistake shows his photo and then admits to Cikapasi he’s the one who’s tired.

Anime: In the anime the scene is cut and included in the ‘Golden Douga Gekijou’ in a shorter form. In fact they cut the scene in which Tanigaki asks about Kiro and the woman replies she would remember such a good looking men and Cikapasi’s reply.

My two cents: Well, the scene is not overly important but it would have been nice if they had added at least the Inkarmat bit to the previous scene with Tanigaki and Cikapasi as removing her is pretty bad. Recovering the scene in the ‘Golden Douga Gekijou’ doesn’t quite work as Cikapasi’s determination is cut and the focus is more on the joke than on Tanigaki’s worry about her.

THE CHASE CONTINUES

Manga & Anime: The thief grabs a pole and use it to climb on a roof and escape. Koito manages to jump on another roof and keeps chasing him, keeping up with his acrobatic escapes. The thief sees Koito keeping up with him as he continues running.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, Sugimoto is shocked when the thief climbs on a roof and Koito catches his chances to surpass him as the thief runs on the roof. Koito then will jump on a less tall roof. In the anime Sugimoto is just worried and we can see Koito not just surpassing Sugimoto but also jumping on what is implied to be the same the roof on which the boy is running.

- In the manga the acrobatic abilities of the thief are well shown as he walks on a pole, jumps acrobatically on various roofs and then off of them. In the anime we only get a quick glimpse of his running on a roof and then jumping down it.

- In the manga we don’t see what happens to Koito after he’s hit by a branch. In the anime we see he manages to keep his balance and resume the chase.

My two cents: Now… I get that the anime is trying to fit a lot of pages in this episode so this is a bit of a cutting fest but the result is that the boy, Choukichi, seems a lot less of an acrobat than he is in the anime, while Koito seems much better than in the manga. Also in the anime the branch that Koito broke somehow gets ridiculously smaller when it hits Koito.

It would have never managed to support him not even for a second.

MORE CHASING

Manga: Tsukishima and Sugimoto regroups but they can’t find the thief. Cikapasi catches sight of them.

Anime: This scene is completely removed in the anime.

My two cents: Okay, this is nothing big and since they removed Tsukishima suggesting they split it makes sense to remove it.

CHOUKICHI REACHES THE CIRCUS

Manga and anime: Choukichi reaches the circus and the director, seeing him, scolds him, then notices he has a knapsack and worries he has stolen him. Gunshoots are heard. It’s Koito who has reached him and he’s now signalling his position to the others. Choukichi is impressed as this is the first time someone could keep up with him.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- The anime added a scene of Choukichi breathing in relief as he reaches the circus.

- In the manga the director of the circus hits Choukichi’s head. The scene is cut in the anime.

- In the manga when Tsukishima and Sugimoto hear the shoot they’re both on the ground. In the anime Sugimoto is messily trying to climb over a roof.

- The anime adds Tanigaki and Cikapasi hearing the shoots.

My two cents: On a personal note Choukichi character design makes him look a lot younger in the anime. His face is very round, his lashes longer, his side bangs much longer and his nose tiny, he might even pass for a flat-chested  girl. Tsukishima is horribly drawn here… -_- Maybe it’s just me but I get the feeling the anime cut the scene of the director hitting Choukichi as a form of censorship so as not to show a young boy being punished. This however causes the fact that, in the following scene, he attacks Choukichi with a katana, even more unbelievable than it was.

SUGIMOTO DECIDES TO JOIN THE CIRCUS

Manga and Anime: The director and Choukichi apologize for how the boy stole from Sugimoto. Sugimoto says it’s fine and the director instead says he’ll punish him so he cuts his cheek with the katana. Sugimoto punches him for hurting a kid but when Tanigaki tries to help the boy it turns out there’s no blood and it was just a joke as it was merely a magic trick used for their hara-kiri show. He also introduces Choikichi as an acrobat explaining this is the Yamada circus and he’s the troupe leader. Sugimoto, thinking Asirpa should be closer, decides to let her know he’s alive by joining the circus and performing in the ‘Sugimoto the immortal’s hara-kiri show’.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Yamada’s eyes are completely white as he says he can’t allow Choukichi to make more troubles and he looks scary. In the anime his eyes are merely close and he doesn’t look scary at all.

- In the manga in the flashback Asirpa as a sad and worried expression. In the anime she’s calm and smiling.

My two cents: As they cut the scene of the director punishing him and the one after it will be a joke Yamada’s declarations about how he punishes him seems to be merely lip service. When the anime shows a flashback of Asirpa talking with Shiraishi, picks up the same scene used in the manga, the one in which she was worrying about how her father betrayed the Ainu. The problem is in the anime this scene is cut. I’m not sure if they changed Asirpa’s expression in the flashback to fit with this but, if that’s the case, they could have used a real flashback of the scene they used, not a flashback of a scene that wasn’t included.

CHAP 154 ENDS HERE.

YAMADA IS PERSUADED TO LET SUGIMOTO TAKE PART TO THE SHOW

Manga and anime: Yamada doesn’t want Sugimoto in the show as he doesn’t want to share the trick of the hara-kiri show. Sugimoto forcefully insists he won’t become a performer and will keep the trick for himself. Choukichi suggests that, as long as Sugimoto and his friends agree to their condition they could let them all take part to the show, especially Koito, whom he sees as suited for that work.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Sugimoto tries to blackmail Yamada, saying if he doesn’t agree they’ll hand Choukichi to the police which pushes Yamada to say it would be very troublesome for them as the boy is their star. In the anime this is cut.

My two cents: I get the feeling the anime cut Sugimoto blackmailing Yamada so as not to show this side of Sugi who in the anime is much more of a noble hero than in the manga. As a result Sugimoto comes out as a lot less threatening than he was in the manga.

THE CIRCUS SHOW

Manga and anime: Sugimoto’s group is introduced to some acrobatic performances which Koito is capable to reproduce flawlessly. On the other side Sugimoto and the other completely fail at them. Yamada tells Sugimoto to stop trying and focus on the hara-kiri show while Tanigaki and Tsukishima will join the girl group and dance off the side.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we see Choukichi performing first as Yamada explains the acrobatic act and then Koito. In the anime this is cut and we’re immediately shown Koito doing the act but Koito’s act too is cut short as we don’t see him falling or how they roll him as if he were a ball. Also they cut Yamada asking the group who they are.

- In the manga Sugimoto and Co try to perform the Kyokumochi. In the anime the scene is cut and included in the ‘Golden Douga Gekijou’ 26, and the only part cut from it is Yamada asking them to which circus troupe they belong with Koito replying ‘the 7th’ division’. These two lines though are placed when Koito is shown being good on a bicycle as well.

- In the manga we also see the ‘cycle whirl’ stage act with Yamada explaining it. In the anime this part is cut.

- In the manga it’s not explained why Tsukishima let go of Sugimoto’s bycicle, causing him to fall. In the anime it’s shown he did it due to being surprised by how well Koito was going on it.

- In the manga, when Koito says the circus troupe he belongs to is the 7th division, he has a serious face. In the anime he smiles.

My two cents: Well, this part got lot of cuts but it’s mostly explanation so it can work. The only thing I really don’t like is changing Koito’s expression as he says they belong to the 7th division because for me it was the fact he told it so seriously that made the scene really fun. Also the fact they gave Tsukishima a reason to let go of Sugimoto’s bycicle kind of affect a little Tsukishima’s characterization because it turns it into an accident, where in the manga the implication is he deliberately let go of him (if he did so as a payback for being put below in the Kyokumochi exercise or because he thought Sugimoto had to try standing on his own) is up to the reader’s speculation. The fact that Tsukishima might have let go of Sugimoto deliberately in the manga is also hinted by how we’ve a close up of his face which is shadowed when Sugimoto complains while in the anime Tsukishima’s face is totally unchanged to how it was before in the background.

THE DANCING GROUP

Manga & Anime: Tanigaki and Tsukishima joins the girls dancing on the side but Tanigaki keeps on getting scolded by Yamada Fumie, the dancing instructor in a quite vulgar manner. Fumie then accuses Tsukishima to be trying to win her over in hope to get a better treatment.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga when Fumie accuses Tsukishima of having fallen in love with her and so on Tsukishima is uncharacteristically smiling while in the anime he’s serious.

My two cents: Honestly it’s a pity Tsukishima isn’t smiling as it really made me think that, although Tsukishima hadn’t fallen in love with Fumie, he was trying to use his charm on her while in the anime  it just feels like her accusing him baselessly.

MORE CIRCUS ACT FROM KOITO

Manga & Anime: Koito does more impressive acrobatics acts, impressing Yamada who praises him a lot and thinks everyone coming to the show will talk about him. Sugimoto gets annoyed because according to him everyone has to talk about Sugimoto or there’s no point to do that. Koito tells him he’s just being jealous.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Koito is shown standing on two horses. In the anime this is cut.

- In the manga as Sugimoto hears Yamada praising Koito he gets worried and tells him to stop, explaining him why what he’s doing would make the whole thing useless. In the anime he gets angry as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. Sugimoto’s speech also gets cut so he sounds less formal, he explains nothing and merely gives off an angry vibe.

My two cents: Okay, the cut one of Koito’s many acrobatic performances doesn’t really affect the plot much and Sugimoto’s expression as he gets angry is pretty fun but it somehow messes up part of Sugimoto’s characterization as it’s real his purpose for doing that was mainly to have news of him reach Asirpa and Koito’s actions might jeopardize his plan. It’s true Sugimoto is also subconsciously doing this to feed his ego as he thinks he can easily be the star of the show when Koito is actually much better than him and that the plan is overall dumb, pointless and will fail but, credits when it’s due, the main purpose was still to find Asirpa, not just to give Sugimoto a chance to shine so it makes more sense to have him worried his plan will fail than angry at Koito’s phraises and he only got angry when Koito told him he was complaining merely because he was jealous.

TANIGAKI’S DESPERATION

Manga & Anime: Tsukishima finds Tanigaki crying and tries to comfort him thinking it’s because Fumie humiliated him. Actually Tanigaki cries because he thinks he’s being a burden to the girls’ group.

My two cents: There are no cuts on this one but somehow it didn’t impress me much either.

CHAP 155 ENDS HERE.

YAMADA TEACHING THE TRICK TO SUGIMOTO

Manga & Anime: Yamada explains Sugimoto how the sword trick works and then reveals the trick behind it. Sugimoto is told to try but his attempt is interrupted by some girls cheering on Koito’s performance and the cheers grow even louder when Koito throw a kiss at the audience. Sugimoto gets angry and claims Koito doesn’t need to be in the show. Koito claims all Sugimoto has to do is to give a better performance than his own. Yamada persuades Sugimoto to just work harder on his performance.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- The anime adds a scene in which Yamada points his sword at Sugimoto and Cikapasi, surprising them.

- In the manga Yamada says after Sugimoto has cut his leg he should hop on one foot toward the audience, showing them the blood. This part is cut in the anime.

- In the manga Yamada says Sugimoto should return to the centre of the stage, shows his upper body and pour water on it. This part is cut in the anime and only the visual is left.

- In the manga Yamada will keep on wearing his tuba even when he fakes dying. In the anime the tuba falls from his head.

- In the manga the explanation about how the trick work is more detailed than in the anime.

- In the manga Sugimoto practices the trick a bit but he puts excessive emphasis in his performance and refuses following Yamada’s instructions. This part is cut in the anime, although it also appears in the Golden

- In the manga Yamada praises Koito again. In the anime the scene is cut and included in the ‘Golden Douga Gekijou’ 27.

- In the manga Koito points out Sugimoto is acting in such way because he has no confidence in his performance. This is cut in the anime.

- In the manga Sugimoto admits Koito is sounding reasonable, although he then says he’s just making all this because everyone is making a big deal of him and thinks he should come up with another brilliant idea to drive the audience crazy, namely making a performance wearing roller skates. Yamada shoots his idea down. In the anime all this is cut.

- The anime added Sugimoto saying he would do better practice.

My two cents: In the anime the green aura with the visual sound effect when Yamada prays feels… disturbing to me. That greenish smoke seems more to indicate that Yamada is smelling than that he has an aura.

Cutting the part in which Koito accused Sugimoto to make all that fuss solely because he lacked in confidence about his performance and leaving the one in which Koito says if he can’t make a better performance than his own the idea he’ll get famous is a joke, feels more like Koito is competing with Sugimoto trying to outdo him to be the one who’ll get famous when Koito was likely instead merely giving his best and it was Sugimoto who was at fault for not being confident in himself to the point in order to top Koito he didn’t want him to perform, which is remarked by how Sugimoto admits Koito is being reasonable and by how he proves he’s not confident in his act by trying to come up with something different. The result is that both Koito and Sugimoto’s characterizations are affected.

CIKAPASI’S PERFORMANCE

Manga: As Sugimoto works on his act Cikapasi sees the giant spinning top act and decides he’ll perform that act.

Anime: This scene is completely removed in the anime.

My two cents: While cutting this part doesn’t affect the plot… well, it takes away from Cikapasi’s characterization as it showed he too wanted to do something.

TANIGAKI AND BENIKO

Manga & Anime: Tanigaki gets scolded by Fumie again and again he ends up crying outside, this time comforted by the little girls. Beniko tells the girl to go back or they’ll be scolded than explains Tanigaki this will be her last performance as they’re all orphans but she’s old enough they leave the circus. She then tells him she’s glad to make her last performance with him and to make it a success as Tsukishima is spying on them.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Beniko explains they leave the circus to be adopted. Unless this is a translation problem this part is cut in the anime making it sounds as if the girls are just left behind.

My two cents: The colours of the scene with Beniko are nice and no big changes are done. I’m unsure if the dialogues are really cut or it’s a matter of translation. If they’re cut… well, it doesn’t really work well.

TRAINING

Manga: We see Koito, Tanigaki and Sugimoto trying hard their act while Tsukishima just performs his act.

Anime: This scene is completely removed in the anime.

My two cents: Okay, it’s not a big deal plotwise but we kind of lose how hard everyone is trying (except for Tsukishima who’s not sweating at all) so it affect a bit their characterization.

THE SHOW IS ABOUT TO BEGINS

Manga & Anime: The show is about to start, Enonoka and her grandfather about to witness it. Yamada tells everyone it’s a full house and Sugimoto says their performance is about to begin

My two cents: Nothing to say here. It’s a small scene and it’s transposed well enough.

CHAP 156 ENDS HERE.

THE ANIME PLACES HERE AN EYECATCH

THE SHOW STARTS

Manga & Anime: Yamada introduces his circus to the ones who came see it. We see some of the artists making some performances.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we see Cikapasi performing as well. In the anime his performance is cut.

My two cents: The anime used still shoots for the audience. While this is pretty common and, credits when it’s due, each spectator was drawn differently their expression feel oddly still, their eyes too wide open in the first shoot. Maybe it’s just me though. The rest was nicely done, especially the way they handled Koito’s performance.

KOITO’S PERFORMANCE

Manga & Anime: Koito is performing his rope act when he sees Tsurumi’s picture discharged on the rope. He believes it to be his own but then the photo flies away and he chases after it in a spectacular way until he manages to grab it. Yamada is impressed, Sugimoto is shocked Koito is furious as he thinks it was Sugimoto who interfered with his act stealing the picture and placing it there.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga the picture flies away on its own. In the anime it seems it’s due to Koito moving too much on the rope.

- In the manga, when Koito jumps on the stairs they break and he has to manage to keep balance on them. Also as he chases after the photo he performs the paper walking act and then he jumps on the guys on the bicycle. All this is cut in the anime.

- In the manga it’s unclear if Koito grabbed the trapeze guy deliberately or by accident while in the anime it’s clear it was by accident as he was actually attempting to grab the photo and ended up grabbed by the trapeze guy.

- In the manga Sugimoto seems solely shocked by Koito’s performance in the anime he seems more a mix between shock and anger as he’s clenching his teeth, but maybe it’s just me.

My two cents: There are a lot of cuts on Koito’s performance so it’s less spectacular than in the manga but I’ll say it’s still spectacular enough. The effect of the people cheering on Koito was well done. I’m not really fond of how they changed Sugimoto’s expression but I guess they kept it in line with their previous change.

THE END OF THE DANCING ACT

Manga & Anime: The dancing girls act end and the girls leave the stage. Fumie congratulate with Tanigaki.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we see the dancer end their performance and the audience cheering on them. This is cut in the anime.

- In the manga we see the girls congratulate with Tanigaki as well. This is cut in the anime.

My two cents: My personal impression is that Tanigaki’s satisfaction is more visible in the manga but I can be just me. His expressions are still visible enough. The cuts aren’t drastic as you can figure the girls would be happy for Tanigaki.

THE SHOW IS ABOUT TO END

Manga & Anime: As Sugimoto’s performance is announced some guys are about to enter in the circus. Sugimoto presents himself for his hara-kiri show, hoping his message ‘I’m alive’ will reach Asirpa. At the same time Koito realizes the photo he had found isn’t his own as not only it’s different but his photo is still in its place. Also he doesn’t believe Sugimoto could have a photo of Tsurumi. Tsukishima says the saboteur was him and that he did so in order to make the Karafuto show plan work but it backfires instead. Koito explains they’re in trouble as he switched his blade with the trick sword. Outside Sugimoto is about to start his performance.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga, the guys entering in the circus are mostly shadows and one might think they aren’t important, in the anime it’s clearly visible they’re Russians and the camera pausing on them draws the attention on them.

- In the manga Sugimoto’s expression is calm, in the anime he’s frowning, his eyebrows furrowed.

- In the manga Tsukishima explains Sugimoto is not a man to stand down so Tsukishima expected his competitive spirit and stubbornness to cause Sugimoto to work his hardest. He also admits his plan backfired. Those things are cut in the anime.

My two cents: The focus on the Russians takes away the surprise of when they’ll appear at the show. Tsukishima’s revelation he’s the culprit comes out as kind of funny. They let the scene of Sugimoto complaining the water is cold this time but as they removed all the previous ones the fact he was advised more than once not to make all that fuss gets lost and one might think the water is really very cold.

CHAP 157 ENDS HERE.

SUGIMOTO SHOWS

Manga & Anime: Sugimoto is about to perform his act but when he tries to cut himself real blood comes out from his wound and he realizes the sword he has can cut. He sees Koito and Tsukishima holding the trick blade and realize the sword he has is the real deal. Despite this he decides to carry on and after cutting his legs attempts the hara-kiri act. However some Russians shows up on the stage and point a gun at him. He makes short work of them while Tsukishima punches the third into unconsciousness. Yamada orders everyone to go out for the final bow so as to use this to recover the bodies of the Russians.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Yamada tells Sugimoto not to say ‘ow’ and scolds him when Sugimoto does. This is cut in the anime.

- In the manga Sugimoto voices his thoughts and seems more frantic as he turns. In the anime he only thinks them and he seems frozen on the spot.

- In the manga Sugimoto is biting his lower lip, in the anime he’s clenching his teeth.

- In the manga we see Sugimoto being surprised with the Russians showing up. In the anime such thing doesn’t happen. It’s not clear but as Sugimoto raised his eyes before the Russians showed up, he likely noticed them earlier.

- In the manga Sugimoto cuts the Russian’s hand in half, in the anime he cut it whole at the wrist.

- In the manga Sugimoto switches the way he holds the sword (from the blade to the grip) by grabbing with his left hand the cloth he wrapped around the blade which he used to hold it without cutting himself, so he can use his right to grip the grip. The result is when he attacks the Russian the cloth remains in his hand. In the anime it seems what he wrapped around the blade where papers which flies around as he attacks… meaning he either gripped the naked blade with his left and magically didn’t cut himself or that he managed to switch how he was holding the blade without using his left hand… which would constitute as magic.

- In the manga when the shocked second Russian tries to shoot at him, Sugimoto avoids the bullet then rolls away and tosses his sword at him. In the anime, after killing the first Russian Sugimoto immediately runs away, the worried second Russian tries to shoot at him and Sugimoto, after running some more, rolls on the ground and tosses his sword at him.

- In the manga we see Sugimoto standing up. In the anime we don’t.

- In the manga it’s unclear if the third Russian was trying to escape, in the anime it’s clear.

My two cents: Despite the change Sugimoto’s fear is well transposed albeit more funny than in the manga. Overall I enjoyed how they made the hara-kiri show… until the Russian showed up. I much preferred how the manga showed Sugimoto’s surprise at them being there instead than making him all ready to act with them being there. While the blade switching scene was poorly done (what are those papers? Sugimoto would have cut his hand if he had tried grabbing), the following scene which shows Sugimoto moving away, rolling around and then tossing the sword to the Russian is well done. For once the anime pulled out an action scene which was engaging.

CONFRONTING THE SPY

Manga & Anime: Tsukishima questions the Russian and it turns out they had been ordered by the Russian government to kill “Yamada, the one doing the hara-kiri show” and mistook Sugimoto for him. Tsukishima figures this means Yamada is a spy, which Yamada confirms saying he’s a former office in the imperial army disguising himself as a circus leader to gather intelligence in Russia. Fumie comments he’s a third rate spy, kills the Russian and tell him to bury all the Russians under the tent as they’ll leave in the morning.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga it’s Tsukishima who says this time it was Sugimoto doing the show instead than Yamada, in the anime it’s Koito.

- The anime adds Koito, Sugimoto and Tanigaki being surprised at the ringmaster being a spy.

- In the manga Yamada looks his usual self as he explains his role as a spy while in the anime he seems much more serious.

My two cents: The colouring is nice, Yamada however seems to serious so the idea he’s a poor spy doesn’t really get through.

THE MORNING AFTER

Manga & Anime: Beniko is about to leave the group. Tanigaki cries and Beniko makes him promise he won’t forget them. Tsukishima reads to Sugimoto the article about his performance but it turns out it has a mistyping as Sugimoto is called the ‘Sugimoto the unhemorrhoidial’ instead than ‘the immortal’ . Sugimoto rolls on the ground in complain. Yamada begs Koito to remain with them but Koito refuses as Tsurumi would scold him. Tsukishima tells Yamada they’re pursuing some people and asks him if he has information who could help them. Yamada suggests Kiro might be heading to the Alexandrovskaya prison were many partisans were moved years ago. Sugimoto thinks Kiro might be heading there. Tsukishima comments although the performance didn’t help they got important info. Sugimoto says he’s sure the performance helped and Asirpa would surely see the newspaper and understand it’s him.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Sugimoto smiles as he says Asirpa might figure out it’s him if she reads the newspaper. In the anime he’s serious.

My two cents: It’s not bad. I like the font they used for the newspaper which made it look like a real newspaper. If I’ve to be honest I don’t like much the ‘depression aura’ or whatever that is coming out of Yamada but it might be just me.

ASIRPA IS SEEING SOMETHING

Manga & Anime: As Sugimoto hopes Asirpa will see the newspaper article Asirpa actually sees some poop which turns out to be Shiraishi’s.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Asirpa is delighted with her finding, likely thinking they could hunt the animal which pooped. In the anime she sounds worried as if scared, and her expression isn’t shown.

My two cents: Honestly I prefers the manga version, with Asirpa being excited at the idea to hunt something. It might be just me.

TO SUM IT ALL