When Comedy Becomes A Problem | The Elusive Samurai Review

Hojo Tokiyuki (The Elusive Samurai) and Saitama (One Punch Man)

Comedy isn’t always a good thing.

And in terms of comedy, episode one of the Elusive Samurai is a good example of how not to do it.

The ‘Cringe’ Problem

Many writers and authors don’t want their work to look preachy and to be perceived as cringe. Look at how people clowned at Naruto, accusing it of using too much talk-no-jutsu and being too overinspirational. (I kinda like Naruto btw) And what better way to make your creation look cool, quirky, and y’know- hip, than to add some banger comedy and goofy antics to not seem too serious and uptight. I mean we all like comedy.

Comedians- the kids think they’re cool right?

Comedy is subjective, yes, but in my opinion comedy becomes distasteful (in bad taste) when it is used in the worst moments.

You see, I was loving every second of the Elusive Samurai, a very promising historical fiction Anime airing this season, until it hit me with a whiplash in EP1.

Now this, I didn’t quite like this scene- because it ruined a lot of great things that was already going on for the show.

Here we have a young kid, Tokiyuki, experiencing tragic loss and trauma as he witnessed his family, his whole clan being annihilated by the people who betrayed them.

We see people being violated, murdered, and beheaded, and what does the show do while Tokiyuki is grieving this disaster? Yes, THEY START PULLING OFF GAGS!

The Elusive Samurai is a story made by the author of Assassination Classroom (Yusei Matsui). It tells the tale of young Tokiyuki, the son of the late shogun who was overthrown by the one of his traitorous subjects. Together with his team and the weird and mystical vassal Yorishige, Tokiyuki together will fight by hook or by crook to escape their enemies and the claws of death itself in their quest to restore the kingdom back to how it once was.

You see that scene was supposed to be Tokiyuki’s time to process his emotions. The first milestone of his character development and personal journey. I was on the verge of putting all my emotional investment in Tokiyuki. He almost had my full sympathy and unwavering support. Seeing the grave injustice he faced and being outraged myself by it, I was almost willing to accompany him in his journey towards the bitter end. But the way they ruined that crucial moment just for gags and quirky dialogue ruined my immersion and emotional investment for the main character.

BATHOS

I’m borrowing some of my talking points in this post from one of my favourite Youtubers, Just Write (https://www.youtube.com/@JustWrite). Thanks, Sage. In some of his videos, @JustWrite talked about this literary concept called Bathos.

Bathos, if I did my homework correctly, is a literary device that authors use so they could abruptly shift the emotions and intensity of a scene, ending it in an anti-climactic fashion by diffusing heightened situations through irony and humour- switching up from something serious towards something comedic. You know, why so serious?

Now, bathos isn’t always a bad thing. Shows like One Punch Man do it all the time, introducing and building up something epic and phenomenal only to be clowned in the end by the nonchalant Saitama; and I actually love ONE PUNCH MAN for that because it works for the main character and the absurd and existential concepts of the show.

As for The Elusive Samurai's case, It didn’t make any sense. And it felt very disrespectful, firstly for the characters who were abused, violated, and killed in that sequence, and secondly to us the audience whose heightened emotions were ruined just because they couldn’t stop putting a few cheap jokes and antics in that weren’t even entertaining- let alone funny.

(Give me my emotions back, man. I want a refund.)

Was the author trying to diffuse the moment because he didn’t want the show to seem too serious and cheesy? Was he too afraid of being perceived as cringe and too overemotional with the story he’s trying to convey? Or did he put that in to make the show a bit quirky and unique, you know, for the sake of being different from other shows?

I’m not exactly sure. But in my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with shows if they get touchy and emotional as long as the messages and themes they are trying to convey are true and sincere.

How You Do It

Look at Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood. I mean it also had a lot of comedy elements. Many of the jokes didn’t age well and the humour was hit or miss, but that didn’t take anything away from the show for it still remains as one of the best Animes out there for the masterful delivery of its themes and messages through its well-written characters and well-crafted plot. It’s not afraid to be dramatic and emotional because its story elements can back it all up. Add to that the fact that the comedy skits intended to ease tensions and brighten up many scenes were placed at the right moments. This is how you do it.

Could you imagine the author writing the chapter of Nina and the dog and afterwards just the ruining everything by placing some cheap jokes at the very end of the same chapter? Now that scene was already messed up as it was but potentially adding a cheap joke at the end of that would just make it straight-up blasphemy.

Comedic timing and appropriate setups are areas where I wish The Elusive Samurai could do better.

I’m saying all this because I see the potential of the show. The artsyle was sharp, crispy, and great to look at. The animation was smooth and fluid. The main villain had that x factor and the main characters are interesting and entertaining. The historical element showed a lot of promise but there's just something jarring about the way they set up the tone for the show. It’s as if the author wasn’t sure what emotions he wanted to communicate to the audience.

And the misplaced comedy and humour is not only diagnosed in episode 1. There are many times in the season when I got hit by that tone-switch whiplash as well, and that kinda ruined my immersion towards the story and my connection to the characters. That’s something I hope I won’t get used to because the show could’ve been doing better.

I just hope that in the future, it doesn’t try to ruin many of its important and emotionally charged scenes by using cheap humour just to not be labelled as overdramatic. For real though, I think this show has all the potential to be one of the greats. Let’s hope the author cooks and fixes this issue up as the story progresses.