Thank goodness, we finally have an enjoyable episode of Bleach again. I was beginning to worry. The problem with Bleach is that it’s too much focused on big, powerful guys which throw a couple of flashes at each other and take whole episodes in doing so. The fights that matter are so incredibly boring, I can’t believe people actually enjoy those.

The mock-fights in Bleach, however, are great. Especially when Ganju is involved. He’s the only one of the Bleach-cast who uses strategies in battle, with some great results. I just love how he totally owned Ichigo this episode. It was awesome, especially his entrance on the wild boar.

For some reason, the story also took a turn for the better. For what seems like the first time after the episode involving Ichigo’s deceased mother, we finally see some genuine dialogue, which really works. The cliffhanger actually was powerful this episode, instead of the usual annoying ones.

Good anime get you hooked at one certain point of the show. In shows like Good Witch of the West or Noein, this point was right at the first episode. In shows like Blood+ and Eureka7, this moment happens around episode 10. In Saiunkoku Monogatari, this moment came at episode four. This really was the episode which motivated me to actively follow this anime.

We start of with Shiurei almost quitting her function, until she realizes that she’ll lose her huge payment as well. We then switch to Ran Shiuei and the emperor, who talk a bit, and the emperor realizes he might’ve used the wrong methods to get Shiurei’s attention. Ran cheers him up a bit.

We then switch to the three old men, and for the first time ever, I understood what they were talking about: who was the one that tried to poison Shiurei? They don’t really find an answer. We switch to Shiurei and her father, who talk a bit, and Shiurei’s father tells a bit about how the emperor was when he was a little kid. It seems to be a sad tale, I think it has got something to do with him being bullied.

Back to Ran Shiuei and Koyu, they talk a bit, about how Shiurei seems to know. I think that was referring to her finding out that the emperor really is smart, and has been playing dumb. They split up, and Ran sees Seiran walk alone, so he heads for him. Seiran looks kindof worried, so he tries to cheer him up, which includes making a couple of strange but very assumptions. Then one of the old guys, who appears to be the head of the palace guards, suddenly sees the two of them. He challenges Seiran for a sparring match, because he sees him in an armor. Seiran loses, and the old guy teaches him a few lessons.

This, by the way, was the very first action-scene of the show, and I have to say, I like it. Although subtle, I could see some sword techniques being used, instead of the usual shash-long-enough-until-you-hit-something. Anyway, that evening, Seiran and Shiurei sit at a table, having a small dinner, which consists of a couple of bread-buns. Shiurei begins to feel a bit worried, so Seiran comforts her.

Ran Shiuei and Koyu, meanwhile, talk again about the poisoning, and we get our very first hint of a very interesting plotline to come. Koyu reckons some legendary evil guy tried to poison Shiurei. We get to see his outlines, and it appears that he has lots of followers. He may have done it, he may not have done it, though one thing is certain: he will be appearing at some point of the series.

The next day, a little tournament is hosted between the knights of the palace. Koyu gets to be the referee (I know there’s a better word for this, I just can’t think of it), and it appears that Ran Shiuei’s a palace guard as well. Surprisingly. Shiurei gets to sit next to the emperor, but then she sees her father who’s giving the audience cups of tea. She’s very worried, because her father is extremely clumsy. A loud scream only comfirms that, so Shiurei decides to take over his work. That was a very amusing scene, I couldn’t help but laugh, especially after seeing a lonely father alone in his room afterwards.

The tournament begins with Koyu reading a very long, and apparently embarrasing piece of parchment. We only get so see two fights: Ran Shiuei vs a random giant, and the emperor vs Seiran. Ran manages to beat the giant with ease, with a pretty funny aftermath. In the fight between the emperor and Seiran, Seiran seems to be on the offensive side, though the emperor manages to win in the end.

We turn to the evening, and apparently Ran came out as a winner. The emperor apologizes to Shiurei because he lost. He then sees Seiran walk, and follows him. When he meets up with him, he confesses how Seiran reminds him of his older brother, and how he apparently wants to be with him. Seiran replies with that he’s not the emperor’s brother, and that he shouldn’t confuse the two of them. The two of them get a bit emotional, and then Shiurei runs into them. The way they’re holding each other makes her think that the two of them have a secret love-relationship. Hehe.

Now with the subs out, I think I’m still going to continue with the raws. Besides, I’m having too much fun with this to be abandoning it for a couple of weeks until the fansubs finally manage to catch up. And it’ll also be a nice kind of experiment as well. Even though some parts may be extremely difficult to understand, I still like this series, and as I stated above, this episode just got me hooked.