History Recap / BlueEyeSamuraiS01E04Peculiarities

* CallBack: When Akemi is posing as a courtesan, Kaji demands to know the favourite position of her richest client. Akemi replies, "Me on top" which is how she had sex with Taigen in "An Unexpected Element". So when Kaji scoffs that she's barely had two cocks in her life, Akemi raises a finger to show she's had at least one.

* ChekhovsGun: Gozo grumbles about how he drugs troublesome women, even taking out the vial. Akemi later steals it while he's distracted so she can drug Mizu.

* ContinuityNod: Akemi recognises the neckscarf that Mizu stole from Taigen in the previous episode.

* TheGadfly: After recognising Akemi, Mizu brags about the 'ridiculous samurai' she defeated, pretends not to even remember Taigen's name, then casually mentions that she killed him. She at least is decent enough to reveal the truth when Akemi collapses in tears, though doesn't stop insulting Taigen.

Not long afterward, however, there's a scream from outside the building, and Mizu and company run outside to see boss Hamata and his Claws are assembled there, with Hamata holding Madam Kaji's assistant hostage. Hamata calls on the boy Mizu spared to identify the figure he saw in the alleyway, and the boy points at Mizu. Boss Hamata slits the throat of Kaji's assistant, then orders his men to kill everyone from Kaji's brothel and to burn it to the ground.

* TheAlcoholic: The doorman at Madame Kaji's carries a bowl of saki around with him and has the red cheeks of a prolific drinker.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Mizu and Akemi trade these speeches during their encounters.

** Mizu calls Akemi a spoiled brat and someone who has a chance to live a charmed life but is intent on throwing it away.

--->'''Akemi:''' Underneath your mask you're not the killer you pretend to be... I thought you had to be something special. You're just... angry.

* DirtyBusiness: Mizu sees killing Kinuyo as this, even calling it "ugly business" during her encounter with Akemi beforehand. It does indeed take a toll on her, and after it's done is one of the few times to this point in the series when she isn't cool, calm, and fully in control.

* ThePromise: Even though she'd bought Kinuyo, Kaji takes pity on the abused girl and promises that she will never let another man touch her, only to watch helplessly as she's dragged off the street to become Boss Hamata's SexSlave. Keeping that promise is the only reason she accepts Mizu's services as a hired assassin, in payment for revealing the SecretUndergroundPassage to Fowler's castle.

* FaceRevealingTurn: Lord Daichi tires of his daughter sulking in her quarters and goes to speak to Akemi, only to find one of her servants whom she's made to wear her robes. Daichi is not pleased and sends his samurai out on horseback to track Akemi down and return her by force.

* ArousedByTheirVoice: For her first client, Akemi is told to service [[FatBastard Watari the Walrus]]. Despite Watari [[TheLoinsSleepTonight not being capable of arousal for some time]], she's able to get him off via QuoteToQuoteCombat with erotic poetry.

* UndyingLoyalty: Seki has continued to cover up Akemi's absence after returning to the castle, and when her father finally catches on, he denies knowing where Akemi went. While this may just be to avoid punishment, he doesn't even offer a 'suggestion' as to where she might have run off to.
--

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Mizu rejects the idea of indulging herself, Madame Kaji asks, "If you are only a sword are you even a man, or a mere demon?"

* BadLiar: Both Madam Kaji and Mizu instantly see through Akemi's attempts at deception. Kaji quickly pegs her as a runaway princess, not a high-class courtesan. Mizu remembers Akemi from Kyoto, but even if she didn't, she would probably not be fooled anyway, considering that Akemi appeared with ''sake'' mere moments after Mizu specifically said she didn't want anything from Kaji, or that Akemi's claims about how Kaji would beat her clash with Mizu's recent experience with Kaji.

* DidntThinkThisThrough:
** Mizu tells Ringo to kill Akemi if she causes any trouble. When Ringo protests that he can't just kill someone, Mizu asks what he thinks an apprentice to someone like her actually does?
** In the moment when she shoos the boy who saw her in the alleyway, Mizu doesn't seem to take into account that telling him to get the night watchman could be the wrong course of action for any number of reasons, including that the watchman [[DirtyCop could be on Hamata's payroll]], or that a man who is obsessed the way Kaji described Hamata being obsessed with Kinuyo might learn about the witness, then seek out the boy and question him. Either way, it's quite an oversight, and one which very swiftly brings repercussions. Had, say, Mizu scared him into going home instead, things might have gone differently.

* TheDreaded: Just hearing Abijah Fowler name spoken causes Madame Kaji--a woman who's implied to have witnessed a lot of cruelty and depravity in her profession--to tense up.

* SharedUnusualTrait: An older woman at the brothel who brings Mizu tea before Madam Kaji speaks to Mizu also has blue eyes.

* UndyingLoyalty: Seki has continued to cover up Akemi's absence after returning to the castle, and when her father finally catches on, he denies knowing where Akemi went.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The girls of the brothel have noticed Mizu's blue eyes and apparently think nothing of it, except that it automatically makes her ugly. This and the blue eyes of a worker at the brothel indicate that perhaps the trait isn't as rare as Mizu thinks.

-->'''Heji:''' [[PreemptiveDeclaration He will cut you with a knife.]]

* InnocentBystanders: Mizu is supposed to leave no witnesses to her deed, but after exiting Hamata's gambling house, she's spotted by a young boy. Logically, she ''should'' cut him down too, to be sure... but she's already distraught from killing one innocent and settles instead for telling him to give the night watchman a story about two people fighting, hoping that afterward the boy will head for home and that'll be the end of it. It isn't.

* PainMistakenForSex: After Mizu has refused all offers at the brothel, Akemi enters her room declaring that no man can turn her down. On hearing the subsequent ruckus (because she tried to stab Mizu) a prostitute comments, "She's good."

** Madam Kaji is seen as being kinder towards the women working for her than most madams are usually depicted, and is particularly heartbroken about Kinuyo.

* SnowMeansDeath: Mizu admires not only the SingleStrokeBattle but also the artistic spray of blood on the snow. "The painter's signature."

* TheGadfly: After recognising Akemi, Mizu brags about the 'ridiculous samurai' she defeated, pretends not to even remember Taigen's name, then casually mentions that she killed him. She at least is decent enough to reveal the truth when Akemi collapses in tears, though not to stop insulting Taigen.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: In the moment when she shoos the boy who saw her in the alleyway, Mizu doesn't seem to take into account that telling him to get the night watchman could be the wrong course of action for any number of reasons, including that the watchman [[DirtyCop could be on Hamata's payroll]], or that a man who is obsessed the way Kaji described Hamata being obsessed with Kinuyo might learn about the witness, then seek out the boy and question him. Either way, it's quite an oversight, and one which very swiftly brings repercussions. Had, say, Mizu scared him into going home instead, things might have gone differently.

* InMediasRes: The episode begins with Akemi trying to serve drugged ''sake'' to Mizu. The episode then jumps back in time to show us how they got there and their paths intersected. It takes more than half an hour before we catch back up to the opening scene.

* BadLiar: Both Madam Kaji and Mizu instantly see through Akemi's attempts at deception. Mizu remembers Akemi from Kyoto, but even if she didn't, she would probably not be fooled anyway, considering that Akemi appeared with ''sake'' mere moments after Mizu specifically said she didn't want anything from Kaji, or that Akemi's claims about how Kaji would beat her clash with Mizu's recent experience with Kaji.

* IAmAHumanitarian: Madam Kaji at the very least believes that Fowler has partaken in cannibalism.

Goro starts getting impatient, and he starts to complain about how much trouble Akemi is being for him despite his good treatment of her (including at one point grumbling to himself that normally he can just drug troublesome girls into compliance while toying with a small container), but because he thinks Akemi is his big payday he puts up with this and keeps moving on. Eventually they arrive at the same town and witness the same duel Mizu did, and Akemi notices Mizu wearing Taigen's scarf. Akemi then follows Goro to Madam Kaji's brothel, proclaims that "This is the one", and covertly swipes Goro's knockout drug container.

Madam Kaji immediately sees through Akemi's act, but also sees Akemi's legitimate desire to escape from home, and decides to give Akemi a chance in the brothel. Akemi uses her wits to trick one client into pleasuring himself, then grabs some ''sake'', pours a few drops of Goro's knockout drug into it, and goes into Mizu's room to serve her the ''sake'', claiming that Kaji told her to do so and will beat her if she doesn't. Much like Madam Kaji, Mizu isn't fooled by Akemi (in fact she remembers Akemi from Kyoto), and quickly baits her into revealing herself by claiming that she killed Taigen. When a grief stricken Akemi draws a dagger and attacks, Mizu subdues her, then reveals that Taigen is alive, ties Akemi up, and has Ringo watch her while Mizu leaves to go on her mission.

* {{Foil}}: Mizu is impressed by the skill of the poor samurai who wins the duel, but seems disdainful of him and thinks that he's weak when she sees him in the brothel doing a roleplay with an older prostitute. It's a nice illustration of how Mizu has tried to sacrifice or set aside everything in life except for revenge, and how different that makes her from the people around her, even those who would seem to have some similarities with her.

** Both Fowler and Heiji Shindo appear to be sadists, although Fowler grows bored of Taigen's torture and leaves. Shindo, who is probably much more invested in it because of the loss of his arm, continues to direct Taigen's torture even though there is no sign that Taigen will break. Madam Kaji also mentions Fowler's enjoyment in the pain of others, and Mizu guesses, apparently accurately, that Kaji has been beaten by Heiji Shindo.

* SingleStrokeBattle: The duel

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The girls of the brothel have noticed Mizu's blue eyes and apparently think nothing of it, except that it automatically makes her ugly.