The sixth main installment in the series, continuing the events of the storyline started in
Mihotose no Komoriuta.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Tokugawa Ieyasu's parenting is questionable, as he treats Hideyasu like dirt and sent both him and his twin brother Sadachika away to be raised by other families because he didn't want to deal with the stigma and bloodshed that comes with raising twin heirs. He also nearly beats up Hidetada in anger, but is able to stop himself and seems to feel guilty about it.
- Ambiguous Situation: What mission was Tsurumaru on to be gone for so long? Why does Tsurumaru know or find out about Mikazuki's loops through time? How did the Saniwa find out about Mikazuki's looping through time? Did Mikazuki already leave the citadel by this point?
- Bad Liar: Muramasa makes a poor attempt to explain why Nobuyasu is still alive despite the fact that he was supposed to be dead historically, which Akashi quickly picks up on and calls him out for interfering with history.
- Big Brother Worship: Hideyasu adored his older brother Nobuyasu and continues to have nightmares about his death long after it happened. This becomes a major plot point, as the Historical Revisionists exploit his hatred for his father for "killing" his brother and abusing him to manipulate him for their own ends in altering history and taking out the Touken Danshi.
- Big Damn Heroes: Nobuyasu makes his reappearance in the musical by helping the Touken Danshi escape from a Kebiishi and Historical Retrograde Army onslaught.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Mikazuki's cameo scene counts because it appears that Sadachika, Nobuyasu, and Tsurumaru are addressing the audience.
- The Cameo: At the end of the play, Mikazuki is projected onto the background as the Nobuyasu, Sadachika, and Tsurumaru explain what the Mononobe is.
- The Corrupter: The Historical Retrograde Army manipulates Hideyasu's hatred of his father in order to persuade him to rebel against him, with this being done in a bid to change history in their favor.
- Dream Intro: The musical begins with Hideyasu having a nightmare about the death of his brother Nobuyasu, who was ordered by Ieyasu to commit suicide via seppuku.
- The Dreaded: The Kebiishi, which, unlike the Historical Retrograding Force, is extremely strong, persistent, and doesn’t go down easily. After being targeted by it the first time, the Touken Danshi even discuss how they may be unable to do anything against it if it comes back, despite having the advantage of being three skilled swordsmen against one. When the group regathers, it takes all of them to take it down despite it already being injured from a long tumble, and even then it still manages to get back up.
- Faking the Dead: Nobuyasu, who was thought to have died by ritual suicide but was actually hiding the entire time under the alias "Gohei" thanks to Ishikirimaru. He reveals his identity to everyone except Hidetada and his father before the end.
- Foreshadowing:
- After returning to the citadel after his long expedition, Tsurumaru asks the Saniwa during their conversation if "that guy is misbehaving," to which the Saniwa responds with silence, implying that he somehow found out about Mikazuki's secret looping after Tsuwamono Domo. It wouldn't be until Michi no Oku that they would confirm, that he did find out and is actually pretty distraught about it, necessitating Tsurumaru to take on the burden of keeping the Saniwa happy, along with his other responsibilities in the citadel that Mikazuki left him with.
- Whenever Mikazuki Munechika's involvement in the story is hinted at, a crescent moon ominously appears in the sky (or, more accurately, against the backdrop), though it isn't revealed what exactly he did until the end, and only a few characters (such as Tsurumaru and Akashi) realize that Mikazuki is involved at first.
- The Gadfly: Sadachika to Otegine in particular, who he keeps referring to as a "useless stick" to piss him off.
- Grief Song: Tsurumaru's solo "Kimi to miageta anohi no sora no," where he sings about missing his lost friend, the dreams they had, wanting to live for them, and finally finding the courage to do so in the end.
- The Heart: After being separated from Tsurumaru, Muramasa, and Tonbokiri, Kotegiri is, somewhat reluctantly, made the mediator of the remaining group plus Sadachika due to the latter's tendency to bicker with Otegine.
- Identical Twin Mistake: Hideyasu and his younger twin brother Sadachika look almost identical, which confuses the Touken Danshi after he confirms his identity, because Hideyasu wasn't recorded to have a twin in the first place (at least according to the Touken Danshi's history books). He explains that his existence as a twin was purposely "erased" to avoid a bloody contest for the next heir, and that he was instead sent to be reared by the Nagami family, which is why no one is aware of his existence.
- Inadequate Inheritor: Inverted Trope; Hidetada believes Hideyasu is a better heir to the Shogunate than him and tries several times to persuade his father to reconsider, but Ieyasu is adamant that he take over after his death since Hidetada is better suited to rule over the peaceful era that he wants to establish.
- Left Hanging: The play ends without answering any questions about how Sadachika, Nobuyasu, and Hideyasu's meeting will affect history, and whether Ieyasu will make a better effort to connect with Hideyasu after revealing the truth of why he treated him so badly over the years.
- The Load: Unlike Hideyasu, Sadachika was raised as a priest and can’t fight, so the Touken Danshi are tasked with protecting him.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Tonbokiri and Muramasa were in the dark about Nobuyasu being saved by Ishikirimaru and living under a different name until he revealed his identity to them midway through the play.
- Major Injury Underreaction: After spending a good amount of time running offscreen to lure the Kebiishi away, Tsurumaru returns with a large gash on his torso and covered in blood, casually saying that he and the Kebiishi fell down a hill.
- Mysterious Protector: In the end, it is revealed that Mikazuki Munechika has employed people from various eras to assist the Touken Danshi in their mission to protect history, dubbed the Mononobe, or "servants of spirits." They can be anyone, from a nameless recurring background character to a historical figure who has been removed from his historical role, such as Nobuyasu.
- Naïve Newcomer: Kotegiri Gou, who is not only new to the team he gets assigned to but also to Honmaru as a whole.
- Out of Focus: Tsurumaru is assigned to be the team leader by the Saniwa, but is given very little to do from a story perspective, and spends a significant amount of time offscreen.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Nagami Sadachika, whose shtick is being a foul-mouthed priest who is quick to become aggressive if he feels disrespected.
- Remember the New Guy?: Tsurumaru's absence from previous musicals is explained as him having been on a lengthy mission. However, Shunpu Sakatori would reveal that he was still in the citadel before and around the time of Mihotose, making it unclear when he went on his mission.
- The Reveal: Mikazuki Munechika was working behind the scenes to establish the Mononobe, which are groups of people from each era who help the Touken Danshi achieve their mission of preserving history. Nobuyasu and Sadachika are both members of the group, having been initiated by Mikazuki prior to the story's events.
- Riches to Rags: Nobuyasu became a humble farmer after shedding his identity as the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but prefers his life this way since he believes that he wasn't good at war.
- Succession Crisis: Ieyasu is revealed to have sent both of his twin heirs away to be raised by other families specifically to avoid this, although he admits that it was cowardly of him.
- Super Mode: Muramasa uses his blade's forbidden power to fight off the Kebiishi and the Historical Retrograde Army, but it doesn't help when they begin to overwhelm and then incapacitate him.
- The Unfavorite:
- As children, their father Ieyasu greatly preferred Nobuyasu over Hideyasu, to the point where he refused to even look at Hideyasu until Nobuyasu practically begged him to.
- Ieyasu also appeared to favor Hidetada over Hideyasu, even choosing Hidetada as an heir over him despite the fact that Hideyasu was the elder sibling and thus the rightful heir, and sticking to his decision despite Hidetada's objections. He reveals near the of the play that he chose Hidetada over Hideyasu not out of favoritism, but because Hidetada is better suited to rule over the peaceful era he intends to establish by winning the war.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Zig-zagged. Sadachika recognizes the Touken Danshi as Touken Danshi only after getting a closer look at Otegine, suggesting their clothes and hair makes them stand out, but he only knows they’re Touken Danshi in the first place because Mikazuki Munechika previously told him about them. As well, it’s unclear if Sadachika recognized their unusual appearances or if Mikazuki Munechika told him what they’d be wearing.
- Wham Line: Sadachika referring to the characters as Touken Danshi, revealing that he’s one of the few humans that knows what they are.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Invoked and discussed. The Touken Danshi are not human, meaning any wound they receive in battle, no matter how small, will not heal on its own and requires their blade to be repaired. Kotegiri reminds Akashi of this when Akashi tells him that he is allowing the gash on his arm to heal naturally.
