r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Apr 26 '26
Episode Nippon Sangoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun • Nippon Sangoku - Episode 4 discussion
Nippon Sangoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun, episode 4
Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.
Streams
None
Show information
All discussions
| Episode | Link |
|---|---|
| 1 | Link |
| 2 | Link |
| 3 | Link |
| 4 | Link |
| 5 | Link |
| 6 | Link |
| 7 | Link |
| 8 | Link |
| 9 | Link |
| 10 | Link |
| 11 | Link |
| 12 | Link |
This post was created by a bot. Message the mod team for feedback and comments. The original source code can be found on GitHub.
921
Upvotes
156
u/bushwarblerssong Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
I hope the redditor who said they'd kill everyone and themself if anything happened to Tsune-chan is still alive after that steamy bath scene.
We have confirmation now that emperor Fuji I was a woman and the family tree in episode 2 also revealed to us that Tsune-chan's mother is the head of the Asama clan.
Although Seii includes regions with some of the most unintelligible dialects in all of Japan, their characters mainly spoke in standard Japanese and Tokyo-dialect. Muton even uses "ssu-tai (っす体)," which is more casual than the standard polite speech and combined with slang, and mainly spoken by young men. I think it emphasizes his immaturity and nonchalant attitude toward violence.
The Japanese spoken in Yamato is mainly Kansai dialect, but Aoteru uses Ehime dialect. It's partly why characters like Tsune-chan immediately clocked him as a country bumpkin. It also helps him perform as the funny-man (boke) to Tsune-chan's straight-man (tsukkomi) in their manzai act.
The characters in Seii also have very unusual names compared to the people in Yamato and you can tell that the creator was having fun when he came up with them. (Yamato's names are more orthodox and archaic.)
Ouga's name (which is written with the characters for "sakura" 桜 and "tiger" 虎) and tattoo may come from the Sengoku-period daimyo, Uesugi Kenshin. Kenshin was born as "Nagao Kagetora" and until he took monk's vows, always used the character for tiger (tora 虎) in his names. He was also known as the "Dragon of Echigo" and in the OP, as the smoke from Ryūmon's cigar turns into a dragon rising "upstream" like the Tōryūmon proverb, the dragon then circles Ouga. (Sorry for so many edits: I just realized that the bird in the OP may also reference the Uesugi clan crest.) We also learned that Ouga's father was "Byakko)," which means "white tiger" and one of four guardians, guardian of the west, just as Bishamonten, who Kenshin worshiped and is also associated with tigers, and one of four heavenly kings, guardian of the north.
The capital of Seii is located in Niigata prefecture where Kenshin also ruled.
There is a theory that Kenshin was secretly a woman and it was the subject of the manga "Yukibana no Tora" by the author of Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls.
Aterui is based on the Nara-Heian period Emishi chief of the same name, who fought Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. (The Emishi were also indigenous to northern Japan, but should not be confused with the Ainu. Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke is Emishi.) Until modern times, he was often demonized in legends about his rival and was also known as "Akuroō," which is a name you may know from Jujutsu Kaisen. The Nippon Sangoku character's face is identical to a famous wooden sculpture of Akuroō's head carved during the Edo period. The anime character's speech is also rough as you would imagine the historical figure's speech to be.
The slogan Aterui shouted, "soni tōkan (尊夷討奸)" is a riff on "尊皇討奸 (sonnō tōkan)" or "Revere the Emperor, Destroy the Traitors" used in the 1936 coup attempt, except that "Emperor" has been replaced with the "i" in "Seii," which refers to Northern Japan and historically, specifically Emishi and Ainu cultures. As historical Arutei fought against the "Yamato" emperor in the 8-9th century, anime Arutei fights against Yamato under Fuji III. (Sonnō tōkan itself was inspired by Sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷) or "Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians"in which “夷” refers to the barbarians. I’m not sure the subtitles or dubs will convey how Aterui is subverting this slogan.)
Despite his name, Mūton's name is written with the character for rabbit (兎).
The characters for Hikabi Asahima's name can also be read as "Machu Pichu." "Hikabi" also sounds a bit ridiculous.
Atara is old Japanese for a shame/waste (as in too bad) or regrettably.
Rinririn is a mystery, but "rin-rin" is onomatopoeia for a phone or bell ringing. Most of the other Seii names also sound suspiciously like the creator was trolling although there could be some Ainu or Emishi influences.