Ishura surprised viewers with its brutally intense pilot episode, featuring the last swordsman, Soujirou Yagyuu. He came to Nagan Labyrinth City, where he ended up using the concept of Muto Dori against the Great Labyrinth Golem. That said, what is the Muto Dori technique used by Soujirou in Ishura?
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers from the Ishura anime.
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Who Is Soujirou Yagyuu in Ishura?
Soujirou Yagyuu is the last Yagyuu of the Shinkage-ryu in the world. He is said to be the last swordsman, a blade, a minia, with the moniker Soujirou the Willow Sword.
Among the champions in Ishura, Soujirou is the individual who exercises supreme swordsmanship that reduces widespread legends into mere truths.
He also understands the vital spots of all living creatures and possesses an instinct for slaughter.
In the first episode of Ishura, Soujirou appeared before Yuno of the Distant Talon, saving her from being mangled to death by hundreds of golems.
He is said to be a visitor from the distant world who arrived in Nagan Labyrinth City with the darkest omens.
Even Yuno suspects that Soujirou’s appearance in the city is what triggered the awakening of the Great Labyrinth Golem, a monster that was created to defeat the True Demon King.
Simply put, Soujirou Yagyuu is the type of swordsman who can’t be contained in the reality of his own world. He fights for fun, and his reasoning is different from other people.
He even sees a silver lining in Yuno’s unfortunate situation, saying that everything will be fun and exciting for humans like her because she’ll get to choose where she wants to go and what to do now that she’s free.
Funny, Soujirou can survive by eating bugs and grass in Yuno’s world. He would even fight a humongous golem in exchange for Yuno’s ordinary food ration.
From here on, Soujirou will go to Aureatia with Yuno as his guide to fight even stronger opponents like Rosclay the Absolute, Knafnir the Hatch of Truth, Kazuki the Black Tone, Lucnoca the Winter, and even Toroa the Awful.
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What Is the Muto Dori Technique Soujirou Used in Ishura?
The Ishura anime introduced the concept of Muto Dori by showing the history behind Muneyoshi Yagyuu, the founder of Shinkage-ryu, and the unidentified student of master swordsman Kamiizumi Nobutsuna.
To cut the story short, the unidentified student defeated Muneyoshi Yagyuu with the Muto Dori technique during their face-off. Even without a weapon at hand, the student was able to take down Muneyoshi.
In Japan, Muto Dori is a survival technique where one develops the courage to face an opponent with the preparedness of not having a sword even if you have a sword.
This concept or technique was applied by Soujirou to defeat the Great Labyrinth Golem. There are three layers to Muto Dori, which were all flawlessly done by Soujirou in Ishura.
First, Soujirou did not rely on his weapon to defeat the Golem, and he did not let his mind get stuck. Instead, Soujirou began to think like the golem’s creator, wanting to locate its life seal and destroy it for good.
Second, Soujirou did not attempt to steal the golem’s attack pattern, and third, he did not let it analyze his technique.
Even if Soujirou has a smaller weapon compared to the golem, he is able to destroy it, similar to how Kamiizumi Nobutsuna’s unidentified student defeated a master swordsman like Muneyoshi Yagyuu.
Hopefully, we'll see the muto dori technique used again by Soujirou in future episodes of Ishura!
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