E280 - Human or Demon?
Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:07] (Flashback) Yae
Father, I finally did it. I pulled
off the Soul Cleansing technique.
[00:14] (Flashback) Nbnb
The one who will join me in carving
a path to a new era with that sword
[00:19] (Flashback) Nbnb
will be you,
[00:22] (Flashback) Nbnb
18th.
SIGN Human or Demon?
[02:04] Yae
Sakata Gintoki-san.
SIGN The Reaper's Request: Please watch this program in
a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV.
[02:07] Yae
Or should I call you the
White Yaksha instead?
[02:12] Yae
Just like the serial killer's other victims,
SIGN Sakata Gintoki
[02:15] Yae
you, too, were supposed to lose
your head ten years ago...
[02:18] Yae
A criminal my father let escape.
[02:21] Yae
Your life was saved by the
former Yaemon, my father.
[02:28] Yae
Doesn't that mean
[02:30] Yae
you have a great responsibility to carry out?
[02:34] Yae
My father paid for the sin of
saving criminals with his life.
[02:38] Yae
And to shroud the truth
of his death in darkness,
[02:43] Yae
Asaemon willfully became
a traitor and a fugitive.
[02:49] Yae
Since the Ikeda family saved your life,
[02:52] Yae
surely you'd be justified to use
it for the Ikeda family's sake?
[02:58] Yae
Please,
[03:01] Yae
keep Asaemon safe.
SIGN Special Police Shinsengumi
[03:04] Hij
What? They caught the
serial killer before us?
[03:08] Oki
Yeah. Looks like the Ikeda
family got the jump on us.
[03:14] Oki
Maybe they want to eliminate the one who
brought shame to their family themselves.
[03:18] Hij
To hell with that.
[03:19] Hij
Executioners don't have that kind of authority.
[03:22] Hij
Tell them to hand over
the murderer immediately.
[03:26] Oki
It's too late.
[03:28] Oki
The murderer's already been
reduced to a mere head.
[03:30] Hij
Wh-What?
[03:32] Oki
It was decided that she
wouldn't be handed over to us,
[03:35] Oki
but to the Mimawarigumi.
[03:39] Oki
After a fair trial,
[03:41] Oki
she was sentenced to death the same day,
[03:44] Oki
and the execution has already
been carried out by Ikeda Yaemon.
[03:49] Hij
Th-That's absurd!
[03:50] Hij
There's no way they'd hand
down a sentence that quickly...
SIGN Notice of Execution Mimawarigumi Executioner: Ikeda Yaemon Criminal: Ikeda Asaemon
[03:55] Oki
We even have confirmation from the coroner
[03:58] Oki
that it was indeed the head
[04:01] Oki
of the serial killer, Ikeda Asaemon.
[04:06] Asa
Uh, I apologize if I'm mistaken,
[04:10] Asa
but I'm still alive, aren't I?
[04:13] Gin
Just your imagination.
[04:14] Gin
You're a corpse, so just keep
your eyes and mouth shut.
[04:17] Asa
But there's a corpse with his eyes
wide open right in front of me.
[04:20] Gin
Who's got a corpse's eyes?
[04:23] Asa
Then I still haven't managed to die?
[04:27] Gin
You're dead on paper.
[04:29] Gin
That's the bakufu executioners for you.
[04:31] Gin
Looks like you're in cahoots
with a bunch of people,
[04:33] Gin
including the Mimawarigumi and the coroners.
[04:36] Gin
Once you're classified as a corpse, that's that,
[04:39] Gin
because the corpses of those executed
[04:40] Gin
become the property of the bakufu
executioner, the Royal Swordskeeper.
[04:44] Gin
I hear you guys even provide bodies
for lords to test their swords on.
[04:49] Asa
So you were told to let me escape
by hiding me among those corpses?
[04:52] Gin
Sheesh.
[04:53] Gin
First you ask me to finish you off,
and now I'm supposed to protect you.
[04:57] Gin
Your family's requests
are all over the place.
[04:59] Asa
Does he mean to say that a Reaper
[05:01] Asa
who can't even have her own head,
[05:04] Asa
let alone those of sinners,
can still serve a purpose?
[05:06] Asa
My sword can no longer cut anything,
[05:10] Asa
for I've lost my humanity.
[05:17] Gin
"When people sin and degenerate into demons,
[05:21] Gin
the only beings capable of turning
them human again at the end
[05:24] Gin
are neither demons that take human heads
[05:27] Gin
nor Reapers that take their souls,
[05:30] Gin
but humans who sever their
sins to save their souls."
[05:36] Gin
That right?
[05:36] Asa
H-How do you know about that?
[05:41] Gin
I heard it from a certain
executioner in the past.
[05:49] Shin
I'm too scared to ask,
[05:51] Shin
but I wonder what kind of
crime Gin-san committed.
[05:55] Shin
Well, given his history, he could
be tried for treason at any time...
[06:01] Kag
He's a walking obscenity.
[06:03] Kag
It was probably just public
indecency or something.
[06:07] Kag
Thanks to that, we're being forced to help
a family that dabbles in serial killing.
[06:11] Kag
What a pain.
[06:14] Shin
It's clear that they contacted us with
[06:16] Shin
the intent of using us, knowing
full well who Gin-san really was.
[06:20] Shin
In which case, even if we manage
to help Asaemon-san escape,
[06:24] Shin
after that, we'll be...
[06:26] Kag
Either way, there's no turning back.
[06:30] Kag
Whether it's the criminal accomplice
schtick or a Tasty Stick,
[06:32] Kag
once you've had a taste, you'd better
swallow it whole or it'll make a mess.
[06:37] Shin
We're in huge trouble now,
thanks to that moron!
[06:40] Kag
Seriously. Nobody will ever
take me as a bride now.
[06:43] Oki
How about I take you, then?
[06:46] Oki
I've even got a home prepared
[06:48] Oki
where you'll get three meals a day,
and you can lead a simple yet quiet life.
[06:53] Oki
It's also got bars, though.
[06:55] Oki
This is the police.
[06:56] Oki
Stop the ship.
[06:58] Oki
We're gonna take a good look around inside.
[07:05] Asa
"No matter how many criminals you behead,
[07:08] Asa
you must never lose the humanity
needed to save people."
[07:12] Asa
That was what the former bakufu executioner,
[07:15] Asa
Ikeda Yaemon, taught me.
[07:19] Asa
The Soul Cleansing technique
we use for executions
[07:23] Asa
is a reflection of that mentality.
[07:25] Asa
We keep the head from falling
to the ground and getting dirty
[07:28] Asa
by taking only their life
[07:30] Asa
and giving their soul a respectful send-off.
[07:33] Asa
Ever since I got adopted by my master,
[07:35] Asa
the teachings essential for a bakufu
executioner were driven into my head,
[07:39] Asa
and many criminals were
punished with my sword.
[07:44] Asa
But on that day,
[07:46] Asa
when I had to kill him,
[07:50] Asa
I suddenly didn't understand anymore.
[07:55] Asa
Not what "sin" is,
[07:57] Asa
nor what it means to judge people.
[08:00] Asa
Because, in my eyes,
[08:04] Asa
that criminal was the law itself.
[08:07] Asa
I couldn't kill him unless I forgot
everything and turned into a demon.
[08:17] Asa
He meant the world to me,
[08:22] Asa
and yet I couldn't even
give him death as a human.
[08:30] Asa
I wasn't trying to take my own life
[08:33] Asa
to help the family or anything.
[08:36] Asa
It was because I knew I was a
demon that had to be punished.
[08:41] Asa
Please tell me.
[08:44] Asa
Was my master really
[08:46] Asa
a criminal whose sins were so grave
that he had to be punished by death?
[08:51] Asa
Was my father really a demon?
[08:57] Gin
If you consider the law to be right,
[08:59] Gin
then he was without doubt a demon.
[09:03] Gin
He let a guy like me
back into society, after all.
[09:08] Gin
However,
[09:10] Gin
humans tend to have
[09:12] Gin
rules of their own that they
must uphold over man-made laws.
[09:22] Gin
Those rules, your father never broke.
[09:27] Gin
That executioner's conviction
[09:29] Gin
to respect all people as fellow humans,
[09:31] Gin
he never lost.
[09:34] Gin
I don't know if that's good or evil,
[09:38] Gin
demonic or humane.
[09:41] Gin
There's no way to tell.
[09:44] Gin
He was simply a good man.
[09:46] Gin
A clumsy moron, much like you.
[09:52] Shin
What do you think you're doing?
[09:54] Shin
It's well within the authority of
[09:55] Shin
the Royal Swordskeeper to transport
the corpses of criminals!
[09:59] Hij
If it truly were a corpse, sure.
[10:01] Hij
Check it out, Sogo.
[10:02] Shin
P-Please wait!
[10:04] Shin
What gives you the right to do this?
[10:06] Hij
Don't play dumb with me.
[10:08] Hij
We know that the serial killings were carried
out under orders from the Ikeda family.
[10:13] Gin
Move! Give me some room here!
[10:13] Hij
We know you're hiding the killer.
Hurry up and hand them over.
[10:16] Kag
What are you talking about?
[10:18] Kag
There are only corpses here, as you can see.
[10:20] Kag
Quit making baseless accusations!
[10:20] Asa
You move!
[10:21] Gin
S-Stop! I'm gonna fart!
[10:22] Kag
Don't think you can get away
with this, you damn fuzz!
[10:30] Hij
Something came out!
[10:31] Kag
Oh, dear. Looks like there's a rat in here.
[10:36] Shin
Huh? Now it's popping out from here.
[10:38] Kag
Sure is one lively rat.
[10:39] Shin
I know, right?
[10:41] Hij
Hey!
[10:43] Hij
No matter how you look
at it, that's not a rat!
[10:45] Hij
Sogo, here.
[10:46] Hij
Check out this barrel!
[10:49] Oki
Why don't you help out for once?
[10:51] Hij
But I just told you to examine this one!
[10:53] Oki
Don't tell me you're afraid
a ghost might show up.
[10:56] Hij
Are you stupid?
[10:58] Hij
Of course not.
[10:59] Hij
I'm just sick of looking at corpses!
[11:01] Hij
Outta my way!
[11:05] Gin
I'll curse your family for
seven generations, damn you!
[11:09] Oki
Hijikata-san, there's a corpse
in there too, you know.
[11:12] Hij
No, this is the entrance to
the Mayonnaise Line...
[11:16] Oki
Pull yourself together.
[11:18] Oki
We need to find the murderer
before she's handed over to them.
[11:22] Shin
"Them"?
[11:23] Oki
Enough of your little act.
[11:25] Oki
We know the whole story already.
[11:27] Oki
We looked into the backgrounds of
the serial killer and the victims.
[11:31] Oki
Their identities were well-hidden,
[11:33] Oki
but they all either were,
or were related to, rebels—
[11:36] Oki
people who were to be purged
after the end of the Joi War.
[11:41] Oki
They were all involved in
the Battle of Anekohara,
[11:43] Oki
where they inflicted a crushing defeat
[11:45] Oki
on the man known as a great general,
Lord Hitotsubashi Narifuyu.
[11:48] Oki
Hitotsubashi may be influential enough
to take over the bakufu cabinet now,
[11:52] Oki
but that battle led to him spending a
long time on the political sidelines.
[11:59] Oki
After the war,
[12:00] Oki
the rebels who participated in the fighting,
[12:03] Oki
and in most cases, their entire clans
as well, were met with the purge.
[12:09] Oki
However,
[12:10] Oki
one man couldn't bear the sight of even
women and children being mercilessly killed,
[12:13] Oki
and tried to save them.
[12:16] Oki
It was the bakufu executioner,
the former Ikeda Yaemon.
[12:22] Oki
And now he's been killed,
[12:24] Oki
and everyone he saved is
dying one after another.
[12:28] Oki
What do you think that means?
[12:31] Oki
Long story short,
[12:34] Oki
Boss,
[12:36] Oki
you guys, along with the former
Yaemon, have been sold out
[12:40] Oki
to gain favor with Hitotsubashi Nobunobu,
the one rumored to be the next shogun...
[12:47] Oki
by that Reaper.
[13:03] Shin
We've been sold out to the Hitotsubashi?
[13:05] Shin
What's that supposed to mean?
[13:08] Shin
Basically,
[13:10] Shin
the people who'd drawn the
Hitotsubashi's ire in the past,
[13:12] Shin
who were supposed to be purged,
along with their families,
[13:16] Shin
were secretly allowed to escape
by the former Yaemon.
[13:20] Shin
Ten years later, however,
[13:22] Shin
Yaemon himself was killed
by the Ikeda family,
[13:26] Shin
and the people he'd saved were
wiped out by the serial killer...
[13:31] Shin
No, by Ikeda family members.
[13:36] Shin
That's who all the corpses
being carried on this ship are.
[13:41] Shin
In order to gain favor with
the Hitotsubashi faction,
[13:45] Shin
Yaemon gave you guys up as an offering.
[13:48] Asa
N-No way!
[13:51] Asa
That has to be a lie!
[13:52] Oki
That's rich, coming from someone
who acted as Yaemon's hound,
[13:56] Oki
executed the previous head,
and even became a serial killer.
[13:58] Kag
Asaemon's no serial killer!
[14:01] Kag
The only criminal here is Gin-chan!
[14:03] Shin
No! You don't have to tell
them that, Kagura-chan!
[14:06] Oki
Come to your senses already.
[14:08] Oki
You weren't transporting anything.
You were being transported.
[14:11] Kag
Gin-chan was the one
trafficking the weird powder!
[14:13] Gin
I never did anything of the sort!
[14:15] Kag
The kind you deal in the dark.
[14:17] Gin
Want me to deal with you in the dark?!
[14:19] Oki
But listen up, Hitotsubashi-san.
[14:21] Oki
We can't hand this murderer over to you.
[14:25] Oki
Unfortunately, we're not
very good at sucking up,
[14:28] Oki
so if you refuse to keep
your nose out of this case,
[14:31] Oki
we'll have to book Lord Hitotsubashi,
[14:34] Oki
candidate for next shogun or not.
[14:37] G
Fine.
[14:38] G
We've filed all the necessary paperwork
for the cargo on this ship.
[14:42] G
You have no right to book us for anything!
[14:45] G
We've been told that all this ship has
is corpses for Nobunobu-sama
[14:49] G
to use to test the sword he was presented.
[14:54] G
Reaper, cut them down.
[14:59] G
If you side with us,
[15:01] G
the Ikeda family's position in the
next bakufu cabinet will be secure.
[15:04] G
You can even sweep this
entire matter under the rug.
[15:08] G
Isn't that why you went so far as
to kill the man who raised you?
[15:23] (Flashback) Yae
Asaemon...
[15:24] (Flashback) Yae
You did well to endure that.
[15:27] (Flashback) Yae
Raise your head.
[15:29] (Flashback) Yae
You've fulfilled your duty.
[15:33] (Flashback) Yae
Be it our father, or our master,
[15:36] (Flashback) Yae
it is our job to punish all sinners equally.
[15:41] (Flashback) Yae
You protected the Ikeda family's
honor, and our father's name,
[15:45] (Flashback) Yae
with your sword.
[15:51] Asa
Yaemon-sama...
[15:54] Asa
Just what...
[15:56] Asa
Just what did I protect with my sword?
[16:01] Asa
Did I...
[16:04] Asa
Did I
[16:08] Asa
kill him for this?
[16:11] G
What are you doing? Kill them already.
[16:14] G
Show us the Reaper's sword skills that
have taken thousands of criminal's heads.
[16:19] G
What reason is there to hesitate?
[16:21] G
Your sword was sullied the moment
you took your father's head—
[16:30] Gin
Were you the one just
running his filthy mouth?
[16:36] Gin
What part of her sword is sullied?
[16:38] Gin
Where do you see a Reaper?
[16:41] Gin
Open your eyes wide and take a good look.
[16:43] G
Y-You bastard!
[16:46] Gin
If it's a Reaper you want,
[16:48] Gin
there's one right here, you stinkin' pigs.
[16:53] G
What the—
[16:54] G
What's going on?!
[16:58] Gin
Sorry to say it,
[17:00] Gin
but a real Reaper wouldn't take
your head in one swing.
[17:05] Gin
A dirty piece of wood is
all you louts deserve.
[17:11] Gin
Don't think you're gonna
die a painless death.
[17:15] G
You bastards! You'll pay for this—
[17:17] Oki
Good grief.
[17:19] Oki
Are you planning on letting
neither us nor them
[17:24] Oki
have her
[17:26] Oki
or your head?
[17:28] Gin
I only have a head on my shoulders right now
[17:30] Gin
thanks to a certain moronic executioner.
[17:34] Gin
So if anyone's gonna have my head,
[17:37] Gin
I'd rather it be
[17:39] Gin
another moronic executioner like him.
[17:43] G
Kill them!
[17:44] G
Take them out!
[17:49] Gin
Asaemon!
[17:50] Gin
Your sword isn't sullied in the least!
[17:53] Gin
It wasn't you who killed your father,
[17:57] Gin
but Yaemon and me!
[17:58] Gin
And yet you still refuse to draw your sword?
[18:03] Gin
Even when faced with sins
that must be severed,
[18:05] Gin
are you still gonna point
that blade at yourself?!
[18:09] Gin
Instead of wasting your
sword on crap like that,
[18:13] Gin
use it as a crutch to move forward,
[18:16] Gin
even if your belly's been pierced
and your guts are spilling out!
[18:20] Gin
I don't care if you take
Yaemon's head or mine!
[18:23] Gin
Use that sword to take out the
enemies standing in your way!
[18:27] Gin
Aren't those the executioner's
teachings you must truly uphold?!
[18:35] (Flashback) Yae
The only beings capable of
turning people human again
[18:38] (Flashback) Yae
are neither demons that take human heads
[18:41] (Flashback) Yae
nor Reapers that take their souls,
[18:46] (Flashback) Yae
but humans who sever their sins
[19:00] (Flashback) Yae
to save their souls.
[19:16] Asa
Did you really think I'd cut you?
[19:19] Asa
You're such a fool.
[19:20] Asa
Did you really just use your own
head as bait to spur me into action?
[19:25] Asa
I don't know what kind of
villainous crimes you committed,
[19:29] Asa
but I'm starting to see why he saved you.
[19:36] Asa
And that he did nothing wrong.
[19:41] Kag
Gin-chan!
[19:42] Shin
Asaemon-san!
[19:49] Asa
Step aside.
[19:52] Asa
Where's Yaemon?
[19:59] Yae
It's a shame, Asaemon.
[20:03] Yae
I never thought you'd make
the same mistake as him.
[20:06] Yae
Didn't we vow to protect the Ikeda family
together, from the light and the shadows?
[20:12] Yae
You've really become a traitor now, huh?
[20:16] Asa
You're the traitor here,
[20:19] Asa
bakufu executioner, Ikeda Yaemon.
[20:23] Asa
I won't let you sully that name any further!
[20:30] Yae
Are you going to walk down the
same path as the former head?
[20:33] Yae
Are you going to abandon your
duty to save criminals' lives?
[20:38] Asa
Our duties,
[20:41] Asa
and the laws we must uphold,
[20:43] Asa
exist to preserve the humanity of people.
[20:47] Asa
And he upheld those laws
by saving innocent lives.
[20:51] Asa
He was a splendid executioner!
[20:57] Asa
We're the ones who should be punished
[20:59] Asa
for murdering him under the
pretense of protecting our family.
[21:04] Asa
Yaemon...
[21:09] Asa
You will die with me here.
[21:14] Yae
You're prepared to die in
order to kill me, is it?
[21:16] Yae
You think that if you stake
your life on one swing,
[21:19] Yae
your sword will reach the
18th Ikeda Yaemon's head?
[21:24] Yae
You're willing to go so far
[21:25] Yae
to protect the worthless
things he left behind?
[21:32] Asa
Yaemon!
[21:35] Yae
Too slow.
[21:36] Yae
My sword has long reached
[21:42] Yae
your head.
[22:01] Shin
Asaemon-san!
SIGN Asaemon's Dignity
[23:35] Yae
The only beings capable of
turning people human again
SIGN Yaemon's Pride
SIGN What must be upheld...
[23:39] Yae
are humans who sever their
sins to save their souls.
SIGN Preview
SIGN Farewell, Reaper
[23:46] Asa
Next Episode: "Farewell, Reaper."
SIGN Next Episode
the Reaper Arc reaches its conclusion.
SIGN The showdown between light and shadow
SIGN spurs Gintoki into action.
SIGN The past comes to light,
SIGN and then...