E280 - Human or Demon?

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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...