Sengoku Gunto Den Dai Nibu: Akatsuki no Zenshin

"A thief is still a thief"

Saga of the Vagabonds, Part 2: Forward at Dawn took place one year after the virtuous Taro was betrayed by his family and being hunted by the magistrate. He joined Rokuro’s bandits as their leader, changing all of their lives.

Taro’s leadership of the bandits has changed their entire operating procedure. They now only rob from the rich and give to the poor. There’s no raping or murdering of the peasants. Most of the bandits are strangely okay with this. Everyone, that is, except for Bonten and Jibu who have their eyes on the farm girl who had saved Taro in the first film. Their betrayal devastates the gang. Betrayals also hit close to Taro’s home when the evil retainer Hyoe’s plans are revealed.

Taro and Rokuro guided the band of merry thieves and fought side by side. I was shocked at how easily the bandits accepted Taro as their leader and was then reminded of a line from Ragnarok by Loki, "Well, it seems that you are in desperate need of leadership". Korg, “Well, thank you.” These bandits were not very bright and were also in desperate need of leadership.

This time the body count rose as Taro dealt with the fallout of Hyoe’s deadly actions. Part 2 was shortened in the version I watched and I wondered if they cut out the romance between Taro and the farm girl Tazu and any extended scenes between Taro and his love Koyuki. There seemed to be implied scenes that weren’t shown.

Whereas Part 1 was lighter and livelier, Part 2 was much darker as the deep betrayals burned away any ties that Taro had with his past. Not quite as engaging as Part 1, Part 2 was still enjoyable. The screen always sizzled more when Rokuro was engaged. Taro, bless his heart, could be a bit stiff. The message in the films was that the powerful and wealthy abused those beneath them in both social and economic status in order to prosper themselves. And when in doubt as the body count rose---the butler did it.

20 March 2026

Housekeeping note: In the version I watched, Parts 1 & 2 were combined. Part 1 was missing around 14 minutes and Part 2 over 20. If anyone finds the two in their entirety, please let me know.

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