1x02 The Prince and Kage

This episode was really heartbreaking to watch, both for Kage and Bojji, but the ending definently did make up for it. I love how the show expanded on Kage's character, with me learning about how he was raised by his mother, a fellow shadow-clan assasin, who believed that they were all assasins because their form was perfect for it, and she genuinally cared for and protected her son, Kage. But after she was killed, and Kage narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of some shadow-clan friendly nobles, Kage was now alone in a new kingdom, and treated as a complete outsider not worth of consideration and care. Because of this, when Kage was fed rotten fish remains by some stranger, and taken in by him but treated basically like a slave under him, Kage was happy and loved the man, because despite this he was the only other person Kage now has in his life, and for him it was better than being alone again, even after the man ratted him out to noble authorities, leading to Kage crying over his later death. Then eventually after losing him Kage started becoming a theif as a way to survive on his own not caring for anybody else, sort of fufilling the perfect role of his form. Understanding this backstory as to why he became this petty theif was so painful to watch, really making me care about Kage as a person and glad he met someone like Prince Bojji, also helped me understand why he seemed to care alot about Bojji, its clear that he could relate to him, as someone who was also basically ostracized by society because of how he was born. And for Bojji vs. Daida, I was rooting for Bojji so much, but because his tactics were apparently underhanded since he was dodging mostly, even if Bojji did won people would just dislike him even more, viewing him as this underhanded disrespectful prince who didnt really care for the art of swordsmanship, and having Domas make Bojji stop fighting in his own style, then subsequently watching Bojji get beat up by Daida to the point of hospitalization was a brutal experience. Now even when Bojji is good at something people still see it as another flaw of his. Man I was even liking Domas too, but tbf he does bring up a good point that being skilled at dodging on its own wont be good enough if Bojji isnt willing to put strength behind his sword, but mayeb Bojji will find a way around this problem. Also Daida like last episode is a supreme dickhead, I really hate this guy, but after seeing that shadowy figure he talked to in the mirror, I am more curious about him. And, the ending scene between Kage and Bojji was so sweet, where Bojji was completely bruised and broken, both physically and emotionally, and was crawling to try and hold up a sword, but Kage was there to cheer him up, saying he liked his style of fighting and it didnt need to change, and also saying he'll always be in his corner. Man I'm really enjoying the friendship between Kage and Bojji.