The four episode included are Episode 71 "The Conspiracy of Kaiou: Shougo Caught in a Trap," Episode 72 "Days of Remorse: The Sad Past of Shougo and Sayo," Episode 73 "The Sneering Demon: Shouzo and Karyu Sacattered in the Explosive Flames, and Episode 74 "Sanouske's Tears: An Enternal Farewell Befalls the Two." I thought that Volume 17 "The Holy War" would end the saga, but we still have the big fight between Shouzo and Kenshin to go. Shouzo is turned into a slightly more sympathetic figure as we learn the story of what happened to his parents and discover that Kaiou has been manipulating Shogo to further his own agenda of ruling Japan. But, of course, for fans of this anime it is the developing relationship between Sanosuke and Magdalia that is the most compelling. She is such a pure soul that she gets through his gruff exterior; but then she ends up changing more than him, which is not only a violation of our expectations but rather strange given her religious beliefs.

If you have ever seen a Western version of Japan, such as the mini-series "Shogun" or the recent film "The Last Samurai," the episodes in this story arc represent the flips side as we get to see a Japanese perspective on Christianity. Of course I cannot vouch for either the historical accuracy or the cultural valditiy of these views, but it is certainly an interesting story line. Granted, this story line does not have the epic arc of the Kyoto storyline, but trying to do something that big again this soon was not the way to go. My main complaint is that when Magdalia's beliefs suddenly change it really undoes a lot of the pathos of her character.