Snowflake Capital (雪華の都 Sekka no Miyako) is the first episode of the anime Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan (Demon of the Fleeting Blossom: The Tale of the Shinsengumi). It aired on April 4, 2010.
Plot
Late December 1863
Rasetsu attack the rōnin
Hijikata's iconic arrival
Yukimura Chizuru has gone to Kyoto in search for her father. As she walks through the town at night, she is harassed and chased by a group of rōnin samurai. She hides in an alleyway, then two white-haired men with glowing red eyes and crazed looks on their faces suddenly attack the rōnin, brutally murdering one of them. The other rōnin tries to fight back, but even after being gravely injured, one of the white-haired men laughs and finishes him off. They then spot Chizuru and are about to attack her when Hajime Saitou mercilessly kills them. Souji Okita appears shortly afterwards and complains that he wanted to take them out all by himself. When they notice Chizuru, Toshizou Hijikata enters the scene, points his sword at her, and orders her not to run—otherwise, he will be forced to cut her down. Chizuru narrates in the background that the sight of his jet-black hair blowing in the wind took her breath away, and the snow, illuminated as it fell, looked like cherry blossoms blooming out of season. Then Chizuru faints, and Hijikata orders to take her into custody to decide her fate later.
The Shinsengumi discuss what to do with Chizuru
Chizuru wakes up the next morning finding herself restrained by ropes in the Shinsengumi headquarters. Inoue Genzaburo arrives and unties her. He takes her to a meeting held by the Shinsengumi captains and commanders. Kondou Isami introduces himself, then they discuss the situation that happened the night before. Chizuru explains what her predicament was and insists that she did not see anything. The captains decide to keep her in custody until they find a way to keep her quiet.
Hijikata catches Chizuru while she is trying to escape
Chizuru tells her story about travelling to Kyoto
A few hours pass, and Chizuru, convinced of her impending demise, attempts to escape in order to survive. However, Hijikata quickly catches her. As she struggles against his grasp, she insists that she cannot die yet, as she still has something important to do. Hijikata puts her down and requests to hear her full story. That night, she sits down once again with the Shinsengumi captains and commanders and recounts what happened. Six months ago, her father left Edo to work in Kyoto. After a while, she stopped receiving letters from him. A month later, she decided to travel to Kyoto to find him, leading to her arrival and the events of the previous night. At this point, Hijikata begins to suspect that Chizuru is actually a girl, despite her male kimono and swords. The revelation shocks everyone, as none of them had suspected she was disguising herself as a man while actually being a woman. Keisuke Sannan then asks if her father is Kōdō Yukimura, Chizuru is shocked and immediately asks if he is safe. Unfortunately for her, the clinic where he had been working mysteriously burned down about a month ago. However, inspectors did not find his body. The Shinsengumi have been searching for his whereabouts ever since. Hijikata informs Chizuru that she will be allowed to stay under their protection until they find Kōdō.
January, 1864
Heisuke invites Chizuru to eat with them
Sano punches Heisuke
Half a month later, Chizuru stares out the window and ponders about her future out loud. She remembers a little while before, she was given the order to continue dressing as a man, thus was given back her kodachi that is precious to her. Souji Okita interrupts her thoughts and comments on her thinking. Chizuru is embarrassed because she did not notice him sitting just outside her window watching her. As she realizes that Hajime Saitou is standing there as well, Chizuru becomes more embarrassed. Heisuke Toudou comes and tells them it is time to have dinner. He suggests that Chizuru comes and eats with the group since they are not allowed to leave her alone, and she agrees. At first, the others are surprised upon her arrival, but soon begin to enjoy her company. Later, Inoue brings the news that Sannan has sustained a deep injury to his left arm while on the trip to Osaka with Hijikata. His life is not in danger, but he is unable to use his left arm, therefore unable to swing a sword. Souji mentions that he might have to take the "medicine". Shinpachi Nagakura protests that they cannot risk the life of a Shinsengumi leader like that. Chizuru asks whether Sannan is the Shinsengumi's Deputy Commander, and when Heisuke begins to explain the meaning behind characters in "Shinsengumi", Harada Sanosuke punches him to keep him quiet so Chizuru does not find out. Souji thoughtfully adds that the character "sen" in Shinsengumi that Heisuke mentioned means "a pathetic group of boys".
Trivia
- The opening is Izayoi Namida performed by Yoshioka Aika.
- The ending is Kimi no Kioku performed by MAO.
- One of the only scenes where Chizuru wears a female kimono is shown during one of her flashbacks.
- Chizuru's theme is played during the dinner scene.
- The punching scene in the anime is slightly confusing as Heisuke did not have time to say anything of importance, however, in the games Sano punches him for talking about Rasetsu, which makes more sense in the context.