#hitotsubashi faction

[nakamuso]

Dandan Dawn" Episode 13 - What is the secret imperial decree of Boshu?

Dandone! Here is the 13th episode. The story is finally getting tangled up.

I'm spoiling the story heavily.

At the end of the last episode, Shimazu Nariakira was poisoned by Taka-sama. In pain and suffering, he finally ran out of strength after completing various arrangements. Since the plan to send the army to Tokyo was in progress, the hardest part was the cleanup afterwards.

Kawaji and Saigodon run to inform their collaborators of Shimazu Nariakira's death and the cancellation of the plan to send soldiers to Tokyo. Both of them intend to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) after all the cleanup is complete. This is the right time for a samurai to commit seppuku, isn't it?

However, a new character, Gessho, puts a stop to this.

He tells them that if Shimazu Nariakira dies after involving various people and causing them to spend a lot of money, and even his own vassals follow him, Shimazu Nariakira will be inscribed in history as a "tyrant".

At that time, Edo was under the dictatorship of Ii Naosuke, and the feudal lords of the Hitotsubashi faction were punished one after another. ↑up Why here?　I wondered. Ii Naosuke and the Hitotsubashi Faction were enemies?　 What?

Anyway, as such, when the Satsuma clan's backing was removed, Ii Naosuke's hand was extended to the other feudal lords as well. Saigodon and his men were determined not to let such a mess happen. They plan to beat Ii Naosuke and Taka to a pulp.

Here comes another important historical word. It is "Boshin-no-tokoku (Secret Imperial Edict of Boshin". I had never heard of it before.

I immediately looked it up on Wikipedia, but even though I read it, the contents did not enter my mind at all. I have never heard of these names. So, I guess I graduated without understanding it even if it appeared in my textbooks when I was a student.

The "Boshin no kokoku-ji."

But looking at the characters, it seems somehow familiar to me. I am not sure what it is, but I am sure I will understand it from next week onward.

And this is the strategy to kick off Ii Naosuke, isn't it?

By the way, I was wondering why the monk Tsukiteru was huffing and puffing all the time. Does it mean that slapping or kicking someone seriously drains your strength like that? Is it because he is a monk and doesn't usually exercise?　

I think I'm getting used to it, and I'm starting to understand it more and more quickly. I look forward to waiting for the next week!

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [281/316] “Farewell, Reaper”

↳ “When people sin and degenerate into demons, the only beings capable of turning them human again are humans. That's why I have no right to cut you. A demon has no right to cut a fellow demon.”

[shinsengumi-archives]

About Oishi Kuwajiro (大石鍬次郎)

Ōishi Kuwajirō (大石鍬次郎), lived from Tenpō 9 (天保, 1838) to the 10th day of the 10th month of Meiji 3 (明治, 1870). Shinsengumi member (role of troop inspector) of the Bakumatsu era. Official first name Morichika (守親). From the Genji clan (lineage of Seiwa-Genji Yoshinaka, 清和源氏義仲).

Born in Tenpō 9 (天保, 1838) as eldest son of Ōishi Sutejirō (大石捨次郎) who was a close guard of the renowned Hitotsubashi (一橋) family, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa clans. His initial first name was Kinnosuke (金之助).

Due to a conflict (it is assumed it was about an issue with a women), he left his family and lived with a carpenter from Hino (日野) in Musashi province. This carpenter was an acquaintance of the village head Satō Hikogorō (佐藤彦五郎, 1827-1902) and it was through this connection that Ōishi was able to train at Hikogorō’s fencing dōjō.

Ōishi joined the Shinsengumi when Kondō Isami (近藤勇, 1834-1868) was recruiting in Edo from the 9th to 10th month of Genji 1 (元治, 1864) after the Ikedaya Incident had taken place earlier in the 6th month of that year. As he was mainly carrying out assassinations, he was feared as “Ōishi the Assassin”. Ōishi was practicing the Ono-ha Ittō-ryū (小野派一刀流) of swordsmanship but also studied the Tennen Rishin-ryū (天然理心流) that was followed by Kondō Isami. The Shidankai Sokki Roku (史談会速記録), a Taishō-era (大正, 1912-1926) record of statements from then aging contemporary witnesses, mentions on several occasions Ōishi being an as apt swordsman as the famous Okita Sōji (沖田総司, 1842-1868).

According to the Torishirabe Nikki (取調日記), records of Shinsengumi member Yamazaki Susumu’s (山﨑丞, 1833-1868), Ōishi was a member of the first unit of the Shinsengumi lead by Okita Sōji at least by the 5th month of Keiō 1 (慶応, 1865).

In the 9th month of Keiō 2 (1866), Ōishi was deployed as commander of a unit of ten to a conflict which became known as the Sanjō Seisatsu Incident. When the Shinsengumi became assimilated into the Bakufu troops in the 6th month of Keiō 3 (1867), Ōishi became troop inspector. In the 11th month of that year, Ōishi assassinated Itō Kashitarō (伊東甲子太郎, 1835-1867) in the Aburanokōji Incident. In the 12th month, Ōishi, Saitō Hajime (斎藤一, 1844- 1915) and others were ordered to protect the Kishū samurai Miura Kyūtarō (三浦休太郎, 1829- 1910) in the Tenmaya Incident.

When the Bakufu retreated from the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in the 1st month of Keiō 4 (1868), the Shinsengumi withdrew to Edo where Kondō formed a troop called Kōyō Chinbutai to follow the Bakufu’s order to assist pacifying the Kai province. The troop of which Ōishi was a member was sent to Kai where it was defeated in the 3rd month of that year and disbanded. After that, Ōishi was hiding in Edo with his wife and children but was captured in the 12th month being betrayed by a friend and former Shinsengumi member, Mitsui Ushinosuke (三井丑之助). According to an anecdote, Ōishi, troubled with life, approached former Shinsengumi member Kanō Washio (加納鷲雄, 1839-1902) who had become a member of the government forces under the Itō Faction and begged him to let him go, but without success. However, there is no historic record which would back this anecdote and it’s contradicted by the later testimony of Kanō’s comrade Abe Jūrō (阿部十郎, 1837-1907).

Ōishi was accused of Sakamoto Ryōma’s (坂本龍馬, 1836-1867) assassination in the Ōmiya Incident and confessed even if there had not been a thorough investigation. Later, however, he retracted his confession and said the job was carried out by the Tokugawa special forces Mimawarigumi. In any case, Ōishi was beheaded on the 10th day of the 10th month of Meiji 3 (明治, 1870) (November 3, 1870, in the Western calender) for the assassination of Itō Kashitarō, He was 32 years old at that time.

Due to fear of interrogation, Ōishi’s son and heir Raitarō (雷太郎) changed his name to Honma Utakichi (本間歌吉) and it is said that he later ran a shop for tortoise shell produces in the Inarichō (稲荷町) neighborhood of the Shitaya district of Tōkyō.

Grave of Oishi Kuwajiro’s son Honma Utakichi. Honma is his maternal maiden name. He used to call himself Oishi, but changed his name after Kuwajiro was decapitated. Possibly... Kuwajiro could be laid to rest here as well. (source: Twitter)

[acuatique]

Understanding the relationship between Takasugi and Gintoki

This is gonna be a long one, so please bear with me. 

So from the very beginning of the series, we’ve been trying to understand the entire dynamic of these two complex characters, Takasugi Shinsuke and Sakata Gintoki. Up until the Tendoshu plot began unraveling, we’ve seen Takasugi as the primary antagonist. The trope is fairly easy to understand- two characters who completely contrast each other- we have Gintoki, a person who has a positive outlook on life, and forges relationships on the way. Shinsuke on the other hand, is focused on the entire “I will destroy this world” complex, and makes more enemies than friends (apart from his loyal comrades in the Kiheitai). Yet, these two share some very compelling similarities- the love they share for their teacher, and protecting what really matters to them. Having the same purpose, even if they carry out their way of fulfilling it differently (we’ll get to this later.) 

If we examine their relationship from their childhood, we can see that they do share a sense of rivalry- especially on Takasugi’s end, counting the wins/losses. However, they do respect each other- their teacher is instrumental in instilling this realisation in them, that perhaps they aren’t that different. Katsura on the other hand acts as the mediator between them, because he can see both of their POV’s since he has personally experienced loss as well. 

Fast forward to the time when Shouyou sensei gets arrested, and the three of them lose their father/teacher/guardian figure. We see two different reactions:

Gintoki, one of sensei’s earliest students, can immediately understand that Shouyou knows the implications of being arrested. He does try his best to prevent his sensei from being handed over to the Naraku, but seeing his teacher willingly leave, he can tell something’s up. 

Takasugi, also having tried his best, but unable to save Shouyou from being taken. Takasugi is someone who was disowned by his family, and craves the intimacy he gets from being like a son to Shouyou. Seeing his teacher stripped away from him instills a huge amount of anger in him. 

Fast forward to the Joui war, we have Takasugi, Gintoki and Katsura fighting for the soul purpose of avenging their sensei. In comes Sakamoto, and the Joui4 is born. Together they fight in what ends up ultimately being a losing battle. But one thing we need to understand here is that they aren’t fighting against the amanto for taking over the country- they’re fighting to get what matters to them back, and that’s Shouyou sensei. 

At the end of the battle, we have Oboro giving Gintoki a choice:

Kill your teacher (and mind you this was the first time they saw him after he was arrested)

or, kill your comrades (Takasugi, Katsura)

Like I’ve said before, Gintoki understands sensei in a way that’s different from the other two- he knows what it is that sensei would want. He knows that above everything else, sensei’s dying wish would be to see his students alive. So he is burdened with the task of killing the man who raised him, fathered him, loved him. Takasugi doesn’t understand this- he can’t fathom why Gintoki would want to kill sensei, because he knows sensei mattered to Gin more than anyone else. The fact that he chooses his comrades over his teacher, is the point where their animosity begins. 

Now coming to the Kiheitai’s debut, 20 years after the Joui4 went their separate ways. Mind you, we’ve seen Takasugi once before, when he attempted to assassinate the Shogun with Gengai’s robots. His efforts to destroy the Bakufu are ruined by the Yorozuya+Katsura’s joui faction. Here is where we see the “I want to destroy this world that took our Sensei away from us” story begin.

Takasugi continuously attempts to start a civil war within the Bakufu government- we can see this in the Shinsengumi Crisis Arc and the Baragaki arc as well. In between, we have the alliance between Takasugi and Kamui (Odds and Evens, ep 215) 

In the Courtesan of a Nation arc, Takasugi slips into the jail where Tokugawa Sadasada is being kept. In a way, he avenges his teacher by killing the man responsible for what happened to Shouyou. In the end, we get a scene where Gintoki and Takasugi cross each others paths, but it’s only Gintoki who turns back. Gin still shows a slight bit of concern for his old friend- he knows the path he is on will only lead to his own destruction. Takasugi has no reason to turn back, because he still sees Gin as the man who made that wrong choice all those years ago. 

Now we have Takasugi going in for the kill- allying with the Hitotsubashi faction to destroy the current regime in Edo, Kamui alongside him. And then, using the faction as a means to get to, and kill Tokugawa Shigeshige. 

And now, we have a full fledged fight between Gintoki and Takasugi. Quite a considerable amount of their relationship is revealed to us- this is actually where we first see why this animosity exists to begin with. 

Battered, the two part ways yet again with their respective Yato companions (Gintoki, Kagura; Takasugi, Kamui). 

In the Farewell, Shinsengumi arc, the main Tendoshu/Utsuro/Altana plot is revealed. Gintoki is now aware of what his sensei really was. He knows that Utsuro is the man he will have to kill- the man who gave, and stole his beloved Shouyou sensei. 

By the time the decisive battle on Rakuyou has begun, Takasugi is also aware of Utsuro. At this point, Gintoki and Takasugi share the same goal. Destroying Utsuro, and putting an end to his scheme of destroying the Earth. the arc ends with a Joui4 reunion, and again, the two part their ways. 

The next time they meet, they’re on the same fighting side.

With the war done, we have the time skip (2 years later)

By now, Takasugi is fully able to understand Gintoki, and why he chose to save his comrades. He finally forgives him, and now the two try to save Shouyou sensei yet again- using the heart of Utsuro.

Gintoki is Takasugi’s alter ego- he is the part of Takasugi that would have done the same, 20 years ago. More than anything, Takasugi is fighting with himself. He’s fighting with the part of him that would also have chosen to save his comrades over Shouyou sensei all those years ago. Post the time skip he knows why Gintoki made that choice, because he himself faced death, only to have Shouyou sensei save him yet again (through Oboro’s ashes).

To sum it all up, we can split their relationship into  parts-

1.      Childhood rivalry

2.      Joui war camaraderie

3.      Post Joui war animosity and hatred

4.      Protection (Gintoki) vs. Revenge and destruction (Takasugi)

5.      Understanding

6.      Revival of brotherhood

If you managed to get to the end of this, thank you so much for reading!!!

[lunosamentelunitoo]

Gintama 629 spoilers

TITLE: Logic is really important in detective stories”

Sonroshi: So you are Hirata Genkai, I can’t believe i am getting to know the one guy, that helped the humans to archieve the defeat of the liberation army that way, the fact is that is quite surprising that the person we looked for in all galaxy that was able to sink such fleet in just one day and restore it back is someone like you

Genkai: Hey you old jeez, i don’t have any paper to wipe my ass, do you want to wipe it?? I only helped to kick the liberation army’s butt, aren’t you guys courious to see how they are doing where are they now?

Sonroshi: We are not interested to the situation in the main stroghold, they understimated the enemy, and we are not interested to fight alongside those idiots. If we stay with them we will be intossicated by their poison and our limb would rot and fall. But us, will by no means look down to you, It was on this planet that our compatriot.. the king of the yato was... Rearranging the army and defeat you will come later... But now.. genkai you have to stop that nanomachines.

Toshi; Big trouble!! THe old genkai!! Genkai fell in enemies’ hands...

Tsukuyo: eh? What do you want??

Toshi: No.. nothing

Matsudaira: Good job, thanks for providing us the enemies’ movments for all this time. Even if it’s night, such quiet is so weird, this is a good time for that party to cool their heard after all this heat. Watching without moving.. Keep their breath, they sure will come somehow, but we are waiting for them. We will rpvide tehm a bonus stage, how much it will last? But a little of rest will be good for us too.

Soyo: I can’t sleep, you too Nobume san?

Nobume: My injuries are keeping me up, i really can’t rest. But at least in this way I can keep watch over you princess and made you sleep without worries.

Soyo: I am so sorry, I ididn’t realized that, but I am ok, the one that should rest it’s you Nobume san.

Nobume: If the peincess will fall i asleep I will fall...ZZZ

Soyo: Well, you already sleeping Nobume san, I am sorry, you should be really tired, while I am getting more wake up.. When it comes to watcho over we can leave all to the yorozuya, and with such of a bodyguard we are just ok, he is looking over my bed now, so you can sleep Nobume san.... It’s ok!! Please don’t give him that kind of rest!!

Nobume: Awww.. it feels so goodz...

Soyo: I am sorry Nobume san, but I don’t knpw how to do tsukkomi on this... but this really feels so good. if we sleep near to this... That remind me.. we already did something like that. I was so selfish and couldn’t sleep alone, so i slept with all of you. Who could image that a night like that would come then.. A really lonley night.

Nobume: Princess, you two siblings, opened those eyes, we are Hitotsubashi’s faction, No one of us is useless, Shige shige sama.. me... I really have now the quaifications to be by your side.

Soyo:... This night we can have a proper sleep after a long time,from that time , i always have a good bodyguard next to me, i am not able to understand difficult things, but i know who was protecting us for all this time. Isn’t that good Nobume san? You know my pain and I know yours, Isn’t that a good reason to spend the night together? Isnt’t that enough? So let’s go throught this night togetherz...

Nobume: Princess, I don’t knoew how to tsukkomi too... WHAT!! A radio? Did someone of the guards put this radio here??

Dude: A..an... answear

Soyo:  A communication? Weren’t all the communications in Edo down, cause all the machine were stopped?? And then.. this voice..

Dude: Someone.. there is some one? answer..

Soyo: Yes!

Dude: Rogetr that! You are...?

Soyo: I am Shigeshige’s sister, Nobunobu sama is that you?

Dude: It.. it’s back!! Communications with earth are back!! Form the analysuis it results that the nanomachines didn’t destroy all the machines! The collegues from the tech group prob thought of some means to contrast the effects in such a short time... maybe taking the central sistem that is being affected is taken in a different place..

Enshou: That makes me so happy!! I don’t care how!! Nothing is settled donw yet, Wwe can’t still get near that planet!! The grop letf behind is still in danger!  Soon check the situation on earth and then decide how to move!!

Dude: Yes!

Toshi: What? communications are back? Is that possible? That the enemy got it from Genkai?  I can’t believe it, that gives to our enemies more weapons and chance of victory! Soon!! Doesn’t matter how !! Let’s go to search for Genkai, and take him away from the enemies!!

Gintoki: Calm down you idiots, ther eis no change that the old man told something to the enemy, the granpa is not like that. He is surely silent and cold now

Shinpachi; Do you mean he is dead???

Gin: I told it’s ok! His sense of community is hight both in space than in the underworld.

Shinpachi: So that means he is dead???

Gin: SO first of all, we should take some Heparize, prepare some vomit bag and go to sleep. God, all this shaking is making me feel sick gorgorgorgoro...

Shinpachi: Kyahahahaha!!!

Toshi: Oi!! you bastard why did you drank until to feel so sick during war!!

Gin: ‘Cause I thought that i saved before to face the last boss! I thought I had recover all my HP!!

Yamazaki: Oi please, wake up...

Gin: But I fell into a pond of poison as i woke up... and instead to recover HP the screen became green.

Toshi: Real life doesn’t have save points! n life every progress hurts! And the damage zone is really wide!

Gin: And the fact that the old man is been took by the enemy is a proof.

Okita: Somehow he left a trace made of shit... where he is been caught he didn’t had paper and could not move...

Gin: Of course, that is such a proper way to die too, old man!

Okita: On the place there are still some remains of poop left, this is a proof that he didnt wiped his ass. SO the remains left on his ass is leading us

Gin: Somehow this makes so much sense... Did you called the old man by name? Did you put him on shame?

Shinpachi: SO do you really think that that was a way for Genkai to leave some trace?

Okita: His hands were cuffed, Somehow we been invested in luck!

Shinpachi: Okita san... actually we got invested in shit

Okita: Look there!

Shinpachi: The poop is keeping going..

Okita: While he was kidnapped by the enemies he showed his position to us. He didn0t had nothing with him, so he left this mark.

Shinpachi What kind of Hansel and Gretel is that??

Okita: If we follow that we can reach Genkai!

Toshi: Oi Sougo! Did you just called the old man by name? is that good??

Gin: What if that is just poop by a really big dog?

Shin: Other than that, isn’t all of this against every conventions?

Toshi: Is even possible for a single human being to poop tht much?

Okita: Probaly not in a normal situation, but now he is in danger...

Kondo: It was so long i didn’t meet that person and I drunk too much, to think it was prune’s juice... Anyway.. it doesn’t matter in how deep the forest where i am is, I knew you will surely found that out.. can you go to bu me some pants?

Okita: So it asn’t a poop trail

Toshi: Well it was a gorilla trail. There, there was no human, understand??

Shin: Well that was your general gorilla trail! Are you ok with that???

Gin: I thought from the start that he was running in strage way... but he was going headed from us just to wash his pants.

Toshi: Forget all of that!!

Gin: I wanted to.. but that made me feel sick again

Shin: What do we do now? We have no clue left.

Toshi: look there

Shin: Blood? that means...

Toshi: Maybe that is a trail left by Genkai.

Shin: That means that Genkai san is...

Toshi: I don’t know. ut this is a race against time for sure!

Okita: Hijikata san, call for some gopchang

Toshi: Why I should be the only one to call for intestines?? I want to call for the old man too

Shin: Look! the amount of blood is getting bigger!!

Toshi: That’s bad! move!!

Zenzou: I drank too much and my hemorrhoids exploded. But I knew that you would notice that... please move, put that into my ass...

Toshi: Oi! That’s all cause your drinking party!! You all have some leak, manly from your lover body!

Gin: Don’t deceive things with tsukkomi! Move! use some logic and pull out the intestines!

TOshi: So Okita should pull out the old man tho!

Okita: I am sorry Hijikata san, but my granpa died a really long time ago, so die now Hijikata san

 Toshi: What logic is that?? You have no qualifications to tell mistery stories!!

Shin: Hey!! Are things to say in this situations!!

Toshi: If every one is abl to use communication of us is over!!

Kagura: It’s here

Shin: Kagura chan?

Okita: Do you know what it’s happening?

Kagura: It’s only my intuition, but I trust it.. a night like that yato become hunters

Enshou: Sonroshi, from Daikini to Shinra I collected the stronger, but in the end only the yato are left. Is that the man?

Sonroshi: Yes, he still have ears and mounth , but the only thing that we really need it’s his head and skills. As we will lead him to torture he will beg let us know where his companions are.

Genkai: SO you are the liberation army’s boss? happy to talk with you

Enshou: Yeah, where is the thing that is blocking all battleships. arms and communications?

Genkai: well, communications seems to be back. Prob you were once worshipped, you look to have such sweet establishment. A for the nanomachines they can be stopped only by the bees. And I can’t grant your wishes to come near earth cause I don’t know a way to stop them too

Enshou: Is that so? As I though, That means that weliberation army can’t be stopped too earthling. we, the altana liberation army, got this from the Tendoshu collecting it from various stars in order to release it against the one that will refuse this holy war, so if you don’t want to grant our wish and fight with us, the best thing will be to reduce to dust all the life in the entire universe.

[nakamuso]

The "Boom, Boom, Boom! Episode 10 - Here Comes the Test!

Here are my thoughts on the tenth episode of "Dandone!

Spoilers ahead.

In this episode, the domestic affairs were so messed up that diplomacy was not progressing at all.

Ii Naosuke, who was a political enemy of Shimazu Nariakira, was unexpectedly appointed as "Grand Councilor. With this, the battle between the Hitotsubashi faction and the Nanki faction was won by the Nanki faction. In other words, Shimazu's side lost. Is it settled? ？？？？

I found out that something called "Ansei no Daigoku" (Great Prison of Ansei), which was mentioned in textbooks, started after this. I have completely forgotten what Ansei no Daigoku was, but I am glad that I can study in this way with a new feeling even as an adult.

Since I, who had a below-average score in Japanese history, am becoming more knowledgeable about the Satsuma clan and Shimazu Nariakira, I think junior high school students should definitely read "Dandone".

But, Shimazu and his family thought that they had no choice but to retire!　But just when Shimazu and his family thought they had no choice but to retire, a merchant named Hamasaki Taheiji arrives. It seems that the great power of England is going to attack Japan, defeating the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Egerez was in high spirits and was using the latest guns and cannons to subdue other countries in a messy manner.

Shimazu, realizing that Japan would surely be defeated if the current state of internal political turmoil were to step in, planned to gather 3-4,000 Satsuma clan warriors and go directly to the emperor in Kyoto to appeal to him to "reform the Shogunate's politics. This is said to be called "Rikubei Kamikyo. I think I'll have to take a test on this! But when I looked it up, I also found "Sabei Kamigyo". Is it OK either way?

This time, Kawaji was not particularly active.

In fact, he made the mistake of letting Taka-sama slip through his fingers last week, so I think it's time for him to play an active role since he has done more than play an active role.

As the story progresses, I understand more and more things and it is getting more interesting.

I am looking forward to next week.

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [301/316] “Shogun Assassination Arc Part Two: Ninja Village”

↳ “The duty of the Oniwabanshu isn't to protect the shogun, but rather to protect the shogun's duty. And the shogun's duty is to protect the country and its people, even at the cost of his life. If I become the shogun someday, I hope we can fight together for this country.”

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [261/316] “Unsetting Moon”

↳ “O: Were those two anything like Shouyou?

IN: No. One was trying to protect Shouyou's legacy. The other was trying to destroy Shouyou's legacy. But they had one thing in common. They both had such sorrow in their eyes.”

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [300/316] “Shogun Assassination Arc Part One: Shoguns of Light and Shadow”

↳ “I hope that one day, our country will be so peaceful, there will be no need for a shogun, or to worry about the future, and I will be just an older brother drinking the tea his little sister made for him.”

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [280/316] “Human or Demon?”

↳ “I only have a head on my shoulders right now thanks to a certain moronic executioner. So if anyone's gonna have my head, I'd rather it be another moronic executioner like him.”