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Episode 2: Long Day of the Trainee Volunteer Soldier

Overview

In a bit of a lopsided episode, we witness the team’s first probable group kill, then spend the rest of the episode watching them shop, eat, and Ranta be a perv.

Trigger Warning(s): Blood (minor)

Characters & Story (with Commentary)

Topic 1: One Little Goblin = So Much Trouble (Everyone)

After a night of drinking and networking, Manato comes back with some information on an area which perhaps may have easy prey for the team. Which, in a way, the location does, but the lack of coordination between all the members of Manato’s group is still a problem. For if it isn’t Ranta doing a war cry, Haruhiro tripping, Moguzo still not agile with his blade, or Shinrou having bad aim, the 6 on 1 fight is just an embarrassment.  In fact, there are multiple injuries during the fight, though none life threatening.

But what is perhaps the interesting bit of this whole handicap match is its end. One in which we see Ranta full on snap because he is hell-bent on getting a vice as a Dark Knight. Something which is quite scary to the others, for it seems they are beginning to realize they have to murder a living creature to survive. Leading to the question of how this may affect everyone? For while they do bounce back by nightfall, for most of the day, even after getting paid, it seems they all, but especially Ranta, have a dark cloud over their head.

Topic 2: Rest, Shopping, And Relaxation (Everyone)

With their first true victory under their belts, and Ranta now having a demon vice which alerts him to enemies around him, and apparently can drop a demon joke, the rest of the crew’s day is just about shopping. The girls shop for clothes and Shinrou shops for a hair pin, the boys eat and relax, is strangely this takes up a huge chunk of the second half of the episode. Leaving perhaps the only noteworthy thing being that Manato has a bit of a cute moment with Shinrou and Yume takes note of it. Now, whether it is jealousy or her being happy to see Shinrou get some attention, and maybe break out of her shell a bit, it is hard to say. We aren’t given a lick of dialog and are forced to rely on facial expressions which don’t give clear cut answers.

Topic 3: Once a Perv, Always a Perv (Ranta)

The episode ends with Ranta trying to peak on the girls while they bathe. Leading to the question if the show is going to, each episode, have Ranta do or say something perverted. Which isn’t necessarily horrible, for it brings another facet of these being young people, but I just hope it doesn’t become like a gag.

Highlights

The Realization of Death: With fighting the goblin, and collecting his parts or accessories for survival, came the realization that they are in the business of murder. Something I guess hadn’t hit them before, for they were just focused on not getting killed. So between Moguzo dropping his blade, to Ranta stabbing the goblin like a crazed robber, I guess it finally clicked. And I’m quite looking forward to see how this ultimately weighs on the conscious of everyone. For goblins in this show aren’t portrayed as some dumb monsters who aimlessly wander. From what it seems, they have friends, hang out, possibly hunt with their peers, and probably have their own society too. So it will be interesting to see if Manato’s group can put their sense of humanity aside, and perhaps empathy too, because they have to survive.

Ranta’s Vice: Being that everyone has different guilds, and magic is part of their world, it will be interesting to see how this man’s vice plays out. Also, as other people, for a lack of a better term, level up, it will interesting to see what happens as they become more skilled in their guild.

Low Points

Waste of Time: While what little I remember of my film theory class notes that after big time action events there is usually a cool down period, to me too much time was spent watching everyone act normal. I mean, a good 5 minutes is spent on us watching everyone shop and I just didn’t get why so much time was dedicated to that. Especially with Ranta trying to recover from his first kill, and Haruhiro nearly being choked to death. You’d think more time would have been dedicated to exploring mortality and all that.

On The Fence

Relationships: Though it currently is just a thought, and who knows what may evolve, it is apparent that these people are far from asexual beings. Ranta is a horny little bastard, and there is the possibility that Manato may have a thing for Shinrou and, at the same time, Yume may have a thing for Manato. Which could play out in a way which could be interesting yet, at the same time, there is this thought that all a relationship storyline, or plural relationship storylines, could do is bring the show down. For the way they handled a genre shift to being a “Slice of Life” type of anime for 5 minutes was dull as hell, so imagine if it became less about survival or more about love and romance.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

When are we going to meet the group that rejected Manato and his team?