Rating: B
After a couple of episode with a large chunk of the content focused outward, the series turns almost entirely insular as it formally introduces two new (presumably) regular cast members. Twins Maria (left above) and Caria (right above) Elfuur are the exclusive foci of the series’ closer and also make appearances in its opener, but prior to this episode they had only a couple of cameo appearances in background shots of the dark elf encampments. And while they’re starting out as Takuto’s new attendants, every indication points to them eventually playing bigger roles in Mynoghra.
Why they’re getting this much attention is pretty obvious, as they make a striking contrast in both appearance and personalities. Maria is more conservatively dressed, has long hair, and typically has a smile, while short-haired Caria perpetually has a gloomy expression and is more provocatively-dressed; doubtless this was done primarily to show off the skin discolorations that are remnants of a past disease, but it’s still a little edgy, especially considering her suggested age. While Maria comes off as an airhead, this may be at least partly an act, or at the very least a coping mechanism; she may not want to think too hard about things. Meanwhile, Caria is the much more serious-minded one and seems to react to her difficulties by throwing all her support behind her sister.
What makes both of them a bit more interesting is that they are clearly dealing with survivor’s guilt. Their mother is gone in what’s strongly implied to be an instance of cannibalistic self-sacrifice (that the elder doesn’t refute Maria when she chirps that claim out is telling), and they are understandably conflicted about living on at that cost. What’s not completely clear is whether they really did want to die when they attempted to goad Takuto into punishing them (assuming that, as an evil being, he wouldn’t tolerate mistakes) or saw that as a way to test whether they deserved to survive or not.
Whichever is the case, the twins’ efforts lead to one of the oddest explanations I’ve seen in some time for how evil isn’t necessarily bad. This setting seems to take an extreme interpretation of the alignment system used in many RPGs: being “good” or “evil” is as much a status condition as it is a moral position. Furthermore, Takuto’s very creative interpretation muddies the difference between the law/chaos axis and the good/evil axis; what he’s describing about how evil people are free to do whatever, whereas good people have to be rigid, is much more in line with a chaotic-oriented worldview than an evil one. Also, the writing may have been overly ambitious here, as it never felt like the matter with the twins carried the gravitas that should have.
Otherwise, the civilization-building continues apace and with standard game mechanic progression; even if the world isn’t a perfect reproduction of Eternal Nations, most of its structure still aligns with the game. (And I still support the notion that any variations are just the result of random world generation.) Also looks like Mynoghra’s first attempt at peaceful diplomacy is coming up; the cattle-person spellcaster we saw previously was apparently an official of the city Dragontan in the nearby neutral nation, and it’s got both a strategic resource and potentially refugees which could fill out Mynoghra’s work force, so making a good connection to it would certainly be a priority. (As for the thing about Ogres and Goblins being referred to as “Barbarians,” barbarian tribes are a standard element of any 4x game, so it makes sense that they would be fantasy races in a fantasy setting.) The Mynoghra delegation appearing to the Dragontan reps with Takuto’s evil aura could provide some interesting long-term complications.
Overall, the series still isn’t very dynamic or executing at a high level, but it’s mostly giving me what I wanted out of the series so far, hence a slightly higher grade than it may actually warrant at this point.
Come back around the end of this week for the first installment of the Mid-Season Report.
USA Anime 