Look Before You Leap
I think we’re back to noting that Seiya really suffers from an inability to communicate. He is absolutely right this week in that jumping in to fight a swarm of fast moving fly-like demons without preparation is a bad idea and yet he made the commander of the defence feel like he was abandoning the cause and then that she was to blame for the deaths up to that point. Of course, she kind of was and her lack of planning and generally impatient attitude is a definite flaw in a commander but surely there had to be a better way to get that across.
Yet, I would argue that it is Seiya’s direct and blunt approach, as well as his aversion to being the white knight who charges in before knowing the enemy, that makes him one of the more interesting isekai heroes I’ve seen in awhile. Certainly they are playing his caution as the gimmick of the show and most of the gags are around other characters suggesting a heroic course of action and Seiya shooting them coldly down, but the underlying logic of his choices, and the fact that he is still working his way through the demons even if he is doing it in his own way, keeps him from being just a joke of a character.
Though for all that Seiya comes off as a jerk, but actually in the right, this episode, Ristarte kind of gets very little to do other than futilely insist he apologise to the commander and later on freak out over a non-threat. While in the early part of the season a lot of the comedy was found in the play between Ristarte and Seiya, the two are increasingly interacting with other characters and Ristarte has really become less and less interesting whereas Seiya continues to intrigue.
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However, in the face of a new demon threat, Seiya goes back to what he knows, which is training. A new goddess is introduced to teach Seiya magical archery and while she’s likely up to no good, it is fairly likely her schemes will go nowhere. I am more wondering what the ongoing impact is going to be of Seiya on the heavens when every god and goddess he has encountered has been changed in some manner. Surely that has to have some lingering implications.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I wonder if the commander of the fortress learned anything or whether she’s planning another suicide charge rather than coming up with an actual strategy? Either way, I guess Seiya will return next week to fight the fly things.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James
Let’s Talk about how Seiya over-prepares while Ristarte freaks out in Shinchou Yuusha.
Images from: Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yusha ga Ore Tueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru. Dir. M Sakoi. White Fox. 2019.