So far, this series hasn’t surprised me yet. I basically saw everything that was going to happen before it did this episode. Though that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the episode. Though I did get a little miffed at how this story arc is extending to three episodes. I had hoped that they would have moved on by now since it does feel like the pacing is slowing to a crawl… and it’s only the second episode! Pick up the pace, Lerche! I know you can do better!
In any case, the episode picks up where it left off with Seth having been saved by a band of sorcerers that call themselves the Bravery Quartet. As soon as they appeared I couldn’t help but be super suspicious of them mostly because they did look super shady and the fact that they’re not really shown much in the opening. Not to mention they were being super flashy about their doings and when they dropped the line “If you wanna survive, just do as we say.” I don’t know about you, but those sounded like the words of robbers…
But more on that later. Having never met another sorcerer besides Alma, Seth was pretty quick to try and jump on the bandwagon with this group. Though judging from the opening, it was pretty obvious that Seth wouldn’t end up joining them. Which raised my suspicions of them even more. The boss seemed impressed with his attitude and even tried encouraging Seth while protecting him from the crowd’s jeers.
However, because their time was limited after binding the Nemesis with a spell, Boss tells the townsfolk to evacuate and announces that Bravery Quartet will tell everyone else in town to evacuate as well. While they do this, Boss tells Seth to pose as a distraction for the Nemesis once it breaks free from its restraints. And while I don’t trust the guy, his advice of not using brute strength to force your way through everything but rather be smart if you want to survive is a good lesson. It’s a lesson that ever shounen protagonist should learn lol. But Seth does honestly does need to learn that lesson since he tends to charge head first into everything.
But man, when the Nemesis started charging at Seth, that was horrifying. I already through the Nemesis was kind of creepy, but having such a big thing come at you at terrifying speeds… that’s literally one of my nightmares. Seth attempts to combat it, but all of his punches get deflected by its seemingly rubbery body. At this point, Seth seems to realize that his attempts aren’t working and then starts to think of ways to be smarter just like Boss told him. He then goes on to actually capture the Nemesis by chaining it up after tripping it.
I know it’s early into the series, but I can’t help but wonder if the Nemesis are actually evil. It seemed pretty tame when Seth was just kind of talking to it. And I couldn’t help but giggle when Seth asked a question and it responded, Seth yells: “Don’t you grunt at me!” It didn’t even start to act up until Seth threw a rock at its face, which was a pretty douchey move. Karma kicks in and the Nemesis charges up a laser that destroys everything in its path, which Seth narrowly avoids. At this point I’m like crying for Alma to get back as soon as possible. HURRY BACK ALMA, SETH NEEDS YOU!!!
And you know how I was super suspicious of Bravery Quartet? Yeah, it was pretty obvious that they were actually a band of thieves. Especially when they appeared at the bank saying “Oh, looks like you guys haven’t cleared out yet.” At that point, I was sure they were there to steal the money and I was 100% correct. They’re just a bunch of thieves that take advantage of rampaging Nemesis and use the chaos and confusion to cover up their actions.
Seth shows up to the scene of the crime and boy does this kid get hit with some hard truths. Boss and his crew are a bunch of scumbags, yes. Especially after telling Seth that he basically took advantage of his feelings and just used him for his own benefit. However, I couldn’t help but agree with Boss with his question of if there is actually any value in fighting for the townspeople. My honest answer is NO. There really isn’t. From the getgo, these people have been absolutely TERRIBLE to both Seth and Alma. Yes, Tommy is okay, but besides him, there hasn’t been one single reason for me to care about them. These people have been nothing but ungrateful and cowardly. They shift the blame all onto the sorcerers for every bad thing that happens and won’t take any responsibility for how they’re even treating these people. They literally talk trash about Seth all the time and they only barely tolerate Alma if it means if she’ll protect them from threats.
There is literally NO reason for Seth to protect these people. They haven’t showed him a shred of kindness or consideration. And it honestly begs the question of who is the monster and who is the man, because to me, these townsfolk are downright monsters. Seth and Alma deserve so much better. I mean, this one guy even had the gall to formulate a lie over how Seth only befriended Tommy over the fact his dad works at the bank to eventually rob them. WHAT THE HECK?! At this point, I don’t even blame Boss for thinking the way that he does. Why bother saving these people if all they’re going to do is treat you like monsters no matter what? His reasoning makes more sense than Seth’s. And I know it’s this whole morality thing going on and that protecting people no matter what is the just thing to do. But it just makes me wonder how Seth can even tolerate his treatment from these people. What makes his will to protect everyone that strong despite being ostracized? I probably would have been more on board with Seth protecting the people if there was at least some kindness from more people or show what actually drives him to be a hero. Heck, this series would probably be more interesting if Seth actually did choose to become a villain instead because of his treatment. But nah, this is shounen and the protag has got to stick to the path of righteousness.
In the end, it’s one tragic cycle. With people’s treatment of sorcerers cause them to turn their backs on them and use their powers for their own benefit, making them seem like scum. Why am I siding with the bad guys right now…? Though I do have to admit that punch to the face by Seth was pretty satisfying. And while I went on a whole rant of siding with Boss and his ideals, I did feel pretty sad for Seth. Since these guys literally trample on everything Seth believes. He holds sorcerers up to such a high degree and views them as heroes, only for these guys to be nothing but criminals. That’s got to hurt…
But that didn’t hurt half as bad as that freaking cliffhanger they pulled! After Bravery Quartet runs off, leaving the townspeople at the bank to meet their demise to the Nemesis, Seth manages to pull himself together and somehow is able to block the Nemesis’ attack while keeping the blast from touching the people behind him. Guess we can check ultimate power awakening off the list of shounen tropes. And honestly, even after all of this mess, I’d still hate the townspeople even if they did start treating Seth nicely after this. Considering they’d only be nice to him because he saved their hides. I’ve already seen the whole “We were wrong, will you ever forgive us for how we treated you?” thing before and it would leave a sour taste in my mouth if Seth just accepted it (which he probably would).
Wow, I didn’t think this series would make me question morality this much heh. And while this series is super cliche so far, it’s still leaving bits and pieces for me to think about. I honestly like that. And even though the animation was… questionable in this episode, I still can’t wait to see what else this series has in store. But still, screw those townsfolk. They don’t deserve Seth and Alma.
