Episode 3
WHO SAID THIS SERIES COULD GIVE ME SO MUCH FEELS?! WHO DID THIS?! But in all seriousness, I honestly didn’t expect myself to get hit by so many feels by this show. Not to mention the third episode. But before we get into that, Seth manages to mostly beat the Nemesis with ONE PUNCH. Sorry I had to, but it wasn’t quite Saitama level as it was still functioning. But thankfully Alma made it in time to finish if off before it could hurt the townsfolk and Seth.
In the last review, I talked about how the townspeople generally only look to Alma if they were danger and how saving the town from the Nemesis would change their minds so easily. While the series didn’t quite go ALL the way with that mindset, I do appreciate that even Alma pointed out that despite them saving everyone, they would still hand him over to the Inquisition. However, that only seems to strengthen Seth’s resolve towards defeating all the Nemesis. Though from how he worded it, I feel like he’s doing it more for Alma and Sorcerers rather than for the regular people. Which I can totally get behind. He knows not all Sorcerers are evil and wants the people he looks up to, mostly Alma to not be treated as monsters.
This sentiment is basically confirmed after the two talk about how the Radiant is probably where the Nemesis spawn from. After Alma scolds him for wanting to go after a legend, I found it touching how she reassures him that she won’t let him become a bad guy. But it became even more touching when Seth proclaims that that’s not good enough and doesn’t want Alama and other good sorcerers to be treated like bad guys either.
And while I had hoped that the pacing of this show would pick up, I did appreciate the backstory to how Alma and Seth even came together in the first place. Alma wakes up with no recollection of who she is and the doctor informs her that she was found holding Seth as if her life depended on it despite being unconscious. The two traveled around trying to find out who they were and I just absolutely love the visual progression of Alma and Seth’s relationship. It initially shows Alma and Seth walking pretty far a part and the shot has a pretty thick tree in between them, symbolizing the distance Alma set between them. Which is really sad because Seth was a freaking adorable kid back then.
Alma constantly complained how Seth was such a burden and should have just left him behind. However, seeing him as the only hint to who she was, kept him around. Things do eventually change between them though. One day she left him behind to go defeat a Nemesis elsewhere, several kids from the nearby village came and started beating Seth up. I don’t particularly care that much for present Seth, but him as a babu is just freaking precious and needs to be protected. PROTECT THIS PRECIOUS CHILD. And when his power went out of control due to the beatings, I hardly felt any sympathy for those kids even though it was VERY shocking to learn that Seth has actually killed people, though not intentionally.
My heart broke even more when the villagers tied Seth up to a stake and was planning on burning him alive while he just sat there crying. This series is making it very hard for me to believe that these people are worth protecting the Nemesis from… In any case, Alma comes to Seth’s rescue and scares away the crowd. Their hug just TORE at my heartstrings because at that moment it felt as if the two had finally become a family of sorts. Alma just comforting Seth while he cried in her arm felt so motherly I JUST CAN’T. Especially since Alma took it upon herself to actually start protecting him and make it so that no one sees him as a bad guy ever again. JUST LIKE A MOM WOULD AHHHHHH. Compared to the first scene of Seth and Alma walking together, Seth is much closer to her and there they’re walking in a more open area without any visual symbols that were in between them. They were finally in the same space. Seeing his smile and excitement at their new floating home… NGH IT WAS SO CUTE AND PURE.
This backstory just showed me that Alma and Seth’s relationship isn’t just a teacher and student, it’s a mother son relationship and I love it. They care so much about each other and when you look back at some of their dialogue, it definitely shows. I remember complaining how I wasn’t really sure about Alma and Seth’s relationship and that it just seemed like the typical caretaker and wayward kid. Glad they expanded on what it actually amounts to in this episode. It was especially touching when Seth tries to sneak out to go off to find the Radiant and Alma catches him. But instead of scolding him, she gives him the tools that he would need to travel and tells him not to become a monster. The fact that after running a little ahead, he comes back and gives Alma a hug, thanking her for all that she’s done for him just shows how much of a parental figure Alma is to him. Why don’t you hit me harder in the feels, why don’t you? Which it does when Alma ends up crying after Seth leaves. GAH MY HEART.
But now it seems like Seth is finally off on his little shounen protagonist journey. Hopefully the pacing will now set off as well.
Episode 4
After the super emotional previous episode, I had high hopes to how they’d start Seth’s journey. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that strongly for this episode. The episode starts off with introducing a new character that has been shown in the opening. I’ve been waiting for them to show new characters soon and I definitely got it this episode. Though how I feel about these new characters are a completely different. But I’ll get to that later.
I had hoped the adventuring part would have started this episode, but Seth gets swept up by the Inquisition instead. Again, this series literally makes me hate every normal person in this world and I think it may be trying a little too hard to have the audience sympathize with the Sorcerers. Yes it is terrible that they are constantly treated like monsters, but without showing some morally sound normal people, I literally feel like the Nemesis should wipe out humanity for how they’ve been treating the Sorcerers. The townsfolk (besides Tommy) and the Inquisition are just downright deplorable and I could care less about them.
I do have to wonder what the significance behind Seth using his fists to use Fantasia. I know it’s something that doesn’t normally happen since they’ve stated it several times. But I really want to know the reason WHY. Especially since we don’t know much about this world and what is considered normal or not. To the audience, Seth using his fists to use Fantasia isn’t unusual since it was the first magical usage we were exposed to in this series. This series didn’t really do a good job at setting up the normalcy for certain details… But moving on.
Seth is then arrested by the Inquisition due to using magic without identification or a permit. A part of me has to wonder… Did Alma really not think something like this would happen? I know there was no way to stop a shounen protagonist when they’ve set their mind to something, but you should at least TRY and show them the bigger picture and how the world works. While she did tell him to find this person named Yaga in the city of sorcerers, she still should have prepped him on how to handle the Inquisition or SOMETHING.
After being put in a magic-proof cage, Seth meets the second new character, Melie who is a sorcerer in training, just like Seth. She happened to be captured when she told the Inquisition she was on her way to collect Nemesis parts. Earlier, we learned that due to the threat of the Inquisition, Alma had called in this Nemesis researcher named Doc to collect the Nemesis’ remains. It just so happens that Melie was Doc’s assistant but on her way to the island, she got lost and captured. And I agree with Seth, this chick is WEIRD. Her little “friend” creature is also pretty strange as well. I mean, it’s name is Boobrie… what kind of name is that??? And not too much longer, but Doc gets captured as well due to Melie unintentionally getting him caught for possession of Nemesis remains. Welp…
In all honesty, Doc was not what I was expecting at all. I thought he’d be this somewhat cowardly guy who’s clumsy but has a good heart. But instead, he seems like a cowardly kiss up who only does things for money. I also thought he was a sorcerer, not a normal person. He seems to be only out for himself and oh look… another normal person who doesn’t help my view of normal people in this world. Hopefully he does get better as the series goes on, but this guy has no sense of backbone.
Though I did “awww” when Seth acknowledged that he did view Alma as more of a mother figure than a teacher. Probably the best part of the episode if I’m being honest.
The group does manage to escape from their cages however when Boobrie successfully snatches the cage keys from I’m assuming the captain or at least second in command. The group or mostly just Seth and Melie engage in combat and was it just me, or did this fight feel like it didn’t have much meaning other than to showcase what Melie is capable of. While it was cool to see a different type of magic used, in this case being defensive magic, this fight seemed almost pointless. Though I was a bit surprised when under extreme stress, Melie’s personality suddenly did a 180 and became this super agro character. I do admit it was pretty satisfying to see her blow away all of the annoying Inquisition soldiers though. The episode then ends with the group making it back to Doc’s ship and them about to land at Artemis, the city of sorcerers.
I didn’t really like this episode. It felt WAY too early for Seth to come into contact with the Inquisition. Especially since it felt like being captured just kind of stunted the pacing a bit. It was like, Seth is finally going on his shounen adventure- oh he got caught. That’s not good pacing. I’m also not really feeling the new characters either. Hopefully, they’ll get better as the series goes on along with the plot and pacing.
