Radiant Episode 5

So Seth finally makes it to a new place, Artemis the land of the Sorcerers and while I’m glad we get a change of scenery, I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of how this series is going on about it. Things seriously spiraled from bad to worse throughout this episode and IT’S ALL FREAKING DOC’S FAULT. And you know what, I feel like he essentially got what he deserved.

At the start, I felt kind of bad for him because he wasn’t able to get the Nemesis parts to get paid for his work. However, his downfall started when he essentially forced Seth to apply to be a resident. I already had a bad feeling about it, especially at how Doc was trying to hurry Seth around while also claiming he would have to be a resident for him to meet Yaga, the sorcerer Alma told him to find.

During the welcoming ceremony a rather flashy YELLOW CAT (who was apparently the headmaster) appeared to welcome the new residents. At this point, I was like Seth, I only vaguely remembered something about not to trust a yellow cat but I wasn’t too sure. Even Seth of all people wasn’t too sure about this whole thing and it was pretty suspicious by how pushy the headmaster cat was being about the whole thing. That’s when I realized: OH NO, HE’S TRYING TO TRICK HIM. NO, NO, NO YOU HAD THE RIGHT IDEA SETH DON’T LET THE YELLOW CAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF- OH GOSH DANG IT.

I couldn’t help but just bury my face in my hands. Why must all shounen protags be easily fooled? Because my feelings were correct when it reveals that the whole welcoming ceremony was essentially a ploy and sends poor sorcerers into serious debt, which they’ll have to take on missions to repay it. Tales of Xillia 2 flashbacks… And this whole situation is because of FREAKING DOC. The only reason he got Seth to be a resident was because HE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN. DOC YOU PIECE OF CRAP. It’s official, I hate the dude.

However, karma comes right around to bite him in the butt because Seth said that Doc was his guardian, that meant that Doc was responsible for that debt as well. HAH. JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED. You try to screw over someone for no good reason, you end up getting screwed as well. Especially since I just watched a compilation of videos about instant karma. Screw you Doc, this was well deserved.

But the fun doesn’t end there because literally EVERYTHING in this town tricks you into spending more money. It’s literally swindlers town! And even if the headmaster is supposedly using the money to research how to lift the curse of the sorcerers, this seems way too excessive. Not to mention, I feel like Seth and ESPECIALLY MELIE (who ends up blowing up a pup, bless her soul) should have known better or could have at least paused to think about things before just rushing straight into it. This place is terrible… and the amount of debt they are raking up is giving me second-hand anxiety. On one hand, I feel bad for Doc because he has to deal with two sets of debts. But then on the other hand, he was the one who tried to get rid of Seth in the most underhanded way possible. So I don’t feel too bad for him.

However, despite all the debt and deception that goes on in this city, we get to sit back and reflect on the bigger picture of this city thanks to a “random” sorcerer in a cauldron coming up to them and asking what Seth thinks about Artemis. I really like how Seth points out that even though everything costs money, everyone living in the city genuinely seem happy as opposed to how they’re treated everywhere else in the world. I honestly feel really happy for the people living here. Considering how Seth was treated, we can only assume the other sorcerers were treated similarly or even worse.

The next scene basically solidifies why this place is actually really great for sorcerers. When the Inquisition comes to try and capture Seth again, the city lets loose hundreds of sorcerers to protect the academy. Even Captain Dragunov (one of the most edgy names ever) state that if they were to attack the academy, they would essentially be starting a war with the amount of political and military power they have. I love how this place uses a lot of the money to protect its residents; people who have nowhere else to go. It’s heartwarming really. I think it’s really telling how the residents are genuinely happy and aren’t pretending. No one discriminates against them and are treated like everyone else.

And while I’m not completely on board with Seth’s goal to destroy the Nemesis to save everyone, I do appreciate that he more so wants to do it to save the sorcerers rather than the normal people (because screw them). Because although his use of fantasia is great (even though not really), he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone, but we believe that Seth can save the world. I’m not sorry for that reference. But honestly, I couldn’t help but joke around how Seth wants to change the world because it was spoken like a true shounen protagonist.

And that “random” sorcerer, yeah I immediately figured that was Yaga. Why else would they emphasize him so often?

This series has been pretty basic for the most part, especially since Seth left the island. And the characters outside of Alma have been really lackluster. I really want this to be interesting and have unexpected plot elements. But so far I’ve been predicting a lot of events that happen throughout the episode and nothing has truly shocked me (besides Alma’s backstory). However, I do really want to know what’s so significant about Seth and why the Inquisition just seems to be so keen on capturing him. Though I feel like the answer may be a bit anticlimactic or cliche. But we’ll see.