While it still seems we’re in filler hell, I have to say, this episode was A LOT better than the past few episodes. When I first started this episode, my immediate thought was: “I feel another filler episode coming on…” And I was right, but I was wrong about this episode being terrible.
Man… Seth was getting on my nerves a lot at the start of the episode. Yaga had him equip these new braces that were made of black silver, which apparently prevents fantasia from being gathered. And since sorcerers are not allowed to use magic without some sort of gloves (which is weird and I want to know why that is), Seth is not allowed to take the braces off and if he tries, they will electrocute him. Which basically means, Seth can’t do magic with these braces on and because of that, he starts complaining about how he’s supposed to train without using any magic and not being able to do things his way. Come on dude, think outside the box! I was only 2 minutes in and I was already getting really aggravated with this episode. Even the weird puppet dad gets it saying how Yaga doesn’t say things with no meaning. COME ON SETH.
My aggravation combined with my second hand anxiety over Seth’s debt when the weird cat (with an overly repetitive name) calls the group in to discuss the fact that their debt is the highest they’ve ever had someone in the city’s history. And I was just about to blow a gasket when Seth started CELEBRATING over it. For once, I agreed with Doc getting angry over Seth celebrating. Because of this, if this continued, the cat would have no choice but to banish them from the city. However, out of an act of mercy(?) they were instead put to work with Seth and Melie cleaning the outside of the city while Doc worked the cat’s giant, personal shaved ice machine lol. And while Seth still whines about not being able to use magic to clean as opposed to Melie, I appreciate that he continued doing his best to not be outdone by her with a good attitude.
Once they were done cleaning, they spotted something flying in the air and when I saw the figures I was like “Oh… oh no… it’s THOSE guys.” And sure enough, the Bravery Quartet has returned. And honestly, I was so ready to drop this series when they pulled the fact that their underwear acted as their gloves to gather fantasia. There is only so much ridiculousness I could handle and this about killed me. I was also being pretty sassy and sarcastic with the episode especially when Bossman said he was a man who kept his word. “I’m a man who keeps his word… I’M A MAN WHO KEEPS HIS WORD” HE SAYS WITH A POSED LOOK. However, I was glad that I kept watching because it honestly did get a whole lot better.
Bossman is such a good foil for Seth because they honestly has a really similar mindset and if Seth didn’t have the right people in his life (Alma), he probably would have ended up like Bossman. I honestly really liked how they linked back to Seth’s whining about wanting power at the beginning of the episode to Bossman’s view of how everything will go your way if you have power. And I thought Seth’s whining was for no good reason. Didn’t expect it to tie so nicely into the overall message of the episode. This is what I like to see, Radiant. Give me more of this!
I swear, why is it whenever Bossman shows up, he literally makes everything 2000% better and thought provoking in this series, despite how much of a piece of scum he is. It also says a lot when what Bossman says does carry some truth to it. Such as saying how if you don’t have power, stronger people will take everything away from you and you can have everything go your way if you acquire that power. Seth probably realized that what Bossman was saying was essentially what he believed at the beginning of the episode. He realized that he was toeing the line of becoming just like Bossman, making his outburst that he isn’t like them pretty powerful.
I’m also starting to like the dynamic between alternate Melie and Seth. Did you see that little blush on his face when she appeared? Heh. Speaking of which, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t see any hints prior to this about Melie training to get better at offensive magic spells until this episode. YOU HAD ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD WITH THOSE PREVIOUS TERRIBLE FILLER EPISODES, but I digress. Anyways, the way that alternate Melie and Seth played off of the other’s attacks was pretty fun to watch. It was also nice that Melie was the main attacker and Seth ended up being her support to finish Bravery Quartet off. It was also cute how alternate Melie seemed actually mildly concerned for Seth’s well-being. The moment made even cuter when Seth shows how much faith he has in Melie’s abilities.
Also, Alma’s special move: “Punishing Axe Kick”. The fact that Seth learned that move from Alma kills me. Especially when you realize, she probably used this on him MULTIPLE times since we all know how much of a trouble maker Seth is lol.
And can we all just appreciate that it wasn’t Seth who saved Melie but Boobrie? Way to be useful you strange creature you! Though he may have went a little overboard by having Bossman walk off the edge of the platform. And being the shounen protagonist that he is, Seth jumped off the edge to save him. But that’s not a bad thing. I actually did appreciate Seth’s thought process that even if it meant that he would be expelled if he took the braces off, he still took them off to save Bossman from plummeting to his death. He even went through excruciating pain to get them off to save Bossman’s butt. And to be expected, Seth didn’t get expelled because he didn’t do it simply for his own sake, but for someone else’s which has always been a staple in Seth’s character.
Going into this episode, I was just so done with the series after last episode, I was expecting another half-baked premise. However, what I learned from this episode was that less Doc and more Bossman makes for a greater episode. Bossman is a much more interesting antagonist than that eyepatch guy (can’t even bother to remember his name at the moment) and Doc not being around to yell and complain felt like such a relief. Honestly, if they skipped the last two episodes and replaced it with this episode, the series would flow a little better. With my hope being re-established after this episode, hopefully this series doesn’t let me down next week.
