I was certainly taken aback this week, though in hindsight I really shouldn’t have after having finished reading volume 2. (I told you I wouldn’t be able to hold back haha!) I was actually very confused because I was like, “Wait wait wait a minute, I don’t remember reading this?!?!” I actually paused the episode and got up to check both volume 1 and 2 to see if I was forgetting something. Turns out, well, it’s not featured in either one- so it begs the question, what was the source of this episode? Anime Original content, or the novel’s Bonus Short Story that was never translated.
Considering this does give us a more fleshed out backstory of how Anne got the cloak from Kat (which is mentioned in the beginning of Vol 2), I’m inclined to believe this comes from a bonus story that was left out from the volume inclusion. If that were to be the case, then honestly that’s a real shame considering I do know that some other companies like JNovel Club for instance, includes such bonus short stories as content for Premium members. But if it turns out to be Anime Original Content, honestly I don’t mind it considering I do appreciate that we get to see this backstory actually get fleshed out. So if anyone knows which it is, do share!!! I’ve love to know!
Anyhow, I did notice that the script was kept to the bare minimum this week, which is largely why this was rather an uneventful episode. Some may even wonder why they even bothered to include this in the adaption, but I thought this was actually quite relaxing and pleasant to watch. There was just something really soothing about just sitting back and watching them craft, have simple, yet wholesome interactions and enjoy the music– which I actually considered to be the highlight of the episode.
Sometimes less is more, and I feel like this week’s episode managed to accomplish that. I did think it was quite funny though, how in the end it turns out the Sugar Artisan (Alph Hingley) Anne wanted to visit before heading off to Westol turned out to be Kat all long. He did move his shop, just to another location before he heads down south to a warmer climate. It turns out he’s also a Silver Sugar Master, and Hugh was his colleague at the time when he had attended Mercury Workshop.
And although Kat had initially blamed her for the destruction of his sugar commission for a wedding, he isn’t a bad guy at all. And Anne was able to learn and gain some more experience thanks to being able to work with him. Furthermore she isn’t the type to half-ass this thing, and considering how magnificent that original piece was, she absolutely wanted to make sure it that it would be made without any problems, and took it upon herself to make sure there was enough Silver Sugar by preparing some extra overnight. Thanks to that, we did get a very sweet scene between her and Challe. It was quite endearing to see him trying to warm up her hands, especially since fairies don’t actually feel the cold. They do feel warmth though, described as a fluffy feeling!
Speaking of fairies, Kat’s assistant Benjamin is such a cutie. Although Kat has his wing, he doesn’t carry it on him and it’s really up to Benjamin to safe-keep it since the guy tends to forget where he puts it. Interestingly Benjamin doesn’t carry it on him, but rather tucks it away in safe places that doesn’t get moved around much. It’s also good to see they have a nice relationship (unlike Jonas and Cathy) where Benjamin chooses to stick around since it’s fun to work with him.
The villain of the episode was a servant from a bitchy Viscountess who was salty over the fact that Kat accepts orders from her servants and others, but not her. Simply put, he doesn’t approve how she and her daughter treat their servants, so he refuses to make them anything, and is also willing to make it slightly more affordable for those who typically can’t afford something as luxurious as the piece he made today. So the lady had her servant try to steal the wedding commission (talk about low), and the same culprit returned again, only this time to be caught since Anne had at the foresight to give the commission to the client sooner than later. Really, smart thinking on Anne’s part.
So overall, it was a nice episode, and it’s a simple yet good way to lead into the next event!
Though one last thing before I wrap up: I did notice that at the end of Volume 2, it showed us that (at least up to volume 7). Volume 1 – 3 is the Silver Sugar Master Arc, and the following arcs also share the pattern of consisting 3 volumes per arc. So this makes me wonder if they only plan to adapt up to volume 3. Perhaps this is why they decided to plug in this story, in order to meet the threshold of the episode count. With that all said and done, see you next time!
I was thinking the source of this is episode might be from one of the volumes after volume 3- the staff doesn’t have to follow the chronological order of events or go by the order of the volume. If so, I’ll be waiting in suspense to see how they make the plot go smoothly as they shuffle events.
It’s certainly not unheard of to shuffle events, perhaps the story is featured in another volume as you say (actually forgot about that LMAO, considering I know other series like to flashback to other events that wasn’t’ covered in a previous volume or two). Nevertheless, if they did shuffle it in, it was still a smart move since it makes sense with the flow of the story.