Radiant

Episode 16:

Welp, seems that Doc turns into a baby due to his curse and we get a glimpse of the Higher ups of the Inquisition I guess if I'm wrong? And then we saw Melie's dark past and we now meet a new character named Piodon. I heard that so many changes that this episode had but I feel that it's still decent on its own.

@Lyendith Anyways, I wonder if Konrad is dead or not in the manga?

Getting shit from people doesn't mean they want to become murderers. If there was a terrorist with the same background as you who wants to kill people you hate but also people who have done nothing wrong, would you help him?

…And I can't remember if Konrad is dead or not. I don't think he is though.

Oh, regarding the scene they removed, I think I get it after rewatching the episode… They didn't actually remove it entirely. Piodon simply does his thing while Seth is sleeping instead of doing it overtly like in the manga. That might actually add an element of surprise…

Episode 17… Well, what can I say, they nailed it. That's how you send off such a great character. Though that "Seth, please change the world" line they added at the end was a bit unnecessary, I feel… Anyway, the arc should end next episode, and then there will be three more episodes for I'm not sure what.

PS: There's a mistake in the subtitles near the end. She doesn't say "Did you seriously think that you had convinced him", but "that you had convinced me". Not quite the same thing.

Edited by Lyendith on Jan 26th 2019 at 1:50:35 PM

Episode 17:

Well damn... That's just sad. Press F for Hameline but even then, her death scene is tearjerking. Also, the Higher Inquisitors known as Thraumaturges are coming to Rumble Town to capture Seth due to several crimes that he committed... I'm not sure if it's true though. Is it @Lyendith

To put it simply… It's not true, but they're not lying either. It's something that's explored further in the next big arc, but the anime won't get that far.

@Lyendith Interesting. Anyways, once the anime is over, think I'm cool with PM you about something at a later time.

It´s a pity the anime rushed through the rumble town arc as much as it did, it´s a testament to how solid an arc it is that it manages to hold up anyway. Maybe the anime director prefers comedy to drama.

Sigh, this was pretty weak resolution. Seth really is a shonen protagonist to the bone - he has nothing to say to contradict Hamelien, no arguments, and even admits as much. All he has is just childish, uncompromising stubbornness, and in this type of series that's as good as being in the right.

Maybe I'm just getting too old and cynical for this.

Rest in peace Hamelin, you were Too Cool to Live, unfortunately.

Also, nice of them to spoil what happens in the next episode, completely with the fact that Seth hidden power won't be enough against that Torque guy.

Well, he has "destroy the Radiant", that's a beginning of an answer, even if he doesn't yet have a clue of how to do it. Also I think Seth had a few more arguments in the manga…? Anyway, I'm affraid Hameline was screwed either way. She stuck to her convictions to the end at least.

And yeah, that episode preview is just shameless.

Edited by Lyendith on Jan 28th 2019 at 1:51:09 PM

I did start checking out manga from chapter of which this episode was based on and yeah I think they cut out some of the arguments as well but that might just be my memory being shitty.

Either way, do remember that this anime is still for kids and try to not be too disappointed with shonen

Episode 18… I like how they expanded on this epilogue to show more of the Thaumaturges and have Seth reflect further on the whole mess. It highlights the irony of this arc: no one completely won in the end. Konrad and Hameline didn't reach their goals, Seth and co. got rid of Konrad but not much else (outside of getting their hands on a bunch of Nemesis that will earn them diddly squat), and the Thaumaturges couldn't capture Seth but managed to limit the damage.

The only thing that annoyed me was Torque saying "I slashed through your arm" but the anime refusing to show any of it. I know it's mostly a kids' show, but the censorship here is just absurd. It's not like there's no blood at all either in the rest of it.

Otherwise, good episode. There's still 3 more… I see what the next one will be about, but the last two? No idea. Hopefully not more pointless filler.

The music was also great, by the way… actually, this series has a really good soundtrack overall.

Edited by Lyendith on Feb 2nd 2019 at 1:04:08 PM

Episode 18:

Well, Hameline's death sure affects Seth badly and I can't blame em and I feel that he could develop as a character after this debacle. But even then, there's still some people who are willing to help him even the King from the Artemis Academy (Even if it was done for some other reasons) and didn't expect that Piodon didn't control Seth and it was all from himself which I'm surprised of tbh.

Fucking Inquisition badmouthing sorcerers and acting all high and mighty when it's one of their own who caused this whole mess. Arrogant hypocrites.

Also, nice to see that Seth recognizes that in the end he only made things worse through the whole ordeal. If he didn't come to Rumble town, things would have turned out fine, since Thaumaturges only came searching for him.

@Shlugo Well... You could also make an argument for the citizens of Rumble Town but eh

Incorrect. If he didn't come to Rumble Town, Konrad's plan would have resulted in way more casualties, from the Inquisition indiscriminately firing on the civilian populace, the Nemesis might have caused more damage, and Hameline would have either caused more damage when the Inquisition moved to capture her or she would have escaped to wreak more havoc elsewhere.

Right... I forgot that exists. So yep. Anything went bad in Rumble Town can be traced on Konrad's fault right?

I just said things would turn out fine without Seth - the "Fine people" of Rumble Town would reap what they sowed, and Hamelien would still be alive since the Inquisition bigwigs only came looking for Seth.

Well, kinda. He's the direct instigator of things, but it's clear that he could only do anything because the people of Rumble town agreed with him, they just needed someone to say out loud what they were thinking. The point of this arc was to show that it's not just some singular bad guys who are responsible for sorcerer persecution, it's everyone's responsibility.

I mean, whether the people deserve to die horrible deaths for being shitty racists is an entirely different conversation, but that family that sent to the sorcerers for help would not have been fine. At the very least their infected son would have been burned at the stake. More than likely there would have been riots and persecution, manhunts in the immigrant quarter, lots of Kristallnacht type stuff.

…Then again, if sorcerers hadn't shown up, it might have been harder for Konrad to put his plan in action right away (though I guess that's what Hameline was here for).

The entire plan was for Hameline to operate under cover of the constant evacuation drills, then eventually when her forces are built up enough, break out and attack the city, strategically targeting areas to make sure the undesirable elements are evacuated/corralled into one district, then drop the bell on them. Afterward, Konrad would use the fresh fear of sorcerers to whip the people into a frenzy and unleash them on the remaining immigrants.

Of course, this was thrown for a loop when it turned out Hameline was hellbent on revenge and was working on her own agenda, and Seth appearing with the Thaumaturges on his trail meant the plan had to be accelerated. Sure she targeted the central district rather than the district where the immigrants were trapped, but after the initial shock of betrayal, I think Konrad would have just resorted to the tactics he used 15 years ago and just shoot the supporting chains and balloons to drop the district again. And Hameline had very thoroughly become a misanthrope by this time, so who's to say she wouldn't have turned on the rest of the people eventually anyway?

Edited by danime91 on Feb 5th 2019 at 9:33:56 AM

You got a point…

Anyway, episode 19. Where I'm under the impression that Master Lord Majesty wants to agrandize Seth's heroic deeds partly for propaganda purposes. After all, what better way to inspire Sorcerers and undermine the Inquisition than to spread a beautiful story about a sorcerer saving people from the Inquisition?

As skeptical as I was of Seth's VA at first, I must say she did a pretty good job at selling his complicated feelings in these last two episodes. I don't really care for the insistance on Doc's crush for Ms. Melba though. It's funny as quick gags, but for half an episode, not so much.

The next episode will apparently focus on the aftermath of the battle in Rumble Town itself, which I'm all for since that aspect was a bit glossed over in the manga (just a few quick explanations in Taj's letter). It can make for a smoother transition with the second big arc, if there's ever a second season.

Master Lord Majesty is such a piece of shit. I don't trust that guy.

I was really impressed with Seth emotional range this episode. It was nice to see him being affected by the events, but in a subdued, understated way... until he blew up at the end.

Unfortunately, it gets "resolved" by a cheap "You're doing good, don't think about it." spiel. Also, I'm really disappointed by that letter, and the implication that everything will be fine now that the singular bad guy is dealt with. I though this series is trying to have a more honest and mature look at the nature of prejudice than that.

Yeah, that bugged me a little. There are several factors, though, like the fact that a good chunk of the population left Rumble Town after the bell destroyed the factories, and the remaining population being far more wary of the Inquisition now. Also the fact that Taj tried to open the gate. I hope the next episode elaborates on all that.

Bump