From the New World, Episode 16: What did Satoru put in the soup...?

To My Beloved Saki

Summary

In her letter, Maria urges Saki not to look for her and Mamoru. He wouldn’t make it on his own, and she’s certain she would’ve been deemed a failure too before long. If they’re going to be labelled defective products that have to be destroyed they’d rather run, regardless of what their fate might be. But Saki’s not like that. She’s discouraged easily and cries a lot, but she has it in her to pick herself up and keep on going, and Maria believes that that more than anything is what will allow her to survive and why the town will need her.

It’s not normal, Maria thinks, the way their society kills children to maintain stability, and even knowing the historical forces that brought them to this point, she still doesn’t think it’s something to be proud of, but she believes she understands the root of the problem – the adults fear the children. Probably there’s always been some anxiety that the next generation will reject everything you’ve worked for, but when they have to worry if each child will that one in a million who becomes a literal monster, it’s far easier to justify disposing of those they feel uncomfortable about. It made her sad that she had to leave her parents, but then she realized they’d forget about her, like how Saki’s parents gave up  on her sister, and she knows the bond she has with her friends is stronger than that and they’ll remember her as long as they can. She’s convinced her and Mamoru can use their Power to survive, and they’ll go somewhere so far the town can’t find them. She asks Saki to tell everyone they’re dead.

Saki and Satoru decide to do as Maria wants and ask Squealer/Yakomaru to go along with it, which he agrees to, perhaps a little too readily. He suggests they say the two were caught in an avalanche, which would make it harder to look for the bodies, and even offers to prepare some bones to corroborate the story. No, not like that – some Monster Rat bones are indistinguishable from those of the ‘gods,’ so those of a  taller specimen could easily pass for an adolescent god’s if rubbed down with stones a bit. This is where Saki breaks down and agrees to leave everything to him.

They continue to look for Maria and Mamoru the next day, to no avail. As they search, Saki realizes that other than her parents the only people she truly cares about are her friends in Group 1, and now only Satoru is left. He insists they won’t forget Maria and Mamoru; if the Education Committee tries to tamper with their memories again, they’ll just leave town, and they promise to find the others if they do.

Saki has a dream. It’s very trippy. A faceless boy gives her a warning – she mustn’t help Maria escape; rather, Maria has to die…

Thoughts

Well, this episode outright confirmed that the narrator is Saki, what with her using the first-person pronoun while talking about what’s currently happening in the story. I mean, I never doubted that it was her, but now the evidence supports that more strongly than ever.

And Maria is totally wrong about her parents forgetting her, literally or in the sense that they’d decide ‘eh, she was broken anyway’ and toss any attachment to her aside like a pair of old shoes. With the former it’s because adults seem to be interfered with a lot less than kids, if at all, and that’s limited to exceptional cases like Shun, presumably because they’ve passed the ‘safe to exist’ test – that they made it to adulthood implies as much. How else do you explain why Saki’s parents remember Yoshimi, let alone enough for Saki’s mom to say “I don’t want to lose another child!” and sounding upset at the prospect?  They don’t dwell on her loss, but there’s a difference between outright forgetting someone and coming to terms with your grief and moving on with your life. That’s why Maria’s wrong for the latter reason, and also the reason, more than anything, why we’ve constantly seen Saki’s parents. For all their apparent nonchalance about her coming home covered in mud or disappearing with no explanation for an entire night (they had a bigger worry at the time, but still…) they worried about her Power never awakening, they warn her against doing things they know to be dangerous, they call her by a pet name when they want to convey their concern, when she’s sent to see the Education Committee you can tell how worried they are. We know they love her, and they’d miss her if anything happened; at least when Yoshimi was taken they still had her, but it’s pretty sad to imagine what might happen to them if they lost Saki, even if nothing was done to them. Maria’s scared, and sad that she may never see her parents again; she may need to believe they’ll forget her to rationalize what’s she’s doing. It’s understandable, even if it’s not true. The adults may allow the elimination of children to happen because they accept it as necessary for the greater good, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care.

And naturally, the reading of the letter is superimposed over scenes of Saki, Maria, and later Satoru (I guess Shun and Mamoru became friends with them later) as children. Obviously it’s supposed to highlight the disconnect between these adorable little kids and how they’re the most dangerous thing out there, but until now we haven’t really seen much of their backstories or history together, so this highlights just how long they’ve know each other and how deep their friendship goes. It really underscores how Saki feels reading the letter.

So, some of the Monster Rats’ bones are identical to humans? Gee, I wonder why? I remember deciding earlier that the whole ‘they’re actually humans!’ thing wasn’t plausible, but now I’m not sure why. It was mostly because Satoru didn’t experience the Death of Shame despite killing what are, I thought at the time, actually humans somewhere deep down, but that’s assuming the Death of Shame would  apply when attacking a Monster Rat, and why would that be the case? They’re far more numerous and much more violent than humans, so there’s a need to be able to harm them if necessary. The Death of Shame may still be in effect to some extent, to prevent it from being used excessively, since it requires acting on the very impulses and tendencies those in charge have worked to suppress, but not to the point where it’ll kill you unless you really go over the top. When you get down to it, it’s the explanation that makes the most sense – it covers why they’re sentient, and the heretofore unanswered question of what happened to the Powerless majority of the human population; or at least the part of it that lived in Japan, since we have no idea what society’s like elsewhere in the world.

 

Maoyu, Episode 3: Harem Antics Ahoy?

Where Have You Been?

Summary

Six months have passed since Hero and Demon Queen came to Winter’s Pass Village, and the harvest has been a success. They visit a convent for the next stage of her plan, where the prioress turns out to be Lady Knight, one of Hero’s former companions. She isn’t happy with him for bailing on them with no word, but Queen defuses the situation by giving the cover story that he was wounded fighting the Demon King, which is exactly what Knight heard after his disappearance. His companions were offered rewards, but Knight refused hers. Another comrade, whom she calls ‘the old pervert,’ took the money and now works for an intelligence agency in the south, while Mage went off on her own and is presumably still frying demons with her magic somewhere.

Demon Queen’s secret weapon is revealed to be potatoes, and she piques Knight’s interest by offering her a bowl of mashed potatoes, which she enjoys. Queen wants her to set up a convent in Winter’s Pass to help teach new agricultural methods, with the intent to eventually build more across the region. Knight is uneasy about Hero’s new partnership with Queen but agrees, deciding to oversee the new convent personally.

After they leave, Hero asks Queen why she’s been holed up in her room so much the last two months. She mentions the Alliance, an organization of merchants whose reach extends across the human lands and whose combined wealth is astronomical. She was developing a gimbal-mounted compass, which she sent to a young merchant as a gift, hoping to win the Alliance’s support. His colleagues are impressed, but suspicious of this ‘Crimson Scholar.’ The young merchant plans to pay her a visit.

Hero tries to sneak away to look for Mage, but Queen figures out what he’s doing. She’s jealous that he’s going after another “old flame” like Lady Knight (which he denies) but sees it as an opportunity to have him take care of some of the rowdier demon lords in her absence. She gives him a suit of demon armor, a list of trustworthy lords, and a letter of introduction. She also wants to do, you know, that ritual men and women who are close do before parting, but all Hero does is kiss her on the forehead and promise to do the rest when he returns.

Thoughts

So the secret weapon was potatoes, huh? Does that mean the land of the demons is the New World or something? Whatever, I never would’ve guessed it, but it makes perfect sense considering what she’s trying to do. I just hope she remembers to introduce multiple varieties so they don’t run into any problems.

And wait, does everyone just have descriptive titles; no names? That must get confusing when people change occupations. Does Lady Knight have to spend time being referred to as ‘Prioress of Lakeside Convent, formerly Lady Knight’ so that people who used to know her can find her? How do you even give a name/title/whatever to a newborn with that kind of custom? Am I thinking too much about something that’s being done because of the nature of the story and not meant to be taken seriously? Since it’s supposed to be set in Generic Fantasyland and is a satire of the typical ‘good vs. evil’ conflict in fantasy, the answer is yes.

Anyways, I’m starting to think I was worried about nothing last time with whether this’ll turn into Demon Queen enlightening the stupid, backward humans. There’s lots they can learn from her, but nobody is outright stupid so far (well, Hero may not be the sharpest sword in the armory, but that’s not the same thing). I appreciated that the church is portrayed as an institution heavily involved in the scientific study and the dissemination of science and knowledge, just like it was in the real Middle Ages rather than a dogmatic band of control freaks mostly after excuses to set people on fire. There are self-interested groups like the merchants, but they’re the kind of people you’d expect to be since they’ve got a highly profitable grip on commerce that could be upset if outside parties get their hands on Demon Queen’s inventions and ideas. Really, the only thing that sparked my worry was Head Maid, and she probably shouldn’t count since she isn’t even human.

Speaking of Head Maid, I’m not gonna like her much, am I? First she shows contempt towards people over things they can’t help, or at least not overcome without exactly the kind of compassion and charity they received, now she’s encouraging Demon Queen’s body image issues, even though the latter is clearly attractive. Yeah, that’s gonna get annoying. And now that there are not one but two potential rival love interests about to come into the mix (one of whom stands a chance of becoming the constant butt of flat chest jokes), it looks like I’ve got different things to worry about. Not that that will necessarily ruin the show, but the main focus is becoming interesting enough that the show really doesn’t need to throw in anything else, especially not harem antics; they’ve been done a million times already and there’s plenty of new ones every year. Ah well, even if things do turn out like that, it’s still pretty minimal anyway.

From the New World, Episodes 14-15: A Vindication of the Rights of Monster Rat

Snowflakes & Afterimage

Summary

The next morning, Satoru goes back to town to make excuses for their absence, but Saki is worried about him going alone and decides to go back after him. When she gets into town, she’s immediately sent to a meeting with the Education Committee, where she’s grilled about what happened. She’s ordered to answer truthfully and does so until she tells them Maria is still trying to convince Mamoru to come back – a lie, she decided to stay with him. When they ask her why Mamoru ran away in the first place she tells the truth again, and they freak out when she starts saying “Impure Cat.” Just then, Tomiko enters and asks to take her aside. The Chair objects, but Tomiko argues this is partly her fault, since she told Saki an unprecedented number of things. She also contends that the overall situation is the Committee’s fault, that their decision to eliminate Mamoru was rash and poorly executed; of course, she’s also at fault here too since it was her idea to try “the experiment” on Group 1. She says she’ll use the back room, which the Committee is reluctant to allow, but she says everything will be fine.

She assures Saki that Satoru is fine and offers her tea, but Saki is still uneasy, what with the three Impure Cats curled up beside Tomiko, even if she says they won’t attack unless ordered. Children are constantly receiving hypnotic suggestions, Tomiko explains, but an experiment is being done where almost nothing is done to the minds of Group 1. This is because even in a highly controlled society, leaders need to be able to think freely and have strong convictions. However, it’s led to some unexpected outcomes, such as Maria and Mamoru deciding to run away. Saki doesn’t understand why two renegades are dangerous, but Tomiko says that they’re renegade Power users is precisely what makes them dangerous. There was this ancient technology, she explains, called nuclear weaponry, where one bomb could destroy an entire city. They were tightly controlled, but you can’t control an Ogre, and they’re just as destructive but can do it many times over as long as they have the strength. Power has made humans infinitely more dangerous than any technology, and therefore she can’t allow loose ends like Maria and Mamoru. Saki is given three days to bring them back, with the promise they won’t be killed if she does. If they aren’t found, however, warnings will be sent to the other towns, and the Monster Rat colonies put on alert; they’ll be caught eventually.

Saki asks why Tomiko has so much influence, and she says it’s because she has experience and wisdom. She asks how old she looks, and Saki guesses 67. Tomiko is impressed – she actually got the last two digits right. Tomiko is 267 years old; she has a unique ability that lets her restore her telomeres. These are the tips of the chromosomes, which gradually degrade as the cells divide, and once they’re gone division is no longer possible and the person dies. She promises she’ll have a new task for Saki when she comes back, and it’s implied she will teach her the telomeres trick.

As Saki heads down the river, Satoru catches up with her. They reach the place where the snow hut was, but it’s gone. It was dismantled thoroughly, so Maria and Mamoru must have done it. Naturally, they’ve erased their tracks as well, if there even were any, since Maria is skilled enough to fly even while carrying Mamoru. When they go for help Saki falls through an overhang. She regains consciousness inside a hut, and Satoru says they’re exactly where they wanted to be – the Robbery Fly Colony. Squealer, who now uses the human name Yakomaru, comes in to give a formal welcome. The colony has prospered, he says, merging with several others so that their numbers now exceed 18,000.

Sakis asks him the way to the Goat Moth Colony – Skunk’s, and Squealer asks if there’s a problem, sounding a little too eager to hear an affirmative. He insists on leaving in the morning, because night travel would be too hazardous. Saki and Satoru ask to see the Queen, to say ‘hi’ and apologize for the intrusion. Squealer is reluctant, but finally agrees. On the way they notice many buildings, including the colony’s Diet, where Squealer says 60 elected representatives, including himself, decide its affairs and policy.

The merger with several other colonies has necessitated keeping the various Queens in the same building. Chained in the same building. The Robber Fly Queen is the worst of all – alive, but pinned to the floor and lobotomized. Squealer says she’d become unstable – she’d treated demands for greater rights of the colony’s denizens as a personal threat. Just because she gave birth to them all doesn’t mean the colony is her personal property, Squealer argues; everyone has certain inalienable rights, that’s just the basis of democracy. He read about it in a human book.

Saki and Satoru are disturbed by this. Saki says that the Monster Rats are animals, so they shouldn’t try to project human values onto them, but that’s not what’s bothering Satoru – it’s the fact that they seem too human. It’s like they’re trying to recreate the materialist society humanity has abandoned – the town doesn’t even have any concrete buildings. And it’s highly unlikely that he’d just find a human book – Satoru thinks he captured a False Minoshiro. Most sinister of all, Satoru thinks this means one thing – they’re trying to replace humanity. He’s not sure that’s possible – he and Saki could tear the colony apart if that wanted to; Saki wonders if he’d do to humans what he did to the Queen, but drops the thought.

The next day Squealer, accompanied by an armed force, takes Saki and Satoru to the Goat Moth Colony. When the colony doesn’t respond to their hails he has fire arrows shot at the trees by the entrance. In response the Goat Moths send a volley of their own, which Saki and Satoru deflect. Then, a single arrow is loosed. It’s deflected, and Saki says it may have just been an accident, but Squealer maintains that it’s now obvious Gods are present, so even one arrow is an inexcusable sin and a pretext for armed reprisal, which she and Satoru reluctantly consent to, tearing the entrance to the colony open. In response the Goat Moths send an envoy, whom Squealer berates until reminded that they came to speak to Skunk. He doesn’t know where Maria and Mamoru went, but he has a letter from them.

Thoughts

Well that explains Tomiko’s appearance (and why everyone was wearing a different style of clothing in her flashbacks); presumably she’s figured out how to use that telomeres trick to maintain her appearance at a certain level – no one would believe she has experience and wisdom if she didn’t look elderly. I still think she looked younger than 67, but that’s just me. And since it’s implied that she plans to teach this ability to Saki, it’s now looking like our occasional narrator isn’t just Adult Saki but Bicentennial Saki. That could mean a number of things – is this all actually a story she’s telling someone else, like, say, her own potential successor? Or is it even indicative of something going on in the future at all, and actually just a way to provide foreshadowing?

But if she is telling this to someone else, I’m not sure how to feel about that. Does it mean she’s accepted things as they are like Tomiko said she would? On the one hand, this isn’t the greatest of societies, what with the way it treats kids (and now we can add brainwashing to the list; OK, we kinda knew that already, but this made it clear they aren’t just conditioned to believe certain things, their day-to-day thoughts are regulated as well). But Episode 14 emphasized, perhaps more than anything else, just how dangerous Power is. It may allow people to do things that are convenient, or even kinda neat, like propel a boat without oars or fly, but it also means humans are now born with the potential to be far more destructive than anything we might build. Sure, 99.99% of them won’t become dangerous, but that last .01% can still cause enough damage to pose a serious threat, especially when that same society has rendered people unable to attack each other, and thus defend themselves, and it’s impossible to predict whom that will happen to – they can only narrow down the number who might. It’s impossible to guess how much worse things would be, or even if they would be at all, without the kinds of safeguards that are currently in place.

And the brainwashing stuff actually clears up some of the questions about memory erasing I had last time. Since they’re part of an experiment that allows them greater mental autonomy, it looks like only the bare minimum necessary of their memories were altered, in keeping with the parameters of the experiment. Granted, they were still counting on certain things – like ‘going beyond the Sacred Barrier without permission is bad!’ to hold true, which is proving to be their undoing, but maybe that isn’t as ridiculous an assumption as it sounds, since even Alphas are still conditioned somewhat, and that’s basically what Saki and her friends are. You’d think they’d have done this sort of thing before, though, since the need for free-thinking leaders (albeit ones who come to the conclusion that the current state is good and necessary, just like a World Controller or Inner Party member…) surely isn’t something they just realized, and if it isn’t you’d think they’d have a better idea from past experience just how much control is still necessary to make sure certain things still do or don’t happen. Or maybe they’ve been doing it the same all along and this genuinely is the first time something like this has happened, but that feels like too much of a stretch. But then, Tomiko did call it an experiment, and unless controlling thoughts as much as they do is also recent, that still doesn’t answer why they’ve never done it before.

Anyways, I knew I smelled a rat when we first met Squealer, but damn! That’s some serious shit he’s gotten up to. This is so obviously a power-grab on his part that I suspect the stray arrow may have been sent by an agent of his among the Goat Moths – and that’s why he didn’t want to take Saki and Satoru the night before (well, apart from the reasons he gave, which were valid); he needed time to set something up so he’d have a pretext to march in and occupy the colony. Y’know, because it sure didn’t seem like he was fishing for one when he asked Saki and Satoru if there was a problem or anything…

And I think I’m starting to see the purpose behind the war in Episodes 5-7. We know the Monster Rats can and will fight, and how brutal they are when they do. Add to this the fact that they can attack and kill humans. Tomiko says there’s about 50,000-60,000 people currently living in Japan, and it’s probably no stretch to guess that the Monster Rat population numbers in the millions. That alone doesn’t prove anything – for all we know, Squealer could just be trying to create a better society for his people. But c’mon, this is Squealer we’re talking about; so much about him is just shady that there’s no way he isn’t up to something at least somehow related to gaining more power for himself, even if it’s just to become King of the Monster Rats. I can’t imagine the humans would stand for that, though. Presumably one of the reasons they’re so primitive is because of human attempts to make sure they won’t be powerful enough to be a threat, but thanks to Squealer, and, it’s implied, the Giant Hornet Colony, they’re becoming better organized, better armed, and coming together in larger numbers. Of course, humans still have Power, but the other thing we learned during the Monster Rat war is that using Power offensively has limits; even if Saki and Satoru did tear the colony apart like he says they could, they’d be in no shape for anything afterwards. Any random Monster Rat could probably walk up to them and cut their throats at that point. I’m not sure what Saki means exactly when she says ‘do the same thing they did to the Queens,’ because keeping Power users chained doesn’t seem effective, and if they’re lobotomized they wouldn’t be good for anything anyway, but regardless, Squealer’s nothing if not clever; he has something up his sleeve…

I feel like there’s someone or something to compare Squealer to, that I’m dancing around the edge of something apt but can’t lay my finger on it. But, yeah, nothing’s coming to mind right now. Not that that matters; this show has been pretty good about bringing up new developments to keep you intrigued, but this really takes the cake. Whatever happens, it’s bound to be good.

Maoyu, Episodes 1-2: The Economics of War 101

- You will be mine, Hero! - I refuse! & Please Make Us Human

 

Summary

Fifteen years have passed since the war between demons and humans began. Human armies have secured a foothold in the land of the demons, but in response the demons manage to occupy human territory, launching an offensive against the Southern Nations. In the midst of chaos and suffering a hero arose, his quest to defeat the demons bringing hope to the Central Nations. Then, for reasons unclear, he left his companions and struck out to face the Demon King on his own.

He reaches the castle of the Demon King, but it’s strangely deserted, until he reaches the throne room and sees a figure facing the far wall. Realizing it must be the Demon King, he draws his sword, declares that the end has come, charges, and – OMG boobs! The girl identifies herself as the 43^rd Demon King – what? It’s the traditional title. He tries to repeat his challenge, but she acts like he’s strolled in for a chat. Why? Because the time has come – she’s going to make Hero hers. He says no.

He tries to back up his position with reference to the suffering demons have caused humans, but she’s got a rebuttal for everything. Poor resource management, politicians getting caught and trying to cover their own asses, self-interested ‘charity,’ all the accusations he levels against the demons are shown to be the result of human greed and warmongering. The Central Nations are prosperous because the war, and the relief aid they send to the South Nations, allows them to be, the South bearing the brunt of the fighting while the rich of the Center hold balls every night.

Demons aren’t any different, she explains, but it’s the truth – both sides are fighting because they need to fight. If it stopped, businesses would be ruined, food exports would stop and leave thousands to starve, and there’d be thousands more unemployed who know no trade except fighting. The prosperity of the Central Nations would collapse, while the kingdoms of the resource-poor South would go under entirely. That’s why she wants the Hero – not just because she’s crushing hard for him, but because she wants to join forces with him to find a better way. He’s initially put off by her advances, but he doesn’t like what he’s learned about the war and his own people either, so he agrees.

Oh, and her horns are fake.

They set themselves up at a manor in a small, recently-established village, using the cover story that the Demon Queen is actually a noblewoman educated at the Holy Capital who’s come to teach the villagers new farming techniques. One night, just as Hero shows increased receptivity to Demon Queen’s advances, the moment is ruined when something spooks the horses. They find two dirty, rag-clad girls hiding in the stables, whom their housekeeper, Demon Queen’s long-time companion and governess Head Maid, identifies as serfs. She wants to report them, arguing that it isn’t worth damaging their reputation to start a dispute over escaped serfs, but Hero is against it and Demon Queen ends up taking his side, giving the girls clothes and food. The eldest begs them not to say anything for a few days, but Head Maid reprimands them for trying to take advantage of their hosts’ generosity this way. And even if the latter agreed, what are they going to do, beg in the streets? They’re serfs, unable to decide their own fate and thus insects, unworthy of respect, and therefore have no right to ask anything of their betters – in other words, not even human. Unwilling to give up, the eldest says if that’s the case, then can she please make them human? Impressed by her audacity, Head Maid agrees to hire them as assistants, and Demon Queen also begins educating them alongside her other students. They prove more apt pupils than their more privileged counterparts.

Demon Queen’s plan to introduce four-crop rotation, superior to the current three-crop system the villagers use, is initially met with resistance, but once she starts teaching the sons of some of the local notables her influence increases and she can start to create changes. Hero wonders when results will become apparent, or what good they’ll do, but Demon Queen isn’t worried. After all, she has a secret weapon…

Thoughts

So, is this Spice and Wolf: Agriculture Version? Seriously, it’s got the same set-up: pseudo-medieval setting, normal human man, supernatural woman, they team up. Granted, the plot seems to be ‘save the world through-cooperation and understanding’ whereas Spice and Wolf was more ‘Take Horo home, while Laurence tries (and generally fails) to make money in the meantime,’ so it’s probably not gonna be them trying to reform a village forever, but these two episodes still felt like someone took the latter and replaced the economics with agriculture. Well, maybe ‘everyday life in a medieval village’ would describe it better, but it’s the same basic idea.

And boy is it gonna feel weird calling these characters by names like ‘Hero,’ ‘Demon Queen,’ or ‘Head Maid.’ Seriously, the younger of the two sisters goes around calling him ‘Hero,’ is that actually what others call them; don’t they have, like, real names or aliases or something? They can’t very well go around calling her ‘Demon Queen,’ after all. Eh, every time someone from the village addresses her, it’ll probably just be as ‘milady.’

And speaking of demons, why are there demons at all when they look physically identical to humans. More than likely that’s meant to be a satire of how the other side in a war is often (pun not intentional) demonized when they actually aren’t so different, it’s just that so far there hasn’t been an obvious reason why they needed to be demons instead of just an enemy nation that’s been built up as some kind of Mordor deserving of destruction. Or why spellcheck doesn’t recognize Mordor; seriously, isn’t Lord of the Rings well-known enough? Back on topic…their home does look wasteland-y enough that maybe there is a reason that just hasn’t been brought up yet.

One thing I’m worried about, though, is that the series will fall into the Medieval Morons trap with the humans. The demons are hinted to have greater scientific and socio-economic knowledge than humans (Demon Queen mentions pollution, which just makes Hero go ‘huh?’), and Demon Queen’s modern-sounding understanding of things like agriculture and military campaigns is met with resistance and disbelief. To be fair, this isn’t all outright stupidity – the village elder has the well-being of the entire village to consider, so it’s understandable that he’d be reluctant to risk a harvest to try out a system that’s to him new and unproven, and the boys Demon Queen is teaching are young enough to have never seen a battle, or likely been taught its realities, since they’ve probably been groomed to potentially be future soldiers and thus would be taught that it’s all glory and ‘kick so much demon ass all the girls will swoon before your sheer manly badassness.’ Some of them are just not well-educated in things besides war and fighting – that’s exactly what Hero’s like, by his own admission, and he isn’t completely stupid, being willing to listen to and be convinced by Demon Queen’s arguments and evidence. The real thing that got me wondering about this was Head Maid’s reaction to the serf girls, specifically her reason for feeling contempt towards them. ‘Serfs are people who can’t decide their own fate, and such people are nothing but insects, not deserving of compassion or rights.’ Well no shit they can’t decide their own fate, not when they’re dirt fucking poor. It frames the institution of serfdom in a way that makes it so self-evidently wrong that people would have to be stupid to accept the arguments in favor of it. Sure, some people in the Middle Ages probably did see serfs that way, but that’s nowhere near the entire picture of why it existed. Maybe Head Maid is just supposed to be callous, and it’s not like she holds that view rigidly, given how quickly she changes her mind once the older sister shows some spine, and I’m worrying over nothing. But it skirts too close to depicting a different era with different realities and worldviews through a modern filter that makes it look like people back then only thought that way because they were dumb and didn’t know any better, which is an easy trap to fall into and especially common when portraying the Middle Ages.

So, not amazing so far, but not bad either. I’ll keep on watching for a bit to see where it goes.