Episode 15: The Two’s Past
Summary:
Four years have passed, and each summer Erin has traveled to the mountains with Jone, always on the look out for beast-lords. She and the others observe Tocchi’s kin as it rises up to stand, perhaps for the first time. Everyone cheers as it finally succeeds.
As Jone and Erin watch the horses run in the field, he recalls the past years. Erin has become adept at playing the harp and proven herself able to breed a colt.
As he heads back, Jone runs into Asan, his son.
Afterwards, the two sit in the cabin, along with Erin, and discuss the possibility of Jone returning to the capital. She tries to introduce herself, but Asan is not interested in idle chatter. It’s revealed that Jone was the reverend of the teachers. Asan wonders if he really plans to live out his life in a place like this. He mentions how someone named Takaran, an elite bureaucrat, was exiled for treachery against the Queen and that he will never regain his seat as a scholar. Jone asks for some time to think. Asan says that if he’s concerned about Erin, he’ll convince his mother to let her stay in their home so they can eventually marry her off. Jone repeats his request, and a somewhat dissatisfied Asan says he’ll return in ten days. He begrudgingly glances over at Erin before leaving.
Erin looks over at a mediative Jone and walks out of the room. She goes back to the barn and watches Tocchi and her kin as they sleep. Jone breaks from his contemplation and notices that Erin is gone. Outside, he asks a feuding Nukku and Mokku where Erin is and they point towards the barn.
Once there, he asks her about the colt and she tells him things are fine. He apologizes for his son’s attitude, explaining the living conditions in which he was raised. Erin asks about his previous job and he apologizes for not telling her. He stops short of saying she should remain here with him, kneeling down beside her and telling her about his past.
His real name is Tousana Jone, once a teacher at Tamuyuan Academy, a prestigious school in the capital. He taught because he loved it, not because he tried to follow in his parents’ footsteps. At 40, he became the reverend of teachers.
The setting changes to the past, at Tamuyuan Academy, where a younger Jone speaks with a student named Niikana. Jone asks why he won’t take the graduation exam, to which Niikana responds how even if he does pass, he wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition. Jone offers to pay for his fees if he gets the highest score on the exam, and Niikana is grateful. However, another student, Saman, interrupts them and says it’ll be impossible, for he will be the one to ace the test. Jone warns him that the methods he’s used on past exams won’t work for the graduation exam.
The older Jone reveals that Saman cheated on the exams by using his father’s influence, knowing the exam questions ahead of time. However, on the graduation test, Jone changes the questions, thus foiling Saman’s strategy, resulting in his failure. Niikana gets the top spot.
Consequently, the younger Jone is confronted by Saman’s father, Takaran, who claims that Niikana threatened his son. However, when asked directly, Saman does not respond. Although Jone offers Saman a reexamination in three days, his father protests the idea. The two leave disappointed. That night, Saman tries to commit suicide, and Takaran uses his influence to get Jone fired.
He had hoped that he could forget everything and spend the rest of his days as an ordinary honey man. However, he says through interacting with Erin, his passion for teaching reemerged. Yet, another part of him wants to continue living here with her. He then asks if she would be opposed to living in the capital as his daughter, and Erin is conflicted. She asks him to give her more time, and he tells her there’s no need to rush. She takes a walk that evening and looks towards the mountains. The next day, as she’s taking care of Tocchi and the colt, she recalls a time with her mother. She asks the colt if it’s happy being there, and she answers for it, “of course you are.”
Another day, after finishing her work, Erin tells Jone she’s heading up the mountain, in hopes of being able to see a beast-lord. As he reflects on her interest, Jone is reminded of a woman absorbed in beast-lords like her, and how she became a teacher. Erin expresses interest, and Jone reveals that she’s probably still working as a beastinarian for beast-lords at Kazalm’s Beast-Lord Custody Center. Her name is Esal. Erin asks him what Kazalm is like, and wonders if she can become a beastinarian by going there. Jone explains how Kazalm is a place where retired beast-lords go and that beastinarians there hardly get any credit. He further explains how beastinarians are easily blamed for a beast-lord’s slight change in condition and implies horrible punishments. However, Erin mentions a death sentence and he wonders how she would know.
Erin finally tells him about Ake village and Soyon. She says she liked how her mother looked at Touda and how she wants to become just like her. With that, Jone expresses his concern on whether having her live at the capital would be in her best interest. Erin voices how she too wants to live here like this with him forever, but if it’s impossible, she’d like to walk her own path. He then says he’ll talk to Esal and try to get her admitted. Erin thanks him. He says he’s considered himself as a parent to her in these years, and so it’s only natural for him to do this for her future.
Afterwards, Erin heads into the mountains. She arrives at a cliff and observes the view. Suddenly, a beast-lord flies past her, and she is overjoyed by its appearance.
Back at the cabin, Jone hands Asan a letter for Esal. He explains how he’ll head home after ensuring Erin’s admittance into Kazalm.
At night, Jone tells Erin about Kazalm’s entry exam called the Trial of Entrees, and recommends cramming for it. He offers to teach her everything he knows. With that, the two begin the process. Jone feels this is the last thing he’ll be able to do for her, before they part ways.
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My Thoughts:
This was a touching episode. I’ll admit I’m not a big Jone fan, probably because he took the place of Soyon in a parental role. I loved having Soyon around, but this episode made me tip my hat at Jone. We learn all about his past, which isn’t dark and mysterious, but brings up the political influences of the Queen’s quarter. It’s clean, straight-forward, and simple, but that doesn’t make it any less significant.
On the flip side, I didn’t like Asan, his son, though the writer(s) probably designed him that way. His talk of convincing “mother” to let Erin into the family and then marrying her off made me want to sock him. They expressed the bittersweet feelings between Jone and Erin well. When they mentioned how his help in getting Erin into Kazalm would be probably the last thing he could do for her before their separation, it did tug at a string. Time certainly flies, doesn’t it?
Speaking of which, Erin is itches taller while Jone has gotten pretty old. Nukku and Mokku look the same though. Erin looks pretty good; I sort of miss child Erin though. I’m glad she was finally able to tell Jone about her past and I thought his reaction was appropriate. They should have hugged or something after that. Well, they did, but only after he told her he’d talk to Esal. In any case, Erin at least now has a parental figure still alive that she can turn to if she needs help. The good thing is even though he will be leaving her side, the two can still see each other again (unlike with Soyon). Erin only met Jone in episode 8, but it feels so much longer than that. Looks like we’ll be coming up on Erin going through with her promise of becoming a beastinarian, but for the beast-lords!
Next episode is titled “Ial the Sezan,” which means we’ll probably see a slightly older dashing fellow. Stay tuned!
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
