Episode 33: Fly
Summary:
In his room, Kiriku takes recently-received supplies into his ominous corner laboratory. There is a familiar flower inside the box, and he thinks how that is typical of the sender. His supplies are accompanied by orders to poison the beast-lords at Kazalm. He takes a powder from his bag and uses it on a fish. His eyes watch its dead body float to the top of the tank. He labels the order as something to lead light into darkness (aka, life to death).
Erin has made it safely back to Kazalm. She informs Esal-sensei of Lilan’s ability to fly, and she congratulates Erin on a job well done. She wonders if Lilan may run away with that ability; Erin expresses similar concerns. Esal-sensei then comes up with a plan: train Lilan to fly only on her command. They decide to keep this training a secret between themselves and Tomura, Nukku, and Mokku. Erin is scared she might fall off, but Esal-sensei already has safety plans. Later, Kiriku invades Lilan’s empty shed, thinking how he won’t kill her just yet. He spots Nukku and Mokku carrying a saddle outside, and they accidentally spill the beans on the flight training. When Kiriku shows up at the spot, Esal-sensei asks that he not tell anyone else.
Erin suits up in unique flight clothing and approaches Lilan with the saddle. As she tries to fasten it, the saddle ends up squeezing into Lilan’s back. This results in Lilan lashing out, sending Erin flying. Esal-sensei and Tomura are prepared to blow the mute whistle, but Erin asks them not to. Esal-sensei thinks it would take too much time to make a saddle from scratch, and Tomura agrees, adding the students would be back by then. He then considers how a futon saddle might work; it’s a type of horse saddle used in cold weather, and is shaped well enough that it may fit on a beast-lord. He decides to borrow one from his friend in town.
That evening, Erin tosses a ball with Lilan. They are interrupted by Kiriku, who comments again on Erin and Lilan’s relationship. He says he’s interested in what Erin does and reveals he witnessed their flight the other day. A group of black crows fly past him as he speaks. The flight also reminds him of Queen Je. Before he leaves, he expresses his interest in seeing whether Lilan obeys her command.
That night, Esal-sensei tells Erin that an injured beast-lord will be arriving. Consequently, they will have to chain Lilan down if she’s not trained by then. Erin claims Lilan won’t fly away, but Esal-sensei doesn’t want to take any chances.
The next day, the futon saddle arrives and the training resumes. However, Lilan is only interested in playing ball, and doesn’t follow Erin’s commands. Kiriku watches and thinks how it’s impossible for a beast and human to get along. After all, he thinks, a bird in a cage can only live in a cage. He recalls a time when his sister was slapped by their foster mother, and also when she poisoned her drink. He compares their childhood situation to a bird in a cage, in which it has no freedom. Kiriku believes this is how the world works.
Erin continues to try and train Lilan, but each round results in failure. In the evening, as Lilan rests in her cage, Erin wonders why she doesn’t follow her commands. The next day, Lilan simply stops trying and just sleeps during their session. Erin sits outside the shed that evening and wonders how Lilan feels about the training. Kiriku approaches her and says that the beast-lords here aren’t permitted to have freedom. He says things will never change, and that anything different can’t live in this world. She looks at his whistle and thinks back to her mom’s words about beasts. He leaves her and tells her to give it her best shot. Erin grabs her bracelet, addressing her mother and saying how she wants to raise Lilan as a wild beast-lord– not for the people’s sake. Those words make her realize a mistake: she was only giving orders and not listening to Lilan’s feelings.
The following day, she approaches Lilan with a ball. She tells her she doesn’t have to fly anymore, and that they can try again when she feels like it. After a few rounds of ball, Erin and Lilan rest on a cliff. Lilan notices some birds flying above them, and eventually expresses interest in flying again. Erin notices this and grabs her gear. Meanwhile, Esal-sensei and the others try to figure out how to chain Lilan down. Back to Erin, she is successful in getting Lilan to fly on her mark. Nukku and Mokku are the first to notice, and bring Tomura and Esal-sensei to watch. A surprised Kiriku witnesses the event from inside a building. As they soar through the sky, Erin sheds joyful tears, happy she was able to comprehend Lilan’s feelings.
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My Thoughts:
Kiriku tries to lecture Erin, but she taught him instead! That flower in his box near the beginning definitely implicates Damiya in some darker plan. Since Kiriku was one of the masked men, one can assume Damiya is probably in charge of them. In that case, could they really be considered the Saigamul? Perhaps Damiya is just using that term to his advantage. You know, to keep the focus on the wrong people. I’m still not sure what he has to gain out of poisoning the beast-lords (other than Kazalm being punished). Perhaps he wants to accuse the Grand Duke of attacking their beast-lords, severing relations further.
Erin wins another small victory in terms of achieving her ideals, through comprehending Lilan’s feelings. She is like a Queen Je in training. It was difficult not to smile when she gave out that command to fly and Lilan howled and did her thing. I’m sure that ability will come in handy later, but it may be abused by someone like Damiya. Will Kiriku spill the beans? Maybe, but it looks like there’s trouble in Kazalm next episode. Kiriku is probably carrying out the plan of poisoning the beast-lords.
One minor thing is that the candy Nukku and Mokku ate looked similar to what was in the box with the poisonous powder. They’re lucky none of it seeped out. Anyway, we get to see Ial again next episode (feels like it’s been awhile). Looks like he’s busy fighting the bad guys as usual. As the title name implies, Erin will probably stumble into him. See the blooming romance (probably not) next time, on Kemono no Souja Erin: “Ial and Erin!”
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
