Episode 46: Their Bond
Summary:
Erin is playing the Bird of Dawn in the shed when Lilan and Eku start growling. Taking a look outside, she finds a bloodied Ial on the ground. She takes him inside and proceeds to stitch up his wounds. Initially, Lilan and Eku continue growling, but eventually calm down once the process is complete. Ial dreams of when he was younger and with his family. As Erin wipes the sweat from his forehead, Ial mutters, “I see,” and smiles, eyes still closed. He eventually recalls his father’s death and being recruited by Hagal, along with his brutal training and the Queen. He finally opens his eyes to find a slumbering Erin embracing his right hand. Tears stream down his cheeks as she wakes up and asks if he’s in pain; however, he turns away and tells her everything is okay. She asks him whether he wants water, but he tells her he’ll head out as soon as possible since he’s being pursued. When asked about what happened, he tells her about Damiya’s treachery. He also mentions Kiriku’s role in all of this. The news shocks Erin.
Ial prepares to leave, not wanting to involve Erin further. However, he stumbles and she grabs him in time. She asks that he let her take care of him since he came intending to rely on her. Eventually, Kiriku approaches the shed’s entrance and figures Ial would only come here. Inside, Erin asks whether he wants to lie down, but Ial says no, instead requesting she play the harp; he wants to hear her pure tune. Kiriku listens in and watches Ial fall asleep on Erin’s shoulder. He’s again reminded of his sister, and seeing the scene makes him drop his pursuit. As he walks away, Damiya and other masked men ride past. He apologizes for losing him. Damiya says he’s lost his faith in him and tells him to do whatever he wants. They follow the blood trail leading to Lazal. Back in the shed, Ial awakens to find Erin sleeping on his shoulder. Lilan and the others begin growling, which warns them of the approaching intruders. Erin checks things out outside and confirms this. Ial tries to leave but Erin stops him, asking whether he trusts her. Ial immediately nods.
Masked men pour into the shed, and one points out a bloodstain on the straw Ial had been resting on. Damiya enters and asks about Ial’s whereabouts. Erin has positioned herself in Lilan’s cage and is unresponsive, instead calming Owl. He asks what’s the point in hiding him. Owl sneers in response. Damiya concludes Erin must like him, and says if she wants to hide him, then that’s okay; they will soon find him anyway. He says that Ial is simply a shield that doesn’t understand the authority of the royal family. He says that she’s different, however, for she can control beast-lords and is smarter than anyone; hence, she should already know that she has no choice but to obey her destiny. The masked men conclude Ial is no longer here, and they leave. Morning draws closer.
Once they’ve gone, Erin thanks Lilan for her assistance and it’s revealed that Ial was hiding beneath her. Ial apologizes, and also thanks Lilan for saving him again. He thinks they must really trust Erin to allow him shelter like that. However, Erin thinks it’s because she’s not alert over him. She believes beast-lords can sense people’s emotions well. Ial brings up the Lazal demonstration, wondering if that’s why they didn’t obey Ouri’s tune. Erin attributes that to Ouri’s fear and how he also blew the whistle many times while raising them. She says that beast-lords will never open their hearts to those who have blown the mute whistle against them. Thus, this is why the beast-lords here will listen to her tune, not because she’s an Akun Me Chai.
Erin also says she wants to raise Lilan and the others as if they were in the wild; however, if that bond was to be used as a tool for war, she thought she’d just have to disappear. Yet, she now realizes that even if she dies people will continue to suffer, Touda will be raised as weapons, while beast-lords as symbols of power. Ial presumes it’s her dream to help prevent these things.
He says he was having a dream of his family, and talks about his past: the desire to be like his father, that he became a Sezan because his father died and had to support his family. Erin reminiscences that the sound he made with his harp was very warm– it made her feel like she was with her mother again. She thinks that if he’s being chased, then he must no longer be a Sezan, and can live out the rest of his life as he sees fit. However, Ial says he can’t live like that anymore, and explains the Sezan’s code: severing ties with family and not being able to have a wife, among other things. He reasons that he’s killed too many, and he does not wish to free himself of seeing the faces of people he’s killed. He thinks the Grand Duke’s soldiers must feel the same way.
Erin compares his situation to that of a Touda, one who is taken away from its mother and raised only to fight. However, she says he is not a Touda, and shouldn’t be used as a tool by other humans. Ial thinks she’s right, and Erin recalls the idea of the Grand Duke becoming King. She asks him if there’s any way to meet with Seimiya. Morning’s light begins to pour in as Ial thinks, and upon Lilan’s roar, followed by Owl, he realizes she may be able to do something. He asks if she’s willing, and Erin nods. He will continue fighting for the late Queen and the belief that there are still things he can trust in. Tears seep from Erin’s eyes, as his resolve confirms to her that he is indeed a kind person that thinks about family. She says the “mute whistle” that would tie him down is now gone, yet she wonders why he won’t grasp happiness with his own hands. Ial’s eyes well up, and he embraces Erin as tears roll down his cheeks. Owl looks curiously at the scene, while Lilan and Eku admire it with the sunlight comforting them.
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My Thoughts:
This episode really hits a home run in the direction of Ial x Erin. I was skeptical of such a relationship, especially since Erin met Ial when she was several inches shorter. Since they’re about the same height now, it somewhat makes a romance between them less awkward, but I’m not completely on deck with it. It is possible he’s only about 4-5 years older than her, since Erin had a growth spurt from 10 to 14. I don’t think Ial ever had any romantic interest when Erin was only 10 (or I would hope), but I think she may have won him over through time. Then again, no other woman has really gotten close to Ial. To be fair, I’d say the two confide in the other pretty well. Both have lost loved ones, faced many adversaries in their lives, and also share similar ideals. They’re quite a good fit for one another, arguably preordained by character design and story.
It hadn’t even occurred to me when watching the episode the first time, but a user named noteDhero on the myanime list forums mentioned how the Erin and Ial scenario this episode is reminiscent of Soyon and Asson’s first meeting. From that perspective, it does foreshadow the two ending up together. One might feel sympathetic towards Tomura, but honestly he had plenty of chances to make a move (using lame pick-up lines, like ‘I’m a beast, tame me’).
We also learn the reasons why Erin was able to calm the beast-lord at Lazal: she was a new face, one who had no history of using the mute whistle on them, and she also suppressed her fear when facing it. According to her, beast-lords are good at sensing people’s emotions. I’m curious about whether her statement about beast-lords not befriending humans that have used the mute whistle on them is entirely true, since Lilan appears friendly towards her again. Theirs could be a special case since Erin has shown her a great amount of kindness and respect. Also, I’m surprised Lilan isn’t angry anymore; we haven’t seen their interaction since episode 43, and now that we revisit it here, things appear patched up. In that sense, I wish they had touched on it a bit more, but I guess since we’re reaching the end, they couldn’t hit on it. We’re just now left with the assumption Lilan simply forgives Erin, and perhaps understands she is in an unfavorable situation and didn’t blow it maliciously.
I’m curious whether the poison in Ial just ran its course. That’s the most likely explanation; either that or Erin managed to deal with it.
One other point is that Kiriku has been dismissed by Damiya. Will he simply vanish now or give a lending hand towards redemption? He has to do something fast with the remaining episodes left if he wants to. Next episode, it looks like Erin finally gets to meet Seimiya. Nason also makes an appearance, along with Nukku and Mokku (I wondered what had happened to them). I’m curious to see how Erin will sneak out with Lilan; also, what role will Ial now play? Is Nason going to try assassinating Erin now, after all this time? I don’t see why, since she’s working towards fixing things. Oh yeah, one last thing: I’m glad Erin finally dropped her plan of dying! This, along with what’s been set up this episode, makes me hopeful for a good end. Time to teach that Damiya and his fellow jerky friends a lesson. Maybe Lilan will end up breathing fire (new ability learned) and roast ‘em. See Seimiya in fan-service mode, next time, on Kemono no Souja Erin: “Pure Night!”
As of this posting, I’m proud to say I’ve finally caught up on the subs I follow. The next posting will come when the next subs are released. It’s been an interesting couple of months, as I started watching around the middle of October and wrote the first episode post at the end of the month. My goal was to catch up to the subs before the raw episodes ended, and it’s been done (woo hoo). It may not have made sense, but I wanted to start from the beginning because it is the first anime I’ve written about and I respect it. Also, I personally had wanted a blog to follow when I was going through the series, but couldn’t find one that had all the episodes. Hopefully, this will be useful to someone like me who started the series late.
Also, I’m thinking of what series I should tackle on next. If you have any ideas, feel free to run them by me in the comments below. In any case, stay tuned for the next post, and, as always, thanks for reading!
Tags: anime, drama, fantasy, Kemono no Souja Erin
