Episode 47: Pure Night
Summary:
As Seimiya is looking out from the palace, Nami says she’ll return when preparations are ready for her cleansing. She contemplates silently over her conversation with Shunan, Damiya’s proposal, and other past events. She thinks how she is here because people wish for her to be Queen, and that she’s lived believing that as the correct path. At the Lazal Beast-lord care center, Erin rouses a slumbering Nukku and Mokku, who secretly let her and Lilan out.
Back at the palace, Damiya presents Seimiya with a pinwheel gift. She addresses him as “uncle,” and Damiya smiles and says it won’t be long before she stops calling him that (-_-;). Seimiya says he’s right, looking slightly depressed. Noticing her change, he opens another window, showing the lighted capital against the night sky. He claims any visible patch of land from here is hers to govern, and that she must not be fooled by anyone, for they were chosen by the gods. She asks him whether she’ll be able to be like the late Queen and Je, and Damiya says that the miracle at Tahai Aze will do just that. He further says the future of Ryoza lies within her, and that he will stand by her. As they embrace, Nami interrupts and informs her preparations are complete for the cleansing. Damiya tells her to go on, for once she is blessed by the gods, she need not be afraid of anything.
In a misty forest en route to Seimiya, Erin is confronted by Nason. He says he’s come to fetch her, as she must not use the Renditioner skills anymore, saying they can still stop this. Erin refuses. Nason says he doesn’t want to see her perish because of a horrible crime; furthermore, he tells her that he’s watched her every single day since Soyon died. Erin counters simply, “you were just watching?” She continues with how he and the Mist People use codes and the past as excuses to justify letting people die and allowing beasts to be tied down. She asks whether that is really the right thing to do, and makes an assertion of her own: humans should change, not beasts. Nason says that is difficult since humans are foolish creatures that repeat mistakes. However, Erin tells him that pessimistic attitude fueled the restriction of people using the word “crime.” She doesn’t want to restrict Lilan with codes designed by humans, even if it leads to her death. On that note, she flies off, leaving Nason to contemplate her words.
At the pool of cleansing, Nami leaves Seimiya to her own devices as she bathes partially clothed. She notices a flock of birds retreat from the forest, followed by the shadow of a beast-lord descending. Nami catches wind of something as she shuts the door, but figures it is nothing too important. Back at the pool, Seimiya is shocked to see a beast-lord and watches Erin descend from Lilan’s back. Seimiya asks who she is, and Erin apologizes for the intrusion, explaining how she wanted to speak to her without interruption. Seimiya quickly realizes she is Erin. She had thought of inviting her sooner, and would have done so if she had known. Erin reveals that Damiya told her she could do no such thing. Seimiya wonders why he would do that, and Erin believes it’s because he was afraid Erin would tell her of the late Queen’s final wishes.
Seimiya decides to listen. Erin then asks if she’s aware of the late Queen’s promise: that she did not have to protect her with Lilan. Seimiya says no and is shocked by this news, wondering why this is. Erin thinks it’s because she believed in the tale passed down by her mother’s tribe, and goes into detail of the past tragedy. Seimiya, similar to her grandmother, is shocked by this news. She counters with how “fanciful” the tale seems to be, and wonders if Erin really thinks she would believe it. Erin says she’s not in the position to be doing such things. Seimiya theorizes she could be working with Ial, betrayer of the Sezans, who in turn is working with Shunan so they may manipulate her to do the Grand Duke’s bidding. She also surmises that it was Ial who told Erin to visit her during the cleansing.
Erin shifts to another topic with a question regarding Lilan’s different appearance from other beast-lords. Seimiya makes note of this and agrees she is very beautiful. Erin tells her on how this came to pass, saying the Beast-Lord Imperatives prevent the others from being able to fly and bear children. Erin prompts her with another question: if this is really the case, then why did Je write the imperatives? She answers her own question: because she didn’t want the past tragedy to be repeated. Yet, using them as a symbol, citizens can be controlled by the belief of the will of a “god,” versus military power. Erin thinks Je wrote the imperatives to also keep beast-lords near her while making it impossible for them to be used as weapons: the benetrophic water inhibits them from going into heat and having children; the mute whistle creates an invisible emotional barrier between them and humans.
Seimiya asks how well Lilan and Erin have bonded, and she reveals that they understand each others’ wishes. However, she explains her severed fingers and says that it highlights a gap that cannot be filled: beast-lords are still beasts, and beast-lords still bear their fangs at Touda. Even so, she does not wish for beast-lords to be used as tools of war. It is not for the story she just told, her mother’s tribal code, nor for Ryoza, but rather she doesn’t like “seeing beasts confined in cages wrought by human codes.” This reminds Seimiya of her own situation: being protected since birth to become the Queen. She had never questioned her scenario. In Erin and Lilan, she sees a portrayal of freedom and Je. She surmises that her grandmother realized that she had been living inside a cage long ago. Seimiya thinks how people would continue to follow the imperatives had Erin not met Lilan, and figures it is the gods that intended it to happen, along with their meeting tonight. However, Erin disagrees, saying if it wasn’t for the individual who set up the late Queen’s assassination and acted as the Grand Duke, she would not be here. Seimiya asks what she means, and Erin reveals that Damiya threatened to kill Esal and the others if she did not obey.
Another wave of shock hits Seimiya, and Erin clarifies her statement: it is Damiya who led the fake Saigamul wearing masks, and ordered the poisoning of Ial as he caught onto the truth. Seimiya wonders why he would kill her grandmother, and Erin asks whether she would have allowed the two to marry if she were still alive. Seimiya wanders over to the pool and then notes how the late Queen was not fond of Damiya. Yet, she still is shaken by this truth, recalling recent events with him. After contemplating near the pond for a moment, Seimiya tells Erin she will stand beside her at Tahai Aze; however, she will just be one of many witnesses. She gives her this freedom, something that she herself does not have.
Next Episode Preview:
My Thoughts:
Happy new year! Nothing like another episode of Kemono no Souja Erin to start things off :).
Not much happened physically this episode, but there were gobs of information. In that sense, I loved it. Erin finally was able to tell Seimiya about everything. I’m glad she didn’t buy into the story right away, but instead had to have Erin rationalize things out to her. It is somewhat surprising that Seimiya bought into how Ial betrayed the Sezans, and I’m curious about what reasons Damiya told her about that and on why the original Sezans were dismissed. There were a few points where I chuckled (out of disgust / humor): when Damiya told Seimiya she wouldn’t be calling him uncle soon (yeah, more like an incestuous bastard), how Erin managed to sneak out with the giant Lilan, how she got off Lilan’s back (I don’t remember ever seeing that), and Nason’s confession to watching her every single day (looks like he needs a new hobby).
Erin played the lecturer this episode, talking to Nason and with the young Queen. I like how she brought up the incident between her and Lilan, though the two definitely are on good terms now since Lilan flew with her and is listening. One interesting point was when Seimiya mentioned how the late Queen wasn’t fond of Damiya; though there were hints at it from time to time, it’s never been as clearly stated before. I can buy into how he wanted her gone so he could nab Seimiya for himself. He’s a perverted dastard anyway. Seimiya accepted the fact that Damiya betrayed them almost too easily, though it’s possible she may have suspected something going on. Sometimes it takes another person to point it out and provide reasonable statements for one to seriously consider it (kind of like Kiriku). I also like how they portrayed Je with a beast-lord similarly to Soyon and the Kiba.
As for Nason, Erin sure told him! She should have gone a step further and explicitly said, “You could have saved Soyon with those skills!” I think he got the message, though… the implication was there.
Next episode looks to draw us closer to this series’ climax, if not the climax, as all the key players are gathered. I’m sure Seimiya will put a damper on Daimiya’s expectations somehow. Ngan is there, too, making me wonder if he’s going to fight against Shunan. Kiriku also makes an appearance, and it looks like he may want a rematch with Ial. With all the snow, I wonder if they’ll even be able to see Seimiya’s decision? Another odd thing is the masked men are surrounding Seimiya and others, making me wonder if they’ve been captured? It should be exciting, so be prepared for an eventful next episode on Kemono no Souja Erin, “Dawn at Ryoza!”
Oh yeah, I experimented with a higher quality video when taking screenshots this time (have an upgraded machine that can handle higher resolutions). I’m probably going to resize them to the usual since they’re a little big for the slideshow when going through them. For this posting, though, the screenshots are bigger than usual.
Tags: anime, drama, fantasy, Kemono no Souja Erin
