Episode 49: The Battle
Summary:
As dawn nears, Erin takes out her pocket knife and looks it over. Shunan’s army lines up. Tairan approaches Chok as he cleans his Touda and thanks him for taking care of it over the years. He also mentions how it’d be nice if they didn’t march, and Chok wonders if it’s okay to say that, but Tairan reminds him of outside countries that threaten their borders, and that he became a Touda rider to protect Ryoza. He then asks Chok to leave since they’ve been ordered to take their positions. The march will commence on Shunan’s command.
Shunan thinks back to his proposal to Seimiya 4 months ago, and her assertion that he only wanted to marry her for the sake of Ryoza. On Seimiya’s side, she glances over at the rolled-up blue flag. Damiya approaches her, and says the sun will soon shower over Tahai Aze. He asks that she show her divine beauty to the Grand Duke and his cohorts at that moment.
Back in Lilan’s cage, she bashes against the cage and Nukku and Mokku argue over the reason. Erin soon arrives and gets her to calm down. Nukku and Mokku wonder if she wants their kebabs, but Erin says she hasn’t eaten anything since arriving here, rationalizing that she’s excited about the scent of Touda carried on the wind. Erin then tells her that the Touda are still far away, and to calm down. Damiya arrives, prompting Nukku and Mokku’s exit, and marvels at her ability to calm a beast-lord. He says that the wind has changed and they may have a blizzard, but he will have her fly anyway. Erin corrects him by saying Lilan is the one that will fly. He says that he’ll have the ceiling removed when the time is right; when she sees the sky, she should fly out, for that is her role, he claims.
Now equipped in battle gear, Shunan listens to the soldier’s chants as he watches day break. Elsewhere, Nason stands and asks Soyon to watch over Erin. Back at Kazalm, Esal and the others wait anxiously to hear of what will pass. Shunan, his father, and the other soldiers are now armed on their Touda. In just moments, he gives the order to march forward. Ngan watches from above and rhetorically asks what comes after dawn, to which he answers, “night.” Lilan senses their approach and growls. Erin stands next to the Queen and Damiya and watches the Touda approach. Damiya says that the soldiers are just bluffing, and that once Lilan flies everything will return to normal. However, Erin is resolved to not use beast-lords in a fight between humans, regardless of what happens.
Damiya lectures Seimiya on how there is nothing to fear and that the Grand Duke, his army, and everything in the world are her property, all the while holding back deceitful smirks. Seimiya thinks back to her grandmother’s rule. She wonders if the Grand Duke’s men will no longer despise war if she accepts them, and then shakes it off, stating she will find a path where that isn’t the reality: one which will maintain their country without war. Damiya notices Seimiya’s strange movements and she calls on Nami to bring her the blue flag. Damiya questions her intent and Seimiya says she will not wed the man that plotted her grandmother’s murder. A cold wind picks up and he sighs, calmly reminding her about the miniature garden he gave her. He says what’s important is to make a mold that’s perfect, and when that is provided, the people will live comfortably. Regardless, Seimiya says she does not wish to live in a box that never changes, further asserting that the child between her and Shunan may not be a god, but will have the freedom and will to choose his or her own path.
An annoyed Damiya stops Nami and the others from handing over the flag, and, in response, Seimiya orders the Sezans to seize it. However, she finds herself alone, and Damiya reveals they are under his command. He then turns to Erin and commands her to fly with Lilan. However, Erin takes out her knife and points it towards her neck, stating she will not obey him. Two guards then approach with Mokku and Nokku as hostages. Yet, they tell her not to worry about them but ask she not kill herself, noting that everyone at Kazalm is waiting for their return. Damiya taunts her to go on with the deed, and a distracted Erin is restrained by one of the masked men. However, the disguised Ial knocks out her restrainer and manages to take Damiya hostage. They then proceed to successfully raise the blue flag.
Seeing the symbol, Shunan’s army stops and rejoices in victory. An enthused Shunan hops off his Touda and races toward a delighted Seimiya. However, Damiya grins and goes on about the Touda army protecting them. Clouds form over the area as the ground trembles. An army of crestless Touda then ravage the flanks of Shunan’s forces. Erin, Seimiya and the others watch, horrified at the carnage. Ngan reveals himself to be its leader, and accuses Shunan of treason.
Damiya laughs at the turmoil and continues to marvel at the godly aura from Seimiya. A frustrated Erin turns to him, realizing he was behind this as well. He goes on to say that only the Queen can save their country.
On the battlefield, one man runs away in fear, stepping on the corpse of the former Grand Duke. Shunan argues with Ngan as a mass group of Touda approach him. The Queen pleads for someone to save Shunan, and this event reminds Erin of Soyon’s situation. “Just watching”… those words resound through Erin, along with visions of her and Lilan. Consequently, she tells Seimiya that she will go. She flies towards the battlefield with Lilan, and thinks how she is yet another foolish human who would use her as a weapon. Even so, saving one precious life is reason enough, and she orders Lilan to go to where Shunan is.
Next Episode Preview:
My Thoughts:
My immediate impression posted on the myanimelist forums:
I love this anime, and the characters, especially Erin. But right now I’m just really agitated about episodes 48 and 49. I felt like the two could have been combined if they went easy on the flashbacks. Another thing that bothers me is that Erin, even with the talks with Ial and Seimiya, STILL pulls out her knife. Finally, Nukku and Mokku, characters I don’t even really like, tell her something I wish somebody (Ial, Esal, spirit of Jone?– maybe they could have had an episode titled “Ghost”, etc) would have told her directly a long time ago: “Don’t $#*)ing kill yourself!” THANK YOU, guys!
Also, Erin decides to ride Lilan yet again to save Shunan, something she had been holding back on. I guess in this situation there’s nothing else left to do, but I’m left with wanting something more… sort of an evolution from the mindset of, “oh, I’ll kill myself or ride Lilan to stop the Touda.” I thought for a second that maybe she would have gone out there with her harp to calm their nerves, but then again she could have just been trampled anyway.
Another annoying person is Seimiya. After Damiya is captured, Ial tells Erin to hold up the flag, while Seimiya is just standing there. She could have done it herself! What was also stopping one of Damiya’s henchmen from capturing Erin when she ran off to fetch Lilan? I also agree that Seimiya is clueless for not realizing the Sezans had changed. Not to mention the guys around her were wearing masks just like the assassins. I know she had been living under a rock for most of this time but come on! At least know the face of your grandmother’s assassins!! *shakes Seimiya mindless* One other thing is when the Nugan’s army attacked and Erin asked, surprised, to Damiya, “This is your doing?” No, it was Santa– of course it was him!
Ial should have just sliced off that sucker’s (Daimiya) head when he started laughing. I think I’m being overly critical because after this emotional roller coaster of an anime, one is left with an expectation of a satisfying, sense-of-completeness ending. By that I mean some sense of growth, which I agree Erin and other characters have gone through, but I think she needs to take one more step. Right now we’re just seeing her fly off with Lilan like in episode 40 where all sorts of bad things happened afterwards. It’s also just frustrating to see some common sense things not be noticed by characters that you know are half-intelligent (like the masked men around the Queen and her subordinates).
Regardless, I’ve enjoyed this anime and even if episode 50 kills off Erin or feels drawn out/rushed, I’m glad to have had the privilege of watching this.
I felt bad for Shunan’s father being killed off like that. I wonder if Tairan is also a goner? I’m wondering what’s the point of Ngan doing this since Seimiya obviously doesn’t agree with any of it. I guess Damiya may be going for broke or is trying to get Seimiya to do his bidding by holding Shunan hostage, but that plan seems to have a lot of holes; namely, there are many witnesses present to report what’s happened. I think Damiya had an effective plan while Seimiya was still clueless, but this seems like a desperate attempt to just drag everything down.
Also, that “sense of completeness” that I mentioned above are things like the real cause of the Kiba’s death (Nason claims it was Soyon but something doesn’t add up about that theory), closure with Erin and Ake’s people, and her and Lilan’s relationship. With one episode remaining, I doubt we’ll get much closure with Erin and Ake, or the Kiba. I think episodes 48 and 49 could have been combined, or that 49 could have replaced 48, while next episode would be whatever happens in episode 50, followed by a nice closure of loose ends in the very final episode.
Let me clarify the stuff with the Kibas’ death: in the beginning, we’re given things to ponder on like Erin’s observation she gives to her mom, which prompts Soyon to tell her to keep quiet. Also, in Ake’s bath, Soyon mentions that she gave up the way of the Mist People long ago. Yet, Nason claims in episode 32 that she killed the Kiba to uphold a responsibility of the Mist People to keep the Touda count low. If what he says is true, I don’t understand why Soyon would tell Erin those things in the bath, since she didn’t even know of the Mist People’s traditions. I wish it was clarified a bit more, and that was one thing I had looked forward to throughout the entire series. Now, we’re on the eve of the final episode and have only been given possible clues. I suppose it may be the author’s intention to not reveal it, as to let us sympathize more with Erin and her uncertainty of what happened during those tragic times.
In Erin’s defense, I’m not entirely sure if she’ll attack the Touda versus going in there and saving Shunan. I think she also realized that by trying to stick to her ideals of not using Lilan as a weapon, she was becoming like the Mist People and Nason: allowing someone to die in front of them to uphold their beliefs. Because of that, she decided to break her former resolve and do for Seimiya and Shunan what I think she wished someone else did during her mother’s execution.
I like how they transitioned to the new ending sequence. I wondered whether they would show what happened next at the end of it, but alas, we have to wait for the final one.
Next episode is definitely the resolution, so I’m looking forward to that! I hope that Erin lives, though the preview shots are suggestive. We’ll have to see what happens, next time, on the next and final episode of Kemono no Souja Erin: Kemono no Souja — Beast Renditioner!
Tags: anime, drama, fantasy, Kemono no Souja Erin
