I think it’s about time I just throw in the towel on this.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari
Studio(s): Kinema Citrus
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

I think it’s high time I just come to terms that this show, despite being well within my wheelhouse, just doesn’t exist for me. I’m not having fun with it anymore, really. At all. This episode didn’t do anything particularly wrong enough to deserve special attention, though I would call it a far cry from good. But that may be the problem. Even the better episodes of this show have, for me, been just… fine. I think during the entire course of the series, there have only been one or two high points where I was thoroughly enjoying myself. And that’s… honestly a problem.

Taking this episode as an example, though, let’s just outline every problem I have, here. The first thing that kinda made me roll my eyes was this Idol clown. About as transparently sleazy and evil as it gets. Sure. But my problem wasn’t how pathetic he was. It was more the emotional angle they tried to push. Yes, Raphtalia killing him where he stood would’ve been… well… a less than heroic action. Dude was defenseless and all. Moral high ground. Whatever. But then having Raphtalia feel bad about (seemingly) killing him after he attacked her was just… dumb. She was defending herself. What’s more, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t have been the first person she’s killed. And even if it was, she’s never seemed all that bothered about potentially having to kill anyone until now.

But that’s just one issue. There’s also the thing with Raphtalia’s friend. Look, we all knew she was a goner. We knew, good and well, that they wouldn’t bother showing us the damn flashbacks if she’d lived. Let’s not kid ourselves. And fine! Yes! Character development and all that! It sucks, but I was completely okay with that! But having Raphtalia find the completely skeletonized body was just… no. Hell, I think it’d have been honestly far more effective if they just didn’t show what she found and you just heard her screams of anguish over her lost friend. Showing the bones, frankly, just made the whole thing feel cheap or, optimistically, sloppy as all hell. It fell apart, the more I thought about it. And, here’s the thing. I’m already not that easy to emotionally manipulate. So having had me for just a second, only for them to f–k it up so royally, in the end, is frustrating.

That’s honestly my problem with this show, though. When it wants to go for those heavy moments, those emotional scenes, those tragic story beats, it just tries way too damn hard. Or possibly not hard enough. It’s difficult to tell. So those moments almost never hit the way I think the show wants them to. And that hurts the overall experience in a bloody drama. Those emotions are really important in this genre. So flubbing them that royally is not good.

The only saving grace in any of this was Idol getting stomped by the T-Rex thing at the end. But, honestly, I’d have actually preferred if… well… remember what happened to the lawyer in Jurassic Park? Yeah. Anyway, that’s it, then. The episode was a swing and a miss. Pass. And while I may still watch the show and give some sort of general summary of my thoughts on it once it’s over, I think I’m just done with regular coverage.

That’s it from me on this topic, everybody. Let me know what you thought, down below. Keep up the Awesome!

Take Care,
Voyager