「決闘」 (Kettou)
“Duel”

Three weeks in and Zero certainly treads the unorthodox path. The central premise of a lost book has seemingly been shafted by exploration, world building, and quite a bit of mercenary humiliation. Why find Zero’s grimoire when we can do the side quests? Ok maybe not entirely accurate, but you must admit we have advanced little into the main story so far. In a sense it’s a little like Spice and Wolf, the plot is currently there to give excuse for all the comings and goings, an event to deal with at some hazy future date. Might also help Zero personifies Holo in most regards.

For me the interesting bit this episode was the slavery discussion. Besides Zero’s hilarious cover for our Mercenary’s momentary mental lapse, this topic was surprisingly important in relation to beastfallen. While society shuns the true furries for more than one reason, it still apparently likes them enough to allow them to both own slaves—and human ones at that—and freely showcase them around town. Certainly no clear cut demarcations between our various groups if certain beastfallen can rise to “prominent” (i.e. powerful) positions within human society. Our dog wolfman’s lie on “protecting” witches also hints towards potential possibilities regarding the Church. If Zero is right that witches can only identify other witches—which is no guarantee given the wolfman’s reaction—it’s reasonable to assume the Church has a few stored away for just such a purpose. And of course that doesn’t even include using the hated witches as offensive weapons in the civil war. Considering a troop of knights exists to deal with noticeable magic usage—as described by our mercenary last time—it only makes sense to me that they would handle these problems with the enemy’s own tools. If true, it bodes well (badly?) for the types of enemies inevitably forthcoming.

Beyond such exposition however, we have our budding merc-Zero relationship, which definitely defines the show for me currently. In between Zero’s eschewing of societal norms and crazy love for food, we have a mercenary who shows some care—if not affection—for the girl by piggybacking her, refusing to swipe her lottery winnings, and embracing his inner body pillow. If their personalities did not play off so well against one another I’m pretty sure Zero would have lost a lot of its initial charm. Now if only Albus found a role here beyond simple annoyance then everything would be alright. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt though, with those murmurs of grandma you know some serious character development going to happen sooner or later.

So where to from here? Back to the road by all accounts. Zero apparently wants to take the scenic path for finding the grimoire, which definitely hearkens towards more explorative world building. As long as things are kept interesting I don’t have a problem personally, but with only 12 confirmed episodes, a little more plot certainly wouldn’t hurt. There’s a whole world of magic out there and I want to know more.

Full-length images: 12.

 

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18 Comments

  1. https://randomc.net/image/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2029.jpg

    The tavern scene, drunk Zero and the duel are apparently anime-original settings.
    In the LN, Show Spoiler ▼

    https://randomc.net/image/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho/Zero%20kara%20Hajimeru%20Mahou%20no%20Sho%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2010.jpg
    Zero’s described as a beauty in the novels:
    Skin so pale I felt as if my eyes became saucers, and a thin waist. Such a body was more magnificent in appearance than a statue of a goddess, sculpted over a lifetime by an artist of unmatched skill, would be. It was a flawless form.
    But can loli = beauty?

    zztop
  2. Bear
  3. Spice and Wolf did great with 12-13 episodes. If this turns out just as good, it might just get a second season too.

    Regarding slavery, I don’t think it maters whether the slave or master is human or not. The Mercenary’s rescue of those girls is probably more akin to someone rescuing a dog from an abusive owner. That’s the closest analogy I can think of, since he clearly saw the bruising on the wrists and ankles.

    theirs
  4. Given the mention of Sorena’s granddaughter in ep. 2 and Albus’ somewhat feminine vibes, I’m guessing that Albus is actually a girl and that’s her true identity.

    I continue to love the dynamic between Mercenary and Zero.

    SK
  5. Ep 04:

    It’s a nice calm Time before the Storm episode. I did enjoy it, i hope you will love it, too

    but…
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Worldwidedepp

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