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「２人でスローライフを始めよう」 (Futari de Surou Raifu o Hajimeyou)
“Let’s Start Our Quiet Life Together”
This week’s episode helps set the scene for how exactly the remainder of the series will unfold as Red and Rit aim to expand their shop with new items as they adapt to the needs of Zoltan. But as they come to realize, they will need to take into account the hierarchy of such a violent society, especially with the role that Blessings take in feeding the bloodlust of those with more aggressive impulses.
AND THE BLESSINGS COME IN
The most interesting reveal from this episode was the Blessing system, and how it comes into play as far as what you excel at and what disposition you’ll have in life. Because leveling up relies on your ordained skill, it’s all about the luck of the draw as to whether your Blessing makes your quality of life better or not.
If you have Rit’s Spirit Scout Blessing the worst you’ve got at the moment is being compelled to venture out of her kingdom to help guide others around her. But if you get one that requires you to attack and murder to level up, then it can cause you to resort to murder, assault, and other acts of cruelty.
Ademi grew up extremely early because he started bullying people with the Bar Brawler Blessing that makes him powerful anytime he uses items around him as a weapon. But rather than taking the Jackie Chan route where he only uses inanimate objects against you if he really doesn’t want to fight you, Ademi becomes strong enough to join a warrior party by virtue of the fact that he likes to bully other kids, and levels up as he mugs other kids.
This idea of giving in to your impulses and resorting to violence at any turn to level up makes this universe interesting because, no matter how peaceful life is in Zoltan, there is still a heavy atmosphere that everyone living there is trapped in a violent world where murder is commonplace.
Zoltan might be a neutral kingdom with no need for a hero, but in a religious society where Blessings are seen as a gift from the Demis, if you have a combat-based Blessing, chances are that you’ll be more compelled to kill if it means leveling up your Blessings and potentially being able to venture out. You might be able to use a combat-based Blessing without becoming a sociopath, but it takes a strong moral compass to find ways to work around taking the easy route of murder to level up.
ADVENTURES IN MEDICINE
I was having a conversation about this episode with someone and they mentioned how it sounded similar to Spice and Wolf with regards to how it’s a mellow story that focuses on the drama behind the characters trying to settle down in a charming yet volatile fantasy world. While I don’t expect them to share the same sophisticated breakdown of the world’s economic circumstances, this episode does focus more on Rit and Red trying their best to pitch their painkiller to the kingdom.
The solution, however, doesn’t come easy as they have to navigate around the possibility of getting rejected by the kingdom’s equivalent of the FDA. They hit a roadblock when a competitor’s new potion was approved a month ago only for it to end up being abused as a narcotic. It might be a hunch to say that any of this is a commentary on opioid abuse or if it just wants to scare viewers by bringing up narcotics, but it’ll be interesting to see if they end up handling the possibility of Rit and Red accidentally concocting an addictive potion that winds up being abused by their customers.
RIT AND RED
One wonderful development in this episode wound up being how cute the chemistry Rit and Red was. It was funny to see the furniture sales-orc Storm only excited to have Red in his store because Rit showed up and gave him the implication that they want to buy a bed together for “reasons”.
And while it seemed like Rit came on strong, Red really values the input she provides as the two find ways to solve the issues they come across in this episode. The two work almost like a mother and father figure to Tanta and Al to comfort them after they were scared by the possibility of becoming as violent as their bully. They also have quite a lot of flirting they catch up on as they are quick to admire what they bring to the table. It was hard not to cheer for the two when Red just started carrying Red in excitement once he realized they sold all of their cookies.
ARES’ CUTOFF
On the flip side, it’s funny to see how much Ares screwed up by booting Gideon out of the party. Not only do several members of Ruti’s team resent him for knee-capping their growth, but he also routinely messes up with procuring supplies and succeeding in negotiations. Danan, the party’s buff dude, is ready to jump ship immediately to find Gideon; something Ruti gives Danan express permission to go and do.
His behavior isn’t out-of-the-ordinary either considering that their elf companion Yarandrala hit Ares and stormed off in tears with the knowledge that he kicked him out of the party. Others in the party also recognize that he was a skilled fighter and tactician. Even if Danan overlooks his lack of combat prowess because mistakes happen, Danan’s closest confidant gives him a pep-talk as they’re both confident that, as the party’s toughest bruisers, their judgment in valuing Red’s presence is far more significant than Ares’.
> AND THE BLESSINGS COME IN
> The most interesting reveal from this episode was the Blessing system, and how it
> comes into play as far as what you excel at and what disposition you’ll have in life.
> Because leveling up relies on your ordained skill, it’s all about the luck of the draw as to
> whether your Blessing makes your quality of life better or not.
> If you have Rit’s Spirit Scout Blessing the worst you’ve got at the moment is being
> compelled to venture out of her kingdom to help guide others around her. But if you get
> one that requires you to attack and murder to level up, then it can cause you to resort to
> murder, assault, and other acts of cruelty.
> Ademi grew up extremely early because he started bullying people with the Bar
> Brawler Blessing that makes him powerful anytime he uses items around him as a
> weapon. But rather than taking the Jackie Chan route where he only uses inanimate
> objects against you if he really doesn’t want to fight you, Ademi becomes strong
> enough to join a warrior party by virtue of the fact that he likes to bully other kids, and
> levels up as he mugs other kids.
These blessings sound like innate abilities, and natural talent that people cary. In which case just about anyone can be led astray if they were not mentored properly or at all It seems like Ademi lacks the parent figure or caretaker that would mentor and help him see a path with his blessing. I ask where Ademi’s parents are and if his father is around?
> ADVENTURES IN MEDICINE
> The solution, however, doesn’t come easy as they have to navigate around the
> possibility of getting rejected by the kingdom’s equivalent of the FDA. They hit a
> roadblock when a competitor’s new potion was approved a month ago only for it to end
> up being abused as a narcotic. It might be a hunch to say that any of this is a
> commentary on opioid abuse or if it just wants to scare viewers by bringing up
> narcotics, but it’ll be interesting to see if they end up handling the possibility of Rit and
> Red accidentally concocting an addictive potion that winds up being abused by their
> customers.
To borrow the phrase “cut from the same cloth” Medicine and Narcotics are made from the same plants. Narcotics are just an exploitation of medicine, this is the reality of civilization in real life and in isekai. Where there are people there will be those who want to use inventions for nefarious purposes. (Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing when your pocketbook can be bursting at the seams—with gold.)
The most important thing is that Red is sociable. It’s implied that he did all the things the others didn’t do like cleaning, cooking, scouting, medical, negotiations etc.
The party didn’t have these skills and there are plenty of corrupt government who would impede their progress in saving the world. Removing him is like taking their legs off.
Yea, what I have been saying since episode 02 review. Red played a pivotal roll in the party with his skills. Yet the “Leader” (if you could call that arrogant mage a leader) removes Red. A parties success is not contingent on their battle abilities or blessing, in any mission and quest it’s how much homework did you do before the battle.
Apparently that mage don’t know anything beyond his mansion. Also, it seems he exiled Red without everyone’s knowledge.
Going off the three-episode rule I don’t think I’m going to continue this one. The problem I take with the show I felt the blessings, store, and hero’s party all felt like different stuff. As if this show wants to be three series at once. If one aspect was set aside it could be a stronger show