Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi – 02

「黒南」 (Kuro Minami)
“The Black South”

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi just proved itself to be a cut above the rest, however, it does have a unique sense of humor that may hinder some people from watching it. It might seem like high praise coming just out of the second episode, but I find it has laid its groundwork quite nicely, to the point where its psychological analysis becomes one of its strong suits. A nice piece of lore was revealed in this episode that made Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi stand rent-free inside my head.

The comedy comes mainly from Rin (Okamura Akemi) beating the Idaten, breaking their bones and internal organs, until they regenerate. There’s this sort of dark comic undertone to this series, and I’m loving it.

This episode was genuinely spectacular, I love how they treated Ysley (Essly?) and Paula as characters. As just that little interaction with Rin allowed them to grow, as the viewer was able to learn more about them, even if it’s just a little bit. Prontea was mentioned by name, but we’ll discuss more of that character later. Just the little act of freeze-framing Paula and having her future self speak with regret about training with Rin was more than enough to give me a glimpse into who she is a person, plus the obvious clues you get from how they dress, their hairstyle, and the subtle cues in body language.

And Ysley grew even so much more, we got a real window view at his character. In Rin’s eyes, he basically became a shut-in, because he started learning more about the human condition, but in the process, he only wanted to learn more about himself. Rin has this very specific worldview, that I just simply can not get behind. She’s very simplistic, but it’s in that simplicity that she staggers. There’s a lot more to say about her, but I’m sure we’ll get to know more about her in future episodes. However, in terms of Idaten power, she’s definitely the one on the top.

All Idaten have different powers, Paula is clearly recon, Ysley is intel and Hayato is muscles. They all have their little way of doing things, but Rin only seems to have one solution and that’s to punch them in the stomach so many times, their organs regenerate on command. But that’s her way of doing things, yet her simplemindedness doesn’t give her the correct guidelines, so she reverts to the only thing she knows, fighting. Because that’s the only way she knows how to make an Idaten stronger. Yet it’s not her fault, she was probably raised that way by her master. It’s all learned knowledge. We inherit what we know from our parents, and we eventually become them.

The Idaten is basically orphan children, born into this world by incarnation portals, which can be pulled out by other Idaten’s or born into this world because of a desperate need for salvation. This is where the main argument of Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi lies. It Is clear in this second episode. And gave context to the ending scene of the first one. Much needed as I feel this way, the hook landed even sharper.

Then, during the second part of a bunch of characters were introduced Animal Trainer Miku caught my attention because she was the poster girl for a good while, switching to the banner with the whole cast, which still includes her. And she is prominent in the ending, she had no speaking lines this episode, but we got a visual of her as a character and the confirmation that she’ll become more important in the future. And who would have known, the head science guy is actually mao-sama. Now in a lesser robot body and everything. I love that every opportunity this series has to insert jokes it just does so. It takes the risk, will they land? That depends on your particular taste. Guardian Enzo said it best in the first episode coverage.

The cold military lady who we only know as Pi-chan and Nickel were among other characters featured prominently in this episode.

My final thought is that Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi is a little gem in the making!