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「狼の戦術」 (Ookami no senjutsu)
“Tactics of the Wolf”
Head pats, harem making, and some measure of world saving story under all the blushing; if there was any doubt as to what show HnH intended on being after last episode this week should have answered the conundrum and put any confusion to bed. For better or worse (and let’s be honest, mostly worse) conventional isekai will be the name of the game here, complete with all divisiveness accompanying such ubiquitous tales of eager wish fulfillment. It’s going to be as cookie cutter as they come, and HnH intends on playing it up fully.
After an introduction largely spent teasing later developments, one of the oddities of HnH quickly emerging is utter lack of the first isekai staple: transferring to another world. Whether as a quick blurb or drawn out sequence we usually receive some explanation for how the harem master main protagonist winds up in fantasyland, but in HnH’s case? Zilch, nada. Signs or not we lack any sort of answer so far, and no matter whether it’ll be revealed later (because that smartphone is too powerful to be a one-off device), it’s a strange way to start off this type of story. Particularly concerning as well is the lack of details on what is also HnH’s main sell in its Nordic theme. We’ve got mentions of einherjar and their leadership positions for example, but explaining just what an einherjar is in this world’s context (given the utter lack of valkyries so far) and what Alfheimr refers to in Yuuto’s intention of being ruler (since elves don’t seem to exist either) is entirely unknown—and don’t get me started on the lack of cold and snow. As with Yuuto’s backstory these issues will likely be discussed later on when more relevant, but for the moment it’s functionally little more than window dressing for a paint by numbers premise.
Part of the reason the lack of aesthetic detail is increasingly aggravating (at least for me) is HnH’s current manner of story. No matter the number of cute Linnea faces or adorable Ingrid appearances (best girl, fight me), harem shenanigans in any form can only be drawn out so long before they start growing stale. There needs to be something besides the marriage requests and selfish wishes to keep things interesting, and while the signs are there for such things—i.e. the hints of greater conflict—I’m not sure if it will be enough or featured sufficiently to make up for HnH’s other faults. Don’t get me wrong there’s still time for story magic considering the backstory and Nordic influences just itching for their time in the sun, but given how this episode played out, I’m not sure if HnH is up to the task yet. There’s a lot of nagging issues to work out before this series can really get going, but we have to see if it’s willing—or able—to tackle them head on.
One way or another, you can bet this isekai adventure is just getting started.
Random Tidbits
It’s kind of funny the Mongols were referenced here when as a whole the Mongols weren’t too big on the manner of harassment or formation used by Siegrune. The go-to Mongol strategy was rather set-piece ambushes, where Mongol cavalry would feign retreat to draw off a portion of the enemy force and subsequently annihilate them in a three prong pincer attack. A prime example of this was the Battle of Liegnitz in 1241 which effectively gave control of Poland to the Mongols until Oegedei Khan’s death.
Source readers say the LN’s central appeal is in the narrative details, which (obviously) got cut out.
Mainly, there’s a lot of narration explaining the finer points of the military tactics and modern warfare inventions used, and why they’re so effective against the otherworld armies.
That said, apparently most of the LNs are just a lot of explaining things.
@Pancakes A more unusual isekai you might enjoy. It’s a recently published manga-exclusive title, The Ride-on King, about
RussianPursian President and literal strongmanVladimir PutinAlexander Purchinov who gets isekai’d to a fantasy world following a botched assassination attempt…https://mangadex.org/manga/27202/the-ride-on-king
Hah thanks for pointing that one out to me zztop, I’ll definitely take a look.
You’re right, it’s right up my alley XD
I cant see the story aside from military and art of war stuffs… Was there even a story in this aside from a “MC finding a way back home after building his harem”?
Source novel reader here. Apparently, yes. (HEAVY spoiler alert though)
Show Spoiler ▼
I see… I was just totally confused because episode 1 started in isekai immediately and no clear back story like how MC is sent to isekai. Just internal monologue and thats it. Nice to know that it has such plot but I guess this anime is for the most patient since it seems the main story is a bit later into the series. And since the novel is ongoing I guess we will see anime only original ending or a cliffhanger for a season 2
Now that it’s second episode in, my issue with the pacing couldn’t be stronger. Far too many details are cut out. Guess that I can’t hope a low-budget anime to do warfare well after all.
On the tactic part: The Mongols were very flexible with their tactics – certainly far more flexible than the impression left by limited European exposure of them. Constant (night) harassment was certainly one of their major tactics – they pretty much destroyed the Jin Dynasty in the same way it plays out in this episode.
After going back over my material yeah you’re completely right, under Genghis and Oegedei especially the Mongols made liberal use of harassment. I was thinking of later campaigns where the Mongols could fight less shrewdly (more or less) thanks to the large number of foreign troops they possessed.
Oh my god! This fight made me cringe so hard!
I know I should have expected something like this since its anime, but daym it!
It still pisses me off!
I know I’m being nitpicky here, but since the anime is going for a decent level of realism, my gripes also come from realistic point of view.
https://randomc.net/image/Hyakuren%20no%20Haou%20to%20Seiyaku%20no%20Valkyria/Hyakuren%20Haou%20Seiyaku%20Valkyria%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
First. Why is the Patriarch, the most important person in the army, NOT WEARING BODY ARMOR?!
Look at the guys behind him!
They have breast plates or chain shirts!
If the dumbass wore armor, he wouldnt be dead in one hit!
https://randomc.net/image/Hyakuren%20no%20Haou%20to%20Seiyaku%20no%20Valkyria/Hyakuren%20Haou%20Seiyaku%20Valkyria%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Hyakuren%20no%20Haou%20to%20Seiyaku%20no%20Valkyria/Hyakuren%20Haou%20Seiyaku%20Valkyria%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
Next and probably the biggest gripe I have.
Katanas cant cut through a thick piece of wood used in spears or an iron weapon such as that Patriarch’s short sword!
It may be possible to lock swords and remain in one piece, but cutting straight through another weapons is impossible for the katana.
Even the famed Samurai’s only resort to using a katana when they lose their primary weapon AKA a Spear.
https://randomc.net/image/Hyakuren%20no%20Haou%20to%20Seiyaku%20no%20Valkyria/Hyakuren%20Haou%20Seiyaku%20Valkyria%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
However, i will give props to the anime for using a part of the winning formula that created the most powerful empire of ancient times.
The katana myth was hilarious to see here given the series’ penchant for military history so far, but I at least give it some credit for limiting it to a dagger instead of an actual sword—it’s theoretically possible depending on the dagger’s composition.
Glorious Isekai Steel Folded Over 1000 Times
hey maybe he has instructed his red-haired balcksmith girl about the Damascene steel?
that katana myth was so glaring in a story that at least takes steps to introduce real world military inventions
we had so far seen phalanx and stirrup, whats next?
english longbow?
chinese repating crossbows?
gunpowder?