Saihate no Paladin – 07

「惨劇の記憶」 (Sangeki no Kioku)
“Traumatic Memory”

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fighting scene soundtrack. I literally just start giggling when it comes up, ha ha. That’s all I’ll say regarding technical aspects, you guys already know where I stand in terms of animation, so off to the good stuff. After the emotional interaction with the undead child and Will’s unwavering and immediate response, the thought of Christ crossed my mind. I don’t mean it in a way of Will’s character being a perfect rendition of the Christian messiah, but it made me wonder if the author intentionally weaved some inspiration from his symbol into the story and I don’t think I’d be too far off to assume that. That specific scene made me think of Jesus healing the leper–you guys will have to forgive me because I don’t know the actual verse, my mother was never really a strict Catholic and most of the time I daydreamed fanfiction while attending mass in my pre-teens–but I remember no one wanted to touch him [the leper] and they were surprised when Jesus did and then proceeded to heal him. Like I said, not 100% on the book transcription, but there seems to be a theme here. He even converts Menel-chan and verbally assumes the role of bridge between our bratty Elf and Gracefeel.

There’s also another thing that seems like an allusion to that, which is a passage that talks about the Second Coming™ of Christ: when the Earth has faced destruction, and people find themselves in anguish and shaken, that’s when the son of God will come to bring upon salvation (divine connection). If anyone’s an actual Christian, I’m sorry. I was really busy thinking about an arranged marriage between Gaara and Hinata. I’ve been suspecting since the last episode, but it really seems like that’s it! Will is like a mini-relatable Jesus in fantasy Paladin form. *Runs away from tomatoes being thrown*

Menel’s backstory brought back a great strength of the show: the interpersonal connections between characters, their bonds and how these impact on their own personal growth. Marple’s character left an impression even though her appearance was brief. I also found it unexpected that Menel mentioned prostitution as a possibility route for him had he not been taken in by Marple (no, I didn’t ship no one at the “you have a pretty face” comment, there are no fujoshi present in this review and his frilly shorts and tsundere blush did not contribute to that), I found this to be a pretty realistic possibility and this detail stuck out to me. As someone who’s grown fond of our baby Jesus Will, it was lovely to see him form his first bond of friendship and at the same time score a very useful party member. I wonder who we’ll meet next!