The first major story arc of the series begins to unravel the horrifying secrets of Mendoza and his iron grip on the kingdom, including an old ally gone bad.
What They Say:
VI – BLACK KNIGHT: León and his father have finally arrived in Santa Bard, but they must know the current situation before they raid the castle. As they are collecting information, they come across a blacksmith named Jordi and his adopted son Julio…
VII – SORROW BEAST: Bernardo chases after a lead by some innkeepers who mistakenly believe that León is Prince Alfonso. The two meet, fight, and León loses miserably. When he wakes up again, he has no idea where he is or even who he is…
VIII – FULL MONTY: While León struggles with his defeat from Bernardo, Germán deals with his own problems and ends up running naked throughout the town. What is the true nature of this naked man? And what history does he have?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After arriving in Santa Bard, Leon and German begin to gather information that could help them in their quest. In doing so, they run into the blacksmith Jordi and his apprentice/adopted son Julio. From there he’s taught of the rumors of the new militia sent in to protect the town, the Black Knights. It’s a group so selective, rumor has it you have to kill your fellow recruits just to get in. Jordi lost his actual son to the trial, and his anger with the loss and the secrecy of the Black Knights has boiled over to the point he has been infected by a Horror. Plagued by headaches, Jordi would leave his shop at night to slay any soldier that came across his path. Leon and German are forced to slay him, much to the despair of Jorge who vows to hone his craft.
In terms of the overall Santa Bard arc, BLACK KNIGHT is the best among the three. The only standalone episode of the bunch, the strength of the episode lies in the contrast of the relationships between Leon and German as well as Jordi and Jorge. While Leon and German have a volatile but overall caring relationship with one another, Jordi and Jorge have an outwardly loving relationship tinged on the inside by the death of Jordi’s true son. Interesting parallels were also drawn between Leon and Jorge, who learn to deal with the pain of a wrongful death in their respective families in different ways. While Jorge deals with his problems by delving into his craft, Leon’s anger continues to simmer under the surface. No doubt it’ll get him into trouble later in the series, but it’s nice to see him start to see people deal with grief in other avenues than brooding.
In Leon’s quest for information gathering, he runs into the captain of the Black Knights, Bernardo, who confuses him for the exiled Prince Alfonso. After a chase, the two clash and Leon is brutally defeated after Bernardo dons black Makai Knight armor. In a bizarre dream, he transforms into a werewolf and slaughters a village. When he awakens, he finds he’s lost his memories. He’s lead to believe by a kindly old man his name is Pepe and he lives with him and a sister who loves and cherishes him. In this village there is a Pied Piper supposedly from the church who spirits away children to live a better life in the church. When ‘Pepe’ arrives, the priest and his nuns are terrified. Turns out they’ve been selling kids as slaves and Pepe was among the first. The real Pepe reveals himself as the Pied Piper, and a Horror. After Pepe kidnaps his sister, their grandfather is forced to reveal the truth he’s a Makai Alchemist who fed Leon false memories to make his granddaughter happy. He restores Leon’s memories, and he uses Garo to slay the Horror.
Overall, this was the weakest episode in the series, bar none. Other than the fight with Bernardo, nothing of consequence happened (not to mention major plot holes covered up with the ‘it’s magic, we don’t have to explain anything’ explaination, particularly regarding the old man and how he affected Leon’s memories). The only major selling point of the episode after the Bernardo fight is just how bizarre it gets. Watch the first half, skip the rest.
The third episode in the trilogy follows German’s antics while Leon was out on his own. After protecting a young woman from three attackers, she offers herself to him as a reward. Once he strips nude, the three attackers return, and the woman reveals herself to be an accomplice to them, not a victim. German is robbed of everything except for his blades, clothing included. A naked German is forced to flee, catching the attention of the Black Knights in the process. Along the way, Ema arrives to inform him of the situation regarding Leon and revealing Bernardo’s identity. She also reveals Leon’s anger is slowly stripping him of his worth to bare the power of the Golden Knight. German begins to reminisce about his youth with Ana and Bernardo. Like Leon, Bernardo had an issue with his anger which eventually (at least in German’s eyes) cost him his life. He runs into the woman who robbed him, only to learn one of the men in her con troupe turned into a Horror. German transforms and slays the beast. Once he reunites with Leon, he informs him that he’s no longer worthy to wield Garo and he’ll get no more assistance until he learns to get his anger under control.
The tail end of the Santa bard arc, FULL MONTY cleverly balances some serious plot progression with dick jokes and potty humor. The tale of German and Bernardo his the necessary tragic tones it needed to (though it felt a little cliche), while there were genuinely funny moments in the episode (like the Black Knights chasing German not as a Makai Knight, but some random pervert). An enjoyable episode that appears to have some implications later in the series.
In Summary:
Episodes 6-8 were two great episodes bookending a quite bad one. Hopefully the writers don’t decide to go into such bizarre territory again.
Grade:
VI – BLACK KNIGHT: A-
VII – SORROW BEAST: D+
VIII – FULL MONTY: A-
Overall: B
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment: HP Pavillion 17” laptop running Windows 8.1, Google Chrome
