Sometimes being an elf is rough.
What They Say:
As Orte sets the Elven village ablaze in the distance, Nobunaga and Yoichi are dragged into action by Toyohisa’s fearless forward charge. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, the march of the Black King is about to commence.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
For those who relished in the historical brutality during episode one of Kouta Hirano’s Drifters, I am happy to inform that this anime has kept its foot squarely on the gas pedal. From heated arguments to bloody decapitations, the numerous historical transplants representing one-half of an impending war are definitely not the best of friends. Variable egos, philosophies, and tactics for domination mix like oil and vinegar but the results are still satisfyingly visceral in this second episode that leaves me feeling surprisingly sympathetic…for elves. These poor people get some of Earth’s most bloodthirsty warriors and conquerors vomited up in their fields to fight some war between an omniscient office worker and a demonic loli; tell me, could the straw they pulled have been any shorter?
It doesn’t seem like anybody is trying to help these elves either, if the actions of the Octobrists are any indication. The Octobrists, the organization the crystal ball toting woman at the end of episode one belongs to, seem to be much more interested in the actions Drifters take against each other than against the local population. This is set in a humorous light at the beginning of the episode when a poor lad from the guild needs to break up a very heated argument between two drifters. What they cannot stop however is the unbridled psychosis of Toyohisa; a tornado of blood and gore. Charging into the burning village under the watch of Yoichi and Nobunaga, Toyohisa proceeds to wreak havoc upon the invading soldiers, though saving the elves is very much so at the back of his mind. These men are conquerors and conquer they will, beginning with the farms of the elves. Setting the fields ablaze, apart from setting up a perfect stage for Toyohisa, is the best way to steal a nation according to Nobunaga. Steal their food and you steal their dignity, yielding only the path to desperation and defeat; these are harsh, but true words from the legendary warrior.
This episode also contains an underlying sense of Japan’s xenophobic culture, though it is produced semi-comically. At the beginning of his assault, Toyohisa encounters a few soldiers who of course speak with their language. This situation under normal circumstances can be daunting, let alone in a life-and-death situation, so Toyohisa does exactly what all of us would normally do. He orders the soldiers to speak Japanese or die, which of course leads to their inevitable demises; this makes a very tense moment given the elves do not speak Japanese either…would he murder them too? Luckily this is alleviated by Oda Nobunaga with a little ribbing, but that uncomfortable feeling still kind of hangs around. The Japanese culture is once again forced upon the elves later in the episode but in a much more violent sense. Rather than kill the commander of this militia that initially invaded the elven village, he brutally beats him to within an inch of his life. The “honor” of putting him out of his misery belongs to the elves by the command of Toyohisa. These are a passive folk so it is entirely understandable to witness their hesitation and fear of violence and killing. This type of skirmish, this bloodshed, does not go unmitigated however…
Yes, in this episode we do learn a little about the powers that be who breathed new life into our trio, though just a tidbit. Claiming that “The wrongs must be righted” Murasaki, our crazy-eyed desk jockey, introduces Drifters into this world as quickly as he can to counter the Ends, a currently unknown force controlled by the woman known as Easy. This brief and tense interaction between these two leads to what can only be more bloodshed, controlled by the snap of some gloved fingers and a Black King.
In Summary:
Charging headlong into violence, Toyohisa and company make their presence known not just to the elves of this realm, but also to the powers that be. What does Easy have in mind for Murasaki’s warrior transplants, and how will the elves treat their anti-hero saviors?
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
