What They Say:
“Any port in a storm.”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Cartaphilus is an interesting character. By all rights, he has been the main villain of the series so far, and from his recent actions, it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon, if ever. Now he’s kidnapping cute little baby dragons from under Lindel’s nose, committing unspeakable acts upon them for his own apparent benefit, and ultimately selling them off at a familiar auction. And yet, we see another side of Cartaphilus in this episode, one likely to be surprising given his role in the series otherwise; there appears to be another side to Cartaphilus, not that of a hero by any means, but that of a pathetic child that matches his appearance a bit more. This image of weakness and vulnerability paints a very different image of the source of nearly every atrocity we’re aware of at this point in the story. That doesn’t mean that Cartaphilus is suddenly a wholly sympathetic figure that should be forgiven because he suffers, too; it merely means that he’s more than just the blob of pure evil he has seemed to be until now, with gives him more complexity, if only slightly. What this all means is still left very ambiguous, but it will almost surely come back as we approach more direct confrontations with him, and there’s some good intrigue.
Since the series has stayed on Chise’s idyllic life of living with Elias in his world of magic and occasionally being eaten or strangled (okay, maybe not that idyllic) since almost the very beginning, it can be easy to forget that Chise had gotten in contact with someone involved in auctions of supernatural goods to auction herself off as a slave before the series began. The man in question was given too specific a design to exist only for that brief introduction, and there must be more to that story. While we may not be spending much time on the details of how he and Chise cut their deal initially, this man named Seth is called back into the story due to the news of Cartaphilus selling one of the young dragons he abducted at the same auction that brought Chise and Elias together so long ago. Returning to this world creates a strangely uncomfortable atmosphere; although everything ultimately worked out for Chise (compared to most other possibilities, anyway), this is still a black market for a variety of purposes, including slave trading of various sentient beings, and along with working alongside a man who deals with this material on a regular basis, a good chunk of the major characters (plus some new faces from the college) have to sit back and accept the injustices of this environment, forced to bid on the dragon with all the money they have rather than just getting to rescue it. It calls to mind the slave auction from One Piece, which got to end in typical One Piece fashion as a grand brawl with solid catharsis.
Then again, perhaps it’s not so different from that event in One Piece; we may not have a Luffy punching pampered slave-drivers in the face, but the bidding is still dramatically interrupted by a piece of “merchandise” breaking his shackles and causing mayhem. Coinciding with a mysterious voice calling out to Chise, this turn of events brings us back to major action pieces to come, weaved together with plot progression that makes it exciting to look forward to the next episode.
In Summary:
After some recent teases, Cartaphilus has returned as our antagonist proper without actually crossing (physical) paths with Chise and company just yet. As his actions cause a great deal of trouble for our heroes, he appears to be struggling with his own issues that we haven’t seen much of prior. The intrigue is cleverly built up in several related aspects that deliver a fine climax.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Roku 3, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.
