English Dub Review: A Centaur’s Life “What Are the Struggles of Someone Known as a Prominent Figure? | What Is the Life of Someone Known as a Prominent Figure Like?”

The lives of two politicians.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

This episode was significantly weightier than usual. Instead of focusing on the girls, the attention was on two major political figures: Jean Rousseau and a politician in the girls’ town.

Rousseau is originally from a tribe that doesn’t interact much with humans, but was taken in by French missionaries and eventually rose to a place of success. He still maintains contact with his original tribe but is troubled by the happenings there. One of the members of the tribe is threatened by the humans and the humans’ increasingly intrusive way of life and wants to one day turn to violence. For that, he has begun to stock arms for a potential conflict but is currently using them for self-defense. Rousseau is concerned by this, saying that that sort of behavior will just invite conflict. Due to differences in technology, they are no match for the humans if it comes down to violence. Rousseau also notes that the sort of thinking the tribesman speaks of is exactly the same as humans’. Rousseau is a public figure torn by his identity. In the end, he is loyal to his people and the land he came from, but he is viewed by skeptics as an outsider. To them, because he was raised in France, he has been tainted by the outside world. He is deeply concerned and is unsure of what to do.

The second half focuses on the unnamed angel politician. As a young boy, he grew up under the Nazis and was nearly executed by firing squad. He is spared at the last second but taken to a concentration camp, where he is starved and forced to do hard labor until he collapses. One of the fellow prisoners, a centaur, has been turned into a makeshift guard. He antagonizes the other prisoners, which earns him their ire. When they try to attack him, the young boy tries to intervene, believing that under the circumstances, it’s not the centaur they should be upset at. The centaur notices this and repays the boy’s kindness with some food. In the end, the boy is rescued by an American soldier and becomes a politician. Even as a young boy, he has enough sense to realize that everyone in the camp is a victim, and the true oppressors are the Nazis. He manages to keep his moral senses intact through horrific circumstances and takes those ideas into his career.

Our Take

Altogether, this is a very deep episode. It focuses on how the circumstances in both these politicians’ lives have built up their perspectives and attitudes in their careers. The angel put his morals into his work and does his best to be respectful of all species. Rousseau is still conflicted, but he uses his knowledge of both cultures to try to foster bridges between them. Incredibly deep topics for a slice of life anime to tackle.