English Dub Review: To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts “The Minotaur’s Fortress”

Overview:

Hank moves on to a town terrorized by a minotaur.

Our Take:

The Minotaur is actually fairly sympathetic. When he was still human, he was constantly terrified of death and violence on the battlefield, and eventually having to face the same thing himself. He is a coward, but it’s hard to not be somewhat of a coward in war. As the Minotaur Incarnate, he has done whatever he can to keep himself safe, namely stockpiling weapons and building a protective fortress of traps. Even though the war is over and there isn’t really a threat out there, he can’t stop thinking that there might be. He keeps trying to warn the citizens to stay vigilant, but his measure of vigilance is one that only exists in wartime. It feels like a very twisted version of PTSD, and is rather sad. It seems like the Incarnates, in full monster form, have their greatest fears realized and taken to extremes, but all those spring from good intentions.

I discussed this last time, but the framing of the truth makes the entire scene play out fairly differently. Nancy doesn’t know the truth in the manga at this point, and neither does the audience. This makes Hank’s actions seem much more monstrous because he is mercilessly killing his comrades, even if it’s for their own good and also for the greater good. We want to believe Nancy, that there could possibly be a way out, and then slowly come to Hank’s side as we realize that there really isn’t. Nancy isn’t just naive, she’s a narrator that’s full of hope instead of resignation. Hank’s actions are seen as more negative, more extreme even considering the circumstances, and we have to grow to like him.

In the anime, we already know the truth, so we know that Hank is justified. We know there’s no cure and that the only route they have is death, and so Hank is the Incarnates’ only salvation. The violence he’s willing to commit makes sense. On the other side, Nancy is seen more as naive because we know the truth. We don’t really side with her as much as we could because we know that there is no hope. Honestly, I’m liking this a lot less, because I was hoping that the series would reveal more answers beforehand. It feels like this is about Nancy’s hardening into a world of desperation as opposed to her trying to keep her hope alive despite the violence. Framing really does matter.