English Dub Review: Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside: “A Gathering of Champions”

Overview: Red (Aaron Campbell) and Rit (Dani Chambers) do what they can to help Ruti (Tia Ballard) out with her precarious problem involving the drug, the Devil’s Blessing. 

Our Take: Red and Rit are now up to speed about Ruti’s suppressed blessing on account of taking the drug, Devil’s Blessing, thanks to Tisse. Unsurprisingly, both Red and Rit reacted calmly and maturely, only seeking to help Ruti with her blessing while alleviating her dependence on that drug and the possibilities of its health risks. With Gideon’s heart in the back of my mind, there was a question that buried itself in my brain: Was Ruti’s non-disclosure of taking the drug and breaking Belial really necessary? Considering how much Ruti understands her brother’s true nature, all the tiptoeing around him feels like a roundabout way of addressing her free will when taken into account how long this episode takes Red to get there in finding where she has hidden Belial. 

 With that being said, when it does finally arrive at that brotherly conversation between Red and Ruti, it goes about how you would expect it to, but in a good way. The weight lifted off Ruti’s shoulders is a sweet sentiment to see as Red calms her worries about how she would be negatively perceived by Gideon for abandoning the way of the hero. It also harkens back nicely to one of the main themes of the story and message of Gideon in that it’s not a bad trait to be a little selfish, follow one’s one heart and think about one’s own well-being over a righteous obligation. 

During Red’s time looking for Ruti, he reunites with his old party member, Danan, while Ares, Albert and Theodara arrive in town, with only the latter two knowing of their presence. Ares, on his own and looking for Ruti, also reunites with Danan, except this one has two functioning arms as opposed to the real one with Red, who lost one of his. Ares’ mental stability unraveling at Gideon’s success and prosperity demonstrates how absurd and unfounded his motivations are, showing that his presence on the series is merely to serve as a hastily thrown together puppet for the main villain, who is most likely Shisandan, the imposter Danan, in time for the final act. 

On the bright side, it nicely highlights the consequences of Rit keeping a secret from Red in the realization that the Danan she ran into in town was in fact an imposter and most likely the beast, Shisandan. One who Red could have potentially seen through, helped identify and take down. With Shisandan’s resurgence comes that of a new reason for Red and Rit to come out of their quiet life. An idea that contrasts with their previous sentiments, as well as Ruti’s, and one that proves to be more interesting in how this mentality will clash with their own wishes and/or Ruti’s now or in the future, if at all.