English Dub Review: Requiem of the Rose King “Father Is My Light”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Duke of York has seized the capital and the throne, but he must still overcome Queen Margaret’s army if he hopes to be crowned king. Richard, imprisoned in the Tower of London, can only speculate about the fortunes of war.

Our Take: 

After making a good impression of itself with its first episode, Requiem of the Rose King is looking to keep the war going with the second chapter of Richard’s Shakespearean journey. The last time we see those characters is when the House of York gained the upper hand in the Wars of the Roses. They managed to overthrow King Henry of Lancaster, but there’s still more work to be done for Team York to achieve victory over Team Lancaster.

Like the previous episode, “Father Is My Light” compensated for its minor convoluted elements through its style. From its color palettes to the historical setting, the animation effortfully displays the violence and disturbing imagery both gorgeously and uniquely. It’s still a sight to behold, especially for anime fans, but how long it’ll impress us until its beauty wears out is anyone’s guess at this point. However, I think as long as the story maintains its interest despite a couple of confusing moments, the show should survive long enough to have a successful run.

The episode also did well in introducing me to York’s latest threat in the form of Queen Margaret, Henry VI’s wife. She and her army managed to wipe out most of Duke Richard’s army. Not only that, but she also captured and decapitated the soon-to-be-king. I was pretty impressed with how the show portrays this character as a menacing antagonist obsessed with winning the war. Heck, I would even say that Margaret is as despicable as Richard’s abusive mother. Seriously, that woman needs to be slapped for berating that poor guy.

The story also focuses more on Richard III, who’s continuing to deal with himself being the intersex son. Thanks mainly to its setting and history, the episode still portrays the personality as a sign of indifference without feeling tasteless, mainly from Richard’s mother alienating him. It also showcased another disadvantage of Richard’s traits as he is almost raped by a group of thieves who believes he is a woman.

The only intriguing part of the episode was Richard’s violent act towards a Lancaster guard during his escape. After killing the guard, he quickly notices a picture of his wife and kids, leading Richard to conclude that the guard has a family. Seeing that he always wanted to fight the war with his father, this proved to be a pivotal moment where Richard might be rethinking his dream.

Overall, “Father Is My Light” showcased more of the war and character depth in stunning fashion. Its animation style and solid character moments were enough to keep me captivated until its shocking end, where Richard finds his father’s decapitated head. At least, that’s what I assumed based on the final shot. If that’s the case, then it looks like Lancaster has also gained the advantage over the House of York, which means the war can only get more and more intense from here on.