English Dub Review: The Executioner and Her Way of Life “The Ancient Capital Garm”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
A priestess pure, just, and strong—or a villain reviled by all? Menou knows precisely which one she wants to be, and she has one person to thank for her singularity or purpose.

Our Take:
Their simple and easy train ride to Garm has been cut short due to some suicidal terrorists and the king’s daughter. But that didn’t stop them from taking another train. Thankfully, the trek didn’t take as long as I thought it would, as they managed to arrive at their destination without any issues. However, another problem arises for Menou to handle during their stay.
The episode serves as a continuation of Menou’s mission to bring Akari to Garm so she can be executed permanently. While waiting for the execution chamber to be ready, Menou is tasked by Orwell to investigate the mysterious disappearances of the young girls. This upsets Akari, who made Menou promise to take her on a “date” to see the city. So Menou asks Momo to take care of the investigation so she can go sightseeing with Akari.
More importantly, it also serves as a flashback episode where a young Menou is traumatized by her village being destroyed, losing every desire and motivation she had in the process. After being rescued by Flare, Menou became compelled to follow her anywhere. Menou then decided to become an executioner like Flare, even though she warns her that executioners are nothing but bad people.
The last time we see Menou’s messed-up childhood was in the show’s first episode, where Menou’s village was destroyed by a Lost One before being murdered by Flare. “The Ancient Capital Garm” took the opportunity to expand on Menou’s character development by exploring her past and her motivation to be like Flare further. Additionally, it briefly represents more of the dangers of Pure Concepts, with them being the cause of four massive disasters known as “Human Errors”, including the Sword of Salt.
Unsurprisingly, this episode happens to work on both of those occasions. It’s a decent continuation that feels less like a filler thanks to its enticing flashback to Menou’s childhood and her next assignment in Garm. It was nice to see how Menou became motivated to be a badass priestess and kill more Lost Ones than anyone else. However, I’m willing to bet that Menou will soon start questioning her destiny during her little “date” with Akari in the next episode.