English Dub Review: Utawarerumono Mask of Truth “With a Great Wish in One’s Heart”

Overview
The Yamato civil war comes to an end as Raiko makes one last stand…

Our Take

I was a bit unsure at first about the U-turns in this episode. It’s been compelling until Raiko changed his mind and picked up the mask. I half expected him to (mercy) kill the girl as the (soon-to-be) masterless retainer. Their post-credit scene dialogue also implies he knew this was a “setup” of sorts.

It’s abundantly clear that the very strategically smart Raiko spent his last moments being a willing pawn of someone else’s machinations that likely Raiko didn’t agree with. That’s a big strike against his character. Though Raiko’s squire Shichiriya seems to now have conflicting loyalties, having been bought into Raiko’s ideals of breaking free from the Mikado’s (technologically advanced) shackles. Even though he’s regrouped with Woshis, this could be a spanner in the works.

Overall, this episode was kinda intimidating seeing everyone fight that monstrosity. In the end, Raiko did everything thinking about what was best for the people of Yamato now that they can’t rely on Mikado’s miracles, and with Raiko’s death, the real villain finally showed his face. Still quite an impressive battle though, and goes to show how far teamwork can prevail.