Overview (Spoilers Below):
The crew is cornered by an acquaintance who demands help with a beastly problem. Later, Laios enters Marcille’s nightmare and discovers her greatest fear.
Our Take:
So, as it turns out, the mysterious ninja-like figure that appeared in last week’s episode was Asebi, one of Shuro’s party members who suddenly disappeared during Falin’s onslaught. To be honest, I completely forgot who Asebi was until now, explaining how little the supporting characters make an impact compared to Laios’ team. Fortunately, Asebi isn’t looking to start a conflict. Instead, she asks for their help dispelling a curse that’s transforming her into a beast-man. Her form resembles a monster, a Big Cat, resembling a large cat. The reason is that Asebi believes that Laios’ team knows how to get rid of the black magic Marcille cast on Falin, but as it turns out, it’s not as easy as it sounds. However, the only things standing in the way are Asebi’s picky attitude and a hag-like yokai living inside her curse. Following the confrontation and Marcille’s explanation of black magic, Asebi, aka Izutsumi, becomes the official member of Laios’ clan.
This leads to the episode’s second half, with Laios attempting to save the day again. This time, he’s tasked to rescue Marcille from another monster known as a Nightmare. The Nightmares, resembling small crabs, feed on their victims’ strong emotions and souls within their dreams, slowly killing them. This forces Laios to dive into Marcille’s dream and help her younger self confront her darkest fears. The second half of the episode is undoubtedly the best part in terms of plot. It briefly showcases the surrealism of its comedy through Laios’ journey into dreams, but it also displays more of Marcille’s personality through her fears. The horrific monster that was chasing Marcille was a representation of her phobia of everyone around her dying before her, as well as her fear of her incomplete magical capabilities. Fortunately, with Laios’ help, Marcille managed to conquer her fear within her dream and dispel the Nightmare’s curse.
Overall, the episode picked the series back up regarding its character progression, even though its overall plot has yet to go anywhere. While the first half introduces a new member in the form of Asebi, the second half further explores Marcille’s character in a surreal yet heartfelt way. With Izutsumi joining in on their quest, we should hope it’ll be enough to overthrow the Mad Mage and rescue Falin, especially since we’re nearing the end of the season.