Overview (Spoilers Below): When Yuke returns from Glad Shi-im, he learns that Rain has gone to see Mastoma, the Salmutarian prince.
Our Take: Yuke has fulfilled his destiny and saved the world from the dreaded “culling”! However, it came with the cost of him and Rune getting trapped inside a dark, endless abyss. Fortunately, this entrapment didn’t last very long, as they’re able to make it back to Duna without any issues. Well, except the fact that the time-distortion effect resulted in them being gone for two weeks compared to hours. Because of this, so much stuff had happened during Yuke’s absence, with one notable element being Rain, who has gone to Prince Mastoma thanks to her scheming uncle Bran. Following Clover’s high-stakes mission to prevent an apocalyptic culling, the episode felt like it was time to revisit Rain’s marriage arrangement scenario, which has been teased since they arrived at Duna. However, it’s later revealed that Mastoma had an actual reason for wanting Rain: to have her conquer a hidden dungeon in Salmutaria to assume the throne. Since Salmutaria doesn’t have many adventurers, Mastoma thought it was a good idea to have one from other parties instead. Spoiler alert: it’s not. But, at the very least, Prince Mastoma was more understanding of the situation than Bran, who now faces punishment for his treachery. In short, this episode has a structure similar to “A Six-Leaf Clover”, in which the aftermath is described as the “calm after the storm”. With the team reunited following a tough battle, they celebrate with the girls helping Yuke relax, though that’s easier said than done from his perspective. However, it further highlights the team’s enjoyable chemistry, even if some of the show’s humor didn’t hit its mark. Additionally, the third act showed a surprising drop in animation quality compared to the first two. Hopefully, that will get patched up for the remaining episodes, unlike its sound mixing.