English Dub Review: I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability “Escher’s Will”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Lloyd’s group discovers a gruesome secret beneath the church, leaving Escher to question her faith.

Our Take:

If you’re wondering why I haven’t been going to church a lot, this season of 7th Prince might be another reason.  It’s bad enough that the mysterious priest is on the loose, but then it just has to throw in another church with a horrible secret straight out of a religious horror film.  That secret is the pastor’s hidden laboratory full of mutilated creatures designed by a combination of different mana magic.  Unsurprisingly, given Escher’s experience with her sanctuary, the nun with a harmonic voice did not take the surprise extremely well, though that hasn’t stopped her from playing a role in the team’s journey.

The episode’s flashback further expands on Escher healing Babylon after his confrontation with the villainous pastor.  While it seemed like she was using divine sorcery through her angelic voice, her magic is revealed to be strong enough to bring Babylon back from the dead, which explains why she had been singing for twelve hours straight.  Even I couldn’t sing for that long.  Escher’s power also played a crucial role in the team’s confrontation with one of the pastor’s experiments: a lamia who was once human but couldn’t remember her name due to her amnesia.  I hadn’t been admitting this a lot since Escher’s first introduction, but I have been quite moved by the character’s singing voice.  It didn’t make me ugly cry as much as the characters did, but I was pretty invested in the harmonious tune the season occasionally plays.

More importantly, “Escher’s Will“ further emphasized Escher’s internal struggle with her doubts and faith in religion, which began in the previous episode.  It’s not the most compelling reflection of the show’s religious commentary, particularly in its tonal shifts and complex world-building.  Besides that, it suitably reflects that even in life’s darkest moments, hope shines through the cracks of terror and fear.  Of course, Lloyd and the others would need all the hope they can get for the upcoming festival, which the pastor will be using his creatures to assassinate the church’s pope.