English Dub Review: The Water Magician “The Open Port Festival”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Ryo and friends come back just in time for a big festival and meet many important figures, but sinister rumblings turn the festivities lethal.

OUR TAKE

We’re now on what will be the final arc of this season, focusing mainly on the escalating conflict at the festival which begins very decisively at the end of this episode. Before that is, fittingly, a prelude to that by giving Ryo and his friends time to enjoy the festival itself, get all the snacks and play all the games and so on, while bumping into characters who will be important factors later on. One of those characters being Princess Fiona, a noble with exceptional battle experience, and Oscar Luska, the aforementioned Inferno Magician, trained her even though he works under her. We also see Abel is…well, ABLE to get close with the higher ranks due to his work in the dungeons and being a B-Rank Adventurer, which at least means he should be able to rise the ranks and network so he can have a more adventurous life. And frankly, good for him, he’s definitely gone through quite a lot, even if he couldn’t keep from getting his kill stolen by Ryo, though in that case it was probably more like his life was saved. Whatever the case, Abel will also be important for later, in a way and situation that you might not expect based on what we’ve seen so far.

This is basically the calm before the storm, with all the comedic stuff put upfront before a sudden ramping up. And one of those comedic parts shows us back in the town of Lune, where we see Sera the Elf going to see where Ryo went off without telling her. And upon hearing that he will be gone for an unknown period of time, she’s practically devastated, really highlighting just how much she’s taken a liking to the guy. But if you think that’s setting up for her to get involved in one of the upcoming fights in the remaining two episodes, prepare to be disappointed, as she’s pretty much just stuck there until Ryo comes back. Oh, and don’t expect that Akuma to make good on any promises or plans that she set up before either. We’re pretty much just dealing with the stuff at the festival. And on that note, next week is the penultimate episode, with much of it not even taking place AT the festival, but just being a flashback to explain the Inferno Magician’s backstory and why he is so gosh darn serious all the time. Here’s a hint, it involves a lot of tragic deaths!