English Dub Review: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia “Brothers”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

As the Mongol Empire prepares to wage war to the east, Sitara begins to plant the seeds of political intrigue.

Our Take:  

Sitara, or Fatima, has found a surprising ally in a Mongol clan that shares her hatred of the ruthless savages.  Although that does mean she’s committing treason to the princess, it also means that she finally found someone she can fully trust. With Töregene by her side, Sitara can now begin to organize a strategy for their revenge, and it starts with political conversations.  You read that right.  Rather than ensuing violence, their first step is to attend a Mongol political council known as a “kurultai”, where Tolui discusses his plan to invade the Jin Dynasty.  This episode features plenty of dialogue-driven moments, highlighting the Khan family’s strategic motivations and Sitara’s hope that Tolui’s power can fracture the Mongol Empire.

Dialogue-driven episodes can add intrigue to nonfictional characters and historical events.  However, it can also slow the plot with meaningless conversations.  A Witch in Mongolia has been proving that its dialogue-driven sequences can be as engaging as its historical action, thanks to its captivating emotion and art style.  “Brothers” is no exception to this case, despite its plot slowing down a bit.  It offers more insight into the Khan siblings, notably Ögedei, who is the most benevolent of the bunch.  Through his forgiveness and keen eye on a functioning Empire, Ögedei does seem to be a lot kinder compared to the other Khans.  However, he is still a Khan, meaning Sitara continues to treat him as such.  More importantly, it shows that the best way to defeat their enemies is to let them fracture themselves, as shown in Sitara’s plan.