English Dub Review: Fairy gone “Sad Voices and Black Book” ; “Forest of Beginnings”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

We start this week’s episodes off with Sad Voices and Black Book. Just when Dorothea thought they had the Black Nine secured, Wolfran pops out of nowhere and ambushes them, stealing the tome for his employer, which turns out to be the Ministry of Fairies. His cohort confronts Marlya, who is shocked to see he has Ozz’s fairy. She is able to somehow remove it from him, though, and sets it free. As the agents prepare to storm the Ministry of Fairies, Marlya and Free agree that while warfare is wrong, sometimes you have to do what must be done in order to keep the peace.

Forest of Beginnings takes us back to the past as the members of Dorothea go on the hunt for the escaped cultists. In their efforts to find them, Marlya and Free wind up paying a visit to Olek, one of the former guardians from Suna. Their reunion is sweet, but his information not so much. He tells them of how Bellwood and his cohorts came to the woods five years ago and captured a fairy imaginal – a fusion. All they need know is a fairy possessed organ. And thanks to Wolfran infiltrating the jail where Michel was being held, he comes after Marlya to get it.

Our Take:

Thanks to Funimation’s Thanksgiving break, we’re getting two new episodes today. They actually work very well as a two-parter, so I’m kind of glad it worked out like this. Both episodes are filled with new developments and intrigue. Together, they tell the story of Marco Bellwood and how his cover at the Ministry of Fairies allowed him to grow the power of his cult to extreme levels of power. His overthrow of the government has been in the making for years. And it’s going to be tough to stop him at this point.

Sad Voices and Black Book is a great episode, full of the stuff that makes Fairy gone so entertaining in its best moments. There’s action, suspenseful surprises, character-building, and plenty of lore. The twist about Ozz’s fairy and Marlya’s strange ability to hear its voice has big implications, and help add some wrinkles to our knowledge of fairies and their nature. Free and Marlya also get to have some time to talk about the new developments, which was nice to see. Even amidst all the action, the show finds time to allow our main characters to process things, and that’s much appreciated.

In Forest of Beginnings, the pace slows a bit, but we still get plenty of excitement due to Marlya’s reuniting with Olek, a former Guardian of Suna. Marlya’s emotions come out when they meet, and I’m glad two of the sole survivors from Suna got to share their grief together. One of the big takeaways from this episode is just how well-prepared Bellwood and his cult members are. I was assuming Wolfran was just a paid hired hand, but Bellwood was the one who took him in after the war. He’s been sowing seeds of discord for so long now that the roots run deep. Even in other departments, the cult has friends. This is what allows Wolfran access to Michel, who lets him know about Marlya being fairy possessed. I had thought he would target Ver, which would finally bring her back onto the stage. Alas, there’s no sign of her, and it looks like Marlya’s going to be severely tested next week.

The dub for these two episodes remained well-done, with Jill Harris turning in some great performances as Marlya. She’s taken in a lot these past two eps, and Harris sells it nicely. “The world ruled by man is over, and the ideal world shall soon emerge.” The weird fairy religious cult may have a point when it comes to freeing fairies, but I wonder if that’s really their true goal. “If you collapse before me, I promise to carry you on my back.” It’s nice to have Marlya and Free bantering again, just like it’s great to have them talking together in the quiet moments before a big battle: “In battle, it was crying so hard because it didn’t want to bring pain to others.” “What was the point of it all?” Wolfran was just as directionless as Free after the war, but he found Bellwood instead of Director Nein. “People like you are a bridge between our world and the natural one.” Marlya may be more important than she ever realized.

Sad Voices and Black Book and Forest of Beginnings are a pair of wonderfully-executed episodes. They work well in tandem, telling the story of how Bellwood and his Ministry of Fairies have been working behind the scenes all this time in order to resurrect a god-like fairy to eliminate mankind. Marlya learns a lot about herself as a Suna survivor and fairy possessed-individual, too. We even get a bit more insight into Wolfran’s past. I’m almost as excited about his and Free’s final battle as I am for Ver and Marlya to finally be together again.