Episode 5 – Sakuna: Of Rice And Damage

I assumed I had a fairly good deal with on this sequence. It appeared like a comparatively easy, if understated, fantasy about characters farming in a magical model of medieval Japan. Whereas there are gods and demons on this world, they’re not precisely a driving drive, so the environment was in any other case fairly laid again. That’s not essentially the most thrilling present to speak about, in fact, however I loved it general and would say it’s a pleasant little sequence in case you’re searching for one thing easy and charming to look at.

…After which the aliens appeared

Okay, I assume I would like to return in time for a second. Since final week’s episode gave us a bit extra background on Myrthe, it appeared becoming that Kinta and Yui can be up subsequent—and so they’re the main target right here. Whereas Kinta has been impolite to everybody, he’s particularly imply to Yui, even if they’ve each been collectively the longest and Sakuna has made it her job to determine what’s occurring with them. The conclusion she involves is that Yui has a crush on Kinta and is attempting her greatest to play matchmaker (which was most likely one thing that was at all times doomed to fail, even with out her showcasing her romantic experience from a e-book referred to as “Unrequited Love Story”), however finally simply makes Kinta angrier at Yui for throwing away a present she made him.

We quickly be taught that Yui is so dedicated to Kinta as a result of he as soon as saved her life. In the meantime, he has no reminiscence of doing such a factor and is torn between feeling creeped out by her following him and feeling like she must be pursuing another person since he has nothing to supply her. Neither place is unreasonable, however I imply… they’re each caught on an island stuffed with demons. At this level, holding Yui at a distance is not doing her any good, so Kinta’s makes an attempt to maintain her from hurt’s means as a substitute make him look like a much bigger jerk. However when Yui goes lacking and everybody goes searching for her, solely to find a mysterious swan, we be taught the reality: Yui was a swan who was given human type as a part of a contract, which can also be why Kinta has no reminiscence of saving her.

Now, given the overall vibe of this present, together with the data that our titular heroine comes from a realm crammed with numerous gods, I used to be anticipating the reason right here to be that one in every of them took pity on Yui and gave her a human type to be with Kinta. Apparently I used to be too simple-minded. Because it seems, Yui was given her human type by a bunch of beings referred to as the Guests who declare to be from one other world, full with a spaceship, and are on a mission to save lots of their world from hazard.

So uh… yeah, to name this a left flip can be an understatement. In fact, I do know that is primarily based on a online game and just about each JRPG price its salt has a serious twist that fully modifications your notion of the sport’s world. I am certain this all makes good sense to individuals who have performed the sport and there is most likely a strong clarification for it. As for me, it left me with a barrage of questions. Are all of the demons on the island simply bizarre aliens? Is not the “Lofty Realm” a divine realm for gods however simply a complicated civilization masquerading as them? Are these locations even on the identical planet?! You’ll be able to’t simply dump aliens into my medieval fantasy farming present with out a proof!

… Besides that’s principally what occurs right here. Other than acknowledging that Guests exist, the present continues as regular, with Kinta returning Yui to her human type by revealing how a lot he truly cares about her—and nothing involving the aliens is even given a second look. I hate to make use of the time period “Large Lipped Alligator Second,” however that’s the one means I can start to explain how casually the present brings up the alien factor after which instantly strikes on as if it didn’t. Actually, I don’t even know methods to evaluate this episode. The Kinta and Yui stuff most likely would have been cute and inoffensive in any other case. Because it stands, I’m truthfully baffled by all of it, and no matter how substantial this finally is, it’s going to go away me scratching my head for the subsequent week.

Judgement:

Sakuna: Of Rice And Damage at the moment streaming on
Crispy bread.