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「黒衣の騎士」 (Kokui no Kishi)
“The Knight in Black”
Pars danced to Lusitania’s tune, all the way to ten thousand graves.
Dancing To Lusitania’s Tune
If you’re doing what your enemy wants, you’re probably going to lose; tiresome people might point out that this isn’t always the case (true, but that’s true of everything), but it’s a good rule of thumb. Here, Pars kept doing everything exactly as Lusitania suspected (and planned for), so they ran into one trap after another. Calling the retreat, spreading disinformation about the king, ambushing Andragoras on the way back … just a whole lot of fail. Daryun rescuing Arslan from Kharlan seems to be about the only thing that didn’t go Lusitania’s way. Special points go to spreading the rumor that the king fled, which is flippin’ brilliant. Momentum and morale are bigger deals than many realize.
It made it almost comical when they tossed in the scene of the Pars calvery charging out of the fire, and the Lusitanian’s praising their skill. Fat lot of good it did them, when they were made to fight dumb. 50K dead enemies sounds good, but not when you have to spend 127K to do it.
The Guest General, Silvermask
They did a good job of building up Silvermask (Kaji Yuuki) as a certified badass, both in strategy and sword. The strategies are self-explanatory, but showing Vahriz mow down Lusitanian soldiers with two arrows in his back, only for Silvermask to strike him down in one hit … damn. Expected, but effective.
I know some people were worried about Kaji Yuuki voicing him, but I didn’t have any problems with his portrayal so far. He didn’t sound much like Kaji Yuuki—mostly he just sounded like rage. Maybe it’ll clash if he’s speaking more calmly, but I’m set for now. And did I hear correctly that he’s a man of the cloth? All that plus his grudge against Andragoras make him a good antagonist.
Looking Ahead – The Exiled Strategist
Another rule of thumb: if you exile someone who defeats armies without sending a single man into battle, you’re going to have a bad time. I’m sure there are good reasons to do that, but I’m sure Andragoras didn’t have one of those. Narsus (Namikawa Daisuke) is the prettiest of the pretty boys (well, of those who aren’t Arslan), and with Andragoras captured, a good strategist is exactly what Arslan is going to need. Let the party formation begin!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Pars danced to Lusitania’s tune, and paid 127K soldiers for it. Silvermask maaaay be a little clever #arslan 03
Random thoughts:
- Oooo, mention of the queen made Andragoras realize that he needed to retreat. Maybe there are some feelings there after all, at least on his side.
- So Silvermask has been waiting sixteen years for his revenge. Sounds like Andragoras was a proper king, by which I mean, a total bastard.
- Daryun is great. When it comes to assuaging the young prince’s worries, he doesn’t even allow a chance for failure. PURE BADASS.
- Nice to hear a Lusitanian soldier wondering about the righteousness of their cause. Anyone who is too sure of themselves in such matters is probably wrong.
My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now available in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel short story. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Happiness is low overhead, People as things, Cut away the boring bits, and Sheet music.
Preview
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End Card
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http://images.randomc.net/Arslan%20Senki/Arslan%20Senki%20-%2003%20-%2036.jpg
Real talk for a minute. I had no idea who was going to voice Narsus, yet right before he showed up, I thought of Hisoka. Dat’s just creepy. x__X
Today’s end card is by Seo Kouji, creator of melodramatic romance manga such as ” A Town Where You Live”.
http://images.randomc.net/Arslan%20Senki/Arslan%20Senki%20-%2003%20-%20Large%20End%20Card.jpg
“The Legend Continues”
How Apt.
Arslan’s mother is a babe. Wow.
No wonder the King fled the battle to get back to her…
Why are you here, Seo? Hinting another NTR?
SEOOOOOOOO!!
Really though, I wouldn’t think this end card was done by Seo if it didn’t say so.
Narsus would look cuter with twintails.
16 years for revenge > So I guess Silvermask can’t be the slave that escaped in ep 1.
Also, I doubt that kid would be that tall or well regarded by now. Once I learned it was only a three year gap, that possibility all but disappeared from my mind. This episode finished it off.
As far as character designs go, Narsus is one of the few that looks original.
You know you are absolutely screwed if your entire scout/information relay division is working against you.
So, who is Arslan’s Winry?
The more I watch this show the more I think of Fire Emblem
I just want to add that Andragoras invited Pars’ defeat with his arrogance and refusal to trust in his subordinates, as well as what we can assume as rule of a somewhat tyrannical nature and cruelty shown in certain instances, most particularly in treating people of other nations. The defeat was basically karma, except 127 thousand of his own people were swept up and thrown into the eternal abyss mercilessly. Kharlan’s words were particularly interesting in that he didn’t see Daryun as the enemy, yet wanted the prince dead. Seems like the vendetta might only be for Andragoras or the royal family, or simply believed their actions had the best interests of Pars at heart.
I must say, Vahriz’s death hit me especially hard as I always loved watching oldies be badasses on the battlefield – one of my favorites being Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ Huang Zhong, or Kouchuu as known in Japan. Silver Mask has proved, with that one brutal moment of Vahriz’s death and two episodes, to be a very dangerous antagonist who has both skills and smarts. I don’t dig masked antagonists, but this looks promising.
And what better way than to defeat the king than cast him down in chains instead of granting him the warrior’s honour he values so much, and treat him like a bloody slave as he did with those he conquered? It is more likely that Andragoras isn’t dead, but beaten down and humiliated (not that the ED didn’t provide some kind of spoiler, I think).
Daryun proves to be an excellent steward without being overbearing or formal in a cliche manner. Enter Narsus, Elam and Montserrat, and we have some awesome and potentially great characters in the making. Arslan Senki is really living up to much of its hype. The scene with Pars cavalry charging at the camp was a little unnecessary though. Like watching a struggling deer who has bled too much attempting to get out of a trap.
Also, the focus on Montserrat was interesting. Gives more dimension to the Lusitanians instead of the usual portrayal of radical zealots with some eerily similar comparisons to the ones we hear about every now and then. I love his design too – looks right out of a classic fantasy page.
I’m 95% sure the king isn’t dead. That’s the only reason they would obfuscate the moment Silvermask attacked him. That plus the soldiers saying they “got” the king… Yeah, the bastard is still alive.
I think you are not giving the Pars army enough credit. That scene was there to show that with the deck totally stacked against them by God(the writer) they still managed to kill more then a quarter of the Lusitanian army. So the only reason they lost was massive betrayal and that unnatural fog.
You’re not wrong. My point wasn’t that they were bad, just that it didn’t do them much good this time. Though as ewok40k noted below, those Lusitanian losses might come in handy if it makes it easier for Arslan to retake Pars.
Daryun = Zhao Yun
Narsus = Zhuge Liang
This might be a spoiler, but is it me, or
Not sure if that was a spoiler or not, but that maybe that’s why Narsus was exiled.
now that you mention it…. it makes sense with theweird question that vahriz asked daryun the previous ep
^That question has been on my mind since, and it might be part of the reason things went as they did. Also what Kharlan was trying to tell Daryun while they were fighting. Clearly there’s something bigger going on as well, though. I have an interesting theory about the story, but I’ll wait and see where it goes.
Is he perhaps his uncle? because the Queen is his Sister?
I have speculated this. Haven’t read the novels or seen the OVA, but from what has been released of the manga, it would explain a number of things…
hmmm…
questions arise as to:
-does Narsus exile and Silver Mask’s exile relate to each other?
-does either of those exiles relate to birth of Arslan? those blonde hair…
-Kharlan seemed really convinced about justification for his actions… I’d like to hear it, even though betrayer deserves to burn in hell
-out of the 10 Marzban, 3 are confirmed KIA and one defected. That leaves 6 of them and possibly Narsus as “7 heroes to collect”?
other than that – Lusitanians got a in a Silver Mask, a high ranked exile a brilliant strategist who knew Pars army inside out, and then more traitors inside the army itself… Bad karma for Pars.
Body count suggests that while Lusitanians were victorious, they might find themselves overstretched trying to occupy a large empire like the Pars one. And it’s good to see at least some of them are not so utterly fanatical as to not have doubts about killing all heathens, including women and children…
If you aren’t familiar with the original stuff, especially the novel, you probably better stay away from these spoilers.
-does Narsus exile and Silver Mask’s exile relate to each other?
No relation whatsoever. Narsus got kicked out because he proposed the King the abolishment of slavery. The Silver Mask believes he was stolen the throne by Andragoras.
-does either of those exiles relate to birth of Arslan? those blonde hair…
No relations either.
-Kharlan seemed really convinced about justification for his actions… I’d like to hear it, even though betrayer deserves to burn in hell
The Silver Mask has his reasons to believe he should have been the King, and Kharlan thought his argument was well grounded.
-out of the 10 Marzban, 3 are confirmed KIA and one defected. That leaves 6 of them and possibly Narsus as “7 heroes to collect”?
Actually, no. The “Core” members, or “Arslan and his friends” are quite an interesting and unusual bunch of personalities. Some of those generals would join his force later on though.
Oh Zhu Ge Liang you so handsome.
Somehow, that mask reminds me of Char. But yes, awesome villain.
I dont know why but this anime made me think in Game of thrones for some reason
wonder if there will be any romance? hiromu arakawa never struck me as the type to coddle or pander to her audience with certain romantic attachments.
ep 04:
This Show is doing good so far. But just an earnest advice, be sure to double check your Graphics arts even the background ones. Just try to avoid some Koran verse graphics, to avoid a really big Minefield of today. You sure get the gist what i mean
Well, in the end of this Episode i was expecting in the Prince catch him in saying he would freed all Slaves if he became King. And i am happy, in how they show us, why the Parents are cold to him. Well, i can imagine why. Some sort of “Bastard”, but then the King would had killed him right away. So either the King fall in Love with her on first sight, and killed her Husband and forced her to remarried him. That would be a conclusion. Declare War on a Country, because the King want the Female Queen for his own. Or the Queen is a price for Peace of some Country. Like marriage the King for Peace, that would be more reasonable. because the Queen showed herself to the King’s Army men. So she is filling her role as Queen. Even if there is no love
Short: Just double check not to use Koran verse of accident