Spoiler Warning: This article contains plot information up to and including Episode 4

Introduction

While it was the third episode that really grabbed my attention, the second episode is when I started to pay more interest. While primarily an exposition episode there are moments that touch on the quite dark nature of parts of this fantasy world, and is in many ways a better introduction to the series than the first episode.

Episode Summary and Analysis

In a flashback, a young Sion is being bullied by older children for being low born, and we see his mother on her death bed tell him how proud she is of him. We then see the young Sion viewing his mothers body when the body of his pet dog is delivered to him wrapped in a box as a gift.

Years later at the Roland Royal Special Military Academy, Sion is putting together a team for mock battle training and has a lead on a candidate but has not seen him at practice for several days. We learn that the academy is used to train orphans and children of criminals as soldiers to keep nobles off the front lines.

The candidate Sion is interested in is Ryner Lute, who he knows to be a bearer of Alpha Stigma and is known as one of Rolands greatest magicians and is known as the Black Haired Devil. Sion then unlocks the library and is surprised to find Ryner sleeping inside, Sion then thinks this man can not be Ryner Lute.

While flashbacks in anime’s are often some of the darkest scenes, I did find the end of the opening scene with the dead dog mildly shocking. What the opening does do is establish why Sion would rebel against the current system so much and I wonder how far his hatred for nobility goes, is it directed against all nobles or just the corrupt ones?

Once we move to the academy days, I again wonder what Ryner did when he first used the power of the Alpha Stigma given that he is known as the black haired devil and the most powerful magician in Roland. Given how Ryner massacred the enemy knights in Episode 3, I suspect something similar happened in the past.

On a side note I suspect there may be a mistranslation in the subtitles and that Sion is not talking about the academy being for orphans and the children of criminals but rather the institute/orphanage Ryner attended, though this does not really impact the plot.

The next day on the training field Kiefer is sparring with Ryner using magic and Ryner appears to be doing nothing to fend off her attacks and acts badly injured after each one. Kiefer is rebuking Ryner for his lack of enthusiasm when Sion who had been watching comes over to talk with them.

Sion had spotted that Ryner had actually fended of Kiefer’s attack and was playing around. Sion complements Kiefer then invites her onto his team which Ryner encourages her to accept, only for Sion to then invite him onto his team as well saying that he likes Ryner’s eyes. Ryner initially refuses but Sion blackmails Ryner into agreeing to join his team.

While Sion has for the most part in the series come accross as fairly genial, this scene establishes that he is not above using underhand methods to get what he wants, which in this case threatening to expose to his comrades that Ryner possessed the Alpha Stigma.

The scene was also an effective way of showing that Kiefer and Ryner had a strong existing relationship with Kiefer being well used to Ryner’s teasing and hinting that she had deeper feelings for Ryner.

On the day of the battle training Sion has come up with a plan to win in 4 hours as he had researched his enemy carefully. This then allows his squad to get the jump on the enemy and their first victory. After a celebratory drink Sion asks Ryner why he joined the academy.

We then learn that Ryners old orphanage was used to train children as weapons and then sell them to nobles or send them to war. After the war the orphanage lost its purpose giving the remaining children the choice of be murdered or remain in the military.

Sion then asks Ryner if he wants to crush the corrupt country and promised to become King and change things and asks Ryner to join him. Ryner turns him down but asks Sion to pass a law giving promotions to people who take lots of afternoon naps. As Sion laughs at Ryner’s response his glee is short lived as several assassins appear and try to kill him (Sion).

Sion tells Ryner to run and is slightly surprised when Ryner takes his advice. Sion then also runs from the scene.  The assassins then manage to corner Sion when Ferris Eris appears, and defeats several of them causing the remaining assassins to retreat. She then asks Sion to buy her a Dango set as a reward and deliver them to her house.

Given that Sion seems to be an information whore and likes to know everything about everyone, I have to wonder if he investigated Kiefer’s background fully. While at this point we have no reason to suspect Kiefer a little later it is revealed she is a spy.

While on initial viewing I just took it as read that Sion was just using her to get to Ryner, rewatching this scene makes me think he would have checked up on Kiefer as well and may actually have known about her background. If this was the case then I suspect Sion was probably planning to convince her to switch to his side but did not have the opportunity given how rapidly events proceeded.

On second viewing Ferris’ arrival is also a bit too convenient, though this could simply be due to Ferris’ brother becoming aware of the plot and using it as an opportunity to invite Sion to his mansion. The other possibility is that she had been guarding him in secret for a while and this was the first time that she had to take action in front of Sion.

Later Sion heads to the Eris residence and wonders why the Eris clan that guards the royal family would protect him. Sion tells Ferris that he suspects one of his half brothers is trying to kill him and asks Ferris to discover which one. She agrees but in return asks for two dango sets for her and her henchman. Sion asks if he can meet her brother but Ferris says he will meet with Sion when he wants to.

The next day at the academy Kiefer has made Ryner lunch getting him much jealousy from the rest of the class. At the Eris household, Ferris has determined who the mastermind is but also noticed that there is something going on at the castle.

I have to wonder what Sion did to attract the assassins attention, as I dont buy the “jealousy” excuse, Brophs later mentions Sion baring Fangs at the Prince, so I have to assume that he did more than just complain about the system. There is also the question of what rank of nobility is Sion’s father and is he still alive? could his father be the King or a Prince or is he slightly lower (a Duke) but famous enough to garner attention.

That evening Sion receives news that Estabul has invaded Roland territory causing a food crisis that has led them to go to war. The students are then given dispatch orders to go to the front lines.

In his room Ryner is about to go to sleep when Kiefer comes into his room. A frantic Kiefer then tries to get Ryner to run away but Ryner assures her than he wont die that easily.

At Brophs manor Ferris and her “henchman” Iris are interrogating the probable mastermind of the assassination attempt. Brophs then taunts Ferris with the news that Sion is being sent into a trap as rather than going to a non combat zone there are actually 50 Magic Knights waiting for him and there is also a spy amongst his friends.

As previously mention in the third episode it is revealed that Kiefer is the spy, though I thought it was probably her as soon as I learnt there was a spy as it was blatantly obvious by her attitude towards Ryner when she begs him to leave.

I also suspect there may be collusion between the “Brophs Faction” and Estabul as it seems a bit convenient that 50 Enemy Knights are in a location that Sion considers away from the front lines, though admittedly as we dont know the geography of the region it could be that it is still on the border but away from where Sion has been told the bulk of enemy forces are.

On a final note I had to laugh at the disappointed look on Iris’ face when she finds out she doesn’t have to use the nails to get Brophs to talk.

Closing Thoughts

While the second episode is mainly an exposition and set up episode, I thought that it flowed very nicely and established the right level of tension going into the next episode. There was also a nice mix of humour and darkness in this episode, and unlike the first episode I thought they balanced well with neither element dominating to the detriment of the other. This was in contrast to the first episode where the early humour and banter between Ryner and Ferris meant I was not paying full attention to the darkness of later scenes on initial viewing.

One thing that I do wonder about is the status (nobility wise) of Sion’s brothers, while Brophs appears to be the ringleader of the latest plot he appears to be acting under the orders of the Prince or at least for his benefit. This makes me wonder if this unnamed Prince is actually Sions brother. I did find Sion’s answer to Ferris’ question about why where people trying to kill him unusually evasive in that he did not name his father but just said a famous noble. Given that the Eris family appears to be a significant one in the Kingdom not naming his father seems odd. I wonder if there is bad blood between Sion and his father or if there is another reason for his evasiveness in this matter.

While sometimes flashback episodes can suffer given that you know the outcome, The Hero and the Sleepy Man does not suffer from this. This is probably due to it being a set up episode and it providing background information. I also think the episode would work just as well if I had not seen the first episode and works better as an introduction to the series than the previous episode

Episode Rating

8/10 – While primarily a set up episode, it is still enjoyable and does its job well.