Episode 23: Race of Flame
Episode 23: Race of Flame
You can download this episode here.
Episode Summary
The episode begins back at the hotel room, where Conrad has just dismissed the physician who was attending to Hube’s injuries.
Apparently, tonight is crucial for his recovery. Greta looks worried, so Yuuri attempts to reassure her.
Wolfram tries to figure out what could have compelled Hube to attack his own king.
Conrad asserts that there was no way Hube could have known that Yuuri was the Maou, and that he had probably attacked Yuuri in an attempt to provoke Conrad to go “all out” in protecting him. Greta seems to agree with this theory, stating that Hube wished to die.
Yuuri asks how she knows this, and Greta begins to relate the story of how she met Hube in the dungeons of the castle where she was staying. Hube was Greta’s only friend and she would often come down to talk with him.
During one of their visits, Hube began to tell her about his past…
He felt great regret for the sin he had committed and believed that his quest for the demon flute was the only way he could redeem himself.
He then spoke of the happiness he was able to find through falling in love with Nicola, until they were separated and he was imprisoned deep within the dungeon.
He felt that this misery was yet another punishment for his crime and that he would never be allowed to experience true contentment.
He squishes a fruit in anguish. SQUISH.
Moved by his story, Greta had helped him escape from the castle, after which he agreed to escort her to Shin Makoku. Before they parted ways, Hube endowed Greta with a special emblem, and then left in search of his “destined place to die”…
Back in the hotel room, Greta is horrified to discover that Hube’s hand is getting progressively colder. She begs Yuuri to heal him with his magic, but Conrad steps in and says that Yuuri is to have no more contact with Hube under any circumstances.
(Because obviously Hube is going to try and kill Yuuri while he’s still comatose. Yeah. Makes perfect sense to me.)
Yuuri is shocked that Conrad would simply stand by and watch while a former comrade dies right in front of him.
Conrad replies that now Yuuri knows what a heartless man he is. Yuuri disagrees.
Wolfram gets fed up with all this bickering and decides to heal Hube with his own magic. He concentrates…
Then proceeds to yell at Hube’s prone form rather loudly, proclaiming that he has NO desire to heal him, but will not ignore his fiancé’s wishes.
He then states that, if Hube recovers, he is to dedicate his life to Yuuri’s service.
Hube twitches and Greta is pleased.
The next day, crowds are gathering at a large arena, as the owner of a little noodle shop places another bowl in front of a woman with a very familiar swirly red ponytail.
It’s Anissina, now on her eighth bowl. The shopkeeper comments on her appetite, before inquiring if she has come to gamble on the unusual beast race.
She wasn’t even aware of it, having come to kick off the Women’s Status Improvement and Enlightenment movement.
However, it would appear that her funds have run dry.
The shopkeeper attempts to give her betting advice, but little does he know that Anissina has a few tricks up her sleeve already…
Magic dice, anyone?
Meanwhile… Yuuri, Conrad and Wolfram are up in the stands, along with Lord Heathcrife and Louis Vuillon. Heathcrife reminds Vuillon that, if they win, he must keep his end of the bargain and hand over the deed to the Western District.
Vuillon seems very confident in his chances, happy that the rare and valuable double-black will soon belong to him. This is the point at which most viewers are wondering exactly what the fatch happened in between the last episode and this one. We’re about to find out.
After Hube’s defeat in Vuillon’s office, Yuuri was infuriated by his seeming indifference to Hube’s serious injuries. Vuillon doesn’t seem to notice, though.
He’s too busy scoping out Yuuri. Fangirls can relate.
Yuuri demands that Vuillon set free his employees and hand over the title deed to Heathcrife. Vuillon agrees to acquiesce to Yuuri’s requests, under one condition. The matter will be decided with a wager, and if Vuillon wins, he’ll take Yuuri as the spoils.
(WTF lobster again!)
Back at the race, some beefy guards are rolling out a giant log…with a koala attached? Fear not, KKM fans. The crack never leaves for long.
Apparently, this cute and fluffy little fellow is Vuillon’s key player, known as a hell-paradise goala. Conrad explains that, while they may seem sweet when they’re on their branch, they become ferocious as soon as they disembark.
Vuillon gets to gloating again, as he plans to make quite the profit with Yuuri by selling him into prostitution putting him in his zoo. Yuuri starts to wig out, but Conrad draws his attention to their own contender, none other than KG the sandbear!
Yuuri seems pleased to see this, but is still worried about their chances of winning.
Conrad reassures him that, if they should happen to lose, he’ll throw Yuuri over his shoulder and they’ll escape barefoot.
Barefoot?
Vuillon now introduces the racers and sounds the starting shot. AND THEY’RE OFF!! Sort of.
Ryan spurs KG into action, and the two head off down the track, while the goala…just sits there.
The arena guards begin sawing away at the log that the goala is clinging to. The log falls, the bear lets go, and…
OH SNAP.
Yuuri is terrified at this new development and Conrad confirms that the goala is indeed quite the carnivore.
Vuillon loudly announces his strategy of allowing the bear to eat KG, leaving no opponent to ruin his victory. What a bastard.
The goala races down the track, steadily gaining on our lovable sandbear friend.
RUN, FORREST KG, RUUUN!!
Suddenly, the goala pounces…
And finds a new friend. D’aww… Sweet lil’ fella, ain’t he?
Conrad explains that when a hell-paradise goala comes across a tree branch, instinct takes over and it immediately clings on.
Heathcrife knew all along, and Vuillon certainly isn’t taking kindly to his prized pet being defeated so easily.
With the danger far behind them, Ryan and KG cross the finish line with ease.
In the stands, Anissina gloats over her victory as well, stating that she’s completed another stage in her enlightenment movement.
Heathcrife demands that Vuillon turn over the deed at once, but he ain’t having it. He demands a rematch. When his request for aforementioned rematch is denied, he decides to take matters into his own hands and snatches up a detonator, holding it high in the air and pulling the trigger.
Soon, plumes of smoke are rising from the city’s Western District. Yuuri rushes to the rescue with Wolfram and Conrad close behind.
When they arrive, the casino has become a veritable inferno.
They look on in horror, before being accosted by Greta, who informs them that Izula and Nina remain trapped within the blaze.
Yuuri limps toward the burning building, when the casino’s windmill collapses directly on top of him, much to the distress of Wolfram and Conrad.
But then, who should appear through the flames?
It's the Maou, come to save the day. Again.
He rises into the air, causing the sky to darken. Rain begins to pour down. Wolfram seems impressed by this new development in Yuuri’s powers.
(But hasn’t Yuuri made it rain before? In episode 3?)
Ooh-la-la…
Vuillon remarks on the rarity of a flying double-black. Man, this guy is obnoxious.
Yuuri then proceeds to summon some majorly hardcore water dragons and soon, the raging inferno is totally extinguished.
At this point, Vuillon has completely pissed off the Maou, and proceeds to be utterly pwned. About time. Justice be done and all that.
Yuuri transforms back to normal, landing safely in Conrad and Wolfram’s arms. Wolfram comments on the beauty of Yuuri’s magic, prompting Conrad to suggest that perhaps the young king had been showing off for his new daughter’s benefit.
Izula emerges from the casino and Greta runs to greet her with a big hug.
Yuuri regains consciousness and is relieved to hear that the building wasn’t completely destroyed.
However, Nina was overcome by smoke and is carried out on a stretcher. Greta pleads with Yuuri to once again utilize his healing powers and save her life.
Yuuri begins to move toward her, but stumbles, not having fully recovered from his transformation yet. Conrad warns Yuuri of the consequences if he abuses his healing powers too much. Apparently, tapping into these abilities over and over runs the risk of the healer losing his or her life…
SPOILERS (highlight to read): Actually, I’m kinda surprised Conrad didn’t give this lecture even more weight than he already did, considering Julia suffered this exact fate.
A fact that Conrad is all too aware of…
Yuuri continues to make his way towards the injured woman, but begins to lose consciousness. A figure quickly approaches from the crowd and…
BITCHSMACK’D!!
Anissina, having knocked some spirit back into Yuuri, informs Conrad and Wolfram that they should stop being so overprotective, or else Shin Makoku will end up with a weak king. Yuuri thanks her, and then proceeds to heal Nina’s wounds.
Conrad seems especially moved by Yuuri’s healing abilities…
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice the monastery, newly bald Dakaskos is reading aloud from Günter’s diary.
All of the monks seem moved to tears by Günter’s heartfelt confessions of loyalty and love for his king, leading them to declare him a saint. Hell yes.
Back at port, our heroes are preparing for departure. Hube is being loaded onto the boat via stretcher, as the rest of the group is saying goodbye. Anissina elects to stay behind, to better educate the girls left unemployed after the casino’s destruction.
Yuuri wishes there were more that he could do for them, to which Anissina replies that the best thing he can do is to become more powerful. That way, the whole world might be able to achieve peace and prosperity.
And so, they depart. Wolfram appears as though he’s already become seasick, poor fellow.
Anissina waves goodbye, standing triumphantly atop her recently acquired bling.
As the ship makes its way out to see, Greta remains at Hube’s bedside. Slowly, Hube’s lips part and he softly whispers the name “Julia…”
END OF EPISODE!!
w00t.
Review
Phew. Sorry for the long-winded summary; it ended up being more of a commentary, really.
Ahh, little Greta’s mysterious background is becoming less and less mysterious. Which is only serving to make her more and more adorable. ^w^
Hube gets his first real chance to show his true personality, albeit through flashback.
So far, most of what we’ve heard about Hube has been tales of his good deeds throughout the land, following his banishment.
We’ve only really heard bits and pieces pertaining to the nature of his crime… But whatever it was, he certainly feels guilty about it.
Hopefully, he’ll get over his emo by the time he’s reunited with Nicola and his unborn child. ;o)
The rest of the episode can definitely be placed under the “filler” category, but as KKM does so well, no one really minds the additional crack.
One of the things I found most interesting upon rewatching was Conrad’s reaction to Yuuri potentially overusing his healing powers.
SPOILERS (highlight to reveal): I’d have thought that Conrad would be more concerned by the possibility of history repeating itself, but he seems relatively unfazed by Yuuri’s determination to save a life, even at the risk of losing his own. Although Anissina made a convincing argument regarding why they should allow Yuuri to do as he wished, I was rather surprised at Conrad’s casual acceptance of this. But it’s obvious by his reaction later on that he recognizes the same kind and gentle energy in Yuuri that he knew so well in Julia…
Günter’s little story arc finally gets wrapped up, with his choice to support Yuuri no matter what reckless decisions he makes. An enlightened decision indeed.
Complete with imminent glomping. <3
In addition to setting stuff on fire, Wolfram can also heal people. Cool.
Hube lets loose with a bit of unconscious foreshadowing at the end of this episode regarding Julia. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly beginning to fall into place...
Y’know, Gwendal is the only member of our central cast who didn’t appear in this episode. At all. ;-; ‘Tis quite sad. However, with his cousin heading back to Shin Makoku now, I’ll bet he’s gonna be getting some screen time soon. ;o)
Episode 24 will be hosted by lenainverse tomorrow!
You can download this episode here.
Episode Summary
The episode begins back at the hotel room, where Conrad has just dismissed the physician who was attending to Hube’s injuries.
Apparently, tonight is crucial for his recovery. Greta looks worried, so Yuuri attempts to reassure her.
Wolfram tries to figure out what could have compelled Hube to attack his own king.
Conrad asserts that there was no way Hube could have known that Yuuri was the Maou, and that he had probably attacked Yuuri in an attempt to provoke Conrad to go “all out” in protecting him. Greta seems to agree with this theory, stating that Hube wished to die.
Yuuri asks how she knows this, and Greta begins to relate the story of how she met Hube in the dungeons of the castle where she was staying. Hube was Greta’s only friend and she would often come down to talk with him.
During one of their visits, Hube began to tell her about his past…
He felt great regret for the sin he had committed and believed that his quest for the demon flute was the only way he could redeem himself.
He then spoke of the happiness he was able to find through falling in love with Nicola, until they were separated and he was imprisoned deep within the dungeon.
He felt that this misery was yet another punishment for his crime and that he would never be allowed to experience true contentment.
He squishes a fruit in anguish. SQUISH.
Moved by his story, Greta had helped him escape from the castle, after which he agreed to escort her to Shin Makoku. Before they parted ways, Hube endowed Greta with a special emblem, and then left in search of his “destined place to die”…
Back in the hotel room, Greta is horrified to discover that Hube’s hand is getting progressively colder. She begs Yuuri to heal him with his magic, but Conrad steps in and says that Yuuri is to have no more contact with Hube under any circumstances.
(Because obviously Hube is going to try and kill Yuuri while he’s still comatose. Yeah. Makes perfect sense to me.)
Yuuri is shocked that Conrad would simply stand by and watch while a former comrade dies right in front of him.
Conrad replies that now Yuuri knows what a heartless man he is. Yuuri disagrees.
Wolfram gets fed up with all this bickering and decides to heal Hube with his own magic. He concentrates…
Then proceeds to yell at Hube’s prone form rather loudly, proclaiming that he has NO desire to heal him, but will not ignore his fiancé’s wishes.
He then states that, if Hube recovers, he is to dedicate his life to Yuuri’s service.
Hube twitches and Greta is pleased.
The next day, crowds are gathering at a large arena, as the owner of a little noodle shop places another bowl in front of a woman with a very familiar swirly red ponytail.
It’s Anissina, now on her eighth bowl. The shopkeeper comments on her appetite, before inquiring if she has come to gamble on the unusual beast race.
She wasn’t even aware of it, having come to kick off the Women’s Status Improvement and Enlightenment movement.
However, it would appear that her funds have run dry.
The shopkeeper attempts to give her betting advice, but little does he know that Anissina has a few tricks up her sleeve already…
Magic dice, anyone?
Meanwhile… Yuuri, Conrad and Wolfram are up in the stands, along with Lord Heathcrife and Louis Vuillon. Heathcrife reminds Vuillon that, if they win, he must keep his end of the bargain and hand over the deed to the Western District.
Vuillon seems very confident in his chances, happy that the rare and valuable double-black will soon belong to him. This is the point at which most viewers are wondering exactly what the fatch happened in between the last episode and this one. We’re about to find out.
After Hube’s defeat in Vuillon’s office, Yuuri was infuriated by his seeming indifference to Hube’s serious injuries. Vuillon doesn’t seem to notice, though.
He’s too busy scoping out Yuuri. Fangirls can relate.
Yuuri demands that Vuillon set free his employees and hand over the title deed to Heathcrife. Vuillon agrees to acquiesce to Yuuri’s requests, under one condition. The matter will be decided with a wager, and if Vuillon wins, he’ll take Yuuri as the spoils.
(WTF lobster again!)
Back at the race, some beefy guards are rolling out a giant log…with a koala attached? Fear not, KKM fans. The crack never leaves for long.
Apparently, this cute and fluffy little fellow is Vuillon’s key player, known as a hell-paradise goala. Conrad explains that, while they may seem sweet when they’re on their branch, they become ferocious as soon as they disembark.
Vuillon gets to gloating again, as he plans to make quite the profit with Yuuri by selling him into prostitution putting him in his zoo. Yuuri starts to wig out, but Conrad draws his attention to their own contender, none other than KG the sandbear!
Yuuri seems pleased to see this, but is still worried about their chances of winning.
Conrad reassures him that, if they should happen to lose, he’ll throw Yuuri over his shoulder and they’ll escape barefoot.
Barefoot?
Vuillon now introduces the racers and sounds the starting shot. AND THEY’RE OFF!! Sort of.
Ryan spurs KG into action, and the two head off down the track, while the goala…just sits there.
The arena guards begin sawing away at the log that the goala is clinging to. The log falls, the bear lets go, and…
OH SNAP.
Yuuri is terrified at this new development and Conrad confirms that the goala is indeed quite the carnivore.
Vuillon loudly announces his strategy of allowing the bear to eat KG, leaving no opponent to ruin his victory. What a bastard.
The goala races down the track, steadily gaining on our lovable sandbear friend.
RUN, FORREST KG, RUUUN!!
Suddenly, the goala pounces…
And finds a new friend. D’aww… Sweet lil’ fella, ain’t he?
Conrad explains that when a hell-paradise goala comes across a tree branch, instinct takes over and it immediately clings on.
Heathcrife knew all along, and Vuillon certainly isn’t taking kindly to his prized pet being defeated so easily.
With the danger far behind them, Ryan and KG cross the finish line with ease.
In the stands, Anissina gloats over her victory as well, stating that she’s completed another stage in her enlightenment movement.
Heathcrife demands that Vuillon turn over the deed at once, but he ain’t having it. He demands a rematch. When his request for aforementioned rematch is denied, he decides to take matters into his own hands and snatches up a detonator, holding it high in the air and pulling the trigger.
Soon, plumes of smoke are rising from the city’s Western District. Yuuri rushes to the rescue with Wolfram and Conrad close behind.
When they arrive, the casino has become a veritable inferno.
They look on in horror, before being accosted by Greta, who informs them that Izula and Nina remain trapped within the blaze.
Yuuri limps toward the burning building, when the casino’s windmill collapses directly on top of him, much to the distress of Wolfram and Conrad.
But then, who should appear through the flames?
It's the Maou, come to save the day. Again.
He rises into the air, causing the sky to darken. Rain begins to pour down. Wolfram seems impressed by this new development in Yuuri’s powers.
(But hasn’t Yuuri made it rain before? In episode 3?)
Ooh-la-la…
Vuillon remarks on the rarity of a flying double-black. Man, this guy is obnoxious.
Yuuri then proceeds to summon some majorly hardcore water dragons and soon, the raging inferno is totally extinguished.
At this point, Vuillon has completely pissed off the Maou, and proceeds to be utterly pwned. About time. Justice be done and all that.
Yuuri transforms back to normal, landing safely in Conrad and Wolfram’s arms. Wolfram comments on the beauty of Yuuri’s magic, prompting Conrad to suggest that perhaps the young king had been showing off for his new daughter’s benefit.
Izula emerges from the casino and Greta runs to greet her with a big hug.
Yuuri regains consciousness and is relieved to hear that the building wasn’t completely destroyed.
However, Nina was overcome by smoke and is carried out on a stretcher. Greta pleads with Yuuri to once again utilize his healing powers and save her life.
Yuuri begins to move toward her, but stumbles, not having fully recovered from his transformation yet. Conrad warns Yuuri of the consequences if he abuses his healing powers too much. Apparently, tapping into these abilities over and over runs the risk of the healer losing his or her life…
SPOILERS (highlight to read): Actually, I’m kinda surprised Conrad didn’t give this lecture even more weight than he already did, considering Julia suffered this exact fate.
A fact that Conrad is all too aware of…
Yuuri continues to make his way towards the injured woman, but begins to lose consciousness. A figure quickly approaches from the crowd and…
BITCHSMACK’D!!
Anissina, having knocked some spirit back into Yuuri, informs Conrad and Wolfram that they should stop being so overprotective, or else Shin Makoku will end up with a weak king. Yuuri thanks her, and then proceeds to heal Nina’s wounds.
Conrad seems especially moved by Yuuri’s healing abilities…
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice the monastery, newly bald Dakaskos is reading aloud from Günter’s diary.
All of the monks seem moved to tears by Günter’s heartfelt confessions of loyalty and love for his king, leading them to declare him a saint. Hell yes.
Back at port, our heroes are preparing for departure. Hube is being loaded onto the boat via stretcher, as the rest of the group is saying goodbye. Anissina elects to stay behind, to better educate the girls left unemployed after the casino’s destruction.
Yuuri wishes there were more that he could do for them, to which Anissina replies that the best thing he can do is to become more powerful. That way, the whole world might be able to achieve peace and prosperity.
And so, they depart. Wolfram appears as though he’s already become seasick, poor fellow.
Anissina waves goodbye, standing triumphantly atop her recently acquired bling.
As the ship makes its way out to see, Greta remains at Hube’s bedside. Slowly, Hube’s lips part and he softly whispers the name “Julia…”
END OF EPISODE!!
w00t.
Review
Phew. Sorry for the long-winded summary; it ended up being more of a commentary, really.
Ahh, little Greta’s mysterious background is becoming less and less mysterious. Which is only serving to make her more and more adorable. ^w^
Hube gets his first real chance to show his true personality, albeit through flashback.
So far, most of what we’ve heard about Hube has been tales of his good deeds throughout the land, following his banishment.
We’ve only really heard bits and pieces pertaining to the nature of his crime… But whatever it was, he certainly feels guilty about it.
Hopefully, he’ll get over his emo by the time he’s reunited with Nicola and his unborn child. ;o)
The rest of the episode can definitely be placed under the “filler” category, but as KKM does so well, no one really minds the additional crack.
One of the things I found most interesting upon rewatching was Conrad’s reaction to Yuuri potentially overusing his healing powers.
SPOILERS (highlight to reveal): I’d have thought that Conrad would be more concerned by the possibility of history repeating itself, but he seems relatively unfazed by Yuuri’s determination to save a life, even at the risk of losing his own. Although Anissina made a convincing argument regarding why they should allow Yuuri to do as he wished, I was rather surprised at Conrad’s casual acceptance of this. But it’s obvious by his reaction later on that he recognizes the same kind and gentle energy in Yuuri that he knew so well in Julia…
Günter’s little story arc finally gets wrapped up, with his choice to support Yuuri no matter what reckless decisions he makes. An enlightened decision indeed.
Complete with imminent glomping. <3
In addition to setting stuff on fire, Wolfram can also heal people. Cool.
Hube lets loose with a bit of unconscious foreshadowing at the end of this episode regarding Julia. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly beginning to fall into place...
Y’know, Gwendal is the only member of our central cast who didn’t appear in this episode. At all. ;-; ‘Tis quite sad. However, with his cousin heading back to Shin Makoku now, I’ll bet he’s gonna be getting some screen time soon. ;o)
Episode 24 will be hosted by lenainverse tomorrow!