Arslan Senki – 18
It seems that a tiger really can’t change its stripes, even if it wants to.
I guess the major feeling to be had this episode, is disappointment. Not in the episode itself of course, but the events within it. While I felt Rajendra was a bit of a scoundrel, I honestly expected better of him than this. But then again, maybe even that was too much. In a way, he’s as bad as his brother.
A snake will show its true colors if you wait long enough.
So, the Sindhuran campaign ends with things, in a way, having returned right back to the status quo that they had been in to begin with. King Karikala dies this episode, leaving this world peacefully after being assured that his son will make peace with his treasonous brother. Of course, we find out that Rajendra will do nothing of the kind and instead stages a royal execution of his brother, the day after their father’s funeral. Gadevi pleads for his life, but his younger half-brother will hear none of it.
They try to make it a little more legitimized by having Gadevi go after Arslan in a blind rage with nothing left to lose. Arslan is saved by Azrael (where were you on that one Team Arslan?! I mean come on, where’s that speed you had when your liege was in danger, Daryun? You let a bird show you up.), but Gadevi loses his eye and then his head. And somehow, you believe a great wrong has been committed, despite all that Gadevi has done, this one act by Rajendra seems to be even worse. And of course, it only foretells of what is to come.
“That man is a born performer, you see. Such a performer that he can thoroughly fool even himself.”
Rajendra is quite a piece of work. After everything that Arslan and Pars has done for you? After all they have sacrificed? You would have died several times over and your brother would be laughing over your severed head, if it weren’t for Arslan and his men. And you have the gall, to pull something like this? Even though Narsus pretty much predicted it since the beginning, it’s still hard to swallow what an ungrateful piece of crap this guy is.
And quite a stupid one too. Did he even stop to consider, what having Pars and its future king as an ally would give to Sindhura? What type of help and protection that would yield in the long run? And instead, he decided to do the most idiotic thing one can do, and he bet against both Narsus and Daryun! Haven’t you learned yet?!
Still hasn’t learned.
They say insanity is doing the same exact thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If so, then the young king of Sindhura is insane. He literally tried to do this same thing when he first met Arslan, and expected some kind of different outcome. And of course, it ended pretty much the same way as before. Narsus countermoved, Daryun et al. fought back according to plan, and the battle was theirs. Even the way that they take Rajendra prisoner is quite similar, they even make a note of it!
These two are going to be such a cute couple when they’re older.
But this time, Arslan is not so nice. Rajendra is indeed their prisoner and will remain that way for two years, while Narsus spreads some more official rumors to other countries that would destroy Sindhura in even less time. Rajendra realizes that he’s been outmaneuvered again (what did you think was going to happen?) and signs a nonaggression treaty that will last for 3 years, which should give Arslan enough time to take his kingdom back and build it up again, so that it’s not the wounded great beast that Rajendra has tried to take advantage of twice now.
Also, how cool is it that the royal tactician/painter is more feared than the captain of the armed forces and then crown prince?
What did I tell you? Never.
Now with bridges sufficiently burned, the new king of Sindhura and the future king of Pars go back to their respective countries, and it’s really a sour note for both. Rajendra has lost an irreplaceable friend and ally in both Pars and Arslan, and he’s also lost the respect of both the audience and his people. And after all he has given and the sacrifices made, Arslan returns home with only a nonaggression treaty that should buy him some time. Well, I guess in a way, that’s at least something. They don’t have to worry about having at least one other country trying to come at them while dealing with the Lusitanian invaders.
Have we been here before? We’ve been here before.
Also, this has provided Arslan something that is intangible and yet priceless, his reputation and that of Pars, among his own people and those of Sindhura and other nations, has become renowned and word will spread of what they’ve done and the honor they have. Also, it has given Arslan much needed experience in the ways of war, foreign politics, and people in general, and he can use that as he grows into a king.
But there is something else tangible that Arslan has gotten out of this…
The black leopard returns once again to protect the albino cub.
Arslan has Jaswant set free, saving him once again, and after finding out that the man has nowhere to go, he asks him if he wants to come along to Pars. Jaswant is the type of person, that even before his adopted father’s dying words, seems to select his allegiances carefully. His word and loyalty, once given, is not something that he will ever take back. So, when he doesn’t answer at first to Arslan’s offer, despite the boy having saved his life and freeing him from prison, and even trusting him with a Parsian royal secret regarding his lineage, you can’t begrudge him.
He hasn’t know Arslan long, and he wants to be sure before he hands over something as precious as his allegiance. This makes it all the more meaningful when he finally does fall on bended knee before the fourteen year old. He has seen what kind of man both Gadevi and Rajendra are, and have found them both wanting in comparison to Arslan. Also, there’s the little fact that he owes the guy big time, and he is a man who will pay off his debts. So while he might still be a loyal Sindhuran, he will serve Arslan until he has repaid what the boy has done, swearing his loyalty to him. And as we and Arslan know, he will give his life before betraying that vow.
And then there were eight…
So an arc has ended, and Arslan and company return to Pars after a long absence. We’ll have to see how the place has fared in his absence. Next week looks like we’ll be going back to Lusitania and Prince Hermes. It looks like things may not be going so well for him. It is our last quarter of the series, and they have to make it count. Now that there will be no help coming from Sindhura with the exception of Jaswant, Arslan is back to the drawing board trying to get allies and support. I think they can probably draw from Parsian citizens and slaves to help since they are getting nothing but persecution from Lusitania. Also I’m hoping we can finally know definitively what Arslan’s parentage is. While he is starting to deny both of his parents, I still think Tahamenay is definitely the mother. The father, I have my theories, but Tahamenay is a definite. No one else is a platinum blonde with blue eyes other than her. And we have no other suspects in that arena.
About IreneSharda
A Chicagoan biochemist, teacher, and an aspiring virologist, with a love for science only rivaled by my love for movies, animation, and anime. Both a lover of action/adventure and romance, I'm a girl who walks the entire spectrum. Mecha, Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Romantic Period Piece, if it's has a good story, I'm there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Where are the cute crossdressing endcards?! :3
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Today’s endcard artist, Fujimura Akeji, is also the artist of death-game themed manga Kamisama no Iutoori Ni/ As the Gods Say. The manga revolves around a high school student who is plunged through a continuous series of bizarre death games happening in real time throughout Japan.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
So an arc has ended, and Arslan and company return to Pars after a long absence.
Novel readers say the Sindhuran arc took place over the course of Vol 3 in the original novels, and remains one of the most popular arcs in the entire series.
The main point of the arc was to get Arslan to interact politically with other royalty and show that he, as king-to-be, could hold his own against a ruler as self-interested as Rajendra and not make disastrous decisions if not prompted by his men.(The anime removed novel scenes where Arslan and Rajendra interact as rulers, which lessens the impact of this.)
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Oh, I don’t know, I thought it showed quite a lot. I mean, it was more subtle and you had to look for it, but it really showed Arslan’s insight and his wisdom beginning to develop as he deals with Rajendra. It was much better done here than in the OVA, but that’s because it’s longer as well.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I thought there were some dots left out of the connections. I kept feeling that the relationship between the two was rushed and lacked some depth. As Irene points out, it is there if you look for it, but with your information, more depth between the two is the story I would have liked to have seen.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, novels will always provide much more characterization than a TV series or movie could. Especially a set of novels that are still ongoing and have been since before I was even born. LOL 😛
One example recently that I was talking with someone else was how they wished that the fake in Rokka no Yuusha could narrate their thoughts like in the novel, so that we get a deeper understanding of the antagonist and his or her thoughts. However, I reminded them that that couldn’t work in a audiovisual medium since the moment we as the audience heard the fake’s voice, we would know exactly who the fake was from voice alone. So, we did sacrifice characterization there for the medium, but at the same time, I can create my own characterization using my imagination of what the fake would be thinking during certain scenes. So there is a trade off.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Well, with Rokka they concentrate so much on Who, I fear that How and Why gets the short shift. And that’s where the real story is. Being right or wrong about Who is a single moment, and it’s weak when compared to the motivations.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I think the motivations get the short stick because much of the story is told in absolutes. The goddess is good, the demon god is evil and that’s about it. So, anyone who works for the goddess is “good” and anyone who works for the demon god is evil, and that’s pretty much it. We’re getting some characterizations regarding our MCs, but not really on the fake or any of the bad guys since they are thought of as just being evil for evil’s sake.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
So dumbarse Prince is dumbarse and get’s what he deserves. It felt was to obvious to me, there was hardly any tension. It’s like they were checking off story boxes…It really drained the connection to the characters I had previously built.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, I was actually hoping that he would surprise us as he didn’t seem that bad, just a little rough around the edges. (And it doesn’t help that the ending is much more positive in the OVA, which is where most of my background knowledge comes from)
Also, it was the end of the arc as well, so yeah, it was bound to be a little predictable. I gave them feeling of a bookend, just a short little thing to finally get us back to the next arc.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I don’t think it was that bad, overall. Sure, it could be done better, but as I see it it wasn’t regression, more like a stand-still.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I’m getting rather tired of the fact that Arslan is the only decent royal (and he might not really be royalty depending upon who his father is) in their world. I can accept Rajendra being an opportunist who attacked Pars when it was weakened and his trying to set up Arslan’s forces to do most of the fighting against Gadevi. Those are pretty much standard behavior. His execution of Gadevi after promising their father he wouldn’t do that is questionable. Maybe he planned to do that all along and maybe he set Gadevi up into attacking Arslan which gave him an excuse for taking his head.
But Rajendra being both so stupid and treacherous as to attack Arslan immediately after being set on the throne is too much. It’s more than just ingratitude and opportunism. It’s outright stupidity. His advisors mentioned that his seat on the throne isn’t secure yet, that there is still unrest in Sindhura. Yet he throws away an ally whose help he might still need. Plus, if he doesn’t realize that Narsus knows he’ll attack once the three years are up (or more likely a few months early) and is already concocting a plan within a plan to deal with that, he’s really stupid. As arrogant and ungrateful as Gadevi was, he might have been the better king after all if he wasn’t as stupid as his half-brother. At least he wasn’t the one who attacked Pars.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
The execution of Gadevi was pretty obvious regardless of what Rajendra promised his father, because first and foremost that man was dangerous. He might have attempted something bad, like assassinating the king or heck – even cooking up a rebellion.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ingrate brat! I already knew Rajendra was foolish but I didn’t think he’d be this stricken with brazen stupidity. Not once but twice he’s crossed Arslan and lucky for him, our white haired prince is the rare forgiving type. Otherwise getting away with a slap on the wrist would’ve been out of the question.
Nice to see Jaswant joining the group. It’ll be interesting to see how communications develop between everyone.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Stupidity is highly infectious. Look at all our politicians. And celebrities. And religious fanatics.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I hoped Rajendra wouldn’t turn out what he looked like, but oh well. I still like that bastard, idk why. Maybe because even in defeat he kind of held his own, a polar opposite of his obnoxious bro. Eww
But now things will be more interesting since Arslan is basically back to square one. And btw, when he threatened Rajendra in the last episode I was like “YAS BAE BITCH IT OUT!” xDDD it was so funny and satisfying to see calm and docile Arslan turn ferocious on Rajendra’s ass xD Well, he totally deserved that in the long shot :>
What if Arslan was the son of the king’s brother ? I cant remember when was he murdered but it might be a possibility that it’s the other way around with Arslan and Hermes. But we don’t know anything about Pars’ royal family so I’m not sure if we have all the material to try to solve this puzzle ahead of time. But I think it’s certain that Arslan is indeed royalty, because if not why would he be a crowned prince ? They wouldn’t just bring in some random kid in
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
It would be like:
Arslan, I am your father!
NOOOOOO!!
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
nono more like
Arslan, this was your father
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Wait, wat
😀
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
“I’m afraid that in the heat of your passion… you killed him!”
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 😛
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
It’s my thinking that Arslan is the brother’s son as well, especially since Tahamenay was involved with Osroes before Andragoras. The only problem is the time factor. Osroes died 16 years ago, and Arslan is only 14. My only answer to this is that Arslan isn’t 14 and is actually 15 or 16. If Tahamenay conceived very near the time Osroes died, her baby wouldn’t be born until 9 months later, which is close to a year. Arslan is born and they raise him away from the palace and no one would be the wiser if they said he was a little more than a year younger than he really is.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I theorized here quite a while back that Arslan was the son of Tahamenay and Osroes, but I didn’t account for the time factor, which you have done. I still think this is a pretty good theory. It would help explain why Daryun and Narsus are so loyal to him. He may not be the legitimate heir to the throne, but Arslan does have royal blood and he’s clearly a better choice as king than Hermes. Don’t underestimate the power of having some royal blood in a society such as the ones shown here.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, technically, if he is Osroes’ son, he would be the second most rightful heir after Hermes. From how it sounded, Tahamenay was engaged to Osroes, and Hermes’ mother probably died earlier. So depending on if they actually married or not, at the very least Arslan is still Osroes’ son, even if technically a bastard, and depending on the law of the land, like Rajendra, he would still be next in line to the throne after Hermes. And I have a feeling that Hermes will have a redemptive death at some point, which would make Arslan the actual rightful heir and no one could challenge him on it.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yes, if Arslan is Osroes’ son then he is in line for the throne after Hermes. And Daryun and Narsus may suspect that he is Osroes’ son.
And there’s another reason to think Arslan is Osroes’ son. If he has no royal blood and no claim to the throne, why isn’t Hermes proclaiming that to the sky in an attempt to undermine any backing Arslan may have in Pars? Heck, for that matter even if he is Osroes’ son calling his legitimacy into question would make sense.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I’m not sure if Narsus or Daryun suspect yet. It took then awhile just to guess that he wasn’t Andragoras’ son even though it was obvious. Also they probably wouldn’t figure out the time difference connection.
I’m pretty sure that Hermes doesn’t suspect anything like that. He truely believes that Arslan is Andragoras’ son, it’s why he hates him so much. If he were to know that, I think he would probably be very conflicted. His reason for hating Arslan would be gone and he wouldn’t be threatened by him. While he is fighting for the throne, he’s not doing it out of greed, but vengeance. If Arslan is his brother, I don’t think he would be averse to Arslan taking the throne if for some reason he was unable to.
If Arslan is to really have a shot at keeping the throne, he’s going to have to have some legitimate reason that others won’t question. Already there are several of Pars upper echelon who know about Hermes, Arslan doesn’t want a civil war on his hands right after driving out Lusitania.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Hermes would have a very big reason to get rid of Arslan if he was his brother. Arslan would have a good claim to the throne of Pars and we’ve just seen with the Sindhuran arc that some brothers are willing to kill each other for a throne. And history shows the same.
Hermes might hate Arslan because he’s his half-brother. Do we know exactly when or how Osroes’ wife died? It wouldn’t be the first time a ruler got rid of a wife to replace her with another. And Arslan would be a living reminder of what happened to Hermes’ mother.
We see how Arslan takes after his mother and that he doesn’t take after Andragoras. But what did Osroes look like? Arslan is plenty old enough that he should show some resemblance to his father. And it seems to be well known in Parsian noble circles that Osroes lusted after Tahameny as did Andragoras. Daryun and Narsus might not have any evidence that Arslan is Osroes’ son, but knowing the brothers’ history regarding Tahameny and looking at Arslan they might suspect it.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
On paper this all sounds right but there’s still the time factor. The time difference is two years if we assume that Arslan is really Osroes’ son, so it’s a bit much to conceal isn’t it ? I don’t know, this entire situation puzzles me to no end. Maybe it’s the other way around, maybe Hermes is really Andragoras’ son? 😀 *PLOT TWIST* I know that it’s not very logical at this point, since Bahman(?) admitted to Hermes being the last thread of the rightful bloodline of the royal family, but what if it isn’t true ? He does resemble Andragoras, in my opinion.
Though this is totally sucked out of a finger because I have no idea what to think and the curiosity is just killing me 😀