Tales of Wedding Rings

And here in episode 5 we clinch one of Satou's better points, and one of the things that distinguishes him, and this series, from a lot of the Harem Genre: he wants his Battle Harem to respect him, not just follow him around like puppies.

And, of course, Hime's getting jealous of having to share her Childhood Friend Romance because, frankly, who wouldn't in this situation? This will be A Major Thing with Serious Ramifications down the line.

Edited by StarSword on Feb 4th 2024 at 1:23:33 PM

One of the things I love about Satou is about how he has serious moral objections to the whole "gain power from having sex" thing. The idea of treating them as mana batteries disgusts him, even if everyone around him, including the girls, are just all "what, no, it's fine." Considering what happened to the previous Ring King, he was right. I don't think it's a coincidence that he only takes the next step with everyone (besides Krystal) after the Ring King is defeated and he doesn't need the power any more.

I'm not sure I agree. The harem genre is chock full of protagonists that fend off the girls' advances and want them to really think about their feelings. Though Satou does get better development than most of them.

It genuinely is cool how Satou refuses the power-up by sex despite everyone, and I mean everyone, egging him on.

Satou has a great line during his discussion with Morion on the topic: "Well, it just doesn't make sense to me. And I think it will lead to a whole lot of other things that don't make sense."

Like, yes, Satou wants to have sex with the girls. Obviously. But he's not sure it's actually a good idea, and he's not doing something like this unless he's 100% on it.

I said "a lot" of the Harem Genre. My point is, I find Satou's reaction to the whole isekai harem thing a lot more realistic for a Nice Guy protagonist than what often happens in these things. It's a more balanced character: he wants sex, but he wants it on his and the girls' terms, not the rings'.

Anyway, ep 6, Granart has a ring on her finger now. Badass horny catgirl, yay. Honestly, I found her to be one of the weaker characters of the series. Though I'd forgotten how the old Ring King helped Satou beat her.

I liked Granart. From the start, she's all "Best Her to Bed Her is a stupid trope, which is why I'm kicking everyone's asses. But since it's for the fate of the world, I'll let you win." Then Satou refuses and fights her for real. Her later interactions with her parents are also great.

I guess Satou is more realistic in that he's thinking about sex at all. But in terms of wanting to respect and be respected by the haremettes, that's most battle harem leads haha.

It's interesting to me the way the Empire is characterized in this series. Expansionist and humanocentric, yes, but at the same time willing to use diplomacy, and an aĺly that steps up against the Abyss King. I guess you can't exactly rule the world if it gets destroyed, can you.

I do like that detail — the rulers are ambitious, but not necessarily evil.

There's a lot of that. Like how the storehouse for magical artifact is full of junk that looks impressive, but is either useless for their current problems or outdated by more advanced technology. And part of the reason the emperor is so rude is because his friends, the king and queen of the Light Kingdom, basically got themselves killed over the Rings and he thinks it wasn't worth it.

This story does something interesting by having the ostensible Big Bad, the Abyss King, defeated midway through the series. The rest of it is about the political fallout and the leads working out their relationship.

Speaking of relationships, It's nice how they're not all crazy about him — Saphir only "marries" Sato for her sister's sake, and it's clear their just platonic friends.

"Worst timing possible?"

"uh-huh"

I'm ded XD

Season 2 confirmed.

@M84:Tbf keeping with the lord of the rings comparisons. It's possible he'll return later like Sauron did after his first defeat

I think the true conflict will be more about the leads trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

Didn't keep up with the anime but it's cool that it's getting a second season. What did the first season end on anyway?

Chapters 80-83 updated. They return to the other world, Satou turns out to be pretty good at paperwork, Saphir and Amber jump him. And he also convinces the Powers That Be that maybe they should find a way to get rid of the Rings for good.