A Visit to Suzume
- Original Airdate: June 11, 2023
Written by: Minato Takano
Directed by: Kyohei Yamaguchi
Summary
Jeramie: Due to Jeramie's provocations, Hymeno goes on a rampage.
It seems much of these kings' histories and fates were shaped as a result of the Fury of the Gods.
After she and Jeramie reconcile, Hymeno remembers the deep love she bears for her people.
All along while others plot in the shadows...
...Or so the story goes.
It seems much of these kings' histories and fates were shaped as a result of the Fury of the Gods.
After she and Jeramie reconcile, Hymeno remembers the deep love she bears for her people.
All along while others plot in the shadows...
...Or so the story goes.
Jeramie informs the others about Kaguragi's sister, Suzume, and how she's being held captive by Racules. Gira decides to take it upon himself to stage a rescue mission, but things naturally go wrong. Things get even stranger as Suzume reveals that her captivity isn't all that it seems, which makes Kaguragi almost go into shock!
Meanwhile, Racules unexpectedly approaches Jeramie with a proposition he claims will unite the human and Bognaarok races...
Tropes
- Abduction Is Love: Suzume appears to have fallen for her captor Racules during her time in Shugoddam and doesn't want to be released. The ending sequence heavily implies it's an act on her part with Suzume even borrowing Kaguragi's decree from episode 4:Suzume: I will cover myself in mud and dirty my hands. Let's protect Toufu together... (unsheathes her katana) my dear brother.
- All Your Powers Combined: Gira's pillbug taxi costume combines N'Kosopa technology, Ishabana aesthetics, and Gokkan thermal insulation. It looks weird, but it works.
- Apologetic Attacker: Baejim is apologizing for every action it takes...clearly not meaning a word of it.
- Armor-Piercing Question: After the battle is over, Gira asks how Kaguragi isn't worried about his sister's situation. Kaguragi responds that he has faith in Suzume, but it's shown that he's very conflicted by her decision.
- Bathos: The scene Gira asks Kaguragi if he's actually okay with Suzume's situation is quite sad. The fact that Gira's still wearing his pillbug taxi costume makes it much funnier than it really needs to be.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Racules manages to secure power over Toufu by capitalizing on Kaguragi's attachment to Suzume (who apparently wants to stay in Shugoddam) to convince the latter to attend said talks as a vassal-state.
- Breather Episode: Downplayed. While the plot itself remains on the serious side, there are quite a few more silly moments compared to last week's episode, namely revolving around Gira's rescue attempt and Suzume's feelings towards Racules.
- Brick Joke: Goroge tries to ask Gira for a ride since he has a date. Later on we see he ended up being late and his date promptly chews him out.
- Call-Back: Suzume repeats Kaguragi's words from #4 at the end of the episode, as she resolves to protect Toufu along with her brother.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Racules about to talk with Dethnaarok about his peace offering.
- Faint in Shock: Kaguragi nearly keels over after Suzume claims that she's in love with Racules.
- Foreshadowing: Early in the episode, Gira's hammy villain persona is lambasted by Hymeno when it prevents his intent to rescue Suzume from getting across. The same villain persona prevents the rescue itself later when Gira puts the act on, causing her to scream and draw attention.
- The Glomp: Suzume hugs Racules intensely when he, Kaguragi and Jeramie rush to her room to investigate her screaming. The man looks like he wants to fall on his sword the entire time.
- Homage: Baejim is deliberately modelled after Kamen Rider BLACK, even performing the Rider's sideways arm-pose.
- Loophole Abuse: When Jeramie tries to bargain for Suzume's release in exchange for arranging the peace-talks, Racules says the decision is hers rather than his. She in turn decides to stay, giving Racules the opportunity to secure Toufu as a vassal.
- Mood Whiplash: The depressing scene of Gira seeing the orphans is cut off by Goroge trying to ask for a ride.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Subverted with Gira, whose falling back into his tyrant persona when waking Suzume prevents him from rescuing her like he planned; scaring her so strongly that it gets Racules' attention and forces him into hiding. It does however alert the other monarchs to Racules' peace-talk plans and allows them to confront him beforehand.
- Overly Long Gag: Much of the plan involves Gira disguising himself as a pillbug taxi, with comical results. He still has it on for the rest of the episode, leading to an awkward moment when Kaguragi stares at Gira after the battle is over.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Despite the tech inside, Gira's pillbug taxi costume is clearly made with human proportions in-mind and just barely conceals the man underneath, yet everyone in Shugoddam falls for it. Goroge even tries requesting a ride from the "bug," prompting a Chase Scene.
- Rainbow Pimp Gear: Gira’s taxi disguise combines N’Kosopa’s stealth tech, Ishabana’s designs and Gokkan’s cold protection. As he points out, the latter two aren’t exactly necessary.
- The Reveal:
- Kaguragi actually usurped the throne during the Fury of the Gods since the previous ruler was stealing food from the smallfolk.
- Kaguragi entered into a contract with Racules so that he could get priority usage of the Demishugods for Toufu. In exchange, Racules would get Suzume as a potential fiancee.
- Suzume claims to have fallen for Racules during her stay in Shugoddam, much to Racules' chagrin. However, the ending implies that this may be a farce on her part in order to protect Toufu from Shugoddam's grasp.
- Translator Buddy: Yanma has become one for Gira's tyrannical persona, as seen when Hymeno asks for a translation for the latter's intentions for Suzume.
- Unwanted Rescue: Subverted. Suzume claims that she's fallen for Racules and intends to stay in Shugoddam rather than be released, sending Kaguragi into confused hysterics. Her decree at the end of the episode however reveals the whole thing as a Realpolitik act on her part.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Suzume's decree at the end of the episode implies that her declaration of love for Racules was an improvised strategy to prevent bad blood between the men (and protect Toufu) by shelving the issue entirely. It also gave Racules another opportunity to secure power over one of the nations by roping Toufu into the peace-talks, which the gravity of the situation prevents Kaguragi from weaseling out of; forcing him to swear actual loyalty to Racules to keep things running.
- Weirdness Censor: Nobody really questions whether Gira's pillbug taxi costume is the real thing or not, with Goroge even asking him for a ride at one point.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Racules uses Kaguragi to secure an audience with Jeramie, who he asks to arrange peace-talks with the Bognaarok. Jeramie tries to get Suzume released in exchange, but Racules hoists the decision onto her, as she's supposedly his potential fiancée. She derails that by feigning love for him and staying. Racules uses the opportunity to get Kaguragi to represent Toufu during the talks... as a vassal-state. Forced to keep up his toady persona, Kaguragi accepts.
- Jeramie: I've come up with a nice little passage.
"Perhaps the treasure that would turn the world on its head...was actually a heart yearning for mankind and Bognaarok to join hands in peace.
...Or so the story goes."
