Monstrine

The majority of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 8 was boring. While I like Akari’s Pure Concept in theory, I hate Akari’s character. Any time she’s on screen and her Pure Concept isn’t the focus, I lose interest. And, unfortunately, there was a fair amount of Akari content this week.

But, there was a small amount of the episode that I enjoyed. That’s the content I want to focus on in this week’s review. And to start the discussion, we need to take a look at a drug found in Libelle called Monstrine.

Monstrine is a drug that has one known effect and one implied effect. The known effect is that it causes euphoria. In that regard, it’s like many other drugs. But the other effect is where the name comes from. Someone (Manon Libelle) can turn anyone who takes Monstrine into a monster.

But, how does Monstrine cause these transformations? It all comes down to how Manon creates the drug. It’s made by using sin magecraft, which in this case means human sacrifice. We saw Manon sacrifice a child using an iron maiden. And considering the lack of missing person reports, the sacrifices were likely orphans.

On its own, Monstrine isn’t actually all that interesting. A drug that turns people into monsters isn’t a very unique premise. Magatsu Wahrheit is one example of a series based on this plot. But, what makes Monstrine interesting is how it’s connected to one of the Four Major Human Errors.

And something I like about this connection is that it shows the Four Major Human Errors aren’t over. These aren’t events that happened in the past and don’t affect the lives of people today. They’re still dangerous and always will be. That’s why Menou’s job is so important.

Momo and Ashuna Reunited

Something I’ve noticed about this series is that it has a lot of animation that’s not very good. Action scenes involving Menou, for example, often look pretty bad. But, the worst offender of this episode, for me, was Momo eating while at the bar with Ashuna.

Anyway, that’s not actually what I want to talk about now. Instead, I want to move from Monstrine to the truth about the Pandemonium. We finally got a concrete answer about what the Pandemonium is. And, my prediction from the Episode 7 review was pretty spot on.

The wall of fog isn’t the Pandemonium. That’s what seals the Pandemonium and keeps it in check. The Pandemonium is actually the result of the Pure Concept of Chaos, which was the ability of a young girl. It allowed her to create monsters from her own body.

So, how was I correct? Well, I said that I didn’t think that one monster we saw attack Akari within the fog was all there was. I said that the Pandemonium was more likely a collection of monsters and conditions. And, for the most part, that seems to be correct.

But, Momo’s explanation of the Pandemonium isn’t even the most interesting part. She also tells Ashuna that it’s the Pandemonium that’s responsible for all monsters. The monsters that roam the wilderness are the result of this Major Human Error. And, the monsters Ashuna fought within the ruins are likely connected to it too.

And this is why I was saying that the Four Major Human Errors are still ongoing. Monsters are still roaming the world thousands of years after the Pandemonium occurred. The Sword of Salt is also still as dangerous today as it was when it destroyed an entire nation.

Manon Libelle’s Pandemonium

Now, it’s time to connect Monstrine to the Pandemonium. Who’s the one manufacturing and using Monstrine to turn people into monsters? Manon Libelle. Where is the Pandemonium located? Off the coast of Libelle. What did the Pandemonium unleash upon the world? Monsters.

Are you starting to see how this is all related? I doubt it’s a coincidence that this whole Monstrine saga is happening in Libelle. Libelle is pretty much monster ground zero. The Pandemonium may not be being used in a direct way like how Orwell used a shard of the Starhusk. But, it seems pretty obvious that it at least influenced Manon’s plan.

Oh, and the one sacrifice we saw was a young girl. Could Manon have chosen her because she’s the same age as the user of the Pure Concept of Chaos? That, we don’t know. It’s possible that it’s a coincidence. But, it’s still something to think about nonetheless.

For now, it’s a bit unclear what Manon’s plan is. We know she wants to get revenge for the death of her mother. Flare killed Manon’s mother, and so Manon wants to kill Flarette (or make her suffer). But that doesn’t mean she’s creating monsters to do only that.

We also know that Manon despises her council of advisors that tell her what to do. She’s killed three of them so far. And those who are still alive could turn into monsters whenever Manon chooses. So, whatever her plan is, it has a couple of moving parts.

My prediction is that Manon wants to create her own mini Pandemonium. She can turn her advisors and everyone else who’s taken Monstrine into monsters. Then, she can unleash them upon the city. And in the chaos, she can target Menou and her allies (Akari and Momo).

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 8? Are you still liking the series as much as you did after Episode 1? Did you correctly guess the true nature of the Pandemonium? And what do you think Manon’s ultimate plan is? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 9 is available now.

The Pandemonium

Episode 7 of The Executioner’s Way of Life featured another one of the Four Major Human Errors. This time, we got to see the Pandemonium. And from what I remember, this was the Error that we could infer the least amount based on its name and description.

But, to be fair, what the Pandemonium ended up being makes sense given the name. It’s an area on the ocean that’s covered by a thick fog. And anyone who enters the fog gets lost and is never seen or heard from again.

What’s a little unclear is whether the fog is actually a part of the Pandemonium. Flare made it sound like the fog is what’s sealing the Pandemonium so that it doesn’t expand. Also, we’re not actually told what the Pandemonium is because it seems most people don’t know. Even Menou and Momo are unsure.

Of course, it makes sense that nobody knows what lies within the Pandemonium. That’s kind of the whole point. If someone went in to find out, they’d never return to tell anyone. But, when Akari enters the region, she’s attacked by a giant monster that she says has eaten her before.

Is this monster the Pandemonium? That might be somewhat correct. But, there’s likely more to it. I doubt that one monster itself is the calamity. Instead, I’m going to guess that the monster is a piece of the Pandemonium. There might be a whole bunch of deadly things within that region of the sea.

Unfortunately, we may never get a definitive answer about the Pandemonium’s true nature. Akari could try to explain it. But, since the mystery is part of what makes it the Pandemonium, an explanation isn’t needed. It’s not straightforward like the Sword of Salt.

The Wilderness

A lot of adventure anime skip over the wilderness. And by wilderness, I mean the vast expanses of open land between settlements. They do this because the meat of the series is going to be happening in towns, dungeons, etc.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life is no exception here. We did skip over the adventures of Menou and Akari as they traveled between cities. But, at least we got some information about the wilderness and what lies within it. That’s more than most similar anime give us, so it’s worth discussing.

First, we’re told that there are a bunch of dangerous monsters that live in the wilderness. That’s no surprise. But, what is surprising, is that these monsters prevent people from exploring. And while there are “adventurers,” they’re actually only highway bandits. If you stray from the pilgrimage routes, you’ll have to be on the lookout.

There are also ruins scattered throughout the wilderness that have dungeons beneath them. Momo traps Ashuna in one such dungeon, presumably because Ashuna was following her. I doubt Ashuna happened to be heading in the same direction as Momo by chance.

What’s interesting about these ruins is that they seem to be somewhat common. Momo doesn’t make a big deal about there being ruins and a dungeon in the wilderness. She speaks of it as if it’s something everyone knows about — or at least the Executioners. So, will we ever learn the history behind these ruins?

It would be interesting if the ruins connected back to the Pure Concepts in some way. So far, we don’t know why those summoned to this world have them. Does it have something to do with the summoning process? The world itself? I’d like to find out.

Manon Libelle

From what I remember, the port city Menou and Akari traveled to is Libelle. On a small island off the coast is Libelle Castle. And in it lives a teenage girl named Manon Libelle. She’s the current leader of a faction called the Fourth (the fourth faction).

So, the Fourth isn’t a very creative name. But, Manon isn’t the one who came up with the name. She’s currently leading the Fourth in place of her father, whom Flare captured. Why did Flare capture him? Because the Fourth is pretty much a terrorist organization.

Flare also killed Manon’s mother. So, I don’t understand why she didn’t kill Manon’s father too. I guess her orders were to capture him and she had the authority to kill anyone who got in her way. Anyway, the Fourth now consider Flare, and Flarette (Menou), to be their arch enemy.

Alright, we need to talk about the scene at the end of the episode with Manon. But, before that, allow me to set up my theory. Remember when Manon gave all the nobles sandwiches? Well, at first, I thought the reveal was going to be that they were poison sandwiches.

After seeing the final scene, though, I have another theory. There was a shot that focused on the contents of the sandwich. One of those contents was some kind of meat. And at the end of the episode, Manon directs a young girl into an iron maiden and kills her.

So, is Manon feeding human meat to the nobles? I kind of feel like that’s what’s going on. But then the question is, why is she doing that? And what is she doing to these girls to get them to climb into the iron maiden on their own?

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 7? What do you think the true nature of the Pandemonium is? Do you think we’ll ever learn more about the ruins in the wilderness? And why do you think Manon is killing children? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 8 is available now.

Self-Induced Amnesia

There were some things I didn’t like about The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 6. But, there were also some things I did like about it. I’m not sure how to feel about the series at this point. It could still be good, but I’m not sure it will be.

Let’s start off with the things I didn’t like about this episode. First up, we have Akari’s self-induced amnesia. Amnesia is almost never a good plot point. The only time I can think of it working was in the movie Memento (not an anime).

The problem with amnesia is that it’s generally only included to cover up some would-be plot holes. In this case, amnesia is necessary for Akari to be oblivious to Menou’s true mission. Without amnesia, Akari would know that Menou’s goal is to kill her.

I was willing to ignore Akari having no memory of the times when she died. That’s an acceptable use of amnesia. But, what we learned in this episode is that Akari has an alter ego that doesn’t have amnesia. And it’s this alter ego that’s the one erasing Akari’s memories so she remains oblivious.

What’s the purpose of “Dark” Akari erasing Akari’s memories? As far as I can tell, it doesn’t help in any way. In fact, I’d argue that it would be better for Akari if she knew the truth. Then, she’d at least be able to help Menou by using her Pure Concept.

As for the other thing I didn’t like in this episode, it was Orwell’s death. She wanted immortality, and Menou used Akari’s Pure Concept of Time to age her to the point of death. Killing the villain with the thing they fear most is another trope that bores me.

Momo’s Rampage

By now, it should come as no surprise that my favorite part of Episode 6 involved Momo. I’ve been saying that Momo is the best character, and that continues to be true. In this episode, we got to see what Momo is actually capable of when she uses her full power.

Although Menou is the mentor and Momo is the student, I’d argue Momo is the stronger of the two. The main reason for this is that Momo has a large amount of mana that she can use at will. By contrast, Menou needs to rely on magic objects to use even basic spells.

Before getting serious, Momo and Ashuna were struggling to take down the dragon and demon. But, once Momo became enraged after her ribbons burned up, the tables turned. She didn’t even rely on her chain weapons. Momo beat the dragon to death with only her fists.

Momo’s rampage didn’t stop there, though. Even after the dragon was dead, she proceeded to destroy the entire chamber they were in. And she did this by tapping into the leyline beneath the ground and causing a giant mana explosion.

Oh, and in case you weren’t paying attention, that wasn’t the end of Momo’s rampage either. She then destroyed the barrier around the cathedral so that she could get to Menou’s location. And once there, she proceeded to fight against the red automa in angel form — again with her fists.

Of course, Momo wasn’t the only one who showed us her true strength. Once Momo destroyed part of the royal palace, Ashuna stopped holding back, as well. I like Ashuna too, as I’ve said since she was first introduced. But, she doesn’t compare with Momo. Momo’s still the best.

Flare’s Sword of Salt

There were a few developments I liked that didn’t involve Momo in this episode, too. First, there’s the fact that Orwell caused the blanching that destroyed Menou’s hometown. This answered a question I had from Episode 5.

In the previous review, I questioned if Menou was actually a survivor of the Starhusk event. And, if that was the case, is this when Orwell got her hands on a piece of the Starhusk? Well, we now know that’s not the case. Orwell’s experiments with the Starhusk shard caused the event that blanched Menou’s personality.

In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter what the event that blanched Menou’s personality was. Whether it was the Starhusk or not, the end result is the same. But, it’s still nice to get confirmation about what it was. That adds a bit to the world-building, which I like.

The next interesting development is what the title of this section is referring to. At the end of the episode, we saw one of the many timelines Akari reset. In it, Flare kills Menou by wielding the Sword of Salt before turning it on Akari.

This seems pretty significant if you ask me. Though, it’s not significant because Flare is an antagonist in this timeline. I already said that was going to be the case in the previous episode review. It only makes sense for her to stand against Menou and Akari since she’s an executioner.

What’s significant here is that Flare is using the Sword of Salt. That’s one of the Four Major Human Errors. Was Flare connected to that Error in some way? Or was she using the Sword of Salt in an attempt to kill a Pure Concept with a Pure Concept?

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 6? Do you hate the amnesia plot point as much as I do? Have you finally realized that Momo is the best girl? And why do you think Flare was wielding the Sword of Salt? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 7 is available now.

Momo and Ashuna

I was hoping that The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 5 was going to be pretty bland. My plan was to be able to rush through writing this review since I have other things I have to do.

But, that’s not what the episode ended up being like. There’s a lot to unpack in this episode. And since that’s the case, I’m going to take the time to unpack it properly. So, we’re going to start with the relationship between Momo and Ashuna.

Back in my review of Episode 3, I mentioned that I wasn’t sure what role Ashuna was going to play. At the time, she could have been either an antagonist or an ally to our heroes. It seems pretty clear now that Ashuna is on the side of Menou, Akari, and Momo.

Also in Episode 3, I said that I didn’t think Ashuna and Momo would ever be friendly with each other. That sort of still stands. But, their relationship is more defined now. Just as Menou and Akari are partners, Momo and Ashuna seem to be partners as well.

Of course, Momo and Ashuna aren’t partners by choice. They’ve only teamed up because their goals are currently aligned. But, I’m thinking their partnership is going to extend beyond this. And while Momo is a bit of a tsundere toward Ashuna, they have pretty good chemistry.

I can see these two acting a bit like Zoro and Sanji from One Piece. Zoro and Sanji are friends and allies. But, they’re also rivals and are always butting heads. That’s the kind of relationship I’m expecting to see from Momo and Ashuna going forward. And considering I like both of these characters, I don’t mind that.

In This World for a Reason

Moving on to some of the more interesting content in the episode, we have Akari’s “execution.” We now know that the church, Orwell in particular, had an alternative plan for Akari’s fate.

Before I get to that, though, I want to point out something that Orwell said to Menou that caught my attention. Orwell said, “You’re in this world for a reason, you know.” That might seem like a generic line at first. But, I’m thinking it could come up again later in the series.

When Orwell said that, my first thought was that Menou was going to have a bit of an epiphany. The meaning behind Orwell’s words is actually that everyone is in this world for a reason. So, wouldn’t that apply to an otherworlder like Akari too? That’s what I expected Menou would pick up on.

It seems pretty obvious, to me, that Orwell wasn’t trying to say that Akari’s life has meaning too. But, at the end of the day, that’s what she said. And so even though Menou didn’t seem to pick up on it here, I’m anticipating her echoing that line to Akari down the road.

At some point in the series, Akari’s going to find out the truth about otherworlders. She’s going to learn that otherworlders have caused calamities throughout the world. And she’s going to learn that Menou’s job is to kill otherworlders before they can become a danger.

When she learns those things, how will she react? The most likely scenario is that she attempts to kill herself or asks Menou to do it. And it’s at this point that I could see Menou telling Akari that even someone like her is in this world for a reason.

As Akari would say, it’s fate.

Quest for Immortality

Let’s get into something I didn’t like about the episode: Orwell’s evil plan. It was pretty obvious that Orwell was an antagonist of the series. And, based on the ending of the OP, it would seem that Flare is an antagonist as well.

My bet is that Flare is going to be an antagonist because she wants to kill Akari. And I would have been fine if that’s why Orwell was an antagonist too. But, Orwell’s an antagonist because she’s attempting to gain immortality. She’s trying to do this by taking control of Akari’s Pure Concept of Time.

Seeking immortality is the oldest evil plot in the book. And when you consider that Orwell tried draining the blood of women to get it, it’s almost laughable. It’s pretty hard to write a more cartoonishly evil character than that.

Alright, so I can’t take Orwell seriously as an antagonist anymore. But, even after that reveal, she still said something interesting. She mentioned using a piece of the Starhusk when describing how to steal Akari’s Pure Concept. If you remember, the Starhusk is one of the Four Major Human Errors.

What’s extra interesting is that it’s revealed the Starhusk has a blanching effect. That’s the same effect that erased Menou’s sense of self. So, does this mean that Orwell obtained that piece of the Starhusk when she met Menou as a child? And if so, I guess Menou survived one of the Four Major Human Errors.

But, what doesn’t quite make sense to me is that this is a new description of the Starhusk. What we were originally told about the Starhusk was that it caused a section of a continent to float in the sky. That’s very different from a blanching effect.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 5? Do you expect Momo and Ashuna to form a more permanent team? Did you pick up on the alternate meaning behind Orwell’s words to Menou? And how do you feel about Orwell’s quest for immortality? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 6 is available now.

The Sword of Salt

The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 4 flew by. When the end credits began to roll, I thought I was only halfway through the episode. Sometimes that’s a good thing. But, I wouldn’t say that’s the case in this instance.

Episode 4 wasn’t a bad episode. We got some pretty neat information about Menou’s past and the world this series takes place in. But, I also didn’t feel like much happened. The flashback part of the episode is all that mattered. And that means the plot wasn’t furthered much in this episode.

Let’s go over the most interesting part of the episode first. Back in my review of the first two episodes, I discussed the Four Major Human Errors. Of these calamities, two of them had descriptions that made it so we could guess what they were. And one of these two was the Sword of Salt.

At the time, we didn’t know why this Error had “sword” in its name. But, the general idea was that an entire country turned to salt and was being eroded into the sea.

In this episode, we saw Flare take Menou to witness the Sword of Salt — and we learned why it’s called a sword. It is a sword made of salt that’s plunged into the ground. And it seems like Flare brought Menou there to show her an extreme example of what Pure Concepts are capable of.

But, the big takeaway from this section of the episode, for me, was that the Four Major Human Errors exist. Until this point, it was unclear whether they were historical events or mere legends. Now that we know they’re real, it means we may get to see the other three at some point in the series.

Executioner’s Creed

During the flashback, we learned about more than only the existence of the Sword of Salt. We also learned about Menou. And, while I’d like to say that we learned why Menou acts the way she does, that’s not accurate. The flashback kind of put us in a weird situation.

So, we learned that Menou decided to become an executioner to be Flare. She doesn’t want to be like Flare. She wants to be Flare. At first, I thought this was a mistake. But, later in the flashback, Menou confirms that she meant be, not be like.

That’s a bit strange, but it’s not the weird situation I’m referring to. The weird situation is that this flashback attempted to explain the person Menou is. But, we hadn’t seen that side of Menou before the flashback. The Menou we know is almost a different person.

According to the flashback, Menou has no personality and no emotions. She’s a hollow shell of a person. And, I guess that’s why she wants to be Flare — she’s incapable of being her own person. The reason for this is the Blanching calamity that Menou somehow survived.

We also saw that Menou has no reaction to the transfer of Ether. Flare either gives her ether to Menou or takes some of Menou’s to see what kind of reaction she would have. While a bit surprised, Flare wasn’t all that concerned by Menou’s lack of a reaction.

This also aligns with what Menou mentioned to Akari in Episode 3 about her being “broken” or something. It’s implied that the Blanching is what “broke” Menou. At first, I was thinking she’s immune to ether by nature. That could explain how she survived the Blanching. But, Akari’s Pure Concept of Time affects her.

Momo’s Mission

Does anyone else wish the series followed Momo instead of Menou and Akari? Momo has the best character design of the series so far. I also much prefer her personality over both Menou’s and Akari’s. If we’re going to follow an Executioner and her way of life, why can’t it be Momo?

Look, I get that Momo’s not for everyone. There are going to be those who don’t like her for various reasons. Some won’t like the clingy side of her that’s obsessed with Menou. And others won’t like that she’s flat and will label her a loli (which she’s not).

But, those complaints are pretty surface-level. Yes, Momo loves Menou. That doesn’t define her entire personality, though. We’ve already seen that Momo is very serious about her job. She’s also a capable fighter and isn’t afraid to go up against formidable opponents, such as Ashuna.

Let’s also not forget that Momo has the coolest magic outside of the Pure Concepts. Menou can only create some bubbles using a magic device (lame). And while Ashuna’s flame sword is cool, it’s a bit generic. Momo carries around chains that she turns into chainsaws. That’s pretty metal.

So, at the end of Episode 4, Menou tasks Momo with investigating disappearances in the city. They both assume there’s a connection between the disappearances and the train terrorists. And, they assume a powerful noble is also involved. That means this is an important job — and Momo’s going to do it on her own.

I’m guessing that Menou and Akari are going to somehow get involved in the investigation as well. But, I hope that we follow Momo’s independent investigation a bit before that happens. I’d like to see more of her working on her own.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 4? Did the episode feel like it went by faster than the others to you? Do you like Menou’s current personality, or would you rather she be more apathetic? And, why do you think Momo is the best character? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 5 is available now.