The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 3

The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 3

Terrorists on the Train

I didn’t like The Executioner and her Way of life Episode 3 as much as I liked the first two episodes. The episode wasn’t as good as the others in general. But, there was also something specific about it I wasn’t a fan of, which I’ll get to later in the review.

The episode starts out with Menou, Akari, and Momo taking a train to the city of Garm. As we’re reminded, they’re going to Garm to kill Akari. Akari still isn’t aware of this, but my guess is that it’s only a matter of time until she figures it out.

Also on the train is Princess Ashuna Grisarika. She’s the daughter of the king who’s currently on trial for heresy. The heretical action the king took was summoning otherworlders, including Akari. As we know, otherworlders wield powerful magic, and the king wanted to use that for his own gain.

Momo on top of the train from the anime series The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 3
Momo on top of the train

Something both I and Akari picked up on was the fact that the terrorists were wielding modern guns. At first, I didn’t think this made any sense. But, then I remembered that they were riding on a modern train. So in retrospect, the guns don’t stand out that much.

But, Menou does explain to Akari (and us) that these are ether guns. Aside from the fact that they’re illegal to own, she doesn’t go into any more detail. It’s unclear whether they fire ether itself or if ether is the propellant used to fire the bullets.

Thinking back on it now, it’s kind of weird that we never actually got to see any of the terrorists fire their guns. We didn’t even get to see Menou do something cool like use ether to harden her knife and deflect bullets off it.

Princess Knight Ashuna Grisarika

On top of the train, Momo comes across Princess Ashuna. At first, I thought these two were going to be on the same side. I know Ashuna’s father is being put on trial by the Faust, but I wasn’t expecting her to care. That wasn’t the case.

Princess Ashuna holds a grudge against her father. This is despite the fact that she didn’t appear to agree with him summoning otherworlders. But, I’m starting to think that she was more annoyed with the otherworlders than with her father.

It’s clear that the princess is looking for the otherworlders — if they’re even still alive. She admits that one of the Faust’s executioners may have already killed them. If they aren’t dead yet, though, Princess Ashuna may want to kill them herself.

Why? Because it kind of seemed like she was jealous of them. Rather than relying on her strength, her father summoned outsiders to rely on instead.

Princess Ashuna vs. Momo from the anime series The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 3
Princess Ashuna vs. Momo

I will say that, so far, I like Princess Ashuna. I’m not sure if she’s going to be an antagonist or an ally to Menou and Akari going forward. She’s an antagonist right now. But, things could change. Either way, I doubt she and Momo will ever get along.

During the fight that ensues between the princess and Momo, we get to see both of their fighting styles. The princess uses a large sword along with fire magic. Momo uses a sawblade chain that she can craft into different shapes and make vibrate like a… chainsaw.

Along with Princess Ashuna, I’m also liking Momo a lot. She has pink hair put up in twin tails, her outfit is cute, and her personality is the same as Kuroko Shirai’s. Momo is the best girl of the anime.

Akari’s Ether

Now we’re getting to the discussion of the part of the episode I didn’t like. So, I knew going into this anime that it’s a yuri series. I have no issue with that. But, I didn’t realize that there were going to be ecchi elements as well.

When the terrorist confronted Menou and Akari at the start of the episode and told Menou to strip, that was fine. Menou told herself he was doing it because she might have weapons on her (she does). But, we know that wasn’t the terrorist’s reason for ordering her to do so.

The first inclination that this series might have some ecchi content came at this point. Akari volunteers to strip for the terrorist in Menou’s place. She then starts unbuttoning her shirt before Menou stops her. But, by that point, my view of the series was already shattered.

Akari's reaction to having her ether extracted from the anime series The Executioner and Her Way of Life
Akari’s reaction to having her ether extracted

As I always feel the need to point out, I have no issue with ecchi content done right. But, it doesn’t fit into every series. And it doesn’t fit into every scene. Too many anime attempt to throw ecchi into the action or force it as some form of cheap comedy.

The big red flag for me came toward the end of the episode. When Menou’s attempting to stop the train, she taps into Akari’s vast reserves of ether to do so. And before she does this, she warns Akari that it’s going to be painful for her.

So, uh, pain wasn’t the sensation Akari felt as Menou tapped into her ether. I’d describe what Akari was feeling as something more like pleasure or euphoria. Look, if Akari wants to strip for a terrorist, fine. But this is where I have to draw the line.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 3? Was it as good as the first two episodes? Worse? The same? And which character is your favorite so far? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 4 is available now.

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