Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest (Episode 11) – The Monsters’ Day Off
Hajime returned the Count’s son to the Guild Master and demanded another set of adventurer’s plates for Tio. They finally have some time to relax, although some slavers seem to have other ideas!
What did you watch?
This series just seems to go up and down. Episode 10 was good without being spectacular, but it was far superior to the episode before that. The big question now, is where will episode 11 of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest stand? I believe this series is supposed to be thirteen episodes long, but I’m unclear whether that includes the catch-up episode between five and six. Why does it matter? Well, this could be the second to last episode and despite my problems with the series, I would still like to see it end well. As normal, there will be spoilers.
What happened?
The Count’s son is safe which means Hajime and the others can rest and recover, not that the battle with the monsters appeared to take much out of them. Either way, they seem happy to slow down for a moment. Hajime takes Shea sightseeing and at the aquarium, they encounter a fish with a human’s face. One that appears oddly familiar to Shea. As it turns out, it was the fish-monster they saw as they were flushed out of the Riesen Labyrinth. Hajime frees the fish and is told of a young merperson who has been captured by slavers.
Hajime and Shea return to sightseeing until Hajime senses a small monster under the streets. It turns out to be the mergirl who they rescue. Myu, the mergirl takes a liking to Hajime and starts to call him big-bro, but Hajime cleans her up and takes her to the authorities, but the slavers steal her back, giving Hajime a new enemy. Hajime and Shea start to hit the gangs properties, searching for a lead. They bump into Yue and Tio having a cup of tea and enlist their help.
What did you think?
With one or two episodes left, is it wise to essentially have a filler episode? Maybe, but I actually really enjoyed this episode. There were a couple of things that bugged me, but on the whole, it was a lot of fun, especially when Hajime, Shea, Tio, and Yue started to destroy the place. It was the first time, I felt like the music added to the action rather than just being there in the background. All in, it was a much more enjoyable experience.
What was your favourite moment?
That’s easy. Hajime and Shea had just handed Myu over to the city guards in hope of them keeping her safe, but they’d barely walked a couple of blocks when there was an explosion. Of course, it was from the place they left Myu. They raced back but it was too late, they’d already taken her and left a note demanding that Hajime hand over Shea if he ever wants to see Myu again. Well, this pissed off Hajime and he went on a rampage, destroying the gang’s property and killing its people, searching for a lead.
At one point, Hajime knocked a guy through a wall, sending him crashing through Yue and Tio’s table. He quickly explained what had happened and asked for their help. Obviously, more carnage followed. It ended when Hajime found the auction and leapt from the rafters to land on the gang leader, then without hesitation, he executed him. I actually liked that Hajime didn’t even bother to let him talk and just got rid of him. Then Yue destroyed their hideout. Job done!
What was your least favourite moment?
I mentioned the music during the search for Myu helping the scene and it being the first time I’d really noticed the music improving a scene. Well, earlier in the episode, I noticed the first time that it didn’t. It was during Tio’s flashback which was frankly way too short and didn’t really tell us much or further our connection with Tio, but then that seems to be standard for this series. So, Tio had met with the other remaining dragons to discuss the latest thing the god had done and this weird music starts playing in the background. It didn’t fit the scene at all and completely distracted me from what was being said.
Who was your favourite character?
It was definitely Hajime again. He seems to be far more likeable as a character when he’s not being asked to do stuff and can just decide to do things himself. That way we avoid the whole edgy dialogue from him as he initially refuses, even though we all know he’s going to do it anyway. He was ruthless and brutal, but then when going against people that steal children and sell them at auctions, I’m one hundred percent behind this sort of response. Kill them all and destroy anything that would indicate they ever existed.
Who was your least favourite character?
This is where I would have liked to say the gang leader, but we saw so little of him it seems like a waste. They didn’t even really show him being horrible, other than punching one of his own men. He was obviously a bad guy, but they could have done a little more to show us that and make Hajime assassinating him that much more satisfying. I can’t help but think about One Piece and when Luffy punched the Celestial Dragon at the mermaid auction. The build-up to that moment was so effective that it’s still one of my favourite moments in all of the anime I’ve seen.
Would you like some more?
We’re close to the end and I’ll honestly be glad to see the back of this series. It’s just been such a mess of badly developed characters and poorly paced episodes that even if the final episode or episodes are amazing, it won’t make up for what’s gone before. It’s a shame because there is obviously something really good behind it all, but the presentation has just not worked for me.
Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – The Monster of the Abyss
- Episode 2 – Pandora’s Box
- Episode 3 – The Golden Vampire Princess
- Episode 4 – Guardian of the Depths
- Episode 5 – The Maverick’s Lair
- Episode 6 – Worthless Rabbit
- Episode 7 – The Great Reisen Labyrinth
- Episode 8 – Reunion with the Past
- Episode 9 – Dragon Slayer
- Episode 10 – The Goddess’ Sword
- Episode 11 – The Monsters’ Day Off
- Episode 12 – A Looming Shadow
- Episode 13 – The Best at Being the Worst
- Season Two
- Episode 14 – Irregular
- Episode 15 – Burning Light
- Episode 16 – Black and White
- Episode 17 – Reunion
- Episode 18 – Memories from the Bottom of the Sea
- Episode 19 – Someone Important
- Episode 20 – A New Vow
- Episode 21 – A Disturbing Darkness
- Episode 22 – Invasion of the Capital
- Episode 23 – God’s Apostle
- Episode 24 – Betrayal
- Episode 25 – A New Journey
- Bonus Posts
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I’ll have you know that I’ve had my Arifureta post drafted since Monday, and you still managed to beat me to the punch here… I used the exact same Tio and Shea on the bed screencaps haha.
I especially couldn’t help myself with that Tio image – I think that was the first moment that I realized that her appearance is actually pretty awesome – not just her beautiful chest, but her hair is amazing. I’d put her hair up there with a hime cut, which is saying a lot. I almost hope there’s another cour just so that we can see more of her now, although I think Shea is the best girl of the show.
Agreed. That image of Tio was just too good to pass on. And the one of Shea was good too. I’d watch a spinoff of Tio and Shea fighting crime and visiting hot pools. They wouldn’t even need to fight crime…
Sounds like a great idea for Ecchi Hunter Productions..!
Haha! Securing the funding should be a breeze!