Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest (Episode 18) – Memories from the Bottom of the Sea

Hajime is looking for the next labyrinth and it’s an underwater one. It should be somewhere around here, but he can’t seem to find it. Oh, wait! There it is. Nether mind this should be easy enough…
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest (Episode 18) – Memories from the Bottom of the Sea
What happened?
Hajime was feeling pretty deflated. The Labyrinth should be around here, but there was no sign of it. Then, Hajime miraculously decides to hold up the talisman that was proof of their completing the last labyrinth and it charges off the moonlight before revealing the path to the entrance, which it then opens. There’s something else in the water, but Hajime has some new toys to try out and they seem to do the job.
Eventually, they get in the labyrinth and wander around looking for trouble. Well, they walk straight into a trap and appear to be inside of a monster’s belly as it tries to consume them. Luckily, Hajime spots some water drain out beneath his feet and decides to blow a hole in the floor. They drop into the water and get swept away. Hajime saves Kaori and they end up separated from the others. Well, nothing else to do so they keep pushing on.

What did you think?
Was this an improvement on the last episode? I’m not sure. It had some fun moments in it, but it really is lazily written. The answers just seem to appear before Hajime as if by magic. Charging up the talisman with the moon was such an ass-pull it was laughable. Of course, it was that easy. Why hadn’t he thought of doing that sooner? Then, once inside the labyrinth, they faced a foe that was actually formidable. It sure was fortunate that there was that water spiralling down through the rocks to show Hajime the way out.
I’ve lost track of the issues with this series, but the most recent one highlighted seems to be that nothing is earned. They don’t have to think or solve any puzzles. It’s just shot everything until you win or a solution miraculously appears. It’s pretty boring. Of course, we got to see a little of the other students, well the teacher and she was taken hostage by a nun that tried to use mind control on her. Luckily, the princess was hiding nearby and saw everything.

What have you learnt?
So, Hajime laid down the law on Kaori. Basically, Yue is his number one and always will be so don’t compare yourself to her. Also, they were mean to Shea, but she kept smiling and trying so he let her stay around. Kaori, however, is a bit of a bummer and it’s getting him down. So, she either has to cheer up or walk away. At first, I thought it was good that Hajime was so open and forthright with Kaori. That was until I realised he just didn’t want her bumming him out.
If she smiled and stopped apologising, then that’s fine, she could be a part of his harem and hope for some scraps… I’ve never liked Hajime. Nothing about him has endeared itself to me and I’ve seen his struggle as anything but. As I mentioned earlier, everything just seems to happen for him. Even in the first episode, he dug into the rock and miraculously found the holy water. Overpowered protagonists can be fun, but not when they are also given zero obstacles to overcome.

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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