In the Land of Leadale (Episode 11) - An Introduction, a Carriage, a Maid, and Moving

Now that Cayna has Luka to look after, she decides to settle down in the village she first appeared in. First, she needs to introduce Luka to her new brothers and sister. That’s bound to be interesting!

In the Land of Leadale (Episode 11) – An Introduction, a Carriage, a Maid, and Moving

What happened?

Cayna takes Luka to the Capital where she shows her around, taking in the castle, the market, the adventurer’s guild, and the boatyard. Luka is quite understandably in awe of everything having grown up in a small fishing village prior to the zombie fog quest changing her life forever. That’s one of the reasons that Cayna has decided that the village near her tower would be the best place to settle down.

First, she takes Luka to meet Mei-Mei and Lonti, who clearly has a thing for Roxilius. Anyhow, Mei-Mei welcomes her little sister and is delighted when Luka calls her big-sis Me-Mei. Next, Luka gets to meet Skargo and it’s as outrageous and as flamboyant as you might imagine. He even offers to move his church to the village, although Cayna instantly shoots down that idea.

As usual, Kartatz gets the nicest treatment from Cayna. He welcomes Luka too and pats her on the head only for Cayna to do the same to him. Seriously, he’s not a little kid… Anyhow, Kartatz gives Cayna a pile of lumber with which to build her house. Next, she visits with the Fire Spears and Eline who invites her to visit his shop for anything she needs. Before moving back to the village, Roxilius suggests that Cayna summon Roxine. As much as he hates it, Luka would benefit from a female attendant. Together, they head to the village where a party awaits them!

In the Land of Leadale Episode 11 Cayna Kartatz and Luka

What did you think?

Was it just me, or did this episode feel like the end? Cayna basically visited with all the people she’d interacted with and said her goodbyes. Mei-Mei even recapped everything Cayna had done in the episodes prior. I know there’s only one episode left, but I’m at a loss as to what they could possibly do now. She’s not going suddenly find all the other Guardian’s towers. The first part of the next episode will no doubt be Cayna recovering from a hangover and then I’m expecting her to build a house and settle into the quiet life.

I had a feeling Luka was going to be the end of this series, and not just because I don’t really care for cute children in my anime. She seems incredibly vacant too. Could it possibly be that she is part of the quest and something horrible will occur? It’s not beyond imagination. This may have a slice of life vibe to it, but there’s been some fairly dark things and Luka’s entire family turning into zombies and dying is definitely one of those things. I’m hoping for a big surprise in the last episode.

In the Land of Leadale Episode 11 Cayna surprised

What have you learnt?

One of the things that I think has bugged me about this series is that it lacks a lot of the key elements that make up a story. We had an inciting incident which was Cayna appearing in this new world, but that has been about it. There’s hasn’t really been a call to action as such and there isn’t anything to drive Cayna on. The last and most important thing missing is urgency. Cayna may well have decided that she is going to find the Guardian’s towers, but she’s in no hurry. Nothing will happen if she takes one hundred years to find them or if she decides she’s not going to bother.

As such, this feels less like a story and just a series of events that are concerned with the character Cayna. That might work if Cayna’s character was explored more. I feel like we should be in her head more seeing her thoughts and struggles as she comes to terms with her new life, her children, etc. However, she just seems to wander around finding things and saving people. In the absence of a plot, this series should have focused on character development and relationships. However, even those haven’t been given enough time to shine.