Peach Boy Riverside (Episode 10) - Horror and Resentment

Winnie gave Hawthorn Frau’s old sword and stepped aside. Even with this new weapon can he win, and how are the others faring against their opponents? On top of that, what is Sumeragi after?

Peach Boy Riverside (Episode 10) – Horror and Resentment

What happened?

Winnie revealed that she was watching Hawthorn fighting an ogre with a wooden sword and decided that it would be only fair to give him a proper one. However, this wasn’t any old sword. It belongs to Frau and is said to be able to cut anything. Even Juselino, who was cheering him on from the rooftops, could tell how dangerous that sword was. But could it cut through lightning?

It looked like Frau was about to lose, but she took a full hit from an ogre cannon at close range and kept fighting. Atla had left her with just enough power to tear her opponent to pieces before passing out. Carrot, however, had to use her cunning to lure Shinki into a position where he couldn’t use his stretching powers to avoid her attacks. She took him down and then cried as he passed away.

Sumeragi seemed to be pleased to see that Sally had some resolve and surrendered, allowing her to run to Hawthorn’s aid. She asked him how he countered her peach powers, but he pointed out that maybe now wasn’t the best time to stand around talking. She agreed and ran to help Hawthorn.

However, Hawthorn had already won, defeating Todoroki. His cut wasn’t deep enough to kill him though. He wanted to but figured it would be harder to explain to Sally if he did. When Todoroki woke, Carrot explained the situation. He was released to see that she was alive, but was too stubborn to join them on their quest.

Millia had found Mikoto sleeping outside the city and brought him back to his bed, however, he woke with a thirst for ogre blood and only the dog stopped him from attacking Millia. Meanwhile, Todoroki bumped into Sumeragi outside the city. He was angry that Sumeragi had lied to him and it cost him his friends’ lives. Sumeragi rectified that by killing Todoroki and telling him to tell heaven who sent him.

Peach Boy Riverside Episode 10 Sally and Frau

What did you think?

I really enjoyed this episode, too. In true shounen form, everyone managed to muster up some extra strength or cunning to win their battles. Admittedly, Hawthorn got a pretty big helping hand, but then it’s also nice that he can now pull his weight like the others. The big surprise came at the end when Sumeragi killed Todoroki. I assume he had hoped he would have been killed in the battle, but he’s not one to leave any loose ends. This will be a concern for Carrot, especially if she is still providing him with information.

The other thing is working out what Sumeragi is, and after this episode, I’m starting to think he could be some kind of fallen angel. He seemed to imply that they would know him in heaven. I feel like this is not a heaven and hell type scenario but more of a holding place for souls before they are reborn into the world. I wonder if Frau were to meet with Sumeragi if she could offer up some advice. She has a connection to heaven too, so it would make sense.

What have you learnt?

As expected, Sumeragi cannot be trusted and is obviously hoping to use Sally for some nefarious scheme. What exactly, we have absolutely no idea and I kind of doubt we’ll find out with just one episode left. That is, of course, episode 9. I think it’s worth noting that the streaming service in Japan that has Peach Boy Riverside has reordered the series so that it appears in the correct order. I think that’s quite the slap in the face for the person responsible for setting the release schedule and never has anyone deserved it more.

I’m all for stories that jump around and push ideas in different ways before coming back to reveal something that makes the outcome that much more satisfactory. For those to work, however, they need to be carefully planned and thoughtfully put together so that they actually flow and there aren’t these situations that don’t make sense because a character has appeared before we’d met them. This series doesn’t have any of that. It is quite obvious that it was made in chronological order and then sliced up and re-served.

Chronological viewing order – 4, 1, 2, 7, 11, 12, 5, 6, 3, 8, 10, 9