Ragna Crimson (Episode 2) - The Beginning of the Story

Ragna’s city has been attacked by another of the Dragon Monarchs. This one is Temruogtaf, a monster that can control trees allowing him to move in the day. During the battle, Ragna meets an old friend which marks the beginning of his story!

Ragna Crimson (Episode 2) – The Beginning of the Story

What did you watch?

So far, my decision to dive back into seasonal anime has been a resounding success. I had planned on watching four shows and ended up with five and each one of them has been great. While all are fantasy in nature, they have taken on some interesting themes. One thing that I am enjoying is how dark most of them are. Even Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End deals with some fairly traumatic issues despite being more a tale of learning and discovery. Ragna Crimson, however, is a little more simplistic, but in a good way. Ragna wants to kill all dragons before they can kill the ones he loves. Sometimes a simple premise can allow a series to really have fun. Let’s get into it!

Ragna Crimson Episode 2 Ragna getting used to his new powers

What happened?

Not long after defeating Grymwelte, the Tenth Seat of the Blood of the Wing, Ragna passed out. His body was still adapting to the powers he received from his future self. Unfortunately, the war was far from over as another menace approached. This time, it appeared that a forest was marching towards the city. Leonica, Sykes, and the other dragon slayers fought back, discovering that the trees themselves were a form of dragon. Then, when Leonica appeared to be in trouble, Ragna woke up and released a silvervine aura that froze the dragon trees. He identified the main threat and raced into the forest.

There, he found Teruogtaf, the Eighth Seat of the Blood of the Wing. A monstrous plant dragon that was delighted to have been given free reign to eat as many humans as he wished. Without hesitating, Ragna kicked him in the face and sent him flying. When the dust had settled, he saw the person he needed to make his quest to kill all dragons a reality – Crimson. However, it was earlier than they met the first time and Crimson was not about to believe his words, despite Ragna knowing her cover story and their true identity as the First Seat of the Blood of the Wing.

Ragna Crimson Episode 2 Crimson reveals themself to Ragna

What did you think?

This episode wrapped up everything from the first volume of the manga and it did it well. I love how delightfully dark this series is with dragons eating people left, right, and centre. Had they toned it down, I think it would have really killed the mood. This is a terrible world full of man-eating monsters, and they are learning that they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are far more terrifying things lurking beneath humanity’s perception. It was hard seeing Ragna force Leonica to leave but it was the right thing to do, and that’s without my desire to see a dark story without overpowered children running around. Ragna and Crimson are a much better fit and should be able to maintain the dark tone.

Ragna Crimson Episode 2 Ragna protects Leonica from Temruogtaf

What was your favourite moment?

Ragna knew who Crimson was. He reeled off their backstory and even knew that Crimson could change form and gender. However, Crimson refused to give in easily. So, those brief moments where Crimson started to imagine the possibilities of partnering with a human that could produce mass amounts of Silverine from his body and also had the desire to kill all dragons was amazing. There’s nothing quite like a sinister grin in anime and Crimson had several in one episode alone. Will that be a constant? I don’t know, but I feel like the expressiveness will continue. I also enjoyed how Crimson called Ragna out for offering to do all the things he did for Leonica for them.

Ragna Crimson Episode 2 Elise is Crimson

Who was the most impactful character?

Crimson is such a fascinating character. They’re a dragon monarch posing as a maid with a cover story as a farm boy. They can change their body and gender at will. They also tried to kill the Dragon God and as such was branded a traitor. Even with a fraction of their power, Crimson is still terrifyingly strong and while they don’t necessarily like nor trust Ragna, they are fascinated by his power. They make for an excellent partnership as they are so completely different from one another but are united by a common cause, although we don’t really know what Crimson’s true goal is.

What have you learned?

I love a good time travel story. So, I was surprised when I didn’t automatically mark this as a time travel story in my head. There wasn’t any physical travelling, but Ragna gained his memories and abilities from the future so it’s like his consciousness has travelled through time. That opens up all sorts of possibilities with regard to him potentially being aware of the future moves the dragons will make. Of course, things will change as he changes the future, but I feel like there’s a lot of potential to do some interesting things with it. I also have to wonder if Crimson could do that, then they may have done it before too. There’s still lots to find out and I am here for it.