Record of Ragnarok (Episode 21) - Resonance

Raiden Tameemon struggled with his strength to begin with. However, his mother told him it was a gift from the gods and that he should use it to help those that needed it. That led him to sumo to feed his village!

Record of Ragnarok (Episode 21) – Resonance

What happened?

When Shiva’s attack had ended and the crowd were distraught with what they saw, no one noticed that Raiden was smiling. His fellow sumo wrestlers saw it first and were delighted for him. He could finally use his full power. While Raiden had always loved sumo, it had not been kind to him. When he played with the local kids, he was seen as a monster and quickly gave up. His mother found him crying over his strength. Why had he been cursed this way? She told him that it was a gift from the gods and that he should use that strength to help the weak.

So, when a volcano erupted and sent the region into famine and then plague, he left to make the money to send food home. He decided to become a sumo wrestler. When asked to train with the others he warned them that he didn’t want to hurt them. The stablemaster, Urakaze told him to fight with him and then he wouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone. Urakaze showed him that strength alone wouldn’t make him great. So they trained and trained and trained. Raiden eventually became the greatest sumo wrestler ever.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 21 Shiva versus Raiden Tameemon Final Showdown begins

What did you think?

Boom! This was a great episode and not just because of the sumo backstory, but I’ll get into that shortly. Raiden unleashed an open-palmed slap that broke the sound barrier and sent two of Shiva’s arms flying. Had he not blocked, his head would have bore the full force of that attack. It was spectacular. Unfortunately, the recoil was tearing Raiden’s body apart. He begged Thrud to hold him together and allow him to finally use all his strength.

She called him a fool but understood what he wanted. Thrud was willing to put it all on the line for the one she loved. Now, I said earlier that I hoped Raiden won just so that nothing happened to Thrud. We needed to see more of her and while this was a nice teaser, it wasn’t enough. I’m immediately calling for a series that follows the Valkyries on some insane quest led by Brunhilde. I would watch that series in a heartbeat. The next episode should be outstanding, although I worry about the outcome.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 21 Thrud devotes herself to Raiden

What have you learnt?

It wasn’t that long ago that I wouldn’t have given much thought to sumo wrestling. Sure, they were big and powerful, but whatever. Then, in the Fall of 2018, I stumbled upon Hinomaru Sumo and instantly fell in love with the show and the sport. Sumo is a fascinating sport and I couldn’t get enough of that series, even at twenty-four episodes in length.

So, finding a bit of sumo backstory in Record of Ragnarok was a huge bonus. Of course, I would also watch a series about Raiden. I loved his ethos of using his strength to help the weak and as such only lost to much weaker opponents. That’s also why he imposed some rules on himself that limited his four strongest techniques. This guy is amazing. I really hope he makes it through the fight.