The audacity. Who had the AUDACITY to make an episode this good?
No, seriously. Who’s the director? May all their lights be green on their way to work. May they get the best seat on the train if they commute. May their pillows perpetually be cool. May their coffee always be just the right temperature.
I’m already late enough with this reaction, so I won’t take the time to confirm this, but I’m pretty sure episode 15 is the first episode to cover only one chapter – manga (chapter 25) and the light novel (volume 2, chapter 4). It doesn’t take much to see why. This episode was jammed packed! Just as I mentioned in my last reaction, Lakan has made his official appearance. I loved the intro scene with him popping up behind the gossiping military officers. It’s a very Lakan thing to do – be asleep outside in a random pagoda with one of his games in front of him.
It wasn’t until this anime adaptation that I realized Lakan is the one who approached Gaoshun about the raw fish mystery. In the manga, Gaoshun mentions being asked by someone he used to work with to look into the issue, but he says it in such an offhand manner, I didn’t think anything of it. I’m guessing this was an anime-only decision, as a way to folk Lakan further into the overall story, but who knows. Because if Maomao had any idea whom the ask came from, I doubt she would have helped, even if there was poison involved.
There have been a few times that I’ve felt a little disappointed with how the animators chose to adapt a certain scene or character expression from the manga (Jinshi’s reaction last episode is a good example), but the animators did not disappoint this time around. Particularly, with Maomao’s scary face. In the manga, her expression is a bit more playful but still comedic. The one she has in the episode, though, borders on terrifying, and I loved it. I feel like her expression was something straight out of Mieruko-chan.
No drastic deviations from the source material this episode. Everything was pretty standard… although they did change minor things. And when I say minor, I really do mean minor. For example, in the manga, Basen and Maomao are sitting across from each other in the carriage than side-by-side like in the anime. Not only that, but there’s another person, some nameless rando, with the crew when Maomao is elaborating on the “poisonous” seaweed. He’s only shown afterwards in the anime, but in the source material, the guy is with the group, witnessing Maomao’s genius the whole time.
You know, I don’t know what it is about Basen, but I really like how the animators illustrated him in the anime. It’s funny because there’s nothing special about him particularly, but to me, his eyes are so fetching. Actually, all of the characters in this show have beautiful eyes, Maomao especially. But the shade of brown that they use for Basen, is just so pretty??? Idk how to explain it.
I’ve seen some reactors say that they were a little bored with this episode, like they were last week, and I just… have to sit on my hands lol. I have to remind myself that people are allowed to like and not like whatever they want. If they can’t see this show for the masterpiece it is, then that’s okay. By now, I’m sure you can tell that I’m the type of person who will show my favorite movie to someone and watch their reaction while they watch the movie. I can’t help but be super excited and have high expectations whenever I share anything I enjoy with someone else.
Anyway, next week looks like it’ll be another one-chapter episode. If I’m being honest, this next mystery is actually on my top three list of storylines that I didn’t really care for in the original. Who knows, maybe the animators will make it even better than what it is in the source material. We’ll just have to see.
