How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom

Episode 12

While episode 12 is another whirlwind episode, things at least felt a bit more grounded in the characters this time. Most importantly, we got a few genuine character beats that I felt landed much better than the show's usual attempts. Even if there was some tonal whiplash from the episode's events, I think the strong characterization helped carry it.

Souma and Carla's scene before the battle is a great microcosm of both my issues with the series and also the strengths of this particular episode. Firstly, they have a discussion about Souma's role on the battlefield – or lack thereof – as Souma explains that as a king he is not a frontline fighter. Rather, he helps determine the strategic objectives and acts as a bargaining chip if captured. Now, I understand the metatextual reason behind this scene: we have to explain to the audience (who might be expecting a more high fantasy take on kings fighting in battles) why Souma is not doing big bold hero stuff and fighting on the front lines. Textually though, I'm confused as to why Carla is the one he's talking to about this. Not only is she native to this world, I was under the impression that she was an officer already and that she and Liscia were at the academy together. I feel like she should already know these things.

In any case, her rushing out to battle was a good moment. At least, it hit the right emotional intensity – the animation itself left a bit to be desired. I honestly found myself wishing for more reserved limited animation techniques rather than “seeing” the action; growing up and watching Record of Lodoss War far too many times, I am accustomed to lots of panning over still shots and Kawajiri-esque slashes at the screen with no other motion. I'm okay with being lied to.

Gaius and Julius had a great scene too, surprisingly. I think the voice actors really delivered on the intensity of the scene and the stakes for these particular characters. By the end of their short back and forth, I found myself invested in whether or not Gaius survived, which surprised me given how little we know about them. I think having a scene with clear stakes that did not involve Souma in any way helped a lot, including the fallout with his daughter. I've said before that finding appeal in isekai stories is an uphill battle for me; I tend to prefer fully realized secondary worlds with characters that are firmly rooted in that fictional space. So moments like this work well for me.

The “let's put on a show, gang!” angle at the end of the episode I'm more mixed on. I understand the practical concern but something about these scenes just feels… odd. In another anime this would have been an excuse for more salacious content, but that doesn't really happen here. But at the same time, the practical considerations seem a bit muddy. It seems to ostensibly be about raising morale in spite of food shortages and or the rigors of war, but the food shortage issue just got waved off pretty easily in the prior scene. Plus the war was wrapped up so quickly and cleanly – at least from what we saw on screen – that as a viewer it just comes off flat. The music is nice at least, and the songs are actually quite lovely and enjoyable for the short time we get with them.

The aforementioned problems aside, I can say that this was one of the show's better episodes for the season. Other episodes made better use of the realism/practical shtick, but to my mind this had real human emotion and stakes.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is currently streaming on Funimation.