Alderamin on the Sky

Episode 7

“War exists to uphold the peace. You shouldn't destroy the peace to support a war.”

If I had not already seen episode 7, then I probably would not have guessed that these words came out of Yatori's mouth. Ikta, sure, but prior to this there has been little to no clue that the very pragmatic Yatori is also such an idealist. They aren't the only surprising words in this episode either, as the burly captain's scathing disdain for knights glorifying the prospect of putting down an insurrection was also unexpected; he gave every indication early on of being more of a gung-ho confrontational type than thoughtful.

I'm sure Yatori's words were also meant to define both the whole episode in particular and perhaps the behavior of the Katjavarna Empire in general. Seems like the Lieutenant General doesn't like the Sinack people at all, but whether he's deliberately trying to goad them into a military stance – and thus give the Empire a reason to ruthlessly put them down – or is just too stupid to realize that taking away their little spirit critters (what Ikta saw in the cell at the end of last episode) to reduce their combat effectiveness is only going to antagonize the Sinacks further is a toss-up at this point. I'm leaning towards the former, especially since he didn't seem too upset by the death of the Major at the hands of Sinack assassins. It's equally interesting to consider whether or not someone else might also be yanking the Sinacks' chain in order to goad them into this fight, as Ikta's comments at one point about how the Sinack would never call a war a holy war on their own logic are quite intriguing.

The fight is happening though, even if Ikta and his group aren't initially going to be involved. Instead at risk is Kanna, the private that Ikta has been flirting with over a familiar book that she's been reading. Their conversation is used to explore the religions of the setting and thus clarify where the title comes from; Alderamin is the main god of the Katjavarna Empire, and Kanna's reasoning calls into question whether the little elemental spirits are actually connected to Alderamin or not (as the Empire preaches), because the Sinack also have them but don't venerate a god. This bit of world-building may be a factor in the revolt and levies a further criticism against organized religion, something which the series seems to have a big issue with. Unfortunately that also puts Kanna in a tenuous position, since she's almost perfectly primed to be sacrificed as a symbol of what's wrong with the way the Empire does things. I hope she'll be around after next episode, since she has an appealing combination of beauty and an inquisitive mind, but I won't be holding my breath.

Otherwise, the episode is pretty much what we've come to expect from the series: Yatori gets a (brief) opportunity to show off both her battle skills and judgment, Ikta proves once again that he's incorrigible (or at least consistently pretending to be), the princess gets just a little wiser while still crushing on Ikta, and another potentially feisty female character is added to the mix. Nothing too spectacular, but the series is definitely smoothly sailing right now.

Rating: B

Alderamin on the Sky is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.