Rage of Bahamut: Genesis Episodes 1 & 2 “Encounter Wytearp"/"Escape from Livian”
Tell me something, my friend. Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? – The Joker
The multitude of genres that anime has inherited over the years is astounding. It has the mythos of Shinto, the mythos of feudal war, and even the mythos of high school. Still, the Japanese accept all forms of influence from all over the world. One of these fabled genres is the medieval epic, and anime has done it to the nth degree.
Titles like Berserk, Record of Lodoss War, Attack on Titan, Claymore, and even Fate/Zero pit legend against legend and fighter against fighter in duels of honor and legacy. The high dreams and the low defeats of men in combat are captured with blistering reality. The market squares and the fair maidens are as beautiful as ever. The monsters are pure evil and wish nothing but ruin. Super simple stuff on the onset, but the best work knows how to weave the basics. Perhaps this quality comes from the similarities of Feudal Japan and Feudal Europe, two subjects that come to clash in Japanese pop culture.
In apologies for not watching this current anime season, I’m going back to watch a sleeper hit title that may or may not join the pantheon given the praise I’ve been hearing, but the horizon looks promising. Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, an adaptation of a popular card game's lore, is at this time only nine episodes in, but I’ll be focusing on the first two episodes for this time being. With our hearts held high, let’s begin.
Two thousand years ago, the legendary demon dragon Bahamut attacked the kingdom of Mistarcia in a seething act of rage. In an act of unity, the human forces joined with all the gods and demons to seal away Bahamut in stone with a single key. This key was then split and given to the gods and demons for safety measures, while the humans kept watch over the demon’s stone prison.
Fast-forward to present time, and two of our leads appear on horseback, one chasing the other through a Spanish town and causing as much chaos as possible. Our heroes are a bounty hunter named Favaro Leone and a disgraced knight named Kaisar Lidfald, two bounty hunters who just so happen to have a troubled past. Right from the get go, I have this overwhelming sense of DreamWorks’ classic title The Road to El Dorado. So far, the plot a roaring and exciting trip, causing mayhem in the streets and a waterwheel to roll throughout town. Except in this case, Kaisar has been tailing Favaro because the bounty hunter may have something to do with his family’s fall from grace. I personally love stupid action in the right mood, and I’m certainly feeling it now. The waterwheel crashes into three thugs who were accosting some women for their leader, and all parties make their escape.
With the thugs escaped, they are about to confirm that they are in the clear until a woman falls from the sky. Without provocation, she attacks them. Back to Favaro’s plot, we find him tracking down a bounty and it so happens the boss of the thugs is the head. The boss summons up demons and with a fair amount of cunning, Favaro burns the demons with high-grade alcohol and impales the boss on a trap. The bounty is collected in a very clever way of concocting a stone slab from the guilty party. It gets around the whole habeas corpus business.
The bounty is collected from a drunk named Bacchus and the loot is spent at a local tavern. As Favaro recounts his historical victories (or rather tall tales) to the patrons, the woman from earlier overhears a tidbit of information. He has been to the frozen tundra city of Helhiem and intends to go again via a shortcut. As he leaves, the woman accosts him for information, but he will only give the shortcut if she gives him a kiss. That’s one of the great attributes of Favaro. The ever-excitable Arsene Lupin III nature of living (and I like Lupin III), as if he is the one and true master of his life. He comes off as a fascinatingly goofy person but he always has a plan. Think Don Quixote with no honor to his name, but a sense of realistic goals.
As they’re about to lock lips, the younger brother of the boss comes instigate a rematch. Using a larger demon than his brother, he attack both Favaro and the woman. She reveals herself as a full-fledged demon and, in a GORGEOUSLY animated fight sequence, allowing the bounty hunter to stab the boss in the back.
Favaro wakes from a dream, thinking the same about the surreal night before. As he undresses for a shower, one of the chambermaids come to his room and screams. He now possesses a hooked tail, the mark of a lesser demon. End episode.
This episode does more in its first twenty-four minutes than most series could ever dream of. It establishes a cast, gives a general groundwork for a fantasy setting, doesn’t let up on the animation, and could actually build itself into a short film given the correct circumstances. It’s a brilliant start, but as is well known in the anime community, a start means nothing if the support isn’t there. So we meet Episode 2.
Leaving off from the first episode, Favaro attempts to cut the tail off, but fails miserably. Upon meeting the woman again she claims that the tail is a curse she laid upon him. Moral of the story: don’t kiss mysterious women. She will not remove the curse until she is given direction to the shortcut of Helheim, as per the contract. Realizing he has no out, Favaro must now find his way to Helheim with the woman in tow.
Hours pass and Kaisar now knows of Favaro’s demonic curse. Having past resentments against his rival and now knowing of his demonic status, he swears to bring him down. As he utters his oath, an order of knights enters town. More specifically, the Knights of Saint Jeanne D’Arc. As an aside, I don’t know what’s up with Japan’s odd fascination with St. Joan of Arc. She seems to pop up in most fantasy anime in reference or plot thread.
Anyway, the knights are looking for the One-Winged Demon, and Kaisar, thinking they mean Favaro, attempts to coerce them to take his advice using his status. However, because he is marked as a bounty hunter and not a lord, they disregard him. One knight even assaults him for daring to use a family name. Despite this, he reaffirms his cause to hunt down his rival.
Upon entering a new town, Favaro decides to hunt a bounty, which becomes trivially easy with a demon. While he had thoughts about killing her earlier, the show of power makes it seem otherwise. In celebration, they purchase new clothes for the woman to replace her older mage-like attire. Consider this a small nod to RPG clothing upgrades.
With the remaining gold, they enter a local tavern and have a wonderful night of merriment. Even the demon woman, who has consumed the food of mortals, seems to become looser and more willing to participate in Favaro’s revelry. They end the day with a swim in a lake. It is at this time we learn the woman’s name is Amira, and her reason for traveling to Helheim is to reunite with her mother. In a moment, Favaro sees an opportunity to kill Amira. That’s one of the more interesting aspects of this episode, which is rather well done. Even though he would entertain a demon’s fancies, Favaro still has a job to complete and wishes her dead still. It’s not an instant bonding, and only under circumstances does he begin to change his tune.
Before he can strike, Kaisar appears from nowhere to attack Favaro. Dumbstruck by Amira’s beauty, he is quickly dispatched by Favaro and knocked unconscious. The two make their way to the next town, where the Knights have continued their search for the One-Winged Demon. Seeing an opportunity, Favaro spills the secret and points the platoon in the direction of Amira. Having done an honest deed, he fully expects to be rid of the demon by day’s end. His horse, having befriended the demon, has other plans and travels to rescue her.
He finds Amira surrounded but not harmed, as her power far surpasses the knights’ base magic. They escape in a cloud of Favaro’s smoke bombs and make their way to a bridge. The leader of the knights prepares to launch a volley of arrows and kill them both until he spots Amira’s pendant, a symbol of her mother. He calls for his men to hold their fire, giving the two enough time to jump into a river. The head knight assumes the targets are alive, and focuses on a similar pendant from around his neck.
Amira and Favaro have a discussion regarding the nature of the attack, and she sees right through his lies, rewarding him with a smack across the cheek. End episode.
I have to say, intrigue is difficult to implement without suffering from way too many plot threads. However, there is enough here in Rage of Bahamut: Genesis to warrant a closer look. There’s Amira’s mother, Favaro’s demon status, Kaisar’s disgrace, the knight guard’s pendant. It’s all very D&D and will be an interesting look see. If I do have one complaint, it is the balance of comedy and action. Normally, a series like this does well by going straight dramatic action (see Berserk). The new normal seems to favor this hybrid style, and I may need time to see the grand scale unfold. Still, I’m glad I checked it out. I will most likely finish it, given enough time. The medieval setting is looking nice, and now I want some cheer and a song.
Speaking of songs, DAT OPENING
