Following the heartwarming conclusion of the story involving Wyndia and her father, we are now focusing on another character, and one that has proven to be an invaluable member of Naofumi’s party.
Rishia.
Yearning
Right from the get-go, the episode establishes itself as Rishia-centric. The first scene shows her her training, which isn’t a strange sight by now.
But as we see, Rishia is not just training to get stronger for herself. Rather, she wants to be stronger so she could return to Itsuki’s side.
Her motivation is understandable. Rishia had only been an errant girl for the more stronger members’ of her party, and her clumsiness leaves much to be desired. But what she lack in these aspects, she makes up for them with sheer resolve to do anything for the Bow Hero.
What really strained their relationship, though?
The answer is in a flashback scene, which shows that Rishia was kicked out just because he broke a bracelet. It’s worth noting that her party’s opinion of her was already low because of her subpar skills, and she didn’t even get a fair trial before they removed her.
Though it’s not really clear if she had been simply framed up, the fact remains that Itsuki didn’t bother training her, unlike Naofumi. And yet Rishia still yearns to be with him because they are quite alike, striving hard to appease others. It isn’t a healthy habit, and it’s sad how Rishia went through her experience without Itsuki trying to change anything.
Nevertheless, it did prove a blessing because Rishia is stronger now; Itsuki might finally accept her back into his party.
But where is the Bow Hero anyway?
Another Victim
Though only appearing in brief scenes, we can gather much about Itsuki and his personality. First and foremost, he values justice and he wants to be a hero, evident in his actions during season 1.
At his core, Itsuki is a good person. However, he is young, and thrust with a heavy burden of being a Cardinal Hero. Combined with being gullible and delusional, it is easy for someone to manipulate him.
Especially if that someone is named Malty.
It is funny and sad when we realize that every Cardinal Hero has been tricked by the exiled former prince, with Itsuki being the last and arguably suffering even worse than the other three did. After all, it’s not just Malty who is tricking him but his entire party, siphoning all the money he earns under the pretense of saving the remaining slaves. And they even want to sell him too.
Even with both Naofumi and Ren revealing the truth, Itsuki is already trapped in Malty’s charms that reasoning no longer helps. And if the others don’t do something, Itsuki will suffer an even horrible fate.
Thankfully, Rishia has a solution.
A match between her and her former master.
Final Thoughts
Though light on action scenes, episode 10 gives interesting insight into Rishia and Itsuki’s motivations while setting up the final episodes. Even though the story is all about Naofumi, it is still fun to see other characters receiving development, especially with a cast so large. However, it remains to be seen if Rishia can really help Itsuki redeem himself and eliminate Malty’s influence.
Episode score: 7.5/10