Banished from the Hero's Party

Episode 4

As you have probably figured out by now, the thing I am least interested about in Banished from the Hero's Party is the slow life aspect of the story. Watching as Red and Rit lightheartedly revitalize an aging sauna that's being upstaged by a new bathhouse does nothing for me as a viewer, nor does Red's sauna contest with his friends. That said, I can appreciate it on another level: a character-building one.

Red came to the Zoltan region to disappear, so that his “failure” to be a true companion of the heroes' party wouldn't reflect poorly on anyone else. What he has found, however, is a life he never expected for himself. He has no fame, no fortune, and no world-saving responsibilities. Yet in living this “normal” life, he has found a happiness he didn't know existed—doubly so once Rit started sharing it with him. It's important that we see him enjoying his new life so we not only understand Red's current way of thinking but can also contrast it with that of his main antagonist in Zoltan: Albert.

Albert is a big fish in a small pond—and he revels in it. But as egotistical as he is, that does not mean he is incompetent. Albert is the strongest active adventurer in the entire region, after all. He is the last line of defense for the city and the only one willing to take on the most dangerous monsters of the wilderness. But more than that, he is not stupid. He can tell that Red is far more than he lets on. And while Albert may casually look down on Red for his D-rank, what pisses him off is not Red being weak but Red pretending to be weak.

In Albert's eyes, Red is a threat, not because he thinks Red is up to some devious plot (or because he thinks Red is actually stronger than him) but because Red's new way of life is the antithesis of Albert's own. Albert simply can't grasp why someone so skilled would choose a simple life over an extravagant one. Money, power, fame—these are wants that Albert understands because they are what he seeks to gain himself. The idea that one could be content with a normal life is a betrayal of who Albert is at his very core. However, if he can get Red to join him as an adventurer, and in doing so prove that moving up in the world is important, then Albert's worldview can remain unchallenged.

What's ironic about the whole thing is that while Albert sees himself as the greatest fighter in Zoltan, he's not, even with Red excluded. Rit is. The way she attacks him in this episode makes that quite clear. In a stroke she destroys his weapon and moves in for the finishing blow. She has raw strength and laser focused drive that he can't even start to match.

It's important to note that Albert wasn't ready for a fight, most certainly not a fight to the death. And make no mistake here, Rit was trying to kill him—and likely would have if Red hadn't have stopped her. Yet Red was never in any real danger from Albert. Not only was Albert not out to actually hurt Red, Red could have deflected the blow even if Albert had been serious. Rit knows this. She's fought alongside him in life-and-death battles. Moreover, with the obvious skill gap and the fact that she had already disarmed Albert, there was no need to go in for the deathblow. All this leads to the question: why was Rit trying to kill Albert?

Sure, there's the obvious answer: she loves Red and reacted emotionally rather than logically. However, perhaps there is a bit more to it than that. I can't help but feel that her extreme reaction comes not from her trying to protect her new life with Red but rather because of what's absent from it: conflict.

Rit is a Spirit Scout—a wandering warrior. This Blessing has driven her to lead armies as a princess and battle monsters as an adventurer. In her new life, she neither fights nor wanders. Unlike Red, who no longer has a Blessing acting upon him, Rit is actively fighting against hers. While her heart may want what she has now, it must be beyond stressful for her to shun a core part of her personality (even if it is externally added).

I think what we see here—the rage in her face as she attacks Albert—was a mixture of her personal feelings and her Blessing finding an outlet after being denied for so long. As much as Rit clearly wants to live alongside Red and spend every waking moment with him, going cold turkey on the adventuring looks to be a little less than healthy for her mental state. What she needs to find is a balance between her emotional needs and her Blessing. The longer she fights her Blessing outright, the worse her mental health is likely to get.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Men. Women. Elves. Goblins. It's nice to see that Banished from the Hero's Party is a heads-down-ass-up equal opportunity provider.

• Since presenting the twins to Red when waking up didn't work last episode, I chuckled to see that Rit has upped her game by showing off her booty as well.

• It's good to be reminded that just because a hero party-level demon kicked her ass, Rit is still stupidly powerful by normal standards.

• Look, I'm not so arrogant as to believe that the translator of Banished from the Hero's Party read my comments last week about the unintended confusion caused by translating “Eiyū Rit” as “The Hero Lit” but I am happy to see it now being translated as “The Champion Lit” nonetheless.

Banished from the Hero's Party is currently streaming on Funimation.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.