Heroic Legend of Arslan

Episode 8

This episode of The Heroic Legend of Arslan resolved a lot of plotlines, but created even more mysteries. First of all, it got our whole group together behind Arslan in a plausible way. Gieve insisted on following and flirting with Farangis, despite her lack of interest. When she decided to trail Kharlan's camp—correctly assuming they'd lead her to the prince—Gieve comes along. When the two warring camps do find each other, a battle starts up, and Narsus gets to realize his plan. The battle is the longest, but almost least exciting part of the episode. What we learn is more interesting than what we see play out on screen.

One of the smaller things revealed is just how extensive Daryun's badass reputation is. Kharlan's troops immediately back down in fear when they hear his name among their attackers. He frightens them even more than Arslan's torches, which he throws down on the troops as part of Narsus's plan. The whole theme of this battle is that even when the enemy has superior forces, you can win if your people are especially gifted. Arslan's got one of Pars's strongest fighters, its foremost military strategist, a slave boy he liberated, and two people who combine master archery with artistic talents. (It's funny how similar Gieve and Farangis's abilities are for the differences between them otherwise.) It makes it that much more frustrating that they aren't able to shake down Kharlan before he dies, but the show reveals his secrets to us a few scenes later. They do discover that he doesn't hold any ill will toward Arslan specifically, in spite of being willing to kill him. It's also revealing that Arslan sees the best in Kharlan to the end, even insisting that Farangis perform mourning rituals for him and his men.

Farangis is pretty great as the show's sole female character of any importance. (We also have the queen, but so far she's mostly a symbol.) Her get-up is considerably more fanservicey than in the old OVAs, but I think it's still on the tasteful side of sexy. It's not like the camera is constantly zeroing in on her boobs at the expense of the rest of her. I remember a Hiromu Arakawa interview where she talked about enjoying drawing sexy ladies, so I'm glad she got the opportunity to do so in a way she rarely did with Fullmetal Alchemist. Farangis's design resembles Lust from that series, but her personality is more like Riza Hawkeye's or Lan Fan's. Farangis's loyalties are to her religious beliefs, and I like that she insists on her duty even knowing that it's just an excuse to get her out of the temple.

She worships Mithra, a real-world ancient Indo-Iranian god who later became an important figure in Zoroastrianism and the center of a Roman "mystery cult." I'm no expert on Zoroastrianism, but I know Mithra is associated with truth and knowledge. That makes Farangis a good person to have on your side, if she's meant to be on the side of what is true. Mythology is good to know for this episode, as we also find out the name and purpose of the Masked Man. His name is Hermes, and given The Heroic Legend of Arslan's ancient religious symbolism elsewhere, I wonder if he is connected to the cunning Greek messenger god. Hermes is the heir to the king's older brother, who Andragoras III supplanted in some sort of succession crisis. Oh, did I mention Andragoras is alive?

This episode is loaded with those kinds of twists. It's definitely a stark turning point for the story. Kharlan is revealed to not be the true enemy, which was only hinted at previously. The main crisis revolves around who is going to succeed the Parsian throne, making this show even more like Game of Thrones than I originally figured. There's also the question of how Hermes thinks letting Lusitania take over Ectabana will make him king, along with the larger philosophical conflicts over slavery and religion. (Farangis, as a servant of a Parsian god who despises the Lusitanian faith's intolerance, adds a promising new angle to that last one.) At least we know why Hermes sympathizes so much with the Lusitanian king's embittered brother.

I'm sure that we'll get some answers, along with new questions, as Arslan's party makes its way toward Ectabana. As The Heroic Legend of Arslan dangles more characters, ideas, and conflicts, my investment in this story grows. "Slavery is bad" has been covered endlessly (and better) by countless other stories, but thankfully, The Heroic Legend of Arslan has a lot more to offer.

Rating: A-

Heroic Legend of Arslan is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a musicologist who studies film music. She writes about anime and many other topics on Autostraddle.com, her blog and her Twitter.
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