How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom

Episode 6

This episode is a mixed bag but we're seeing improvement over the last entry. Whereas last episode, in my opinion, suffered from a lot of… uh… nothing happening, at least episode six has a plot to work with and a few important moments of character development. Additionally, we see a fair amount of exposition regarding the structure of the nation and surrounding countries, with musings on how efficient the setup is or is not.

The primary issue with this episode is its heavy emphasis on Halbert and Kaede. Your mileage may vary of course, but I feel that they simply were not that engaging. Kaede is a fox girl and has a pre-existing relationship with Halbert; beyond that, there is not much to her character. Halbert is theoretically more textured, but he suffers from a severe case of what many experts call Being The Worst™-syndrome. Halbert has little to no redeeming qualities, and we spend a fair amount of time with him. Obviously it is all in service of showing off Kazuya's wisdom in governance and personal squabbles alike, which I don't really have any issue with. The problem for me was that it felt like there was supposed to be an audience reaction to Halbert's “redemption”, as it were, but I did not find myself all that sympathetic towards his plight.

Thankfully, the relationship elements were a net positive (if still somewhat mixed). I know what makes for “good romance” is highly subjective, but I tend to prefer seeing how characters actually treat people. Kazuya helping defuse Halbert's outburst was a good sign in this regard. Similarly, seeing Kazuya use his powers to put on a little show for Liscia was maybe my favorite scene in the show thus far. It isn't much, but these kinds of selfless moments help establish a clear reason for personal attraction.

Of course, the following scene with their date in the grove was slightly more mixed. I like the conversation that Kazuya and Liscia have, with the conflicting feelings over marriage and Kazuya eventually having to go home. The only moment I really took issue with is the head-in-lap segment. Not necessarily that it happened, but Liscia pushes for it unprompted and then acts embarrassed by it happening. To my mind, these sorts of assertive-but-still-shy moments feel more forced than natural; if she was so embarrassed by the idea why suggest it to begin with? But this is a minor complaint, and overall I was glad to see some positive interpersonal activity between our two leads.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is currently streaming on Funimation.