The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt

Episode 6

This week, The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt begins a new act of the story, and it already promises a ton of political drama. Turning our attention towards Natra's non-imperial border, this episode is all about the fallout of the first arc—you know, where Marden was conquered by The Kingdom of Cavarin because their whole army was tied up fighting Wein for a month. With this change in borders, Natra has a new neighbor—and it has extended an invitation for Wein to visit during their holy festival. Of course, this is just a pretext; for what, though, even Wein has no idea.

This week's episode is also a non-stop stream of information that demands your undivided attention lest you are swept away. Just the sheer amount of stuff that happens is staggering: Wein is ambushed by assassins, saved by Marden rebels, forms an alliance with said rebels, meets the Cavarin king, and is asked to join a holy counsel of VIPs from various kingdoms. At the same time, Ninym is dealing with Zeno's homicidal need for revenge, and the nobles of Natra are rebelling while Wein is out of the country. It all comes so quickly that it feels overwhelming—which is kind of the point.

While such rapid pacing is often a downside in terms of storytelling, in this specific case it serves another narrative function: to put the audience in Wein's shoes. Up until this point, Wein has been playing the game on his own terms. He was familiar with the situations in both Marden and the Empire—which allowed him to outthink his opponents and achieve victory. However, Wein has had little need to even care about the state of things in Cavarin—after all, there was no easy way to establish contact due to the hostile nation separating them. Now, Wein is being thrown headlong into a situation he barely knows anything about and is struggling to get a handle on it—just as we are.

This situation also serves to highlight his third major weakness (with Ninym being his first and the unpredictable actions of idiots being his second). Wein may be a tactical genius, but all strategies require a foundation of knowledge to build upon; one can't prepare for the completely unknown, after all. Without that basic knowledge, Wein is forced to be on the back foot, reacting to everything on the fly while trying to gather as much information as possible.

At this point, it's clear that Wein's enemies are toying with him to some extent. They know he is out of his element and ignorant of the rebellion taking place back in Natra. However, what they fail to realize is that by playing with him, they're giving him the resource he needs most: the time he needs to gather information and put plans into action. Their decision to underestimate Wein here may just prove to be their downfall.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Ninym dyeing her hair to hide her race is a good bit of characterization for her. Wein did not—and likely would not—ask her to do such a thing, but she realizes they are heading into a dangerous situation and isn't willing to risk endangering them further by inciting racial aggression in a foreign land.

• I like the mystery around Zeno. The obvious answer is that he is the Marden prince. However, I suspect “he” is actually the Marden princess and that her brother is dead—yet, she has to use his name to keep her men in line. (On the other hand, it's also possible that she was raised as a boy and the prince never existed at all.)

• I would like some more information on why the Natran nobles are rebelling, especially now of all times. Wein has just recently won a war, gained new territory for the kingdom, and prevented an imperial invasion. He is clearly popular with both the people and the military. It seems beyond foolish to rebel even if he has left the country. Has he done something to slight the nobility to the point they feel they have to take this chance? Or are we just supposed to assume they are power-hungry idiots?

• How does a woman rise to the top of a patriarchal religious organization? Apparently by being the biggest zealot ever.

The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt 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.