The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance

Episode 7

The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance is in a difficult position. It's clear that there's much more story here than can fit in eight episodes—mostly on the Ecbatana side rather than among our heroes. At the same time, the series received an additional season in order to better flesh out the story that could never fit in its original two-cour run already. It must balance the need to get through its shorter runtime while also giving the series the respectful anime adaptation it deserves. That is a tall order for this show. The series has walked a fine line between advancing the plot as fast as possible, and lagging behind for character-driven subplots. It's been refreshing to see how much this season has sped up the pace, but as of episode 7, I've begun to wonder if I should be more careful what I wish for.

Episode 7 ramps up the speed of the Gilan Arc, checking off moments I would ordinarily expect to be handled over multiple episodes. Right after we learned about Shagad's connection to the pirates last week, the show has him reveal his loyalties to the other characters early on, commanding the group of pirates as they take on Arslan's army. The other characters are shocked by this sudden turn, but no one reacts more strongly than Narsus. The two have a tense battle of wits as they face off with swords as well.

This confrontation isn't as powerful as their talks from previous episodes. It's largely a rehash of those discussions, with Shagad going on about how he had to learn the foolhardiness of idealism and doesn't understand why Narsus has never figured this out. The moment seems to have abandoned some of the depth behind these statements in earlier episodes. That's not always a bad thing; the intention is just to give Shagad room to vent and explain himself. Still, he's repeating himself again, and the value of this moment for the audience is hard to place—it's closure for Narsus and Shagad, but not very satisfying in execution.

The other odd thing about this episode is that when Shagad mentions that he doesn't understand how Narsus became such a brilliant strategist and tactician, I can't say I entirely disagree with his judgment. The show has returned to its usual pattern of depicting Narsus as brilliant without really showing us how he came to his plans. Narsus saves the day from Shagad with another amazing plan this week, but while he explains his thought process, we never see how he got there. Narsus goes back to being a two-dimensional archetype when he could be so much more. He has other sides to him, but this show would rather rush through his airight military strategies one after another. Not only do I miss the goofy artist version of his character, but the Shagad arc has allowed us glimpses at a younger Narsus and how he came to be who he is now. I'd like to see more of those and less redundant reinforcement of what we already know about him.

The episode ends with Arslan sentencing Shagad to spend a few years in slavery to understand the error of his ways. This struck me as a little cruel for the young prince, at odds with what has been established about him outside of his hatred for slavery. This harsh punishment feels like a jump inconsistent with how we've seen his character develop. Still, everyone around him thinks this is a wise decision and encourages Arslan to go through with it as usual.

With the end of the episode comes Etoile's arrival in Arslan's palace, begging for his help. I'm sure we'll see more of her and Arslan's relationship next week, which could make for a really compelling story. I don't understand why the season doesn't end here, since it's a really clear ending to a drawn-out arc, instead of dedicating the final episode to another story. Etoile and the Ecbatana characters need their focus episodes and character development too, but I think we all knew she would find Arslan; it would have made more sense to save that for the opening of a future season.

The fast pace of this episode is truly the root of its problems, even if it's understandable considering the pace of this season. All the plots and characters feel a bit rushed in the series' sprint toward the end. For example, we barely saw anything of Arslan's team's expedition to Safdie Island, the home of treasure, in an episode that was supposed to focus on it. I like when The Heroic Legend of Arslan speeds through subplots to get back to the main story, but this episode is definitely too much of that potentially good thing.

Rating: C+

The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.