Seijo No Maryoku Wa Bannou Desu S2

I didn’t expect this to get a sequel just like many other series. But yeah, it did. So why the heck am I watching Seijo No Maryoku Wa Bannou Desu S2 when I called it one of the most boring romance animes in my books? Oh, to follow up, huh? Maybe this season will be it as our favourite main couple will finally confess and officially become one. Hopefully. After all, after watching quite a number of male targeted anime series lately, maybe it is time to take a little break and breather from all that cliché male fantasy fanservice and love and go for something more (almost) purely romantic. The kind of romance that is mainly targeted for female audiences. Maybe I’ll learn some true love here. Heh. I have a feeling that won’t be likely… Yeah, sometimes I am a mystery myself.

Episode 1
Johan shows Sei heaps of crates for her that are from Klausner’s Domain. She also receives a letter from Corinna who is grateful for her help since the forest has been regrown and the herbs that were once hard to collect are no longer so. She hopes she can visit her again. As Sei is still researching on her new cosmetics, Johan believes there will be some interested to buy so he’ll try to contact a trading company. Next day, he introduces her to Franz and Oscar who are in this trading business. They sold Sei’s previous products and it has garnered them lots of profits and popularity. But due to circumstances, they can’t release her latest products and that’s why they suggest Sei open her own trading company. I mean, who is going to interfere with a saint’s business, right? Don’t worry, the duo can help market and manage the inventory while she can concentrate solely on her research. Later Oscar shows Sei and Hawke how a store is booming very well because of some efficient sales strategy to sell that also now sells to other demographics than nobles. To thank them, he tells them of a famed café where they can enjoy some great imported tea. Looking like a date. They order coffee and drinking it has Sei reminisce about the kind she used to drink in Japan. Thinking of trying to brew some here? Do they have the right tools? When Sei tells Johan about the coffee she just had that also exists in her world, she believes there might be more of such here than she realizes. Especially rice. Craving for some now, huh? Johan suggests asking Franz since he travels around the world or she could head to Morgenhaffen, a large port city that trades directly with Salutania. Perhaps she can find stuffs that are not sold here. Time for a road trip.

Episode 2
Sei and Jude arrive at Morgenhaffen with Oscar as their guide. Because she is a saint, Johan gave her some glasses an wig as disguise just in case. It’s the reason why Hawke couldn’t come as he is quite recognizable as a knight and a disguise on him wouldn’t work either. During their sightseeing, they hear a commotion that an accident occurred on board a ship. It seems some crates fell on a crewman and he is gravely injured. No potions could heal him. The captain, Ceyran pleads for a healer and Sei wanted to go help but only to be advised not to make a scene. As we know she can’t leave it be, she gives Ceyran a potion. Trust her, it will work. Later Ceyran comes looking for her and wants to thank her for saving his crewman’s life. She doesn’t mind but he insists on repaying her. Oscar suggests buying his goods at discounted prices. Ceyran takes them to his warehouse where he stores his goods but they aren’t many since they don’t sell well here. To Sei’s delight, she recognizes many of the spices and more importantly, RICE!!! She returns home and cooks them, even sending some to Aira. A taste from their homeland! Then she invites everyone to a food tasting party using ingredients from her homeland. Our Japanese girls can take comfort in their soul food. Meanwhile Ceyran writes a letter to be sent immediately to his emperor back at Zaidera. He will be staying here for a while since he needs to find out who created this miracle potion (Sei gave an excuse it was a gift from a friend).

Episode 3
Looks like Sei has to attend a ceremony as the king will formally introduce her as a saint to other nobles. Oh yes, there’s a ball too afterwards she must attend. Sei remembers Hawke will invite her. She feels embarrassed about it and hopes he would forget about it. Too bad, he remembers. Any reason for her to turn him down? Guess not. The ceremony proceeds well and without incident. Once it is over, she returns to her chamber and it seems Liz and Rayne are here to see her since they can’t attend the ball later this evening. Rayne is also here to apologize over Kyle’s treatment over her although Sei isn’t the kind to hold such grudges as she has already been given a formal apology. As the ball is about to start, Hawke picks up Sei. Both look so dashing. I know you’re mesmerized with each other but can we move on? Despite all the training, Sei still feels nervous. Don’t worry, Hawke is with you. Then they dance and delight the crowd. Once that is over, Johan then takes over as Hawke goes to bring more ‘reinforcements’. You see, there are lots of guys out there who want to ask for Sei’s hand to dance. Would she rather dance with the guys she knows or with random strangers? Yup. And so we have Drewes and Earhart as her subsequent dance partners. So which one of the guys danced with her the best? Don’t know. Can’t say. I have a hunch… Later life resumes like normal for Sei. Johan tells her it is so because the palace has been taking care of it. You see, nobles have been sending invitations to her and the reason she has not received a single one is because the palace has been politely declining them on her behalf. Sei thought her peaceful researching days are back but talk about jinxing it because now she receives an urgent message to meet Siegfried. An important matter must be discussed.

Episode 4
It seems a prince from Zaidera is going to be an exchange student here in Salutania. It is unsure if Zaidera has got word on the saint and hence Siegfried needs Sei to keep her interactions with him to a bare minimum. This means she might have to stay at the royal capital for a while since the institute is on the list of the places he plans to visit. So they collaborate that Sei is to take leave from the institute whenever the prince visits. So the day comes as the kingdom welcomes Prince Tenyuu. After a week, Sei and Liz talk about him. Looks like he is quite a gentleman and a knowledgeable person too. Did Liz mention he is also the 18th prince from the emperor’s 7th concubine! Don’t worry, here in Salutania, monogamy is only practised! Get the hint, Sei! Also to note, it seems Tenyuu has been asking about for different medicinal plants. It could be that Tenyuu is asking a lot of questions to hide his info gathering. Which is a common practice for royalties. Tenyuu visits the institute when Sei isn’t around. After that when Sei returns, Jude updates him on the tour they gave the prince. As they talk, to their surprise Tenyuu is here! They talk a bit before he leaves. They then talk to Johan who then told them this has become an issue. You see, Tenyuu wasn’t scheduled to visit the institute and this means he snuck out by himself to do so. This has caused an uproar in the palace since they too were caught unaware so guards are assigned to keep tabs on him. Although Sei did not reveal much, there is a possibility that he may be after Sei. After all, Sei’s secret is still not known to Zaidera. Meanwhile Tenyuu confides with his subject about what he has learnt. After he visits the institute, he noticed many spoke about this person called Sei. This means she is important enough to be relied by outsiders and that everyone knows she is on leave that day. This means she could be the key that he is looking for. His next move might be rash but it must be done no matter the sacrifice.

Episode 5
Each time Tenyuu visits, Jude has to make excuses that Sei is not around. All. The. Time. You bet at this point Tenyuu must be suspicious so Johan suggests to drop the act. The next time Tenyuu visits and Sei is able to talk to him, she is mindful not to reveal too much but since Tenyuu is very knowledgeable in herbs, they could’ve gone on talking forever. Jude had to remind her it’s time. Later on discussing with the rest, they are unsure if Tenyuu is trying to gauge Sei as a saint for war purposes. Whatever the case, it must never be revealed that Sei is a saint and the things she could do. Sei feels the need to gather some info too so she talks to Franz and Oscar about getting a book of herbs from Zaidera. As they agree, they feel something amiss. They have talked to Ceyran personally and it seems he is looking for an alchemist who can make high grade potions. His backer is Tenyuu who is the one that is looking for an alchemist. When asked about the saint, Ceyran showed no interest. In fact, other people from Zaidera also share this same sentiment that the saint’s power is only for fighting monsters. Nothing more. Hence the strangest part is the prince is not looking for the saint but an alchemist. Why? Stay tuned to find out. Later Hawke comes to see Sei since he will be leaving for a while to his home to visit his parents. With Liz leaving them ‘stranded’, this has Sei spill the beans about her dilemma with Tenyuu. She doesn’t want to cause a diplomatic row by being too direct. Hawke has a plan. The next time Tenyuu visits, Hawke is also here as he asks Sei for help to make high grade potions. She has an alchemist friend who can do so. Obviously Tenyuu took the bait and eavesdropped the conversation. So later he confronts Sei and wants her to introduce this alchemist friend of hers. He reveals he desperately needs a cure for a disease we all know as muscular atrophy. You know, muscles wasting away. All his alchemists in Zaidera are unable to find that cure. The person suffering from this disease is his mother.

Episode 6
A short flashback of Tenyuu spending time with his mother and her condition is getting worse. She wishes for his happiness but of course Tenyuu’s happiness is to see mother well again. Tenyuu talks to Sei about hearing some high grade potion in Salutania and that’s why he came here to look for it. At first he thought the alchemist was her but was wrong (oh, he doesn’t know how correct he is). They talk about different potions have different symptoms and effects and if the alchemist cannot directly examine her directly, a correct solution cannot be provided. Since the alchemist cannot leave Salutania and his mom cannot survive the journey here, Sei suggests making a panacea. Later Sei talks to Johan about this and although he supports her decision to try making a panacea, the problem is that he has no authority to provide it to the imperial prince. Don’t worry about that, he’ll figure things out so go do your stuff. Sei continues to research but to no avail. Sei brings the sad news that finding the right panacea seems hard but Tenyuu understands. In fact, he received a letter of his mother’s worsening condition. He may have to cut short his studies and return to spend what’s left of her time with her. When Hawke returns, he presents some honey from his village as gift to Sei. This is when Sei hits an idea to make a panacea from different ingredients. Using her powers, she makes an apple tree mature to start working on her panacea. Siegfried summons Tenyuu as he talks about the founders of alchemy were from Salutania. Many of its recipes are lost and couldn’t be replicated but some were passed down by the royal family. He presents to him bottles of panacea. Tenyuu is reluctant to accept because he cannot repay this kindness. Siegfried notes that he might not want something now so consider this an investment because in the future he would love to become friends. A grateful Tenyuu accepts. With Tenyuu leaving soon and no time to say goodbye to Sei, Sei believes Tenyuu has received her potions. Not sure about the details but it’s done. Tenyuu hints he may know who created this panacea because there is only 1 person he spoke to about this. But it doesn’t matter because whoever that person did all she can to help.

Episode 7
Sei explaining to Hawke about the Christmas tree back in her world. Yeah, so beautiful with lights. But of course Hawke finds her beautiful while she talks about these stuffs. Later as she talks with Liz and Aira, they talk about marriages seeing ever since Sei had her debut, nobles have been swamping the palace with marriage requests. Obviously may of such marriages are not of the heart and one has to find the right way to sidestep them. Then they troll us of making it look like Liz and Aira having a lesbian moment as they wish for each other to find true love while locking lips, SORRY THEY’RE JUST PUTTING THEIR HEADS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. With reports of monster activities dwindling, Siegfried believes it is time to think about Sei’s future. Josef who is Hawke’s older brother and a minister to Siegfried, talks to another minister about Sei’s marriage. Some want to support his family into marrying Sei because would you rather have Drewes or the Valdec family nominate a suitor? Josef then talks to Earhart and Hawke about this. As various families have already begun making a move, he is suggesting one of the 2 bachelors to be Sei’s suitor. While Earhart doesn’t mind, he believes Hawke would be more suitable. And so Hawke agrees. When asks about Drewes’ chances, Earhart immediately shoots it down because he is a maniac who only cares about magic. Nothing else. Similarly, Johan’s brother also talks to him about this and hints of him taking on Sei as his wife. Whatever repayment or putting the family at ease, Johan isn’t buying it. Johan doesn’t want to cross paths with Hawke. Later Johan goes to talk to Sei about marriage. While she isn’t really against it, she isn’t sure. Basically, she’s not ready. Johan straights up tell her to marry him but she brushes it off as a joke. She’ll sue for sexual harassment! HAHA! Oh well, Johan thought a fake engagement isn’t bad but she isn’t thrilled to have him who is like a father figure to be her husband. He tells her to think about it since her feelings are most important. And also a certain guy’s. The first image to pop up in Sei’s mind? Hawke. Oh.

Episode 8
As promised, Hawke brings Sei back to his hometown. But this is part of his mission to subjugate monsters. Also tagging along is Drewes. Sei meets his parents for the first time as they showcase their hospitality. Noting there is a hotspring in the area, Sei shows interest. Hawke promises to show her around once their mission is done. Next day, they leave for the mining village where monsters have been sighted. Just in time as they saved a few villagers from wolves. Then they talk to the mayor how the monsters are spawning from the mines. But now they are attacking settlements at the foothills. Not only their numbers are growing but they noticed a new type too: Undead ones. It is suggested that everyone evacuates the area. However with so many injured, Sei will take care in healing them and a guide will help lead Hawke and his men to the mines. Morale is boosted with volunteers coming to help. It seems because of Sei going around purifying miasmic swamps, monsters have been decreasing and this domain is the last one. This makes Sei feeling a bit anxious because she never thought there would be an end to this. Although Drewes cannot be sure, but based on historical records and what he has seen, this domain is definitely the last one. All swamps purified by her have been completely annihilated and no monsters appeared ever since. Next day as they head to the mines, wolves show up to attack. However they cannot die and still move despite being cut down. Truly the undead. Can’t kill what’s already dead, right? Then a loud roar. This huge boar monster could be the boss. However it doesn’t attack them and goes away. I think it wants them to follow. Only 1 way to find out.

Episode 9
Heading into the mines, they find some undead monsters. The deeper they go, more monsters they face. Until they reach the swamp and there’s that boar mother. Drewes wants to do an experiment and fires his purification arrow at it. No effect. Oh well, I guess this means only Sei can purify it. As everyone begins their assault, Sei starts her purification. Wow. That was easy. Didn’t put much of a fight there. On the way out as they cross a ravine, a stray monster attacks Sei as she falls down the abyss. OMG, she survived that fall and had no injuries?! She follows the breeze along the path and feels a bit gloomy over the thought she has to be protected all the time. Hawke and the rest manage to get down as they too follow the breeze. Hawke and Sei eventually meet up with each other. Why do I feel this was so we can see them hug? Then they soon realize a huge miasmic swamp nearby. This is the main one and the reason why there are still monsters around. But don’t hold your breath because this one is an undead dragon! For some added drama and tension, we see the knights fighting and defending with all they’ve got. Sei gets chased around and almost died. Her blessing protected her from certain death. Drewes almost got knocked out and Hawke using all his last ounce of strength to protect Sei. Sei then starts her purification. It took a while but everything soon ended. It is over. Phew. Now we can breathe easily. Literally too.

Episode 10
With all the miasmic swamps gone, Hawke still has his men keep watch just in case. Is there anything Sei can do? Yes. Accompany him. He doesn’t want to be apart from her again like last time. Romance finally taking off? So they hang out, look at some flowers until his men report there are zero threats. Hawke issues the order to withdraw. With the job done, Hawke’s parents hold a simple banquet to celebrate their successful subjugation. As Sei is interested in some of the foods served, Hawke brings her to the market the next day. After some sightseeing, Sei returns and cooks her specialty for Hawke’s parents to try. Mom tells her where she can go and enjoy the hotspring. Along the way, Sei mulls the idea of learning to ride a horse. It would be convenient for her to get to the palace. Sure, Hawke can teach her but this means fewer chances to escort her. Get what he means? With the declining monsters, Sei won’t be needed for a while. But Hawke notes it will still be nice to have a long ride with her. Sei enjoys the bath in the villa as she tries to stay positive with all the things she can look forward to. She notices herself f thinking about Hawke and realizes she is in love. Finally?

Episode 11
Drewes receives an invitation to a play. Obviously he is not interested until he learns from Aira that such a thing exists in her world. After a class session with Sei, he invites her out to the play. He claims he got these invitations from his family since they couldn’t attend it. The only person he can imagine inviting is Sei since he has no idea about women and yeah, they can talk about magic. Sei has her reservations but since Drewes does take care of her and she is interested to see the kind of plays in this world, she accepts. When Sei talks to Johan about this, he smells something fishy. And since this is a play for nobles and not commoners, Sei better start thinking about how to dress up. As Drewes comes to pick up Sei, Sei feels a bit awkward seeing Drewes is acting more like a gentleman. Isn’t this how one should treat a lady? At the play, we see the theatre pretty much similar to ours. Only the lights in the chandelier are light up by magic. When Sei notes about lights in her world now conveniently activated by a flip of a button, she also demonstrates with her magic how she could easily change light colours. This makes Drewes so excited like a kid! He would really love to know more. Next day, rumours are rife about Drewes and Sei being engaged. Liz casts her reservations because everybody only heard about it but not many have seen them together. Liz and Aira are worried about Sei although they remain confident the rumours will soon die out. Johan then has a private talk with Hawke about the rumours. Although he is unaware, he is not even fazed if Sei went to the play with Drewes. He knows what kind of person Drewes is and he is not concerned about it. However the most concerning thing is that he never knew Sei was interested in the play because he would’ve invited her himself. Onto serious stuffs, they believe Drewes’ family is trying to set them up and publicly push for their son’s engagement to Sei. Imagine the Grand Magus of the Royal Magi Assembly and the holy saint together. Such a nice ring. Also such great powers to gain. Johann tells Hawke to make a move fast because sometimes waiting is not enough. This is the sake for his own life and not for his family.

Episode 12
Hawke remembers 2 years ago when he was badly injured in a battle, it was Sei’s miraculous potion that healed him. So he went to see Johan in hopes to thank that person who saved his very life. The moment he saw Sei in the flesh, he knew he had fallen in love with her. The problem now is how to convey it to her. Liz tells Sei about the rumours and asks about what she thinks of Drewes. Of course nothing more than just her teacher. Liz don’t mean to make her feel in a dilemma but there is a possibility Drewes might step down from his role to honour her feelings. So better be clear and think carefully your feelings. As a woman and not as a saint. Sei is putting a lot of thoughts into this so much so she is acting weird during work. Hawke arrives to pick up Sei but waits for her to finish her lessons. However seeing her being friendly with Drewes, it makes him worried. Drewes assures her about the rumours. He is only interested in her magic. Then he whispers something inaudible to Hawke and then to Earhart. Something about the source of Sei’s power. I think I can guess what it is. Even Earhart has a hunch about it. Can you guess? After Hawke sends Sei home, he invites her to an outing because there is something he wants to show her. On that day as he brings her to the gardens of the royal family, he shows her a spot where all the plants are illuminated. He tried to replicate it like how she told him before. She is happy. He is happy. Makes him want to get closer to her. Makes him want to cherish her feelings above everything else. However he was too weak to do that until he realizes time is not on his side. Also realizing that her happiness is not only what he wants, he doesn’t want anyone else to have her. And finally he pops the question: Will you marry me! Sei hugs him. That’s your answer.

The Saint Apothecary Diaries
OMG. I thought it would never happen. Not at least for this season. Hawke finally having the balls to propose to her! Is that the end of everything?! Well, maybe I am getting ahead of myself. Because despite the proposal, it’s not like they’re getting married right away, no? Many viewers and fans are hoping for another season and my guess is that this series is far from over. It isn’t considering the light novel is still ongoing. So there will be many more volumes after this but as for the anime part, we are unsure because those big “FIN” letters at the end, it feels like the death flag that it is over. Need more? Go read the light novels! Oh yeah. If you know me, you know my answer. Bye.

Good thing or bad, it seems I don’t find this season as boring as the first. Is it because I have unconsciously set my expectations lower? Or way much lower to be precise? But still boring nevertheless. For the first arc, I am perplexed with the whole thing because a prince from across the sea comes looking for help and Sei has to secretly help him because well, you know, shenanigans and protocols of royals and nobles whatever. I felt that it all amounted to nothing much since Tenyuu left in a hurry but with some hope and that some strings were pulled to enable that. Yeah, all of that felt weird. Perhaps it was to showcase Sei not as a saint but an apothecary practitioner. Then they decide to ramp up a little bit of drama with the next arc of purifying the final miasma swamp. Yeah, the fight with the big boss dragon put us at the edge of our seats, no? NOT! They show it from dramatic angles that Sei may be done for but like yours truly being a ‘veteran’, I wasn’t really worried because I anticipated how it would all turn out. All as planned…

And finally, when Sei is made public, the mad scramble for her hand intensifies. I thought they were going to leave that for the next season and end with some sort of cliff-hanger? But I guess with all the miasmic dangers out of the way, now perhaps we can shift the series to focus more on the romantic genre. The real stuffs that the fans and viewers have been waiting for? Yes, Hawke might have proposed to her but the battle is not over yet. Sore loser nobles might want to usurp and hence the real battle for Sei has just begun. Not purifying swamps but the battle to be her husband! Oh damn. This is going to be the toughest of them all! Jealous parties won’t let Hawke monopolize the saint all to himself! Don’t count others out yet. So yeah, the front runners are Hawke and Drewes but who knows if there are other outside parties who will usurp this. After all, now that there are no more official bad swamps to purify, everybody especially Siegfried seems to be more concerned about how Sei will continue to live the rest of her life. Is that some sort of guilt of bringing her here and then mistreating her in the first season? Well, it’s good he put it some thoughts for Sei but can he just let Sei live peacefully like she enjoys it now? Oh right. She holds the saint title so yeah, can’t technically have the normal peaceful life.

I am figuring why this season is still somewhat boring is because I now remember the main synopsis of Sei wanting to live a peaceful and quiet life. That is why there isn’t much drama or intensity and if there were, it won’t last long. Sorry, no evil megalomaniac who wants to take over the world as I hoped for! As long as have rice, Sei gonna love it here. Therefore Sei being the same person as we know last season feels very much at home. On one hand it is good because we expect Sei to be the same person and has not changed much in the sense she stays true to her own character. But on the other, this makes her boring since she is more interested in researching herbs and potions more than anything else. Though, the few occasions we see her blush when Hawke getting too close to her or spew some romantic lines that would make any lady’s heart skip a beat. Ah yes, a reminder that Sei is still a woman aside from being a saint and an herbalist. A sign to give us some (false) hope that there may be some real romance happening soon. I know Hawke made the early move to seal the deal. But we’re going to have to wait for another season to see their romance flesh out. Remember, nothing is set in stone yet. While Sei’s feelings for Hawke may be the strongest (so far and for now), there is a possibility her love might change and she could fall for others! Gasp! Can’t see that coming? Can’t even imagine of such? Precisely the twist and shock factor we need for more drama! If only there was a potion for love… Nah! It must come from the heart! That’s where that power comes from, no?

And Hawke, oh yeah, he is still the ideal gentleman that girls would dream of as their ideal partner. Still the same gentleman and reliable knight we know as before but with the thought of Sei’s hand in marriage heating up, he soon won’t have the luxury of waiting and go at his own pace. In this context, while he might look like the dashing and confident knight commander, perhaps all that is just a façade as deep down he might be agonizing over this. If love was so easy, the concerned couple in love would’ve got it all wrapped up at the start of the first season! But yeah, for dramatic purposes, they have to bottle it up for more drama so as to torture us viewers too. Heh. Doesn’t it feel like that? Hawke x Sei seems to be very likely as we have seen them together so many times and Hawke doing a lot of stuffs for her sake. If that doesn’t scream love, I don’t know what is. I figured out too that the power of love gives Sei the power. Not rocket science but still a mystery. And finally all our frustrations are rewarded. Somewhat. I am envisioning Hawke’s toughest battles is yet to come. Fending off other suitors who won’t give up. Yeah. Fighting monsters or fellow men more dangerous? You decide.

Drewes on the other hand, nobody is taking him seriously now since everybody knows him as one who is just obsessed in magic and nothing else. Hence his interest in Sei is mostly because of the magic that she has that surpasses his. While his appearance this season seems to be lesser compared to Hawke, never say never because you know how funny love works. For all you know, Drewes might find himself truly falling for Sei not because of her magic affinity or pressure from his family but from the bottom of his own true heart. Hawke better start doing something if Sei ever starts to pay Drewes more attention. Johan had his chance and he even went to straight up ask her only to be shot down! But I don’t think this isn’t over yet and circumstances later on may change their opinions. Perhaps this is just to get our guard down that the 3 horse race has now turned into a 2 horse race.

As for the other characters, I felt they are lacking a lot. Understandably, Johan continues to be the good superior looking out for Sei and the same can be said for Jude. But for the other characters like Liz and Aira, they just felt forgettable. Even Earhart. Almost forgot his name! Even if they don’t appear at all, it won’t change much. Sorry, my conspiracy theory of Aira being Sei’s long lost sister did not materialize! But I guess it is best they do because a character who has been entirely missing this season is Kyle. Oh, you don’t remember him? That arrogant prince who tried to shelter Aira as the fake saint. Yeah. That’s him. I understand that he is under house arrest to atone his crimes. But seeing he doesn’t appear here, it is as though he does not even exist at all! Like he vanished to another world! Prince Kyle got isekai treatment! HAHAHA! Just kidding. Oh right, where’s that Leonhardt guy too?! Another character who didn’t show up.

Art and animation remains consistent like in the previous season. Good looking people as well as the gorgeous background and sceneries. Now I do note a bit of CGI was used although it is minimal and does not break the entire series. I could be wrong but some doors are animated via CGI? Yeah. Look at the way how those doors move. So CGI-like! This season’s new casts include Chiaki Kobayashi as Tenyuu, Shinichiro Miki as Ceyran, Ryota Ohsaka as Oscar, Nobuo Tobita as Franz and Ryotaro Okiayu as Josef. Last season’s opener was sung by Aira Yuuki and she continues to do the same this season with Semisweet Afternoon. A pretty decent lively anime pop piece compared to last season’s slow ballad. The slow ballad this season is now the ending theme, Lilac Melody by Aina Suzuki. Sounds a bit empty due to the minimal of instruments used. Just a few strings and piano occasionally played throughout the song. But still lovely nonetheless.

Overall, I still maintain this season continues to be boring although not as bad as the last. The much anticipated romance did not happen (although they leave it right till the very end) and we are graced with more of Sei’s peaceful life. Oh well, perhaps this is just the calm before the storm and maybe the next time, sh*t will hit the fan. If that ever happens, you bet I’m going to be in so much shock that my jaw will drop and break the floor! HAHAHA! So funny. Sorry I have to make such exaggerated jokes since this season is, wait for it, boring. Yeah, yeah. I know fans of the show will have lots of positive things to shower for this show but for a romance genre that the characters have not even kissed on the lips (technically last season Hawke kissing her on the hand does not count!), this is just disappointing. Oops, I mean boring. Yeah, the saint has so much omnipotent power but yet none of it about love and romance. And you thought love was like magic, huh?! Yes it is. Maybe just untapped…

Seijo No Maryoku Wa Bannou Desu

Initially, I didn’t want to watch Seijo No Maryoku Wa Bannou Desu because I assumed it is a reverse harem. Not my cup of tea although I had watched a few titles under this genre. And what is worse than a reverse harem? Why, a reverse harem in an isekai world! OMG. That must be the deal breaker. But hold my horses. Because when I read the synopsis, it didn’t sound very much like a reverse harem. A girl summoned to a fantasy world as the chosen one but it seems she wasn’t the chosen one as another girl summoned was chosen as the chosen one. However she doesn’t mind all that and decides to live a quiet life out of the spotlight. But soon her powers slowly awaken and she might be the chosen one after all, threatening to shatter her peaceful life and drag her back into the unwanted spotlight. Well then, only one way to find out and banish those ghosts of doubts.

Episode 1
Sei Takanashi is your typical office worker. Working late at night. Then she goes back home… Don’t worry, she didn’t get killed! Upon entering her room, she is suddenly transported to another world. Lots of priests relieved they have successfully summoned not 1 but 2 saints. However Prince Kyle decides to go with the other saint to save the day. You can’t blame Sei for pouting despite being explained about the situation. In this kingdom of Salutania, knights fight monsters and other creatures. But at times thick miasma descend upon the kingdom and that’s when they have to summon a saint to help use her powers to save the day. Sei is not impressed, though. How will she get back? Oh. You can’t? A priest talks to her and although he apologizes for all the inconvenience caused, he has her stay in this place to familiarize herself with this world. Sei is bored after 2 weeks. One day she gets permission to go outside for a stroll. She stumbles into a garden of herbs. Jude explains how they are used to make potions. Sei becomes interested so he takes her back to his institute and introduces him to his director, Johan Valdec. Sei continues to visit the place until it is suggested that she can come stay here if she is interested to become a researcher. She jumps at that offer. Preparations are quickly done to transfer Sei over. Hey, it’s the least they could do for all the troubles.

Sei is now studying under Jude as he explains the basics on how to make low grade healing potions. All seems normal until you need to imbue magic. Magic?! How do you do that?! He teaches her how to cast and in no time, she creates her first potion. As she makes more, it seems the other staffs notice that the potion she makes is 1.5 times more effective. This doesn’t stop her to experiment and create high grade potions although she only managed to make 3 of them. Suddenly Johan calls for an emergency. Gather all the potions and head to the royal palace. Knights have encountered a salamander and despite there were no casualties, the rate of those wounded is through the roof. Sei is shocked to see the room filled with critically injured knights. Time to feed them your potion. She heard some knights asking the whereabouts of the saint because she should be here at such times to heal time. Perhaps she couldn’t stomach the gore? Johan asks Sei if she still has a high grade potion left. You’re in luck. Hurry, because the knight’s captain is about to die. Shouldn’t he be given priority first? I mean, just saying… Sei lets him drink and instantly he heals. Johan is so relieved since Albert Hawke is an old friend of his. Later Johan reports to a higher up about Sei’s very effective potions. The mechanism is unclear but could it be it is because she is a saint? Still too early to determine. Hmm… Maybe she being summoned doesn’t necessarily make her a saint? I guess they don’t want to jump to conclusions so Johan will report if he finds anything else.

Episode 2
Thanks to the reward they get, Johan is glad to get Sei what she wants. So what does she want? A kitchen! Claiming she likes to also cook, it is actually she finds the food served here bland so it’s better if she makes them herself. Since Johan would love to try her cooking, she might as well cook for the entire institute too. Later Johan formally introduces Sei to Hawke as he is here to pay respects to the woman who saved his life. Wow, Sei commenting how handsome he is. Never met such a handsome guy, huh? Yeah, her potion must’ve healed and enhanced his handsomeness because back then he was really messed up and bloodied all over! As part of his way to thank her, he allows her to accompany the knights into the forest so she can gather more herbs since the institute will also be selling those potions to them. The focus of this trip as we can see, Hawke complimenting Sei’s cooking. I can see where this is going… Next day, Johan summons Sei. It seems that the knights have increased physical abilities after eating her lunch yesterday. Also, her 50% effectiveness is not only in potions but her cooking as well. He wants her not to cook for the public now because if this gets out, there’ll be chaos. With the researchers all full and unable to work for today, Johan suggests Sei take some time off. As Sei frequents the library, she becomes friends with Elizabeth “Liz” Ashley. After that, a free horse ride back home courtesy from Hawke. Liz and Sei claim the other is more beautiful so this talk about the struggles of eternal beauty has Liz telling a story of a newly transferred classmate of hers who got ostracized and bullied because her acne explosion. With her confidence at all time low, she believes if her skin condition was resolved, she’ll get her confidence back. Since Sei claims she also makes cosmetics, she’ll do some experiment to see what she can come up with. A few weeks later, Liz introduces Sei to Nicole Adler. Sei hands her a lotion to try. With some words of self-confidence, it’s a start to get her confidence back. Yeah, you are you. Don’t compare yourself to someone who you are not. With word of Sei’s cosmetics growing, Liz thinks she can come up with so because she is in a middle of a budding romance. Huh? Because Liz has seen her been picked up by the handsome Hawke so many times. Sei panicking…

Episode 3
Such a hot day. Sei cools off her feet in a pail of water. And then Hawke comes in and sees this. Oops! Anyway, he is here to invite her to town seeing tomorrow is her off day and she doesn’t have any plans. Does she any reason to reject him? Sei’s first visit to town, Hawke is holding her hand like a lost child? I bet it’s more than just a lost child. Seems like they have a nice time throughout the day and after Hawke sends her back, he gives her a hair ornament as souvenir. Later Sei sends her report to Johan and he is interested to know about their date. It didn’t occur to her it was a date so she gets embarrassed while trying to give reasons he was just accompanying Hawke. As for the ornament, he hints that men don’t normally just give women such expensive ornament as souvenir. Even Liz can tell the ornament from Hawke since it is common custom for men to give an ornament to the woman he likes that is of their eye colour. Once more, Sei tries to deny it and that she’s not used to all this attention. Later Jude mentions that her ornament is reacting to her own magic power. This means it is enchanted. So they get a researcher to explain about enchantment. Sei wonders if an enchantment is possible to resist a type of magic. Possible. Sei gives it a try on a small stone but it broke. A mage thinks she was trying to imbue it with all the attributes so he has them try out one by one a different attribute for a different stone. All of them are success. A few weeks later, Johan summons Sei. She is told the assembly took the stones she enchanted. However word of this also made it to the knight order. They want the assembly to create those enchantments for them. Of course when other researchers try to do the same, they cannot replicate what Sei did. Hence Sei’s help is needed once more. She will be compensated this time. In the end, she gets the job done. So how would she like to be compensated? She gives Hawke a surprise visit on pretence she wants to thank him for the ornament by handing him desserts she made. But also in it is a pendant with a gem enchanted to mitigate magic damage of all affinities. She hopes he can use it for his next expedition. Immediately Hawke kisses her hand. So taken aback by this, Sei spaces out so much that she doesn’t even know how she got home that day!

Episode 4
King Siegfried is personally told of Sei’s abilities. It is deduced that her powers could be even greater than the Grand Magus himself. Logically, that would mean she is the actual saint. However the Grand Magus can only appraise her but he is in slumber now. Sei has to take some time off and goes to deliver potions since Johan warned her about creating too many potions. She talks to a few knights including Wolff who request her in making more potions since they’ll be going on another expedition in a forest where the salamander is. This leads to them talking about Kyle and the current saint, Aira Misono who is currently in his care. As Kyle is always talking about the importance of the saint to the kingdom’s future, they are keeping a close eye on Aira. This has Sei do some serious thinking about Aira who probably don’t have crazy cheat level powers like her. Her logic dictates that could be so only because she is not a saint at all and Sei herself is the real one. She hopes she is wrong. Sei researches about holy affinity magic at the library when Siegfried comes up to thank her. She doesn’t get the picture until he personally apologizes for Kyle’s rudeness. Then it dawned to her. HOLY SH*T! It’s his majesty!!! Sei claims she isn’t bothered but when Siegfried tries to reward her with stuffs, titles, etc, Sei declines. He expected it since Johan ‘warned’ him of this. With the knights back from the expedition, Sei visits those injured at the hospital. Her heart sinks when she sees Wolff missing a hand. He brushed it off being careless. I guess healing potions can do so much, huh? Noting the tone of regret in his voice, Sei makes a decision. She is willing to use her magic to heal his hand even if it risks exposing her true identity. And just like that, Wolff’s hand revert back to normal! OMG! So easy?! With the other injured knights astonished by her feat, Sei becomes Jesus Christ and heals them all! Sei is your God now!!! And then one final simultaneous heal for all those with minor bruises. This drains her energy but don’t worry, she’s okay. Johan and Hawke see this and they praise her. With rumours spreading about Sei being the real saint, Johan soon receives a letter from the royal magi assembly. Looks like they’re ready to appraise Sei.

Episode 5
Yuri Drewes is the Grand Magus and he was in slumber after summoning the saints. Now that he has awakened, the saints are ready to be appraised. Before meeting him, Sei asks Johan the chances that she herself isn’t the saint. In that case, Aira will continue to bear all the duties of the saint but there is a chance that Sei will be roped in to play the supporting role. Sei meets Drewes and realizes herself she is among hot bishonen! Yeah, the other being Earhart who is Hawke’s younger brother. As Drewes begins his appraising, something minor happens. Sei is quick to say she didn’t do anything. This has Drewes draw a conclusion that she is much more powerful than him. Then she has her do a simple spell. He notes her spell unlike many others that only has white light, hers also has golden sparkles. Drewes then reports his findings to Siegfried. Because her magic skills surpass his, therefore she cannot be properly appraised. However Aira has shown unnatural ability to rapidly improve her skills. While it looked like there may be 2 saints, Drewes believes that Sei is the true saint because of those golden sparkles. Uhm, do previous saints summon have this trait? Now that it has come to this, Siegfried is afraid this may result in a succession crisis. Kyle’s insulting behaviour towards Sei cannot be ignored. An official court must be held. Hence, Sei is made to get ready for that official court appearance. Wow. Lots of maids to help her clean, change, prepare, etc. SEI YOU LUCKY BAS- oh wait, never mind. On the day of her appearance, she is surprised that Hawke is even here to escort her despite the courtroom is just a short walk down the hallway. I guess he didn’t want her to be alone. Sei enters the court as Siegfried and other nobles bow their head to make their official apology. He wants to compensate her but instead of land or titles, she asks for access to the library’s forbidden collection and a teacher to teach her magic. With that, Siegfried agrees to her requests. Word of Siegfried’s official apology reaches Kyle. He is not happy but notes that since his father did not formally acknowledged Sei as the saint out loud, things are still fine despite rumours are going around that Sei is the real saint. Kyle believes Aira is the true saint.

Episode 6
Drewes will be Sei’s personal tutor. This is not only because the kingdom wants as few people to know about the saint’s abilities, Drewes also wants to study her himself! So be prepared for Sei putting up a lot of her usual annoyed faces as Drewes tests her powers and the likes. Yeah, it’s like she’s his personal guinea pig or something. But don’t worry, nothing excessive. Sei then goes to see Hawke who then introduces her to his group of knights since Sei will be assisting them in their training exercises. So when Drewes learns about this, he is surprised because having her in such practical exercises is clearly not his intent. Remember, he wants to personally study her! He predicts that she will be called to join in future expeditions and assumes the next one will be in the western woods. When that time comes, Drewes will also participate to protect her. Sei knows better that all this is just a disguise to study her. But now, Sei has to train to become a lady. That means putting on and getting used to that tight corset. And yes, dance lessons. Hawke takes a peek and I guess the best lessons are learnt hands on. Yes, early romance foreshadowing as Hawke dances with Sei. Splendid. He sends her heart aflutter as he hints he would like to accompany her if she gets invited to parties. Sei receives a letter from Marquis Ashley for a tea party. And you would’ve guessed it, it is Liz. Sei hasn’t been coming to the library often so I guess it’s time to catch up on things. And also, this is part of Sei’s etiquette training assignment. Liz seems to know Sei is the saint from day 1. I suppose Sei is the only woman who has such descriptions. She also knows Aira as she attends the same royal academy but a year above her. Liz also hints that Aira was the new student that attracted attention for some males (partly Nicole’s case too). Sei tries to explain the Japan she comes from and that their customs vary although some are the same. Liz is worried that some of those male admirers aren’t as gentlemanly. And by now you would have guessed that Liz’s fiancé is no other than Kyle. She apologizes on his behalf for being rude to Sei but of course Sei doesn’t want to make a big issue out of it since it wasn’t her fault to begin with.

Episode 7
It’s time to look at the other side of the coin: Aira. As she was about to leave home, she is suddenly transported to another world. She was taken hastily by Kyle who then has his assistant, Damian explain to her. I wonder if she understood all that because all she wanted to know is if she can go home after that. Kyle never heard of such thing before and basically this means you can’t. Aira starts crying and this makes Kyle feel bad. So he gives her the best hospitality and has her dress up as he takes her throughout the kingdom. Aira wonders if the people doesn’t like him because she can tell they’re all just putting up fake salutations and all. Kyle later explains about the strict social discipline that this kingdom adheres to in order to uphold peace. He hopes she will come to like this kingdom and once all this is over, he will find a way for her to return home. So please lend us your power. Can she say no after the way he bows his head? Aira will do her best. She enrols in the royal academy and finds delight in learning magic. Because Kyle is always with her, this has other girls talking bad about her behind her back. One day, they confront and warn her about being the centre of attraction but with Kyle around, they dare not further pursue. She tried to make female friends but to no avail. When Kyle receives report that Sei could be the real saint, he thinks the report is fake since her powers sound too good to be true. However, all the famous noble houses have stepped in to provide Sei patronage. Kyle is displeased that many ignore Aira because she looks plain and no more than a servant. Even if this was true, admitting it now would trigger a quarrel over his succession. It is most likely that his brother, the second prince, Rayne may be flocking to Sei’s side too. In the case Aira is not the real saint, the kingdom will find another use for her and she’ll be its captive. Something he knows Aira doesn’t want. As such, it is his duty as the future king to find her a new place to call home. For now, he will continue to play the role of the incompetent and stubborn prince. When Liz tries to make friends with Aira, Kyle steps in and thinks she too has an ulterior motive. Whatever the case, Kyle will look after Aira himself. Aira is left to rue that Liz could’ve been friends had they finished talking. She thinks even if she can’t do it right and being awkward, at least she can be straightforward.

Episode 8
Sei is glad to have access to forbidden collection. She is looking at the encyclopaedia of poisonous plants to help make stronger potions. This has Drewes points out that all life forms have some quantity of magic. He hints and suggests something about imbuing the herbs with her own powers. As she tries, it doesn’t work. This has her wondering if there is anything called holy water in this world. You know, those kind of holy water from video games. None. Not even Drewes knows about it. But he does mention a type of magic that is effective on all sorts of monsters. There are no official records of it and he himself can’t do it. It’s called the saint’s conjury. Not like it has anything to do with Sei imbuing magic into her herbs. That night as she is in the garden, she tries it out. Woah. Golden lights everywhere and then the surrounding plants just get imbued? Don’t worry if you don’t understand what’s going on. Sei herself doesn’t. Next day, Johan tells her they have a message from the palace and looks like a healer is requested since the expedition will be to the western woods. Of course they’re talking about Sei. She tries to stay positive as she might find a new herb. But don’t worry, she won’t be going with nobodies. Hawke will be there too. And Drewes. Yeah, he is bugging Sei if her conjury works and spamming all sorts of questions, excited to know the results. Sorry to rain on your parade, she couldn’t replicate it after that but promises to show it to him once she knows. As the expedition takes them deep into the woods, the knights notice that they haven’t been fighting larger monsters so far all of them are weak. Could it be Sei is the culprit, scaring them away? Then they reach the source of the miasma. Lots of miasmic creatures seen. Don’t look know because the salamander is attacking! It becomes a tough battlefield. The knights trying to kill as much as they can but they’re just endless. Sei trying to heal the wounded as many as possible. When the salamander targets Sei, she looks like she is done for but her hair ornament has some magic properties and protects her from its fire breath. And then she watches Hawke’s sword break and he gets mauled alive. This devastation has her instantly activate conjury as it heals everything! Damn, all miasmic creatures including the salamander gone! Everyone healed! This forest is shining so brightly now. So are we convinced Sei is the real saint now?

Episode 9
Drewes is so awed at Sei’s performance, he really wants to study her in detail! OMG. That rape face… Luckily gentleman Hawke is here to stop this foolishness. Rumours of Sei’s powers are swirling around. It’s no surprise they are acting strange around her. Johan warns that Sei’s life may get hectic now. Despite monsters have decreased around the capital, their activities are reportedly increased in the countryside. Hence Sei may be called to join in more future expeditions. But this might be good for her as the countryside has lots of other herbs so she can have a field trip to study them. Sei can’t reproduce her conjury before Drewes. So as they leave the class, they hear a ruckus between Kyle and Liz. The former accusing his fiancée of being jealous that he is spending too much time with Aira and hence trying to isolate her. However Liz starts to get mad when Kyle despite claiming he must take responsibility for Aira, refuses to acknowledge Sei as the other saint. He calls Sei an imposter. Complication arises when everyone sees Sei. Drewes is gone. Oh sh*t. Before Kyle could touch Sei, damn, did Hawke just suddenly appear to slap his hand away? Drewes returns as he has called Siegfried over this ruckus. Kyle maintains that Sei is an imposter prepared by him. Siegfried announces Sei’s accomplishments verified by several parties. Hence Sei is the true saint. What has Aira achieved? If he claims he is looking after Aira as the saint, then he has failed to do the same for Sei. They continue this discussion in private as Siegfried learns the whole truth behind this. Kyle admits his wrong that Aira is not the saint and will accept any punishment but wants freedom guaranteed for Aira. Siegfried promises to that and has Kyle under house arrest. Rayne and Liz will take over caring for Aira. Later Liz talks to Kyle and believes he planned this entire thing. She deduces that no matter what, Aira will eventually be labelled as an imposter and by embroiling her in his foolish antics, she will look like a victim instead. Now no one will scorn her. But Kyle denies all that and maintains he is just a selfish prince. Sei meets Aira and Liz over tea and they become friends. Siegfried receives many requests from the countryside for assistance to destroy the monsters. The region in need most is Klausner’s Domain as this is the largest herb producer of the kingdom. With monsters attacking, this means less herbs are being supplied. Hawke visits Johan to talk about his mission to Klausner in 2 weeks. Everyone is surprised that Sei wants to go. Well, it is the alchemist’s holy land and a treasure trove of herbs. With Sei going, we know the drill. Get prepared and make her safety their highest priority.

Episode 10
Arriving at Klausner, they are greeted by Daniel Klausner who oversees the region. Sei is really excited to learn all the herbs she is unfamiliar with and sometimes get a bit carried away. Of course, not forgetting the mini romance between Hawke and Sei. She flusters all up when he compliments how beautiful she is in that robe. Uhm, hope this isn’t some death flag since he will be leaving on a scouting expedition tomorrow. Sei is left in the care of Corinna who is the castle’s alchemist. Corinna is surprised Sei can make so many potions and still have energy left. Puts her to shame. Her grandson, Leonhardt barges in to seek more potions he requested yesterday. Yeah, he thinks they can be made in an instant. Of course he goes into repent mode each time grandma chides him. This guy is so muscular and the way he rough handles Sei, I thought she would break apart! Not that he has any ill intentions, just that he lacks delicacy. GAR! As Sei learns more about the herbs, she wonders why she hasn’t find any recipes. Corinna points out there were many but none now. She takes her to read a diary that was written by Klausner’s greatest alchemist. It states how a great drought affected the domain and all the crops and herbs withered. Soon famine set in and everyone was slowly dying, including her brother. Hence she tried all sorts of ways but noted that unless herbs were grown, one cannot be cured no matter how often healed. It is hinted this alchemist is a saint. And then she unleashed some power that healed her brother and crops began to grow, the famine ended. Sei hears a commotion. Leonhardt and his men got ambushed by monsters but thanks to her potion, the results were effective. She then helps to personally heal everyone and leaves them impressed. When Leonhardt mentions the knights might need her help too, she becomes very worried. Oh no. Wasn’t Hawke in that scouting expedition? Hence she speeds up her healing by healing all in the area at once! Then she rushes to where the knights are. Her heart sank to see Hawke covered in blood and unconscious. Oh dear. It’s that trauma again. In her devastation, she unleashes conjury to heal all. But Hawke is well. From Sei’s reaction, not sure if Hawke was just trolling. I mean, it could be he was just tired and the blood on his coat belonged to somebody else. Or was he completely healed by her? Anyhow, Sei feels totally embarrassed. Although he is grateful to her, she can’t look at him in the face and runs away. Corinna reading the rest of the diary that tells the secret of the saint’s power: Love. Oh damn, it’s truly the power of love, huh?

Episode 11
Drewes is not pleased that Earhart didn’t let him on the next expedition. But when a knight comes in and relays that help is needed, Drewes jumps on that chance. Since he spots Aira, he also brings her along on this. Sei recites the names of all the people she knows. When she reaches Hawke’s name, her power starts to glow. Yup, definitely the power of love. No wonder she is so embarrassed. Sei then visits Corinna to experiment with her blessing. But soon, Leonhardt drops by and wants to recruit her into his mercenary as he values her high level healing. Did he just insulted grandma’s alchemy of being a waste of time?! I’m sure he had no ill intention. Of course Hawke is here and he is not pleased of this request. Sorry dude, you can’t have her anyway. Leonhardt then realizes Sei is the saint and that’s the end of that. Hawke speaks to Sei about the next scouting expedition. Because they don’t have many healers with them, looks like her help is needed once more. So they leave for the forests again and this time joining them is Leonhardt. Oh Hawke, you don’t seem so pleased again. They scout around, talk about things, until a knight stumbles into some monster trail. WHICH MONSTER LEFT HIS HUGE CUM DUMP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST???!!! WHO???!!! Oh… That is slime digestive juice? Okay, sorry. My bad. As they follow the trail, it leads them to encounter more of those purple slimes. Naturally they start attacking. I’m sure the humans can’t do this all day, defending and killing the slimes. There seems to be no end. But don’t fear, somebody burns up all of them! It’s been a while but look who’s back? It’s Drewes. And Aira too.

Episode 12
So as Drewes takes on the slimes, Hawke has his men retreat. Back in town, Corinna lets Sei practice her magic but Drewes thinks she is trying to practice conjury without him around. Of course she explains doing so at this place so as not to harm the plants. Maybe. But it might have some effect on the soil. So in order to really test that out, they take Sei to a big field! Now you can practice all you want! You bet Sei is tired after all that after Drewes made her cast it over and over again. But looks like another expedition to the forest is called by Hawke. Sei’s going to be in it. Drewes too. Aira and Leonhardt too. More slime fighting as Sei heals those badly burnt. And then once more Hawke gets injured but before her conjury could be invoked, Drewes destroys the slime and Hawke just suffers a very minor injury. Then they arrive at the centre of the miasma pool. Sei has to purify it from a distance as the rest ward off all sorts of slimes and miasmic beasts. Some drama as Sei tries to save Aira so Drewes uses her hell burning inferno to burn all those around. And soon after, Sei activates conjury and purifies the entire area. As they camp overnight, Sei feels worried for Hawke. Yeah, when he gets injured for the umpteenth time… But Hawke assures her that as a knight, he serves his kingdom. But he would also like to serve her if she so much wishes. Feel better? Next day, Sei is yet going to perform another miracle for the decimated forest. Can she concentrate with Drewes staring this close at her? Well, I guess it’s different if it’s Hawke. Uh huh. Flashes of his cool faces must did the trick. Because now her conjury heals everything in the area back to normal! Woah! Did she reverse time or the forest just has some super growth acceleration? A little drama as she collapses from exhaustion. She gets embarrassed when Hawke carries her back. Sei and Hawke return to the capital. Corinna confirming the saint’s true power is love. Sei is glad to be home and Hawke hopes the upcoming expedition will not be a burden to Sei. Sei then tells him what is said about the saint’s true powers. Since they’re both smiling, can I assume they know about it? At least for each other?

The Insane Manic Prowess Is Oh My Impotent…
So uhm… That’s it? We don’t even get a stinking confession from Sei and/or Hawke in the end? All we got was just another confirmation that love is the power that makes a saint so godly powerful. I don’t know, I just felt that the final episode was just one long drawn out drama (put in some slime killing action scenes to make it less dreary) to make Sei use her conjury and perform a miracle. It could’ve been over in a second but we need to see Sei get focused and all before strutting her stuff. Heck, why do they even need to bring Aira who feels like she did so minimal. Giving her some spotlight since she was so ostracized throughout the season? Sure, she helped to heal too but don’t tell me they don’t have any other healers? So I suppose the herb capital is now saved, Sei can breathe easy that she protected her favourite hobby. But will she have time for them assuming she’ll have to accompany Hawke to other domains to rid of the miasma? No worries. Hawke is the more charming substitute for herbs while she is away. Heh.

Well, I can now definitely say that this series isn’t of a reverse harem genre. Yes, there are tons of hot guys here but from the way I see it all, this is certainly not a reverse harem category. A romance genre yes, but unquestionably not a reverse harem. It was pretty evident that the romance has been slowly blossoming and developing between Sei and Hawke. There were lots of such moments between them. You can tell. But not enough of such similar feel towards other such male characters in this series. Even if those guys do take an interest in Sei, it is not by all means anywhere near anything of the romantic sense. The other guys are interested in Sei because she is very different to them and hence they are mostly hovering along the admiration lines. But with Hawke, you can see it is very different when it comes to their actions. Even more so as the series progresses. So in the end, I am very certain now that this isn’t a reverse harem genre and it really proved how wrong my guts were when it jumped to conclusions after a mere look at the promotional poster and a very brief and quick read through.

As for the plot of this series, you can say it falls under one of those calming and mostly relaxing isekai series like Kami-tachi Ni Hirowareta Otoko. Only, slightly more mature theme because there are a few scenes of fighting threatening monsters. But nothing that is too much of a suspense, drama or action filled like you see in many other ubiquitous isekai shows. Basically, it is just Sei slowly awakening to her true saint powers and the more she uses them, the word of her true powers get spread throughout the land and her assistance in greater events is needed. Therefore I see all the drama here folding in quite a slow pace, which is good if you really like them so but bad if you’re being too impatient and thus one big bore. Like yours truly who always thought something would happen but nothing really big enough that would change the tide and direction of things as it will somehow be nicely resolved. After all, whether a saint or not, Sei looks like she is adjusting to her life very well in this new world. If she wasn’t discovered a saint, she can play the happy little herbalist. But now that she is a saint whose powers surpass Drewes himself, she can use this excuse to go to different places and find new herbs to study. So it’s a win-win situation for her either way.

The setting of this world, that is the need to summon a saint to save the world when sh*t hits the fan isn’t really fleshed out properly. I don’t know, it feels just like a sort of flimsy reason to set up this setting. Because despite saying how dangerous it is as the monster activities are ramping up and the miasma is getting thicker, I’m not feeling it right here. Maybe it is because of the romance drama focusing on the characters that we don’t see too much of that. I mean, don’t want to distract us on what this series is really supposed to be on, right? And there’s really no way for the summoned saint to return to her original home, eh? I guess that still beats the notion of her being dead in her own world and then got reincarnated here.

The closest of any sort of heart pounding suspense and drama came from was the inevitable showdown between the saints. Actually, it was more of Kyle’s stubbornness in insisting Aira as the saint was what kept my interest in the series floating. Will there be a bloodbath in the showdown of the summoned ladies? I know it won’t amount to anything that violent (although there are a few scenes of blood and gore) but I was hoping something of that sort would happen. After all, when 2 saints are summoned than just the usual 1, eventually somebody has got to give when both saints have caused split factions among the group. Well, I have to be honest that I was a bit disappointed the way that ‘showdown’ ended. It fizzled out without so much of a spark. I know it would be unthinkable to see both nice ladies to go head to head as they get embroiled in the shenanigans of the royalty and nobles. But all that didn’t happen. And once Kyle’s true intention of keeping up this farce is revealed, and just like that the issue of which is the true saint died down. Yeah, it just wasn’t that interesting anymore. Now that is gotten out of the way, the rest of the series just sees Sei and Hawke getting close via expeditions, blah, blah, blah. Oh well, I have to remind myself that this is a calm and relaxing isekai show that I’m seeing. Overly dramatic drama isn’t on the table here.

There are also a few action sequences here but I feel those are just a side show and a stepping stone to display Sei’s power. And of course, develop the romance between the saint and the guy she is in love with. Yeah, the fight scenes with the monsters feel paltry but we all already know what kind of series this is so don’t get your hopes too high up. See them swing their weapons around, cast some offensive spells, some defensive spells. Yeah, I’ve seen more vicious fights between man and monsters elsewhere. Hence some of the more ‘violent’ scenes are seeing those guards being injured and Hawke being like a magnet disaster because he has been close to death’s door a few times. Each time Sei has to conveniently step in and miraculously save him. There’s your excuse for their romance. Damn Hawke, you a lucky guy! Every time the grim reaper wants to take him, Sei the goddess says “F*ck you!” and shows the middle finger to death as she casts her godly spell to heal him completely like as though those fatal injuries never happened! Oh yeah. Got to hand it to the power of love! No wonder it is such a potent weapon. Too bad it’s only a trump card reserved for the saint because had any other ordinary people had it, purifying the miasma would be easy and they don’t even have to summon a saint then.

As for the characters, what else can I say about them? I already said most of what I need to say especially about Sei and Hawke in the previous paragraphs above so what more can I say? I’ll be repeating stuffs. But yeah, Sei is a nice and humble person. Hawke is a nice gentleman. Do the chemistry math there. And Sei being bestowed such a great omnipotent power that she could have been reborn as God in this world! Healing wounds until it is totally healed is one thing, but actually growing back a cut off hand! Now that is really pushing it! I mean, HOW???!!! She doesn’t really understand it and it makes it easier for writers not to explain it to us. Heh. That’s something how I felt when Sei suddenly performs her miracles. I suppose this world never heard of Jesus Christ, huh? Well, count your blessings because Saint Sei is here to save the day. So do we hate her for being an overpowered character who can pull off her magic so easily and so effortlessly? You better not. The guys she healed and saved will have your head!

And the other guys who would’ve made this a potential reverse harem: Drewes: The greatest mage of the kingdom is just probably interested in knowing how far her power reaches. Yeah, he might want to dissect her to find out but don’t worry, this isn’t that kind of anime. Johan: Sei’s boss and sometimes gives some advice to her while taking good care of her as she stays at the institute. Leonhardt: Brawns over tact. Any girl who wants to be with him needs to be able to withstand all that brute. Just kidding. More like a gentle giant but needs to work on his tact. Jude: Uhm, who this guy again?! I feel he is so side-lined and unimportant.

Too bad Aira isn’t the main character but I believe she is quite similar in character as Sei. She didn’t get as much attention as Sei did and that single episode focusing on her point of view did give us some insights but nothing of concern. I just wonder if Sei was chosen instead, would Aira end up exactly like Sei and vice versa? Aira’s insecurities are after all stemmed from the environment she was forced into unlike Sei who had a freer environment to do as she pleases. So poor thing for Aira but I’m glad they manage to make up and are now friends. Yeah, so much for that saint showdown drama I was hoping for initially… Sometimes I feel that Liz’s existence is to prove that this series is more than just hot guys all over and that there are some hot chicks too. I mean, Sei is surrounded by men from day 1. It’s nice to have a female by her side to talk things from a female perspective sometimes.

I still believe Kyle is the most interesting character because of his stubbornness. But as I have said, all that acting was just an elaborated ploy to protect Aira. Yeah, it might be a bit disappointing but I guess among many of the other gentlemanly characters, his boisterous and haughty character (even if it is just an act) made him stand out from the rest. Like Earhart who is just boring and I can’t remember what his role is. I mean he does, but what his role is in the overall series? Nothing, right? Better than Rayne who feels like he just making a cameo. I thought he would be a sneaky conniving little brother because you know, successor to the throne rivalry trope. But nope, just my wishful thinking. King Siegfried is so good and polite I wonder if diplomacy is his best weapon. Because it’s like he feels so bad his eldest son offended Sei so much that he went all out to make a formal apology and all. Wow. I’m sure all in the kingdom love him.

Art and animation are pretty good. Considering the target audience is most probably female, you bet that there are a lot of hot and gorgeous looking guys. Heck, even the most average of guys like those knights and common people look decently good. Sure, there are female characters too and they aren’t that bad looking themselves. Wow. In a fantasy world where everyone is looking good? No wonder there are no cosmetics and such products in this world! Everyone is a natural beauty! Oh wait. I forgot about Sei’s cosmetics… Wow. The beautiful will get even more beautiful! Speaking of natural beauty, the background and sceneries are also quite nice to look at. Hey, it’s mother nature you’re looking at. Be it the forest or the herbal gardens. This anime is animated by Diomedea who did Shinryaku! Ika Musume, Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu, Kantai Collection, Beatless and Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love.

Voice acting, they’re pretty standard and decent for this genre. I only recognized Takahiro Sakurai as Hawke, Jun Fukuyama as Kyle and Satoshi Hino as Leonhardt. The rest are Yui Ishikawa as Sei (Mikasa in Shingeki No Kyojin), Takuya Eguchi as Johan (Hikigaya in Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machigatteiru), Yuusuke Kobayashi as Drewes (Subaru in Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), Kana Ichinose as Aira (Marlya in Fairy Gone), Reina Ueda as Liz (Shiori in Sakura Quest), Yuichiro Umehara as Earhart (titular character in Goblin Slayer), Jin Yamanoi as Siegfried (Danjou in Gundou Musashi), Mami Koyama as Corinna (Balalaika in Black Lagoon), Aoi Ichikawa as Rayne and Taku Yashiro (Pele in Plunderer) as Jude (Ebitani in Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa). The opening theme, Blessing by Aira Yuuki is a slow ballad that fits the pacing of the series. Page For Tomorrow by Now On Air as the ending theme plays to a faster beat but is still pleasant to hear. Pray by Aira Yuuki as the final episode’s ending theme is yet another slow lovely ballad to nicely fit the end of the series.

Overall, this is a mixed baggage. Unless you are into this kind of romance genre, you’ll find it very boring and unexciting. It’s just your typical romance series but with some magic. I mean, the lack of a real antagonist (WHERE’S THE MEGALOMANIAC WHO WANTS TO DESTROY TAKE OVER THE WORLD?!), the nonexistence of a plot twist (is anybody thinking that Aira could be Sei’s long lost sister???!!! SAY WHAT????!!!!), not even a reverse harem (those other bishonen are just there to look good, huh?) or interesting characters (like what I said about those many other bishonen) and some even went as far as to say the dialogues are very bland (notice how plain those seemingly love lines are? I guess they don’t want to risk something being witty turned into cheesy), I wonder if Sei can use her healing powers to heal my disappointed heart. Nah. Just kidding. I’ll watch more slapstick ecchi harem comedies to do the trick. The saint may be omnipotent but she isn’t omniscient in what a great romance anime needs!