Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia gives us a true puppetmistress in the form of Boraqchin in Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”. This episode has shown her to be a master planner and manipulator, making her quite the political genius. However, this episode also reveals that the people she’s puppeting don’t always follow orders. In fact, they might just find the will to defy her.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”: Details in Brief
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone” is the eleventh episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1-2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, and Ep. 10 here) of this historical drama anime series. Said anime series is the anime adaptation of the manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol by Tomato Soup.
Science SARU (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Star Wars: Visions “Akakiri” and “T0-B1“, Dandadan) is the animation studio behind this anime. Naoko Yamada is the chief director for this anime, with Abel Góngora as the co-director, Kanichi Katou as the writer, and Kōshirō Hino as the composer for the music we hear in this anime.
Speaking of the music: the opening theme song of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is “Stella” by Sekai no Owari. Meanwhile, “Hoshi” by QUEEN BEE is the ending theme song.
You can watch Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia exclusively on Crunchyroll.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”: The Good
Politics is the name of the game in Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”. In fact, the rather enigmatic title is a big clue about that, for this is the episode that delves into the backstory of Boraqchin (voiced by Kujira (JP) and Anastasia Muñoz (EN)). Specifically: it tells the backstory of why and how she came to possess that chunk of sandarac, which is also known as red arsenic sulfide or realgar. That backstory reveals that her arsenic poisoning symptoms was no accident. She deliberately poisoned herself in order to judge how much of a dose would be needed to avoid a fatal poisoning.
Why, you might ask? Well, that entire incident with Ögedei (voiced by Hiro Shimono (JP) and Ethan Marshall (EN)) and Tolui (voiced by Ryōta Suzuki (JP) and Alex Mai (EN)) turns out to have all been Boraqchin’s plan from the start. It’s a brilliant move too. Convince Tolui to sacrifice himself for Ögedei by tricking him into drinking an arsenic-tainted bowl of water, and she gets rid of Ögedei’s chief rival without triggering a civil war. How? By secretly administering less-than-lethal doses of arsenic to Ögedei to make it look like he’s sick. It’s a great example of soft power being used judiciously and wisely for this high risk but high reward operation. It also really shows off just how ruthless Boraqchin can be in the pursuit of her political goals. It also shows off just how much of a mad scientist Boraqchin is despite her mild-looking appearance. Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries would approve.
This is also evident in her political maneuvering post-Tolui’s death. Already trying to match Tolui’s widow Sorghaghtani (voiced by Misaki Kuno (JP) and Emi Lo (EN)) with Töregene’s (voiced by Ami Koshimizu (JP) and Michelle Rojas (EN)) eldest son Güyük in order to further dilute the power of the former House of Tolui? Quite the power play there. However…
The Puppet Bites Back
While all this is going on, Sitara / Fatima (voiced by Akira Sekine (JP) and Cristina Vee (EN)) is just busy trying to figure out where Töregene is in order to save here. It’s just pure luck that she happens to stumble onto Boraqchin’s political matchmaking involving Güyük and Sorghaghtani. However she came across that information though, she uses it for her own benefit and goals.
Starting by volunteering herself to Boraqchin to deliver the news to Sorghaghtani. That produces one of the most emotionally complex scenes in this entire anime. See, Sitara knows full well that Sorghaghtani is ultimately the one who got her entire family murdered for a single book, and has been spending the entire anime just getting revenge on her. However, Sitara has one thing here fighting that hate: compassion. Seeing the once energetic Sorghaghtani now just an empty husk of herself seems to trigger something within Sitara, which is probably why she gives that bit of verbal slap to Sorghaghtani in order to snap her out of it. It even works too, which is probably all going to Sitara’s plan.
See, Sitara’s is almost certainly not just being motivated by compassion here. Ultimately, Sorghaghtani refusing the marriage benefits Sitara’s ultimate goal of destroying the Mongol Empire. Here is now real conflict between the two most powerful factions of the empire, which has the potential to bring about the civil war that Sitara and Töregene want. We just have to wait and see what the next episode of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia will bring us to see the result of that.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”: The Bad
Alas, action fans will likely be disappointed by Ep. 11 “An Ungraceful Stone”. There’s not a single speck of action in this episode in the slightest. This episode does focus on political drama and emotional depth, after all. Putting an action scene in here just wouldn’t fit. If you want that, then you will have to look in another anime for that.
Anime Recommendations
Fortunately, you have many other anime to watch for action, blood, or some combination of both. You can check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, TRIGUN STARGAZE, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, and / or Kagurabachi for that. However, if you want more story-focused anime like Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, then you might also like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, Journal with Witch, and/or Witch Hat Atelier.
What do you all think of this week’s episode of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia? Tell us your puppeteering thoughts in the comments section below.
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