Daemons of the Shadow Realm has our heroes pulling off some very brutal and hasty smash and grabs in Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin”. Typically, people would use that tactic to steal goods. However, in this case, this tactic is being used to steal people. It’s all for a good cause though, since the people in question were being held under duress anyways. The morality isn’t in question. It’s the effectiveness that’s the real question.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin”: Details in Brief
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin” is the eighteenth episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, Ep. 10, Ep. 11, Ep. 12, Ep. 13, Ep. 14, Ep. 15, Ep. 16, and Ep. 17 here) of this dark fantasy action adventure anime series overall, as well as being the first episode of the second cours. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, The Heroic Legend of Arslan).
Bones Film (Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ouran High School Host Club, My Hero Academia) is the animation studio behind this anime. Masahiro Andō is the director behind this anime, with Noboru Takagi as the writer, and Kenichiro Suehiro as the composer for the music.
Speaking of that music, the opening theme song for the second cours of Daemons of the Shadow Realm is “Back Shot” by Masanori Otoda. Meanwhile, “Kujaku” (孔雀; lit. ”Peacock”) by Kei Sugawara is the ending theme song for the same.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin”: The Good
As you can tell by the title of this review, Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin” has a decent amount of action in it. All centered around Dera (voiced by Yuichi Nakamura (JP) and Jarrod Greene (EN)) and his very much temporary Higashi Village ally doing their best impressions of ninjas.
All to gather enough intel to perform a smash and grab to get Yuru (voiced by Kensho Ono (JP) and Ben Stegmair (EN)) back. It’s quite the intelligent bit of planning there, with some element of luck in that they caught someone talking about Yuru on the phone so that they now know who to grab for a source of intel. It makes for some realistic bit of modern military and supernatural action mixed with espionage that would not be that far off from the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell games. It creates a unique form of modern military and urban fantasy setting for this story.
In fact, knowing when to be sneaky and when to go loud seems to be the central theme of this episode. Complete with the beginning of this episode showcasing a flashback to a much younger Asa (voiced by Yume Miyamoto (JP) and Molly Zhang (EN)) learning a sneaky way to communicate with smoke signals. Heck, that flashback prologue is actually a brilliant example of Hiromu Arakawa using the Chekhov’s Gun trope. At first glance, it seems irrelevant to the episode, until we get to the point where the Higashi Village smoke signals become a very relevant part of the story. As it turns out, authors typically don’t introduce details into a story at random. Really, the only plot twist here is who answers the smoke signal. The backlash from that specific who heeding the call will have to wait for the next episode of Daemons of the Shadow Realm though.
Fortunately, we can still appreciate the high quality animation that Bones Film’s animators continue to produce for this anime. I’m giving special note here to when Dera and his ally break into the office of Hayato Shingo (voiced by Setsuji Satō (JP) and Eric Vale (EN)). The action sequence was short, but especially well-animated, featuring some brutal use of a human shield as well as a brief bout of horror mixed in. Again, a very short action sequence, but quite sweet.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin”: The Bad
Alas, while the action in Ep. 18 “Fujin and Raijin” is quite entertaining, as I’ve said multiple times, it’s quite short. Thsoe of you who are only interested in action and nothing but might come away from this episode feeling a bit unsatisfied. Fortunately, you do have the promise of more action in the next episode. All you have to do is wait a week for it to happen.
Anime Recommendations
If you can’t wait a week though, then you do have other options. You can watch 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, and / or Kagurabachi to get your action fix. However, if you want more story-focused anime, then you might like watching 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, Witch Hat Atelier, and / or Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia.
What do you think of this week’s episode of Daemons of the Shadow Realm? Tell us your sneaky thoughts in the comments section below.
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