Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia shows Sitara surviving the death of her family through the wisdom they taught her in Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame”. It’s not merely an empty survival either. A strong, fiery core of hatred for the Mongols is what’s keeping her alive at the moment. The only question now is whether she will cultivate that flame to keep herself alive, or if the hate will consume her as she is more or less forced to serve her family’s murderers.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame”: Details in Brief
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame” is the third episode (you can read my review of Ep. 1-2 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.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame”: The Good
Without a doubt, it’s the story of Sitara (voiced by Akira Sekine (JP)) that’s the best part about Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame”. After all, she is the main character of this story, but there’s more to it than that. She is no shonen story-style action hero. She’s just a perfectly ordinary teenaged girl trying to survive the Mongol invasion of of the Khwarazmian Empire, like a 13th century version of This War of Mine. Thus, her story is the story of survival among a very hostile people who have enslaved her, and where she can’t depend even on her fellow slaves because of a lack of connections between them. For all intents and purposes, she is a stranger in a strange land.
Thus, the only way she can survive is by living off of one thing: hate. Hate for her captors is the only thing she has left to live for now. Yes, I know Star Wars makes a big deal about hate leading to suffering, but it’s also the only thing giving Sitara any will to live, so we can forgive her for that. It makes for some interesting themes about how negative emotions can be used for positive outcomes.
Fortunately, Sitara also has opportunities to learn along the way. She is still at her core a very curious creature, and even enslavement under the Mongols gives her an opportunity to learn so many things along the way. Note that this part of the story is in no way justifying her enslavement. It’s more that she’s making the best she can make out of a horrible situation. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and all that jazz.
And it’s a very visually and audibly beautiful lemonade here, thanks to Science SARU’s animators and Kōshirō Hino. From the gorgeous sights of the Mongolian steppes and their carefully buily yurts to the Mongolian throat-singing, the entire episode makes you feel like you’re in 13th century Mongolia.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame”: The Bad
Alas, if you’re someone who only cares about bloody combat, then Ep. 3 “An Undying Flame” will almost certainly bore you. The only combat in this episode is some hints of it referenced by the sons of Chingis (aka. Genghis) Khan when they meet up, and depicted via stylized cutscenes that look like medieval paintings. Otherwise, there is no sign of the bloody combat of the first few episodes of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, and thus nothing to appease any of you shonen fighting fanatics here in the audience. If you want to see that here, then you might have to wait some time later in the future of this anime.
Anime Recommendations
Fortunately, all of you bloody shonen fighting anime lovers out there have alternatives if you can’t wait. 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. If you want a more story-focused anime like this one though, 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 did you all think of this week’s episode of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia? Tell us your wisely hateful thoughts in the comments section below.
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