With the wall repaired, the village begins rebuilding itself. Boxxo learns that the slabs he created last episode has created a huge indent, so he comes up with the brilliant plan of filling it with ice and turn it into a swimming pool for the villagers to enjoy. It’s a good example of one of Jihanki‘s strengths. As stupid as its gimmick may be, the show exercises some creativity with how to utilize it. There’s also a fun moment here where Lammis, Hulemy, and the others demand some ice cream and Boxxo declines to do so. This is because Boxxo wants to surprise them with the swimming pool but for an amusing while, it does come across as one of the greatest betrayals in anime.
At night, the Hunter’s Association holds a festival to lift everyone’s spirits up. I didn’t think we’d get an obligatory summer festival episode in an isekai anime starring a vending machine but I stand corrected. Instead of ice cream as per usual, Boxxo decides to instead sell some shaved ice. Funnily enough, Lammis and Hulemy finally debate as to what they should classify Boxxo as, leading Boxxo to use his improved speech to explain that he’s a vending machine. It’s crazy to think but it has taken sixteen episodes for Boxxo to explain to his friend what exactly he is.
After the festival, Lammis tells Boxxo that the mage has been punished for his crimes. With her village and family avenged, Lammis is left wondering what she should do now. Fortunately, Boxxo quickly convinces her to continue to being a Hunter and going on fun adventures with him. I’m a little mixed on how this plot thread is resolved. Like, I don’t know if I’d want it to persist throughout all of Season 2 but considering it was only established two episodes ago, I feel it wraps up a bit too quickly. Having it play out early in this episode is also just weird timing. Conversely, having Lammis find peace and continue on with her Hunter career is how I figured this thread would end. I also approve of the show not going to into too much detail on the mage’s fate. In a more dramatic show, this would feel anticlimactic but it works just fine in the show’s lighthearted tone.
The next day, Hulemy manages to get the village’s transfer circle in working order, allowing the Hunter’s Association to travel to other stratums once more in a limited capacity. Director Bear decides to send three volunteers to the Origin Stratum as without that secured, no one will be able to evacuate out of the dungeon if need be. Lammis, Boxxo, and Hulemy are sent to the stratum. A no-brainer since Hulemy is needed to repair the transfer circles, Boxxo can provide supplies, and Lammis is the only one who can carry him. Since Boxxo doesn’t count as a human, the Hunter’s Association can send one more person. Mishuel volunteers to fill out the roster and while his prowess is certainly welcomed, he does have a funny ulterior motive in that he just wants the company of people he can actually talk to.
At the Origin Stratum, the team quickly assists the Menagerie of Fools in repelling the latest monster attack and providing the villagers with some much needed supplies. I must’ve not paid much attention but yeah, this is what the Menagerie has been up to. It’s nice to see Shui (Miyu Tomita) and the twins again. Last we heard of them, they were still recovering from the first battle with the Netherlord. Shui makes a particularly entertaining reintroduction by looking all starved for food. Poor girl really needed Boxxo to come back.
With the orphanage and village safe from monsters, the group meets up with the director of the Origin Stratum… Director Origin (Aino Shimada). Why are all these names/titles so plain? And how come this lady is named after the stratum she works in while Director Bear is named after his species? Anyway, Boxxo, Lamis, Mishuel, and Shui accompany the director to check on a prison where some people have taken refuge. On their way, the director warns the gang of one particular inmate, a clergyman named Hevee (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka), describing the man as a degenerate. Funnily enough, Shui reveals that Hevee is actually a member of the Menagerie, albeit a more ostracized one.
I kind of figured Hevee is just your archetypical pervert character but to Jihanki‘s credit, and for lack of a better term, he’s a bit more colorful than that. It turns out that Hevee is obsessed with people’s shoes, to the point of amassing a collection of them even while in prison. I guess to the guy’s credit, he at least asks for people’s consent for their shoes and pays for them. So don’t cancel this show just yet, folks. I’m curious how viewers will generally react to this. Everyone of course has their own comfort zones and whatnot. I admit that the joke is a little lost to me but I did chuckle at the fact that Hevee agreed to be put in prison, as if he acknowledges that he can go too far with his obsession and he needs something to keep him in check.
Hevee removes an illusion spell he used to protect the refugees from the fiends, allowing the gang to escort them back to the village. Director Origin reluctantly agrees to repay Hevee with her shoes though the Menagerie “bonks” Hevee and gives the shoes back, with Kerioyl warning the director on one use Hevee has for his shoe collection. The show naturally sates Boxxo’s and possibly the viewer’s morbid curiosity as to what Kerioyl is talking about in the next scene. This scene does offer one of the funnier laughs with Hevee’s character, by having the clergyman tell Boxxo that he deduces that the vending machine is a fellow hobbyist. Hevee is kind of right in a sense; Boxxo was very interested in vending machines in his past life. However, it’s humorous that Hevee sees him and Boxxo as kindred spirits when their hobbies are very different from each other.
Watch Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon on Crunchyroll
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