Hevee has left Clearflow to investigate the Untiring Godsfeet in the Scorching Sand Stratum, leading Boxxo, Lammis, and Shui to go looking out for them. True to the stratum’s name, the team has to contend with some intense heatwaves in the area. At the stratum’s respective village, the team meet up with its director, the unsurprisingly titled Director Scorching (Tatsuya Kobayashi) and Boxxo supplies the village with so much needed water. The gang also reunites with Mishuel, who I’m only now realizing was the last person unaccounted for after everyone got lost from Kerioyl tampering with the Transfer Circles. Now that I think about it, it’s pretty darn funny that the one introverted character got stranded all by himself.
While browsing an item shop, Lammis learns that Hevee asked its owner not too long ago. Using a letter provided by Suori, Lammis gets the shopkeeper to reveal that the Untiring Godsfeet were sold to her by a hunter named Tashtay. Lammis and Boxxo continue their search for Hevee though funnily enough, the search ends rather quickly as Shui manages to find and corner Hevee on her own. Hevee explains that before joining the Menagerie of Fools, he originally partnered up with his childhood friend and he gave the Untiring Godsfeet to her on her birthday. While out on a mission, Hevee and his friend got ambushed by bandits, with the friend among the casualties. Hevee’s only clue regarding the identities of the bandits was they stole the Untiring Godsfeet after murdering his friend. Hevee would eventually develop his obsession with footwear from trying to recover the Untiring Godsfeets and avenging his friend.
Suffice to say, Hevee’s backstory is one of the darker moments in the show. Part of me actually feels it’s a little too dark for the show. Like, nothing graphic is depicted but just the mention of the bandits cutting off the friend’s legs to get the boots feels a bit much. Still, I appreciate getting to see Hevee’s character in a more serious light and new context for his running gag. Really though, the highlight of this scene is Shui calling Hevee out on keeping secrets from her and the others and asking him to trust her more. It’s a perfectly understandable reaction, given the fallout with Kerioyl, and it’s even more meaningful when you consider that Shui usually acts annoyed when she’s in Hevee’s company.
After talking things, Hevee decides to let his friends join him in searching for Tashtay. Hulemy and Kikoyu arrive shortly after to join the team and provide supplies and transport to better navigate through the desert. Lammis also receives the magic items the Dark Forest shopkeeper promised to forge for her a couple episodes ago: a new pair of gloves and boots that allow her to better channel her Blessing of Might ability. Pretty cool that the show actually does follow up on that development (kind of wish they looked more unique, though). After some trekking, the gang finds a tower that is reportedly Tashtay’s base of operations. The tower makes for a fun set piece; I particularly enjoy the part where Lammis and Boxxo tank through all the different booby traps for everyone via Lammi’s superstrength and Boxxo’s barrier.
At the top of the tower, the gang confront Tashtay, who is revealed to be the leader of bandits in cahoots with the Netherlord and the one who killed Hevee’s friend. Tashtay is a bit too cartoonishly evil for my liking but I suppose him being such a psychopath makes it easier to buy into Hevee’s vendetta. The show makes it abundantly clear that Hevee won’t pull any punches though I am a curious if he will actually go as far as kill his enemy. I can see everyone talking him out of it at the last minute.
Watch Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon on Crunchyroll
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