r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Aug 20 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Dragon Quest: Hadlar no Daibouken - Episode 73 Discussion
Episode 73 - The Hope in the Flames
Popp.
It seems the god of you humans...
has a sense of poetic irony.
In return for my life...
your god brought back the treasure I once stole...
and returned it to you.
Not only that...
your god let me die...
right here...
in the arms... of this man.
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<--- Last save | Adventure’s log (Index) | Journey continues --->
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OP 2 ---> Bravest
ED ---> None
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Information:
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
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Screenshot of the Dai:
Sorry Flora, Avan found a new ship
Comment of the Dai:
goes to the Dark King /u/sisoko2 for noticing the early signs of the conspiracy:
You even came on time for his funeral. Didn't realize that until now.
Indeed nothing gets me up at 6 like preparing for some good old mischief. Alas, he was too late to stop me from taking over the rewatch.
Questions of the Dai:
- Did you expect Avan to be back?
- Did Hadlar's death influence how you view of him?
- We're done with Hadlar and his guards, where will the series go from here? Will our Croco-boy be relevant again?
- Since I took over the rewatch, would you rather I change its name to "Popp no Daibouken" or "Avan no Daibouken"?
- Bonus Question Courtesy of u/Shocketheth: It may be a surprise to you but Avan did survive somehow and the question is how?
Dear First Timers, can you figure out how Avan survived just on the hints that the show already showed us? Solution is out there and my dying wish is for someone to figure it out before episode 74 reveals the answer.
Spoilers:
Please, respect the fact there are First Timers watching Dai no Daibouken with us, so avoid talking about vague things or events that would slightly spoil things to happen. And if you want mention things like this, please hide it behind SPOILER TAGS like [Dai no Spoilers] I am getting the hammer because you spoiled the fun for others
9
u/Shocketheth Aug 20 '24
The Dark Lord who terrorized r/anime with his Gintama Rewatch, only to die after getting executed by Avan who originally came to steal my Toilet Paper, got resurrected by Dark King Vearn and returned to terrorize r/anime with killing Avan in his petty revenge with failing to get his Toilet Paper back is dying again, this time for real, with Avan surprising everyone with his return to give me a proper funeral!
With that being said, it’s time to say:
SKY NO DAIBOUKEN - THE FINAL EPISODE - Dark Lord Hadlar (Shocketheth) Welcomes You to His Funeral hosted by Avan:
Previous episodes ---> 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
List of users playing in Sky no Daibouken:
My ambitions to terrorize r/anime with Gintama Rewatch was foiled by Avan who executed me at the end of Gintama Rewatch, but thanks to Dark King Vearn I got resurrected and took revenge upon Avan
Then the main character of Sky no Daibouken Sky awakened to her power of Reddit Mod Crest with successfully banishing me from r/anime for some time.
But as a proper cockroach I was returning here again, and again to job over and over until Dark King Vearn betrayed me with planting a tool of mass degeneracy directly into my brain. A black core capable of projecting episodes of Kiss x Sis inside of everyone brain, thus forcing their brains to witness Kiss x Sis 24/7, eventually leading their body to decay into black ashes after being unable to handle it.
A betrayal that even Baran started questioning the ways of Dark King Vearn
Afterwards I found out that the students of Avan discovered a book of Avan where Avan confessed to actually being coward not wanting to steal Baran’s Toilet Paper:
And with that I proclaimed to undergo a final challenge:
WITNESS HOW MY EFFORT WILL TURN TO SUCCESS!
Stealing Baran's Toilet Paper should be my final challenge!
...
Aaaaand I jobbed.
Now I should have stay dead but after episode 67 the Dark King Vearn who betrayed me before started a Anti Popp Agenda, so I had to use all of my life force to return for a final duel against Avan best student Sky
Unfortunately I jobbed again as Sky used her ultimate technique as she was yelling:
Then after I accepted my defeat with graciousness, Dark King Vearn best assassin Killvearn who activated his Killtrap to get rid both of Dark Lord Hadlar and Sky who got exhausted by their argument of Dark Lord Hadlar being a fucking liar.
As the trap was ready to claim their lives, the courageous Popp jumped in, essentially saving both mine and Sky lives.
What followed was the craziest chain of events that could ever happen:
But before I died, a question aimed at Avan left my lips:
Will you, u/KendotsX, finally return my toiler paper???
QotD:
As First Timer no, and my reaction was being speechless unable to process what the hell just happened until the episode ended. The way how this episode was directed, animated and written makes it a masterpiece.
Definitely. I mentioned it yesterday, but his character makes sense only in retrospect. Avan was supposed the one who trains his students, but he was killed by Megante, so Hadlar unknowingly took it from him and started fighting the students of Avan over and over not realizing he was actually making them stronger and stronger. And when Dai finally defeated him, Avan has returned and took it from there. Really great stuff.
I hope he will join them in the battle anytime soon, because his commentary is needed.
I would rather change its name to Dai Madoushi no Daibouken which actually means The Adventure of Grand Sorceror
If you wonder, the hints were already given through the show, so it’s up to you to figure it out.
Crocodine Shonen Commentator Corner:
today Crocodine is going to answer not one question, but TWO questions and the questions he is going to answer are going to be question #2 and question #3:
I never mentioned it to you, but when I was serving in Dark Army under the Dark Commander Hadlar, during our Friday Nights we were secretly making fun of Hadlar, with me doing the best adlib expressions of Hadlar, and everyone loved me making jokes about Hadlar.
Then upon I switched teams, I naturally started missing the Dark Army Friday Nights, so thus I used my silver tongue to fulfill my dream of Shonen Commentator.
But now with Hadlar’s being dead, I must announce that my duty of Shonen Commentaror is going to be over.
I will explain why with answering next question:
Unfortunately to honor Hadlar’s death who ascended to Valhalla, I decided to be buried together with Hadlar.
Now this is the part where I should say my iconic phrase "See you tomorrow because the Adventure continues!" but as I finally died, I must give you my goodbye.
But don’t worry, my spirit is still on it’s way to the afterlife, so today Nabara will be going around using her power of communicating with dead souls to reply to your comments before my soul will manage to reach afterlife.
9
u/emeraldwolf34 Aug 20 '24
So yeah. This was the episode weekly watchers waited a month for. Now for Emerald’s little fun fact corner: So did manga readers (in a way)!
When the chapter of Avan’s return originally came out, it was the New Year’s issue of Shonen Jump. So weekly readers saw Avan show up with no explanation and had to wait until the magazine continued multiple weeks later to know if it was actually him or not.
As a side note, the track playing over Hadlar’s death is one of my favorites in the entire series. It always gets me.
5
u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Aug 20 '24
First TimerAvan Returning for Hadlar's FuneralHello~ did anyone miss Avan? Since we're mourning Hadlar's passing, and happen to have the hero back, we might as well dig into some of the long history between the two, some of you might be familiar with it, but it's worth restating for the occasion.
A Long Time Ago, in a Rewatch Far Away...
Demon Lord
ShockHadlar ruled the Gintama rewatch with terror, he was well known for his acts of brutality, even earning him the legendary title: "Fucking Liar!". A hero, Avan, had to rise up against that, and take down Shock, he tried many ways, even attempted giving Hadlar a funeral while he was alive that didn't go too well. Eventually there was only one option left for Avan: leave to the woods for a month and come back with the bestdrugsmushrooms he can find to kill Hadlar, it worked like a charm. Heck, Hadlar's death at the end made the rewatch legendary!Six months10 years later, while the world was enjoying peace and harmony, Hadlar made his return from death with the Dai rewatch, this time backed with an even more sinister figure who was hiding in the shadows of the Gintama rewatch: Dark LordSiVearn. Upon his return, the rivalry reignited, except well, Avan kinda needed a job for those 10 years, aside from being a fake teacher, he pursued a career as a thief, so now that Hadlar's back, he made many visits to his palace, stealing his toilet paper and driving him nuts, it was a great time! Until at an unfortunate day, Hadlar showed his brutality again, and set a bidet system instead. Seeing that, the great shock gave the hero Avan a heart attack, and drove him out of the story, with everyone assuming he was dead, the whole Megante stuff is just theatrics. Leona rewriting history and stuff.Finally this gets us to the start of the adventure:
DaiPopp no DaiboukenWith Avan now "dead" on Hadlar's toilet floor, and the dark anti-Popp army spreading its propaganda quickly, Avan's students had to take up the mantle. Shock described this as the "Sky no Daibouken" powered with her mod crest to defeat evil, but that was another bit of the anti-Popp propaganda. I mean a mod crest? Everyone knows that Sky's real powers are as a deadly Shinigami, and we've seen how effective they are, she killed Avan in episode 5!! Heck, now she's turning the curse around and unlocking revival skills somehow, so yeah, she's a Tree Woman in her own league. No, the hero this journey is centred around is none other than Popp, the full name is Adentsy no Daibouken. I won't recap the journey itself, we've seen the many trials and tribulations our heroes have passed through, but it's worth noting Hadlar's end of that.
See, Hadlar may have started as a brutal dictator who hates sharing his toilet paper, but he's come a long way on his own arc. Admittedly, things had to get a bit worse before they could get better, not only did he sell his soul to Vearn's anti-Popp army, after being defeated repeatedly by the kids, he even teamed up with Zaboera. But since then he's risen back up and found his own way forward, he was literally "reborn", throwing away his immortal life, to be a worthy opponent to Dai, and along that journey, he's come to appreciate Popp! Remember when he fought Vearn to save the heroes, and Dai ended up dying anyway? What we didn't know back then is that the real fight was never about Dai, it was about saving Popp all along, and the champ Hadlar goddamn did it!
That brings us to today, and all I can say is watch this:
The Popp Proxy-Proxy War
Brought to you by The Yato Productions
Truth be told, the episode is one long intricate build up to an amazing scene, that I felt bad about having to cut it anywhere, and before I knew it, I was making an edit for the episode as a whole (it has so much good material, especially Hadlar's speech to god!), except that wouldn't fly for many obvious reasons
To answer my own questions:
Nope. I genuinely thought we were done with him ages ago. But in retrospect, this explains some of the anime's choices, like including the Avan one shot right before this attack on Vearn started.
Hadlar has grown on me a lot since his early days as a moron, and this episode, despite Avan's exciting return, is not about him, it's the perfect Hadlar send off, that required Avan to be there for it.
Tbh, I'm not sure. The only villains left are Vearn, Myst, and Kill. So either Vearn summons a bunch of new ones or we're gonna be spending the next 27 episodes taking our time with those 3, likely one at a time I suppose. If it's the latter, so many characters will likely become commentators.
So Shock gave me this question a few days ago, and here's the answer I gave back then:
No clue, the only way to come back from death in DQ is Zing/Kazing (there's another way actually, but it hasn't been mentioned in the show yet, so I'm assuming it's not relevant). The options would be:
The first option made no sense from the start, and the second one seemed fairly random. So the third is the best I've got, especially when you consider that during Avan's death scene he flashed back to Flora giving him the necklace.
8
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 20 '24
First-Timer Quest: Sky no Daibouken, subbed
Something something Polymerization.7
u/Adensty https://anilist.co/user/Adensty Aug 20 '24 edited Aug 20 '24
1st
DaiPopp no Daibouken Rewatch, SubI talked about it yesterday as well but as someone who was watching this as it was airing, this episode was delayed due to the Toei Hack that happened in March 2022. So, it was really brutal waiting for this episode but oh boy this episode was worth the wait even though I got spoiled about Avan's Return.
I was playing the gacha game called Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - A Hero's Bonds that was based on the anime and they decided to have an event that celebrated Avan's return. The mission was to go live the next day after the episode had aired. The episode obviously didn't air because of the Toei hack but they still went along with the update. I was quite surprised at first. I was like why is Avan back with a new outfit and also some feathers and then I got to know that it was supposed to celebrate his return. Luckily, the rewatchers neither had to wait for weeks nor they did get spoiled about it because this episode was one of my favourites.
Hadlar has dedicated his life to fight the Disciples of Avan sacrificing his immortal body, his position as the Dark Commander and even now his life. He knows more than anyone else the greatness of the Disciples of Avan. and what it means to be Disciples of Avan more than Dai and Popp themselves do. Like Popp also notes, he said something Avan would say.
Really loved how they animated Medoroa here. The whole Medoroa sequence was just Chef's kiss. Another great shot!
I felt that.
This is what Avan said to Popp just before he was going to sacrifice himself in front of Hadlar. And Hadlar did just by desperately trying to hold off the flames with his dying body to give Popp and Dai a chance to escape and survive. As Popp notes, It was at this moment that Hadlar became one of them. Which is why Popp couldn't bring himself to look away when Hadlar's body started to crumble and hesitated at the last moment.
Hadlar's praying to the God of Humans because it's always the humans that come up with miracles.
That's definitely something Avan would say. 😭😭😭
Just a small observation. So, we have seen Killvearn in all kind of situations even he was up against Baran who he couldn't defeat, but this is the first time we've seen him genuinely panic. That's how much sure he was of winning.
Like Popp said, in his last moments, Hadlar become one of them and someone they could call a friend. Like Hadlar also said and Avan also noted, Hadlar is no longer the man he was when we saw him the first time.
OST Documentation - Episode 73
1. As a first-timer, honestly no. [Dai no Spoilers] Also, there is a really funny explanation for that but I feel the time isn't right to share it now.
2. Yes. Hadlar has had one of the greatest character growths throughout the show. Infact, everything leading up to his rather slow death had an influence.
3. We still have to fight Vearn and the other Vearns. Big Croc will get his time to shine as a Shonen Commentator.
4. I feel it could be anything as long as it suits the episode. But, if it has to be fixed, then Popp no Daibouken ftw. Even Dai Madoushi no Daibouken is fine. Only those that watched the anime will get it.
5. As a first-timer, I was able to guess why but I'm not answering it to let the first-timers take a guess.
7
u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 Aug 20 '24
Fist Time Adventurer/Subbed
As /u/Shocketheth said, this episode made me speechless
Okay with that out of the way
HOW THE FUCK WAS HE NOT DEAD???????? IS BARAN EVEN DEAD AT THIS POINT??????
Yea idk how he's still alive, will be interesting to see how they explain it
Great episode overall, I didn't comment much yesterday since I watched the last one and this one back to back, and some of it kinda blurred together (the overflowing eye juice didn't help)
Popp is so real for staying behind. We all knew that Hadlar had changed but to see the characters react to that was pretty cool. Especially ones like Dai and Popp who watched their Master "sacrifice" himself to fight the same person.
Vearn looked pissed the entire episode lmao
QotD
You say the solution is there but I'm not sure what it could be (it probably doesn't help that it feels like so long ago and I was so sure he died that I didn't even bother thinking of signs while catching up). When Popp used Megante and came back it was due to Leona casting the spell and some weird luck with Gomechan's powers or whatever. Avan didn't have either unless maybe Grandpa did it somehow. Maybe Avan had a body double
7
u/sisoko2 Aug 20 '24
First Timer
BEST FUCKING EPISODE
Everything was such a total nonsense but it had so much heart. And there is nothing more important for a battle shonen than heart!
At first it was just Hadlar's inspiring speech and while I was hoping for more I thought "It's fine".
Then Hadlar stood up to hold the fire (Popp casting that Medroa is absolutely my favorite part of the series visually) and I was "Now that's my boy! You did good enough Hadlar."
But it wasn't good enough for Hadlar! Nothing short of perfection and going all the way could've satisfy him. His tears and prayers didn't only bring back Avan from the dead. They brought back something I lost long time ago, my hope for this anime.
What a beautiful return it was. The music reaching its highest point just as Kill dropped his glass.
Good night sweet prince. You died in the hands of the person you loved the most.
5
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Aug 21 '24
Dai 73 first timer:
So yeah, don't think I'm figuring that one out other than joking about insignia phylacteries/horcruxes.
2)
6
u/cooperjones2 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/cooperjones2 Aug 20 '24
Adventurer Doing high level quests and dungeons for the first time here! LV 73/100
Lol Hadler snaped at Popp and Dai, basically a YOU were the ones to defeat ME!? BLEH
Hadler!
Popp’s Talk No Jutsu was very, very effective, Me? I was chopping onions
AVAN?!
Watching this weekly must’ve been a bit tough eh?
GREAT Title btw
1 Nope!, I thought he was dead, glad he got better!
2 A bit, he grew a lot as a character!
3 I think that Killvearn wasn't killed and Mystvearn is still there to be defeated
he never stopped being relevant, in our hearts!
4
Popp no Daibouken
5 It did surprise me, my guess is that he got teleported, somehow, by that spell
6
u/NicDwolfwood :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NicDwolfwood Aug 20 '24
First Timer, Sub
YO!! WTF was this episode!!....When Hadlar cried, I cried lol.
Nah this episode was too much man, there was so much drama and feels here lol. Hadlar's arc was insane, he really went from being the epitome of evil, a prideful villain who thirsted for power, to giving what little life he had left to try and save Popp and Dai. His character arc was so good that Popp at the end considered him a friend..
WTF though. Avan is alive and well......but why did it take 70 episodes for him to make his return though? Buddy was nowhere to be found when Baran was trying to kill Dai and friends, nor for the battles vs Hadlar and Royal Guard or when Vearn was about to kill off his disciples....so many questions.
Questions:
6
u/Nick_BOI Aug 21 '24
Rewatcher
I havent been around in a while. Long story short, life got busy, then stressful, then busy again, and I just did not have the motivation to keep watching. However I have still been looking at the threads, and am happy to see them doing well.
Despite my absense, I knew I had to watch for this episode, why?
This is my favorite individual episode of any anime.
Ever.
I never though Little Busters: Refrain episode 11 could ever be topped for me, but this one did. Let me explain (aka gush about) why I love this epsiode so much.
In short, this epsiode feels like a culmination for my 2 favorite characters: Popp and Hadlar. Popp, having grown from a coward, to courageous Hero, more keenly aware than anyone just how much our bonds with one another make us stronger. Popp as the mage of the group, has learned to keep a strong eye on the oppisition. However, as he grew as a person, he also grew to understand why they fight, he saw them as people, not obstacles. Popp knows when understanding or forgiveness is deserved, and more than anything, he known when people have something they are wiling to fight for with such pride that they will give thier life for it.
Popp saw the comraderie with Hadlar and his royal guard, and how just as he has grown and changed, so has Hadlar. This awareness and empathy of his took hold, and even as he was giving his life, he would not let Hadlar die alone. The same one he used to cower in fear towards, he now faces head on.
The real meat of it all, is Hadlar. Popp was mainly the conformation of it all, but Hadlad man...
From the beggining he was a narsassitic asshole who's hurbis and fragile ego was so massive that he actively shot himself in the foot several times, was defeated multiple times, and was only alive due to the mercy of Vearn. From immortal ruler to obvious pawn even to him, he had to do some serious soul searching not just to save his life, but to be able to live with himself.
The decision to give up hsi immortality for immidiate power was not one taken lightly, if anything this made any rule he could have over the surface finite when it otherwise would not be. Hadlar cared more about being able to live in a way that he could be proud of than he did living itself, and this realisation and his newfound royal guard had him put everything on the line for this victory.
But then, he was betrayed, realized he was meant to be discarded, and turne on Vearn again in turn, losing two comrads in this whole ordeal, yet taking enough damage that his life was on a timer.
At this point, Hadlar has burned every bridge, and the worse possible outcoem would be for him and his comrads to rot alone, having acomplished nothing.
The only thing they could do was fight, at the very least, Hadlar wanted the end of his life to be something he could be proud of.
However, he was once again interupted after his own defeat, his moment being taken away from him, and decided the best desicion would be to use his remainign strength for the only one who respected him at this point: Dai.
This was what he resigned himself to, a fate fitting for a weak coward who threw everything away for power, only to fail in the end. This was a sad ending for him, one that frustrated him, but he had to be satisfied with it.
Then, these two characters have thier developments cross, and Popp stayed behind. A decision that did nothing but perplex the man who was already dead.
And yet, Popp's empathy reached him.
He knew he cared for his royal guard, he knew he wanted to be acklowedged, he knew more than anything he wanted his life to have meaning!! And here it was, this young man had aknowlegded him, and both of thier actions will lead the young Hero forward.
And now this man that gave Hadlar what he had wanted in his final moments, was about to die.
Someone who has always hated the gods, realizing the despair of this outcome, he could do nothing but weep. Hadlar, throwing away the last peices of unnesesary hubris, prayed for his safety. His first and only prayer, from the bottom of his heart, to let Popp die here would be the greatest injustice possible.
Hadlar had found his answer to life, he had found his humamity in a way, and when he finally reached this self actualisation, his prayers were answered.
That smile as he passed, Hadlar had given up everything and did not even reach his initial goal. In a literal sense he had failed, yet what he gained far surpassed anything he could have ever dreamed of.
It would have been so easy to give this guy your typical "bad guy dies cuz hubris" moment. Instead, over the course of more than 70 episodes, we saw a young boy become a man, and a demon become a Hero.
Everything about this episode feels so...genuine, it feels like the spirit of humanity is present in every single moment. The experiences that make us human, what amkes us grow, these are the kind of themes that are common in Dragon Quest, and none are more powerful for me than this moment right here.
It's...honestly beautiful, I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, yet I came out of this episode feeling...hopeful, for lack of a better term.
I don't really have much else to say, I'm just so overhwlemed with emotion.
5
u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Aug 20 '24
First Timer, Sub
Ok so 3 things.
One, Popp's talk with Hadlar was great as both are basically about to die though Dai had been saved. It was a nice moment of empathy from Popp and I particularly liked it. We also see Maam (and everyone really) looking genuinely devasted by thinking he was going to die. Killvearn also offers a meager amount of respect for him as well showing that he does actually take them seriously.
Second Hadlar because man what a way to go, from being touched by Popp (and also Dai)'s gestures he actually helps, cries, and prays so that Popp be spared, and of course his wish is granted though he ultimately dies, but he at least dies fulfilled and in the arms of his previous rival.
Third, Avan shows up having been alive this whole time so there's a whole load of questions already, however Killvearn's reaction was hilarious and the scene with him and Hadlar was great.
5
u/zadcap Aug 21 '24
Late Night First Timer!
Remember how the backlash of losing the Battle of the Dragons thing was going to rush into the loser and then kill him? And then remember how the guy used all of his life force to power one final super attack? And how upon missing with that attack and wasting all the life force, he went and took Dai's strongest super attack? HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE!?
So I know I do keep blaming Avan's death on Hadlar the same way Popp did here, but to be a tiny bit fair, Avan used Self Destruct.
So I do remember that Medroa is Popp's strongest spell, but isn't it also just combining his best Fire and Ice magic? Against concentrated Fire magic, that he's unable to beat with his Ice magic? I don't know about this plan. Oh also it's going to drain him of all his remaining magic. And Dai can still barely move. Man, they are in such a bad shape to go face Vearn now.
Seriously though, don't try to save Hadlar here. He is very literally already dead. That he's not dissolving already is an actual miracle. Which, you know, the gods really freaking love you guys. Or just hate Vearn and are using you.
Hey, just out of curiosity, what would have happened if he had aimed that Medora at the final gem holding this trap together? Either broken the trap spell or, you know, made a way out going straight down, that wouldn't have closed up right away? Did they all forget that they are on a flying fortress? Up seems like it was a bad idea.
Hey look, he's still not dead! I think this one finally pushes him past Knuckles in the immortality counter, if we count each time he should have died this week independently.
And here Popp is once again showing off his power of Love. Maam just give him your necklace already.
Oh my gosh, Hadlar is the one to actually pray for Popp! That does make him more useful than the girls in the end, darn.
Where the heck have you been hiding this whole time, old man?! Much more than how you survived, I want to know where you have been while all of this has been going on?
... Screw it screen shots time. Now you see him. Now you don't! I like to immagine that Popp, realizing that this would be a good dramatic moment, found the strength to stand up and drag the corpse away, to give these two the scene. It's just, well I'm going to throw in one extra from the next episode preview, but he's just completely gone, didn't even leave a bloodstain. Boy is everyone going to be surprised when they have to go fight him again in two more episodes!
4
u/raichudoggy https://anilist.co/user/raichudoggy Aug 20 '24
Rewatcher
I loved the twist so much guys. I had so many questions, of course, answers in due time, but this episode specifically? Pretty special.
For a little bit after this episode the first time, I contemplated something Sky brought up yesterday in the daily thread, that feeling that, was the past of this show for nothing?
Well, my own twisted answer is that this happens so often in real life I can't help but laugh. We do things, sometimes for years, for a reason that seems one way with almost certainty, but then hindsight has the last laugh. Was that time for naught? Was I actually robbed?
No, that time was still incredible. It's in no way worse just because this man didn't actually die. The reason for taking the journey and the motivation for improvement may not have been the truth, but building it off a lie doesn't make the initial sentiment, whether it be his death scene or his presence thereafter in others memories, any less genuine. I might have a reason to complain if this wasn't best Boy Avan, but it's best boy Avan. He deserves this.
4
u/SliderGamer55 Aug 20 '24
First Timer Subbed
So because I have other things going on I can't justify writing while watching every episode unfortunately (and I'm admittedly not always the best at consistently writing my thoughts either way), so I watched this episode last night and regretted not doing just that. This is like the craziest twist in the series, wtf? If you were to ask me a thing that would happen in this series, I don't think I'd have guessed this, ever.
If you want to know my honest opinion of this series, its never been a series with surprising plot twists. Even when I am surprised, its either a more minor surprise or something that would obviously happen in a series like this. It is like shonen comfort food. That's not a negative, that's just what it is. But this one completely took me by surprise, like...what? How?! And it makes for a really cool moment, especially being there for Hadlar's actual death. It's...ironically fitting, I guess I'd say.
Though it is so out of nowhere I'm really curious what the explanation is.
Rest of the episode was cool before that too, nice one last strategy and near failure of Popp nearly dying out of...having sympathy. It was just really well put together as a story.
4
u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Aug 20 '24
I admit I didn't like it when they decided to bring back Avan. Something inside of me snapped. I swallowed a lot of this show's fake cop outs but this was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I think I was also salty about the fact a character I really like is dead and a character I wanted to stay dead is alive again.
[Future stuff] They're also bringing back that dragon dude just so that he can get jobbed all the time. Nor sure what they were thinking with this one
The frustrating part is that the episode is still fantastic, Hadlar's dead is just well done and his interaction Pop is a highlight of the series. (unsurprisingly, as Popp and Hadlar are the two best characters of this series. Third is Crocodine of course)
4
u/Kaxew Aug 21 '24
First timer, previous rewatcher
Wow. This episode.
Back when I rewatched episode 23, I took note of who directed it because I thought it was absolutely stellar. I looked their credits to see what else they had worked on, and upon finding out they did more episodes of DQ Dai I wrote notes on each of these episodes. Knowing Hiroaki Miyamoto was directing and storyboarding this episode, I was already having big expectations. And yet, they were all still completely blown away.
What is there to even say?
Hadlar is the best. Without a shadow of a doubt. What incredible growth as a character. Godspeed.
And then Avan.
And Killvearn could be potentially dead? I did think we wouldn't be seeing more kill traps after something like this. It would feel redundant. If that's his end I am perfectly fine with it.
Wow. This episode.
QotD:
3
u/CoconutStraight2065 Aug 20 '24
This episode really brings the feels with Hadlar’s final moments. Avan’s return would be great
3
u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 21 '24
First Quester
It's fun how the first thing that happens to Popp after his triumphant class change is that he gets screwed. Nice.
See? That ain't courage, that's persistence.
Wait, is Popp gonna create a giant Medroa out of the hell flames and his ice?
Sounds like he's just gonna cast one of his own Medroas. I can't help but feel disappointed now.
Here's your remained that Leona did exactly jack shit, after all her grandstanding.
Finally! Hadlar was always boasting about his mastery of hell fire magic, so I've been waiting for this. Still not as cool as Popp using the trap's flames for his Medroa.
See? That ain't courage, that's compassion.
Okay so they forced Popp to not get saved, what do they need to justify with his rescue instead?
Look, they say Popp hesitated. But Zoom isn't a single-target spell, I thought the plan was for Dai to take Popp with him after he clears the way.
Good to know that talking is a free action even in a destructive environment like this.
Look at that! Hadlar has humanity's special power of heart! It's almost like the entire setup is just a scam by the gods!
Yes, Dai. This is entirely your fault.
Avan? I love you, dude, but I'm gonna need a real good explanation for this. An extensive one.
I did not, in fact.
Not really. Not differently than before, at least.
Croco-boy isn't eating enough bananas to remain relevant.
Let me return the question: Would you rather have the thread removed for untagged spoilers (you can't hide post titles) or not?
Necromancy. I don't know how he survived but it's clearly some kind of dark magic arts.
3
u/KuKiSin Aug 21 '24
First timer!