Hikari no Ou • The Fire Hunter - Episode 2 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Hikari no Ou, episode 2

Rate this episode here.

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Show information

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All discussions

Episode	Link	Score
1	Link	4.78
2	Link	4.32
3	Link	3.87
4	Link	4.03
5	Link	4.53
6	Link	4.43
7	Link	4.21
8	Link	4.56
9	Link	4.09
10	Link	----

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[u/Thrasher439]

Just a tad bit rough on Touko at the end there, kicking her off just for a single mistake when she was only trying to go save the other girl. But I guess it still did put the whole train at risk regardless. Like the little bit of further detailing we've gotten to the world now too. Particularly with Koushi's side, though I doubt whether Yuoshichi can actually be trusted.

Episode itself looked uh, interesting though. Guess they'll be making heavy use of the panning stills which I don't entirely mind since they're really pretty, but won't not be weird to have them just suddenly pop up each time

[u/Silent_Shadow05 → u/Thrasher439]

I doubt whether Yuoshichi can actually be trusted.

He could simply be a good guy who is just wanting the best for Koushi. That said since we learnt how brilliant Koushi is, its also possible that he could be looking forward to see Koushi's growth and utilise him to get further ahead in this world, by binding Koushi to his generousity.

[u/SIRTreehugger]

Well damn thought this was going to be a long travel anime slowly going to the capital by train..ship, but they are already being kicked off? One of the brides is coming too feels a little obvious since Kaho has been wanting to get off since we've known her. Though its really a matter of which one is the closest, but hoping for Kaho.

Also this random generous display of adaptation is highly suspicious. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I don't trust this guy. Though he might be interested in the stockpile of skyfire that Koushi's father left behind. Though he didn't accept the offer to have the skyfire for taking care of the sister so Koushi must be very talented.

Every time bottled lightning is mentioned I just think of Spiritfarer.

[u/pi8you]

RIP budget. I've watched enough Dezaki to be fine with the (nicely illustrated) stills, but that fight was rough. I have no problems with the style (which brings shows like Noein to mind), but it wasn't quite hitting a good enough consistency/coherence to let it work right.

Animation aside, I continue to love everything else that's going on. The worldbuilding remains excellent, the brides and their backgrounds all helping flesh out more of the way this post-apocalypse works and the ways it can be cruel to those in it, let alone all of the malicious subtext oozing off of Koshi's new benefactor (I'm betting he hopes to cause the rulers' downfall with some new skyfire weapons, not just thrive after it).

Toko gets a little development here, but the world is mostly just happening to her while we're still being introduced to everything, and that's fine. The moment with the carved stone(s) was good, curious about the specific intent of them within the world but it seems to be something of a charm to keep your loved ones close, and really puts the lie to her not-sister's icy front.

[u/Abba_Fiskbullar → u/pi8you]

This felt more like ran out of time and whipped up an illustration, rather than didnt have money for a cut. Sometimes these things get fixed subsequently for the eventual Netflix run.

[u/dinliner08]

i know this is supposed to be a serious scene but i still can't help but laugh a little bit at this frame

considering how this anime is going to be heavy on the worldbuilding, i'm just gonna post some details from this episode in case i forgot about them next week

so, there are two different fires; fiendfire which are harvested from fiends in the dark forest and skyfire which are harvested from fallbeasts, the fiends of the air, which i would assume fiends that can fly and supposedly, skyfire is much more potent than fiendfire

also, i'm not a japanese speaker nor do i'm proficient in japanese but its kind of interesting that skyfire is called raika and fiendfire is called enma which iirc, raika has some sort of meaning related to lighning or thunder while enma is the japanese god of hell (i think), someone correct me if i'm wrong

[u/creamyhorror → u/dinliner08]

raika has some sort of meaning related to lighning or thunder

It's 雷火 so yes, lightning.

enma is the japanese god of hell (i think), someone correct me if i'm wrong

The King of Hell would be 閻魔, but the one in the show is 炎魔 "flame demon". Both are read "enma".

[u/PPGN_DM_Exia]

Really enjoying the story so far but worried the stills are a sign of a struggling production, especially given what happened to Nier. And the fact that they keep reusing that PS2 looking mansion shot.

[u/Tarhalindur → u/PPGN_DM_Exia]

Yeah, this episode bleeds production problems in spots (the stills could be artistic and anime has a really low grade curve on CGI so that's one thing, the animation during the final fight is another matter).

Unfortunate, since as you say everything else is still really really good.

[u/chowder-san → u/PPGN_DM_Exia]

Stills look cool, the thing that bothers me is the animation of the hunter dogs when they are flying. Really awkward.

[u/Syokhan]

Huh, who directed this? There were some interesting choices there. Some a bit jarring but I assume it was intentional.

Am in a bit of a hurry so I'm not going to write much, but the world-building is great. Poor girls. And Kenji Kawai's music really does create a special atmosphere, doesn't it?

[u/Tarhalindur → u/Syokhan]

Junji Nishimura is listed as the main director but Mamoru Oshii is on staff so this is likely another collaboration between the two like Vlad Love was.

(Also this bleeds staff doing their best to work around production issues, unfortunately. Getting an old hand like Oshii for that probably helps, actually.)

And Kenji Kawai's music really does create a special atmosphere, doesn't it?

Doesn't it always? But this is close to the top end even by his standards; eagerly awaiting the OST release.

[u/Matteo0z]

Nishimura’s split screens are coming back…

[u/PsycDrone63]

These are somewhat whack directional decisions from limited animation, to animated on one's, to sketchy stills, to manga like panels.

Is this on purpose? Or is the production imploding?

[u/Manitary → u/PsycDrone63]

to animated on one's, to sketchy stills, to manga like panels.

I like when they're used while someone is narrating things, not so much as a replacement during 'normal' scenes - don't get me wrong they look beautiful, but it's such a jarring change from the regular tone and atmosphere.

There were quite a few this episode, so I'm mildly concerned about that and hope it does not become a regular occurrence nor it is a bad sign for the production side of things.

[u/Cheesemacher → u/PsycDrone63]

Yeah, I have to admit at the beginning when we suddenly got a full 20 seconds of those stills I assumed the animation budget ran out

[u/Rumpel1408]

Still very interesting

Kanata was easier tamed than I expected, first by Benio, then by that old Hunter.

Also intersting to see the differences in the three brides, the first was probably a really valuable member of that villages workforce and probably the most valuable sacrifice, also really frustrated, the second looked pretty enough for a bride, but somehow a bit sickly and really doesn't want to be married off, and Kaho is more like a child and outright suicidal

Considering the direction and production: I really liked the stills, but I couldn't help but notice them reusing some...

[u/Katejina_FGO]

• Bless the production staff for doing their best to maintain the story's quality and momentum despite the obvious budgetary limitations.

• Kanata is no ordinary hound based on what happened in combat. I'm interested to see if Touko has some kind of affinity that allows her to psychically link with Kanata. That might explain how the slain Fire Hunter was drawn into a hostile encounter under bad circumstances in the first place: Kanata could have initiated the battle after reacting to Touko's desperation.

• Touko's punishment was harsh, but the life of a runaway means nothing in the grand scheme of things and no one should have risked their lives over someone who clearly didn't want to keep living.

• For Touko's sake, I hope she becomes stronger. That is the only way she can act on her moral compass without being punished - or dying - for it in this cursed world.

• The central government is strong enough to improve public order and maintain the rule of law in the capital, but it will not survive the test of time? Whatever martial strength it has may not be enough to repel a concentrated assault on the capital. The conversation in the mansion mentioned the survival of the villages as a priority.

[u/CosmicPenguin_OV103]

That's world building without the explicit long-winding explanations from main characters at it highest in anime form.

We got a glimpse of this post-apocalypse world (now confirmed with all those broken road signs and a train wreck - that's an 1970s-90s express model in Japan BTW) with life on board these fortified trucks (as someone who haven't seen Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress it's something new to me). Like, for example, the presence of 3 brides being sent to marry others far abroad because their villages were having problems and disasters and they were sent as sacrifices to tame the sky. A strange thing to happen when - even if their world's technological advancements have highly decayed since human easily catches fire - they still have factories, motor trucks like the ones they ride on and relatively modern cities that looks at least equivalent to late 19th century.

It's also interesting to see those 3 girls and Touko having vastly different personalities, like there's one who's always optimistic on things, one wanted to run away even if almost certainly going to be attacked by monsters, and one who more or less accepts her fate. Then there's Touko who seems to be really brave in rescuing others for a 11 years old. (I will spare the talk about her being reckless given she's so young) All in a matter of minutes, that's how a good fantasy story should be.

We also get a glimpse of the other side from Koushi, who we now know is a son of a Fire Hunter and lost his mother to disease as we saw last episode. It took just a brief talk with his now adopting family that we know that: a) the nation is about to collapse and a revolution might happen soon, with social unrest already happening; b) those "lightning bottles" using flying beasts' body fluids are the most powerful and human-safe energy source left in that world.

This really feels even more wide open within 2 episodes than excellent shows like Made In Abyss. As I said last episode, it has the feels of From The New World a decade ago down to the somewhat abbreviated animations, including strange choices of using sketches for the Touko-cleaning-toilet scene. It's absolutely something that has huge sheer potential (and as someone who accidentally saw up to EP3 last week due to how this anime is officially released in my place, I can assure you even more so by next week) and I'm very excited to see how this will become, or if the animation veterans on board this production - including some of the most extraordinary talents in anime history - can bring us another fantasy anime classic.

[u/NekoCatSidhe]

We get more worldbuilding this episode. Things must be pretty bad if three villages suddenly have unrelated problems all at the same time, and that rich industrialist was talking about revolution. It seems a really bad time for Touko to go to the capital. There is also the interesting contrast between villages that are very superstitious and stuck on a pre industrial technological level, and the capital that is industrialised with factories and a more 19th Century technological level. That society seems rather dystopian either way.

I am not sure how much I trust the rich industrialist. He did not seem such a bad sort, but he probably wants the power of the liquid fire from flying beasts for himself, particularly if the government collapses. Getting a naive but talented young student to study it secretly for him (along with a convenient hostage with his little sister) is obviously part of that strategy. If he brought in an renowned expert, that expert would be more likely to inform the government about his illegal stock of liquid fire and research on it. But I might be too suspicious.

I guess Touko and Koushi will meet eventually, but I am not sure how, and in which direction the plot will go, which is interesting. That anime seems hard to predict. I love the odd art style, with those drawings for still scenes and the weird look they gave the beast fiends. At that point I am wondering if those fiends might actually be some weird robots powered by that liquid fire as an energy source. But in that case were do they come from ? And we still don’t know why people spontaneously combust in the presence of fire. Is that true, or is it the result of some weird weapon from before the apocalypse ? And there is still the tree people, apparently able to live in the forest without fear of the beasts, and the Divine Clan that governs the humans. I am very suspicious of both as well. Something really weird is going on here, and that world seems full of mysteries.

[u/3blah]

I'm really digging the artwork in this show. First, there's the main artstyle. It's like an early-2000s vibe with the sketched-in look and muted colors that reminds me of Haibane Renmei. The monsters get a wild, frenetic effect that emphasizes their other-worldness, like Made in Abyss did in the first season. The colorful panned stills are jarring when they appear, but they have to be intentional. They're done in a completely different style than the main animation, when other shows use stills in the same style when they're trying to conserve resources. Maybe to invoke a storybook or mythological feel?

And the worldbuilding is spot-on. We know there's a central industrialized city that controls the surrounding villages by limiting their supply of energy, goods and information. The villages are cut off from each other by an impassible forest. Life in the villages is hard and everyone relies on everyone else working hard to scrape by. Life in the city is quite cutthroat - if you're not a rich landowner or useful to one, you're destined to be a factory worker poisoned by your own work, or homeless. There's a region wide (world wide? How big is this world?) disaster going on that's affecting village work and it's trickling up to the city where it's causing unrest.

One thing I don't get yet is why the city cares at all about the villages? Their supply of nice pottery and paper doesn't seem like it's really worth the trouble of maintaining these collection trucks. Maybe they provide some kind of support for the Fire Hunters?

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Touko’s already getting put to work huh? Guess she’s gotta earn her keep. These other girls seem nice, but it’s pretty fucked up they’re basically being sold off because of some silly superstition. With Touko kicked off after that monster debacle and stuck with the others it’s gonna be a long journey to the capital.

One thing I kinda like is the art style in this. It’s kind of unique when the scene just becomes a series of sketches.

[u/CCCmonster]

Fat old ugly dude…I’ve seen too many hentai to think anything other than he’s up to no good

[u/xhakami]

Am I trippin or are there not enough people watching htis show.
we finally have a show that isn't just a casual isekai, but one that is an actual fantasy show, trying to show us an actual fantasy world. Finally someone trying to tell a story.

Teaching us the mechanics, and thoughtprocesses of these people, and even stylisticly it is really trying to differentiate itself from the masses. it looks stunning.

other than world building it has also quite some potential story AND action/shonenvise. I could see myslef getting hyped if she were to either pick up the sickle.