「緑の蔓」 (Midori no Tsuru)
“Green Vines”

After breakneck pace yielded even more breakneck developments you could say we were overdue for some down time in Unnamed Memory. Or at least this show’s version of it. Indeed it seems we’re destined to rush right through to the end of the season (for good and bad), but with the major moves now seemingly out of the way we can get some more of the bits which made me want to blog it in the first place. Yes, I swear that’s not untampered optimism at play.

Probably the best way to sum up this episode would be monster of the week meets incremental Tinasha-Oscar relationship growth. Outside of elder gods doing the dirty against magic wielders and Tinasha resigning herself to taking responsibility for unleashing said gods, everything basically came down to the fantasy version of filler and giving some time to enjoy the scenery before the ride resumes again. Hell to Unnamed Memory’s credit it even benefitted from doing so, with the banter and chemistry between Oscar and Tinasha enhanced simply by having time to focus on it more than a few seconds. It’s yet another sign showing just what this adaptation could have been with more time to flesh out its offerings, and one more example of how failing to do so hurts what we’re getting.

Particularly noteworthy however are the hints and foreshadowing towards what’s coming next. Outside of Tinasha further reinforcing her growing interest in Oscar by now asking him to kill her should be run berserk (and Oscar subsequently refusing to do so to her pleasant surprise), there’s also some tidbits for the eagle eyed floating around, from the relationship between deities, magic, and mages/witches in this world to more interesting conundrums such as that tale of time travelling villagers and the curious pairing of nomad and widow. Suffice to say (to avoid spoilers) all of this relates to and has a noticeable bearing on what arc Unnamed Memory is gearing up to introduce shortly, though it remains to be seen if it can improve upon what’s already come before.

I’d like to think this show will go out with a proper bang, but something something once bitten twice shy, not to mention four episodes being plenty of time to step on a few rakes. We’ll just have to see how well this one can nail the landing.

Preview