Herald Anime Club

The Herald Anime Club Meeting 7: Drifters, Episode 7


Meeting Date: 11/25/2016

Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!

Mike Ferreira: Hey everyone, and welcome to another meeting of the Herald Anime Club. I’m Mike Ferreira, and I’m joined by Anthony Simpson: and Lydia Rivers:.
Anthony Simpson: Evening everybody. For our US readers, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and if you went out today for Black Friday shopping you were safe out buying things.
Mike Ferreira: We shall never forget the great Black Friday Battle Royale of 2015.
Mike Ferreira: Too dark?
Anthony Simpson: Never too dark
Mike Ferreira: Awesome.
Anthony Simpson: So before we begin our talk of episode 7 I need to make a correction about something I said in a previous meeting. A few weeks ago I mentioned during the Simuldub discussion for Drifters that the Simbuldub used the same audio track for the elves in Japanese. It was brought to my attention that this was in fact wrong and that the language used by the elves is different. Upon listening to the audio again in both the Simuldub and the original Japanese, they are indeed different. This was a mistake on my part and I shall do better in the future to be better informed.
Mike Ferreira: Not a problem at all. I think we all screwed that one up, on the count that they’re literally speaking gibberish the whole time.
Anthony Simpson: Once I listened the same scene again in both languages I could tell there were differences. Plus once I recognized Jerry Jewels voice than I knew it was different.
Anthony Simpson: The gibberish is different in both audio options. I’m curious to how the gibberish for the dub was done from a writing perspective.
Mike Ferreira: That’s true. I’m genuinely curious about that, myself.
Lydia Rivers: Hiii everyone! Thanks for the correction, Anthony. I had fun shopping this Black Friday. My mouse hand never got tired!
Anthony Simpson: I can’t drive at the moment so I did my shopping this morning courtesy of TRSI and their holiday sales.
Mike Ferreira: I was one of those crazy bastards who actually went out to the B&M stores… at 2 in the afternoon, after everyone else was at lunch
Lydia Rivers: I salute your willingness to put on pants, high overlord.
Anthony Simpson: I couldn’t have gone anyways to a B&M store if I wanted since I worked today.
Mike Ferreira: I kind of learned the tricks of the trade with that stuff from working so many Black Fridays over the years. I’m now fearless.
Lydia Rivers: I have yet to see the deal that will pull me out into the insanity over what I can find on the interwebs. The sirens were going once an hour. Sorry loved ones, I’ll bake you muffins ok?
Mike Ferreira: Hehe. Really, it’s not so bad if you head out after 10AM. By then, the real diehards are long gone, and about 80% of the on-sale items are still in stock
Anthony Simpson: I only once went out shopping on Black Friday and me and my dad started shopping at 8:00 and we were done by 10 or 10:30 AM
Mike Ferreira: Yeah. It’s not too bad once the rush is over.
Lydia Rivers: Oh? Secret shopping tips from Anime Herald’s Mike Ferreira, everyone! You heard them clear, you heard them here!
Mike Ferreira: I spent too many years as a retail grunt – I saw people get trampled and beaten, at night I can still hear their screams

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Anthony Simpson: I have shopping tips as well, but it mostly applies to grocery stores.
Lydia Rivers: …Followed by mercantile war stories. Speaking of war… Oh. My. God!!! This episode!
Mike Ferreira: Yes! It’s time to talk Drifters. In particular, we’re talking episode 7, AKA “Still Salty As Ever.”
Mike Ferreira: And before we begin, I’d like to say “My god, this episode, my freaking god.”
Lydia Rivers: I’m perfectly enthralled now. I was holding out some shred of pride, but it’s long gone. Goodbye, prideful Lydia. Hello, fangirl Lydia.
Mike Ferreira: Not gonna lie – I’m also 100% enthralled. I spent this whole episode with a stupid grin on my face as things just continued to escalate
Anthony Simpson: In the immortal words Ron Burgundy “Boy, that escalated quickly.”
Lydia Rivers: I’m putty in the hands of these writers. Every time I think I’m going to dislike a character, they do something attractive. Every time I find a character likeable, they do something REALLY ANNOYING. HI TOYOHISA.

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Anthony Simpson: I haven’t watched episode 8 yet, but episode 7 I think was my favorite episode if the not the best episode so far in the series.
Mike Ferreira: The blatant chauvinism with Joan of Arc was a bit much.
Mike Ferreira: But we’re talking about ancient warriors, so… I’m giving it somewhat of a pass
Lydia Rivers: It’s so accurate though. I had to gream. That’s groan + scream.
Mike Ferreira: Exactly why I’m giving it a pass – it’s like “Well that’s fucked up.” followed by “Oh shit, he’s an ancient warrior. That’s normal for him”
Anthony Simpson: It was in a way. Also consider the time period that Toyohisa came from. That would be a surprise for him to see a woman on the battlefield.
Mike Ferreira: Very true
Anthony Simpson: It would be different if Toyohisa came from modern times or came from a future where men and women fight together on the battlefield.
Mike Ferreira: I did kind of like his whole “I don’t know what France is, and I don’t care who Christ is” moment.
Anthony Simpson: That was a great line.
Lydia Rivers: No, I mean the sexism is perfectly accurate. It’s seen all over gaming. You get into a good 1v1 and then suddenly the dude finds out you’re a gamer chick and blows all the tension out by dismissing everything that just happened as suddenly worthless. A waste of time…! UGH.
Anthony Simpson: It is accurate. Point back again to where Toyohisa came from in terms of time period.
Lydia Rivers: It’s accurate today as well in many cases.
Anthony Simpson: That said even in the modern day some people still believe that women shouldn’t be in the battlefield or even in the armed forces.
Lydia Rivers: But, anyway, Toyohisa get rekt next time ok! I hope she becomes a rival for him! It was really interesting to see her “human” moment after she was dunked.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. Again, I’m both intrigued and horrified in how far they go to show these extremes
Anthony Simpson: I did enjoy how we see how the Ends are brought in via Easy.

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Mike Ferreira: See, we disgruntled IT folk are like that. We wait until the human suffering is at its maximum, THEN we extend our offer to help.
Lydia Rivers: You mean, after the electrical fires or?
Anthony Simpson: The actions scenes for the episode were AMAZING. I loved every minute of it.
Mike Ferreira: Electrical fires, dead servers… (Note: this is an obvious joke. Do not read into this literally, we are not sadists at heart.)
Anthony Simpson: The fighting was sublime.
Lydia Rivers: I’m pretty sure I had stars in my eyes after Yoichi cut loose. I thought he would just be a sniper, but NOPE.

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Mike Ferreira: Dear lord, yes! The action in this episode was amazing. It more than made up for three episodes of poop and dead bodies
Anthony Simpson: Oh when Sundance Kid started firing the Gatling Gun, my god that was amazing.
Lydia Rivers: “I don’t know what’s going on, but ‘MURICA!”
Lydia Rivers: ^Approximation
Mike Ferreira: Fact: We need more gatling guns in our anime. Gatling guns, planes, and dragons
Anthony Simpson: I’m pretty sure Nobunaga probably creamed himself when he saw the Gatling gun firing.
Lydia Rivers: Gatling guns, and also more Semei. Stop being so mysterious, Seimei. Teach Olminu more stuff so that the next time she jumps into a raging inferno, she can do more than summon earth walls!
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. Though those earth walls were pretty badass, too. Especially when Toyohisa got her to use one as a freaking people launcher.
Lydia Rivers: That smile Toyohisa had during that whole sequence, from the thanking her to the launching.

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Anthony Simpson: Speaking of Semei, we learned a little bit more about the The Octobrist Organization and who is in charge of it.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. I’m expecting a bit more of an info-dump next episode
Anthony Simpson: It is about time we get to see what the purpose of The Octobrist Organization is.
Mike Ferreira: Fully agreed. They’ve been pseudo-shadowy for long enough.
Lydia Rivers: Oh, I thought it was to eradicate the Ends.
Mike Ferreira: Aside from that
Lydia Rivers: I felt like that was clear. Was I making assumptions?
Mike Ferreira: Not at all. I’m just expecting some ulterior motive beneath the surface
Lydia Rivers: Ooh. Any speculations? They seem to be power-neutral in the management of people, well people aside from Drifters.
Anthony Simpson: No. One thing I wanted to mention was that Nobunaga in an earlier episode mentioned the felt something familiar with the talisman from Octobrist. So I’m thinking maybe he had an idea of who was running The Octobrist Organization.
Mike Ferreira: None yet. I haven’t seen enough of the organization, save Olminu, to really comment there
Lydia Rivers: Mhm. I’m sure he’s seen talismans like that before, since Seimei was originally from Japan too!
Anthony Simpson: true.
Lydia Rivers: Yoshistune was more talkative than usual this episode too.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed.
Lydia Rivers: He’s still human I think. His eyes are different from the Ends.

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Mike Ferreira: He’s an interesting enigma who straddles both lines right now
Mike Ferreira: On an odd note: I found it interesting that Dead Ends turn into pillars of salt
Anthony Simpson: I wonder if turning to salt happens to both the Ends and the Drifters.
Lydia Rivers: I thought it was ash at first, to be honest. Salt has importance in so many religions. It might be ethnocentric of me to think of the Old Testament significances, but it was hard not to be when the image was him yeah, literally turning into salt.
Mike Ferreira: I think your ethnocentric thought is spot-on this time, though. We already know that the leader of the Ends is implied to be Jesus of Nazareth, so it would only be fitting that the death ties to such a figure
Anthony Simpson: True.
Lydia Rivers: They looked back on their human life filled with despair and regret… and eventually turned into salt. Wow.
Mike Ferreira: Kind of poetic, in a way
Anthony Simpson: It is.
Lydia Rivers: Truly. I’ve noticed that Japanese seem to have more patience for layering of this type than is often seen in American media. On the surface it’s pretty much a violent action fantasy, but wherever you look there are deeper meanings that aren’t-so-hidden.
Mike Ferreira: Definitely. Even if you look at the quirky (sometimes cringeworthy) humor in the series – it all ties into this underlying theme of humanity. Like Hannibal wetting himself, or Toyohisa, Nobonaga, and Nasu no Yoichi trading barbs over pretty grim things.
Anthony Simpson: I agree
Mike Ferreira: Not to mention the whole commentary on age from Nobunaga
Anthony Simpson: As much as I don’t like it when they go to the comedy, I do have to agree with that it ties into the theme of the humanity.
Lydia Rivers: Yeah. Only recently has the grey middle gotten a lot of attention here in popular media with the rise of antiheroes and stuff. I hope they stick around, because I just love those perspective swaps that make me really think. I’d still trust Toyohisa over everyone because he’s predictable in his code of honor. At this point I’m expecting that to stay true. I can’t wait to see more Kanno though. Unhinged fighter pilot? YES PLEASE.
Anthony Simpson: I do miss seeing some of the other Drifters.
Mike Ferreira: God, I love that psychopathic, profane, dragon-killing man
Mike Ferreira: I have a feeling we’ll see more of them very quickly
Lydia Rivers: Who verbally abuses his beloved inanimate objects

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Mike Ferreira: Yes!
Anthony Simpson: This is where I would love to see OVA made around the other characters as to what they were doing at the time of the events we are currently seeing.
Mike Ferreira: That could be fun.
Anthony Simpson: That would be.
Lydia Rivers: Ok agreed! I normally despair OVAs because so few of them seem to make it legally here, but seriously.
Mike Ferreira: Just as long as they don’t get hamstrung by weird licensing terms, I’m cool with it
Lydia Rivers: Or manga edition only deals.
Mike Ferreira: Amen to that.
Mike Ferreira: Aniwho, that’s all the time we have this week. So, til next time, remember: stone walls make great catapults.
Anthony Simpson: And more Gatling Guns.
Anthony Simpson: ‘Night, everybody.
Mike Ferreira: Have a great night!
Lydia Rivers: Stay shiny everyone! Also remember: You’ll get fired if you’re chauvinistic to Joan of Arc. Literally.
Mike Ferreira: She took that lesson of “give a man fire, he’ll be warm for a day, light a man on fire he’ll be warm the rest of his life” to heart
Lydia Rivers: Jesus is a great teacher. Dark Jesus took it to new heights….escalator heights.
Mike Ferreira: Dark Jesus is freaking awesome.
Lydia Rivers: I have a feeling once we get to his human moment, I’m already going to be emotional from the rest of the series and it will kill me.
Mike Ferreira: Definitely.
Mike Ferreira: I’m hoping we get it, period.

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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