Herald Anime Club

The Herald Anime Club Meeting 9: Drifters, Episode 9


Meeting Date: 11/30/2016

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: Good evening everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club’s 9th meeting. I’m Mike Ferreira. Tonight, L.B., Anthony, and I will be talking up Drifters Episode 9, “Serious Bomber.”
L.B. Bryant: Hello all
Anthony Simpson: Evening folks
Mike Ferreira: A lot happened this week, and there’s just a ton to really begin to unpack. From Saint-Germi, to the battle at Gadolka, to well.. Nobunaga being Nobunaga
Anthony Simpson: Lots of interesting things happened.
Anthony Simpson: For example we finally learned what the point of the Drifters were.
L.B. Bryant: Indeed. This was the first episode in weeks that had me really invested and interested in what was happening from start to finish.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. Not to mention just the crazy number of long-tail concepts that are finally coming together
Mike Ferreira: The gunpowder, the Dwarves, Evil Jesus…
Anthony Simpson: So basically we learned that the Drifters are in a way revolutionary fighters fighting against the system, while the Ends are basically fighting for the system.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. The Drifters are a force for chaotic progress.
Anthony Simpson: Except for Evil Jesus, he seems to be different.
Mike Ferreira: Evil Jesus is a fascinating one – he’s bringing culture and civilization to the lowest of the lower classes of demi-humans, teaching them to live for themselves


Anthony Simpson: The point of the Drifters now makes more sense, this even ties more into Hitler being a Drifter since he came and up ended the system, died, and now the new Drifters are basically doing the same thing.
L.B. Bryant: I thought that was the part of the episode that stuck with me the most. In his former life, Jesus was let down by the humans kind of so in this life he’s chosen another race, the monsters, to supersede humans and possibly try to find redemption?
Mike Ferreira: That stood out for me, as well
Mike Ferreira: “I can’t be a saviour of man, so I will become the saviour of the truly despised”, or something along those lines.
Anthony Simpson: That stood out for me too.
Mike Ferreira: I wonder what the Bronze Dragon has to do with everything, though….? That just kinda came out of nowhere
L.B. Bryant: It calls into question which side is “good” and which side is “bad”. Before I think we all agreed that the Ends were the “bad guys” in this scenario but now I’m not so sure about that since Evil Jesus is just trying to raise up the side he chose.
Anthony Simpson: Well neither side I would say is good.
Mike Ferreira: Definitely. This was never a battle of “good vs. evil” – we were always rooting for our favorite despicable bastards
L.B. Bryant: Forgive my lack of better terms lol
Mike Ferreira: I mean cripes. Look at Toyohisa. His goal in life is to just chop off heads.


Anthony Simpson: This goes back with Drifters existing to change the system. Hitler changed the system not a good way but he did change it.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed.
Anthony Simpson: I was also want to bring up Nobunaga being impressed with the magic of communication. He brings up a point that the Octobrist take this for granted this type of magic since they probably don’t understand the importance of it.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. That was a beautiful moment – when he realized that he’d never need another messenger, never have a delay in tactics
Mike Ferreira: It was something that could change the battlefield forever.
Anthony Simpson: In a way it would be like taking someone from say the Civil War period or really any period of war before the advent of radio technology and placing in today’s world in terms of how fast communication is today compared to then.
Mike Ferreira: Very true.
Mike Ferreira: From carrier birds and messengers to straight-up talking.
Mike Ferreira: Honestly, I could liken it to the moment that the internet really began hit the world after being used strictly as a military/university tool
Mike Ferreira: When a person who had previously relied on telephones and letters could reach out to a person halfway across the globe, while most universities tended to use the system for straight-up research correspondence
Anthony Simpson: I liked how it was approached that you had someone see the greater use for it than the group that used it did.
Mike Ferreira: Definitely. That tinge of disdain for Octobrists for generally “using it to file their reports” was beautiful.


Mike Ferreira: On that note, I’m really digging how Nobunaga’s become somewhat of a de-facto narrator for this. He’s a fascinating character, and filtering the plot through his eyes has really given the delivery an extra kick in the shorts
Anthony Simpson: yea I noticed that as well.
Anthony Simpson: Once again the show doing comedy didn’t gel with me.
Anthony Simpson: The whole part with the raspberries was just, ugh….
Mike Ferreira: Honestly, I thought the “raspberries” moments pulled the viewer too far out on this one.


Anthony Simpson: I wanna get back to the actual battle. That was damn good tactics the Drifters used in the battle.
Mike Ferreira: Likewise.
Mike Ferreira: And indeed. Though feeding the dwarves a heavy meal after starvation: not good
Anthony Simpson: well Toyohisa probably doesn’t know any better.
Mike Ferreira: True.
Mike Ferreira: The intentions were in the right place
Mike Ferreira: Speaking of. That imagery of the dwarven concentration camp was just chilling.
Anthony Simpson: Yeah, that’s chilling.


Mike Ferreira: You can really see Hitler’s influences seeping through, even though the guy has been dead for ages
Anthony Simpson: true. When they showed his pic several episodes ago everything we seen with how demi-humans were treated made sense.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. About that… what I found was truly interesting was how he was depicted
Mike Ferreira: Remember that flashback to when Joan of Arc was being burned at the stake?
Anthony Simpson: yes
Mike Ferreira: He had those same dead eyes, that same generally dead look on his face in that portrait
Mike Ferreira: It really spoke volumes when that visual language started to tie these people, these tormentors to Hitler’s visage
Anthony Simpson: I’m going to have to go back and see that portrait.
Mike Ferreira: It really speaks volumes about the people that helped to bring the Ends to, well… their ends.
Anthony Simpson: You’re right. He does have that same dead look on his face.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah. It just stuck out with me as I was rewatching for one of the previous meetings – I never had a chance to bring it up, though
Mike Ferreira: Aniwho, we’re reaching time for the week. Any last comments?
L.B. Bryant: This was a new high water mark for me with this series. I’m hoping that it clears this level again as we head into the home stretch.
Anthony Simpson: With just a handful of episodes left I’m interested to see how things turn out.
Mike Ferreira: Agreed. I’m hoping we get a satisfying end after all is said and done.
Mike Ferreira: Would be a travesty to see this end up in the “Good show, awful ending” pile
Anthony Simpson: yea or a read the manga ending.
L.B. Bryant: Course you just jinxed it in public so now everyone knows who to blame if it does happen
Mike Ferreira: Well yes. But can they really? The title’s still being published… kind of
Mike Ferreira: Last book hit stores in June…. so I can only hope we don’t get that limp ending
Anthony Simpson: there is a chance that could happen.
Mike Ferreira: That’s my big fear
L.B. Bryant: Well, all we can do is hope for the best but stay prepared for the worst.
Mike Ferreira: Very true.
Mike Ferreira: Anyway… that’s all the time we have this week. Thanks for joining – and remember: If an old man asks for raspberries, you give him the freaking raspberries.
L.B. Bryant: Night everyone!
Anthony Simpson: Night everyone

###

Editor’s Note: We had a few extra screens that I didn’t want to leave out. This was a visually interesting episode, so I’ve made the executive decision to provide these additional stills below.

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