#urado

The Empire’s side of things:

When it comes to the Empire, it’s hard to see them as anything else but invaders and aggressors who can only use force to protect and bolster national interests. But I think the flash presence of people like Eisenstein (the old duke in wheelchairs, who, in the manga, was actually a predecessor of Louis and held that position for several decades until he was pushed aside) proves that there are those in Balt-Rhein who do not see non-stop expansion wars as a way to sustain the Empire, that there exist pacifist and belligerent camps of varying strength not just in Turkiye, but also in the Empire. Of course, Minister Louis’ dominating influence pretty much renders the pacifists like Eisenstein powerless and runs unchecked even by those in favour of aggression like him. Meanwhile in Turkiye, Zaganos’ power and sway over the court are more or less balanced out by Mah-kun’s alternative opinion, and as times go by, they would cooperate with each other more often than not. These differences in decision-making dynamics do lend to the strength and weakness of each side in the great war soon unfolding.

To put things into perspective, all of the above are just matters related to the now and the near future. Master Wan, Mah-kun and now Minister Louis all share the opinion on how different states, shaped by their environment, circumstances and needs, are destined for a certain path in the long run: aggression (agriculture- /resource-dependent states), co-existence (commerce-dependent states) or isolation (self-sufficient states), to further their own interests, and somehow this destiny is inevitable. Exactly how long-term or immutable this prospect would be is debatable, in light of Urado’s decision to end its 400 years of isolation due to depletion of resources. 

I’m sad that the visual of the Empire as a giant mass with a hungry mouth was omitted from the anime. Totally missed out on that element of dread and doom.

Urado’s side:

Well yes, Urado’s rigorous lancer cavalry is absolutely no joke but I wish that the anime kept Zigmunt’s explanation for such confidence (which somewhat recalls Phoenicia’s confidence in their indomitable wall, so ya might want to take this with a grain of salt - that’s all I’m gonna say).

Yeah, “400 years ago we defeated the Empire” might not be the most confidence-instilling thing ever one could say... LOL

Well, look at what happened with Phoenicia. Granted, Phoenicians did not have a well-trained standing army (they had naval forces instead) so the comparison is not very appropriate in some aspects but still... many other variables can change dramatically in 400 years, if not the topography. 

I have a thing for details where details matter - for example in treaties and agreements between two countries. In episode 15, I would have liked it if the details of the treaty signed between Venedik and the Empire were more hashed out and the same goes for the treaty between Urado and Turkiye. It would feel more proper, more serious, more ... real, you know? After all, the cost of this treaty is no joke: one skewered emissary and the Empire’s wrath.

The lack of exposition on the Great Merchants’ pardon of Niki’s involvement in Turkiye’s scheme (so the details of the affair might not be discovered) and Mah-kun’s foresight of this turn of events kinda makes it sounds like Mah-kun was an irresponsible sort, who only thought of manipulating Niki for his own benefit, without an actual regard for her well-being, when in fact it’s the complete opposite. A heartless Mah-kun is just not possible - completely non-existent.

Nonetheless, Cyros’ friendly teasing of Niki is sweet.

And here’s another reason for why Niki’s new business deal would proceed smoothly - she has already verified the arrangements with Master Wan and ensured that her presence would not be unwelcome in Argyros. She may be young but she is serious about her job and credit as a merchant so to take all of this out to quickly proceed to the next thing on the list (Venedik’s trouble with L’Isolani) is to do a disservice to the character of Niki. She’s not just some girl with the Argyros trade permit that Mah-kun took advantage of, but a person with a real head for business as well as intelligence and courage to face the dangers and uncertainties in her chosen career.

Before saying goodbye to Niki, a toast to the career woman of Altair. I’ll miss her.

And so Mah-kun and company returned to Turkiye. I absolutely adore the interiors of the carriage decoration - my favorite pics are posted above: the two shots of Mah-kun and Abiriga against painted canvas of winter scenes. These shots are markedly different from other shots with opulent backdrops in terms of animation quality because the characters are actually naturally situated into the backdrops, instead of them being copied and pasted on to the backdrops (refer to the scene of Ismail talking to his father in the Buchak palace).

And everyone enjoying tea ~

Venedik’s side:

Right, I’m not sure if there’s much to talk about Doge Lucio here but I just love this scene with him sprawling out on Mah-kun’s couch (and such a lovely Turkish pattern couch too - just the exact kind of patterns I saw a year ago), looking so hedonistic and arrogant as usual. In a way, the anime just got him perfectly here. The soft russet light shining in is a thing of its own beauty too.

And the fact that I really like his outfit here of course has no bearing on the number of screenshots of him.

It’s good that he still got to scold Abiriga for being such a “traitor” and sending reports only when things were already done for.

And whose fault is that, I wonder?

The gathering of the fellowship allies:

And I thought it would take a little longer to see these four. Apparently not? It was not even a month ago for me (since I was already behind back then too).

I think it’s quite hilarious that a weapon-dealer (among other things) would get to say this line or seriously consider this scenario as likely.

Doge Lucio in response to Urado’s calling out on Venedik’s tendency to play it safe. Being realistic and thick-skinned and completely unruffled over such scruples suits him more than talking about the need for both idealism and realism. Much much better.

I love Mah-kun’s determined face here, with his clear eyes looking straight ahead, without a doubt in his mind of the truth of what he’s gonna say.

The passing of notes (ahaha).

And so the Great War began:

*mumbles* it’s not my fault that Zaganos’ hair is pretty and i have to take a screenshot...

Well, bad news for Venedik, good news for the alliance, indeed.

After all, one doesn’t get to see the Doge’s shocked/dumbstruck face that often.

*sigh* they won’t get to play much a role until a lot later ~~

Wide-eyed Altair made a brief reappearance.

I like how the tension is built up with the revelation of the Empire’s plan, only to be defused with Urado’s acceptance of Venedik as another party in the alliance. Although to be honest, I have yet to see Urado’s real contribution to this alliance - to put it mildly and as least spoilery of the latest chapters. I hope to see Urado taking up a bigger role than just providing defense in the future.

LOL.

Again, I really hope for that battle, yes? Although with the absence of Amadeo and his family of seamen, I’m not sure if it would still be worth watching.

I’m so glad the anime kept this part! It’s so hilarious, for all its practical-sounding reasons. And they get to play the allies-help-each-other-out part.

Orhan ends up being the one most resembling a caretaker.

Everyone chipping in.

I would have liked to have a screenshot of Ayse on horseback too, being all proud of the Turk’s way of equestrian life but I think the manga version looks way more impressive.

HA HA HA.

With the exception of the omitted bits from the Argyros story as mentioned before, the episode has done well to keep the dialogues entertaining and to the point, which is not easy. However, taking out the naval battle scene renders the pace somewhat lackadaisical, without much of an emphasis at any particular point. The consistent quality animation helps but even that cannot compensate wholly for the lack of real excitement in this episode.

Extra: On Amadeo

Or also known as Venedik’s royal pain in the butt.

Introducing the Boccanegra brothers, the so-called Sons of Neptune.

Armed with quite a talent for reading winds and navigation, Amadeo, the genius younger brother thrives in situations that require escaping by the skin of one’s teeth. And boy does he have sharp teeth.

Arrogant and proud to the point of hubris.

And Kotono-sensei has such a knack for these panorama shots.

It makes perfect literary sense that the genius of winds and navigation would be from the island called L’isolani (the Isolated). Amadeo, to his future detriment, can only see himself within his own world, and no one (not even his good brother Roni) can quite see the world the way Amadeo’s genius allows him too.

Self-absorbed as Amadeo is, one cannot help but admire his abilities and guess at the wonders only privy to Amadeo’s genius, beautifully illustrated in the hands of Kotono-sensei.

And we also missed out on the typical fare of Italian states’ power politics: bitter rivalries among a handful of long-standing renown families; in this case, it’s the struggle between Doria and Boccanegra. At this point, they came to a truce and agreed to work together to defy and overthrow Venedik from her position as Queen of Centro. But treachery and backstabbing are common enough in these cases and so, tragedy lies awaiting.

I can’t profess to have much love for Amadeo himself but I thoroughly enjoy his character, presence and contribution to the manga storyline. It will be hard to see nameless goons in his stead in the upcoming episodes.

To be honest, I was not that looking forward to the Urado episode. That is not to say that the manga material was not absolutely awesome - especially by the latter half and the end where he literally fought for his and his company’s lives with such cut-throat precision and conviction, armed not with the might of an empire behind him, but his grasp of Urado’s needs as a nation and a people. To be able to bring the Urado King to his side with a half-substantiated promise (that is, sound on principle but has yet to be approved by Turkiye’s vezirs) as a newly-reinstated pasha and newly-appointed Foreign Minister is quite a feat.

Nonetheless, this is only to be expected, considering the scale and genius of the scheme he hatched and realised in Argyros. Though episode 14 may not have done the best job in conveying that sense of grandeur and excitement of the rippling effect on the Rumeliana continent’s affairs and relevant parties’ interests  resulted from Mah-kun’s manipulation, what Mah-kun managed to achieve in Argyros far outweighed the alliance he gained from Urado. Of course, a case can be made based on the fact that Urado is pretty much the geographical backbone of Turkiye and for them to remain neutral is one thing but fallen under the Empire’s control is quite another story. However, I maintain that his mission in Urado lends to quite straight-forward solutions (make a better offer than the Empire) while his end goal in Argyros (how to manipulate the actions of 2 powerful countries from so far away without causing premature suspicion and discovery) requires much more creativity and foresight.

But then, it is not my intention to spend the rest of this post on comparing Argyros and Urado stories so I would just like to say that the lack of anticipation on my part towards episode 15 only lends to a pleasant surprise and overall greater enjoyment of how well-made this episode is. The episode began with a short voice-over on how the conflict over Salos’ wheat was resolved between Venedik and the Empire. I regret the anime’s decision to cut out the short but loaded conversation between Doge Lucio and Duchess Lelederick, but I’m glad that the shipwreck scene was kept and we got to see the pissed-off, waterlogged Duchess accepting Venedik’s thrown gauntlet while clambering on to the rocks.

I love how Gralat almost looks like a mermaid here, with his long hair drifting on the waves.

Well, she was the one who was always in favour of aggression over diplomacy to establish domination over other states, so this is perfectly in character.

She’s always a woman of action, not one of words.

With that provocation said and done, it’s time to move on with Mah-kun and co.’s adventure in Urado, which also begins with a rather invasive form of humiliation.

Quickly before that, here’s a show of everyone’s winter clothes. I particularly like the red ribbon tie and the hat feathers on Mah-kun’s outfit, and Niki’s cute earmuffs and beanie.

More importantly though, as you will see with other screenshots, the animators in episode 15 splendidly handled figure drawings - maintained reasonable body proportion and natural facial expressions even in zoom-out group shots from beginning to end. This is indeed a welcome change since it’s not the case for many other episodes.

Urado is an interesting combination of Slavic countries, including Polish cavalry/ armoured lancers and Transylvania’s closed-off atmosphere (Romania nowadays), not to mention the resemblance between the King’s execution method and that of Vlad the Impaler. The isolationist, inward-turning style of governance with a close-to-extreme emphasis on self-defense capacity building and absolute sovereignty does bring a certain Asian country most famous for its nuclear weapons to mind though, ha ha ha.

As horridly uncomfortable as this was, I’m glad the anime didn’t shy away from it. Invasive examination set aside for a moment, it’s good that Mah-kun’s scars were shown quite intensively - they serve as great reminders of the hardships that he’s been through. He’s not a mere pretty boy, peeps.

And I like that he’s shown to be quite upset after the examination (not so stoic as one might have guessed), even when Margit shows up to receive them. The humiliation that Mah-kun and company experienced at the hands of the Urado immigration guards, if translated to present days, can cause quite a diplomatic scandal. Think of it as the more insulting version of forcing people of diplomatic status to go through the civilian immigration gate at airport. 

That glare though. Sadly though, the whole thing was forgotten rather too quickly with Margit’s single line “Sorry we do not mean to offend” in the carriage. 

*sigh* And this is definitely one of those episodes with a calmer pace of things. 

The actual conversation between Mah-kun and Margit is not much of a big deal in terms of content, apart from the hint of unease from the possibility of losing the initiative to the Empire. But the scene itself was animated with care and it really showed in the characters’ figures, facial shape and expressions. For a manga fan like me, sometimes the lines just slip away (because I half remembered them already) and it becomes a pure pleasure just to look at the animation - how natural and smooth it looks. #simplejoys

Normally this kind of shot (character in focus but tilted or to the side) would be botched up somehow in one of less cared-for previous episodes. 

The carriage decoration is pretty cool - the canvas of snowy landscape feels very real.

Niki with her hair let down :x

Again, this kind of shot would sometimes be spectacularly out of proportion with a couple of characters with off proportion. 

It may sound silly to extol how the drawings are not off proportion, instead of raving about how pretty they look or something, which is what I would do for other anime. But then I get that the production quality bar is not set terribly high in Altair, and that did bug me in the beginning, but now I’ve made my peace with it - not every series I’m interested in is gonna look spectacular and polished all the time. And that’s OK - as long as the anime can re-create that atmosphere of the plot and the universe reasonably well, I will not be too picky.

The sharpness and expressiveness of Mah-kun’s and Margit’s expressions are just beautiful. 

Again, trivial and all but everyone has really natural expressions here. 

I enjoy the hunting competition between the King of Urado (Zigmund or Sigmund, urgh, which one is the official romanization?) and Mah-kun. The anime definitely had Zigmund pegged, from the weather-beaten, stern stoicism to the commanding aura surrounding him. If one is to compare the debut anime appearance of Zigmund to that of Doge Lucio, Zigmund leaves a far more distinctive impression on the audience than Lucio, who at the end of episode 8 was unfortunately given lines that just... don’t mesh with the rest of his characterization at all. 

Characters’ hair in this episode are particularly well-drawn.

I like this close-up shot of Zigmund - he looks pretty bad-ass. A vquick q though, the goshawk is shown in this scene without her hood, while Kotono-sensei drew her with the hood and had Zigmund take it off before giving her the hunt order. So... if anyone happens to know anything about this bird, which is the right depiction of handling it? Just curious.

The hunting scene was short but intense, with rousing percussion as the accompanied soundtrack. Rapid bursts of action scenes are among the show’s forte so they managed to show the distinction between the 2 birds’ flight and hunt styles pretty well. 

The trip back to the castle is lovingly animated with the soft dots of light from evening lamps along the coast of bird droppings, the lighting that clearly shows the time of the day but does not make the audience squint at characters’ faces on the screen, and of course everyone’s faces on getting a whiff of tons of condensed bird poo.

Abiriga’s nose is quite superhuman on its own. 

I love the little moments when Cyros and Niki had the same reaction at the same time, especially when bird poop smell wafted around. 

And also when they showed their compassionate side.

Mah-kun’s side glance game is pretty strong in this episode, too. 

When Mah-kun caught a hint of what was really going on in Urado and how bad things actually were. 

More in-sync reaction time from the impulsive duo. Niki was just adorable.

Abiriga’s Eureka moment, while cleaning his blowgun.

Bare-foot Abiriga. How is he not cold?

Surprise and reluctance written on everyone’s face. 

Yes, now, Mahmut. Everyone looks hilarious in their masks, except for Abiriga (who did not even bother to cover his nose).

This little excursion has a peculiar air of both a detective’s investigative work and Discovery channel. 

They later got help from chemist!Zaganos and his petri dishes.

The early morn arrived with a rude wake-up call (were they even given breakfast?) but lives were put on the line. I particularly enjoy the shot of dawn breaking upon the landscape of Urado, signifying hope of rebirth for this country as Mah-kun talked about how it and its people could still survive on their own terms, without giving up their right to self-determination. 

The overall space and structure does not look quite as impressive as it should but the lighting again, was just right here. The choir chanting when the company stepped into the hall created a lovely solemn atmosphere

Instead of having the shot lit-up from the morning light through the tall windows, I think it’s more authentic and realistic that it was not so bright when Mahmut came into the hall. After all in Northern countries, it takes forever for the dawn to break and the sun to actually show up in winter time. And Mah-kun and co. were wakened up at ungodly hours so the dim lighting makes perfect sense.

The see-through screen was nicely done - not too transparent but the outline of another person can be vaguely made out.

Some shots of our dear boy. There’s energy and fluidity in his movements - you can almost feel the cogs in his brain working at full capacity at times, too. 

Not all that looks set in stone is actually set in stone. And I love that Abiriga stepped up just in time to provide extra validity to the story. 

Though Margit doesn’t stand out as much as Niki, she did have her moment. I just wish that the camera focused on her more while she gave a piece of her mind, instead of mostly on other people’s reactions, to give her character a bit of a boost from the background. 

At first I thought that the sentence was addressed to the King, so i thought it meant Balt-Rhein’s future invasion of Urado, instead of Urado’s being forced into becoming the Empire’s vanguard force. But a re-watch and a re-read of the manga corrected this misunderstanding. I’m not sure why i would misunderstand so, considering the glance that Mah-kun threw at the Empire’s emissary. Perhaps it was the wording of the subtitle? I don’t know.. it’s just strange. 

The orchestral music swell that began right when Mah-kun spoke of the Empire’s past deeds and what future they pointed towards is pretty sweet - made it all grand and heroic. And it helped that Mah-kun’s lines were kept nearly intact from the manga. I’m so glad they didn’t make any change to them besides minor editing - the lines are short and to the point and Ayumu Murase’s delivery was solid here - impassioned and filled with conviction. 

The moment of radio silence right before the King gave his decision to execute the Empire’s emissary and side with Turkiye gave the atmosphere just a touch of suspense needed to hold everything together. The shot of shocked expressions on the rest of Mah-kun’s company that is immediately followed with Mah-kun’s timely-given assurance of doing his best to not disappoint the King.

Brilliant as episode 15 was, its calm and sensible pace was only achieved with cutting out the bits that admittedly would not affect the story much - just touches of characterization and bits of plot that would have enriched this universe more. 

The bits that were left out:

The signing of the treaty

Mind you, the anime only gave the barebones of what went down, in a way that took out the most riveting part - which is the Duchess and the Doge coming head to head after the signing of the treaty.

I would also prefer if the anime took some extra seconds to actually elaborate on the details of the treaty’s conditions - how much of a loss the whole deal incurred for the Empire.

This dialogue showcases that ruthless side of the Doge - something that the anime has yet to do justice. He’s cunning and sly - and while I may come to terms with all the ridiculous talk of realist and idealist and how he’s not such a cold-heart, please let us not forget that he left Phoinike to rot and betrayed his friend’s expectation, regardless of how justified or rational that decision was. 

In a rather bizarre way their philosophies on politics do coincide. Well, except for the “might makes right” bit. 

The aftermath of Niki’s trading affair with Master Wan:

It’s regretful that the Argyros material was rather clumsily handled towards the end - especially with cutting out the Three Merchants’ reaction towards the whole debacle. The anime does well enough with linear story telling in adventure episodic style but has the tendency to fail spectacularly at conveying the simultaneous involvement and interests of multiple parties in a particular affair. 

The Three Great Merchants amusingly reminded me of the Grey Sisters in Greek mythology - the trio who only had 1 eye and 1 tooth to use among themselves. It was always Rahmanov who spoke for all three of them, and the other 2 just sit in silence whenever he talked.

The decision came down quickly and there’s no avoiding it. Though it’s hard to think of a city that could operate on the basis of pure economics and trade, sans the politics that go with such activities.

I love that Master Wan shows a lot of care for Niki, which makes sense considering the flashbacks of Niki’s father taking her to Master Wan’s house quite often in the good old days. And before Master headed in to see the Merchants, there was also a scene of Niki coming in to say good bye to him and his wife too. 

It’s just easier to sweep things under the carpet, innit? 

And yes, unfortunately, leaving this part out also means a missed opportunity to appreciate Mahmut’s foresight.

 So those are the bits that should have their appearance in some way or another, considering how much they add to the richness of the plot. 

Last, I would like to leave you with the less important bits that were left out but are quite fun and amusing.

1. Don’t underestimate Niki: 

Though it is sweet that Mah-kun really cares for Niki’s well-being. After all he did put her in quite a bit of risk back in Argyros. 

2. The detailed history of Urado and their military:

The anime somewhat fails at clearly explaining the historical connection between Phoenicia and Urado, which makes it somewhat strange for the King to keep mentioning Phoenicia and the reason for its collapse as an Empire in the anime. It’s also lovely to see the cultural/geographical links between Urado and other countries like Turkiye and Venedik.

Perhaps the subtitle is at fault (I’ve long heard that they are unreliable at times) but this lesson was not quite clearly explained too.

3. Khalil Pasha’s guest appearance:

I think it’s absolutely amazing that out of all people he could come knocking for oil, he would go to Zaganos. And I love that he would go by himself to get oil, not his servant and everyone just finds that completely normal. 

He’s so spying for news about his Maf-kun LOL.

hint hint hint

Gosh, Khalil Pasha and his child-like wonder.

Well, no wonder Abiriga knew all about sterco, considering Venedik freaking monopolized the sterco trade back then. And Zaganos, how thoughtful of him.