How do you rate Episode 4 of
It’s no secret that the prince of the underworld is my favorite secondary character. Favoritism aside, this is a perfect 90 TV Minutes. “The Immortal and the Three Brothers” revisits some of the most shocking moments in the fraught relationship between Despa, Dessa, and Okun, from confronting their father’s murderous spree to Okun’s tragic relationship with his Ancestors are in step. Not all of this information is new (some sequences here even appear to be re-used from the original series), but this is the first time we’ve seen it through Ouken’s eyes. The narrative also does a good job of establishing the differences between the brothers and how those differences affect their personal relationship.
Desa has long been Had mixed feelings about his appearance and how much he resembled his father. He and Desha are considered “losers” because Satun’s experiment didn’t make them immortal. Desha’s behavior often appears lacking in empathy, even in the face of the horrors of war, but the truth is that he has internalized his responsibilities as heir so thoroughly that he does not allow himself to show his vulnerability publicly. In fact, he was deeply pained by his father’s actions, the mercenaries, and eventually Ouyan’s massacre. While not hindered by his physical resemblance to his father, Desper remains insecure due to his lack of combat prowess. He makes up for it with strategic thinking, cunning, and a solid moral compass. It was only a matter of time before Desper’s vision of a necessary evil would bring the brothers to war.
Wang Jian’s story More pity than anything else. His plot is arguably too close in execution to Daeda’s; both hinge on the father seeking to escape death in order to continue their quest for power, with both sons losing agency as a result. Fortunately, Daeda’s situation is temporary and won’t cause the young king to degenerate into a vampire. Ouken’s depravity is so pathetic in part because of his own naivety. He is willing to be Despar’s “follower,” even if it means perpetual war across the kingdom. He slaughtered giants without hesitation, seeing his newfound immortality first and foremost as a way to wage war more effectively. He’s handsome and tenacious in battle, but there’s little evidence that Ouken thinks more than he’s been told.
Think about these events Compared. When the brothers teamed up to defeat their father, Ouken pledged to create a kinder Underworld Guard so that the events of the war would not be repeated. However, while Desha was securely seated on the throne, Ouken, fueled by an uncontrollable lust for war, kept driving his sword into the heads of the dead Gigantes, thereby separating from the others. He didn’t keep his word, so much so that when he was completely consumed by madness, he slaughtered his own army. The in-universe explanation for Ouken’s transformation is family corruption. The circumstances of his birth, and his father’s manipulation of dark rituals, corrupted Ohyan to the point that even after he removed his father’s presence from his body, he remained a bloodthirsty soldier obsessed with watching death.
Ouken’s story can Attributed to magic, but closer to the truth is that his own actions corrupted his spirit and awakened what had always been there. Symbolically, this manifests as his father’s face, and Ouken starts seeing him everywhere. Is this just a symptom of the circumstances of his birth, or is Ouken allied with Satun, willing to keep killing in the name of his kingdom? “Never think that war, however necessary and justified, is not a crime.”
Rating:
is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and a major shareholder of Anime News Network, limited liability company. One or more companies mentioned in this article belong to the Kadokawa group of companies.
