English Dub Review: The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar “Cornered Wolf”

A leafy new friend.

Overview (Spoilers!)

The blonde girl who looks like Mitsuki—a.k.a. Sigrdrifa, Divine Emperor of Asgarthor—performs a ritual to ensure a bountiful harvest. Yuuto returns home with Sigrdrifa, introducing her as… Princess Leafa? Okay. Run has been secretly following Yuuto; she tells Chris that Leafa is extremely powerful, but also unrefined and not a threat.

The next morning, Leafa tries to force her way into the forge. Yuuto finally explains that he was sucked into Yggdrasil after looking into a magic mirror, and Leafa deduces that there must be a twin mirror in this world. Yuuto serves Leafa a delicacy from his homeland—the exotic “hamburger.” Leafa claims that she is the strongest magician in Yggdrasil and demonstrates her power by immobilizing Yuuto. Noticing Leafa’s two runes, Felicia realizes that Leafa is actually the Divine Emperor Sigrdrifa. Leafa admits that she can’t undo the spell she placed on Yuuto—but Sigyn would be able to, as she specializes in magic that can break bonds.

Yuuto calls Mitsuki and tells her that he may have found a way home if he can convince Sigyn. Felicia presents Yuuto with the cloak everyone made for him. Together, the group celebrates the New Year. Drunken shenanigans ensue—the girls all strip naked while Leafa calmly eats her meal.

Giving viewers the most extreme whiplash in history, immediately afterward, Chris informs Yuuto that Steinthor’s army has begun to attack the Wolf Clan. To thank him for his hospitality these last three months (wait, THREE MONTHS?! Why didn’t we see any of that?!), Leafa kisses Yuuto on the lips.

The battle commences. The Wolf Clan fires arrows at Steinthor, but he’s safe due to his… metal umbrella? He throws the shiny parasol at a group of Wolf Clan soldiers and the umbrella… explodes… allowing Steinthor to freely ride through. Despite the Lightning Clan’s new iron weapons, the Wolf Clan uses the kouyaku formation (which is never really explained) and appears to achieve victory once more.

That is, until Steinthor’s reinforcements—the Panther Clan—swarm in. Run and Scarfior take on Steinthor, but the battle is not in their favor. After an attempt to save Run, Scarfior tumbles off a cliff and dies.

Our Take

Man, I miss Mitsuki. Why doesn’t the whole show take place in her world again?

I have to admit, though—if we can’t have Mitsuki, Leafa is a pretty good alternative. Spunky, confident, and funny, her characterization is easily the best part of this episode. Even her name is hilarious (yes, it is pronounced Leaf-ah). And the opening sequence, where she stretches out her long sleeves in the dark and chants a spell? That’s the most epic thing I’ve seen on this show. Leafa has been in Yggdrasil for three months, but I wish she’d been on our screens a whole lot longer.

I’m glad that we finally get in-show confirmation of how Yuuto ended up in Yggdrasil, but I’m frustrated that the animation during this sequence is reused from the show’s intro, without a single new bit added. I mean, why even bother? Other than Leafa, a lot of this episode feels tired and redundant: for example, the Wolf Clan already fought Steinthor. Watching them do it all over again isn’t very interesting, especially because the fight between Run and Steinthor is, once again, just the two of them hitting their weapons against each other. Yuuto’s motivations are inconsistent throughout the battle—he vows to kill as many of the enemy’s soldiers as he can (which doesn’t do much to endear me to him), but as soon as he sees the enemy in retreat, he decides to just let them go. Okay.

This show is utterly incapable of making me feel things during supposedly emotional moments. There’s so much buildup to Yuuto’s cape gift, but when the moment arrives, Felicia hands Yuuto the cape. He thanks her puts it on, and that’s that. What was the point of this scene, other than for Yuuto to wear the outfit he has on in the intro? Were we just supposed to go, “Ah-ha! We’ve seen that cape before.” I don’t get it.

And I’m constantly shocked (and not in a good way) by this show’s inability to flesh out its own lore. The Empire of Asgarthor contains Yggdrasil, which means that Leafa is Yuuto’s ruler, but this is all info I pieced together from the eye catching. Why weren’t these concepts introduced in episode one or two? Why does it always feel like the writers are just making everything up as they go? Also, what the heck is “elven copper,” and why does it exist in modern-day Japan? Maybe I’m wrong, but last time I checked, our world doesn’t have any elves.

Because the writers of this show are flying by the seat of their pants, plot holes abound here. I have no idea how Yuuto managed to move again if no one but Sigyn could undo Leafa’s spell—did he just lie face-down on that kotatsu for a week? Also, what on earth happened to Effy’s mother? Yuuto bought her too, right? Speaking of Effy, everyone says that Leafa looks like Mitsuki, but she looks near-identical to Effy to me. Several times in “Cornered Wolf,” I mistook Leafa for Effy and ended up in a state of considerable confusion.

I’m not sure how much it’s trying to be funny, but for all its faults, this episode does succeed at making me laugh. Leafa ignoring six nude girls to remark on how good the food is? Hilarious. Leafa adoring the hamburger recipe Yuuto brought from Japan? Inspired. (Especially when you remember that old English dubs often pretended Japanese foods were American ones. This is one of the only anime where a hamburger really is a hamburger.) At times, though, it’s clear the comedy is unintentional. We’re definitely supposed to take Steinthor’s metal umbrella seriously, but it’s hilarious. Why does it explode? And I couldn’t help myself—I laughed when Scarfior tumbled awkwardly down some rocks in the middle of a serious battle.

Also, I hate that I’m saying this, but Yuuto looks really cute in his new outfit. The art style of this show is so darn cute. I just wish it wasn’t wasted on such badly-written drivel.