English Dub Review: Banished From The Hero’s Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life In The Countryside “A Long Vacation; The Two Heroes”

Overview

“A Long Vacation”

Van and the others are headed to Zoltan. If Ruti’s existence should come to light, there could be trouble, so Red and Rit decide they should take Ruti on a trip…

“The Two Heroes”

While Red and his companions are vacationing in St. Durant, they receive word of an ogre king who attacked the village. When Red and his friends go looking, the situation turns out to be more serious than expected…


Our Take

This time around, Crunchyroll felt the need to release two dubbed episodes at once with many of their shows this week with the former focusing on Red and the group learning about what kind of person Van is, and the fact he’s been hailed as a hero by the church, prompting them to think why he hadn’t initiated his plan sooner. Meanwhile, Van and his hero party set out towards Zoltan who are under both the Cardinal and Theodora’s supervision. Concerned about the potential trouble if Ruti’s presence is discovered, Red and Rit opt to bring Ruti along on a journey with them leading to some fun and wholesome moments which mostly contrast the sometimes uncomfortable moments with Van and his Fairy sidekick Lavender who both behave like Divas. But later on, after killing a Dragon, Van gets his hands on the Shield of the Fairy King…

While in the other episode, Tisse (Who is spying at Red & Ritt’s behest) learns that, after observing Van, she notices that he’s different from Ruti when she was a hero because of his extremist attitude and strong emotions as opposed to Ruti who emoted less when she was previously under the influence of her “Blessing”. And later poses as a tour guide to Zoltan to keep further tabs on them. Meanwhile, Red, Ruti, and Ritt continue to spend their vacation in the village of Saint Durant, until the three receive reports about sightings of an Ogre King who once attacked this village. But when Red and their companions take on the role of patrolling, they find that the situation is more serious than they anticipated…

Overall, both episodes skillfully laid the groundwork for the escalating storyline, particularly regarding Van’s unsettling attitude and the potential dangers ahead. Van gives off a legitimate sense of unease. And while it’s understandable for Theodora (along with the audience) to be shocked and disgusted at his indifferent behavior, it doesn’t help that both Lavender and the Cardinal remain negative influences in contrast to Theodora who simply wants to guide him to make better decisions. At one point, I was even scared shitless when Van expressed interest in visiting some kids at an orphanage but thankfully didn’t lead to where I thought it would go. However, I remain curious where this can go given Van’s unpredictable nature and if Red, Rit, and Ruti can get back in time before shit gets starts real!