English Dub Review: Ishura “Alus the Star Runner”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
A spy comes under attack, and a certain military officer attempts to slay a dragon.

Our Take:
The journey to Aureatia begins with Yuno guiding her “ally”, Soujiro, to the largest nation in the entire world.  But, of course, as we all know, Yuno only offered to join him so she could find someone strong enough to kill the Shura.  It’s not the best way to show appreciation, but based on Soujiro’s actions in the previous episode, it raises a question of whether all Shuras are as bad as Yuno believes.  While we may not find the answer until later, we still have more of the show’s world-building to explore before reaching that point.
After introducing viewers to Yuno and Soujiro, the series’s supposed main protagonists, this week’s episode shifts its focus on expanding its world through its additional characters.  That includes Lana the Moon Tempest, an intelligence agent whose quest to return to Lithia is interrupted by a group of wyverns and bandits.  She is accompanied by two other Shuras, Higuare the Pelagic and Shalk the Sound Slicer, who are employees for the New Principality of Lithia, who I’m assuming will be explored later in future episodes.  Fortunately, they’re quickly saved by Wyvern Soldiers, a different breed of wyverns whose intelligence and skill outmatch the ordinary ones.
The episode then depicts another Shura, Alus the Star Runner, a mutant wyvern born with three arms who can wield any weapon with his opposable fingers.  He’s also portrayed as a labyrinth explorer seeking wealth and glory and having a strained history with Aureatia’s sixth general, Hargent the Silencer, who’s confronted by the vicious dragon known as the Smoldering One.  I had no idea how to spell the dragon’s actual name, so I just went with the “Smoldering One”.  Of course, it hardly matters since Alus sliced it in half in one fatal swoop.
Usually, an anime doesn’t dedicate its episodes to its supporting characters until later, so having one this early, let alone its second episode, was quite surprising.  While it offers a similar conflict between humans and Shuras like the first episode, mainly Hargent and Alus, I was concerned about the show’s focus on who the protagonists are and complex world-building.  There’s also the matter of its mixture of 2D and CGI, which occasionally looked jarring despite providing some riveting sequences.  Hopefully, the series can find more ways to improve before I entirely check myself out of this universe.