Handyman

Episode 10 – Handyman Saitō in One other World

©Kazutomo Ichitomo, KADOKAWA/HANDYMAN SAITOU IN ANOTHER WORLD PARTNERS

Last week I compared this current story arc for Handyman Saitou to a silly escalating Dungeons & Dragons tabletop session, and I’m sticking with it here. I think every one of us who’s been into this hobby has been here before: what starts as a throwaway gag about a dog biting off a group member’s magic member somehow escalates into one of the most intense and thrilling encounters the crew has ever experienced in role-playing. Absurd throws are made for million-to-one rescue shots. Anxious characterization is built as each fights to save the other. Chips are flying everywhere. People scream.

This provides an escalation that still fits the tone that has always worked for Craftsman Saitou. It’s gotten “serious” again, but in a more “fun” way than the earlier twists. That’s especially evident when things really get going in the second half of this episode, after the tail-driven demon dog is mostly dealt with and the Saitou squad has to deal with another of those sick hand demons. Turns out there were actually two of them, one right-handed and one left-handed, which I think is just brilliant. Much of the layered backstory that confrontations like this in the previous arc attempted to shape has been dispensed with here, and instead is merely a series of intricate obstacles that leave us wondering if our heroes will be able to do Morlock’s magical man thing to recover it, and how many of them might perish in the process.

Instead of trying to elicit any pathos from the procession of larger demon bosses our main characters have to contend with, Craftsman Saitou instead lays out the runway in the first part of the episode by detailing the feelings of the main characters themselves. All indications are that they are indeed preparing to move forward with Raelza and Saitou’s relationship, with Morlock pretty much insisting that he give the craftsman his blessing. Saitou protests that Raelza should probably be the first party to make that decision, and while we know she’s definitely into him, I basically agree with his point here. It feels odd that the biggest jump in the direction of where the series comes closest to a romantic approach isn’t due to something Raelza does himself, but because Morlock is the one telling Saitou to do it marry his adopted daughter. Anyway, to her credit, Raelza struggles almost all of this episode to prove her own devotion to Saitou (and the rest of the group), setting the stage for another potential catharsis in pursuing the relationship, if that’s all done over.

Also, the real reason this came about because of Morlock’s characterization is so Craftsman Saitou can push the “family” aspect of this arc as fast and furiously as possible. The parallels are certainly not subtle, as the demon dog’s adopted wolf pup turns into a selfless bargaining chip for Morlock as well, as the wizard muses several times throughout this episode about the efforts he will go to for his “children”. So the tacit intention of becoming Saitou’s son-in-law serves to cement this bond. I mean, I always went along with the team’s found family perspective, but I can tell the lyrics at that point wanted to make things even clearer for everyone else in the audience. There’s a serious simplicity in it that I can’t blame the craftsman Saitou for.

Plus, Raelza gets to show how much she cares about her, and she’s doing it with what is probably the coolest combat phase the series has given her in a long time. It’s basically everything I wanted out of a fight in Handyman Saitou: a stretch of concentrated combat, centered on our main heroes, in an open, brightly lit area where we can see everything, especially my awesome armor Woman concerned and her huge sword. It is perhaps appropriate that Morlock advances Saitou and Raelza’s relationship through conversation, while the lady herself expresses her love primarily through monster hacking. It’s also an amicable arrangement, with the moment Saitou coming to the rescue with his super-powerful wire cutters, or using the magical knowledge he’s acquired to help Morlock know how to cast an Ice Magick on Raelza. can take a hit. As I said before, you can just hear the players making these saves and throws cheering when they make moves like this.

It’s all Handyman Saitou at its most pristine, and I think I prefer it to be serious rather than trying to dig up pathos or melodrama. Gift me the simple pleasures of a band of adventurers who magically mess up a few demons every day. Being outside and openly visible really lets us see how beautiful things continue to look during this fight. Special credit goes to the impressively gnarly animations of healing magic, whether it’s Lafanpan restoring Raelza’s burned arm or the larger demon’s halves of his head reassembling with the help of a series of tiny grasping hands. Resourceful and impressive, Handyman Saitou drew me completely into the doings of this newfound family and their quest to help Grandpa get his groin back.

Evaluation:


Handyman Saitō in Another World is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris is a Freelance Freelancer from Fresno with a penchant for anime and a shelf full of Transformers. He spends far too much time on Twitter and updates his blog infrequently.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa group of companies.

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