Episode 5 – Sakuna: Rice and Ruins

I think I handled the show pretty well. It looks like a relatively simple, albeit low-key, fantasy of characters farming a magical version of medieval Japan. While gods and demons exist in this world, they’re not really dominant beings, so the atmosphere is otherwise pretty chill. Granted, it’s not the most exciting series, but I’ve always enjoyed it, and I’d say it’s a cozy little show to watch if you’re looking for something simple yet engaging to watch.

…and then the aliens showed up

Well, I thought I’d backtrack a bit, and since last week’s episode gave us a little more of Myrthe’s backstory, Kinta and Yui seem like a good next fit – and they finally take center stage here. While Kinta is rude to everyone, he is especially mean to Yui, even though the two of them have been together the longest, and Sakuna has made it her mission to figure out what happened to them. She comes to the conclusion that Yui is in love with Kinta and tries her best to play matchmaker (even if she doesn’t show off her romantic expertise in the book Unrequited Love, which was probably always doomed), but only ends up , Kinta became even more angry with Yui because he ended up throwing away the gift she made for him.

We soon learn that Yui is so loyal to Kinta because he once saved her life. At the same time, he doesn’t remember doing anything like this, and he’s both terrified that she’s been stalking him and feels like she’d better go after someone else because he has nothing to give her. Neither position makes sense, but I mean… they’re both trapped on an island filled with demons. At this point, keeping Yui at arm’s length doesn’t do her any good, so Kinta’s attempt to save her from misfortune only makes him look like an even bigger asshole. However, when Yui goes missing and everyone goes looking for her, they find a mysterious swan, and we learn the truth: Yui is a swan who was given human form as part of a contract, which is why Kinta doesn’t remember her. .

Now considering the overall vibe of the show, plus the fact that our titular heroine comes from a realm filled with various gods, I would have thought the explanation here was that one of them took pity on Yui and gave her a human form with a near beat. It seems that I am still too naive. It turns out that Yui was given human form by a group of beings known as the Visitors, who claimed to be from another world, owned a spaceship, and were on a mission to save the world from danger.

So uh…yeah, calling it a left turn is an understatement. Of course, I know this is based on a video game, and almost every JRPG worth its salt has a big twist that completely changes your perspective on the game world. I’m sure this all makes perfect sense to anyone who’s played the game, and there’s probably a solid explanation. In my case, this left me with a series of questions. Are all the demons on the island strange aliens? Could it be that the “upper realm” is not the realm of gods, but the gods pretended to be by some advanced civilization? Are these places on the same planet? You can’t just throw aliens into my medieval fantasy farming show without explanation!

…But that’s basically what’s going on here. Aside from acknowledging the visitor’s existence, the show otherwise proceeds as usual, with Kinta bringing Yui back to human form by revealing how much he actually cares about her, and nothing with the aliens getting a second look . I hate to use the term “big-lipped alligator moment,” but it’s the only way I can begin to describe how the show nonchalantly brings up the alien thing and then immediately moves on as if it didn’t happen. I honestly don’t even know how to rate this episode. Otherwise, Kinta and Yui’s stuff could be cute and harmless. As it stands, I’m honestly confused by it all and no matter how important this ultimately is, it’s going to have me scratching my head next week.

score:

Sakuna: rice and ruins Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.