What did you think of this episode?
5Loved it!
64.8%
92
4Liked it!
30.3%
43
3It was OK
4.9%
7
2Disliked it
0.0%
0
1Hated it
0.0%
0
Average 4.6
142 votes
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| Lots of talking this episode. I honestly thought the swordsmith was going to sell them out and they'd break out fighting right there. I wonder if Balsa would have been able to take them with a sword instead of her trusty spear. Overall it was an interesting albeit roundabout way to learn a little bit of Balsa's past. |
 ...even a saint needs a soldier to do the dirty work. |
| Enjoyed this episode, had a nice suspenseful moment as you mentioned It looked like for a moment there that a fight was going to happen.. it came very close. Got some nice backstory there for a bit but that was all. I still rather enjoyed the episode, but I'm craving some action :( |
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| so the old man's story is about Balsa when she was the protected child? its ironic she's the one doing the protecting now and its great her spear is as good as new again. |
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| Pretty well done episode. Points for the background on Balsa's master and the "suspenseful moment" (quoting MistaNight). I think it's abou time we got a little bit of action too... but from the looks of it, it's still not gonna happen in the next episode. Even so I'm looking foward to it. |
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| A part of me thought it was a boring episode, while another thought it was very interesting and clever. |
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| This episode reminded me a lot of the recent episodes of Claymore I've seen. Like mirror images, in a way. I am really falling in love with these characters, and if this show keeps on with it's current quality, it'll surely be one of my favorites of all time once it ends. And I still wanna grow up to be Balsa. |
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| Definitely enjoyable episode. Is there anyone else out there that wants Chagum to become a warrior/bodyguard just like Balsa? I'll be a little disappointed if he goes the medicine route. |
| yea, I hope Chagum gonna be a spearman just like Balsa. |
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Xinil said: me~Definitely enjoyable episode. Is there anyone else out there that wants Chagum to become a warrior/bodyguard just like Balsa? I'll be a little disappointed if he goes the medicine route. But I have my doubts about it somehow. I'm guessing he's more likely to "battle" eventually, but using the water spirit powers. He did save himself and Balsa unconsciously when they where underwater on the first episode if I remember right. |
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| Late on this episode... Anyway, I really like the way the swordsmith was able to get the story out of the two elite guardsman. He proved to be fair and understanding of the situation. In a way it was touching, when he told the story of the swordsman. It looks like Balsa's situation has turned full circle. Very interesting, indeed. |
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| Man, all I know is there had better be some nice action scenes after her spear get fixed to make up for all the boredom I've had to suffer recently. |
Check out how a pimp blings.  |
| Am I the only one who thought Chagum was going to ask Balsa to train him when he woke up and saw her training in the morning? I enjoyed this episode, loved the tension at the smithy, I liked the fact that there was only tension at the smithy and not a fight scene but thats just me. 9/10 for this episode. |
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| For an dialogue driven episode with basically no action, there was constant tension and intrigue. That's great writing and storytelling, IMO. Full marks. |
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| Yep, agreed, that was pretty talented storytelling, suspenseful even though there was no fight. That was an authentic moment with the conversation in the smithy (the smith is a wily old fox, btw) about great swordsmen, Japanese through and through, I liked that. I like that her weapon is a normal spear with dings and dents and not the Magic Sword of the Heavens, or something like that. It was interesting to learn that the spear was a foot soldier's weapon too. They're fleshing out the personalities of the guardsmen nicely. And they took the trouble to depict an actual forge and mill, nice. :D What with old man Gandalf and the statues, I thought I was watching LoTR for a second there, lol. |
new_userJul 5, 2008 7:11 PM
| Really good episode, lots of backstory and just a real blast to watch. |
| My anime list |
| Yes, this was a very good episode, no action but it was hardly necessary as all of the talking gave me chills. |
| Well this makes the end of episode 3 make a hell of alot more sense. And also I think I have figured out these deaths that Balsa is trying to atone for. I'll have to keep watching to see if I'm right. |
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| You wouldn't think that a whole episode about getting a new spear head forged would be so exciting. This show sure knows how to build the tension, and never have I been so intrigued by such fantastic dialogue before. What an interesting episode. The end of episode three does indeed make a lot more sense now as well. :P |
| I think my heart skip a beat when swordsmith open that door. Nice episode. |
| Even though there was just a lot of discussion I still found the episode interesting, great to see Balsa's new spear. Although I do wonder how the assassins will discover she is still alive. |
| I think this was the best episode so far. I really enjoyed it a lot. |
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| How the hell was that boring? Second best episode so far next to three, in my opinion. |
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| this anime is good but it isnt as great as you people say :) |
| Liked this episode a lot. I liked listening to the tale of the warrior who took care of Balsa, but it might've been better with some flashbacks to make it more interesting. But yeah, that was a really intense moment when they were hiding from the Emperor's hunters. |
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| Personally I loved it. I'm a sucker for characters with interesting backstories and Balsa has that in spades. People keep talking about how great episode 3 was and then comparing it to this one... well honestly there's no way to really compare them fairly. 3 had some amazing action - man I love watching Balsa fight - best thing about it is that she doesn't just fly through the air and pull off impossible tricks like a lot of anime make fighters do, everything she does actually looks possible for a human to do. At least... it does so far. So yeah, 3 had excellent action scenes. 8 was a completely lack of action but it was full of emotion and suspense. Finally hearing Balsa's backstory and being able to understand the hallucinations/flashbacks she had when so badly wounded made me really happy. I love the fact that her story has come full circle and that she's now protecting an innocent child just like she was protected. What I don't understand is why not a one of you in this thread has brought up the mention that she was a victim of palace intrigue and that's why the assassins were sent after her... is Balsa also high-born like Chagum? Or was she some illegimate child of a noble that was supposed to be eliminated? Or were her parents also warriors? I want to know more. This episode was great because it kept us on edge at the possibility of another battle, but still fed my thirst for Balsa's story. We kept getting little bits and pieces over the first 7 episodes, but 8 was the first to give a straightforward account of her history. So 3 is still my favorite action episode, but I think 8 has taken its place for overall favorite. There's still quite a few left to watch though so I'll keep an open mind. |
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| Very good episode, really kept me on the edge of my seat. |
| Now now good thing Balsa covered her spear, Oh I love blacksmiths, the end of 1st part was intense Although it was all talk - I really enjoy how they showed it for us not to get bored and I like how the smith use this way to hear both sides of the story |
Live well - Laugh often - and Love much |
| Really liked the episode despite the fact that, as everyone else has mentioned, it was mostly discussion. It was a nice way to find out more about Balsa's past - indirectly, through a third party rather than the person herself. She doesn't seem like the type to ever talk about herself anyway. The suspense was also great... I, also, seriously thought that a fight was going to break out! Cool swordsmith dude. Her new spear is nice 'n' pretty. Shiny shiny. Next episode... Hmm, I hope Shuga doesn't tell the master priest guy that the drought symbol didn't disappear. It's weird though... I'd say "I hope Shuga's a good guy" but I'm not sure I can classify Balsa and co. as "good guys" since they're protecting Chagum, within whom dwells a water spirit that will cause a drought to occur, which will kill loads of people... :| Glad they're keeping him alive, obviously. Maybe he won't have to die once the egg hatches - and the thing comes out of him? Maybe? (I can hope!) |
| I am suspecting that Balsa was the child. |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
Confucius said: Reminds me of that flashback (I think it was a flashback) at episode 3 or something, when she was going to pass out due to blood loss. I don't think that fight actually took place... since the girl at the end looked A LOT like her... as a kid (I doubt she has a daughter.)I am suspecting that Balsa was the child. I don't really like talking about best episodes in a series. I usually judge them as a whole. Especially when it's not an episodic series, either. The pacing in this show is great so far. Not too fast, and not too slow. Either way, I think I skipped a beat when the guy was going to open the door. |
| Balsa was 100% the child. I teared up a bit, I was so touched by the story. And is the swordsmith a cool guy or what? |
| Second favorite episode next to episode 3! Listening to the old mans story about the man who took care of Belsa was very interesting and the atmosphere was very tense, i think it was better this way than having flashbacks. Love this show (*-*) |
| I have to agree with most of the posters here as I too have never imagined that a dialogue-filled episode like this could be so tense. Clever storytelling indeed! XD |
| You see there's no need to wonder where your god is, Coz he's right here! ...and he's fresh out of mercy. |
| Very good episode. Gives a lot of insight on Balsa's past and her guardian. |
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| That dialogue was just utterly priceless. Forget about double meanings, there's like a quadruple and a half different perspectives you could take that whole conversation. |
| Thank the director and writer for that. Reminds me of that episode in Ghost in the Shell. Liked it. :D |
| Really good episode. So Balsa has a similar story to the kid. Maybe she's a princess too. |
| "Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov |
Touka said: You wouldn't think that a whole episode about getting a new spear head forged would be so exciting. This show sure knows how to build the tension, and never have I been so intrigued by such fantastic dialogue before. What an interesting episode. The end of episode three does indeed make a lot more sense now as well. :P They definitely handled the dialogue and atmosphere perfectly. What great story telling skills. It was clever how the black smith heard the guards' side of the story. I'm glad that despite they were enemies (the guards and Balsa), that they still acknowledge and respect her. We also came to understand that hallucination Balsa had when she was near dying, like how the fight between the two men seemed like they were friends, yet they were trying to kill each other. I'm interested to see Balsa's background, why she was being protected. Who did she used to be? |
| Incredible episode. Touching backstory that explained much of why Balsa is the way she is. |
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| That sword smith really knows how to extract the information he wants in a very cunning way. The way their conversation escalated to the story of the swordsman that raised Balsa was well done. It was interesting to hear both sides of the story indeed, those men admired Balsa's vigor and I like how there's no clear cut villain in all of this. |
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| AMAZING. That's what I call unique storytelling and witty dialogue. |
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| Great episode . . . Loved the stories in this episode . . . Though, wondering why she needs a spear so badly in the first place (figured she would make a living with the water mill, or else what is the point) |
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| i think the Black Smith story was really about Balsa past & the Kid he mentioned is Tanda, he changed the story a bit so they would not suspect anything (like making Tenda a kid in hes story), so Balsa killed her friends cause the family's of her friends were being held as hostage's its to big to be considered as a coincidence, i mean its to big for a coincidence |
| The writing and storytelling of this episode was phenomenal |
| I dislike cuteness, moe, lolis, romance, romantic comedies, slice of life, ecchi, harem, waifus and fan-service. |
| Fantastic episode. That was some of the best and most engaging dialogue of heard in an anime in a long time. 5/5 |
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