Plunderer

Episode 17

In which a hero rises and immediately falls.

Most episodes of Plunderer are ensemble affairs⁠—with a fair chunk centered around Jail's growth as a hero. This episode, however, is not. It's about two people and two people alone: young Licht and Hina.

At the end of last episode, Jail, Tokikaze, and a few others from Class A were fighting their way to the backup generator in order to get the power back on and finish Licht's surgery. They succeed and Licht, now with white hair, awakens. He then has a lengthy conversation with Schmerman about his new powers before going off at super speed to easily defeat the invading soldiers.

But as strong as Licht now is, he is unprepared for the desperation of the soldiers he is facing. The world they live in is so devastated by past nuclear war that it can't support the remaining population. Instead of a prolonged death trying to save everyone, the remaining nations have decided a war is the best way to cut the population down⁠—and being a soldier not only puts food on your table but on your family's. Every confirmed kill you get, is another day those you love survive.

Retreating means no food for your family. Thus, dying on the battlefield is better than returning in disgrace. In this situation, it's no surprise that the soldiers are basically zealots⁠—strapped up with C4 just in case things go wrong. But that's not how they destroy the soul of our new-born hero Licht.

Utterly defeated, the enemy commander claims that inside one of his soldiers bodies is a switch to activate an atomic bomb hidden somewhere in the school. Now of course, this is a ludicrous idea. Not only are nuclear weapons banned by the Althing but unbanning them would defeat the purpose of the war by making even more of the devastated planet unlivable.

However, Licht gives into his emotions. His conviction for becoming a no-killing army is overridden by his love for his friends⁠—and the fear he has of losing them. And so he kills the soldiers⁠—with the commander admitting his bluff as he dies. This knowledge ruins Licht. He broke his vow⁠—killed these men⁠—for nothing.

In the midst of his break down, he makes a new vow. If a no-killing army is impossible, then at the very least he'll kill all those that need to be killed so his friends don't need to kill anyone. He takes all the sacrifice upon himself without even being asked. It's both heroic and soul crushing⁠—and it means that our time traveling heroes have failed to save him.

As for Hina, she can't just stand by as she sees Licht at his lowest point. She now knows why he became the man he is in 300 years⁠—the man she has come to love. Hina is a person who knows loneliness and isolation due to her years of wandering. And so mirroring what Jail told young Nana, Hina promises that while times will be bad, in the end, Licht won't be alone⁠—she won't let him be. She will help carry the burden and make sure what has happened here won't happen again.

More than that, she promises to give him a family⁠—a reason to live on and fight on. She even strips and forces him to cop a feel, hoping that this will break through his ongoing mental breakdown and leave a lasting impression. Though, whether it will or not in the centuries to come is yet to be seen.

Rating:

Random Thoughts

• What's cool about the conversation with Schmerman is not its contents but the fact that, while we aren't clued in at first, it all takes place at super speed. This shows not only how Licht sees the world but also that, as fast as Licht is, Schmerman is just as fast.

• Licht's true count is not how many people he's killed but rather how many he's killed so others wouldn't get blood on their hands.

• Doan does save Sonohara from getting killed. So the reasons he gave for bullying her last episode may actually be more than bluster.

• I hope next week we get at least one scene with Jail and Nana. He made her a big promise and I want to see her collect on it.

• I'm happy that we'll get to see what happens after our time traveling heroes leave (according to the next episode preview). There are a few big events that still need to be explained.

Plunderer is currently streaming on FUNimation.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.