Utawarerumono: The False Faces

Episodes 19-20

This U2warerumono twofer review turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it's hard to say much about what happens in episode 19. The gang passes through Atui's home country of Shahhoro for some tropical hijinks before they make their way to Tusukuru. The girls chow down on melon slices, Nosuri gets horribly seasick, and General Soyankekuru gives Haku some serious stink-eye over the dubious chastity of his daughter Atui. All this fluffy nonsense makes up the majority of the episode's run, which is basically unacceptable when we're only five-ish episodes from the end of the series, but I've long ago become accustomed to this kind of disappointment from this Utawa-sequel. Kuon does clarify that she decided to tag along with Haku for the invasion of her own homeland because she hopes to end the war peacefully and save everyone she cares about personally. She doesn't have a plan for how she's going to achieve this, but it's the thought that counts, I guess. (It would be nice if the writers had done a little more thinking for Kuon so this act of determination could add to her character instead of just seeming like a lazy shrug, but the U2warerumono bar is low enough to touch the ground at this point, so I'll take what little clarification I can get.)

The second their ship finally makes landfall in Tusukuru, Haku's little gang is already being watched. Aruruu and Kamyu, apparently sensing Haku and Kuon's noble intentions, use Mukkuru's friendly kitty-face to lead Kokopo around any enemy traps and deliver the Yamato reinforcements straight into Munechika's base. Really, girls? Aiding the enemy that directly? I guess Kuon's big sisters have more faith in her ability to dissolve the war than I do. Still, it's such a bold and potentially catastrophic move to willingly assist the army that's trying to destroy them that it reads more like these little mischief-makers read ahead in the script than it does as an act of true love and devotion to their little sibling and her boy toy. Just because the audience knows everything is going to turn out okay doesn't mean the people who are being invaded and betrayed should act like this war is all peaches and cream. People are going to die because of this decision you made, ladies. Maybe fewer people in the long run, but certainly more people in the short term!

Once we settle into the enemy camp by episode 20, U2warerumono unfortunately decides to pull more of its eye-rolling, simple-minded "good conquerors and bad conquerors" schtick once again. Munechika and the other generals want to wait things out until they have a chance to retreat, but Dekoponpo wants to push onward and upward for glory even though Tusukuru clearly has them whipped. His determination to keep antagonizing the home team becomes even more distressing when Munechika realizes that it's giving the genocidal Vurai more time to arrive and apply his own style of domination to the region. The False Faces seems to be drawing the line of "good warlord and bad warlord" between those who would fight only enemy soldiers (Munechika) and those who would attack civilians (Vurai). That might be all well and good if this was some kind of third-party turf dispute, but the Yamato forces are invaders from an empire that has dominated several indigenous peoples by now. Given the fairly conservative size of Tusukuru compared to the enormous Yamato empire, most soldiers are probably going to be drafted or compelled to enlist with only meager training in order to defend their entire way of life, and if they fail to beat back Yamato, civilians will suffer, so it doesn't really matter if the "noble" Munechika or the "brutal" Vurai is doing the conquering once the war's actually over. I continue to be genuinely stunned that The False Faces' take on fantasy warfare is so much more simplistic than not only the first Utawarerumono, but almost any decently-written JRPG/RTS that dabbles in shades of grey.

Anyway, Haku finally finds out why the sequel's armies are getting completely trounced by the first season's armies. (No, it's not because they wield the power of superior writing quality.) Not only did they completely underestimate the strength of this tiny but experienced nation, the Pillar Generals can't use the power of their masks inside Tusukuru's borders for some reason. I'm guessing this has something to do with the Emperor's strong desire to acquire Hakuoro's remains. Anything that negates the power of his empire's greatest weapons needs to be either captured or destroyed for him to sleep soundly at night. Haku decides an eye for an eye might be the best strategy, so while Munechika rallies one last offensive to serve as a distraction, our hero sneaks away to the nearest Tusukuru stronghold with Kuon, Atui, Yakutowaruto, and the yin-yang twins to burn their food supplies. Once again, Kuon is totally okay with this because realistic or relatable character emotions have no place in U2warerumono anymore, if they ever really did.

Still, episode 20 fares much better than episode 19, because it does a terrific job of reinforcing what previous fans have already known for months now: the first season cast was so much better in every way. This time, we get to see Tusukuru's Benawi and his manservant (I mean best friend) Kurou on two separate sides of the conflict, and they absolutely wipe the floor with the Yamato characters. Munechika is arguably one of the most likable and badass members of the Yamato army, but in a fight against Benawi, even her cool competence is completely outclassed. She's fighting a losing battle, and I'm totally cheering for her enemy. If you haven't seen the first Utawa series, you may have a very different reaction to this battle, but longtime fans will be cheering for Benawi all the way, and after seeing how Haku's confrontation with Kurou goes, I can't help but feel this was intentional.

Let's face it: Yamato are the bad guys in this story, and this series' greatest mistake is chickening out and trying to mask that truth instead of playing it up for all its emotionally conflicting glory. When Haku prepares to burn up Tusukuru's food reserves, which is indisputably a dirty trick at best and a stomach-turning cruel tactic in an unprovoked invasion at worst, and then Kurou comes plowing out of the storehouse with his big-ass sword, all you can do is scream "YES!" He takes down Atui and Yakutowaruto with just a couple blows each, but he doesn't seem ridiculously overpowered; it just feels right because Tusukuru is just better than Yamato and always has been. The real heroes are still around, still awesome, and all this namby-pambying around any real impassioned conflict only takes away from the kind of spirited battles we could be having. This becomes even more obvious when Kuon of all people fights back the hardest and we feel a real flicker of danger and fear for the first time in a long time. No matter how confused her methods, we know that Kuon wants to save her country from Yamato's wrath, but we also know that Kurou has every right to kick her treacherous butt to the curb, and we genuinely like both characters. (Well, you might not like Kurou if you skipped the first series, but I thought this episode did a great job of showing off his strengths even inside of a few minutes.) This is the kind of war I wanted to see, not a mealy-mouthed "well Yamato are really only half-invading and they're not bad or anything" copout.

Kurou vs. Kuon is also an inspired choice because of all the first-season characters, Kurou is the least likely to show Kuon mercy in a fight. This episode lets slip what we've suspected for a while (that Kuon is Hakuoro's daughter), but of all his warriors, Kurou was probably the least allegiant to Hakuoro. Everyone else was personally charmed by our former hero in some way, but Kurou mostly joined his side because of Benawi, his one true love original lord and commander. So it only makes sense that Kurou feels a little bad about pushing Kuon around, but isn't nearly as bothered as Benawi, Oboro, or any of the lady warriors would have been. Anyway, speaking of Hakuoro, Kurou's one mistake comes when he's about to stomp Haku into mush but hesitates at the sight of his old commander's fan-weapon in Haku's hands. This gives our resourceful protagonist the split second he needs to toss a bomb into the storehouse and skedaddle away via yin-yang twin portal. For the first time, Yamato has dealt a devastating blow back to Tusukuru. I hope that mercy you showed the enemy was worth it, Aruruu and Kamyu!

Unfortunately, he arrives back at base just in time to receive some devastating news. His brother, the emperor of Yamato, is dead! I don't believe it! (No really, I don't believe it. That old fart's probably got something up his sleeve...)

This episode proved more than ever that The False Faces is at its most compelling when it tosses all its new characters (apart from Haku and Kuon, who are nonetheless rapidly losing the charms they once had) out the window and just focuses on how great the Tusukuru cast was. It was awesome to see Benawi and Kurou again, and it was even more awesome to see them completely wipe the floor with the strongest members of the Yamato army. I'm not sure how the emperor's "death" will affect the invasion of Tusukuru, but I'm betting big bad Vurai can't be far away, so all that's left to do is hold out hope for how the show might handle his arrival.

Rating: B-

Utawarerumono: The False Faces is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Jake has been an anime fan since childhood, and likes to chat about cartoons, pop culture, and visual novel dev on Twitter.