[DreamSword]

Episode 19: The Quiet Life!

Mari is just consistently the absolute worst.

So instead of at all talking about her, I'm going to instead focus on everything else going on in this episode.

The driving question behind the episode being "If a hero was actually successful and did bring about world peace, how exactly would that work? And would it even last?" If you just want the answer, it's: "Not very entertaining, and Sort of" in that order.

What's brilliant is that up until the very end, this entire thing is framed like an epilogue episode too. Almost everyone in the cast has gone their separate ways to further their own personal lives and careers now that there's no more world ending threats to fight. Media outlets are struggling to find any sensationalist news to spread. And Masayoshi? Well, he's back to being a model/actor.

But while the world might be at peace(to the point that there's currently an election for a World President), people's' personal lives and endeavors don't just stop. This is where the episode takes a focused look at Goto, who's returning to his old hometown to meet up with his girlfriend. Without getting too much into it, Goto has his own deep rooted issues that he's dealing with, and the very real world evils of humanity have long lasting effects.

What I found so interesting about the entire scenario is that, for all of his heroics, this situation is one that Masayoshi is no good in. He cares deeply for Goto as a friend, but he's no psychologist and it's not like he has the power to bring Goto's' girlfriend back. It's the sort of thing that all of us with intimate friendships have to tackle some day: Can we even hope to do as much for the friends we care so deeply about as they do for us? Are we any good as friends if we can't help our found family out in their weakest moments? It's tough stuff!

But as Masayoshi walks home, pondering over all of these things, he runs into Sawada, one of the teenagers he preached to way back in episode 1.

...And Sawada just set off a bomb inside of an apartment complex.

The evil forces of outer space might be dealt with, but the darkness within the people of society never fades.