Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts

Episode 23

To anyone who guessed that Anubis was faking his allegiance to Set, congratulations – you were right! It's a testament to the writing in this story (both the show and the source manga) that there's just enough information to make us doubt both outcomes, that Anubis was or was not a traitor. His ideological preferences seem to be more aligned with Set's, but his lifelong loyalty to Leonhart is also what's been driving him for most of the series, so he really could have gone either way. And I think that had he not liked Sariphi's answer to his question this week, he might have killed her. He may grudgingly respect her now, or at least grudgingly tolerate her for Leonhart's sake, but if he genuinely thought she was using the king or posed a real threat to his reign, I'm pretty sure he'd kill her with zero compunctions even if it meant that he, too, would die.

Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore, or at least not for the moment. The fact that the poor old undead beast in the dungeon immediately recognized Sari as Leonhart's true queen certainly helps, and the information he provided her is crucial. Leonhart may not be the old king's son, but he is his nephew, which may be enough to justify his occupation of the throne. If Set is the former king's son, that could complicate things, but it's hard to deny that Leo's uncle chose him to be the next ruler. History certainly has plenty of examples where that doesn't matter at all when it comes to heirs. Still, given the support that arises in this episode, it makes things very complicated for the usurper. I wouldn't want to go up against Galois and his navy, would you?

The number of people rising in Leonhart's defense is impressive. It speaks to the importance of his policy of equality but also of how he doesn't just talk the talk – he practices what he preaches. Sariphi has been instrumental in showing that her being a human doesn't make her any less of a person than the beasts and carefully changing the hearts and preconceptions of everyone she has encountered throughout the series. But nothing quite drives home that species equality is important like the continued glimpses of the rabbit-frog family. We watched Set's goons try to tear them apart, Sari step in, and Ilya saved them once again as they fled to Yoana. Ilya is taken aback to realize how much the beastfolk are like humans. Just like with Maalo, the little boy's words of thanks strike a chord within him, reminding him that, to paraphrase Dr. Seuss, a person's a person, no matter what. Through interaction, prejudice is shed, sloughed off like an outgrown skin. If Set can't see that, then he doesn't deserve to rule, and certainly not over a diverse kingdom.

This is the episode of everyone proving themselves. From Anubis proving his mettle to Amit using her blood (I assume) to enable Leonhart to regain his beast form to Ilya showing that he genuinely has grown, this feels like a near-perfect distillation of everything Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is. It's strong, warm, and above all, it's about how there is no “us” and “them.” Even if next week's finale doesn't feel as grand in scale, this will stand out as Sari and Leon's triumph.

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Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.