Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2

Episode 6

When looking back on this series as a whole, one thing is missing: complex villains. Up until this point, the vast majority of enemies have been monsters or their handlers with no actual personality to speak of. The only real exception to this has been the Netherlord. However, even he felt like little more than a one-note villain—i.e., your typical Demon Lord's general doing evil for the sake of evil by enacting his master's plan.

But then again, when has the series had the time or place to set up such development? Boxxo is a vending machine strapped to a young woman's back. Their job is to defeat monsters and explore the dungeon. This setup doesn't allow much for the possibility of developing a cast of villainous counterparts to our heroes.

…You know, except for the fact that the show's been doing this all along right under our noses.

The Menagerie of Fools have been Boxxo and Lamis' most stalwart allies. They've gone on numerous adventures, overcome hopeless odds, and have become not just friends but almost an extended family. And now, they are the villains of the story (well, most of them anyway).

What's great about this turn is that it makes total sense. From the start, they have had a singular goal: to get the wish granted to those who make it to the lowest level of the dungeon—and to be fair, they've been clear about this from quite early on. They've gathered like-minded individuals outside the founding members and pushed on towards that common goal.

However, the key factor of their heel turn is their wish—i.e., to undo the negative blessing placed on their family member. Kerioyl and his family are trying to save his eldest son. Up until now, this meant simply conquering the dungeon. However, with the dungeon in chaos and the time limit on helping their son looming, they've decided they have no choice but to switch sides, thus allowing them to travel through the various strata unmolested by the Netherlord's forces.

While they are in no way unsympathetic, they make a major mistake in how they go about trying to get our heroes to switch sides. Kerioyl dumps the information on them and demands a response immediately. This isn't a discussion—asking for advice or help figuring out other solutions before betraying everyone. This is an ultimatum without any room for negotiation. And allying with someone responsible for killing so many (not to mention Lamis and Hulemy's entire families) is something that none of our heroes—along with the non-founding members of The Menagerie of Fools—are willing to do at the drop of a hat.

So we get a fight between them—one where neither side is willing to back down, but neither is willing to break out the lethal force. It's in this battle we see Kerioyl's trump card: the ability to temporarily turn off other people's blessings—something with troubling consequences should our heroes encounter him again.

With the Menagerie of Fools' escape, our heroes have no choice but to return home—only to find the teleport gate tampered with and them separated across the dungeon. And so we end on another status quo-breaking cliffhanger, one that's sure to bring much action and drama to our scattered heroes.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Who could have reprogrammed the teleportation gate—and I don't mean that regarding motive but rather ability? It seemed like Hulemy was the only one around able to do something like that.

• Good thing Director Bear is with Boxxo, so at least someone is around who can carry him. If it were just him and Hulemy, he'd have to waste all his magic each day being made of cardboard just to get around.

• While not shown on screen, this cliffhanger leaves us with a physically untethered and emotionally unstable Lamis. I pity any man or monster caught between her and reuniting with Boxxo.

• I'm betting Kerioyl's blessing canceler has some serious limitations—like only one person affected at a time or needing to maintain line of sight for it to be effective.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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