The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King

Episodes 4-5

If this show has a persistent problem, it's a lack of subtlety. (If it has a second, it's that Sera shrieks entirely too often. Come on, I know this is all new to you, but could you not vocalize that loudly each and every time?) Malcius, the mad priestess who comes in in episode five, isn't just evil, she's cartoonishly evil. Nyreia isn't just happier in her new domestic life; she's quite literally barefoot, pregnant, and playing a very traditional feminine role. I can't entirely fault Veor's beard for aging him up thirty years, because beards just do that for some guys, but it does feel of a piece with the other less-than-subtle touches. This is a series that doesn't do its viewers the honor of trusting them to figure things out on their own; instead, it throws the most obvious information at the screen with impressive regularity. I'm not sure if this is the case for the manga as well (I really should interlibrary loan it), but it's really starting to annoy me in the anime.

With Malcius, at least, there's some room for argument that this was the best way to highlight the differences between the “barbarians” and Illdoran's purported civilization. Sera has been raised to believe that Veor's people are less human because they live in harmony with the earth, and Malcius embodies that way of thinking. She's internalized everything she's been told and turned it into pure bile, which she's now spewing in the name of her god. (That she's dressed like a nun only further exemplifies this story's commitment to a lack of subtlety. Gee, I wonder which religion she's meant to call to mind?) Malcius is so entrenched in her thinking that she completely refuses to listen to Sera or to pay attention to the fact that the forest gets darker and darker with each spell she casts. Sera may have a lot of preconceptions to overcome, but Veor might be right when he says that it's too late for Malcius in more ways than one.

I'm not sure that's a good reason to engulf her in tentacles, though. For a story with a remarkably strong woman warrior as its lead, The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King certainly enjoys its sexist moments. From making fun of Sera's fears of sexual assault back in the first episode to Nyreia's joy at her new role as wife and mother instead of knight, there are a lot of bits and pieces that really give me pause. Yes, Nyreia is absolutely allowed to enjoy being a mom; that's not what I'm taking issue with. It's more than she implies to Sera that she's happier now than when she chose her own path as a lady knight, which itself carries the implication that Sera might similarly be happier if she gave in and married Veor.

Still, this may be overthinking, because it's not like women today still don't hear this kind of garbage. We've not seen many woman warriors among Veor's people; I think there was one in episode five, but most of the women are far more domestic. And no one is overtly telling Sera that she ought to be as well; Veor absolutely understands that she needs to be physically active and fighting to be happy. Perhaps all of this is simply meant to show that Veor's people are more accepting of unusual careers for women. That doesn't excuse the gags in episode one or the tentacles in episode five, or make me like Nyreia's introduction, but it is a sign that Veor, at least, isn't trying to make Sera into something she's not. (Even if he still wants to marry her and seems to expect that it'll happen.)

I have to give Malcius' voice actor, Aki Toyosaki, a lot of credit, though. She sounds absolutely deranged and unhinged, and that only increases the more she talks. Malcius is a distillation of everything that's wrong with Illdoran, and Toyosaki sells that like you wouldn't believe. I also like Nyreia explaining Illdoran warrior culture to her husband, and that the worldbuilding tries to make the fantasy standards its own, even if that mostly comes down to not calling people “elves” and “dwarves.” I don't know that I'm enjoying this series – I seem to be less and less as it goes on – but it does have its moments. If only it could be a bit more subtle about them.

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Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.