5 Point Discussions – Radiant 11: “The City That Roars Like Thunder – Rumbletown”

The need for money drives Doc to attempt a dangerous mission, while Seth and Melie seek to help someone dealing with a Nemesis problem in the city of Rumble Town. Remember, if you like this article and 5 Point Discussions, please share it on Facebook or Twitter! It really helps. And if you’ve got any comments or questions, please hit me up @SageShinigami.

1. Doc continues to be the most relatable character on this show. Trapped under absurd mountains of debt, in love with someone who doesn’t know he exists, and now the only jobs he can find are useless. After the broom race that I’m skipping because I literally could not take another episode of filler, Doc tries to find some work that could get him out of debt, since Seth wastes all day training while Melie does…well, who knows?  Nothing with decent pay’s available though, except an excessively dangerous job that involves chasing down a Nemesis. It’s a job he shouldn’t want anything to do with because being touched by a Nemesis results in either death or being transformed into a second class citizen, but he takes it because he’s broke, the two idiot mages won’t leave him be, and to impress his crush.

2. The second city we’ve gotten a look at since Seth began his journey, Rumble Town helps fill out some of the mythology of this world a bit more. We knew there was a city catering to the mage population that requires intense oversight to avoid being attacked by the Inquisition, but we didn’t really know much beyond that.  Rumble Town changes that, showing us a city that’s one of the last remnants of an Industrial Era that existed over three hundred years ago. It looks reminiscent of the busted down parts of an 1800’s Steampunk London, full of abandoned buildings and factory smoke billowing out from all its locations.

3. After several weeks of training under one of the most powerful magicians in the world, Seth is still trash. I understand people wanting to avoid making their main character overpowered, but it’d be nice if Seth was even…powered. After attempting to capture the Nemesis in Rumble Town, Seth gets waylaid by a new sorcerer—the bandage covered Grimm.  He attempts to interrogate Seth, but he’s having none of it and instead winds up in another fight. Now to his credit he’s learned to cast a few beginner level spells, and even combo them to take advantage of the Fantasia he gathers so easily.
….But he still gets washed. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like to read this as a manga, where much of the filler where he saw minor victories didn’t even exist. I understand the enjoyment of watching an underdog, but underdogs eventually have to actually win something.  We’re halfway into this series and Seth is lacking any victories of note.

4. It’s probably a good thing Seth isn’t especially powerful though, since he’s also an idiot. Seth’s fight with Grimm destroys the surrounding area of (hopefully) abandoned houses, which causes Grimm to leave before anyone else can arrive.  It’s a smart decision, and one you’d think both he and Melie would go with considering their past dealings with the Inquisition.  But no, they waited long enough for a crowd to arrive and to be spotted by an Inquisition soldier. Because dealing with an army of Nemesis, someone controlling them, and a sorcerer powerful enough to fend both of them off isn’t enough.

5. After Seth and Melie escape after being seen, one of the soldiers who spotted them reports the existence of sorcerers to his superior. Man, these Inquisition captains are some of the most generic designs I’ve ever seen. They make logical sense–the suits should be identical since they’re in a military.  But while they should certainly look similar, it just seems like no one put proper effort into designing the base design in the first place. How many dudes with over the top facial hair are we going to get?
Radiant is available for streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.