Maria the Virgin Witch: Junketsu no Maria

http://i.imgur.com/pLmkPuw.jpg

"During the Hundred Year's War between England and France in the Middle Ages, a powerful witch named Maria lives in a secret forest with her familiars. She hates the war around her, and will sometimes stir up trouble against the church that does nothing to stop it. Her interventions into the world, however, run against the plans of heaven, earning her the attention of the Archangel Michael." -ANN

DL: Episode 1 720p | 1080p - HS
Genres: Comedy, ecchi, fantasy, historical, romance, seinen
Links: AniDB | ANN | Official




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I instantly liked this show. Maria herself captivated me because she's an odd mix of theatrics and bold acting stemming from her image of what a witch should be like (naturally she's not quite like that) and real power. It doesn't hurt she's cute, of course. Another thing that caught my attention is the relative historical accuracy (aside from witches with real magic). I have oft said when watching other shows, like Vanadis, that I'd like to see realistic fights every now and then. However, when this show offered quite a realistic view of the kind of fighting that distant past offered, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But that's how it was, from a modern military tactics point of view. Aside from such things, I liked how the succubus made fun of Maria's inexperience as a woman.

There was nothing here I didn't like. I really hope this will stay good till the end.

I agree with pretty much everything you said.

All I really have to add is that I'm definitely liking Kanemoto Hisako using a much more mature voice than she normally does, which corresponds nicely with the fact that Maria has been around for a long time. She's may still be a maiden, but that grandmother remembered going to her, and she did not mean recently. Maria is by no means young.

Perhaps her age (despite lacking in a...certain kind of experience) is why she is so against war while the other witches partake on one side or the other for payment. She's seen more than her fair share of blood over the years.

I also liked her rant about what they did to Jeanne d'Arc.

The other particular highlight was the mercenary bitching about how they were too close, right before the priest spurring on the uneducated got to know precisely why English Longbows were feared.

I would have preferred a volley of arrows raining down and one of them hitting the priest, instead of Tigre being on the enemy side and sniping the priest with a single arrow.

Other than that, great first episode.

Episode 2 - HS




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The very end had the best part: Joseph shooting Michael in the back with his crossbow and promising the next one will hit the head. He's totally smitten by Maria's virgin charms. Michael didn't seem hugely impressed, though, after having brushed aside even Maria's best efforts. It was funny nonetheless. I suppose one might say he's tasting his own medicine since he was just before lecturing Maria about the consequences of meddling in wordly affairs, and now he's causing a similar effect himself.

The incubus was really pitiful compared to the succubus. And he couldn't even handle his first job (not that I'd personally blame him, but he's supposed to be a pro). Maria's inexperience is showing for sure. Artemis cracking jokes about it works every time.

This show had more fantasy than I expected, but on the other hand it's quite possible it'll go down considerably from now on, with Michael giving Maria the warning and ultimatum.

I do consider Michael as being right, that letting humans run their course is considered "natural order". What that means though is that the only ones they're (the angels) are trying to stop are witches and other supernatural forces such as rogue angels.

It'll be interesting to see whether the angels get upset and arrogant once humans figure out that they can only count on themselves instead of praying for divine help. It's customary for supernatural beings to bitch about how humans these days don't revere them, but if they don't actually do anything then they don't have a right to.

Maria is a human being who acquired some powers. Meaning those powers are available through some natural process.
Michael is an angel.
To me, Michael is in the wrong in their universe.
He only wanted to play around on Earth. Since he's able to strip Maria from her powers, why not just do that silently from the skies?
Why should Maria have powers in the first place if it changes natural order? After all, her magic cures some illnesses and changes the options natural human beings have.

Gods suck.

Witches rock.

Natural order.

Episode 4 - HS





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This is of course a simplification on all fronts, but it still manages to address the complexity of the situation that Maria doesn't really bother to ever think about. Naturally her whole personality is about doing what she feels is best and might making it right, but that's why it's even better we continuously get the other views exposed. Like the fact that when she stops a fight or a few, it will bring forth other problems she will need to face without being able to solve them. I'm kind of annoyed by the Angels' attitude here, but otherwise the factions aren't so badly depicted. Church had all sorts of people, good, bad, and something in between, so basically the local clergy could be anything, and we have already seen a bunch of different kinds. We need to see the local lords as well. Perhaps we will, with how this ep ended.

What surprised me in this episode that Maria didn't turn down the other witch's proposal because she would lose her powers but because her heart is not ready for such ecchi stuff so suddenly. I imagined she would (seemingly) lose all interest in sex because that would be her end as a witch.

I'm quite amused by the recurring joke of the soldiers always recognizing the various monsters Maria summons.

Maria being teased never gets old. It's just a fact of life.

I guess I'm confused about how old Maria is.

This is the Hundred Years War, and she mentioned knowing Jeanne d'Arc directly, so it would put it somewhere after 1431 and before 1453.

But the grandmother also talks about playing with Maria all the time, and while they never showed her in the flashbacks, they did show Maria and I can only assume the grandmother was about Anne's age. They also mention the black plague, which would be sometime around 1350 and would correspond with the grandmother's age, since their village survived thanks to Maria.

There have also been hints that Maria has been alive even longer than that.

So Maria is at least a 100 year old virgin...

Maybe this is why she wasn't hesitant about losing her powers for sex. She's been around long enough, but her heart hasn't been in it until Joseph.

edit:
Do witches "age-up" when they have sex more often? The other witches all look older than Maria, but the feeling I get is that most of them are actually younger than she is.

It's also unclear which ones are the more naïve. Maria is more innocent about sex and things, but she's seen enough horror to not live the way the others do, profiting off war and strife. She seems more wise than Viv about the nasty underbelly of the Religious-Royal society.

The other witches are used by the royals and nobles in their games, but Maria goes after the hearts of the people, and they defend her. The villages that surround the forest protect her as much as she has protected them.

I've been getting a feeling Maria is stronger than the other witches we have seen. The fact they can't prevent her from harming their war business also supports that. Viv only tried to talk Maria into dropping the holy act, and after hearing about Michael's ultimatum she tried to get Maria interested in sex (after which Maria would be of no concern for anybody). I imagine the level of power might be related to staying young and prosperous much longer. Of course the other witches might be wiser by not displaying their powers as much as Maria (and thus earn Heaven's wrath), but fights among witches in privacy probably wouldn't interest the angels.

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They also mention the black plague, which would be sometime around 1350

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or any year after that up to 1700 or so
The picture on the side of the tomb(?)-building cleaned by the survivor of the village was from between ~1420 to 1490 or something, the artist was Michael Wolgemut
edit: oh, it's 1493

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Maria is a human being who acquired some powers. Meaning those powers are available through some natural process.
Michael is an angel.
To me, Michael is in the wrong in their universe.
He only wanted to play around on Earth. Since he's able to strip Maria from her powers, why not just do that silently from the skies?
Why should Maria have powers in the first place if it changes natural order? After all, her magic cures some illnesses and changes the options natural human beings have

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that's exactly what I was thinking throughout the series so far.
It's so unfair.
No matter how I look at it, witches are "human" right? That means they aren't spiritual beings like angels or devils. If they are supposed to "watch" and not interfere with humans, they shouldn't be allowed to hinder whatever witches decide to do. They are hypocrites

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Originally Posted by someone

Maria is a human being who acquired some powers. Meaning those powers are available through some natural process.

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That's an assumption right? I don't know if it's been explicitly stated as being so. I have my doubts especially given that Maria hasn't been aging like a human. Either she's born a witch, or she somehow gained powers at such a young age (like.. 5?) that it slowed her aging ever since. The former seems more likely unless magic itself has anti-aging properties without the host being adept at it.

And as for the second part about hypocrisy, it depends on whether you're arguing that angels are against supernatural intervention. For example, Michael said that once Maria loses her virginity she'll be powerless. Does that mean if Maria loses her supernatural powers she's free to intervene in wars as she sees fit since she's no longer a supernatural power? I believe that's what Michael is getting at.

Episode 6 - HS




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I don't think the history of anime has ever seen a good Christian priest, and looks like this show is no exception. The bishop seemed more of the calculating and manipulating kind at first, but now he's also showing some signs of mental instability.

Who knows how old Maria is, but she's certainly affected by Joseph's words. Ezekiel is too friendly for the good of the mission. At least somebody from the Heaven is not all rotten, then. Although it was kind of a pity seeing Maria so crestfallen, so naturally it's better this way. Joseph hardly will be disappointed by anything Maria does, so in that sense it's not so bad whether she decides to intervene or not. Although naturally it's not impossible Joseph might lose his position if the plan fails. Not that it seems likely to fail anymore, with the English already withdrawing even before the French attacked.

It'll be interesting to see what happens next. The plan calls for getting rid of Maria now that the war is ending for the time being.

They're right in that letting the French win this fight will end the war, and on an intellectual level it makes sense to let them be. The precedence this sets is that violence can be excusable.

As for getting rid of Maria, I can only think that the priest will be sending over a rape squad. Like seriously, what else comes to mind after seeing that laugh?

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

As for getting rid of Maria, I can only think that the priest will be sending over a rape squad. Like seriously, what else comes to mind after seeing that laugh?

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She sends whole armies fleeing, so a rape squad would seem like doomed affair. But the priest's laugh certainly suggested nothing less. He's quite a sharp fellow, though, so he ought to have realised Joseph was defending the witch with such ardour that it goes well beyond any simple duty or general gratitude as an inhabitant of the area. Rather than a rape squad, he should pursue that route. Shouldn't be that difficult considering Joseph always listens to everybody and honours any requests. But I guess the priest & co don't yet know the love is mutual.

Episode 7 - HS




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I reckon Maria just got a mortal enemy out of Galfa, among others. She really failed miserably this time, in every possible way. Although to be fair she really deserved it as well. She has got nothing but her power and stubborness. She has no real vision or plan whatsoever, only the simplistic wish of suffering no battles anywhere nearby. In that sense Joseph is a perfect man for her since he's just as simple. I kind of hope Joseph wouldn't need to fight Galfa to protect Maria, but who knows, it might very well go down that way. I wouldn't be surprised if Galfa wakes up totally cracked. But even if he doesn't, the priest is still assured to put him to nefarious use.

Galfa got what he deserved. He himself knew the sin he committed, obvious from his panic after being seen by the woman.

Maria is simply a good person at heart. Simple, shortsighted, but truly kind. That's the reason Ezekiel, the spear that should pierce her, ended up caring for her so much.

Maria X Joseph will never happen at this rate. I hope Michael somehow lifts her curse when she becomes less selfish. I have a bad feeling Joseph's death is the trigger for that to happen, and unfortunately, that means no happy ending.

I still think it is funny that the priest was mostly offended by the fact that Maria poured his precious cider on the ground than the fact that she is a witch, and especially one that is currently being tormented by an archangel for her actions. He really is rotten to the core. He doesn't hate her because she is a witch (he wanted to ally with her), he doesn't hate her because she helps England, he doesn't hate her because she is gathering people who look to her instead of the church (he was happy as long as she repented), he hates her because she poured his fucking cider on the ground. What a petty, tiny man he is.

I thought Galfa's lady friend was going to be killed and he might actually feel guilty and repent, but nope.

Ultimately, this was all Maria's fault. She didn't follow through once she had stopped the fighting. She should have escorted the English out of range, making sure that the fighting didn't start anew. Half-hearted action is usually worse than no action at all.

With Ann's grandmother finally reaching her mortal limit, I wonder if Ann will lose her faith in Maria. Ann is so young, she might not realize that Maria's power isn't infinite.

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Originally Posted by Ryll

Ultimately, this was all Maria's fault. She didn't follow through once she had stopped the fighting. She should have escorted the English out of range, making sure that the fighting didn't start anew. Half-hearted action is usually worse than no action at all.

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I don't think she understood that people actually wanted to right. In fact, I don't think she understands fully even now.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I don't think she understood that people actually wanted to right. In fact, I don't think she understands fully even now.

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Obviously she doesn't want to understand it, considering it has been told her before. But then again, she doesn't really care about what others want or hope for. She's stopping all the fighting near the forest because she personally hates war and she has the power to do it. That's it.

She's not being forceful enough about it then. She stops people fighting, then gasps when they continue to do so. If she was as self-reassured as she says she is (I'm doing this because it's what I want) then she should just bitch-slap them all back to England right from the start. Her half-heartedness stems from the fact that she thinks she's doing good, not just because "she likes to".

She's a pacifist. Bitch slapping people for fighting would completely contradict that. At most, she scares them off but never hurts anyone.

This show sure is great. It really gets me everytime when they show that Maria's interference is both heaven-sent and very problematic at the same time. Stopping battles will make the war last longer, more taxes are needed - people suffer because of that, but at the same time there are people like Ann's father that are able to live only because Maria stopped the fighting.

You can't say whether its right or wrong to do what she does.
Everyone (except for the monk of course) in this show is so lost... Joseph wants to stay with Maria but can't. Galf wants to achieve rank and name, but this might be impossible now, especially after what he did to his "superior". Maria will have ti give up on Joseph if she wants to continue being a witch.... etc. etc.

Episode 8 - HS



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Galfa is far more levelheaded than I gave him credit for. It looks like losing the arm didn't really bother him all that much, especially when he was able to claim the position of a chief. Now he even got an arm of steel from the count. Looks like he still would like to settle the debt with Maria, but interestingly enough the evil priest actually needs to push him to do it. I have no doubt he would also do it if given a chance. Too bad for Joseph. Although Galfa really does get along with Joseph, no doubt largely because Joseph never looked down on him no matter how low Galfa occasionally sunk, that wouldn't be enough to stop him, I reckon. He could rape Maria and then kill Joseph in a duel without looking back. However, if he sees a suitable alternative that allows him to get rid of Maria's interference for good, get the nasty priest off his case, and retain Joseph as a friend, I believe he would choose it, after what I saw in this episode. I guess Joseph sleeping with Maria would suffice.

It was quite obvious Maria's influence in the villages around the forest wouldn't continue for much longer. The church was such a huge influence in everyday life back then that there's no way the villagers wouldn't obey when a priest of high standing tells them to forget Maria. They wouldn't risk the wrath of the church and damn their souls to Hell just for the sake of one witch.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Obviously she doesn't want to understand it, considering it has been told her before. But then again, she doesn't really care about what others want or hope for. She's stopping all the fighting near the forest because she personally hates war and she has the power to do it. That's it.

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Again this episode suggests otherwise. She thinks what she's doing will bring other people happiness, not just herself.

I did find amusing that the divine also see the church as being absurd and wrong. Like with wars though, they see no reason to stop it given it's natural order.

I do ask myself why we try out best to save endangered species sometimes. Is there some inherent value in keeping alive a species that is inferior?

Of course! It'll be that much cooler to see them in zoos and be in pictures with them.

Kidding aside, rarity increases the value of anything, be it objects, skills, or species. Humans tend to see value in existence itself, like how they value human life even if that human has negative value to society (consumption>contribution). The same can be said for antiques, etc. The rare exception would be deadly viruses and the like, but even then I think we keep samples of them in some lab for research.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Again this episode suggests otherwise. She thinks what she's doing will bring other people happiness, not just herself.

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Of course she is. It doesn't matter, however. The world is full of people who think they know better than yourself what makes you happy and they aren't too shy to share their opionions or even force their decisions on others. The saying that the worst deeds are often done with the best of intentions is not rubbish. Ironically enough if you had asked the civilians around the forest for their opinion, they might have shared Maria's view. It's exactly like the populistic politicians that seem to be all the rage in Europe right now. Their promises seem enticing but aren't oft based on realism or are blind to the bigger picture.

What we do know is that Maria has never been going around asking people what they want. She even seemed annoyed by the arrows wish arrows Joseph gathered for her and I don't recall her actually spending lots of time reading them. When others have tried to advice her, she's as stubborn as a mule.

The irony is that even if the village and even Anne forget about Maria, Bernard, prideful asshole that he is, never will. He'll always remember his victory over the influence of the blasphemous witch who dared to be named after the holy virgin. Bernard has built her up in his own mind as his greatest foe, and in turn given her even more power. She's free to lose her virginity and lose that power, but his plan has backfired already by his own revolting nature.


But there is also something else that doesn't add up. Where did Bernard get this pot of "rape aphrodisiac" to give to Galfa? Where did Gilbert and Bernard get medicine that is as good as Maria's? That's when it hit me.

The peculiar unnamed girl in the OP appeared in episode 6 giving medicine and information to Gilbert around the 9:15 minute mark. It was a short scene and easily overlooked. Until this episode. This was before Galfa got injured and before Martha ran out of Maria's medicine.

I'll bet Galfa's right arm that she's the Church's witch.

Bernard was willing to recruit Maria all the way back if she would, "repent her evil ways," until she pissed him off. The church has much to gain by being able to obtain healing medicines and use them on random villagers. They can then claim that the grace of God and the receiver's faith was what enabled mere herbs to heal the sick. It worked on Martha, her family, and the other villagers. It's started to confuse poor Anne.

That mysterious girl is giving the church the same means that Maria uses, while using their superior societal position to gain further power and influence. It was no surprise that they are hypocrites, but the loop finally closed. Gilbert might not realize it, but Bernard definitely knows who he is conspiring with.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Of course she is. It doesn't matter, however. The world is full of people who think they know better than yourself what makes you happy and they aren't too shy to share their opionions or even force their decisions on others. The saying that the worst deeds are often done with the best of intentions is not rubbish. Ironically enough if you had asked the civilians around the forest for their opinion, they might have shared Maria's view. It's exactly like the populistic politicians that seem to be all the rage in Europe right now. Their promises seem enticing but aren't oft based on realism or are blind to the bigger picture.

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I don't quite get what you're trying to say. What I am saying, is that Maria obviously does care about what other people think. She's shocked that people still want to fight, that they think her medicine was poison, and that her actions weren't actually making people happy. She's not self-assured at all.

So if she's so altruistic, she should really listen and think about the feedback she's getting instead of acting on emotion (aptly said, this episode).

My problem with all of this is that her taking action (after some thought) a few episodes ago was supposed to mean she came to some form of realisation. Presumably she decided she was selfish after all and would act on her own terms regardless of what the recipients of her help thought. We're quickly reminded that that's in fact not the case. She does care an awful lot about how her actions affect people. So then, what exactly was the purpose of that whole scene? She's as lost now as she was before her last battle.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

What we do know is that Maria has never been going around asking people what they want. She even seemed annoyed by the arrows wish arrows Joseph gathered for her and I don't recall her actually spending lots of time reading them. When others have tried to advice her, she's as stubborn as a mule.

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It's work. Everyone gets annoyed at work. Even business owners from time to time.

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Originally Posted by Ryll

But there is also something else that doesn't add up. Where did Bernard get this pot of "rape aphrodisiac" to give to Galfa? Where did Gilbert and Bernard get medicine that is as good as Maria's? That's when it hit me.

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See, I've always seen Maria as an available healer. Her importance never really struck me as being able to treat diseases that other people couldn't, but either were unavailable to do so or weren't doing it for free.

Everything you said makes sense though.

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

I'll bet Galfa's right arm that she's the Church's witch.

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Excellent observation. I never spent the time to analyse it and it surely backfired. Good thing you posted it here.

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I don't quite get what you're trying to say. What I am saying, is that Maria obviously does care about what other people think. She's shocked that people still want to fight, that they think her medicine was poison, and that her actions weren't actually making people happy. She's not self-assured at all.

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She indeed seems to care about what the people think about her and her chosen path, but she still doesn't care about what the people themselves want or wish for. This contradiction suggest high immaturity, but that's hardly anything new. After all, it's the core of all the jokes Artemis keeps cracking. If she was older and wiser, and more jaded, she wouldn't give a damn about what the common rabble thinks about her. Just like a feudal king wouldn't.

Episode 9 - HS






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Galfa did what he was paid to do without hesitation but he also avoided betraying Joseph 100%. I kind of doubt those two can go back to how they used to be, if Joseph is a man at all and not a Buddha, but seeing how diplomatic Joseph is, I doubt he will have Galfa pick up his glove. I can't believe he was naive, no, stupid enough to go to the count to beg for leniency. Maria has ruined the count's wars so many times that they are practically enemies. The count also wouldn't give a shit about some lowly peasants Maria might have helped, so that's a useless point. Seems like Joseph (and possibly the count if he wasn't simply lying), were misjudging the church. They default on burning a witch. Although that's hardly surprising coming from Joseph who seems to trust everybody and expects the best from each and every person he sees.

Hard to say what will happen next since the priest is so insane. Joseph should have his hands full in any case. He's being sent to the battle again, yet he should concentrate on getting Maria out before she's burned or worse.

Viv trying to fight Michael was pretty funny. I didn't see that coming. Not that the stupid, robot angel wouldn't deserve to be sent down to eat dirt. Too bad I don't see that happening. He seems worlds above the witches in power.

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Originally Posted by Kraco

Seems like Joseph (and possibly the count if he wasn't simply lying), were misjudging the church. They default on burning a witch.
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Hard to say what will happen next since the priest is so insane.

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They actually don't default to burning a witch. Bernard wanted to burn her right away, but Gilbert, as their administrator, refused to do so. He was adamant that they follow procedure and proceed with the trial. Her "sins" resulting in any manner of punishments. Though this is likely before the widespread use of the Malleus Maleficarum, Gilbert is probably following the loose collection of rules about prosecuting witches.

This builds even further on Bernard's complete corruption. He doesn't like to follow the very strict adherence to procedures that clergy usually love, he takes commits sins of pride with his stupid cider, and now his little outburst from Maria's short use of logic, and subsequently reverence for Maria from his own baffling delusions.

I was briefly tempted to say that Bernard's temporary loss of faith was absurd. But the guy is clearly unhinged if such a minor thing could cause him to question his faith like a robot contemplating the question of whether God could make a pizza so big that He couldn't eat it. He's never been a very good priest, too focused on political power. He's all talk and no heart. The exact opposite of Gilbert who is sparse on words and big on following the rules and serving (even if who he serves is a fraud). Gilbert at least means well, even if he is too strict.

It was nice to see that Gilbert may have finally realized how corrupt Bernard is, and how Maria tries to exemplify actually doing good works because of her lack of faith in higher powers doing a damn thing to help anyone.

I didn't get a feeling Gilbert had anything at all against burning Maria. He merely wanted to follow the procedure, which is more logical than not. He looked like a by the book kind of person anyway from the beginning. Bernard obviously wanted to speed things up since he's more interested in finishing his greater plans than any formality. Although who knows now after his delusional discussion with Maria. He might want to burn Maria even more, actually, as his bible is clearly missing more than a few pages, so he might see some greater purpose in burning her, greater than just getting rid of her. For example burning her like a martyr would somehow cement whatever he thinks he got out of that strange conversation.

I didn't actually mean the church as a whole at that point in history. I meant this particular church led by the likes of Bernard and assisted by Gilbert. Obviously the count (and Joseph) thought he knew the church practices normally based on his long life and stuff. He probably didn't anticipate this time the church would rather be following Bernard's plans, not any old customs. Though I suppose that would be the case most of time: Whoever happened to be in charge would decide how things are done, unless restless masses were demanding blood. And unless Vatican had sent in some inquisitors.

Malleus Maleficarum was an interesting book. A long time ago I borrowed it from the university library.

I don't think Bernard's monologue was as insane as it seemed. He is an intellectual and is well versed in theology. The problem is, theology doesn't really make scientific sense. Maria's seemingly common sense comments actually do hit the largest assumptions made by Christianity. It just so happened Bernard has read more in depth writing on them and started extrapolating on Maria's words.

Maybe he's agnostic now?

Seems to me like Bernard's reached an epiphany, where he believes that a god exists but also knows that there is no way to confirm that as such - that while his heart believes one exists his actions must do as if one doesn't. Somehow that was extrapolated from "I think, therefore I am". From the very beginning, he was very intrigued that Maria shared the same name as the Holy Virgin, so this is a nice continuation of that fixation.

Episode 10 - HS



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I didn't like this episode quite as much as all the other eps so far. Bernard suddenly losing interest in Maria might actually make sense since it looked like he got what he wanted, or rather much more, out of her in the previous episode, and in the first place Maria as an individual wasn't originally of much interest to him. He just wanted to get rid of her influence. Maria's attempted burning and saving, however, had zilch impact and thus meaningfulness in my opinion. It could be she realised something during it, but maybe not. I don't know what I wanted to happen there, but something more than this. At least Viv put up a jolly good show, as long as it lasted. Dovey was naturally as useless as ever, since that's her fate.

But what is Galfa thinking? Why would he suddenly attack Joseph, or even hide from him earlier? It's clear Joseph would be angry and accuse him, but why would Galfa go out of his way to avoid any confrontation before suddenly lauching a sneak attack? I guess he pulled one trick too many and along with the murder of the officer, he's actually in a very poor mental condition. Dunno if he's capable of guilt, but it could be fear that's driving him forward now.

Who knows what Joseph should do. One might think growing some balls would be good for him, but would he then anymore get along with Maria? I reckon Joseph being such a naive idealist was the reason why those two could hit it off.

I rather liked this episode.

I didn't expect the young girl to be Edwina's cat, but our Little Inquisitor That Could realized quite definitively that he's been working with witches this whole time. I had hoped he was doing it under the table for the hypocrisy, but I suppose this works just as well.

Edwina's speech made Maria realize that she does it to save people. She was beginning to wonder if she was doing it for selfish reasons, but she remembered that she does it because she knows that people suffer the most during wars. Even if they hate her, even if they'd gladly see her burned, even if they betray her. Scare off bloodthirsty idiots, save the dozen pressed into service next to them.

It's for the same reasons that Viv was screaming at Michael. Witches like Maria and herself love people, and God does not.

Viv looks better without the drills.

I can't really blame Joseph here. His plan is the most realistic, even if it is still naive. Trying to break Maria out is just ridiculous without superpowers, as seen in this episode. Of course, if he knew she was going to get burned much earlier, he would have risked his life just like the rest of them.

Bernard is not out of the picture yet. He must be planning something after his epiphany.

Galfa's story is very simple. He was an evil bastard from the beginning with embers of a conscience. Having done what he has in the past few episodes, that disappeared. Joseph has become an enemy and an obstacle in his path to glory, so he has to kill him. He was hiding earlier because he was looking for a chance to ambush Joseph without being seen by his comrades. He is killing an ally, after all.

God and his angels are hilarious. They are obviously not all knowing since witches get away with crap all the time, but they are ridiculously powerful. Michael's words are a pile of contradictions. Why do they even care about what witches do in the human world if they treat humans like wheat? Preserving this illogical "order" has become their purpose, but what purpose that "order" serves is lost on me. It's not like the witches can ever compare to them in power, so fear of revolt is out of the picture. It's like they are maintaining rules that are there just so they can be exercised. Does heaven even get anything from maintaining order? Do they get powered by belief just like the other supernatural beings, and by purging those and leaving only the Church they become more powerful? That sort of makes sense if they weren't so OP right now.

I really liked Viv's speech. I also loved the fact that she was ecstatic she could finally say what she always thought. God knows no love. If you look at (their?) reality, that makes perfect sense.

I love Maria. Maria is, in short, different. That is why she is being persecuted. Not for being a witch, but for being an odd witch. Humans have always loved doing that, and that was portrayed perfectly in this episode. People really do love watching executions. People want something to hate, and they'll find any excuse to do it. There are exceptions, but Maria doesn't even care about that. She could have protected her small group of friends without attracting the wrath of heaven, but she chose to pursue her ideals. Granted, her ideals are ridiculous and even more naive than Joseph, but that's still far better than the goals of the asshat humans in the show.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

God and his angels are hilarious. They are obviously not all knowing since witches get away with crap all the time, but they are ridiculously powerful. Michael's words are a pile of contradictions. Why do they even care about what witches do in the human world if they treat humans like wheat? Preserving this illogical "order" has become their purpose, but what purpose that "order" serves is lost on me. It's not like the witches can ever compare to them in power, so fear of revolt is out of the picture. It's like they are maintaining rules that are there just so they can be exercised. Does heaven even get anything from maintaining order? Do they get powered by belief just like the other supernatural beings, and by purging those and leaving only the Church they become more powerful? That sort of makes sense if they weren't so OP right now.

I really liked Viv's speech. I also loved the fact that she was ecstatic she could finally say what she always thought. God knows no love. If you look at (their?) reality, that makes perfect sense.

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It seems to me God and his angels are based on the old things, like the ten commandments. That is, a pile of prohibitions, a strict order. A strict order purposefully challenged by the free will to choose between salvation and damnation. Looks like magic isn't included in the free will, probably because it would lessen the faith in the order. When people were as helpless as most were during those times, never even travelling and seeing the world, nothing they did made any difference apart from their own lives. However, a witch with a great magic power would potentially affect the lives of many, so the order is disrupted.

To be fair, we've never even seen God so who knows what it's thinking. For all we know, Michael's just talking shit and following orders literally from a piece of rock.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryll

Viv looks better without the drills.

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Perhaps. But Viv looks good anyway, and fabulous Viv is best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta

It's not like the witches can ever compare to them in power, so fear of revolt is out of the picture. It's like they are maintaining rules that are there just so they can be exercised. Does heaven even get anything from maintaining order? Do they get powered by belief just like the other supernatural beings, and by purging those and leaving only the Church they become more powerful? That sort of makes sense if they weren't so OP right now.

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It's supposedly God's will to let humans do what they want within their own power. God created man in his little sandbox and wants to see what they do. Then some annoying little sister interferes (don't ask me where she came from, but she's got PowerUser rights) by playing favouritism.

God doesn't play favouritism. That's what you do when you love.

That's what got Maria stumped when Joseph told her to let France win for the greater good. She decided she loves the peace and those who are peaceful more. Those who don't like it can go play with dragons.

God decides all humans are equally worthy so they should go sort their own problems out. Maria was right in saying that if God was universal then he might as well not exist at all. It's always funny to see two medieval armies praying for victory.

But that doesn't answer god's motive.

Why did god make humans? Why does god look at them that way?

Is it all just an experiment of sorts? If so, for what purpose?

Basically, they are spouting all this stuff about universal laws and how they should be protected, but laws exist for a reason. For what reason do those laws exist?

If we're going along with Christianity, weren't the events something like:

1) God created humans
2) Humans did something wrong
3) God punished humans (hell etc)
4) Jesus repented for all humans
5) God forgave them

So now God's stance is something like "Fine, I'm no longer punishing you all. I'll just let you do your thing."

There's also an argument that God created the world of humans for humans, not for supernatural beings to screw around with humans. As for universal laws, you can think of them as being human laws (you shall not murder) but also as natural laws (Sun rises in the east, for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction, dead people do not revive). I don't know if there's a "reason" for such things to exist, but perhaps it's to maintain a balance or order to the world.

I think this is as close as I can get to "understanding the will of God".

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edit: going with the wheat analogy, God's take on the world "This is my farm. Don't fuck with my farm."

That just means that god's will is a mystery even in this show.

That's not surprising.

Episode 11 - HS



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I can only imagine at this point Michael has completely given up on trying to understand what's going on inside Maria's head. She surely got thrilled by Joseph's confession and proposal, and the best part was that announcement in front of Michael, right after she had probably majorly pissed him off again by the grand, public magical spectacle.

Joseph was pitiful for most of the episode and it looks like he can't fight worth shit, but at least he gathered his wits before the end. I wouldn't have guessed Galfa hated him so much, considering how relatively much time they spent together. The gap between their world views and backgrounds was just too wide.

Ezekiel will probably be taken away, but I dare trust we will get a happy end otherwise.

Falling in love, getting married and having kids is also part of the natural order the Archangel spoke of so I wonder what his next move is going to be. Since she did put up on grand display of magic.

You can still marry without having sex. It'll be a shame if our two owls were to never speak again.

Lolotte's pretty amazing. She takes everything in her stride. Galfa banging someone else.. Galfa killing his superior.. Galfa losing a fight. Just another day for Lolotte.

Everything would work out fine if Michael just removed Maria's curse. Maybe they can work out a simple deal. Maria doesn't want fighting to happen around her, so she can just move to an isolated island with Joseph and the gang and live happily there until he dies. Then she can go bat nuts with magic again and deal with Michael after a generation.

I can't believe Maria tried to back out of her confession after Joseph apologized to her. It's painfully obvious he's head over heels for her. Even the times when she said Joseph prioritized the lord over her, he was actually acting with her best interests in mind. The two lovebirds need a little more confidence in the romance department, but I guess that problem has been fixed with their engagement and all.

The most amazing part of this episode was Lolotte carrying a man much larger than her in armor while carrying other crap and walking away like it was nothing. I seriously considered she might be a witch when I saw that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

The most amazing part of this episode was Lolotte carrying a man much larger than her in armor while carrying other crap and walking away like it was nothing. I seriously considered she might be a witch when I saw that.

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Modern day women have just gotten soft because of the chivalry movement and the church(es). Sexism is caused by the idea that women needed to be protected and submissive. That thought has pervaded to this day...and it isn't even remotely true.

Lolotte and her crew are a good example of that.

Compare Galfa to Joseph in regards to how they treat women around them. Joseph has this screwed up idea that Maria needed his protection and couldn't protect herself, when all she wanted was for him to stay nearby and reassure her that her ideals were not wrong. Even depowered from her near-deflowering, Maria was more than capable of fighting just with her brash behavior.

Galfa may seem like a rat-bastard to Joseph and other knights, but he understands women. Lolotte heads right for the front lines with the rest of her crew to scavenge, and Galfa and the other mercs let them go about their business, not worrying if they're going to get caught or killed. He has faith in them. He also screwed that princess, but it sure wasn't like he forced her or anything. Hell, he barely had to seduce her. Women like sex, Galfa knows it, and she didn't protest until she got caught by her idiot suitor...and was actually only half-assed about complaining at all.

Why are tsunderes so popular? Because they have fire, aren't submissive, and don't need that much protection.

Quote:

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Joseph was pitiful for most of the episode and it looks like he can't fight worth shit,

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That's mean... Joseph is a kid, he's probably somewhere between 15-17 years old, while Galfa is a Merc with years of combat experience and in his mid 20s.
The fact that he was able to hold out this long is impressive.

Yet Joseph is what Galfa wanted to be, but never could.... not only because of his poor background, but also because of what the world made him do/see and probably how his surroundings changed his views about the world.

Poor Galfa

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KrayZ33

That's mean... Joseph is a kid, he's probably somewhere between 15-17 years old, while Galfa is a Merc with years of combat experience and in his mid 20s.
The fact that he was able to hold out this long is impressive.

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I wasn't comparing Joseph to Galfa. It's obvious Galfa's fighting ability would be words above Joseph's. However, Joseph looked like he had only ever hold the sword in his hand when he oiled it, never in battle or even practice. His combat sense were no less catastrophic, but I guess that natural since he had zilch experience. In that sense Galfa was right: He should have run. There's nothing more annoying than a fool who thinks he can win a fight simply because he thinks his cause is righteous (unfortunately in shounen that's usually enough).

But Joseph won. By luck. And a very awesome girlfriend.

Strength and experience are WAY overrated.

Galfa could have finished him off in 30 seconds if he had really wanted to. But even Galfa wasn't that rotten. If Galfa was a smarter man, I could almost say this was, more or less, his plan all along. He got the goody two-shoes really angry and violent, which indeed did fill Joseph with regret. It also finally pushed Joseph to propose to Maria. I mean, even a battle scarred veteran would have got progressively more and more annoyed looking at and listening to Joseph rant about Maria endlessly, yet not chase her romantically.

Galfa's goal was to break Joseph, not kill him. He'll still kill him afterwards, but breaking comes first.

And he failed. Because of random factors. AKA Luck.

Luck is the best skill there is. Even the most powerful knight would die when hit by a renegade meteorite.

I'm kidding, btw.

I disagree with all who claim luck to be a "skill" because it cheapens real "skill" to be something as random as luck. It's similar to when someone attributes skill to 100% talent without acknowledging hard work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I disagree with all who claim luck to be a "skill" because it cheapens real "skill" to be something as random as luck. It's similar to when someone attributes skill to 100% talent without acknowledging hard work.

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Fortune favours the bold. That's just how it goes, especially in battle. It's super effective if the opponent is a boring person who only believes in numbers and attributes. This is why I say luck is a skill.

Quote:

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Joseph looked like he had only ever hold the sword in his hand when he oiled it, never in battle or even practice.

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Of course he did look like that, because he was fighting someone with much more experience and much stronger than him, it's like a teacher fighting his disciple.
Professional vs amateur.
Champions League vs 2. league in any country.

Doesn't mean he can't handle the sword, just means that the other person recieved way more training and practice.

Allow me to repeat myself: I wasn't comparing him to Galfa. I don't know why you are. They are totally in different leagues. I doubt he could have beaten Lolotte in an honest fight, either. He's simply carrying his weapon for ceremonial purposes, which is fine as long as he stays far from battles, let alone wars.

Quote:

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Allow me to repeat myself: I wasn't comparing him to Galfa. I don't know why you are.

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Because you are, you judge him from what you saw him doing against Galfa. He managed to defeat Levies/Conscripts and protected his comrades with his shield before this episode, showing us that he is able to hold his ground in combat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Lolotte's pretty amazing. She takes everything in her stride. Galfa banging someone else.. Galfa killing his superior.. Galfa losing a fight. Just another day for Lolotte.

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Even more amazing is she can carry Galfa in armor on her left should as if he were a little brat.
And then I remembered she's pretty near battles all the time and does not get killed.
I wonder if Galfa could hold a candle against her in a fair fight :D

HS - Episode 12

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Hah, virgin Maria with a baby...

.. other than that, I don't know how Michael really came up with the decision (or how God) to let Maria off. Talking to Cernunnos convinced her that Maria is more a force of nature? "I'll continue to watch you and stop you" is just postponing things. One thing that did make a bit of sense was Maria taking the initiative to forgive God, letting him back down from having to say "Yep, we screwed up. Soz Maria".

I went and did an internet search for conclusions from the source material and ran into wiki saying:

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That all of the following are anime-only characters:

-Garfa
-Lolotte
-Yvain
-Gilbert
-Bernard
-Cernunnos

So... the entire plot was essentially anime-only I guess?

I like how the monk went poof.

This wasn't an overly dramatic ending compared to some of the previous episodes, although it wasn't bad. Quite a Hollywood ending, but then again, I think I'd have been quite annoyed if Joseph or Maria had died.

The Heavenly church (angels) were made to be utterly emotionless in this story, so in that sense Michael's opinion poll made sense. They were basically conservative, mainly interested in maintaining the status quo and hammering in any nail sticking out. However, since they were lacking opinions and motivations of their own (which is why Dovey was banished when she developed those), there was no particular reason why they wouldn't correct their concept of the current normal situation as well, to include Maria, if it seemed necessary.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

That all of the following are anime-only characters:

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Damn. Harsh.

Nice ending. I can't believe I actually liked Michael in the end. His laugh and comment about Maria's arrogance was pretty cute.

Moe has no boundaries.

I just began watching this, and thought the first episode was great. Hopefully the rest is as well.

From the impressions I got in this thread it seems that many enjoyed this series. So that's good.

We enjoyed it because Maria is so fricking hot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Munsu

I just began watching this, and thought the first episode was great. Hopefully the rest is as well.

From the impressions I got in this thread it seems that many enjoyed this series. So that's good.

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Seems like you got time on your hands recently... you seem to catch up on your backlog these days. Good, very good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

We enjoyed it because Maria is so fricking hot.

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The Succubus is even hotter though!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KrayZ33

Seems like you got time on your hands recently... you seem to catch up on your backlog these days. Good, very good.



The Succubus is even hotter though!

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It's not that I have more time, I just go through cycles. For example, in order to catch up to my anime, I've neglected watching TV Shows and reading books.

At some point I'll burn out once again watching anime, and return to reading + watching TV.

At the same time I feel a bit re-energized watching anime. Part of why I had stopped is that I became too disappointed with incomplete stories, shitty endings, and bad adaptations. I've made my peace with some of that, so sitting back and enjoying things with a bit less of a critical eye.

Drill hair witch is the best.

People and their different tastes. Pffft.

Waki Maria is clearly breastia.

I'm 3 episodes in, and surely this is not what I expected when I began it, but it's hitting all the right spots.

The whole virgin scenario and playing into her inexperience and so on, is being handled incredibly well and fun.

Don't know how the rest will develop, but loving that aspect so far.

Just finished. Overall a nice series, but it never really developed all told. Remained the same from start to finish. Amusing character interaction kept the interest, but it really didn't go much too deep with anything as I was expecting a bit more political drama and what not. But it was all superficial, but it's OK, good enough for a quick watch.