Radiant Episode 14 Review: The Bell Tolls the Sound of Destruction – Catastrophe –

Chaos! Utter chaos! If last week’s Radiant episode was a riot, then this was a catastrophe! The title is very accurate. There was even a lot of ‘what the hell’ moments. Like, ‘did that really happen?’ Everything’s just super messed up. By the way, there’s something you probably don’t want to be spoiled about in this episode, so better make sure you’ve watched it first!

Japanese Original Episode Title: 崩壊の鐘の音 -Catastrophe-

Plot

Konrad and Seth have finally met face-to-face! Unfortunately, our protagonist easily lost the first part of their battle and got captured, along with Melie and Taj. While Melie was reunited with the ailing Doc in a cage, Seth and Taj were brought before the citizens in Twelfth Street. There, Konrad declared his intent to wipe out everyone in it: normal, infected, and immigrants alike. Needless to say, mass panic ensued.

Episode Highlights

Konrad’s true motives: Wow, all this time I thought Konrad only wanted to eradicate sorcerers and immigrants, but he actually wanted to destroy even the very ones he encouraged to do a witch hunt! He spurred them on, knowing full well that those who had different views from him would rise up and stand out! But then, if he didn’t share the same views as them, what exactly did he want? He said he wanted Rumble Town to be beautiful and pure again, so was he going for a peaceful town without the haters, the sorcerers, and immigrants, but at the expense of massacring them? No wonder Dragunov was subtly trying to stop him. The guy’s such an extremist, but for his personal, crooked beliefs! Maybe he’s the one who should go so that Rumble Town will become how he envisions it…

The Domitor appears: The girl with the flute has also finally entered the stage, yet it seemed that she was doing her own thing? Konrad was a bit surprised at the spectacle she was making. She looked like she was trying to reenact the tragedy of 15 years ago, which I think Konrad was also trying to accomplish. But, I wonder if she had her own motives and was actually the one using him, instead of the other way around?

Unexpected allies: The misunderstanding between Grimm and Seth has been cleared up at last, and they became sudden allies! Which is great because having such a powerful sorcerer as him on our side made things a little easier! Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop the female sorcerer immediately because he had to save people first, which spoke a lot about his priorities. Just like our other unlikely ally, Dragunov! As I suspected before, he ended up helping Seth and the others, though indirectly and for a different reason. He set aside his differences with Melie, a sorcerer, because he knew his priority was to save the townsfolk first! He really is the best example of how an Inquisitor should be. I just feel sad that he let things go this far, but I guess he couldn’t do anything yet since Rumble Town isn’t under his jurisdiction? Maybe he only had the freedom to move when the people were in immediate danger.

Doc?: Okay, first of all, how did Doc end up in that sorry state so fast? Was he actually sick in the previous episode? I thought he was only incredibly stressed out, or hungry from all the commotion. Second of all, did he really die? What in the world? I’m not sure if what I’m feeling is denial or unbelief. This show seems too lighthearted for someone to actually get killed off, let alone a main character. But then again, this show’s been tackling such deep topics, and if someone were to die, this would be a perfect time. I don’t want to believe it yet, though. Doc has been in all sorts of danger, I don’t believe something this vague will kill him off. For now, I’ll just think that Melie needed a huge motivation to stop this mess.

Taj’s mission: Poor boy! He finally had the courage to fight back against those who persecuted him and his family, which is great! But he didn’t succeed in opening the gates! Well, he managed to open one, but he got caught before he opened the second. I hope he doesn’t blame himself too hard for it!

Themes & Trivia

White steel: Did you know that this metal actually exists? Though, not against Fantasia. White steel is very popular for high-end Japanese cutlery. There are two types, White #1 Steel and White #2 Steel.

Comments

Kudos to the writers and animators! This episode successfully made me feel the chaos, as if I was one of the characters caught up in the confusion! We also didn’t know what was truly happening, nor what the enemies’ motives were. I truly think this uncertainty is a good thing, because it amped up the experience. The episode became more intriguing to watch thanks to that!

There were some shots that I felt they could’ve improved more though, like when Konrad’s men shot the canons and Grimm caught them with his magic. I had to figure out what just happened because, were the canons that were supposed to destroy a whole area really that small? Stuff like that. But all in all, it was pretty enjoyable and I was hooked!

The day has come

It’s a wonder how this mess will get solved, but before that happens, we have to get a bunch of answers first! Thankfully the next episode has Hameline, the Domitor, telling us about the incident 15 years ago. Let’s hope it sheds a lot of light on what’s going on.

Share what you thought of this episode over at the comments section! Also, if you’re still on the lookout for new series to follow this season, we’ve got our Winter 2019 reviews, as well as our First Episode Impressions. Why not check them out and see what catches your interest?

NEXT TIME: With Fists Like Shooting Stars – Burst –