Well, that didn’t take long.
Barely a chapter after he met the young Arthur Pendragon, Hendricksen is already trying to bump him off. Say what you like about the guy, but he doesn’t muck about…
Boom. I have to admit, this chapter didn’t blow me away, but the panels featuring Hendricksen vs Arthur were pretty neat.
But that might be getting ahead of ourselves. Before Hendricksen’s brutal attack on Arthur, the peculiar female Holy Knight teleported in to impart some very interesting news: the last piece of the demon clan’s seal has been found. Looks like everything is progressing swiftly towards a showdown between the Sins and the Demon clan. Should be a hoot.
Back to that slash, then. Does it signal the end for Arthur..? Well, quite obviously, not. Not only did the cocky young king come through unscathed, but he managed to deal Hendricksen a sneaky little cut in the process. I guess that pretty much confirms Arthur as a pretty powerful character (as he was always going to be, I guess…). I’m sure he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in upcoming chapters and beyond. That, and he has a rather snazzy sword – Excalibur maybe?
Arthur Pendragon: confirmed for awesome.
I have to admit that I’m a teensy bit disappointed that Arthur won’t be facing the Sins any time soon (although I wouldn’t write it off entirely) but I am pretty pumped to see him go toe-to-toe with Hendricksen. The latter is, of course, the main villain of the series at the moment, so I don’t see him being killed off by the newly arrived Arthur, but nor do I imagine Hendricksen will sweep aside young Pendragon. My prediction, therefore, is for a sort of interrupted draw – the kind where a great power/threat/change in circumstance disrupts a great fight mid flow. You know the sort – like Jura vs Jellal back in Fairy Tail’s Grand Magic Games Arc.
You heard it here first (possibly).
The final third of the chapter moved to focus on events over at Hendricksen’s keep. There was some neat humour as the Sins escaped the attentions of the Holy Knights with Gowther’s abilities. His memory manipulation is certainly a nifty trick, but seems very fragile – it didn’t take much for the Holy Knights to come to their senses – nice, in a way, to see that he isn’t overpowered (as he appeared to be last week…)
In the keep itself, two things struck me about the conversation between Dreyfuss’ group. Firstly, Giltunder and Hauser really don’t strike me as bad guys. Gilthunder has some reason to hate Meliodas (the man, it turns out, who taught him how to handle a sword…) for the supposed murder of his father. I’m sure the truth will out, eventually, and I really think the pair of them could feature as allies, rather than enemies, in the future.
Secondly, there is another potential crack in the unity of the Holy Knights between Garda and the devious Helbram, as she voiced suspicions over the death of her father Dale (that poor chap who ended up a slavering beast sealed in Gowther’s armour a few chapter’s back…). with helbram promising her the truth, I think sparks could soon fly on this front, too.
Sudden tremors signalled the chapter’s final development: Diane’s appearance under the keep.
Call me cynical, but that seems like an awfully convenient place for her to get teleported to – I just figured she and King would turn up in Liones out in the open. Maybe an answer will present itself next chapter.
For now, though, it begs the question: can Diane defeat 6 Holy Knights..? I mean, King get smashed all over the shop by Helbram alone last time they crossed blades (or rather, blade and weird-shapeshifty-fairy-spear-thing) so even with his help, Diane’s situation (while humourous) looks pretty bleak. And then there’s the title of next week’s chapter: First Casualty. That sounds ominous, to me: could we be about to see one of the Sins at least seriously injured – most likely (given her current predicament) Diane?
In other news, does anyone else really want a FREE BAN PLUSHIE?!?! Screw the lead colour, just give me the toy…
It’s a worrying thought, but one that keeps my interest. Next week’s chapter looks to be a bit of a beast, so I’m hoping for some mega-developments!
Back to this week, though…
THE GOOD!
- Arthur vs Hendricksen is go. The art was good, Arthur is as cocky and as arrogant a badass as I had hoped he would be, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.
- The ending really caught my interest. Could we be about to see one of the Sins really have to fight for their life..?
THE BAD!
- Not bad as much, but this chapter didn’t really grab me in the way the previous chapter did. We’re moving towards good stuff, that much is apparent, but the lack of anything conclusive or really standout (like the reveal of Arthur, say, or Gowther using his abilities for the first time) made it feel slightly flat – the powder is all there, sure, but it still needs a spark to ignite into explosive life… Hopefully this will be rectified next time.
Overall: A neat chapter with some good art and set-up that never really sparks into full-force. I give it 6/10.
Koba out.
Sleeping Geeks 