Naww. I think Guila x Gowther could be something beautiful. In, you know, an incredibly awkward, borderline sociopathic way.
But enough of the silly shipping: on with the review! And what can I say? On that evidence, I guess the new generation aren’t even in the same league as the old. I mean, Gowther basically talk-no-jutsued Threader into submission, after having his neck broken. And that didn’t kill him how, exactly? Ugh.
This was exciting for at least about 30 seconds…
I guess the sudden reversal hints at something darker in Gowther’s powers, which is intriguing, but otherwise this fight felt a bit flat. If his apparent resistance to having his neck snapped isn’t explained in the future, then that’s really dumb. And to top it all, it was over so quickly… I wasn’t expecting much from this fight, but it still felt like a bit of a disappointment.
One thing I would say is that Gowther’s horribly misjudged attempts at social interaction – even in the heart of battle – were generally pretty humourous. He is without doubt one of the most social-awkward characters I’ve ever encountered in manga, and I rather adore him for it.
To be fair, I’d probably react the same way if someone who’s neck I’d just snapped interrupted me…
Add to that Threader’s brilliant reaction to Gowther (who had just had his neck broken) interrupting his backstory-monologue and you have a pretty funny fight, if not a particularly satisfying one. So some points for that, I guess.
As a side note, while I really can’t say I gave much of a toss about Threader’s backstory, his interaction with the King of Liones and the revelation (of sorts) that the Seven Deadly Sins reported directly to the King – and not the Holy Knights – AND that Dawn Roar are their successors was all very interesting, if not groundbreaking. His allusion to the king of Liones having some sort of ‘power’ is noteworthy: what kind of ability did the King possess? I mean, we know next to nothing about the guy other than that he’s afflicted with some terrible illness, so it was good to get something (if not much…)
What really didn’t make sense to me was Threader’s decision to about-turn and go and see the King to get the truth of the Seven Deadly Sins after speaking with Gowther for all of about three pages. I mean, Gowther’s a persuasive guy, I’m sure, but his argument was all pretty obvious. The fact that the Great Knights seem to have usurped the kingdom from the King is hardly a masterfully hidden secret, but Threader seemed shocked by the revelation. Who knows? Maybe Threader isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, and genuinely hadn’t entertained such possibilities before. Whatever the reason, it seemed a bit daft to me…
Fortunately, though, the final third of the chapter brought us back to the slugfest between Geera (now translated as Guila, apparently), Hauser and the Holy Knights. Predictably, their impressive attack achieved all of nothing, with both Dreyfuss and the ever-slippery Helbram (god, I hate that guy… in a good way) walking out of the maelstrom completely unscathed. Who saw that coming? Ok, everyone. But it sure looked cool…
To finish off, there was just time for a bit of a showpiece ending, as Gowther (who must run like Usain Bolt) arriving to rescue Guila from the inevitable Holy Knight counter-attack. I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before that couple is shipped all over the place… Or maybe that’s just my imagination. Anyway, awkward potential romance aside, it’ll be fantastic to see what Gowther can do against the might of Dreyfuss, Helbram and Gilthunder. I for one am hoping for big, big things…
So, all in all, a good end to an otherwise rather forgettable chapter.
THE GOOD!!
- The humour was pretty cool. Gowther is fantastically awkward, and it was great to see him playing to character even in life or death situations.
- The hints at the King’s past with the Sins could open up a whole , and the role of Threader in later issues could be interesting…
THE BAD!
- The central fight was poor, rushed, and won with ridiculous ease and in silly circumstances. IF a genuinely good reason for Gowther surviving having his neck broken presents itself, I might reconsider, but to me it seemed a bit ludicrous… Hmmph.
- Even worse, it got in the way of the tons of other, cooler stuff going on right now. I want to see Guila and Dreyfuss do battle, or Arthur and Hendricksen, trading sledgehammer blows, dammit!!!
Overall: A bit disappointing, this chapter wasn’t the best, but at least it picked up towards the end. I give it a 5/10.
Sleeping Geeks 
Very good review but I disagree in some things:
First, Gowther surviving the neck snapping: It has been stated several times that he isn’t a human and he has survived other lethal things before (the giant armor and Diane smashing him), so we can more or less excuse that.
” I mean, we know next to nothing about the guy other than that he’s afflicted with some terrible illness, so it was good to get something (if not much…)
What really didn’t make sense to me was Threader’s decision to about-turn and go and see the King[…] The fact that the Great Knights seem to have usurped the kingdom from the King is hardly a masterfully hidden secret, but Threader seemed shocked by the revelation.”
The King is imprisoned in the dungeons along his oldest daughter. The illness is only an excuse for the GHKs taking the wheel. So Threader thinks the King is bedridden and the GHKs are doing his job until he recovers. After Gowther talk, he realizes he only has the GHKs’s word about it and he is going to check if the King is really ill in his room… or if he is mysteriously missed.
I agree with the rest of your opinion, though. The battle was cool and I want to see how the Hendricksen vs Arthur ends. Adios.
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Thanks for reading!
That is very true, thinking about it… It just felt a bit unsatisfactory in the context of the fight. But with precedent, you’re right, it makes sense. I just guess I’d have liked to see Gowther and Threader actually go toe-to-toe for a bit longer…
You’re right, the king being imprisoned rather than actually ill makes sense, as does Threader’s decision to go an see for himself. Again, to me, though, it just felt a bit like spinning on a sixpence in that Gowther suggested something and Threader agreed with it straight away. I’d have thought he might just take some more convincing to make that kind of decision than hearing a story from a supposed traitor. But hey, it sure makes for an interesting plot twist 😀
Yeh, I just want to see more Arthur! So cool…
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