As each episode proceeds, we are finding out more and more about King Bosse’s and Miranjo’s backstory. Coming off a tragic ending to episode 18, we may have finally uncovered the motivating factor behind Miranjo’s plot to muck up King Bosse’s kingdom.

Taking Away Miranjo’s Innocence

Understanding Miranjo, is like understanding a child’s pure innocent nature. Then, when you have done absolutely nothing and the deadly sins of humanity finds a way to pray off your innocence—that tragedy is a recipe for something broadly becoming more sinister. That sense of betrayal, distrust and darkness manifesting, is forever breeding and feeding inside the belly of the beast. We finally understand why Miranjo is acting and making the decisions, the way she is. When the betrayal of the Gyakuzan townspeople took away her mother and her face, we can assume that represents her purity and humanity’s trust .

Miranjo, Rebuilding Her Trust in Humanity

When Miranjo transfers Despa and Bojji to purgatory, where Kage is about to cross over, Miranjo stops Kage. Kage, remembering that he still has a purpose to protect and help Bojji, thanks Miranjo. Once Miranjo starts to blush about Kage’s thankfulness, we may be starting to see what she truly wants out of this grand scheme of hers. This may be the biggest scene yet, that reveals what Miranjo’s true intentions are.

When Miranjo appears fully faced with the trapped Prince Daida, she literally says, “she must’ve been saved.” The thoughtfulness, thankfulness and care that Kage displayed to Miranjo for saving him, was that representation of that innocence being saved.

Bebin Makes his Entrance onto the Battlefield!

After about 14 minutes into the episode, we finally get back to the action. We’ve seen the other 3 characters of the “Big 4,” have their shine in the series and the last one to take part in cool action scenes is Bebin! What the show has done with Bebin, has been nothing short of remarkable. The show’s ability to consistently shift the perception of his character from the, “bad prince’s handler.” To, “is this guy really bad?” To “Oh crap, Bebin is such a badass character!” This episode really highlights Bebin as being the smartest and wittiest of the “Big 4.”

Ranking of King’s Storytelling is Brilliant!

This show’s storytelling is absolutely amazing! The viewer is truly tricked, when you make them believe one thing, when it is not. The show’s ability to take a character’s pre-conceived expectation and toy with the misdirection is a surefire tantalizing experience to watch. What makes me truly respect the work the writer achieved from watching this anime, is the fact that he cleverly achieved ways the characters got around a situation—like a “King’s command to kill someone,” without inputting some cheat-code power. That’s what makes a character like Bebin, truly amazing. The ability to present a character’s foresight, smarts and wit through his actions, is hard to do and this show has most definitely achieved it, at the highest of levels.

While all of this “King Bosse and Miranjo situation” is occurring, there is so many developing characters with their own trials and tribulations, working around the scenarios they were forced in. The show’s ability to portray and build these characters through the series is again, truly a great experience!

What is King Bosse and Miranjo Testing?

As the episode transitions away from Miranjo, we get the true test of the Kingdom’s mightiest fighters. The Big 4: Dorshe, Bebin, Apeas and Domas, all arrive to help save Prince Bojji. This is all culminating into a final battle against King Desha and Despa’s immortal brother, Ouken.

The “Big 4,” have all been put into positions to fail and yet, they have come together to this point, late in the season. Apeas went against Miranjo to save Queen Hiling and Dorshe because of loyalty. Bebin was ordered by King Daida at the behest of the “Magic Mirror,” at the time, to kill Apeas. Dorshe, was purposely put in the position of King Bosse himself, to protect Queen Hiling and allowed the ‘hit’ by Miranjo to assassinate Queen Hiling. When it comes to Domas, he pretty much failed, when it came to finding a way out of a no-win situation like Bebin. Domas, needed this to happen, in order for him to grow and build his true resolve and loyalty to Prince Bojji. These were all clearly tests for the kingdom’s most trusted “Big 4.”

The beginning of the episode with Miranjo, sets up the second half of the episode beautifully. The person setting up this nightmare situation for the kingdom is regaining her hope and innocence. Having witnessed the adversity of all these characters, testing their wits and loyalty; this is where we may see a huge shift in perception of Miranjo’s plot.

Last Thoughts

This episode answers a lot of our questions regarding Miranjo’s backstory and motivations. The scene with her and Prince Daida represented a passing of something deep and dark within her, that may have been uplifted. We will soon get the full scoop.

Regardless, of what you think about Miranjo and her plot, we definitely got to see many characters develop overtime to finally get the “Big 4,” coming together to fight a common enemy. The story that leads us to get to this point, has been truly stunning to watch. At this point, we know who each character is and what they are capable of. And the episode ended on a great cliff-hanger, just as the battle is shifting back into Ouken’s favor. I perceived this show at first glance, like how I perceived A Promisted Neverland. The animation is so-so and seems generic on the surface. What can’t be judged, is the storytelling. In which, both series gets an ‘A’ in my books. (Excluding the season 2 anime of “A Promised Neverland”).