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With all the rape, sex trafficking, and slavery shown, it’s a bit of an understatement to call this a deeply uncomfortable episode. It’s to the point that, even if I watch this series again sometime down the road, I’ll almost certainly skip over this one. That said, I don’t think this is a bad episode in any objective sense. Rather I think it does a great job at what it’s trying to do—i.e., make you disgusted and horrified at Maha’s treatment in this fantasy world.
Unlike past episodes, this one is told almost exclusively through the eyes of someone other than Lugh—in this case, Maha, the girl destined to become the final member of Lugh’s assassin group. The story starts by establishing that she is a clever and educated 10 year old—taking a group of older homeless girls and turning them into a legitimate tour guide business. However, we learn all too soon that even a smart mind and the ability to use mana can’t save her from the world of evil men.
From there, we see the growing horror of her new life—as she and the other girls make the dresses that they will be forced to wear when they are eventually rented out as prostitutes. Slowly but surely, they break in different ways—escaping their inescapable situation one way or another. One becomes an emotionless doll. Another takes a sickle to her face—hoping no man will want a disfigured woman. Maha, as the youngest, is forced to watch in growing dread as her time grows ever closer—she’s considering the sickle escape herself when Lugh shows up to save her.
And here’s where it gets even more fucked up. From Maha’s point of view, Lugh is her knight in shining armor. But we know Lugh and can see his true motives thanks to his past with Tarte. In the most general sense, Lugh is little different from the men who buy these underage girls each night. He isn’t saving Maha simply out of the goodness of his heart. While it may not be for sex, Lugh wants her for her body—namely her innate ability to use mana.
There is no altruism to be found here—neither in him buying Maha or bringing the sex trafficking ring to justice (thereby saving the other girls as well). All this is him purchasing something beyond her body. He needs her unquestioning loyalty. These acts of justice are the price for her very soul.
As hard as this half-hour of television is to sit through, it is important to the story being told. It highlights the difference between the two girls Lugh has taken in. Tarte was poor, naive, and uneducated—abandoned by the entire world. Lugh could build her from the ground up into the assassin he wanted her to be just by being someone who needed her existence.
Maha, on the other hand, is much more intelligent and self-reliant. There has to be a big reason why someone as world-wise as her would become fanatically loyal to Lugh—to allow herself to be used by another person for their own selfish gains. This episode shows us that reason in detail: she sees him as the man who saved her and her friends from a fate worse than death—who protected her family of orphans even as he brought her into his own. She would gladly do anything to repay that debt—even if that means giving up her autonomy once again.
Rating:
Random Thoughts:
• The use of rape in this episode hits super hard because we only see what Maha sees: the soul-destroying aftermath. It’s like the rule from horror movies about showing the monster as little as possible. Your imagination creates a much scarier monster than anything the screen could show you.
• Interesting, the scene where we most directly witness a sexual assault has little to no visceral impact. This is because the victim is actually in no danger at all. It’s clear from the start that said woman is Tarte and we know that she could kill her attacker in an instant. The only reason she’d be letting this happen is because it’s part of a plan to trap the would-be rapist. And judging by her coy smile before leaping off the balcony into the night, I wouldn’t be surprised if she volunteered for the job just so she could see the evil man’s face when his world collapsed around him.
The World’s Finest Assassin is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.
Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.
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