Redo of Healer
Is it a debauched, ecchi, perverse shameless piece of degenerate filth that plays upon the weakness and darkness in people for sensational thrills and reactions? Is it a story of the darkness and institutional forces within society and how they shape people on all levels for better and worse—toxic masculinity, capitalism, classism, racism and the intersectionalism of these such that even those fighting for righteousness will, once their victim, be their tools and perpetrators? I say it’s both. Cheap and deep. Sensational and elevational. Much of the discussion of this will be covered in the spoiler section however as it is difficult to truly get into the depths of the whys without breaking down the show. For the more general review, I’ll cover that now.
Premise:
Keyaru becomes a Hero of healing who, instead of glory, is rewarded with a lifetime of pain and torment that is spent secretly getting stronger as he gathers the powers of those he heals. By the time he’s strong enough to free himself, his life is in ruins so he resets the world to before it all started. This is the story of how he heals the world and exacts his revenge.
Setting:
This story is set in a fantasy world that is much like medieval Europe. There are knights and heroes, various kingdoms and races, magic and fantastical beasts. The balance of fantasy world and “this is the past” is kept quite well. I say this because while we see creatures and races unheard of in our world, we also see both the dirt and distress of poverty/class differences as well as the contempt, disdain and disregard of the upper classes. These things are part and parcel of setting the story well. These along with the physical landscapes and buildings in which they found themselves showed both a breadth and depth of differences in locales, cultures and classes. These differences are critical to the points that are made throughout the story itself.
Art:
Is it a superbly drawn and animated masterpiece? Well... no but for what it is, it’s quite well balanced. The fights are pretty well done for an anime that most watch for the ecchi content. And as for that ecchi content. The attention to detail is excellent. Personal preference, the characters faces/designs look a little funny/lopsided to me. Most of them anyways other than one main one. But as I was saying, Details like the nipple structure are done well. Additionally, the penis shadow wiggle waggle over the demon king’s face was quite accurate. It’s little details like this that really make the show. Even though the faces may have been drawn strangely, their expressiveness, even for minor things, was maximized and nuanced. Considering the brutality of many of the scenes, this is a mixed blessing. It is a bit painful to watch at times.
Characters:
The characters themselves... well they definitely each have a purpose. For a harem show, the protagonist has a super strong presence. Though it is shaped by his environment, he has more agency than most. Each major person that shows up is there to teach the audience something—about darkness, power, brutality, the consequences of your actions and how your environment influences who you are. There’s a question regarding one character and whether their being depicted as an evil person who is a lesbian or a poor depiction of a trans person... but the point in this case is their actions so I’m not really sure on the queer side of it. They’s abusing their power regardless of gender and orientation. Just like the rest of them in power so it goes to show that we’re all people which is the most equitable thing they could’ve done, in my opinion.
Score:
The music effectively serves to highlight and evoke the appropriate emotions when the time comes. Now I watched both the broadcast and the uncensored version. Honestly, the broadcast version is a bit corny when they play the music and cut scenes for the ecchi parts. It’s kind of like somewhere between soft core porn music and elevator music. You’re not really sure what you should be thinking at that moment. Like... am I supposed to pretend they’re not getting it on right now? It almost makes you feel more awkward than just showing the scene. Trying to hide it is embarrassing, after all. When it’s out in the open, there’s no shame. Other than those strange moments, the music is just fine.
When he goes after Flare, she tries to reason with him, apologizing and talking her way out of it. She says that she did everything for his benefit, the drugs, etc until he lists the other torments she perpetrated. Then she’s like “oh you remember everything?” At that point, she turns to bribery and manipulation—promising money, power, women as if he were able to be bought. He blatantly states that he doesn’t believe a word she says/any of her promises but offers up a game. He rigged the rules a bit or rather, did g quite explain them completely so she lost just when she thought she’d won. Shortly thereafter she’s aroused and begging for him rather than be tortured. He erases her memory, changes her face and makes her into Freia while changing his own face and escaping then convincing her to have sex with him again. He’s learned from his tortuous experience that sex and power are the tools to get his way. This sets the tone for the rest of the journey.
Later on after he acquires Setsuna and they kill the Jioral Kingdom soldiers to protect the village, Keyaru has realized that Flare isn’t wicked without her memories. He posits that life in Jioral Kingdom is what turned her into the person she was so he needs to put an end to the evilness of the kingdom itself. That being said, he still goes forward with violence and rape against the individuals who wronged him while undoing the large scale problems they’ve caused and are causing. So it’s proof that he’s still mired in the trappings of his own torment—stuck in the cycle.
When dealing with Blade he states something quite powerful: “You guys are always the doers. The grief of the weak... their fear, their sadness, you don’t understand any of it. Experience the pain and fear of the weak!” Blade asks if he doesn’t have any blood or tears inside him. To which he replies that he did but they’re all spent now thanks to them. “We’re empty now.” Again, this is indicative of the ways in which the haves used and abused the have nots until they’ve become that which they detest, heartless and unfeeling. It’s a cycle wherein lack of feeling and empathy begets the same.
When “winning over” the Sword Saint, he explains the truth behind the kingdom and how it has been functioning. He relies both upon her sense of justice and aphrodisiacs to win her to his side. He doesn’t lie about his goals with regard to the kingdom in general and when dealing with his revenge, he tries not to kill anyone who hasn’t harmed him in this lifetime—as is clear by his statements regarding Norn and even Kureha.
Norn’s plan for Brannica is to “save the city” by purging the demons who are “enslaving” the humans and purging the “brainwashed” humans as well. Bringing salvation to them in the afterlife. Basically she’s going to kill them all and take over the town for herself all while spouting nonsense about how it’s all for their own good and blatantly ignoring what they’re stating is the truth of the situation. This is the epitome of the the Jioral Kingdom’s policy and way of dealing with everyone. The massacre begins, Keyaru loses a friend and goes berserk. Him taking out the major threats to the kingdom and deciding to move on to the next target in pursuit of his goals is perfect. The show ended with a future ahead that seems like there’s plenty to look forward to for them as we know he’s got his crew working for him and at least one more target on his list.
Overall impressions:
This show is balanced but not for the faint of heart. Can’t handle violence? Back away. Ecchi or fan service not for you? Pack it in. Can handle those and like looking at they why behind stories? Then give this one a try. Have an inner vengeful self you don’t like talking about? Ever wonder just how people work or what it’s like to go on a revenge spree? Check out this show. John Wick with more sex? Maybe a little bit. This show balances ecchi, fighting, adventure, moral lessons and fantasy quite well. It’s brutal and debauched but it teaches its lesson about society if you pay attention. Can you watch it just for the ecchi? Yes but that would make you part of the problem it’s trying to preach/teach about... or that’s my opinion, anyways.
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