This week on Radiant – a deranged megalomaniacal fascist leader who’s betrayed everyone who ever worked with him declares himself a wall to keep immigrants out.
I must confess a certain fascination in watching the “Rumble Town” arc of Radiant play out. As well, a certain frustration that the anime didn’t lead with it, because I think it would have retained more viewers if it had, and rightfully so. It’s certainly not the subtlest writing you’ll see in anime this year, no, but the messaging is on-point. Almost eerily on-point in fact, when you consider when it was written and the state of affairs the world at the moment.
As we watch the U.S. slowly transforming itself into a Philip Roth novel, it’s important to remember that Tony Valente’s home continent of Europe was several years ahead on the fascist development curve, a response to the globalization and perceived threat to national identity politics the E.U. represented. The States sort of leapfrogged Europe in 2016 – a consequence of its peculiar political system as much as anything, but also a reflection showing that the same pressures were being exerted there.
I can’t imagine Valente had America foremost in mind as he wrote this chapters five years or so ago, but there’s a tragicomic element to seeing them on-screen now. Especially when Konrad starts going on and on about being “a wall” protecting Rumble Town from immigrants. I suppose Kishi-sensei and his team might have tweaked the dialogue a little (I have no idea) but the gist is certainly there either way (though it’s hard to imagine Konrad ditching a battle because of “heel spurs” – he’s macho, if nothing else).
As is usually the case with these types of villains – be it fantasy or real life – Konrad’s problems are entirely of his own making here. Hameline’s grudge against him is about as personal as it can get, and as the cattle of Rumble Town willingly went along with him (I so badly want to snark here, but I’ll resist) it extends to them, too. Hameline and her three immigrant friends were infected as children, and seized by the city as a potential “defense force” against nemesis attack. Their only friend as they were held captive was the kindly Major Oxemare, who gave Hameline the recorder that would later prove the foundation of her control over the nemesis.
It’s hard to argue against Hameline’s right to feel the way she does, but she’s all about genociding the city so it’s a good thing Grimm is around. Meanwhile Seth and Konrad do battle head-to-head, where we continue to see evidence of Seth’s unusual range of powers. Sorcerers lot in life seems to be to fight the nemesis, but my gut tells me that there are strong connections between them – in fact, I’m almost sure of it. When the truth of the nemesis is finally known (which will presumably be when Seth completes his quest to find Radiant) the sorcerers may feel like they’ve been fighting the wrong enemy for all these years.
