This was the week Marronnier Oukoku no Shichinin no Kishi arrived for me, pretty much. This show is a slow burn no doubt, but the flame is definitely there. Sometimes we can say a series is “a mood”, and while that somewhat trendy phrase is no doubt overused, I think it applies here. Marronnier asks you to embrace it, it doesn’t demand. With shows like this I find the B-part of the episode is often more compelling, because it just takes a little time to slough off whatever baggage you were carrying when you started watching but once you do, you become immersed.
If anything The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom is even more laid back than its spiritual sibling ACCA-13. But it does share the sense of bad things happening in a very relaxed way, with very muted reactions from the characters involved. There seems to be a sort of slow-motion kidnapping taking place in the Country of Long Nights. And it’s being exposited in slow-motion fashion, the mystery unraveled in plain sight but at a snail’s pace. Elie remains at the heart of it, seen by the flower spirits (and the Queen) as the key to keeping Insomniac there.
It’s obviously crucial that the earmuff girls refer to Insomniac as “The Night”, when The Night is also the God they worship. And they believe that if he leaves, “the disasters of 20 years ago” (which would be just before his birth) will repeat themselves. A big part of this drama is Elie coming to realize that yes, she would be distraught if the worst happened and she and Insomniac were separated. Not just because she promised her father she’d bring him home, but because she really does want to be with him.
Like everything else in Marronnier, their relationship is a slow burn but eventually gets its hooks into you. Is this flaming passion, Dread Pirate Roberts-Princess Buttercup stuff? No. It’s quiet affection, familiarity, a desire to protect. The ties here are so deep, including with Perigrinus (the brothers’ late father), who was obviously close to both the Castellan and his daughter. His name is no coincidence given that we see (and hear) falcons throughout all their flashbacks of him, but that’s wholly unsurprising since all names in this story seem to carry great (and literal) importance. He was clearly a good and kind man adored by those close to him.
Also an important figure is the prince consort, Rollo, who still lives but is clearly in poor health. He was the astronomer who built the facility Insomniac tours here (which is very cool-looking), and the Queen obviously loves him deeply. He too seems like a very kind man who impacted those around him deeply. His interaction with Eleanora is a fascinating and strangely moving one (Ono Atsushi is wonderful here). Eleanora has no idea who he is but gives him her coat when he has a coughing fit. The pair are surrounded by soldiers sent by the muffers – he seems totally oblivious. Insomniac arrives and puts them all to sleep (did we know he could do that?) and declares that he’ll always do whatever it takes to protect Elie (that this is a reversal of their childhood dynamic is not lost on her).
It seems Insomniac has put the pieces together and more or less realizes what the plot is. He tells Elie to sleep in his bed – away from flowers – and heads off to consult with the Ambassador. Elie isn’t too freaked since he never sleeps anyway – but after dreaming of Peregrinus, she awakes to find Insomniac sleeping next to her. This is the first time we’ve seen him asleep, and a beautiful and tender moment. The racing of her heart awakens him, betraying her true feelings when she would never do so in words. It’s a fitting demonstration of the sort of love they share, and totally suits the odd and contemplative nature of this story.
