Anime storytelling frequently uses stereotypes, some more so than others. They make it simple for authors to establish a reader’s familiarity with their characters, settings, narrative, etc., but they also provide writers the chance to entirely deviate from what the reader may anticipate. When everything seems more predictable than ever, the author occasionally comes up with a brilliant plan to ultimately buck the trend, and it generally turns out to be one of the most energizing moments in the narrative.
This is the case in the most recent Beast Tamer episode, where the main character Rein manages to avoid one of the most grating anime clichés: unintentionally seeing a girl naked. A male character’s reaction to seeing a female character in the bikini tends to be to result in what seems to be a bomb-level disaster, but Beast Tamer decides to be a bit more mature in this regard.
A potential old dwarf might be the new best girl.
The episode begins with the party’s realization that Rein is sorely lacking in the equipment department, still only fighting with his fists. To remedy this, they travel to the best blacksmith in town, which just so happens to be run by a surly dwarf, Gantz. At first, he seems like nothing more than a bitter old man, but Rein’s ability to discern the quality of the equipment for sale impresses him enough to drop his facade.
In reality, Gantz doesn’t like selling his highest quality equipment to adventurers he sees as unworthy, as they’ll just replace whatever he makes or abandon it more often than not. Rein asks if he can make him a weapon, but Gantz tells the party he needs mithril from a nearby mine to do so, and the mine has mysteriously stopped providing the materials. Rein and co. agree to investigate, and the party sets out for the mine.
Beast Tamer Fit a Bathing Scene in There
On their way up to the mine, the twins Sora and Luna are starting to get fatigued, stating that fairies aren’t meant to be doing things like hiking. The party opts to take a break at a nearby lake, with Rein sitting off to the side, not wanting to disturb the girls. The bathing scene is fairly stereotypical, with the twins commenting on the size of their chests compared to Kanade’s and Tania’s, but the conclusion of the scene is the most interesting part.
After a fish bites Kanade’s tail, causing her to scream, Rein sprints over, thinking the girls are in danger. Instead, he accidentally sees his party completely naked. However, where other series would turn this into a beat down of the male lead, Beast Tamer instead chooses a more mature route, as none of the girls really care about Rein seeing them.
Knowing that his intentions aren’t to peep, they simply shrug off the incident rather than dwell on it. Despite the bathing scene itself being an anime trope, this turn of events is quite refreshing for the story, which already leans heavily on tropes and archetypes. Whether Beast Tamer attempts to continue these small subversions going forward or not remains to be seen, but it would certainly help to make the show more enjoyable.
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