After watching an episode of an earlier simulcast today, I needed something lighter. I’m happy to say that this episode filled that need. I think that’s good enough; let’s get into the writeup.
The episode begins with a jump back to being introduced to the high priestess, and Takumi notices similarities between her and the Otohime in folklore. After getting introduced to the other folks, the topic of a reward comes up, which Takumi insists he doesn’t need. He does ask for lessons on how to use water magic and gets them, though he also gets told that they don’t classify as a reward. After some discussion, however, Takumi and the kids get taken to a cave.
As it turns out, this cave is where the mermaids throw away their trash and offer that as a reward. After noticing pearls among the items, Takumi decides to take them. Then we head back to the surface, where Takumi’s getting his water magic lessons, along with the kids! These lessons serve as a way to provide the viewer with information about how the magic of this world works, as that hasn’t been explained yet. While it may be helpful for those who aren’t as familiar with the genre, this could be seen as unnecessary for those already familiar with it.
Since they’ve never used magic before, the kids learn about magic power, and they’re a lot better than any kid should be. Despite the teachers leaving earlier, Takumi and the kids stay to practice their skills, with the kids noting a disturbance in the water.
Before we talk about that disturbance in the water, however, let’s instead cut to Syl and the water god’s retainer, Maya, and talk about how we really shouldn’t be enlisting Takumi for help because the gods are already in enough debt!
I have a genuine question: What was the point of this scene? Yes, it finally gave us an identity for the water god’s retainer, but the placement of this scene feels so…awkward. Maybe the next episode will explain better why this scene was here, but I’m failing to see the point of it right now.
Anyway, back to Takumi and the kids, we meet a leviathan, where the “dragons” of the episode’s name came from. Even then, we only see one dragon. The audacity of the person/people who named this episode to do false advertising, smh. The main purpose of this conversation is to reveal that Alan and Elena are children of the water god. Also, this leviathan was supposed to be the one taking care of the kids??
Anyway, after testing the kids’ bond with Takumi, the leviathan makes a contract with Takumi to basically be on good terms, and this is when Takumi gives it the name Kaiser. After receiving a scale, Takumi, Alan, and Elena get on Kaiser and return underwater.
Okay, this episode just felt off to me regarding storytelling. I understand that it touches upon some important things for the world, but ultimately, not much happens to really progress the story. Yes, this is a slower show, but the previous episodes did a good job of progressing the story, while this one feels like its only purpose is to exist.
I feel that this is just the episode adapting chapters that are slower than the rest of the story, and I feel that the series will pick up speed again next week. Hopefully this doesn’t end up being the new norm.
Additional posts about A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring:
Sara Talks Anime 
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