Season 1, Episode 15: The Blacksmith’s Dream
Vulcan’s dream to return the animals to life
Episode 15 of Enen no Shouboutai, begins with Yona and Arrow, Knights of the Ashen Flame debriefing Sho Kusakabe on Shinra. They inform him that Haran has been “martyred.” Arrow notes that Shinra’s Adolla Link was connected to the demon. Sho claims that he “want’s it (Adolla Link) at any cost.” Sho says that next time her will go. Meanwhile, Oda deals with forensic scientists, Viktor Licht. He’s been assigned to Company 8’s lacking forensic team. We already know that Licht has a connection to Joker. Things get off to a rocky start when he fails to salute with the proper hand.
Licht creepy grabs Shinra’s feet, hoping to touch the feet that produce the Adolla Link. Top of his class, Viktor Licht, headed the “applied pyrokinesiology lab” at Haijima Heavy Industries. Viktor isn’t humble, admitting to his own “brilliance.” Princess Hibana questions why he’s at Company 8. Viktor begs to be allowed to join them. Besides, Company 8 doesn’t even have an engineer. The don’t but they have an idea who they should recruit, Vulcan. He’s been difficult to recruit so far. It seems unlikely that a small company like the eighth, right?
Who’s the crackerjack engineer, Vulcan?
A “God of Fire and the Forge,” Vulcan is profoundly skilled. He does have a hatred for Haijima and the Special Fire Force for their association. However, Oda is sure that Shinra, Arthur and Iris can get him to join. He tells them to go in street clothing but don’t mislead him. Hibana is certain that this is waste of everybody’s time. Vulcan lives in a junkyard. When Shinra and Arthur introduce themselves, Vulcan throws soda cans at them. Vulcan tells them that he won’t help Fire Soldiers. However, his apprentice, Yu agrees to listen to their pitch. Due to his disdain of Haijima, they used their influence to stop his suppliers. Yu notes that there’s a deeper reason for his hatred.
However, before he can tell them, Shinra vouches for Company 8’s difference. Yu allows them inside Vulcan’s home. There they meet Lisa and witness Vulcan in action. He swings his wrenches like drumsticks, beating on his machine. He then kicks it into a wall. Vulcan explains that “if a machine would break that easily . . . it’s no different than a defective unit.” After some hi-jinks as he realizes that Shinra, Arthur and Iris are inside, a guess arrives. Outside, Vulcan and the 3rd Company Captain Giovanni meet. Giovanni stopped the supply line to pressure Vulcan to join them. Vulcan accuses Giovanni of murdering his father and grandfather. Giovanni mocks Vulcan’s dream.
Vulcan’s dream to resurrect the animals
Shinra offers Company 8’s help. For some reason, Iris begins randomly pressing buttons. The incompetence of Shinra, Arthur and Iris has a charming effect on Vulcan. He offers to show them something to make their trip worth it. He shows them a machine that projects images of sea creatures in the ocean, elephants and birds. Vulcan’s dream is to bring the now extinct animals back to life. However, he doesn’t have the technology to do so. We learn that Lisa lost her parents to an Infernal. Homeless, Vulcan took her in. She informs them that Vulcan’s father and grandfather both turned into Infernals at the same time.
However, he doesn’t believe that it was random. He thinks that Giovanni has something to do with it. Formerly, an apprentice of Vulcan’s, Giovanni then went to work for Haijima. Vulcan’s family has always had a bad relationship with Haijima. As Lisa head inside, Shinra’s Adolla Link sense’s Giovanni’s intent to kill Vulcan. This episode exceeded my expectations. The end result, Vulcan joining Company 8, is obvious. However, Fire Force complicated the recruitment enough. Vulcan will certainly bring Yu and Lisa along. However, Company 8 is going to continue to prove to be a problem for Haijima. How will they react? I’m excited to see what Giovanni is capable of.
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