Is this creature the new comrade (a new traveling beast) for our heroes in their quest for the seven jewels of the magical Deltora belt?

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Episode summary

Our two heros, Lief and Barda had fallen to the Wenba as they lost consciousness, with the pack of Wen slowly creeping close. We saw the two heroes waking up as they lied down as they were immobilized. A green haired girl (Jasmine) came down to them as she stole her cloak. Lief tried to tell her that the cloak was made by his mother and Barda said that Jasmine was going to leave them behind to die. Jasmine then told them that the things that attacked them were Wen, which they would give fresh meat to the Wenba for its meal at night when it appeared.

As Jasmine escaped, the cloak was flying magically across the forest, as she was brought to this mystical tree. The tree started to talk, telling her that the two were not Shadow guards but good guys as she was shown the image of Lief’s mother making the cloaks. Later in the day, Jasmine came back to give the antidote as they thought it was poison as they felt strong pains. Jasmine then said that the trees had told her that they were not bad guys but stopped any conversation as the Wenba was coming.

As they climbed up the trees, Jasmine explained that the Wenba was huge but could not climb trees, which made it important for them to hide. Lief also used his cloak to keep himself from getting cold as he covered it among the three of them. The cloak was clearly magical as it cast them invisible. The Wenba then left as its prey had disappeared. Jasmine then told them that she knew all about them as the trees had told her but Lief was skeptical as trees could not speak. The pack of Wen that had attacked them appeared again, as Wen were scavengers who thought that the Wenba had killed them. However, the Wenba came again, devouring some of the Wen in the vicinity.

After the Wenba retreated to its lair, Barda said that they would go to the lair, despite Jasmine saying that it was just a smelly place. Barda thought that the Wenba was the guardian in the forest of silence but elicited an amused laugh from Jasmine. She explained that this was just the entrance of the forest and there was more dangerous places within it. Jasmine then brought them to her tree house as she gave them some food.

She also told them that the guardian that they were seeking lies beyond this place, in the darkness within the darkness. Lief asked why she was staying alone and she started by saying she was 16, the same age as Lief. She then explained that she was separated with her parents after her parents were waylaid by shadow soldiers as they never came back when they were near this forest.

Her parents had protected her by telling her to hide when the soldiers were here, as she said that she had built this house and found the trees protecting her. Jasmine then sensed that the Wenba did not have enough of a meal and came all the way here as they attempted to escape. However, Barda and Lief had other ideas as Barda told Lief to hide in the trees to wait for the attempt to attack the Wenba.

As Lief waited, he noticed a sticky substance on the tree as he slipped and fell down. The Wenba then appeared as he was just a fraction away from being the feed for the Wenba until Jasmine swung across the trees with a tree vine/rope to save him. Lief then used the tree vine to trap the Barda into a wedge between the trees as he stabbed the Wenba below its mouth. Barda also jumped majestically down as he attempted to disembowel the Wenba from the top, eventually repelling it.

Barda and Lief thanked Jasmine for her help but she said that she simply was protecting the cloak from getting consumed. Jasmine then led them to the dark place as she left them, saying that she had to protect the things in the forest. As they moved forth, Lief felt this warmth in the belt as it was an indication of them being nearer to the guardian. Barda asked whether Lief was scared and he denied it, with Barda saying it was all right to show fear. The leaves started to fly viciously across the air, as both Lief and Barda anticipated the appearance of the guardian, with the belt getting warmer as they got closer.

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Thoughts

I like Jasmine quite a bit and it’s not because of the green hair (I swear). She has this slightly abrashed personality that I like since she seems to be actually more capable than the two main leads. How’s that for feminism? I actually like it when a female character is in fact stronger than the male leads, because it stops that annoying stereotype in female characters being the damsel in distress. KICK BUTT, JASMINE!

The whole Wenba thing seems to be really interesting, since I thought initially that they will have to go into the lair. They proved me wrong and it’s probably a good thing since if the Wenba is in fact the guardian, it feels like a really lame one. I am also glad that they did not destroy the Wenba, which will be a total exaggeration of the strength in the party, and I felt that Deltora quest did well in bringing a bit of realism in the story, with the aim being to repel the monster, rather than slaying it. I swear I will go “OVER 9 THOUSAND” and get pissed.

Glad it did not happen. I will cry foul and scream at the stupidity of shounen slipping into adventure. Ok, I apologize at my digs at shounen.

I found that what I like about the adventure genre is that the main leads are not like shounen that gets crazily explosive and destroys the whole landscape with one attack. They are generally weak and they usually depend on sheer luck, grit and strategy. That is probably why I like Deltora Quest because it keeps to this certain old school charm of mere swords. I will wish for some sorcery but it seems like that the three main characters of the series have appeared and Jasmine feels more like a huntress/ranger build rather than a sorcerer or wizard.

A tad disappointing but I guess there will definitely be some magic in this series sooner or later. Episode 2’s graphical quality has dropped slightly, as a few shots look to be rather blur and of low quality. Still, it seems that the anime never got much of a budget but it does have a compelling story line, albeit a bit simplistic and straight forward.

Next week seems to be the fight between the guardian and the two heroes.

Cheers!

Question: Do you think that we will get some hot magic or sorcery, probably from Lief, since Barda seems to be a old big swordsman type while Jasmine seems more like a huntress in the wild?

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