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| Oh Novak, how far you've fallen... Man, this turned into a nail biting episode not just by Novak's actions to setting fire to the church but for Draka too. Novak had reason to do what he did even at its extreme levels. Just crazy how this all went down. Draka deserved better. |
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| Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was obvious they were NOT going to make it out of that church alive, no matter how much convincing and gaslighting the bishop did. Novak is just a straigh tup racist when it comes to these heretics after all... but KILLING BRO WITH NO REMORSE.... AND FUCKING BRUNING DOWN THE WHOLE CHURCH??? Wild. And dude tried to kill Draka, but it wasn't successful, and Draka did him one back and straight running for her life, even with that injury Novak gave her. And yeah, Novak can't do that, clearly. He hasn't the body nor the energy to do that anymore after all. So he just admits defeat and starts to reflect with the one that started it all, FUCKING RAFALLLLLL. The bishop might've been trying to gaslight Novak, but what Rafal was doing was speaking straight facts to his face that he NEEDED to hear once before he died. And yeah, thanks to that, he's able to die with no regrets and the very least. Though, I got no clue where that cross at the end even came from. Maybe just another one of Novak’s illusions, him staring at himself in it. Like our goat Rafal said, "who knows." You know a story hits hard when you’re out here crying over the antagonist. And yeah, of course, she’s dead too, nobody’s getting out of this. Even if she barely did anything as a protagonist, you still feel bad for her. Dying all happy, like a kid again, that’s its own kind of heaven. Don't know what to even say, 10/10 episode or the word peak can't even begin to describe it. And thus, we now have our final protagonist of the story to end it all off. |
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| Schmidt, who loved sunrises, died before the dawn, and Draka, who hated sunrises, died during the sunrise. What a contradiction. Nowak realized about Jolenta in the end. At least, he knew it and used his final moment for his daughter. And, finally... it's, now, the Kingdom of Poland, not Kingdom of P anymore. |
何それ？意味分かんない  |
| Peak cannot even describe this episode. This was one of the best episodes I have ever watched, I struggle to think of anything better in the last few years. |
| This series is one of the few examples of how to write actual great dialogues in a series. |
My doctor has always told me to smoke. He even explains himself: “Smoke, my friend. Otherwise someone else will smoke in your place.” |
| And this one, with Nowak internal confrontation, is probably the best material from the manga. Only small nitpick I have is how they portrayed Draka's death, I remember being more clear in how she accepts sunrise. Overall a strong contender for best episode of 2025 already. |
| Yet another masterclass of an ep from Orb. Every time I think we’ve peaked they prove me wrong. Forget the year, I’m going to say this is one of the best anime ever made. Nowak anticipating Antoni siding with Draka was insane! Never would’ve anticipated he’d planned for that. I’m perfectly fine with Antoni dying because he was a scumbag to his fellow clergy and lay people, not to mention being the reason Nowak and Jolenta got separated in the first place. “The end must be near when even clergy are for sale” Oh, I got news buddy… “The coming age of money” welcome to capitalism lol. It’s going to get much much worse. I think Nowak planned for that to be a suicide attack actually. Once he saw Jolenta blow herself up I don’t think he had any will to live anymore, Antoni saying his whole life was a lie basically reinforced that. BUT HOLY SHIT RAFAL! He was always with Nowak in the back of his mind as a manifestation of his guilt. That lingering thought of “maybe he was right..” dominated Nowak’s life. All these years he really regretted having to torture rafal and leading to his death. “I’m the villain of this story” as a Christian I do believe in the power of forgiveness and confessing your sins and I’d like to think that Nowak’s actions at the end redeemed him. His last thoughts being to pray for his daughter’s soul to ensure she gets to heaven, putting her hand in the glove, being proud that she found something worth dying for and admitting his faults.. I believe God will have forgiven his sins at the end. But why tf did draka have to die 😭 her death fucked me up more than any since Rafal. She had the entire book memorized and Jolenta entrusted her will to her.. why couldn’t she make it to adulthood. She’d been fucked over by life so much already, it’s just not fair man.. not right. The author really has no qualms with killing anyone which I respect but hate rn. Poor thing. Time-skip ahead and a new protag for the final stretch here. It’s gone from saying kingdom of P to kingdom of Poland.. intentional? Saw someone say Rafal and the others’ story might have just been a book based on Poland and now we’re irl? That’d be nuts! |
Marinate1016Mar 1, 9:43 AM
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| All this time I thought the chilling shot of Rafal standing amidst the fire in the OP was a nightmare Nowak's been having since that day. Finding out he actually conjured him to comfort himself on his own deathbed makes the sequence suddenly a lot more twistedly beautiful. And man, Nowak having Jolenta with him in his final moments got me more emotional than I was ready for. If only Schmidt knew Draka did end up praising the sun with her final breath. |
| once again it was a masterpiece hear me out, if you analyse every details, this is amazing they find a way to bring so much emotions... |
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| RIP Draka. Although you couldn't see the complete picture of what you started and what you were aiming for. I'm sure you were at peace in your final moments. And, as for Nowak, he died believing he was a villain to the story, which is true, but it is because of him that this story keeps going. A necessary villain. And, for him to recognize his daughter's mission in the end of his life, and the fact that he saw his daughter blow herself up for this Heliocentrism. It was touching to see him plead for his daughter's sake. It was sad. So many sacrifices throughout this story for one simple concept that people at the time couldn't accept. Such is the human behavior. We learn. Amazing episode. Repeating it countless times at this point. |
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| Everyone is gone now, Rafal, Oczy, Badeni, Jolenta, Schmitt, Nowak, and Draka. It's the end of an era. |
      ✦ YWC 2024 ✦ ✦ Seiyuu Scramble Hall of Fame ✦ ✦ 2024 Seiyuu Scramble ✦ ✦ 2023 Seiyuu Scramble ✦ ✦ Seiyuu Quiz Discord ✦ |
| This show never stops to be surprising. |
| You can hate Nowak or not, but it's undeniable how well written his character is. Nowak could have followed the signs life was giving him, but he ignored them, and that sealed his fate. Seeing Rafal again was incredible, even if it was only an illusion of Nowak's own: it was exactly what he needed to hear. He was a great villain who, at least, knew how to accept his fate and bear the "sins" that Jolenta committed because of him. As for Draka, her death was really unfortunate, even more so because it marked the end of an era. It frustrates me because she was the only one who could preserve that legacy. The book is lost, and part of me hoped that the story would end with the book being published under the name Jolenta, with Nowak reading it and finally realizing the truth, going through immense grief and reflection. At least Draka was able to witness before he died the true beauty Schmitt felt at the sight of a sunrise. It was an amazing episode, and I'm a little upset about the book, but even more intrigued to find out who the next main character will be. |
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| huh they all ded lol, like I get this anime is trying to send a message of sorts.. but holy shit everything is soo hollow now. |
 Behold of my awesomeness~ controversial and/or sensitive topics likely devolve into the same repetitive, derogatory, abusive, and harassing comments can no longer be posted. But my feels. |
| I knew he wouldn't be fooled like that. Best antagonist I've seen in anime since Askeladd. |
| What a coincidence this episode came out the same day I watched “The Monkey”. Both share something similar. “Everyone dies” |
| Did I just watched... Peak? For real, this has to be the best episode of the anime so far, without a doubt. I was on the edge of my seat throughout it all! As expected, Nowak doesn't receive the news really well, and had a backup plan all along, to once and for all end with the heliocentrism theory. His plan was to burn the church down and kill both Antoni and Draka. And the scene where he just straight out kills Antoni was COLD. That kill was long due, considering that Antoni was the one behind Jolenta's separation from him, although Nowak didn't know it, but in this anime they always love to do these symbolisms. And when Draka wasn't able to escape I was thinking "They aren't going to do it" BUT THEY DID, and Nowak was able to stab Draka, although she was able to get away. But when they showed Rafal and jumped to the opening THAT GAVE ME CHILLS. We are at the beginning again. Nowak thinking about Rafal in his last moments shows how much his actions affected him, which is later confirmed by himself, saying how what happened to Rafal gave him pain, but he just ignored it. If he didn't ignore his feelings, maybe none of this would have happened... The talk between him and Rafal was him realizing he was the villain all along, the villain of this story. That scene was so well done, it literally gave me chills. And not only that, it was hinted in the opening ever since episode 2! That's crazy to think about! Seeing Rafal again after 20 episodes (20 weeks for me, since I have been following this weekly), really hits the spot, welcome back Rafal, even if for just some minutes. So much happened in these 20 weeks, it's crazy. But right after this we see Nowak retrieving from his pocket Jolenta's gloves, and the Liberation force's leader arm, and HE DID IT. So Nowak suspected from the small glimpse he had from the Leader that she could very well be Jolenta, he just didn't want to believe it. And the scene where he puts the glove on her dead arm, and sees it's a perfect fit, he just breaks down... He realises what he has done, and asks God for his forgiveness for Jolenta's actions, because all that she did was because of Nowak's actions, so he should be the one made responsible. The shot that shows Nowak dying while holding Jolentas hand... Just like they show in the opening too... This is just sad honestly. If 2 characters dying in one episode wasn't enough, the creator remembered "What if Draka also dies this episode?", and they all proceeded with this idea. I honestly wasn't expecting Draka to die, but after seeing she was stabbed, I started to see what they were going to do... Draka was able to release the bird safely, with the message Jolenta asked her to release. We still don't know much about that, but I suppose we will understand it next episode. But after that, it was ready to be the most depressing part of the episode in my opinion. Seeing Draka question everything she did was really believable and comprehensible. In the end, she ended up dying without achieving anything that she wanted. Heliocentrism won't even be able to come foward, with Oczy's book dying with Draka's death... So, was it really worth it? But after that, the sun starts to rise, and Draka finally understand what Schmitt told her last episode: the beauty of nature. Even with her death, the world continues to move one, and now she's closer to her dad, who also died by the sunrise. Seeing Draka just being conforted by the sunrise, that reminded her dad, and finally being able to see it in that perspective, made me tear up, and it wasn't on my checklist crying with this anime. Like, CHILL DOWN ORB, YOU CAN'T BE THIS GOOD. The last shot with Draka closing her eyes while watching the sunrise was just... Beautifully dramatic. 3 generations of Main Characters, in the span of 35 years, were killed, all by the same man, Nowak. Just let that sink in... When I thought we would just get the ending started, we jump right of to Albert, a new character, that is against getting any kind of knowledge, despite his intelligence, because he thinks with that comes ambition, and that will only destroy his life. His whereabouts are mysterious, since that man isn't his dad, and it seems like his past is complicated, but in the end they reveal that Albert has still has a special place for astronomy... I wasn't expecting for them to introduce a new character this late to the series. Is he also going to die? At this point I wonder if we'll have any MC alive by the end of the series, because not even Nowak was able to make it. This anime is even worse than AOT with all this MCs dying. I'm expecting for them to show us what has changed from the last generation in this 4th generation, and if heliocentrism finally made it. Also, how many years has it been? They just showed the year they were in, but I don't remember in which year we were, so I just accepted someone has made the calculations. For the longest time I have been loving this anime, but I never truly felt like "No, this anime feels like a 10", so I was thinking of giving it a 9 when I finished it, but after this episode, I finally felt this feeling. I wasn't expecting to actually appear after so many episodes, but now this anime FEELS like a 10. I wonder how these last 2 episodes are going to be, but I guess there aren't going to be many plot twists or reveals going on, and it's just some kind of prologue. So I do think this episode we just witnessed was the best one of the anime, and rightfully so, since it was the culmination of everything that has been happening in this anime for the past 23 episodes. Sakanaction's "Kaiju" hits so much harder now, especially since we have the full version now, and Yorushika's ending by the end was so conforting in a way, after what happened in this episode. Love the opening/endings of this anime! |
| This anime is a god damn masterpiece. The direction and storyboarding is always being overlooked because of how fantastic the story actually is (and rightfully so). But I lost my shit with this shot here. The illusion of Rafal with his hand under the candle that's been *the* symbol throughout the entire series was utterly brilliant.  |
| Who would have guessed the villain would have the saddest death of this series. Just 2 episodes left for this great series. |
Reply to Xav_015
I hate Novak
RIP Douraka
Who's Albert?
RIP Douraka
Who's Albert?
| @Xav_015 this guy I think, both year and location match: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Brudzewski If they stick to his actual life, in a way, that wiki page which is just history could contain spoilers. He's the first character to actually exist from our history so far.. hence it's kinda of a history don't remember the other we saw before type setting. |
| Holy shit, what a beautiful episode. Rafal's legacy really stuck to Nowak's mind whether he liked it or not. Got so many chills when illusion Rafal showed up, and their dialogue was peak as expected. Draka's death was such a beautiful scene as well, recieving the sunrise's light just as our guy Schmidt used to do. Now everyone we knew is gone, I'm curious to see what the new characters are gonna do. |
今から歌うことここだけの話にしておいてね Halloween candies:   |
| A masterpiece of an episode, seriously. I'm speechless as to how am i supposed to type a review, but here goes. First off, for Nowak to get hit & run by a girl quarter his age, bro fell hard. Not as a character, by all means, but in strength. Bro used to be so OP that even Oczy who was a master swordsman, gave up after Nowak stared into Oczy's soul, hence Oczy's immediate surrender, due to how OP Nowak was, some conqueror's haki type sh!t. Secondly, although i spoke about him negatively above, bro's brains are as smart as they were when he was at his peak, if they ain't even smarter. Bro literally had a backup plan in such a short period of time that no one noticed, and kept blabbing inside forever with that in his mind. Such a shame that his brains won't be directed towards actual scientific progression, but guess that's above bro's paygrade. Thirdly, oh how happy i was, that my favorite character who died in episode 3, finally showed up again when Nowak was hallucinating. Rafal is like the best give & talk character, through like, the whole show. Bro always have like the best comebacks, no matter what's being asked. Fourthly, i can't believe that Nowak FINALLY put Jolenta's arm into the pink gloves he bought her decades ago, realizing that the liberation leader, had always been his daughter. Like, they bringing up the leader, Draka & Nowak, can't any1 call her by her name? Why's it always "the leader", "the leader"? Nonetheless, still glad he finally realized it at the end, while passing away, after the lovely discussion he was having with Rafal, the only one you could say who actually beat Nowak in an argument, throughout the whole show. Last but not least, i can't believe that we still on episode 23, not even the finale yet, like we got 2 episodes more, and our mc's & major villains just happen to die? I mean, i ain't complaining, but who's this "Albert" at the end? What had him traumatized to begin with? Where did Draka's last letter end up flying to? So many questions, but i guess we finding out, in the upcoming 2 episodes. How sad am i, seriously. Like, the show is a masterpiece, but come on man. Schmitt, Nowak, who lived through it all till he reached 60 years of age, and now, even Draka, the little girl who just wanted to publish a book, dies too just cause NOWAK HADN'T JUST PUT JOLENTA'S ARM IN THE GLOVES A BIT EARLIER TO AVOID ALL THIS DAMN HASSLE AND REALIZE YOU'VE BEEN PLAYED BROTHER? Like, did it have to be immediately before departing from the land of the living? Welp, i guess it is what it is, ain't even a bit curious about any of this "Albert" bakery BS. Only curious where Draka's letter ended up flying to, that's it, and to that, imma stay tuned. |
Poland finally. Polska górą.  |
| Character deaths in this show is supremely methodical, never feels dragged off or rushed and the culmination of the character's struggles and deeds feels paid off, Nowaks's self awareness at the end is masterful, glad I did not sleep on this peak ahh. |
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| Nowak definitely deserved longer final moment, I like how it was done. The biggest challenge for the show starts now - 2 episodes left to make it feel like they were worth airing afterwards. Of course extra scenes after everything happened would be expected, but since we're starting from another time point again, it's hard to tell what they have for us. |
 Big fan of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic universe. |
| This episode was outstanding. The entire series has been outstanding. I swear, the characters in this show would have a better survival rate if they tried to lay claim to the Iron Throne instead. |
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Reply to ElRentornoDeYo
@Skuvan this albert something will blow your mind off in the final episode, mark my words!
| @ElRentornoDeYo Didn't imagine that there would be manga readers for this anime since it kinda just came outta nowhere, just like how Dandadan suddenly dropped, but okay, imma heighten my expectations a bit, just for you, Mr. Rentorno. |
IzanaSolos said: Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was obvious they were NOT going to make it out of that church alive, no matter how much convincing and gaslighting the bishop did. Novak is just a straigh tup racist when it comes to these heretics after all... but KILLING BRO WITH NO REMORSE.... AND FUCKING BRUNING DOWN THE WHOLE CHURCH??? Wild. And dude tried to kill Draka, but it wasn't successful, and Draka did him one back and straight running for her life, even with that injury Novak gave her. And yeah, Novak can't do that, clearly. He hasn't the body nor the energy to do that anymore after all. So he just admits defeat and starts to reflect with the one that started it all, FUCKING RAFALLLLLL. The bishop might've been trying to gaslight Novak, but what Rafal was doing was speaking straight facts to his face that he NEEDED to hear once before he died. And yeah, thanks to that, he's able to die with no regrets and the very least. Though, I got no clue where that cross at the end even came from. Maybe just another one of Novak’s illusions, him staring at himself in it. Like our goat Rafal said, "who knows." You know a story hits hard when you’re out here crying over the antagonist. And yeah, of course, she’s dead too, nobody’s getting out of this. Even if she barely did anything as a protagonist, you still feel bad for her. Dying all happy, like a kid again, that’s its own kind of heaven. Don't know what to even say, 10/10 episode or the word peak can't even begin to describe it. And thus, we now have our final protagonist of the story to end it all off. I actually liked him killing the Bishop. His daughter was tortured by him and indirectly would lead to the events of her death. Novak is a tragic character and his entire character arc, despite being the villain, is that humans are complex and do things they think its for the good of society, which are evil but at the same time, one side of them, they are good people, like i said, complex. 'We all are comrades who built the same era". |
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