YOU GET A HOWZER, YOU GET A HOWZER, AND YOU GET A HOWZER!!! THEY ALL GET A HOWZER but this is truly for the 1 the only @caram3lla !!!
Sometimes when venturing into new art, it can be hard to have support but this girl has been very supportive and I appreciate it so for her, a nice piece!!!!
My boi is starting to have his 'Are we the baddies?' moment. HE'S SEEING THROUGH THE PROPOGANDA! He's starting to question the goodness of the Holy Knights and the villainy of the Sins... all because of Diane. Diane put herself at risk to help a civilian while the other Holy Knights were wreaking havoc. And when a Holy Knight attacks both Diane and the civilian, Howzer rightfully calls bullshit on that guy as Holy Knights are supposed to protect the citizens of Liones. And who did that instead? One of those 'horrid criminals', one of the Sins. And it was Diane specifically, whose sin is envy. And envy is a sin rooted in tearing down others, a very selfish sin.
It's here that we see a prominent theme in SDS: Things aren't always what they seem. We see it through Diane and Howzer, a Sin being selfless and a Holy Knight not snitching on her.
While I am more than willing to call Nakaba out on his more... questionable writing decisions, I will definitely give this man his dues when appropriate.
Diane
And speaking of Diane... Good fucking Lord this was definitely Diane's time to shine with Gideon. And King wasn't kidding with that lake analogy for Sins and their Sacred Treasures. While we've seen the power a Sin can wield with their Treasure through King, Chastiefol's strength is in its versatility. Gideon's strength is in its sheer destructive power, which really shows you how fucking terrifying the Sins are.
I fear the day someone lets Diane play Whack-A-Mole.
Helbram
So I recognized Helbram's English voice right off the bat as the same VA for JJBA PT3 Joseph, which is Richard Epcar. Well, the VA for Human!Helbram anyways.
Also, I don't remember much of Helbram's backstory, but I do know that he had a love for humans but that love was ultimately his downfall and his tipping point into hating humans. And Links Skill, his magic ability, works best when a lot of people are lending themselves to the user of their own free will. And magic is a reflection of the user, so maybe Helbram's magic reflects a desire for connection.
Elizabeth
Anyone who says Ellie is weak is full of shit. She doesn't need to be kicking ass to be strong. How is she strong then? Her conviction. Elizabeth Liones is many things, stubborn and determined are two of them.
Heck, even Griamore comments on how strong Elizabeth has become. Not physical strength but strength of character.
Ban and Spell Beads
I wrote down some notes about the spell beads which also happened to include notes about Ban. Now, do note that I'm watching SDS in the English dub, so I'm quoting from there.
My general observation regarding spell beads is that they seem to be used for more supportive things. Magic users specializing in healing and defense don't seem to be very common, the only ones we see with those specialties throughout the series being Griamore, Hendy, King, and Elizabeth. So, my little crack theory is that due to that lack of supply, spell beads fill in the demand. They're a lot easier to carry with you than a healer or defense person and much less on resources.
But where does Ban come into this? He fucking steals Jericho and Guila's spell beads. He comments "You have some fun little toys" in reference to the spell beads. Now, this could just be taken as him being an ass to Jericho and Guila - particularly Jericho - but there could be another way to take it. Ban's magic and immortality basically cover him in all the areas that spell beads cover, so to him, they are toys.
Now, as for the rest of the episode... Ban is losing his shit. It's enough for even Hawk to comment on how Ban has lost his usual cool. Why? Because Demon Meli, that's why. Up to this point, Ban is the only Sin we know to have interacted with a Demon. So while Meli is far above a Red Demon, Ban knows enough to grab Elizabeth and King and book it out of there like a bat out of Hell. It could also have to do with the fact that Ban's immortality was having a malfunction due to Jericho having Demon Blood in her and imbuing her weapon with Demon magic.
A lil' sidenote here: During Cursed By Light, we find out that the Sacred Fairy Tree is closest in elemental stuff to the Goddesses' magic. And it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say that the Fountain of Youth is in the same ballpark. So it makes sense that Demon stuff wouldn't vibe with it and thus it fucked up Ban's healing factor.
