From Far Away

Episode 5

The pacing in this episode leaves something to be desired. For a moment, I actually thought I'd missed an episode, which is a weird feeling given that I've recently reread the manga. By rights, familiarity with the story in its original form should make it less likely to feel like I'd missed an episode, and I'm forced to admit that this is where the cracks are showing in this production. There surely was a better way to ease into the scene where Izark leaves Noriko with Gaya than to just hop straight there after a scary bug scene filled with random guys.

Not that that scene isn't important – it is, actually. Not only is it one of the funnier moments of Noriko learning Izark's language (his face when she calls him “honey”), it also drives home the fact that Izark really doesn't want to do what he's about to. He may be afraid of Noriko's effect on him as the Awakening (we all know he's the Sky Demon now, right?), but he's also drawn to her. Is it because she's the Awakening? Maybe; the two quasi-folkloric figures are inextricably linked in the lore; it's just that most people aren't aware of the fact that both are just regular people with special abilities. But I think the bigger issue for Izark is that Noriko is the first person to see what he can do and not fear him. To a degree, that may be due to the fact that she's from a different world and has no way of knowing that Izark is unusual. But she also understands that he's a good soul. He didn't have to save her, clothe her, help her learn the language. He's been there for her from the start. She has no reason to fear him.

To Izark, though, Noriko's trust and love is all-important. We've seen how his mother rejected him, and Gaya this week remarks that she's never known Izark to spend as much time with anybody as he has with Noriko. Each little interaction with her heals a bit of Izark's soul – when she fetches the doctor for him despite not speaking the language, when she defends him…calling him “honey,” even though she doesn't know what she's doing is important to him. That hug he gives her before they leave for Gaya's says more than any of his words can. He's decided that they need to be apart, but it's clearly not sitting well with him.

It's also likely impossible, because he discovers that they're psychically linked when Noriko's scream reaches him despite being two and a half hours away. This is an important turning point in the story, and only in part because it shows Izark that leaving Noriko really isn't an option. (I imagine he'll feel some relief from this.) Noriko's situation is also directly linked to the worsening political situation around her. She's barely been at Gaya's for a day (or that's how it feels) when a man with a knife attacks her. He turns out to be Banadam and not a bad guy, but that's only because of the side Gaya's on. Banadam is a bodyguard for Duke Jeida, a nobleman who favors peace, and as the duke relates, those more peaceful nobles are being taken out by their violent counterparts. It's not yet clear if that's related to Nada, the horrible man staging gladiator battles for his own entertainment, but Nada and Rachef both seem to be cut from a similar selfish cloth. And more importantly, neither of them see others as people. Nada views fighters as pure amusement, even if (especially if) they die. Rachef doesn't believe other people, especially not the Awakening, deserve their own agency and should only bow down to his power. Neither seem like someone who would bat an eye at taking out Duke Jeida and his sons if they thought the duke stood in their way.

In many ways, From Far Away is a political story with fantasy elements. That's part of what makes it so good; it doesn't try to adhere to genre tropes, some of which were around when the manga was originally published. I only hope that the anime takes a bit more care in transitioning between scenes going forward. When this is good, it's good, but the production occasionally feels like it's trying to undermine that and simply can't because the source material is so strong.

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From Far Away is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.