The Napping Kingdom's Ambitions (昼寝王国の野望) is the first episode of the Legend of the Legendary Heroes anime. It was originally aired in Japan on July 1, 2010.
Opening Song: "Lament - Yagate Yorokobi wo (やがて喜びを)" by Aira Yuki
Ending Song: "Truth Of My Destiny" by Ceui
Characters Introduced[]
Plot Summary (contains spoilers)[]
The episode begins with an introduction about the history of the kingdom and the power of the Legendary Hero, then switches to the present where Ryner Lute and Ferris Eris are traveling around Nelpha searching for relics of the legendary heroes. They are attacked by some Nelpha guards who believe them to be spies from Roland during the Roland-Nelpha war. They drive off the guards and enter a tomb-like complex, searching for relics.
Meanwhile, political life for King Sion Astal continues in his palace at Roland. He is attacked by a civilian, Fiole Folkal, who mistakes him for the noble who kidnapped his sister. Sion reunites Fiole with his younger sister, Eslina, and appoints the grateful young man as his personal assistant.
In Nelpha, Ryner and Ferris come across Milk Callaud, a young girl who fell in love with Ryner during their time at the orphanage as children, who is now the head of a Roland taboo-hunter squad. Milk mistakes the two for illegal fugitives, but just as she is attempting to prevent their "escape", the place begins to collapse. Milk is saved by another member of her taboo breaker squad, while Ryner and Ferris head outside to discover that the cause of the disruption is a huge creature, presumably summoned by a hero relic. Ferris evokes the power of a possible hero relic she found while inside the complex, but fails to defeat the creature. The episode ends with a brief flashback through the eyes of Sion, remembering his days with Ryner at the military academy and his promise that he would become King and change the world.
Detailed Plot Summary (contains spoilers)[]
"Long ago, it was said that countless beings existed with power great enough to control the world. They were called demon lords, devils, dark gods. The world was constantly in danger of being destroyed at their hands. But, there were warriors, now called legendary heroes... They would appear, with power far beyond the demon lords. And they would slay the monsters. Who were these so-called "heroes," who defeated monsters strong enough to destroy the world? If relics of them were to be found, their value would be great. As to whether these so called demon lords and heroes truly existed... The Alpha Stigma will enlighten us.")
This is how the prologue of the series starts with an introduction about the history of the kingdom and the power of the Legendary Heroes, then switches to the present where Ryner Lute and Ferris Eris are traveling around Nelpha searching for relics of the legendary heroes. They are attacked by some Nelpha guards who believe them to be spies from Roland during the Roland-Nelpha war. Here it is given a glimpse of the power of Ryner's Alpha Stigma which analyses Nelphi magic: Simple attack spell, Attribute of flame, range of 20, activation method of Nelpha pattern crest form, Level power of A, adjusted value of 0-7-2, incantation of "Flame Burst" (this last information comes from the lips of Nelpha soldiers), and the actual replication by Ryner. The guards are surprised, to say the least, that a person from the kingdom of Roland can use magic of Nelpha, the first hint of the nature of magic in the series, of Ryner's power, and of the stigma that Ryner bears as a "monster." One of the soldiers questions whether he is a spy, only to receive an answer from the second character to be introduced: Ferris Eris. ("Have you ever seen a spy that looks this stupid?") At this Ryner asks Ferris what SHE is supposed to be, to which she answers with pride "I'm a beauty," only to then say "just kidding" after a short silence, revealing the lady to enjoy playing with the gentleman but still keeping concern of modesty; Nelpha soldiers cannot help but fall for her, except for their leader and Ryner. Then, Ferris displays her amazing skills with the sword by defeating every soldier with ease breaking only blades and helmets. So Nelpha is left without option but to retreat. Ryner's good will is displayed as he tries to make peace with the fleeing enemy to the point of almost revealing the purpose of the secret mission, so Ferris stops him by whacking his nose with her sword's hilt, threatening his life, and reminding him of the operators' code, which forbids him from giving away their secrets. As they continue with their trip, a mysterious girl is seen to be spying on them, as she whispers, "Found You!"
The duo makes a stop at a dango shop where Ferris' love for the food and Ryner's love for naps are revealed. Their position is mentioned to be in the border between Roland and Nelpha, implying that Nelpha lies to the south west of Roland. The lady running the shop talks wonders of the new king of Roland while the duo reveal the king's tyranny, oppression, and lack of faith in the mission, so confidence is rebuilt in the duo in order to prove the King wrong.
Meanwhile, political life for King Sion Astal continues in his palace at Roland, where every one hails to the hero king who has brought a golden age of prosperity. Another mysterious character looks from the shadows. Three men working for the king appear, from whom Calne Kaiwal asks of the state of the Celyoa region, to which Sion regrets to answer that a flood has devastated that land; condition that won them tax exemption. Rahel Miller reports of no problems at all in the capital, on the contrary, the nobles Duke Stearied and Count Klausberr held an extravagant ball to, presumably, show off their political power. When the king asks Claugh Klom about the state of the neighboring lands, he reprimands to the king for never taking a rest. The king replies that he will do so when Roland is stable but he cannot afford one as of now because his minimal display of sloth may throw the kingdom back to the corruption of the nobles. Nevertheless, the king refuses to accept the possibility of his collapse out of exhaustion, specially when his dedication is inspiring both for good and evil. The relationship between Claugh and Calne is quick to show in their competitive and mocking interaction as Calne sounds ironically impressed of Claugh's insight in his advice to the king. The two of them keep bringing up each other's shames on the topic of courtship to damsels, Claugh with a nameless noble's daughter and Calne with adultery with Lord Pearl's wife. Miller takes the chance to get the kings attention on a report regarding Ryner and Ferris' journey.
The story skips then to Ryner and Ferris who have arrived to some ruins in a forest of Nelpha where a hero relic is believed to reside. As Ryner tries to operate the magical lock device of the door, Ferris goes ahead and breaks the door with her sword, almost decapitating Ryner, to what he futilely complains. They advance through the ruins as Ryner disarms traps and complains of how ruins annoy him, to what Ferris assures that it is because there is no sexual deprivation to a job in ruins. Ryner cannot do better than to call her lie. The mysterious girl that spied on them appears again following their steps with a company of four men, and she trips, releasing traps of water that carry her along with Ryner (as Ferris manages to escape) deep into the ruins.
Sion is shown again in a carriage driven by Claugh. A boy jumps on the carriage with the intention to kill the person aboard, who the boy thinks is Count Klausberr. As the boy realizes that the hero king is aboard instead, he doubts and Claugh seizes him. The boy then gives up on life after realizing that he has failed into saving his sister from the count, but Sion lifts his spirit by pointing the victory that evil gets when kindness surrenders, making the boy, named Fiole Folkal, an accomplice of corruption. Sion offers his help to Fiole in order to create a better world.
Ryner wakes up with the girl next to him and Ferris accusing him again of being a pervert (as we notice she is now wearing a shiny gem around her neck). The mysterious girl screams and introduces herself as Lieutenant Milk Callaud, the leader of Roland Empire Taboo-Breaker Pursuit Squadron. As she bites her tongue in her speech, she realized the duo ignoring her. Milk attacks with the Izuchi spell, but Ryner easily blocks it. Milk accuses Ferris of brainwashing Ryner and begs him to run away with him instead. Ferris comes up with the explanation of Milk having fallen in love with Ryner and been rejected, which both Milk and Ryner deny, upon which she decides instead that they must have had a secret love affair, which Milk also denies, explaining that Ryner is her childhood friend. Subsequently, a golem appears destroying the ruins. Right on time, Milk's companions save her and all five of them run away together. Ryner tries to analyze the golem with his Alpha Stigma but without results, coming to the conclusion that it is a relic. Fearing the relic's power, both of them run for their lives.
Sion succeeds in rescuing Fiole's sister, Eslina Folkal, and Claugh explains that their parents perished in the last war and wonders how many more children suffered that destiny because of the last king. In Klausberr's Manor Hall, Sion and Claugh talk about how usual the Folkal siblings' circumstance has been ever since the corrupt nobility gained power and Sion's incapability to destroy such custom. Count Klasberr appears then to play with Sion asking him if he enjoyed the "flowers" he left in his majesty's chambers, to what Sion answers positively and gratefully, so they both cheer to Roland's glory, but Sion cannot help to despise the hypocrisy of both.
As the golem continues to destroy everything, Ryner notices Ferris' new gem, which she picked up in the ruins, and sees it rise in the sky shooting a beam at the golem and destroying the whole area. The protagonists only turn their backs and keep their journey as the golem emerges again to continued destruction, and the episode closes with Sion reading a document written by Ryner that says: "I hate people dying. I hate killing, too. I don't like to see people cry or to cry myself. How must it feel not to be able to choose one's life? What about when a family member dies? or when a loved one dies? Nobody wants those things. Yet, the world laughs and hungers for such suffering. I've never had any burning desire to change anything. But it would be sad without change. I don't want to lose anything else... It sucks, but I think it's about time I moved forward."
(Alternatively is the English dub, which reads: "If you think about it, we wouldn't have gotten very far if deep down people weren't just as loath to kill as they are to die. War forces them to choose one over the other. High born or low, no one wants to sow mystery, not really. They just don't see an option. With our backs against the wall, the best of us see things in black and white. I've never put much thought in changing the world, but I have to admit, things can't continue the way they are. If kill or die is the only choice, its time to expand our options.")
But a blonde man called Lucile tries to convince Sion that those words are nothing more than the illusion of a monster to peace its own soul with a fairy tale. Sion falls into his memories of older times when he swore to become king and cleanse the world of misery, offering a hand to a young Ryner who stands then in a battlefield filled with death as he says: "Worthless."
Quotes[]
- "I hate people dying. I hate killing, too. I don't like to see people cry or to cry myself. How must it feel not to be able to choose one's life? What about when a family member dies? Or when a loved one dies? Nobody wants those things. Yet, the world laughs and hungers for such suffering. I've never had any burning desire to change anything. But it would be sad without change. I don't want to lose anything else... It sucks, but I think it's about time I moved forward." -Ryner's Report.
- Each quote is numbered so that conversations can be grouped together
1. Ryner: "Ai... don't ambush us this early in the morning... I'm clearly not good at fighting..."
Ryner: "Hey, are you awake? At least think of a plan."
Ferris: "...Shut up. I'm tired; it's cold; you go."
2. Ferris (talking to the soldiers, referring to Ryner): “Do you think a man who looks so foolish can be a spy?”
3. Ferris: “I’m a beauty. ……I was joking.”
Nelpha Soldiers: “How, how cute…”
Nelpha Leader and Ryner (together): “Don’t be tempted! / Don’t be fooled!!”
4. Ryner (explaining his intentions for coming to Nelpha to the soldiers): “Where should I start this- I’ll start from the beginning, the reason why we have come here, is to discover the Heroes’ Relics from the legends of the Heroes. We are searching for the remnants of the legends of the Heroes in all the lands, and this place has a legend of a Hero from approximately two hundred years ago—Wu…”
5. Nelpha Soldiers (after seeing Ryner’s eyes): “What!? The wielder of the Alpha Stigma!?”
Trivia[]
• In this episode, Ryner, Ferris and the Nelpha army’s encounter closely follows the storyline of the first chapter “Starting Legend” from Toriaezu Densetsu no Yusha no Densetsu:Volume 1 Draining Heroic Saga.
• The Roland Empire’s mage knight insignia is a snake wrapping itself around a gun; Ryner’s clothes carry this symbol. This fact is also revealed in “Starting Legend”.
• “Imiyaburi” is the romaji for “Taboo Breaker