English Dub Review: Ishura “Higuare the Pelagian and Nastique the Silent Singer”

Overview (spoilers below):
Higuare the Pelagian and Shalk the Sonic Cutter meet with Taren the Guarded.

Our statement:
Based on the episode titles, I’m assuming this is the last of the five chapters detailing the various Shuras and their Aureatian allies before we reunite with Soujiro and Yuno. Fortunately, some of the Shuras introduced in this episode are familiar faces, including Higuare the Pelagian. We already saw Higuare and Shalk the Soundcutter in the second episode when they were ambushed by a wyvern army, but we don’t know their origins. That is until this week’s episode, where we examine this peculiar Mandrake monster in more detail.
The first half covers Higuare and Shalk’s meeting with Taren the Guarded, where Higuare reveals more about his past. Higuare is a Mandrake trained to be an unstoppable gladiator, driven by his goal to kill his opponents or die. In addition to his ability to hold multiple swords at once, Higuare can inject his enemies with poison with a single blow. However, aside from his violent nature, he is also seen as a well-mannered Mandrake creature.
The second half also continues the journey of Nihilo the Vortical Stampede that began in last week’s episode. She teams up with Kuze the Passing Disaster, a paladin, on a mission as an assassin in the war between Aureatia and Lithia. Her quiet stay with Ripple was then interrupted by a group of Lithian assassins who were quickly defeated by his “guardian angel.” However, it turns out that Kuze’s guardian angel is actually an invisible Shura named Nastique the Quiet Singer, who can kill anyone with a single blow. Other than Kuze, no one can see Nastique, making them a seemingly unstoppable trio if you count Nihilo.
If you’ve seen the previous episodes, you’ll know this episode. In terms of structure, this latest chapter expands on more of the familiar characters introduced a few weeks ago through their backstories and sequels. However, despite the characters’ importance in the war, the narrative is still unfocused. It’s far from a dull affair due to the solid animation and world-building, but I hope the show picks up its pace in the second half.