Helck – 09 – Random Interest

「蛮族トースマン」 (Banzoku Tousuman)
“Barbarians of the Tothman Tribe”

I’d venture to say that Helck is beginning to take off. Or at least more so than the previous several weeks, as it appears like certain pieces are now fitting together correctly. Although there has been and will continue to be a delay, I’ll be damned if my own interest isn’t growing with each new episode.

The central enigma of Helck, apart from the titular character’s own hidden secrets, has been how humans as a whole came to be seen as heroes. With this week’s monster of the week, we may come closer to understanding this mystery. It’s not too difficult to draw comparisons between the two: large boss man orders the small tribe to go on a rampage after they receive a powerup. However, where did this power come from, exactly like humanity? Is it similar to those angels I mentioned earlier? If so, how extensive and connected is this power? My personal wager is that it is entirely wicked in origin and only appears as celestial magnificence in the hands of men, giving more savage people the full Mad Max experience seen here. It would at least provide an explanation for some of the similarities observed thus far, and it would also come with the additional one-two that the human king might not be in charge of his own affairs. After all, you can always be sure that someone else is in charge when it comes to absurd power.

This brings us to Helck himself, who, as Vamirio has already acknowledged, is essentially a tank. Even though I anticipated it, I still laughed out loud when Vamirio nearly cried when he saw the finish line and, among other things, when Helck subtly acknowledged that he is aware of his own power. Helck is concealing a significant amount of power, which supports the theory that he is more knowledgeable about the situation than he is letting on and presumably has a more intimate connection to it than first appears. As is customary, it will take some time before we get those details (it’s become something of a running joke at this point), but I still fully expect a huge twist before the series’ halfway point arrives in a few weeks.

Just a question of who – or what – finally starts prying that lid loose.

Preview