Jack of All Trades, Party of None 1×08 & 1×09 Review: “Fights With Everyone” and “Has a Bad Feeling”

Jack of All Trades Party of None anime season 1 episode 8, titled ‘Fight With Everyone’, and episode 9, titled ‘Has a Bad Feeling’, were about showcasing Orun’s dynamic with his new team led by Selma. There was also a major plot development I wasn’t expecting at all.

As someone who has been enjoying JoATPoN, I have to say that the storyline has been missing direction for me. I knew about Orun wanting to grow stronger while operating as a swordsman during dungeon raids after being kicked out of the Hero’s Party. However, other than that, there’s been no major threat looming on the horizon for our lead character to deal with. Fortunately, episode 8 changed that.

Opening with a flashback to when Orun and Oliver were children, ‘Fights With Everyone’, showed the two sparring while being monitored by hooded figures. Kid Oliver was clearly annoyed by Orun pulling his punches during the match. He wanted Kid Orun to unleash his full power to determine who was stronger. And while Kid Orun pretended to have been defeated again, much to Kid Oliver’s disappointment, the scene made it clear that Kid Orun had surpassed Kid Oliver a while ago. According to the hooded figures who were looking after the young boys, Kid Orun was meant for something great.

Sion, Orun’s childhood friend, was aware of his true power and promised him she would grow stronger so one day she could support him during his mission. There were moments where Kid Sion would mention something or someone, and the dialogue would deliberately glitch out. Apparently, Kid Orun had a destiny to fulfill and so did Kid Sion.

However, jumping to the present, the current Orun didn’t seem to have any recollection of his past or his destiny. A scene where the Southern Guildmaster mentioned Orun defeating the Black Dragon himself to the Guildmaster of the North was quite interesting. The Northern Guildmaster seemed to have an idea about Orun’s true nature, and he asked the Southern Guildmaster to keep an eye on Orun.

I don’t know, but if I were to assume, Orun might be a reincarnation or a potential vessel for an extremely powerful entity destined to reshape the world, after destroying it, of course. The hooded figures from his past appeared to be linked to the Church. And this wouldn’t be the first time religious fanatics were training a child to serve a greater nefarious purpose under the guise of fulfilling a religious prophecy.

Another major reveal involved a now-adult Sion on a mission to conquer major locations and kill members of the Church. From what I could tell, Kid Sion was told the Church was responsible for Kid Orun’s death, and she became all about seeking revenge. Her current objective was to head south with her party to investigate the popular Hero who had managed to defeat the Black Dragon solo. If there was any inkling the Hero had sided with the Church, Sion was to kill him.

I’m very excited about Sion reuniting with Orun and realizing her childhood friend was still alive. However, again, if I were to assume, I think Kid Orun did die during some kind of ritual before coming back to life (somehow) and thus, not remembering the ordeal he had been put through.

Due to Orun being shown to be extremely talented, it was nice to finally get introduced to a new character who seemed to have similar powerlevels. Orun vs Sion is going to be good!

With Orun unaware of being presently monitored and his past on its way to catch up to him, we saw him excited to begin his duties as the newest member of Unit 1 under the Night Sky Silver Rabbits guild, led by Selma. Along with Selma and Orun, the party consisted of Rain the sorceress, Lucrecia the healer, and Wilkes the attacker/tank.

Having shared a lot of information about the overarching plot involving the growing tensions between the Church and certain adventurers, the rest of ‘Fights With Everyone’ had Unit 1 being surprised about Orun using a normal blade instead of wielding a custom weapon. So, before they went on their first adventure together, Unit 1 took Orun to their blacksmith to craft a weapon worthy of Orun’s talents.

Orun presenting a scale from the slain Black Dragon to the blacksmith and realizing a bit too late what he had done made for a nice moment. The Black Dragon was responsible for Albert’s death, and seeing the scale brought back memories for Unit 1. They were emotionally mature enough not to blame Orun for casually presenting the dragon scale to the blacksmith, but Orun could sense his action had upset Unit 1. I continue to enjoy seeing such powerful adventurers being an emotional mess.

Plot development took a backseat in ‘Has a Bad Feeling’, as the episode focused on Orun’s first adventure with Unit 1. The party was tasked with collecting Noxious-sheep skins from floor 86, which also housed dangerous Earth Dragons. The battle with the Earth Dragons showcased Selma’s leadership as well as the various abilities and skills accessible to Unit 1.

Selma’s Special Ability was Telepathy, allowing her to give orders and communicate with her party members psychically instead of shouting. It was the Special Ability Orun wished he had. Rain was very fast at casting high-level spells. Lucrecia had the ability to sense magic to track hidden enemies. Wilkes was efficient at using the double-ended spear (a very hard weapon to master). Wilkes could also cancel attacks instead of simply blocking them.

It was fun to see Orun working well with the team. Unit 1 had been training a lot after losing Albert. According to Orun, they were skilled enough to defeat the Black Dragon without his help. High praise indeed.

With the mission completed, the rest of the episode had Unit 1 continuing to bond over drinks. They had been anxious about getting along with Orun, and were pleased to realize he was easy to befriend. The scene also led to an uncomfortable moment where Selma and Lucrecia fawned over Orun, which I wasn’t a fan of, but considering the type of anime this is, I guess I have to brace myself to sit through more similar moments down the line. Hopefully, such so-called comedic moments will be easy to swallow, being accompanied by more plot-heavy developments.

Did you watch Jack of All Trades Party of None anime season 1 episodes 8 and 9? What did you think of them?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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