Petals of Reincarnation 1×4 and 1×5 Review: “All-Knowing and Corruption” and “Farewell, Hearkening Soul”

Petals of Reincarnation anime season 1 episode 4, titled ‘All-Knowing and Corruption’, and episode 5, titled ‘Farewell, Hearkening Soul’, focused on a bunch of interesting battles before the incoming final fight with Xiang Yu.

One of my gripes in my review of the previous couple of episodes was how the narrative put an unsatisfying spotlight on confrontations between the Forest of the Greats and the Sinners. Even though seeing their special talents was exciting, the fights didn’t pack an emotional punch because we didn’t know much about the characters being pitted against each other.

‘All-Knowing and Corrpution’ and ‘Farewell, Hearkening Soul’ gave me the answer to the lack of character development. And while it wasn’t the answer I was expecting, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit impressed because of how the creative team sidestepped the need for fleshing out character backstories.

It’s revealed that most of the Returners who had sided with the Forest of the Greats didn’t have much of a personality because they lost their humanity after becoming Complete Returners. They didn’t remember why they became Retuners in the first place and thus were simply out there following Neumann’s orders to stop Xiang Yu and his minions from causing global chaos without sharing much of their opinions.

It was a flimsy explanation, but, frankly, I have to be honest about how it still made in-lore sense. The lack of humanity accompanying the Complete Returners was the reason why Incomplete Returners like Toya and Haito were of interest to Xiang Yu. According to him, Incomplete Returners still possessed the potential to exceed their talent due to not forgetting their initial goal of obtaining said talent, unlike the Complete Returners, who sought something they couldn’t remember anymore.

Talking about the battles between fictional portrayals of historical figures, we got a snipe-off between Hathcock and Häyhä. Hatchcock’s talent allowed him to change his environment to resemble Vietnam, while Häyhä produced a snowy scape. Both iconic snipers felt a rush of excitement because of facing an opponent worthy of their skill.

The much-anticipated appearance of Young Girl Hitler occurred during ‘All-Knowing and Corruption’, with Hitler’s Mastermind talent allowing her to already know about everyone else’s talents and how to counter them. The ‘Corruption’ part of the episode title referred to Pol Pot, who had the ability to corrupt organic matter around him.

I liked how the villainous duo took down the invisible Fabre. Even though Fabre’s invisibility also hid any sound he made as well as his natural body odor, Pol Pot’s corruption served as the perfect counter because he and Hitler could deduce Fabre’s location by focusing on the spot that didn’t smell like decay. I would have liked to see more from Fabre, but then again, the narrative’s not interested in fleshing out most Complete Returners.

Hitler and Pol Pot also managed to defeat Darwin, Schrodinger, and Fischer. Darwin was easy because even though he could alter his body to defend against attacks, his modifications were limited to already existing animals and insects, which weren’t immune to Pol Pot’s corruption. As for Fischer, the dude quickly found out that actual life-and-death battles were drastically different from a game of chess. Both sides didn’t enter the battlefield with an equal number of soldiers to command. Also, checkmate meant death for the loser.

As a fan of Schrodinger’s talent, I was disappointed to see him get taken down by Hitler and Pol Pot. Schrodinger’s inability to search for a single possibility that allowed for even a 1% rate of success against his opponents felt like a necessary plot convenience instead of something that would have organically occurred. I mean, Schrodinger should have made a run for it or at least waited for a minute or two to ensure the probabilities refreshed once Newton and Ein appeared in the same area.

Talking about Newton and Ein, Newton’s gravitational field was capable of protecting against Pol Pot’s corruption, but apparantly, it would only work once due to the element of surprise. As for Ein, even though her talent was deemed OP, it was limited to the fact that she could only teleport to areas she had previously been on foot.

Ein and Newton surviving against Hitler and Pol Pot was yet another plot convenience. The Sinner duo deciding not to go for the kill just because they felt Newton and Ein still had some level of humanity left in them, even though they were Complete Returners, was just so… ugh!

But hey, I’m not really complaining, because Newton and Ein’s survival led to a very interesting twist about Neumann’s true intentions when Newton and Ein questioned Neumann’s plan to attack Xiang Yu in such a manner. Neumann’s definitely up to something, and I have to say that it was a twist I wasn’t expecting at all.

Coming to Neumann’s suspicions about there being a spy in their midst, the spy in question was revealed to be Caesar. He was Xiang Yu’s fifth Great General and had been reporting on the Forest of the Greats for a long time. Caesar’s OP ability allowed him to instantly master any weapon across human history, which proved to be quite challenging to someone like Haito, who preferred wielding a single kind of weapon. I doubt Haito will die against Caesar, but I’m still looking forward to seeing victory not being easy for her.

Finally, coming to Toya and him being involved in Funasaka’s fight with Rudel the Phoenix, it’s that particular confrontation that shared details about a Complete Returner’s lack of humanity and their desire to seek something they couldn’t recall anymore. Funasaka and Rudel’s emotional crisis was, from what I could tell, heavier than that of other Complete Returners due to both men being immortal. In a way, because of facing an opponent who shared the same talent, both characters were hoping this would be their final battle.

Witnessing their fight was the only moment where I felt some kind of emotional weight, but then again, the narrative aimed to explain away the lack of character backstories.

Before Funasaka could disintegrate into a bunch of petals, having lost the stamina to keep regenerating, he decided to ask Toya to steal his talent. Funasaka’s decision made sense because he believed in Toya due to still being an Incomplete Returner. Funasaka had experienced a sense of emptiness in his soul due to having lost his initial goal to awaken his talent. And he wanted to help Toya in the way he could.

With Toya making his way to confront Xiang Yu on his own, I wouldn’t be surprised if Haito appeared to lend a hand. Also, I’m excited about what Xiang Yu might reveal about Neumann and how, quite possibly, the Forest of the Greats isn’t the do-gooder organization Toya had been led to believe.

Did you watch Petals of Reincarnation anime episodes 4 and 5? 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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary