I enjoy the plot a lot too and it’s certainly not a massive issue at this point but I just find non-brim-hat sorry arcs so much more satisfying so far. The tata mountains test and the flood chapters have a good deal of character development and a satisfying conclusion for instance. Meanwhile every time the brim hats are directly involved we don’t really know what’s going on.
The dragon chapter was cute but the fact that we have zero context for why this is happening and what the stakes really are cheapens it a bit.
I hope the author won’t overuse this trick to just have shocking but shallow plot twists that are then dropped before reaching a satisfying conclusion.
I really like that the author comes up with creative and understandable ways to use established mechanics in order to solve problems instead of just pulling ad-hoc magic spells out of her sleeves when the need arises.
She doesn’t have Tartare (le goût de la fraîcheur) come up with a “medicine divining spell”, instead she reuses the water vessel introduced all the way back in the first book in a creative way.
Also: that doctor should really label those vials.
I really felt this when I read this chapter! In modern healthcare there are so many safety checks built in to try and avoid drug errors. The idea that the medicines not only have no labels, but that someone tries to remove the liquid from the bottles to try and guess the ingredients by sniffing etc! He really needs to stick to tepid sponging…
What a dreadful cliffhanger. I had to read the next chapter, too.
But first things first.
Chapter 16
Lol to K-dog nippingTartare’s investigation in the bud with pure sparkliness.
Oh yes. Why is everyone in this society so allergic to labels? Not just the doctors, but also Tartare’s grandfather, who can’t even be arsed to label even for his colorblind grandson.
IIRC there were labels but they all fell off when koco toppled the shelf even though none of the jars seem to have been damaged.
From this we can conclude that in the world of Atelier they have amazing jar technology but label R&D is lagging behind and in dire need of disruption. Probably a label-maker cartel hampering progress. Maybe it ties into the brim hats?
Oh, also, wanted to say that I think it’s really cool that we (the audience) see the world the same way that Tartare does! (Aside from the cover illustrations. )
Yeah, what Akashelia said. This moment, where his look goes cold and the background turns black, just for a moment, and then when you turn the page he’s all sparkles.
I read both 16 & 17 yesterday, which turned out to be great timing since they fit together so neatly.
chapter 16
I’m kind of surprised that K-dog came right out with it, saying that Coco didn’t know anything about magic up until recently. It was only to Tatta but still, what an incriminating thing to say. It seems bad enough that Oru-sensei knows, even though he’s K’s buddy and a hermit.
chapter 17
Tatta and Coco’s relationship is off to a very cute start. I gotta say that spells for the sake of accessibility should be way more common in this world. It seems like an ideal use of magic! Recreating the original forms of the herbs so that Tatta didn’t have to rely on color is a cool idea that fits so neatly with his strengths, too. I also enjoyed the old lady catching him in the storage room and scolding him like of course nobody’s going to leave a hospital totally unstaffed kid, think!
So it turns out the labels were left off the medicines as a safety feature to prevent unauthorised use of the medicines. Makes perfect sense, I might suggest this at my local hospital…
体現者 - that’s a tricky word on the penultimate page, but what a good one. The embodiment of forbidden magic - the invisible wizard! Looking forward to what the brim hats are planning next!
Just noticing now that this is the last chapter of volume 3 so see you in the thread for volume 4 next week! (it will only be up when the reading start but there will be a post in the main thread with the link)
Really enjoyed this arc. Actually I had some theories about the brimmed hats. I think maybe they don’t really have a plan, they are just creating as much chaos as they can, hoping that it will eventually, somehow, result in change …
so see you in the thread for volume 4 next week! (it will only be up when the reading start but there will be a post in the main thread with the link)
