Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy – S2 01 – Answered Prayers

Moonlit Fantasy’s second season picks up where the first left off, as Makoto is on his way to Magic Academy with Shiki by his side. They make a stop in the town of Obitt, and Shiki searches for the very best inn for the young master (fearing Tomoe and Mio’s wrath if he doesn’t).

Makoto chooses not to wear his mask in town, which gets him some looks. When he stops by the guild, he finds a woman begging in vain for aid against a group of bandits called Moon over the Ruined Castle, which is the same name as a famous Japanese song and one of Makoto’s faves.

Back in the Demiplane, Mio is attempting to cook for everyone, but the first attempt leads to serious casualties as her “curry rice” contains ingredients inedible to demihumans, such as soft emeralds. The camera panning to various characters suffering ill effects of having tasted the curry is a clever way to re-introduce the large cast of supporting characters.

Makoto has decided to follow his heart when in doubt, so when he sees the girl from the guild being harassed in an alley, he rescues her and her werewolf friend. She introduces herself as Lana from Tapa Village; the wolf, whom Makoto heals, is Eto. Makoto introduces himself as Kuzunoha.

Tapa may be a long way away, but that’s no problem for Makoto, who picks up Lana and Eto and flies there, arriving at the gates before sundown. Once there, Lana heads into the village, which Makoto can sense has been attacked again by the bandits. When Eto asks why he’s helping them, Makoto says he doesn’t like a bandit group having the same name as a song he likes. Simple as that!

Mio fares no better in her second attempt. While she uses nominally edible ingredients (meat, fruit, and vegetables), the ways in which she prepared the dishes render them just as inedible as the emerald curry. Tomoe suggests Mio travel the world and hone her skills, and to her surprise, Mio is all for it. So are the others, who are sick of being poisoned!

Makoto “takes a walk” into the forest where the bandits dwell, uses Silence Kai to eliminate all sound in their radius, then uses the confusion to pick off a few of them with arrows. By the time sound returns, Makoto has a lot more targets, so he decides to take them all out with fire, fondly recalling when Emma first taught him.

He doesn’t kill the bandits, but he does make them change their name, and makes it so they won’t threaten Lana or Eto’s villages again. When next we see him he’s back in Obitt, checking in with Shiki, who has found a passable (and expensive) inn in which to stay.

Before heading to bed, Makoto looks up at the moonlit sky and considers when he’ll encounter the other two heroes from Earth the Goddess summoned into this world. That should be interesting! Moonlit Fantasy delivers a quiet first outing in its return, but reminded me why I loved the first: that colorful special-sauce balance of action, comedy, and a smidge of drama … with no melted pot handle aftertaste.