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Tale of Neo Byston Well Ep. 3: People Above Ground

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Summary

Shion tells the soldiers riding with him to stop and that they’ll die if they continue to come with him, but they insist they continue with him since he’s a holy warrior and they must pay him back. The gate to the Raban’s castle is closed as Shion and the soldiers arrive. Shion calls out for Raban to give back Rumel and fight him. Raban comes out with Rumel, telling her he’ll give her a great gift, the head of a holy warrior. Shot chuckles, thinking this is a big opportunity. The soldiers start fighting the troops in the castle, while Rabaan heads out in his Zwauth to fight Shion. The soldiers start making their way into Raban’s castle but are fought off by Beraana and the soldiers inside. The Zwauth successfully strikes the Sirbine and flies off. Rumel is brought into a cell in a tower of the castle and hears Shion’s voice. As mechanical components rise from the chasm, Shot claims his opportunity is here. For the time being, Rabaan’s forces have fought off the invaders and they retreat. It becomes night. Shion leads a small squadron of men to accompany him and Silky as they sneak into the castle on foot to rescue Rumel. They are immediately found as soon as they come in however. Shion and the others are tossed into a watery pit where a red serpent attacks them. Each of the men stab the serpent as much as they can in an attempt to kill it and free one of the men who is seized by it, They are successful, but the man ends up perishing. Seeing him dead, Shion is upset, but the others still are dedicated to accompanying him. Spotting a large group of rats running up and down the wall, Shion is able to use some rope to enable them to escape. It is reported to Raban that Shion and the others have escaped. On an intercom Rabaan says that Rumel will die if Shion does not come out and turn himself in. Shion comes out with the other two men accompanying him. They are led to the chasm. Rumel shouts that they should stop and Raaan says she has the ability to save them. Shion says he’d rather die than have her do so. Rumel submits to Raban and he agrees to let Shion and the others go, leaving with Rumel and Beraana. After they go, Shion and the others realize it was a lie and they’re still going to be tossed over the cliff. Two crossbows being controlled by Shot are used to kill the guards. Shion wonders what he is up to. Shot says his efforts will be in vain if they were to die. One of the men attacks him but Shot’s arm simply crumbles when he grabs it. Silky watches from afar.

Rabaan says that now that the holy warrior is dead, they should use this opportunity to kill their opposition. Beraana sends out a large force to attack Shion’s remaining allies. Raban heads out on his Zwauth to attain the Sirbine, but is shocked to find Shion inside, who attacks him. Rabaan is shocked to hear that Shot released him. Shion says Shot is using him and Raban is outraged at hearing this. Silky flies inside Rumel’s cell and tells her that Shion and the others have escaped. Rumel tricks a guard into entering her cell and knocks him out, escaping with Silky. She makes her way through the castle, setting aflame a large supply room filled with barrels, causing the entire castle to burst into flames. Raban realizes that the castle is on fire and orders a retreat. Shion pursues him into the castle. Silky leads Rumel to where Shot is, saying he is responsible for this conflict. Shion and Raban continue to battle each other in their Aura Battlers. Rabaan has to cut off one of the Zwauth’s arms to continue as they travel underground. Shot realizes that there is a rush of power to the Aura Road, and starts a countdown for firing one of the rockets embedded in the rock. He starts to levitate. Raban arrives, mad at Shot for betraying him, but Shot says it is too late to stop him. Shion shows up right behind Raban Shot heads into the rocket enclosed in the wall, thinking this is his chance to return via the Aura Road. Beraana sneaks up behind Rumel and attacks, but Rumel is able to defend herself. Raban tells Beraana to focus on the traitor, Shot. Beraana has no idea how to stop the countdown. Raban grabs the rocket and slices off the top of it. He thinks he has stopped things, but Shot says this makes no difference and that once the rocket explodes he’ll get what he wants. Shion rushes towards the rocket as well. Raban grasps his hands through the rocket in an attempt to get at Shot. The countdown ends and the rocket starts rising. Shion destroys the rocket control console with his sword, causing the other rockets to explode. The explosion vaporizes the Zwauth and Raban Shot is also vaporized but laughs maniacally. Shion is able to create a sort of energy barrier around the Sirbine to protect Rumel and Silky. The landscape around them is devastated, with no one to be seen, but Shion, Rumel and Silky are safe and hold each other’s hands.

Commentary

This is a pretty good final episode, with some interesting battles and an exciting conclusion, even if things do end rather abruptly. Whether Shot actually attained what he is looking for is unknown, but he did seem quite happy there at the end. Overall I must say I was quite pleased with how this OVA turned out, considering I had heard nothing but bad things about it to this point. I thought they did a pretty good job at making a short, concise story that fit in the Byston Well world. My criticisms would be the inclusion of filler at times (particularly episode 2) and the ambiguity of the ending. For someone looking for another story in the Byston Well world I would highly recommend watching this OVA; just come into it knowing that it’s not going to be as good as the original series.

Overall Rating
3.5/5

Tale of Neo Byston Well Info

Director:
Toshifumi Takizawa

Writer:
Yoshitake Suzuki

Mechanical Designer:
Yutaka Izubuchi

Character Designer:
Hiroyuki Hataike

Musical Composer:
Reijoru Koroku

Format:
3 episodes

Video Release:
Japan 02.25.1988 – 08.25.1988

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