Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok Episode 5 Commentary

Challenge of the Mystery Thief Frey!

I don’t know Norse mythology, but mention of Frey brought to mind the name Freya. So, the two are siblings, and there’s something with Loki and Freya, something Frey disapproves of. Could Loki have been a bad guy, Freya having fallen for him, and Frey wants to ensure they don’t get back together?

The detective said he owed Mayura’s father. Could it have been over an exorcising in the past? Or was it something else?

I’m glad to see Kotaro return. I wasn’t sure if he’d be a minor character, or just a one time appearance. I’ll have to keep an eye on him. Mayura and Yamino made comment about a similarity between Kotaro and Loki, but I didn’t understand it. They maybe look a tiny bit similar in their hairstyles, but I don’t imagine there being anything else.

Speaking of Yamino, I only now found in the credits that Yamino is his family name (makes sense, as it sounds like one), with his given name being Ryusuke. Will that name find use in the series? Kotaro calls Mayura by her surname, Daidoji, but Loki calls her Mayura. What about Yamino, by which name does he address her? Maybe if Mayura becomes closer friends with Loki and Yamino, she’ll call him by his given name? Nah, probably not. His status and position as Loki’s butler may prohibit it.

If Heimdall’s right eye is throbbing, this means it’s still out there somewhere, waiting to be returned to him. He believes it’s telling him to kill Loki, yet it can’t simply say, “By they way, I’m over here, come and find me”? Heimdall must be attributing feelings to the pain where his eye was removed from.

Like Heimdall, it appears Frey has been sent by Odin, but also like Odin, he has his own reason for going after Loki, something Narugami lacks. There was mention of a war of gods. Things must be leading up to Ragnarök.

The girl I’m curious about, the brown-haired one, may just make an appearance in the next episode, but why is Heimdall about to approach her with Freya’s necklace? And if Freya is the blond-haired woman in the opening theme, why does her hair style resemble Mayura’s? Is that Mayura or Freya in the boat?

A couple of observations on the use of language in the Japanese and English versions: When Yamino hands Narugami the tall bowl of rice, Narugami says “thank you” in English in the Japanese version. I don’t think I would have dubbed this as “arigatou”, but I can understand the decision. This would be like a character saying in an English show saying “arrivederci”, then a French dub having the person say “farewell” in English. It shows that the person is using a non-native word or expression, even if it’s a common one used by speakers of their native language. Still, having translation/dubbing notes for someone who doesn’t know Japanese would be a nice inclusion.

The other item is when Narugami is delivering the rice balls. Why does he call them “onigiri”, with a bad pronounciation, rather than just calling them “rice balls” in the dub?

This episode has kept my interest more than the previous episode, but I still look for an episode which can match the first in the series. Otherwise, the series may fall into the category of “common anime series” until the final episodes. Piecing the story and events leading up to it makes the series more interesting.