Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On - Season 1, Part 2: Turning to the Dark Side
Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On is a 2016 Japanese animated television series based on the spin-off game of the same name in the the Monster Hunter video game franchise. The first season contains an astounding 48 episodes, so I will be covering them in four parts; one for each twelve episode DVD release.
This is part 2 of a four part series. Reading Part 1 first is advised.
Opening Song: Panorama (by Kanjani)
Credits Song: N/A
Spoiler Warning: I am going to give a synopsis of each episode and my opinions at the very end.
Episode 13: A Rathian is Born!
Cheval discovers his mother died while trying to retrieve the rathian egg from their house, and with most of the villages monsters gravely wounded, decides to try and hatch the egg. During the hatching rite, the blighted nargacuga returns, but is repelled by Lute and Ratha using a kinship attack. The Scriveners return to Hakum Village to inform the elders that a Hunter has been dispatched to slay the blighted nargacuga, given its incurable affliction and erratic behavior. Until then, the village will have to defend itself to the best of its abilities.
Episode 14: Face the Black Blight!
Rather than wait several days for the Hunter to arrive, the junior Riders decide to chase after the nargacuga now, while it is still recovering. They use sonic bombs to locate the nargacuga and to stop it from slipping back into the shadows. Cheval and Rathi hold it off until Lute and Ratha arrive to finish it. Ratha is wounded in the fight, though, disappearing over a cliff. The black blight is then dissipated by their kinship stones.
Episode 15: The Journey Begins
The four young Riders are given special permission to leave Hakum Village in order to battle the black blight. Lilia also leaves to join the Scriveners but will be traveling with the Riders for a while because it is safer than going alone. Everyone is gifted a weapon and Lute hatches a new monster - velocidrome.
Episode 16: Avinia's Secret
The group drinks hot drinks to stay warm and forage for food before hitting the Arctic Ridge. While searching the forest, Lute and Navirou are chased by konchu (bugs) into an ice cave in the snowy region. There they find an injured Rider named Avinia, guarded by her barioth (saber-cat), Frostfang. They follow Avinia out of the cave but are attacked by a khezu (giant leech) that chases them to a hot spring inn.
Episode 17: Meet the Riddlemaster
The owner of the inn, Ol' Dede the Riddlemaster, allows Avinia to
stay for free for having solved one of his riddles. Lute and Navirou,
however, have to work to pay off their stay. They speak with two Hunter
patrons that show off the scars they received from battles with gravios
(rock monster), seregios (wyvern), gobul (fish), and nibelsnarf (sand
fish). The Hunters also warn the kids that to get to Gildegaran they
will need to get past a khezu, although, the "Wyverian of the Arctic
Ridge" may be able to help. For solving a few more of his riddles, Ol'
Dede the Wyverian, powers up Frostfang, enabling it to defeat the khezu.
Avinia, Lute and Navirou meet up with the rest of the group and
separate from Avinia, who decides to stay in the arctic region to weed
out the black blight there.
Episode 18: Welcome to Gildegaran
Upon arriving in the city of Gildegaran, the group are nearly arrested by Captain Gentor because of Navirou's odd appearance. However, the Guildmaster of Gildegaran, Majek, overrides the arrest orders on account of being good friends with Chief Omna. Lilia meets up with Simone at the Scriveners, where news of blighted monsters lurking near the city is received. Lute, Cheval, Mille, and Hyoro leave Gildegaran to battle the blighted kecha wacha (monkey) nearby.
Episode 19: Nerscylla Blitz!
Unable to pay the hotel fee because Navirou spent all of their money on donuts, Lute manages to get a room at Reverto's place. In return, Lute has to complete Hunter's Guild quests to pay the rent. Lute, Navirou, and Debli, an aspiring Rider, leave Gildegaran to collect mushrooms as their first quest but are captured by a nerscylla (spider). Reverto shows up to save the three and stresses the importance of knowing your surroundings; not just where certain plants grow (the mushrooms were near an animal trail) but what eats them and how the time of year will impact animal movements and behavior.
Episode 20: The Legend of Pawpad Place
Lute, Navirou, and Lilia go in search of a kinship boulder located on the 'holy land' of a felyne village. Only felyne are allowed to enter, and the cat villagers are hesitant to give Navirou permission on account of his deformed appearance. Navirou is forced to perform a ritual and retrieve a genprey (raptor) fang to gain their acceptance. However, when a gendrome arrives to protect its pack, Lute is forced to join the fight alongside a basarios (rock monster) he picked up off-screen. The felyne, not realizing the trio were Riders, grant everyone permission to see the boulder which acts as a monument to a legendary Rider of yore named Redan.
Episode 21: Barroth, Landslide Wyvern
The entire team - Lute, Cheval, Lilia, Navirou, Mille and Hyoro, leave for the neighboring desert to investigate reports of blighted monsters expanding the sandy region. Navirou mistakes a mudhole for an oasis, accidentally disturbing a barroth (theropod monster) in the process. Cheval defends the group with Rathi, but starts going too far, forcing Lute to put himself in harms way to stop Cheval from killing the non-blighted monster whose home they intruded upon.
Lilia uses a shock trap and tranquilizer to capture the monster, then contacts the Guild to have it retrieved. The next day, the barroth has mysteriously gone missing, stolen by an old man named Dr. Manelger and his sidekick Itsy-Bits. The duo spot what they think is a diablos (triceratops monster) stuck in quicksand, but it turns out to be a daimyo hermitaur (crab - plum variant) using a diablos skull in place of a shell. Cheval, Mille and Hyoro rush to save Dr. Manelger and Itsy-Bits from the quicksand and daimyo hermitaur, although, Cheval goes overboard again, reasoning that any animal that threatens a human life must be destroyed.
Episode 22: Desert Mayday
The group makes their way to a desert refugee camp, where Captain Gentor makes it clear they are not welcome. However, he allows them to accompany him and Hunter Fahail on a mission to deal with a blighted cephadrome (sand fish). Gentor rushes into battle, getting himself stuck in quicksand. Lute uses his basarios to save Gentor while Cheval and Rathi hold the cephadrome at bay. As soon as the fight starts going south, Dr. Manelger and Itsy-Bits appear with a solution. They have found a way to control monsters remotely by using kinship stones, and unleash the barroth they stole earlier, but now armored and subservient. Dr. Manelger claims it is no different to how Riders force monsters to battle other monsters, and will erase the need for Hunters. The cephadrome is defeated but the barroth's kinship stone is damaged, causing Dr. Manelger to loose control of it.
Episode 23: The Horned Wyvern's Lament
Cheval and Rathi kill the barroth that can neither flee nor fight back with its controls broken. Cheval then justifies his actions to Lute by explaining how they couldn't have known what the barroth might've done. Dan, Stone, and Genie from Hakum Village show up to investigate the desertification of the land. With the blighted cephadrome dead, they believe there must be another cause. A blighted diablos makes itself known, and Lute and his basarios get the upperhand until a heat beam exhausts the basarios, giving the diablos time to attack and injure Lilia. Dan has his qurupeco lure a barroth into the area with its mimicry skills, giving everyone time to flee as the two monsters fight over territory. Cheval then blames Lute for what happened to Lilia because he "puts monsters before people".
Episode 24: Sky Wyvern, Land Wyvern
Cheval and Lute discuss their differing views, then prepare to leave with Reverto and the other Riders to bring down the blighted diablos. On their way out of Gildegaran, they have a surprise reunion with Ratha near the docks.
Final Thoughts
Part Two of the first season introduces a host of new characters and a new area, but doesn't do much to expand upon them. For example, what was the importance of introducing Avinia and the Riddlemaster? They don't further the cast's journey in a meaningful way and could have been removed without impacting the narrative. Even the monsters continue to be throw-away; like, what would someone unfamiliar with the Monster Hunter franchise have learned about barioth, nerscylla, or diablos from watching this show? Would they know that diablos is a vegetarian? How severely the powerful barioth is impacted by part-breaks compared to other monsters (broken wings = slips on ice, cut tail = no more iceblight, broken fangs = can't tremor)? Or that nerscylla wears the skin of its prey and has freaky red fangs it keeps tucked away? The Stories video games may be superior to Pokémon (IMHO) but in regards to showcasing its monsters, the Pokémon TV series does better. It honestly just feels like the show is going down a checklist at this point, crossing off things from the game without trying to adapt to a TV series format.
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