Ragna Crimson – Season 1 Episode 13 Recap & Review

Hero of the Battle

Episode 13 of Ragna Crimson Season 1 begins with Starlia’s forces waiting for Olto Zora’s forces to enter their base. To their surprise, several humans enter the building and beg Starlia’s forces to protect them. The leader of the pack (Ike) recalls Crimson’s warnings about Zora’s drug-crafting and hypnotizing powers. Ike tells everyone to keep their guard up as the humans attack them. Starlia arrives and assists her comrades with the human threat.

She announces they should only protect the humans under their care and their fellow soldiers. She deems everyone else a threat and will kill them herself if need be. She entrusts Ike with this base’s protection and asks Greya, Hesela, Chris, and Nazarena to accompany her to the forest. Elsewhere, Zora’s thrilled by Starlia’s resolve and can’t wait to battle her soon. Crimson gives the audience a recap on the superior dragons’ talent and how it’s measured by the length of their maturation.

If it takes them a short amount of time to mature, then they’ll become more powerful as a result. During his fight with Ragna, Taratectora admits he lacks talent, but he makes up for it with the years of experience he attained when he was a human. Ragna notes it’s difficult for him to land a decisive blow on Taratectora. He examines Taratectora further and believes he’ll need to use a large amount of silverine to hurt him. Ragna plans to channel all his power into his sword and hopes this will do the trick. 

Meanwhile, Greya, Hesela, and members of the aerial unit patrol the forest from above. They relay their findings to their comrades and note how they can’t detect Zora’s whereabouts. Simultaneously, Starlia informs the audience of the twin’s exceptional skills. The twins inform Starlia that many dragons are heading near the base’s east entrance and might be anticipating their next move. Starlia says it’s fine while Zora praises her forces for their effort against his human army.

Zora checks on Taratectora because he’s mildly concerned about him. Taratectra tells Zora not to fret since he believes he defeated Ragna. Zora questions Taratectora further about Ragna to see if he is the “Reaper” who attacked Ultimatia. Taratectora believes Ragna’s not the same guy. However, he says the “Reaper” might be present on the battlefield somewhere. Taratectora tries to finish Ragna off, but Ragna awakens and evades his attack.

Suddenly, inferior dragons arrive to weaken Ragna. Taratectora argues Ragna’s not a priority to him and feels these inferior dragons will be enough to defeat him. Taratectora attempts to flee and asks Zora for new orders. Zora tells Taratectora he wants him to visit Starlia’s location and annihilate her and her forces with his cannon attack. Ragna tries stopping Taratectora but is overwhelmed by the inferior dragons’ combined might. Fortunately, Shin and Garm arrive to lend him assistance and advice.

Instead of thanking the two for their help, Ragna tells them to scram. Ragna argues he can handle the inferior dragons and Taratectora by himself, angering Shin. Shin challenges Ragna to a duel, to Ragna’s surprise. We cut to a flashback dating back four days before Ragna and Crimson arrived at Starlia’s base. Starlia informs her forces that they should avoid problems with the superior dragons. Shin finds Starlia’s methods cowardly, enticing Starlia to put Shin in his place. 

Then, Starlia announces her after-battle plans to her soldiers. After a heartfelt discussion with a former comrade, Shin mentions that 120 soldiers decided to stay by Starlia’s side. In the present, Shin gives Ragna a thoughtful speech about his and the others’ reasons for fighting. Additionally, he tells Ragna he doesn’t care about his motives or his strength. After opening up to Ragna, Shin approaches Gram. Gram updates him on their situation.

Additionally, Gram says he’d like to continue assisting everyone in this fight and achieve higher strength. After arguing with Slime for a bit, Shin and Gram plan to stop Taratectora. Elsewhere, Starlia plans to use her powers to turn the forest into her territory.  Simultaneously, Starlia’s comrades update her on their findings and successes. Zora acknowledges Starlia’s strengths and realizes she’s plotting something with a magic absorption circle. Additionally, Starlia’s plan reminds him of his Solarian days. He reveals the Solarians wanted to use dragons’ magic for battle purposes and finds Starlia’s needs for it fascinating. 

The episode closes with Zora laughing because he knows what Starlia plans to do. 

The Episode Review

After a short break, Ragna Crimson returns with an episode that’ll leave war junkies satisfied. It delivers a wonderful blend of military combat and strategy. It also gives many supporting characters chances to shine. From Starlia’s valiant leadership skills to Shin’s thoughtful words toward Ragna, viewers will love seeing our supporting cast showcase their distinct skills in this episode.  

Although Starlia had defining moments before, seeing her acknowledge the twins’ capabilities and take charge in certain affairs will fill many with glee. This episode exceptionally shows why she deserves to be the one in charge. At the same time, this episode served as a nice wake-up call for Ragna and gave audiences a valuable lesson to latch onto. 

Coupled with beautiful animation, a wonderful set-up, and informative details about the superior dragon’s talent, this was a great way to kick off Ragna Crimson’s second cour. Hopefully, the anime can continue providing us with more thrilling battles and intriguing character-driven moments.