"Names Are Important, That's What (He/She) Said" is the 12th episode of the "Isekai Ojisan" Anime adaptation.
Takafumi’s uncle reminisces about the time he was tasked with hunting down a mysterious singing demon. Meanwhile, he longs to find his way home.
Summary[]
Uncle tries to show Sumika and Takafumi the Sega Saturn warning voice from a Strikers 1945 disc. However, he becomes disconcerted after learning there's no CD player in the household and that the new generation hasn't heard the warning voice. So, after Takafumi looks up an alternative on the internet, Uncle compromises by using his Sega Saturn to play the warning voice.
Sumika then asks what would happen if someone tried to play a Sega Saturn CD on a CD player. Uncle briefly explains it to Sumika and then throws a non sequitur about a Singing Beast he once encountered. Curious to know more, Uncle shows them the memory that takes place a month after the Hot Spring event. In it, Uncle accepted a quest to subjugate Singing Beast in a forest.
Wasting no time, Uncle uses his magic to charge at the beast, but crashes into it and learns that the monster was made of ice and created by Mabel. The two catch up, and Uncle learns that despite being in a dangerous area, Mabel is protected by the Beast Robe she wears, which is enchanted with illusion magic. He also learns that after being dismissed by the Royal Guards, Mabel now lives in the forest with the "Monster" acting as a scarecrow.
Once Mabel finished her explanation, Uncle readied himself to finish off Mabel as he was still committed to the subjugation quest he accepted. However, Mabel agrees to leave the forest and made the "monster" disappear. The two then sit by a campfire and discuss what Mabel should do from there on out. Mabel refuses to sell the ring Uncle gave her, so he suggests she become a bard. On the other hand, Mabel is too embarrassed to become one, although she enjoys the thought of becoming an idol after hearing Uncle say she'd become a famous one back in his world.
Their discussion takes a sad turn when Uncle notes his desire to return home. Hoping to cheer him up, Mabel offers to sing a song from Uncle's homeland. The song Uncle has Mabel sang was a BGM from Sonic the Hedgehog. Hearing the song causes Uncle to pass out onto Mabel's lap in a euphoric daze, and she then pleasantly sings the Knights of Order song.
Unbeknownst to the two, three of the Knights of Order planned to ambush them, but were taken out by Elf, who gave off a menacing glare toward the two. Uncle then stops the memory, and Takafumi asks about Uncle's love for video game music. He confirms it and shows a memory of his childhood playing the game Dynamite Headdy. Before the memory plays out, Uncle learns he had mispronounced the heroine's name "Fingee" as "Fingy", causing him to melt down.
Afterward, Uncle tries to record a YT video as Elf, but his dour mood concerning the mispronunciation of Fingy's name still lingers. Takafumi and Sumika brush off Uncle's obsession with names, but he argues that names are essential, as once told by Elf, who gave her real name the following morning after his encounter with Mabel. Shocked and intrigued by this, Takafumi and Sumika force Uncle to replay the memory.
In it, the psychotic-looking Elf confronts the nonchalant Uncle over him, addressing Alicia and Mabel by their first names despite knowing her longer. An argument breaks out between them, and amid it, Uncle reveals his actual name as Yousuke Shibazaki, making Elf flustered. She then asks how Uncle writes it, so he draws it on the ground with a stick and explains the meaning behind his first and last name. Uncle then asks for Elf's, and she answers it as Suzail Gierer Zegalnelv Zegilrea Granzelga Elga. However, Elf's name was too long for Uncle to remember, so he recommends he call her Sui and briefly explained its meaning. A brief bonding moment would occur between them until Mabel arrived.
Once Mabel arrived, they investigated the ruins that Uncle had intended to explore called Jato Hokora, the place Mabel mentioned in her song from the other day. While they talk about the ruin's history compared to Mabel's song, Uncle destroys the ruin, causing Hokora to appear. Before Uncle fights it, Takafumi and Sumika force Uncle to stop the memory from playing and demand to know why Uncle destroyed the temple, whereas he did in hopes of finding a way back home. To make matters worse, two other memories that pop up reveal that Uncle had destroyed a couple of other ruins associated with the one he had just destroyed.
An epic battle occurs between Elf, Mabel, and Uncle vs. Hokora, who manages to possess Uncle until he's knocked out by Raiga. Alicia and Edgar then arrive and assist in the battle ahead. Learning that Uncle was under a mind control spell, Alicia uses her wand to try and break him out of it, but instead triggers dark memories from Uncle's past.
Ruminating on said memories, Uncle walks toward his friends muttering various things, but snaps out of his trance and uses a bottle containing the fire dragon to deplete its life energy. This would allow Uncle to defeat the physical attack immune Hokora.
Characters in Focus[]
Characters in italics debuted here.
Memory:
External Links[]
- "Episode 12" Summary (Japanese) - "isekaiojisan.com"
- "Episode 12" Preview - "KADOKAWAanime" YouTube Channel
- "Uncle from Another World" on Netflix