Kemono no Souja Erin Episode 1
The Green Eyed Erin

The scene opens up with a dark barren ground and two sides at war - Rahzal and Shinou's armies. Rahzal is winning until a large group of giant lizard-like monster known as "Toudas (Battle Lizards)" are dispatched and turns the tide. Switching over to a more peaceful scenery, we arrive at the village of Ake located some distance away from the battlegrounds where the Toudas are raised. A little girl is fascinated by the number of bugs she manages to find on a tree. Her mother Soyon was out looking for her. It seems the men of the village didn't like the fact how she was a woman and was the only vet for Toudas in the village.

After asking around, Soyon soon finds Erin and reminds her that she was supposed to have been staying in the house and have finished making the brushes by lunchtime. Erin had forgotten all about that because she wanted to find the ingredients needed for the special water the new baby Touda will need but, she didn't know it was unsuitable. The water was made by mixing some of a Touda's mucus and when it is drunk by them, makes them stronger and eradicates any bad insects from them. This kind of treatment was too strong for the baby Touda at the moment so they will just have to use brushes to remove the insects.

Together, they return home and spend the time together making the brushes. As they did so, Erin tells of how she wanted to become a Touda vet like her mother but she didn't want her getting too involved at the moment because of the stronger and ferocious adult Toudas. However, Erin wasn't convinced because of the way they behaved in the village. A sad look crosses her mother's face as she tells that an invisible force was keeping them at bay.

Just then, she is summoned to help calm down a Touda that had returned from the battle with severe injuries. Rushing to the scene, she could see the men of the village were having trouble keeping it still. She takes out her whistle quickly, giving it a silent blow and the creature settles down immediately. She gives out some instructions to heal it.

Moments later, a man named Wadan is found transporting the baby Touda into the village and was planning to put it into the pond. Remembering her mother's words, Erin tries to stop him and Soyon arrives at the scene. Wadan believes he's been caring for the Toudas far longer than the green-eyed People of the Mist and that the baby was ready for the pond. He tries to prove it by showing it inside the tub of water. She does a quick test and decides it was indeed ready, giving instructions to clean off its mucus and to change the bedding before putting the baby into one of the water pens.

The next morning, the baby was reported missing and Soyon was being blamed because she was the one that gave the permission to put it in the pond. The men of the village are gathered to look for it and Soyon is reminded they, the People of the Mist, are only being allowed to stay because of their knowledge towards beasts. Knowing that her mother will be in trouble, Erin sneaks to the limestone caves where water from the mountain was channelled. Worried, her friends tag along with her and they soon find the baby hidden away in a little hole not too far from its own nest. Erin guessed it was because the nest was being neglected. She could tell the hay was very old and stank because it was fermented.

To the children's surprise, Kiba the Arch Duke's prized Touda, suddenly appears before them just as Erin handed the baby over to them. She is backed into a wall and was about to be pounced on. Fortunately her mother was nearby and hearing their screams, she rushes in just in time to use her whistle. After learning Erin came inside pond to find the baby for her sake, she gives her thanks before warning not to go to such a place again. Erin gives a puzzled, innocent looking face and nods obediently. Wadan ends up getting trouble for not treating the Toudas like living things.

That night, Soyon asks if it was a frightening experience for Erin. She replies it was but she was still determined to become a Touda vet like her mother. A sad look crosses Soyon's face again as she tells that Ake was the first village where Toudas could live but, reminds they were beasts and are different from humans. Erin didn't know what she meant by that. She only knew that Toudas can't just be cute and timid.

Thoughts

A very uneventful episode from "Beast Player, Erin" but I never expect much from the first episode of any show anyway. What did make an impression was the artwork and the setting which reminds me of Indian or Aztec art including the way the story is told. It's partly like someone's telling the story from a third person perspective. I also liked the way the story uses the eagle and the baby bird to illustrate the close relationship between Erin and her mother.