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The Dawn of the Witch Episode 8 Review – Quick Summary
In The Dawn of the Witch episode 8, “Respective Costs,” Holdem unleashed his plan. As part of that plan, the Tyrant wasted no time abducting Cervil. To their credit, Holt and Coudeau went after them. But their inexperience betrayed them – they were no match for the Tyrant. With all of the adults like Roux out on their own errands, what chance do our heroes have of survival? And who is Holdem working for, anyway?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Dawn of the Witch Episode 8
These three have some good instincts. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
I’ve never liked arrogance, in real life or in anime. So you can probably guess how I think about Holdem. Well, before the entire cast made him face his one incompetence. That was a fun scene!
But before that, he insisted on trying to act cool in front of Holt, Cervil, and Coudeau. He asked if they could show him an empty house in the village where he could rest. Holt suggested that she could take him to one.
He said that the arrangement just wouldn’t do, because if a young maiden were to accompany him to a house alone, the village’s population would increase. There was a slight pause, then Holt, Cervil, and Coudeau leapt behind the well to hide.
“What a creep!” Holt said (06:17). Even Cervil seemed weirded out.
It’s nice to see these three working so well together as a team!
Best in Show Moment for The Dawn of the Witch Episode 8
As much as she didn’t seem to like the test, Zero had to admit it made a valid point. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
You know how Cervil shows severe signs of mental trauma? Especially in how his emotions are so suppressed? Well, we found out more about why in this episode. Some evil witch beheaded his mom right in front of him! Man, that was brutal. And it didn’t stop there. The witch tried to sample his unlimited magic, but little Cervil’s power decided to get revenge for his mom. Or maybe he just couldn’t control his power. Either way, the evil witch melted before his eyes.
I’m pretty sure that would make an impression on me, too! I thought this was a good example of violence done right within the context of the narrative. It had to be brutal and severe to account for Cervil’s condition. Plus, let’s face it: this is not a kind, gentle world. One mental mistake, and you and your friends could wind up dead.
Zero knows that as well as anyone; better than most. That’s why I choose a moment with her as my favorite. After Shinpu had carved the Tyrant enough to comfortably control him (and talk about brutal!), they used him to confront Holdem, who confessed that he was acting under orders from Albus. Roux established the students trusted Holdem so little that they put him to sleep rather than ask for his help to go after Cervil (see my favorite quote). Unfortunately, that meant Holdem couldn’t contain the Tyrant’s more aggressive tendencies.
Holt knew she couldn’t trust Holdem, so she acted accordingly. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
After both Shinpu and the Mercenary established that Holdem was, in fact, incompetent, Zero spoke up. “It’s no good to blame the dog,” she said (17:28). She went on to say that if the Tyrant had simply wanted to kill the kids, the kids would be dead. “We have no choice but to recognize that this inspection fully exposed the weakness of the village’s defenses.”
That impressed me. I like seeing a character who’s honest enough to see when they have a problem, and humble enough to admit it openly. That’s the best way for things to get fixed. She also set a great example to Cervil, Holt, and Coudeau.
And Zero’s not the one to put the students into a live-fire exercise with the Tyrant. What was that about?
What did you think of Shinpu’s cold precision when he fought the Tyrant? What were your favorite scenes? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Dawn of the Witch Episode 8: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mahoutsukai Reimeiki – Episode 8 discussion
- J Reacts: SAYB BACKSTORY | The Dawn of the Witch episode 8 Reaction (魔法使い黎明期) (YouTube)
- Its SpoRTan: SAYB’S MOM?! The Dawn Of The Witch Episode 8 Reaction (YouTube)
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 1: The Remedial Student and the Witch of the Staff
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 2: Don’t Call Me a Traitor
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 3: Beyond the Stream
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 4: I’m Not Afraid to Die
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 5: I Decide Who’s Worthy
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 6: Knowledge of Ignorance
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 7: I Can’t Save Anything
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 8: Respective Costs
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 9: A Stone Cast Into the Pond
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 10: Snack Time
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 11: Determination to Kill
- The Dawn of the Witch Episode 12: The Beginning of the Adventure
And I’m so sorry , Crow my phone has been so bad but I double posted . You can delete one of my comments . So sorry 🥺
No worries! I’d rather have two comments than zero!
I still need to get back in this show. I watched all of Grimoir of Zero and tried restarting the dawn of the Witch. I got to episode 4 or 5 and I just lost interest. I think I liked Grimoir’s art and story direction a bit better.
I can see how this series didn’t hold your interest. Zero’s a more compelling character than Cervil and Holt. Both Zero herself, and the character of Mercenary, gave the Grimoire of Zero its appeal. It’s not that I dislike this series; it’s that I liked the other better.
Still, it’s nice seeing Zero and Mercenary again, and Roux is an interesting character.
I read somewhere that there was more adventures with Zero and Mercenary that were not adapted so maybe we can get some of those if Dawn of the Witch is a sucess.
I may still watch Dawn of the witch later though . As I do appreciate the continuity.
Yeah I really liked those two and read somewhere that there books of Zero and Mercenary that weren’t adapted to anime . Maybe they will if Dawn of the Witch is a success .
I do think I may one day get back into this series , just not at the moment . I may wait till all the episodes are released.
I have a feeling this show will be easy to binge. Maybe even easier than episode by episode! Even though I liked it, episode 9 felt a little slow in parts. That’s not always bad; and in a binge situation, it can even be a nice break!
I think my favourite scene must have been Holt refusing to trust the Tyrant, and everyone being rather cavalier about it. It’s perfectly in spirit with the original: if you want the cycle of violence to end than you’ll have to make a start, and it’s always going to be a risk. I think the most fun thing about the scene was seeing the Tyrant being befuddled about how casual everyone was about it. It felt totally in character for everyone (and I’m pretty sure we still don’t really know why the Priest’s in the village – I’ve actually always been curious about his motivation and I hope we learn about it some day – and I hope even more that I didn’t just… miss it, and I’m already supposed to know).
That really was a great scene! Seeing Holt advocate on her own behalf was great.
I don’t know why the priest is in the village, either, so if they said it or insinuated it, I missed it, too!