Wanderers/Episode 6 Guide: A Game of Chance and Fire

Episode Guide

The Shrine of Wind was yet another failure in trying to get home. Now, where to go next? The Shrine of Fire, that’s what!

In the middle of the desert, the Wanderers have traveled for a very long time. So long, they’ve run out of water. Alielle wants water and Makoto is out. Fujisawa wants a drink extremely bad. Alielle spots Lasve and she takes off. She smashes right through Makoto and Fujisawa as she makes the last 15 – 20 miles to the oasis.

They go into the establishment. Fujisawa drinks his fill, wondering if he should make a commercial about how good beer tastes after wandering around in the desert for a few days. Makoto, being somewhat of a pessimist, wonders if this will be another strike out for them. Alielle asked around town about where the Shrine of Fire was. She found it and Makoto gave her juice to drink as a reward. Makoto decides that it will be best if they leave right away. Fujisawa concurs and they leave.

Fujisawa, being an avid mountain climber, sings about mountain climbing as he goes. Alielle had to remind him about his date back in the Shrine of Water. That’s the last thing Fujisawa wants to think about. When they get to the top, there is a particularly strong smell of sulfur lingering about. Could this possibly be the Shrine of Fire? They notice something moving down there. Makoto is convinced it is a person, but Fujisawa thinks it’s a walking carpet (or a straw mat in the Subtitled). Makoto went down to pick her up. Fujisawa wondered why she was dressed up this way… until he accidentally undone the string around her. She was naked! Fujisawa covered Makoto’s eyes and called Alielle over to cover the woman again. They brought her to the Shrine of Fire.

They learn that this woman is Shayla Shayla, the Great Priestess of Fire. Makoto wonders if she will help or be just like Miz and Afru Mann. Things look bleak.

They went into the room where Shayla Shayla is resting. Makoto and Fujisawa really want to get back to Shinonome badly and they want her help. She said shut up and went back to bed. Fujisawa wondered if they could just look around. Shayla said that it would not be her palace much longer. Then, big, robed creatures raided the palace, placing red stickers all over. The palace has been seized! Makoto can’t look around now.

Outside, Fujisawa states that finding their way back is not the priority anymore. Makoto asked how she lost the palace. Shayla holds a card up. She lost it in a game of Pettan (one of the great games of this country) in which you must throw a card to overturn the opponent’s card to win (the Dubbed version stated that you can also throw the card out of the ring to win). Fujisawa says it’s sort of like Menko (or Pogs or Sumo Wrestling in the Dubbed version). Makoto still wonders how this game caused her to lose the shrine. She gambled against a man who won it in 1, 2, 3 tosses in a row. She lost everything, including her clothes and her lamp. Why does she still play? Because it’s fun, that’s why. That’s not a good reason. They need the Shrine of Fire to research. They have to get it back.

They entered a casino of some sort. People are playing, drinking, having fun. There is one spot, though, that there is a concentration of people. Another poor sap lost his money to the man. Makoto wanted to speak to… Jinnai? Aw, heck, you knew it was him. Makoto would do anything to get the shrine back. Jinnai said he should grovel and kneel down to him. Nah, he wants to challenge him for it. Makoto didn’t have anything to give Jinnai except… himself. Jinnai made that the bet. Now, Makoto is going to have to win against Jinnai not only to get the Shrine of Fire back, but to also to keep his freedom (imagine Jinnai being your master). It’s a foolish bet, but so is Shayla putting up her shrine on the line. Jinnai, being the egotistical maniac he is, decides that the game of Pettan must be decided in the stadium.

The next day, there is a crowd. They were all there, just waiting to see who will win this game that will decide who will win the Shrine of Fire (despite the more dark bet made with Makoto’s life). Jinnai is very confident, but he is also a big cheat. His card can stick to the floor very easily if he wants it to. He sends out signals in various times in his desperation to win. Too much power can make the switch not work. No power will have the same effect. He needs to balance it. Makoto’s luck is very high, though, and he lucks out in several rounds. Jinnai’s signaling does not go unnoticed and they go to investigate. It turns out that there is a generator underneath the stage! Jinnai IS quite the cheater in this version of El-Hazard. The bugrom work very hard to help him win. Shayla opens up a can of whoop ass on them. It wasn’t enough, though. If she had her lamp… Fujisawa found a pile that has her stuff, including the lamp. He throws the lamp and Shayla catches it. She used it, and the bugrom were toast. Jinnai’s plan was ruined. He had to get out of there or else he would get killed. Shayla burned him pretty well.

They checked out the shrine and they found, guess what, nothing of importance. They’ll have to start all over again. Before they left, Shayla wanted Makoto to play a game of Pettan with her. She won easily. I guess Makoto’s luck goes only so far…

-------

Final Thoughts – Why did they make Shayla have a gambling problem? They had to bail herself (and Makoto in the end) from her "debts". Overall, they played little in the episode: the game of Pettan did. That’s good for a little card.

-------

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

Rule 23 in understanding Allielle: Don’t get in the way between her and a source of water.

(And for some reason, she becomes a cannonball and barrels through Makoto nd Fujisawa and takes off, leaving them in the dust. I guess she feels her needs are more important than guarding Makoto, eh?)

Something to note…

Baseball references are abound in this episode. Check out the bar scene and the shrine. They’re used quite a bit.

"Don’t worry Makoto, it’s…"

"Damn my cockiness, Mizuhara!"

Jinnai… he could have won… if he… just… threw the card down! Instead…

Ya gotta love how he times his losses with these kinds of instances.