Record of Ragnarok Season 1 Episode 11 Recap – The Swallow Gazes into the Abyss

God of Gods

The crowd goes wild as Poseidon’s trident pierces Kojiro’s side. They say he’s nothing more than a sardine to the god of the ocean.

Kojiro realizes the strength of his foe, so it won’t be an easy fight. Excitement swells from the god audiences, chanting “GOG” or “god of gods.” But they stop when Poseidon gives them a cold, piercing glare. He’s giving off a nasty vibe.

Kojiro asks him why he doesn’t accept praise from friends. Poseidon maintains his stance; they are perfect beings from the very start, so they don’t need friends or anything else. The samurai smirks, thinking it’s pathetic.

Poseidon gets irritated; he leaps to the air and throws a flurry of strikes, but Kojiro blocks. Poseidon’s strikes look like rain, but Hermes says the god has shown only the shallows of his ability.

Still, Kojiro manages to dodge—the more he sees, the more he evolves. The Senju Musou predicts most of what the god dishes out. Sasaki’s sword has surpassed the limits of humanity—it has reached godhood.

The Depths

Unfortunately, his opponent is Poseidon. The god reads every one of his attacks and leaps away, only to attack like rain again. Kojiro feels his power: it’s as if he’s thrust into the deep ocean. He resolves to swim to the surface and reaches Poseidon for a reverse grip slash—The Ganryu Hiou Torakiri.

It misses. The god strikes Sasaki’s sword, breaking it in half. Poseidon is unimpressed and calls him maggot.

Göll calls out to Hrist; the weapon breaks into two. Can he possibly win without the Divine Treasure?

Kojiro wonders if he should surrender, but he knows it isn’t the time after seeing Musashi.

Duel to the Death

We flash back to Ganryujima: the time of their famous duel. Both warriors were panting and bloodied. Sasaki realized he would die if they kept fighting. But he’s having too much fun. Musashi couldn’t believe it, but he challenged him to a duel to the death. What followed only lasted a few minutes. Musashi is wounded, but Kojiro ultimately dies. 

Back in the present, a bleeding Kojiro picks up the sword tip. He asks Poseidon if the god has ever practiced all night or wept to a foe he lost from. Has he ever dueled until death for the love of a challenge? A rhetorical question.

Kojiro grips the hilt on the one hand and the raw blade on the other, making his hand bleed. The weapons glow with a blinding light, transforming into two swords. The two forms of Hrist manifest separately in each hand—the true nature of the second Valkyrie: fear and rage. Brünnhilde yells with excitement.

The Swordsmen

Kojiro smiles; the fight isn’t over yet. He challenges the god to go again. They take deep breaths and clash. Now with two swords, Sasaki can easily block Poseidon’s strikes. He is now embodying the moves of Musashi, which he learned from dueling a thousand times. Will it be enough against a god?

Musashi sees his techniques and describes all the masters Kojiro learned them from. Kojiro hits Poseidon in the face, making him bleed. The samurai uses the techniques of every one of his past foes; the god is hit repeatedly. Kojiro blocks Poseidon’s attacks. He is now the compilation of all the greatest swordsmen of the world—The Number One under the Sun. 

Poseidon stands, all covered in wounds. Mankind is now pumped for their hero. Will he be the first god slayer?

Our Thoughts

Really cool development from Kojiro. I like how Hrist’s two personalities paid off and how the breaking of the sword parallels with Kojiro’s character. I rate this 3.5/5.