Plunderer is a battle fantasy currently being serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace. Set in a world ruled by a system called "Count," in which certain actions must be accumulated, the story revolves around a mysterious man named "Licht Bach" whose past and background are both mysterious. It's a highly compelling work, with a series of sudden twists and turns that make the aforementioned setting seem overlooked. I'd like to introduce you to the protagonist, "Licht Bach," known as the "Flash Shootdown King."
An Introduction to the Mysterious King of Shotdowns, "Rihito Bach" and His Worldview
In a world called Alcia, people are obligated to count something from the moment they are born. A number is branded somewhere on their body, and when that number reaches zero, they are dragged into the underworld. The size of the number also directly reflects differences in social status. In this world, there is a mysterious man whose count goes down based on the number of times he has been dumped by a woman: a sexual harasser known as "Rihito Bach."
The sexually harassing protagonist you've seen somewhere: "Richt Bach"
Richt Bach usually hides his face from the public and wears a mask or a costume. His usual personality is that of a man who is all about sexual harassment, disgusting girls, beats them up, and becomes a plaything for children. His real face is that of a handsome white-haired man, but he used to have black hair. His level of sexual harassment and his love for it, combined with his inability to accept affection, make him very similar to the man who picks up lost items. The one with his pants flying around. The author's previous work.
A legendary being with overwhelming speed, "Licht, the Ace of Lightning Strikes"
Despite his negative count, he doesn't end up being sent to the underground world, commonly known as "Sent to the Abyss," thanks to his possession of a counter called a Parrot, which offsets his count. However, possession of a Parrot is illegal, and only officers of the Alcia military may possess one. Parrots grant their wielder special abilities, the strength of which is determined by the count. Licht has a count of 5700, and he overwhelms the soldiers with his power.
He can even compete with Jail Mardog, who has a count more than twice his own.
Although he has an inflated count of 5700, Jail Mardog, the secondary protagonist, appears in the third volume of the manga, demonstrating his strength even against Jail, who has a count of 12,500. In fact, he was transplanted with a certain person's genes and underwent surgery to maximize his Parrot power, allowing him to unleash nearly 10 times the power of his count. However, this also means he is controlled by destructive impulses.
Richt Bach, aka Sakai Rito, has a brutal past!
Richt Bach was a hero of the "War of Destruction" that took place 300 years ago, and the title of "Ace of Pilots" was given during that war. However, ace pilots have continued to live for 300 years without aging. Richt's real name was Sakai Rihito, and even back then he was a sexual harasser. He had black hair and was skilled at assessing situations and calming down, but his combat abilities were not particularly high.
300 years ago, the world was engulfed in nuclear flames.
300 years ago, the concepts of Alcia and being sent to the Abyss did not exist. Food shortages caused by population growth led to nuclear war, which then worsened as the world's climate deteriorated, leading to an all-out nuclear war. Just as the world seemed destined for destruction, a "majority-voting out-of-place artifact" called the Althing, a device with absolute power and the source of Parrot's power, descended from space. Thanks to this assembly, the world abandoned nuclear weapons, but the world remained a place where survival depended on stealing resources from others.
Spending a Moment of Peace at Military Academy
Rihito follows his older brother Tokikaze to military academy. He continues to clean his baths there, but he also spends his days training as a soldier surrounded by his peers. However, in preparation for the coming war, they need strength. So he undergoes surgery to implant the genes of Schmelman, a military academy instructor with the talent to harness the power of the parliament. Although the surgery is successful, the world breaks the ceasefire agreement and enters a state of war, and Rihito experiences actual combat after the surgery.
The Truth About the Disposal War
The world then plunges into war, and Rihito, who he hated so much, commits murder to save his comrades. The Disposal War is a war to reduce the overpopulation, and Rihito and the other ace pilots who subsequently underwent surgery are deployed to the conflict. However, as a side effect of Schmelman's gene transplant, Rihito loses his sense of self and becomes dominated by destructive impulses, even attacking his ally, Sonohara. He is usually isolated and only administered drugs when he is sent to the battlefield. At that time, Rihito's Parrot counts the number of enemies he has killed on behalf of others.
End of the War
Subsequently, Rihito's superiors, who had gathered the Original Parrots (frankly, like Dragon Ball), unanimously voted in the assembly to found Arsia in the sky and to gather and run the nation with a select people. Abandoning the people left on Earth, Arsia was run by wielding the power of the assembly to extract materials from the surface. However, this was tantamount to abandoning and betraying the classmates who had shared the good and bad times with them. Nevertheless, the superiors decided to found Arsia in order to preserve the human race.
Rihito After the War
After the war, Rihito was sent as an assassin to kill Tokikaze, who opposed the founding of Arsia. However, Rihito regained his senses after being freed from Schmelman's murderous intent, but was overcome with regret for killing his brother and died from the shock. However, his body did not decay and he was resurrected 20 years later. After learning the details of what happened to the A-class members, he deserted the military with Nana, becoming a wreck. He gradually regained his emotions and this leads to the main story.
How Sakai Rihito Became "Rihito-Bach"
His original name was Sakai Rihito, but he later became "Rihito-Bach" after being adopted by Schmelman-Bach. However, Schmelman remains a mysterious figure, a loving and mentoring figure at the military academy. He has naturally survived to this point, becoming the interim final boss. Furthermore, Schmelman was unable to harm children, a trait that was passed down to Rihito. As a result, brainwashed children repeatedly attempted to assassinate Rihito on the battlefield, but each time, his partner in the Hell War, Doan Taketora, who had become a top ace pilot, killed the attacking children.
"Richt Bach" loves sexual harassment, but... he doesn't like being shown affection directly.
His free-spirited behavior, from openly engaging in sexual harassment to peeping into people's baths, has not changed since Rihito's time. However, he seems to prefer sexual harassment and getting beaten up, and doesn't like being shown affection in a genuine sense. After Hina expresses her affection for him, he doesn't know how to interact with her and starts running away from her advances. He loves erotica and sexual harassment, but he's a wimp.
Is Licht Bach the protagonist?
Licht Bach (Sakai Rihito) is the center of Plunderer, and the story revolves around him, so he could be called the protagonist. However, the story is rarely told from his perspective, and from the reader's perspective, it is often told from the perspective of Jail, Hina, and the others. However, he is not a supporting character; he is still the central character of the story, even if his perspective is rarely seen.
[Plunderer] Licht Bach Summary
Plunderer is a story with a series of sudden developments that can be difficult to understand, but its interesting changes and momentum make it a work that you can binge-watch without getting bored. The main character, Licht, may be even more appealing if you're familiar with the author's previous work. However, what I'm most looking forward to (and fear) about this anime is whether his pants will fly off at the end. It will start airing in winter 2020, so let's look forward to it!
