Does menou have a pure concept?

While not necessarily setting the Spring 22 season alight, The Executioner and Her Way of Life is an enjoyable action fantasy that twists classic isekai anime tropes. There is also an interesting magic system, although the anime doesn’t explain how it works very well. That’s why we’re here to cover The Executioner and Her Way of Life’s Pure Concept.

Pure Concept is something referenced throughout the series and plays a crucial role in the story. Our spoiler-free explanation explains what Pure Concept is, how it’s used and why Akari’s Pure Concept is so special.

Related: Is The Executioner and Her Way of Life a Yuri Anime?

What is The Executioner and Her Way of Life’s Pure Concept?

Pure Concept refers to the unique magic ability of Lost Ones that arrive in the world of The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

Like a lot of fantasy anime, magic in The Executioner and Her Way of Life works through a substance called ether. This current of power can be found in most people at varying levels and is used to conjure magic abilities.

Pure Concept, however, is a special power unique to the people that arrive in their world – the ‘isekai-ers’. Compared to regular world-born abilities, Pure Concept is multiple times more powerful, partly because Lost Ones have a reserve of ether much larger than even the most powerful mages.

There are a few main reasons why Pure Concept is so dangerous, and why Menou and her group are determined to kill Lost Ones as a result.

The first point is that Pure Concepts are purposely broad in their specification. Mitsuki, the boy discovered in episode 1, has a Pure Concept called [Null], while Akari’s is called [Time].

The broadness of Pure Concepts’ names allows for an incredibly large number of uses and outcomes for the power. In the same way [Null] and [Time] could refer to anything, so can their abilities make almost anything happen.

The more time a Lost One has to explore their ability, the bigger and more dangerous the ability could become, which leads to the second point.

The other reason why Pure Concept is so dangerous is that each use makes the ability stronger until it overpowers its host. After too many uses, Lost Ones lose control of themselves, often becoming the embodiment of the Concept itself.

Lost Ones losing control of their almost limitless Pure Concepts is the primary reason behind The Executioner's Four Human Errors, apocalyptic-level catastrophes that frame much of the story's history.

Why is Akari’s Pure Concept Special?

Akari’s Pure Concept is particularly unique because it has allowed her to escape her death.

As seen early in the series, Menou and her group of Executioners attempt to find and kill Lost Ones as soon as they arrive before they can utilise their abilities. However, Akari was somehow able to reverse time on her execution through her Pure Concept, despite having only recently arrived.

With every day that Menou isn’t able to kill Akari, her understanding of her ability increases. Throughout the series, we can see Akari getting to grips with her potential and manipulating situations to her and Menou’s benefit.

However, we know that Pure Concepts eventually consume their host. While Menou has shown some signs that she has a unique tolerance, it’s likely that with more uses, more strange time stuff will begin to happen around them.

This tension point is what makes The Executioner interesting. Will Menou find a way to kill her new friend and partner before her ability threatens the world, and will she be able to do it when the time comes? We’ll have to watch The Executioner and Her Way of Life to find out!

Related: Is The Executioner and Her Way of Life Based on a Light Novel or Manga?

Menou is the protagonist of The Executioner and Her Way of Life. A devout executioner, Menou fulfills the undesirable duty eliminating the Lost Ones with the help of her aide, Momo.

Appearance

Gallery:

Full Body Character [Anime]

Menou Interaction [Anime]

History

Background

As a child, Menou was the sole survivor of a village that was destroyed when an Lost One lapsed control after attempting to return to their homeland. Menou was rescued by the executioner, Flare, whom she began following and eventually asked to become her pupil to follow in her footsteps.

Menou spent several years in grueling training along with other girls, drilled by Flare to use any means however unethical, to achieve their ultimate goal - kill the Lost Ones. After noticing the other girl including Momo in distress over the callous nature of their work, Menou privately asks Flare to make her her sole protégée, and in exchange Menou would kill enough Lost Ones to make up for the rest of the girls. Bitterly amused, Flare accepts Menou's proposal.

Meeting Akari

Years later, Menou has established herself as a competent and skilled executioner with Momo as her aide. Continuing to work for the Faust, Menou is contracted to eliminate an illegally summoned Lost One, Mitsuki Matou. After earning his trust, Menou learns that another otherworlder was also summoned. Back at the Church, she coaxes him to test his ability and stabs him in the head after discovering his Pure Concept of Null.

Menou and Momo find Akari in King Grisarika's castle in the royal capital. Menou wears Momo's prepared disguise for her as a maid and successfully infiltrates into Akari's room. Stunned, the latter accepts Menou's claim that King Grisarika plans to use her for nefarious reasons and follows her out of the room after explaining that her Pure Concept is healing. Menou seizes the chance to kill her, stabbing Akari through the neck in a hallway. Leaping back, Menou is bewildered upon watching the blood recede back into Akari's body and her wound completely heal. Confused, Menou grasps a disoriented Akari who has no recollection of the incident to take her back to the Church.

Menou updates Archbishop Orwell on the turn of events, who tells her to bring Akari to the capital Garm where the cathedral there contains a unique ceremonial hall designated for situations like these, much to Menou's surprise. After preparing Menou for the trip, the embark on a train to reach Garm.

Train to Garm

The Ancient Capital Garm

Personality

Menou's soul was 'blanched' during the disaster that happened to her home town, and the only thing she remembered was her name. She grew to have a strong sense of responsibility and sees herself as a villain doing necessary wrongs. For the sake of stability in her world, Menou tries to dispose of Akari before her Pure Concept goes out of control.

Abilities

• Skilled Manipulator: Menou is adept at approaching her targets and earning the trust by putting on an affable front to influence them to do her bidding.
• Guiding Enhancement: Menou is a very proficient user of Guiding Enhancement, a skill that enhances a person's natural strength and speed. She is also very skilled in Guiding Camouflage, which can disguise a person with the environment or as someone else.
• Average Ether Capacity: Menou's capacity for ether is below average compared to most priestesses. However, she compensates with meticulously calculated moves without relying on raw strength. She also draws ether from other sources, such as the earthly vein or Akari's ether when necessary.
• Exceptional Etheric Control: Although her etheric capacity is lower than normal, Menou is extraordinarily skilled at controlling ether, as she accomplished the feat of connecting the earthly and heavenly veins, which was much beyond what normal people could do according to Ashuna.
• Combat Expert: Menou is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and uses a dagger carried in a leather garter on her thigh that contains two crests, Gale and Guiding Thread. While neither of the conjurings are primarily offensive, Menou's fighting style of using diversions makes her a formidable foe.
• Expert Mage: Menou is exceedingly capable of using ether to fight with magecraft. She carries a scripture like other priestesses, however she is able to invoke crests without opening her scripture, which is considered to be the mark of an extraordinarily accomplished mage.
  • Menou is able to use other objects with ether, including a coin containing a crest to conjure bubbles.
  • Menou's priestess robes have a crest for conjuring a barrier, helping to defend her against attacks.

Gallery

Trivia

• Menou "blanching" is akin to the Lost Ones who eventually lose all of their memories and identity due to the overuse of their powers.
  • Pandæmonium repeatedly comments how similar Mendou's approach and personal characteristics are to Ivory, a Lost One who defeated the Four Human Errors who had the power of blanching.

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