The following contains spoilers for Giant Beasts of Ars Episode 3, "Long Rain Village," now streaming on HIDIVE.
After an intense and plot-heavy first two episodes, Giant Beasts of Ars took a much calmer approach to this week's episode. After killing multiple giant beasts as well as fighting off multiple waves of government agents, the team -- made up of Jiro the Already Dead, Kumi the 22nd and Myaa are naturally on the run from the authorities.
To avoid detection or apprehension, the group travels through the forests instead of the main roads. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain, the ravine they need to pass through is completely flooded, making it impossible for them to travel any further until the bad weather subsides. Thankfully, they find a Therianthrope village that Myaa knows and are able to take shelter there. This also happens to be where they make a brand-new ally.
Meet Meran the Hasty
During their stay at the village, multiple Giant Beasts attack, one of which is much stronger than normal as well as having red eyes. Believing one of the children has run off into the forest where the monster was rampaging, Meran ends up getting chased by it instead. While the child is actually safe at the village, Meran's hasty nature gets him into real trouble, forcing Jiro and Kumi to save him.
Owing his life to the both of them, Meran then swears his loyalty to the team and promises to keep their secret safe at the cost of his very life. He begs Jiro to let him accompany them on their adventure, to which the Paladin begrudgingly agrees. Unfortunately for Jiro, the rain still hasn't let up, meaning they have to go back to the very village they've just left in order to continue concealing their identities.
While Meran doesn't get a chance to really do much in this episode, it will be interesting to see what he brings to the show. Given that this character has his own sword, it seems as though he will end up fighting alongside Jiro, or at least try to train under him. He also seems to have potentially developed a small crush on Kumi by the end of the episode, so it will be fascinating to see how their dynamic evolves over time. As his goal is to become a Paladin, it will definitely be worth keeping an eye on to see if he ever fulfills this dream by the end of the season.
Based on the promotional materials and the show's opening, it seems as though there is one more member left that has yet to join this ragtag group, but hopefully they will be as interesting an addition as Meran.