"He's a Stand-Up Guy," "His Kindness Got to Me": Viewers Moved by the Deep Bond with the Protagonist's Rough-Around-the-Edges Best Friend, Ornest – Anime 'Hojo Maho' Episode 4

In Episode 4 of the anime, The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest (aired on October 25th), Ornest Rain (CV: Masaaki Mizunaka) passionately urged the protagonist to open up about his worries, drawing praise from viewers online with comments like "He’s a great comrade" and "His kindness really hit me in the feels."

In Episode 4, titled "The True Floor Boss," Alec Yugret (CV: Shuichiro Umeda), after being banished from the court, began to regain his old self while once again operating with the members of his former party, "Lasting Period." During a battle, when his close friend Ornest taunted him with "Tired already?", Alec playfully retorted, "You're one to talk! That's your last potion, isn't it?"

Ornest then cracked a joyful smile and said, "You're finally acting like yourself again!" He continued, "You show your face for the first time in four years, and all you do is wear that ridiculously gloomy expression! What were you trying to achieve to end up looking like that? Spit it out!" Alec hesitated to answer, but Ornest persistently shot back, "I won’t shut up until you tell me what you're hiding in your heart!" He continued heatedly, "If I don't know, I can't help you! I can't lend you a hand! Is it really such a bad thing that I want to help a comrade—someone I entrusted my back to for six years and shared meals with—solve his problems?!"

This display of loyalty from Ornest generated a flood of reactions online, with comments such as "He’s a stand-up guy," "The friendship between Ornest and Alec is fantastic," "His kindness really got to me," and "What a great friend."