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EP. REVIEW: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash [2016-01-18]


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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:02 pm Reply with quote
Honestly out of all the second episode I've watched this season, this is the one that I was the most impressed with! It kept the same pace as the first one, which is what I was mostly worried about, that they would really speed up the pace and the character would suddenly become super strong by the end.

I really enjoy watching weaker character incrementally grow stronger, and I really enjoy the fact that the show is taking it's time, which is only really possible due to the really good art style, but it work.

I agree that somethings fishy about Manato, maybe at some point all the character will remember there past life and we'll learn he was in a gang or something, maybe killed his abusing parent.

Personally I was fine with the lengthy discussion in episode one about mage girl body, it reveal some of the character personality. But the bath scene at the end of episode 2 was pretty pointless, the punchline was exactly the same as every other time a bath scene is done. I felt like they were trying to woe a specific kind of viewer who I'm pretty sure already left the ship.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:40 pm Reply with quote
sunflower wrote:

No one ever asks questions about the goblins and orcs in high fantasies. No one ever gives them the dimension they must have. Killing them is supposed to be easy for the heroines and heroes. This story didn't settle for that, and became my favorite show of the season because of it.


If you're interested, Morgan Howell wrote a series about a woman who gets captured by orcs and discovers that they have a rich culture of their own. I think the first one is King's Property.

Oh, and Jim C. Hines' Goblin Quest is about a goblin who defies his peoples' norms...in a much more lighthearted vein than the Howell books! That's a trilogy as well.
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sunflower



Joined: 04 Sep 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:45 pm Reply with quote
Shenl742 wrote:
I wouldn't say such a thing's never been done. The exact same scenario is actually a big crux in the plot of the long-running Order of the Stick webcomic (itself a big long send-off of table-top RPGS), that creatures such as goblins were created only to die and give experience points. After one watches his village get slaughtered by xenophobic paladins, he makes it his personal mission to change things, even if it means holding the entire world hostage.


I wasn't using never in the absolute sense, but in the sense that it's practically unheard of. There are always exceptions. But you have to admit that it's a pretty rare exception and just not to be seen in mainstream fantasy novels, movies, and especially anime.
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Princess_Irene
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Joined: 16 Dec 2008
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Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:47 pm Reply with quote
^ You're right - it is very rare; I can't think of any literary examples beyond the two I mentioned above. It's part of what I'm really enjoying about this show.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:52 pm Reply with quote
As mentioned, the lush artwork and visceral action scenes are Grimgar's strengths.

I think my favorite moment of the second episode was when Moguza was carving an airplane. Even if he doesn't remember what it is, it's obvious that just working with his hands cooking and crafting is soothing for him. That and the normal clothing they all used to wear really brings home how they were all normal people.
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sunflower



Joined: 04 Sep 2005
Posts: 1080
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:55 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:


If you're interested, Morgan Howell wrote a series about a woman who gets captured by orcs and discovers that they have a rich culture of their own. I think the first one is King's Property.

Oh, and Jim C. Hines' Goblin Quest is about a goblin who defies his peoples' norms...in a much more lighthearted vein than the Howell books! That's a trilogy as well.


I'm not a fan of Jim Hines' books, but the first book sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. It sounds a bit like one of my favorite Star Trek books, in which a Federation scientist is taken captive by Klingons and finds they have a rich culture she wants to help. It was written long ago, pre-TNG, when Klingons were just cardboard villains in the show. I like it when an author takes a new look at things. (Fan fic is great for that too.)
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 3:29 pm Reply with quote
Episode #1-2:

I also hypothesized about the characters' origin (the initial group in Episode #1 were about the same age, high-schoolers-esque, and there were no more than 30 or so, about as much as a school-bus can carry). But aside from that, I found the premise of not knowing their backgrounds -- and not due to amnesia, but more like a memory-swipe -- to be quite appealing.

Another aspect I liked is that the show, at least for now, doesn't try to portray the leads as some kind of ragtug who hold some sorts of unique and ultra-rare powers, but are simply a group of the lower-tier kind. It almost feels at times like a SoL show set in medieval times (and with goblins and magic).

Another big plus is that A-1 Pictures moved away from that Sword Art Online aesthetic (an art style that shows like Aldnoah.Zero and Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri received). If this show was also to get that kind of art style, I think I might've been comparing it more strongly to SAO, which would have brought down my opinions about this show.
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LiteKnite



Joined: 04 Jul 2015
Posts: 25
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:11 pm Reply with quote
I see this as getting whole lot darker. The foreshadowing being:

1. they have no memory of their pasts so they can't reminisce about how things used to be better.

2. The term "volunteer soldier" meaning that they aren't being forced to do anything they don't want to do. With shows like Madoka Magica or Bokurano, the job description has never been as candy coated as it sounds.

3. Death flags everywhere. Friendships made. A thirst for blood. Goblins screaming. Innocence lost. It's like a matter of time before they PK each other or meet someone else desperate.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:17 pm Reply with quote
@Princess_Irene

Try Orcs by Stan Nicholls. It is the first of a series. The book is from the viewpoint of a female orc warrior.
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HelloBucket



Joined: 07 Apr 2015
Posts: 477
Location: Upstate New York
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:41 pm Reply with quote
I'm not so sure why so many folks are bothered by the bath peeping stuff at the end of the 2nd episode. It fit's Ranta's character - he clearly likes to put himself into positions where he can feel superior. It gives us some insight into how the men in the party relate to one another - all the other guys are opposed, but they're also physically standoffish indicating a fear that if they push too hard they may escalate their disagreement into something worse. We don't even get any fanservice out of it. It seems counterproductive to me to be so allergic to a trope that one would instantly and automatically count it as a black mark.
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1255
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:00 pm Reply with quote
sunflower wrote:
Shenl742 wrote:
I wouldn't say such a thing's never been done. The exact same scenario is actually a big crux in the plot of the long-running Order of the Stick webcomic (itself a big long send-off of table-top RPGS), that creatures such as goblins were created only to die and give experience points. After one watches his village get slaughtered by xenophobic paladins, he makes it his personal mission to change things, even if it means holding the entire world hostage.

I wasn't using never in the absolute sense, but in the sense that it's practically unheard of. There are always exceptions. But you have to admit that it's a pretty rare exception and just not to be seen in mainstream fantasy novels, movies, and especially anime.
It's not exactly common, but it's definitely not unheard of if you're talking about Western fantasy. There's been several recommendations already, I would add The Goblin Emperor to the list, and even more generic fare like the Drizzt novels have done detailed examinations of the culture and motivations of orcs in the world.
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2457
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:22 pm Reply with quote
HelloBucket wrote:
I'm not so sure why so many folks are bothered by the bath peeping stuff at the end of the 2nd episode. It fit's Ranta's character - he clearly likes to put himself into positions where he can feel superior. It gives us some insight into how the men in the party relate to one another - all the other guys are opposed, but they're also physically standoffish indicating a fear that if they push too hard they may escalate their disagreement into something worse. We don't even get any fanservice out of it. It seems counterproductive to me to be so allergic to a trope that one would instantly and automatically count it as a black mark.


Rather than the use of the trope itself, what annoyed me was Ranta's character all throughout and how he always ruins the scene's tone (and in the battle's case, the element of surprise, too). I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't actually used this as a fanservice scene, though.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3426
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:28 pm Reply with quote
Hameyadea wrote:
... I also hypothesized about the characters' origin (the initial group in Episode #1 were about the same age, high-schoolers-esque, and there were no more than 30 or so, about as much as a school-bus can carry). ...

Or a plane. Like the small wooden airplane Moguzo was carving during the insert song in episode 2 that made me think of a Lost-like scenario...
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Tuor_of_Gondolin



Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 3524
Location: Bellevue, WA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:36 pm Reply with quote
killjoy_the wrote:
Rather than the use of the trope itself, what annoyed me was Ranta's character all throughout and how he always ruins the scene's tone (and in the battle's case, the element of surprise, too). I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't actually used this as a fanservice scene, though.

Which means (or strongly implies) that Ranta's actions *are not* intended to be used as an excuse to provide fan service to the viewer. They serve a different purpose, and probably a more important one regarding his personality.

I don't think this is, as Hope said, because Ranta needs to prove his masculinity: they're fighting for their lives against goblins (well, a goblin), which right away should take that off the table. No, I think this has to do with how Ranta deals with stress and other (negative) emotions, which is Not Well. The issues are more basic than masculinity, and he doesn't know how to deal with them... at least not in a healthy or positive way.

His actions are *supposed* to bring down the tone, they are *supposed* to feel crass and grating. I suspect we're supposed to keep this in mind later on when he starts to get a handle on things. To remember that deep inside, he's probably going to be still very much like this unlikeable person we see now, even if he later starts to become a stronger person (in a levelling up sort of way).
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2457
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:39 pm Reply with quote
I understand, but someone being annoying on purpose is still annoying.
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