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


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Inopethflames



Joined: 02 Feb 2016
Posts: 34
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:30 am Reply with quote
I like this show but regarding the finale review, I didn't tear up at all during the entire series, now your lie in April, many or the majority of the episodes in that show I was virtually crying from start to finish.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 10:27 am Reply with quote
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is my surprise of the season. I fell in love with its characters, subdued atmosphere and pretty and pleasing visuals. But because of the lack of an actual story, I can only give this series a Good rating.
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SnowyLightning44





PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:13 am Reply with quote
I think I preferred the way it ended with them continuing adventuring outside the city's walls and its probably better then it just ending on the bridge or in the pub (I could see Ranta blowing all that money there and then...) but it was could that those places where visited to add to the closure of the show and I liked that Haruhiro got the talk with Manato at least once more, although I was confused when they were talking about Australia, does Grimgar have an Australia? Anime smile + sweatdrop
Regarding the start the only slight problems I had was that we never got to see how Ranta got out of those mines filled with Kobolds and although the way Haruhiro finished Death Spots was also fine but it would've been nice to see some one vs one action sequences before the final blow but I guess the episode didn't have enough time to fit that all in.
I definitely loved the series especially with the art, music (I hope a CD with the insert songs becomes available at some point) and characters that I'm definitely going to remember, due to their un-unique yet unique personalities and the development like Shihoru's mental and physical growth (that magic she cast looked pretty powerful)
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:53 am Reply with quote
SnowyLightning44 wrote:
I was confused when they were talking about Australia, does Grimgar have an Australia? Anime smile + sweatdrop


Probably past life memories. We haven't got much of them for a while, understandably since they have had a lot on their mind.
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Chrysostomus



Joined: 11 Mar 2015
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:04 pm Reply with quote
It's really a shame the animation took such a dip. The colors, the backgrounds, the atmosphere, almost everything about this show was beautiful and picturesque, so it does affect your enjoyment of it.

Man, I haven't been so frustrated with a show ending in quite a while. I feel that NOW is when things might get really interesting, that now the stage is set for the introduction of new characters, parties, lore, etc. Maybe even getting to know some of the others, like Merry's friend's party, or Renji's party, etc. But alas, the cour is over. Crying or Very sad

Once again, I applaud Rebecca for her outstanding reviews, especially the ones before the show got more, eh, let's say "action-focused." They complimented and enhanced my enjoyment of the show and I sincerely thank her for that.

Here's to hoping we get a season 2!
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18135
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:20 pm Reply with quote
I never got much of an emotional reaction out of the series, but otherwise I agree completely with Rebecca's final assessment. Yes, the series unquestionably dragged in places - heck, I've certainly made that complaint myself a few times - but taking extra time on the ending was not one of them. It gave more of a sense of completion to the series, somewhat in a manner like the lengthy wrap-up for Return of the King.

I am ambivalent about a sequel, though. While I grew to like several of the characters, this felt like a complete story as is. Would definitely watch more if it's made, but it's not something that I will be eagerly hoping for.

And yes, that magical helmet was "interesting," wasn't it? Rolling Eyes
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:26 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
I never got much of an emotional reaction out of the series, but otherwise I agree completely with Rebecca's final assessment. Yes, the series unquestionably dragged in places - heck, I've certainly made that complaint myself a few times - but taking extra time on the ending was not one of them. It gave more of a sense of completion to the series, somewhat in a manner like the lengthy wrap-up for Return of the King.

I am ambivalent about a sequel, though. While I grew to like several of the characters, this felt like a complete story as is. Would definitely watch more if it's made, but it's not something that I will be eagerly hoping for.

And yes, that magical helmet was "interesting," wasn't it? Rolling Eyes


I think the issue was seen earlier in the season, with Yume's footwear in two scenes disappeared and reappeared between a few shots (namely the scene where Yume pushed Haru into the wall and the scene where Yume was talking about her guild's god, though the latter was more her boots magically appearing on).
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stilldemented



Joined: 16 May 2015
Posts: 232
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:28 pm Reply with quote
Episode 12 suffered a bit of a dip in terms of quality. The best way I can explain it is that the animation used less frames per second than usual, and, in so doing, created a degree of static movements in certain scenes. I'm not an expert on that jazz though.

Overall, I would give it my personal thumbs up, but I would understand completely if it wasn't someone else's cup of tea.

The pacing is slow throughout the series. It isn't really a show about story progression. The inciting incident didn't occur until episode 4, and episode 8 marks what I can only presume to be the ending to the prologue of a story which is much grander in scope.

But the show makes up for this with its firm grip on its core themes on loss, grief, and moving forward.

While the characters are underdeveloped and not all that striking, Grimgar treats them with such tender care that they feel alive. Because of this, it does work to garner some feelings of attachment.

You can tell that the show believes that all life is precious. It is in its transition shots, beautiful watercolor backgrounds, its depiction of goblins/kobolds as more than monsters, or just taking the time to let the audience in on the everyday activities of its cast of characters.

Grimgar is an interesting world, and I would love to see a season 2, but I agree with Theron that the show feels complete enough to where I would still be satisfied if it ends here.

That's about all I got. It has been fun throwing thoughts in the pot every week. Razz

On a side note, I love how they handled the intimacy in the interactions between Haru and Mary. I haven't bought into a romance within an anime on this level for quite a long time. I'd watch a season 2 just to see more interactions between them. They're adorable. Haha.

That's enough of that though. Going to cram that shipper-bug back in the box before it goes haywire. Laughing
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LightningZangetsu27



Joined: 23 Nov 2013
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 5:48 pm Reply with quote
As a whole this series deserves an A rating it the show of the season without a shadow of a doubt. S2 with longer episode stint would be very welcomed with the same music directors and singers.
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Valhern



Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 6:53 pm Reply with quote
An anime I ought to rewatch in BD. It's a shame that the final episode was the one that got the short end of the stick, although I did love the idea they went for in Haru vs Death Spots, so I expect we can see it in all its glory. I also expect for it to have extended scenes, not only the bath one.

I did have a bit of a letdown, since I was fake spoiled into thinking that someone died at the end of this season, if it happened at any given point in this episode it would have been a great moment, but that's just my expectations, it was no less of a finale because of that. I shall wait for a new season, not eagerly so, but I hope it comes around sometime.

By the way, I think that Ranta's magic helmet is actually reused animation, since it's too long of a scene and too batlant. Yume's boots just appear because of convenience, she didn't lose them like Ranta, technically, she SHOULD be wearing them. Usually in this cases the characters are wearing (or not) what they couldn't possibly be wearing.
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 7:02 pm Reply with quote
Valhern wrote:
By the way, I think that Ranta's magic helmet is actually reused animation, since it's too long of a scene and too batlant. Yume's boots just appear because of convenience, she didn't lose them like Ranta, technically, she SHOULD be wearing them. Usually in this cases the characters are wearing (or not) what they couldn't possibly be wearing.


I think she was wearing thigh or knee high socks as well. I think the sudden appearance was a necessary shortcut to facilitate them showing her barefoot in the previous scene. Wonder if that detail was in the book, or they just wanted to show her feet?
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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:11 pm Reply with quote
Valhern wrote:
I did have a bit of a letdown, since I was fake spoiled into thinking that someone died at the end of this season, if it happened at any given point in this episode it would have been a great moment, but that's just my expectations, it was no less of a finale because of that.

I'm the opposite. I was fake spoiled also, but I would have respected this series a lot less if it had killed anyone in the final episode. After everything it's said on life, death, and grief, one episode would simply not have been enough to cover the loss of another party member, not even the finale. (It was pretty obvious from the preview at the end of episode 11 that everyone would get out alive, so I'm also glad that wasn't the fakeout.)

So as a whole, Grimgar gets full marks from me for not having much of a (human) body count but still showing a strong respect for life and death. Maybe it went overboard to some people, but I was getting to a point where it felt like every other thing I watched was sloppily killing "major" characters just to prove it knew what death was.

At any rate, really looking forward to seeing how this cleans up for BD.
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#854314



Joined: 28 Mar 2016
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:30 pm Reply with quote
made an account just to comment on the review. i disliked it, and i think you missed a lot about the characters and their motivations and development
and comments like "it drags in places". at what place did it? its a very consistent pace, its just not fast paced which is what you're probably trying to complain about

also i believe you're trying to get out of what the series isn't set to accomplish by saying things like "its just window dressing" it is really not, its the entire premise of the series. for you to dismiss something like that is so trivial and immature, it'd be like trying to say the jews in shindler's list were just "window dressing" and the movie was really about the main character's struggle.

that "window dressing" is the entire driving force for a character's struggle, challenge, and death.

like i said, I believe you were trying to get out something the series wasn't trying to accomplish, and maybe the anime isn't for you.
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The Ancient Otaku



Joined: 16 May 2014
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:11 am Reply with quote
One-Eye wrote:
So Ranta finally summoned his little pet demon aaand they didn't do anything with it. They also don't seem to have shown what happens to it.


Zodiac(o) was always a proverbial shotgun on the mantle. I was aware of what Ranta's demon looked like before hand, because it had an official tie-in to Wizardry Online. That it would be used as a mirror for Ranta to see exactly how he appears to the rest of the party however, was priceless: I wouldn't say they didn't do anything with it. If nothing else, it proved Ranta's version of Checkov's Shotgun was every bit the unusable window-dressing that the other characters assumed it was.

As for not seeing the Grimgar equivalent of Ranta pull out his Pokeball and say Zodiaco, return on screen? I didn't miss it.

One-Eye wrote:
The final fight was a little anticlimactic for me.


So long as I accept that spoiler[part of Haruhiro's original training included the ability to fight blind as effectively as with eyes open and he somehow neglected to ever mention it to the audience, and his weakness-finding ability extended to inanimate objects (swords) as well as it did to enemy bodies]...it works.

However, I wished it hadn't forced me to remember the story is from Haruhiro's perspective--meaning the resolution had to came down to him. For a story where one of the main themes is watching a group congeal into a party that covers each others weaknesses, that final fight made the rest of the party look pretty useless. True, it took busting Moguzo's blade, Yume running out of arrows (what? They choose to bring up a bow's limitation only now? And her throwing daggers are nowhere to be seen either? Inconceivable!), Shihoru and Mary running on fumes and Ranta being the responsible one(!) when ordered to get everyone else clear, but all of that was believable...even for all of that to happen at the same time.
Had Death Spots not been as dazed as Haruhiro from the fall, I would have even accepted all of that. Because the kobold didn't get up right away either, it felt to me like there was still a window of opportunity for Yume, Ranta and even Mary to drop down and capitalize on that--to make Death Spot's death a team victory instead of a solo one for Haru.

But I guess that wouldn't have put Haruhiro in quite the position to reach the level of acceptance he had with fighting to live until the bitter end, or giving him insight on why Manato brought up the rear of their retreat (even though he had to have been aware he was the goblins' primary target and had no mana left).

Haruhiro also didn't leave the Cyrene Mines under his own power (they ultimately returned and saved him). Not quite as emotionally satisfying to me as having everyone pitch in on the final fight, but still a team effort...I'll take it.

Quote:
I'm not sure that I will watch it again, but it is a show that I'm not likely to forget, and while I hope there's another season (or that someone licenses the novels), I don't feel like I've been left hanging.


Between her dreams involving the Hunter's diety and her vision for the future including a wolf-dog partner of some sort, I was somehow oddly hoping to see Yume with a giant-pawed puppy at the very end.

I will be content if a second season never materializes and it doesn't detract from the cake, but that would have been a strawberry on top for me. Wink
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1291
PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:23 pm Reply with quote
I really liked the series overall. As a verteran D&D player, I felt that it rang true to the spirit of fantasy role playing games while telling a very human story along the way. I frequently play rogues, and Haruhiro's defeat of Death Spots in the last episode was very much much how it has to be done for a rogue. You can't stand and fight toe-to-toe, you have to see your opening and take your shot. If you are lucky, you win, if not, you die. The visual effect of the trail of lights guiding him to the critical point was a nice touch.

I also loved the way the growing intimacy between Mary and Haruhiro was portrayed in the last few episodes. From his early attempts to bring her closer to the group, to Mary starting to call him Hal, to her desperate attempt to defy his own wishes and go to him when he successfully gave the party the opening they needed to escape, to the marvelous moments after he woke up, the story portrayed the two as shy, awkward, but with clearly growing affection that was mutually acknowledged, not some sort of mutual unrequited feelings for each other. That was refreshing.
(The look on Mary's face when Haruhiro woke up and asked if he was in heaven spoke VOLUMES! I saw that face as saying, "No you silly boy, but the fact that you think that my face will be the first thing you see when you get to heaven makes me feel really, really happy for some reason...")

As to the Haru/Hal issue, I have no problem with the way that was done. It is clear that the subtitles chose NOT to use honorifics and did it consistently. Yume's references to her god also omited the "sama" and had her using a more cutesy way of talking, which was how the character was presented thoughout. (I actually don't recall if the Japanese dub had "sama" in those spots, now that I think of it. I am kind of assuming that it did...) So, if they are not using honorifics, how do you indicate that two very similar ways of referring to someone are not quite equal? In the Japanese, Mary not using honorifics indicates a more intimate relationship. Having her call her by the western version of his name, given that she has a name of western origin as well, is perfectly logical.

I would absolutely love to see more seasons from this series and if I can get my hands on the books, that would be even better!
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