Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace note
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ThatMoonGuy
Posts: 364 |
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A wizard did it. I mean, a wizard* literally did it so there's that. And I seem to remember hearing Atrum's name in the Medea-centric episode of UBW. He does get a bit of screen time there but it's been quite a while (half a decade, really) so I may be misremembering. Since this is a mystery series and it's original content, I feel like it may be fun to try to hazard the case's conclusion. Let's see how wrong I am As for the case, we have erased vestigial thoughts (phantoms, described here in the same way Touko describes them in KnK, interestingly), the tempest, fairies, the wild hunt, a fairy and, seemingly, a Phantasmal Species. I'm gonna hazard a few guesses here but it may very well be a case of exploring Seelie and Unseelie fairies. The ideia of a fairy allerting about death can very easy be twisted about it causing, hence the two fairies appearing there. Fairies, in Type-Moon, are elementals born from the Earth (see spoiler[Arcuied from Tsukihime and Yu Miaoyi in FGO] and strongly tied to nature. Thus, the lightning is probably strongly related to the fairies. So it's possible the Seelie Fairy is trying to warn about how the corruption of the territory by the mage's experiment is causing the Unseelie fairy to manifest and try to destroy the mage to restore balance to the land. That would fit into the more general theme of Mages being ****heads in the Nasuverse while also explaining a few other things. This leaves only the erased vestigial thoughts but as we see that Mr. GoLion was able to talk to a ghost while the rest of the group weren't, it may well be the case that he's involved on this. Waver also seemed to be reading about Mystic Eyes and as it's unlikely he wouldn't already know about Reines' eyes, it should be about Bram's so that's the key to the mystery. Another possibility is that the Fairy has somehow been imprisoned in the workshop and Bram's goal is to free her. In that case, the Phantasmal Creature at the end may be similarly trying to free the Fairy but in a more... agressive manner.
Svin being a werewolf would be a pretty major point. Werewolves and other Phantasmal Beasts (Nasuverse's classification for most supernatural creatures) are nearly extinct in modern world due to the loss of mystery. Most of them were either driven to the reverse side of the world or just died. Werewolves are mentioned in Mahou Tsukai no Yoru to be desperately close to extinction and unable to breed. spoiler[So much so that when they find a certain golden wolf boy which may be able to breed they begin worshipping him as their saviour. At least until they figure he's not a werewolf. Then they kick him away]. There's a recurring theme of "dying magic" that goes on Type-Moon and is a big part of the larger mythos. As for Svin, my guess (as someone not fully caught up with the novels) is that his condition may be tied to his origin. It may be that his origin is "Beast", something similar to spoiler[Shirazumi Lio from Kara no Kyoukai]. But his Origin is probably not awakened and thus just influences his behaviour in the same way to Shirou's spoiler[sword origin]. *A Magus is not a Wizard, I know that and this was meant solely as a joke.[/spoiler] |
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Izanagi009
Posts: 464 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
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Short review but effective at getting the point across.
The show may not have any heavy thematic content like Fate Zero but the character interactions are enough to make me want to watch the show. While i do think the mysteries requires too much outside knowledge on esoteric elements as well as in universe knowledge, I can say they are well constructed enough that you can backtrack after Waver explains and confirm his conclusion |
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Jam-Kiske
Posts: 3 |
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I'm glad to see a more than one so episode story and looking forward to the conclusion! I definitely agree that there mysteries are pretty much not actually solvable by the viewer and even when I highly recommend the light novels to others tend to refer to them as "mystery" novels for that reason. I'm ok with that since I'm interested in the characters and world building above all, but can totally understand that being a turn off for some, especially those not versed in Fate lore and the magic of this particular multiverse.
In regards to other characters appearing in this episode, Hishiri Adashino is from the books, first meeting Waver in the first book which they mention (as did Luvia in the previous episode since that's also when she met our protagonists). I was really excited to see her while most others I know were excited primarily for Shishigou... |
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XerBlade
Subscriber
Exempt from Grammar Rules Posts: 162 Location: Depletion Garden, Nashville, TN |
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Um, a "gravekeeper" (one word) is someone who takes care of a graveyard. They're often referred to as "gravediggers" (who, despite the name, do more than just dig graves) in most English-speaking places, but Japan exclusively uses "gravekeeper." Japan's typical image of a gravekeeper (see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for a particularly well-known example) is always shown carrying a lantern, to the point where the image of the lantern is practically inseparable from the image of the gravekeeper. Hence Gray's Mystic Code being carried like and having an appearance similar to a traditional lantern. That by itself would be enough for Gray casually referring to herself as one in this episode to not be a reveal for Japanese audiences. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18209 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was assuming that it was something more Nasuverse-specific. |
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AungZeya
Posts: 1 |
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Apocrypha doesn't really fit into this story since this is in the Zero and Stay Night timeline(the main timeline), and events of Apocrypha never occurred here. Caules is just a regular mage here since he never became a Yggdmillennia since Darnic died a long time ago. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13230 |
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Nice performance from Gray this episode. She might not be on Kawasumi's level but she does the holy spear proud.
Now that this episode stopped it from being a spoiler, I can show how not long ago Gray was made playable in FGO. She was the free servant from the Case Files event so you only have to wait 2 years to get her! Reines and Luvia were added at the same time. Waver's been there since day one. Shishigou's comments were pretty heartwarming if you're aware of his backstory from Apocrypha. Not surprising he takes a shine to Gray. |
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ThatMoonGuy
Posts: 364 |
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Man, seeing the mystery actually explained makes everything click so well that it feels obvious in retrospect. Waver's mention of the Wild Hunt should've a dead giveaway as the Wild Hunt is said to come riding to collect the souls of people to add them to their march. That explains why the souls were being erased so quickly. The part about Mystic eyes also makes sense, given all the lore of the setting. Essentially, it's a similar plan to what spoiler[Araya Souren intended in Kara no Kyoukai, using Ryougi Shiki's connection to the taiji to create a model of the taiji/universe]. Although that's very, very arcane, it does have precedent and what happened to Reines' eyes and her comment about how the eyedrops shouldn't have lost their effect so quickly was essentially a hint that there was something in pla that affected mystic eyes.
I concur with the review that for most people this kind of mystery is just way, way too much to try and figure out but as someone with a deep love for magic, the arcane and Type-Moon, seeing this in play is actually really nice and you're able to trace back what happened not only to the hints in the episode proper but also to events that happened before in other Type-Moon works. It's pretty cool. That aside, I really enjoy the relationship between Waver and Gray. Unlike many, I don't see it as a romantic relationship (even if I do get those who see that) but more like a platonic thing. They care for each other despite their traumas and each gives something the other is lacking. The image of Waver awkwardly giving and umbrella to Gray in the ending is a pretty good summation of how I see them and it's honestly cute. Doesn't help that Waver, as he is in this anime and in other works, is probably one of the best characters in Type-Moon (at least as far as I am concerned). Oh, and Gray's silly rhyming is cute in a edgy teen poetry way. |
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HandofBobb
Posts: 81 |
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yeah, I'm not usually a fan of the quiet girl type, but I find myself really liking Gray.
I found it really touching to see Waver with his arm around her in the aftermath of the battle. |
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ThatMoonGuy
Posts: 364 |
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I totally get that shop. Reines, Gray and Luvia are treasures. This was a pretty quiet episode and they had no shame in saving a bit of budget here and there but the overall experience is nice. The ideia of mages using magic to manipulate people's behavior so as to gain more money is also something I always love to see. I'd be totally down to watching a show that focused on such aspects. In a sense, seeing all the focus on Fate makes me kinda sad because the Nasuverse has so much potential for other perspectives but it all gets silenced by that big, big Fate money. Ah, well. At least that money finances things like this.
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jdnation
Posts: 2003 |
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I liked the dress-up scenes. Gray's facial expressions made my day. This was also a pretty good episode. The sort of thing I want to see - magic interwoven in a sensible way with modernity. A simple thing escalating into something else.
I'm guessing the Rail Zepplin thing will be building up to something like Murder on the Orient Express. Looking forward to that. The last great anime train mystery we had was Baccano. |
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LauraOrganaSolo
Posts: 109 |
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Get out here and fight me, Theron Martin.
Let Gray wear lolita fashion for ONE frigging episode you cretin. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13230 |
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Man, Olga just can't escape from suffering, can she?
FGO is on a different timeline. |
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jr240483
Posts: 4380 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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one this is for certain. they should have allowed gray to meet shiro and saber (though ONLY get to closely bond with shiro like with the rest of the girls in his harem) in hollow ataraxia. if there is anyone who can save her from herself loathing of ber bloodline, its him.
especially when he discoveres her past about spoiler[ Gray hating her own face because of what her family did and tried to do to her. The surviving members of the Artoria Bloodline are now just a cult that worship Artoria and tried to bring about Artoria second coming through a long term plan that require a Human naturally born with DNA and appearance 90% close to Artoria to become a sacrifice Host body for Artoria (which Artoria would most likely never agree to due to it being a horrible action that will destory the Host body's original soul to be replaced by Artoria's Soul). Gray was meant to be that Sacrifice as the Artoria Bloodline went though generations of internal family breeding and Genetic modifications through magic to give birth to Gray until Waver saved Gray on the day she was meant to be sacrificed. ] i mean considering what happened in heaven's feel, i am sure he might succed where waver is clearly failing!!! |
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ThatMoonGuy
Posts: 364 |
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FGO cannot take place in the same world as FSN since in FGO's world spoiler[there was only one grail war and that was won by Marisbury with the help of his Servant, Solomon].
As for the case itself, the setup is a classic and it has focus on one of my favorite characters from the novel, Adashino. She's such a deliciously ruthless woman. I love this kind of character. |
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