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


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:03 am Reply with quote
This is one of the slowest pacing series I've seen so far this Winter. The artwork is unique, has quite a bit of similarity in terms of backgrounds when compared to Aiura. Otherwise, I think the series has potential despite having a lot of the usual fantasy themes.

Ranta also reminds me of Favaro from Rage of Bahamut Genesis. I think some of the comedy jokes feels distracting at times but overall still has potential with the first two episodes.
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Zero_Tactics



Joined: 25 Nov 2015
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:08 am Reply with quote
I was looking forward for Grimgar ever since I saw their first reveal trailer. I gave a shot at the light novels too and I have to say, it only gets better. Yes, it starts off pretty slow (and it's not a 'fast' story at all) but you will see real character development. They all react very differently to the brutality of their new situation and there's some very touching moments. I thought the two first episodes were great to fill in the mood of the world, but I hoped it would move a bit faster. Almost a third of the second episode is a silent montage covered by music. The music and the art is great though, so it's still a feast to watch
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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1790
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:39 am Reply with quote
(It seems I made a mistake so I'll try this again.)

The second episode did a lot to better my view of the show but I'm still skeptical of it. Is this just a good fluke that happened or will this be a consistent tone through out the show? That and yeah, while atmospheric and effective, we didn't really do much of anything story wise. I'm not sure how long this show will go on for it I'll be pretty suspicious about how much we'll have accomplished if it's just a single cour (which given the visuals I think that's more likely to be the case, or at least it would be if the staff are smart.)

Concerning Manato though, I feel like spoiler[he's gonna either kick the bucket or ditch the group at some point (though this is less of what the show presented and more of the fact that one of the Promo art pieces I saw for this show has this blue haired girl and I don't see Manato at all.) If that turns out to be the case then I think the set up is there with Haruhiro building up a sense of trust towards him]
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CheezcakeMe





PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:45 am Reply with quote
I'm really digging this show but it also frustrates me because it is so close to being brilliant, I mean that scene when they're fighting the one goblin is amazing, gut wrenching, and horrifying all in one, but then the story tips into generic "let's go peep on the girl's bath hurrr durrr durr."

Come on Grimgar, you're this close to being "amazing" instead of just "good," so close!


Last edited by CheezcakeMe on Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:47 am; edited 1 time in total
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stilldemented



Joined: 16 May 2015
Posts: 232
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:05 pm Reply with quote
Got to admit that Grimgar is hitting all the right spots for me.

Given. I'm not too familiar with the type of genre this is usually classified alongside, but the show strikes me that it intends to be more than fantastical or RPG-esque in nature.

Normally, with these types of shows, the world is given emphasis and the plot is interlaced with said world's politics. This show puts more emphasis on the characters and atmosphere than story concept and overall plot. It's kind of refreshing that I don't have to educate myself on current events within the realm of the story and can just watch as everything unfolds.

The atmosphere hits home more than anything else. The soundtrack for this show is great. I like listening to this show. If I had to guess, most of the money went to the music for this production. I counted around 3-4 different pieces being played throughout episode 2.

All in all, it's a welcome breathe of fresh air. It's been a while since I seen a show actively pursue the 'show, don't tell' approach to writing.
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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1790
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:38 pm Reply with quote
Ok is it just me or is this not showing up in the episode review Column itself? What's going on here?
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:45 pm Reply with quote
I'm really enjoying Grimgar. The art is lovely, the characters' personalities are being revealed very gradually rather than having stereotypical gregarious quirks (they have some quirks, but the show hints at depth underneath the surface), the amnesia angle is intriguing. I have a feeling that they really will humanize the goblins and other monsters and make the characters realization of their sentience a major plot point, which is an interesting take on just "fighting/killing monsters in a role playing game." It seemed unnecessarily harsh that they couldn't just take the goblin's stuff, but had to actually kill him and offer up part of his body to a temple before collecting their reward.

You're review points out a lot of really interesting little details about the characters, such as Manato's stoicness during the goblin killing (did he cross himself then, too? That's what it looked like to me). This show is wonderfully subtle in characterization and worldbuilding.

My main issues is that Ranta's obnoxiousness is a bit too fanservice oriented, and that the musical montage in ep 2 went on way too long, to the point where I felt that the show was procrastinating the plot somehow. But it does seem like this show will have plot as well as character development upcoming, so I'm not worried about it meandering as if it were a slice of life series.
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hurafloyd



Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 79
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:45 pm Reply with quote
The brutality of the concept is a plus, at least with the other "transported to another world" or the "RPG like enclosed (death) game" I've seen they were quite bland or simple since killing was something that we dismissed as "part of the game" or with a "puff, it is gone", but in this anime it is shown as something that, if you dont kill you get killed, you will bleed if struck and you will feel real pain if you're not careful, your enemies are not simple, they think and want to survive too. This is no game, not only the characters have the instinct of survival but also the opponents. Not even the first season of SAO managed to transmit the seriousness of the ambient where the characters are.

Lets see where this show goes.
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2457
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:47 pm Reply with quote
Thatguy3331 wrote:
Ok is it just me or is this not showing up in the episode review Column itself? What's going on here?


Happened to ERASED's threads as well at first. Zac or someone else will fix it in time.
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RaylenCypher



Joined: 03 Mar 2015
Posts: 138
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:57 pm Reply with quote
I would like to point out, at a very brief few frames, Manato casts a healing sigil on his forehead.

The visuals really make the world beautiful.
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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 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:

You're review points out a lot of really interesting little details about the characters, such as Manato's stoicness during the goblin killing (did he cross himself then, too? That's what it looked like to me). This show is wonderfully subtle in characterization and worldbuilding.


I couldn't decide if Manato was crossing himself (or doing the equivalent gesture for the god he's a priest of in this world) or if he was prepping a spell of some kind...either way, it struck me as odd. (Also, thanks!)

I think that the cutting off a body part bit was just for Ranta's Dark Knight class - he's trying to accumulate enough "vice" to get a reward, so if the group didn't have a dark knight, that part wouldn't have been necessary. That he'd choose such a class seems like part of his compensation for something - like he has to be "tougher" and "pervier" than the other guys to prove something to someone from home. I think that's why his obnoxious actions are so fanservice-oriented - he's trying to prove his masculinity.
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KonradW



Joined: 18 Jan 2016
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The Rising of the Shield Hero, where at least three of the transportees...

Thanks for a major spoiler. And yes, I registered just to say that.
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sunflower



Joined: 04 Sep 2005
Posts: 1080
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:45 pm Reply with quote
Two was a perfect episode for me until the bath business at the end. The visuals were so beautiful I almost cried. But the substance of the story put it above all anime fantasies I've ever seen, because of that scene killing the goblin. It was brutal, the way killing something is. You understood that they were taking a life. You understood that it was a thinking, intelligent creature they were killing to survive. You saw how hard it was, and that there are repercussions to such an act for anyone who's civilized.

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.
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Valhern



Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:54 pm Reply with quote
Nothing major to add to the review, I think it's pretty on point, except in the fact that I do not see the 'lack of plot' as an issue, I enjoyed Grimgar because there is not a major overaching plot going on, and I honestly won't mind if there isn't and we'll stick to our characters going through what seems to be a very hard journey of living, since what we've seen is mostly them "living" in a fantasy world.

Compared to other stuck-in-game/fantasy anime in the genre, most of the time there is a plot behind it ("if you die in the game you die in real life" "if you complete the game you can get out" "there is a secret organization that is doing this because X"). And I say stuck in fantasy because it doesn't look exactly like stuck in a game, it's more like people trying to live if life had the same setting as an RPG game, or something like that.

I have a gut feeling we may never have a conclusive explanation of how or why the protagonists are here. That, yes, would make the premise a little flabby, but I hope it's not a devastating blow to an otherwise very interesting story.
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1524
PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:00 pm Reply with quote
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.
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