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Grimoire of Zero
Episode 11

by James Beckett,

How would you rate episode 11 of
Grimoire of Zero ?
Community score: 3.2

There's one week left to go in Grimoire of Zero, and I'm still of two minds about this show, especially after this most recent episode. I'm glad the series finally stopped meandering and got to its plot, but now that things have really settled in, I find myself more and more underwhelmed by what that plot actually is. A lot of this has to do with Thirteen, who I think has become the series' weakest link (which means Albus is off the hook). Not every series needs to have an objectively antagonistic opposing force, and I can appreciate trying to make Thirteen a more dimensional and relatable character. The problem is, without the presence of that clear opposition, all of the suspense the series has built up over its last third begins to peter out at the worst possible moment.

Last week, we seemed set for the start of a satisfying and exciting confrontation between Zero and Thirteen, and what we got instead was a couple of minutes of that, followed by half an episode's worth of sentimental flashbacks and Thirteen suddenly teaming up with Zero and Mercenary by becoming a reformed Good Guy. This is the kind of sloppy writing that Grimoire of Zero has fallen victim to more than once this season, and it also happens to be one of my least favorite tropes in general. I'm all for developing antagonists into sympathetic characters, but when you cram all of that development into a single episode just one week before the end of the season, it's going to come across as rushed and half-baked in all but the most exceptional of cases. (GoZ is many things, but exceptional it is not.) Sure, it's all well and good to learn the specifics of Zero and Thirteen's relationship, but revealing all of Thirteen's chicanery to be a result of misguided love for Zero just makes this entire story feel much more weightless. The plot to martyr Albus, the manipulation of the Sorcerers of Zero, the proliferation of magic across the entire Kingdom – these things have had massive bloody consequences, and all of it gets reduced to Thirteen saying “My bad, let's be friends instead” just one week before the season's end? It's unsatisfying, it feels forced, and it's just plain bad writing.

The show tries to make up for it by having Holdem and Albus finally escape the Sorcerers of Zero to confront Thirteen themselves, but it's too little, too late. The show goes out of its way to paint the death of Sorena and the persecution of witches as regretful side effects of Thirteen's mission, and while Holdem and Albus both get a few wallops in, it doesn't make the whole situation feel less contrived. GoZ is trying to play up the complicated morals and actions of a man who was playing the role of mustache-twirling villain until this episode, and Holdem and Albus's confrontation just makes that gulf feel more awkward. Sorena's murder was especially important to Albus and Holdem's motivations, so trivializing it as an unfortunate accident feels needlessly cheap. I will say that it's good that the cast has been reunited, since the digression with the Sorcerers of Zero was starting to become more annoying than interesting. Hopefully the final episode of the season can make this new dynamic between our heroes and Thirteen feel less forced and toothless.

Another thing I hope improves next week is the artwork, because the visuals have really taken a nosedive in the past couple weeks. Off-model characters and laughably simplistic wide shots litter the episode, making it even harder to invest in Thirteen's redemption arc. Even the big fight at the beginning of the episode mostly consisted of watching Zero and Thirteen chant at each other while cheap looking CG effects swirled about. It seems less and less likely that the final episode will be as exciting or interesting as I'd begun hoping for a few weeks back, but I can at least hold out hope that it might look and feel a bit more polished than this.

Rating: C+

Grimoire of Zero is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.


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