This Week in Anime
Is Record of Grancrest War Worth Watching?
by Nicholas Dupree & Steve Jones,
This series from the creator of Record of Lodoss War is the season's best option for fans of traditional RPG fantasy, but pickings in that genre can be slim. This week in anime, Nick and Steve explore what Grancrest War has going for it compared to its old-school peers.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network. Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
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Nick, I just caught up with Record of Grancrest War, a nailbiting thriller packed with political intrigue, epic swordfights, and star-crossed romance, all set in a fantastical world where magic is real and people are very serious about their toothpaste brands.
The twist is that nobody ever bothers to floss. They're gonna regret that when they hit their 30s and develop sensitive gums.
Okay maybe I took a few creative liberties with that summary.
Yes, this season we have a platter of fantasy shows to choose from with Black Clover, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, and now Record of Grancrest War from the same author who brought us Record of Lodoss War all those ages ago.
I remember watching odd episodes of Lodoss on the International Channel late at night many years ago, but the only thing I remember is Deedlit being very pretty.
I honestly don't remember much about Lodoss but I can say - with some surprise actually - that Grancrest is one of my favorite anime this season. Mostly that's because it's just my kind of shit. High fantasy stories with an ensemble cast have always been my anime comfort food, but it's a genre that's kinda disappeared in the last few years as isekai stories have consumed the market in their place.
I have mixed feelings on it, but I will admit that it's strangely captivating. And yes, it's an endangered species amidst the isekai blight, a relic of an era in anime long past. If nothing else, it's interesting for that. Personally i'm isekai'd out until we get that series about the dude who gets reincarnated as a vending machine. Until then, I'm all for indulging more high fantasy that's blissfully bereft of gamer protagonists.
I fully admit that it's not a great show. For one thing, while it has a relatively simple plot, it is drenched in Proper Nouns and Fantasy Titles that, combined with very brisk pacing, make the whole show hard to follow if you're trying to keep track of all the warring factions and moving pieces.
But much like any good tactical JRPG, you're not really here for the story, you're here for the big battles and cool characters slaughtering mooks. Which the show delivers in spades.
Aishela is very good.
coughs
But like seriously, the supporting cast is my favorite thing about the show, and I'm hoping the two-cour length gives some of these characters more space to shine. While the show has been really on point with introducing a ton of interesting warriors and personalities, they get shoved into the background far too quickly for my tastes.
I can see that. The show definitely has a problem of hurtling through material as quickly as possible to keep the pace up. I personally appreciate not wasting time, but it does feel like we need a few extra minutes every episode just to get some support conversations to flesh everyone out.
We also need more Cait Sith.
I LOVE THIS CAT
I WANNA GIVE HIM THE PETS
His introduction was the point where I went "oh, I'm definitely finishing this".
That's what sold me on the show too, actually. XD
It's a beautiful moment of deadpan goofiness out of nowhere. PLUS it's adorable.
It's the kind of small silly moment that makes the show so charming, and it helps that I really like the protagonist too. I'm so used to fantasy anime featuring brooding dudes or peppy shonen protagonists that Siluca is an absolute breath of fresh air. A female lead who's capable, takes charge, and drives the plot through her own ambitions is really cool.
And also LGBT solidarity.
Okay good, because if you said Theo was the protagonist you were gonna do the rest of this column solo.
TBF I like Theo too, but he fits much more in the Love Interest role than anything XD
He's a doofus, but the show's aware of it, so it never tries to lionize him for being a milksop. His greatest strength is that he's earnest to the point of naivety, and that can get people to trust him when the rest of the world is full of political schemers vying for power.
Fair. But yes, Siluca is a great character who's clever and has so far been the primary driving force behind most of the show's events. From minute one, she tries (and fails) to stop the inciting chaotic event. And then she weasels her way out of a stifling mage contract by allying herself with the first easily-manipulated scrub she runs into.
Theo's a nice young man, but he is incredibly lucky that he ran into somebody who knows that the hell she's doing. Without Siluca he'd have died six times over by episode 3.
He means well.
He's just an idiot.
But honestly I like their dynamic. Theo's the bleeding heart who wants to save his hometown, but he's realistic enough to know that he's not capable of doing that alone. Meanwhile Siluca's the brains, concocting their group's strategies while playing the long game of ending the era of warring chaos their land's been stuck in for so long.
And then everyone else is the Brawn.
It's not the most consistently beautiful show by any means, but Grancrest has its moments of pretty darn nice animation.
Oh if we're talking beauty, I'd be remiss not to mention the series' director, Mamoru Hatakeyama, aka Shinichi Omata, aka the director of critical darling Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū.
Definitely not the series I expected him to helm next!
A director whose most renowned show is refined historical fiction taking on JRPG fantasy stuff could have been a bad mix, but Hatakeyama does a great job selling the show's key moments through strong art direction. If nothing else the show can be gorgeous at times.
For sure!
Actually, one of my favorite animation highlights from the show isn't a battle at all, but the ballroom dancing scene between Villar and Margaret. It's totally not where you'd expect that kind of attention to detail in a war narrative, but it sells the heightened emotions of the moment and makes a memorable scene out of what could easily have been a throwaway montage of stills.
It's also pretty dang horny.
Eat your heart out, Welcome to the Ballroom.
Well, while we're on the subject, Grancrest as a whole is distractingly horny.
Yeah that outfit sure is uh, something. It's one of my major nitpicks that eight episodes in, Siluca's still hanging out in a miniskirt on the battlefield. Thankfully the show doesn't get too voyeuristic after the first couple episodes, but I'd really like it if fantasy anime could start giving ladies pants more often.
It's not super pervasive, but there will just be these odd lingering pans over thighs and midriffs and cleavage in the middle of random scenes, and while I find it pretty amusing, it definitely pulls you out of the moment.
Dumb character designs are par for the course with this type of show, but I do wish there was more consistency. Give us a character with something like Odin's ab-window in Fire Emblem dangit.
Put Theo in boy shorts, a jacket with no shirt, and make him fight like that, you cowards.
The lady butler from episode 8 is a step in the right direction, imo. (Even though they still have pencil skirts. Come on, Grancrest. Pants also exist.)
Still better than the designs in Chain Chronicle, a show from last winter that nobody but me watched.
I mean, if we're gonna compare Grancrest to anime as a whole, it's downright prudish.
Yeah, while it's got its fair share of anime trappings, I appreciate what Grancrest doesn't do compared to a lot of fantasy anime these days. Dumb outfits aside, the female cast are all treated with respect and have their own ambitions and personalities, and many are active fighters who can hold their own in combat. And when Theo adopts a pair of wolf-girls as his servants, he doesn't make them his slaves, which is somehow a hard bar to clear this season, but I'll save that for another week.
The werewolf gals are pretty good, but I wish Werewolf Mom could have stuck around longer.
mostly I just want the excuse to type the phrase "Werewolf Mom" over and over
So yeah, Grancrest War is far from a revolutionary series, but it does respect its characters and gives them diverse motivations.
For sure! The main plot simultaneously moves too quickly and gets too muddled for me to feel invested in the stakes, but the characters are distinct and fun to watch butt heads.
And the sketchiest guy in the show is a patented Woman Respecter(TM).
Still not sure what to make of Villar so far. He's first introduced as a potential antagonist - and also a perv who put Siluca in that godawful getup - but at some point he turns into a semi-ally to the lead pair, all while building his own schemes for power.
I still don't trust him. "Villar" is just a few letters away from "Villain," and honestly I don't trust Grancrest to be more subtle than that.
Hey now, if Black Clover's taught me anything, it's that people with obviously evil names are totally trustworthy and should absolutely be put in places of power.
But yeah, Villar's interesting as a potential antagonist, since he's seemingly using Theo and Siluca's ambitions to his own ends, but time will tell if he's a real bad guy or just like, your weird uncle who your parents won't let you hang out with alone.
I'm sure, regardless of the outcome, that Siluca has a foolproof backup plan in the works, and Theo has a Lego set he can play with in the corner while she's busy.
And I say that in total support of their eventual marriage.
That does bring up maybe my favorite new part of the show: the star-crossed Romeo & Juliet subplot of Pragmatic Princess and Stupid Prince.
Oh my god you're right, it's the exact same dynamic isn't it?
Ryo Mizuno does seem to have a type. In some ways it's almost a sitcom, with the doofy airhead guy and his levelheaded love interest, but Grancrest puts the focus on Marrine's feelings in their story, and it's interesting to see a dynamic where the star-crossed lovers are separated by her choice to take up her royal responsibilities. Alexis is ready to pawn off his duties to whoever, and he's only stopped by others needing him as a useful pawn, while Marrine makes the active decision to take up her late father's role as leader. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a neat reversal of this kind of setup.
Marrine is ostensibly set up to be the villain, since she's the head of the rival faction, but her characterization has been much more complex, and I'm eager to see how she develops. I can't foresee a happy end with Alexis, but she does at least deserve to be happy with her big dumb handsome trophy husband. As does Siluca. Such are the woes of true love in the time of feudalism.
I freely admit that Grancrest War ain't a great show, but it's fun and relaxing in the same way replaying my favorite maps in Fire Emblem can be. I guess you could say it's my own personal form of iyashikei. Some people go for soothing slice-of-life or sitcoms, but for me there's nothing as soothing as a spoonful of warm RPG pudding. XD
I only started watching Grancrest for the purpose of doing this column, and I don't think it's a great show, but I also wanna keep watching it! It's charming, and as long as it keeps introducing cool and capable female characters, I'm fully on board.
Alternatively, bring back Aishela.
Yes Please.
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