Anime

Record of Grancrest War Episode 10: A Telegraphed Betrayal and a Touching Reunion

Quick Summary

In Record of Grancrest War Episode 10, “Blade of Betrayal,Marrine Kreische and her forces invade the Union, putting pressure on Villar Constance, his troops, and his mages. Meanwhile, Theo Cornaro and Siluca Meletes rally as many of the surly townsfolk as they can in an attempt to hold off one another group of Marrine’s forces. Will Villar realize in time that Mirza Kooches is a betrayer and is even now leading a fleet to assail him? And who’s the solitary figure in a boat racing to arrive before Mirza’s fleet?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

What’s In This Post

Quick Episode Summary
3 Favorite Moments
Thoughts
Related Posts

Interested in the OP?
Margaret’s reunion with Villar was touching. Too bad there’s a war going on so they can’t have some time to themselves! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I wondered who was in the little boat ahead of Mirza’s fleet — it was Margaret Odius! Her reunion with Villar (9:43) war heart-warming! Of course, the moment’s sweetness was soured the news she brought — namely, that not only had Mirza betrayed Villar, but that the faithless man had killed his father the king, along with anyone who resisted. Fortunately, Villar is both reasonable and resolved, and he says that he won’t relinquish his crest without a fight. And based on his and Margaret’s expression (10:26), I don’t doubt him!

Good job, Nameless Captain dude! You gave Mirza the best fight we’ve seen so far! But, unfortunately for you… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Going up against Mirza? After watching him slaughter about a dozen of your crew? That takes guts. And that’s exactly what Nameless Captain showed! Not only did he disable his ship’s navigation by detaching the wheel (12:05), but he and his remaining crew spilled barrels of oil and ignited it (12:11). And because he had to prove his bravery for the ages (this series is the record of a war, after all), he told the remaining crew to abandon ship as he engaged Mirza in combat. He lasted longer than most, but of course he lost. But not before handing Mirza the closest thing to defeat that we’ve seen. Good job, Nameless Captain! I promise to remember your bravery! Well, at least until the rush of plot developments pushes it from my mind…

Selge actually had the nerve to ask Ellet how things got to this point. Really? Was he not paying attention? Fortunately, Ellet was able to “gently” bring him up to speed. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Choosing the third moment was very difficult for me — Margaret’s expression as she said she’d burn Villar’s enemies with hellfire? Lord Solon’s dramatic fall in battle? Coleen Messala’s apology as her magic mirror set the enemy ships aflame? Those were all cool moments (and I’ll leave it up to you to judge whether I just cheated by even naming those moments here!), but I choose Ellet for maintaining her pragmatic, slightly sarcastic manner even as her idiot contracted Lord Selge, Villar’s brother, wondered how he had been defeated (17:36).  Since her introduction (4:51), it was clear she had a resigned and passive/aggressive attitude. So how did she answer Selge’s question? “It’s all because you got ahead of yourself.” She’s apparently a reliable mage, though, as we find out when Selge begs her to save him. She says she’s already called on help from Lord Solon. She gets bonus points at her reaction to Solon’s arrival (18:04): “Hey, they really came!” And am I the only one who thinks Ellet looks and acts a lot like Honne Nohotoke from Infinite Stratos? I think it’s a combination of her expression and too-long sleeves…

Alas, poor Solon. We didn’t get to know you at all! And you seemed like such an interesting character… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Thoughts

To be fair, the title is “Record of Grancrest War.” It’s not called “Theo’s Story” or “The Young Talented Mage.” Or even “The New Interesting Character Solon and His Last Stand.” I hope you don’t mind if I take a moment to lament this series’ headlong pacing and to mourn the passing of a character I might have liked a lot.

If I had time to get to know him!

This is the first time I remember the show mentioning Lord Solon and his kingdom, Kilhis (6:25). Apparently, they look a lot like Spartans, and Solon has a flare for showmanship. To me, it looked like the pep talk he gave his men before disembarking was a part of a long tradition. He spoke of their mission, and he invited them to drink to their invincibility as actors playing a leading role in the battle. He even dressed more like an actor than a Lord. To show that they all knew their roles, one man asked, “What if I do happen to die?” Just as if it had rehearsed, Solon answered, “Then you were no more than a bit player. So give it up!” And his troops laughed.

A ton of character was packed in that moment. Where had Solon come from? How did he earn such devotion from his men? How did Villar earn the man’s loyalty? And how did he build an army that fought Marrine’s troops to a standstill — exacting a tremendous toll even in defeat? We’ll likely never know, because Solon died after a brief soliloquy (20:51).

I’d like to say something like, “He died as he had lived…” But I actually have no idea how he lived. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Can you imagine how much more emotionally effective his death would have been if we had known him better? What if they had introduced us to him around the time Villar offered Theo a kingdom in episode 4? We could have built up the affection and respect over the last 5 episodes until his death felt like a tragedy!

But then I come back to my opening statement. This series is a record of a war. It’s title told me to expect a high-level treatment of the material. There are times I lament how quickly some characters get introduced, then planted in their graves. At other times, I miss seeing characters we’ve already met, like the Werewolf twins. Heck, I’m even missing Irvin. I still chuckle when I remember his shock at the idea that Siluca had friends! But in terms of presenting a continent at war in a realistic way, I have to concede the show’s doing a solid job. If I take the time to think through the strategies they’re using, they’ve always made sense. Even the little details of combat, like the idiocy of taking your cavalry into battle without infantry or other support (I’m looking at you, Selge!), is well-presented an interesting. Too fast? Maybe. But I will continue to enjoy the show, trying to enjoy it for what it is — and trying to keep my expectations reasonable.

What do you think? What were your favorite moments? Let me know in the comments!

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