Anime

Record of Grancrest War Episode 14: Death from On High and Public Negotiations

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Quick Summary of Record of Grancrest War Episode 14

In Record of Grancrest War Episode 14, The Liberator of Sistina, the fall of Salvador Rossini in the last episode has shown the people that it’s not a death sentence to follow Theo Cornaro, Siluca Meletes and their party. The Rossini dad sends his hot-headed son Dorni to put down the uprising, but only after forcing him to listen to the prudent council of his other remaining son, Juzel.  The Rossini know that if they can’t kill Theo now, he’ll be unstoppable. Yana (Jana?), the witch, also wants in on the action and targets not only the werewolf twins (Ema and Luna) but Siluca as well. Will the savagery of the Rossini family and the witch prevail, or will Theo and Siluca teach them something about leadership and loyalty?

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 previous cour’s OP?

First Favorite Moment from Record of Grancrest War Episode 14

Nice to see that the twins can be effective in combat — not that there was any doubt! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

You might not believe me, but when I saw Yana hovering over the demon she had summoned, I thought to myself, “Say… She’s not that high above the shield. I wonder if a werewolf could jump high enough to attack?” So it’s with a little bit of self-satisfaction that my first favorite moment is when Ema and Luna figure out how they can attack the witch (12:04). I thought it was adorable how pleased they were with themselves! They turned into wolves, jumped on top of the shield, and one used the other to launch an attack on the witch (12:17). The attack was so effective that they drove the witch off. Their teamwork has always impressed me. Nice to see they haven’t gotten soft in their service to Theo! I think they found the Flames of Darkness(tm) surprisingly ineffective, though…

Second Record of Grancrest War Episode 14

Yes, Dorni. Theo played you like a fiddle! Took you long enough to figure it out! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

There’s a particular kind of satisfaction you get when you see your enemy finally understand your strategy, but it’s too late for them to do anything about it. After having taunted Theo for only defending, and after having attacked Theo (and attacked and attacked and attacked), only then does Dorni realize that Theo was only waiting for him to get tired (15:00). The Rossini wasn’t a bad fighter, but he lacked strategy, and his arrogance blinded him to the abilities of his foe. Theo get bonus points for an absolutely brutal yet effective kill. He’s showing more and more than he doesn’t shy away from doing what needs to be done. And to think I was a little worried some episodes ago that Theo might have been too goodie goodie to get his hands dirty!

Third Favorite Moment from Record of Grancrest War Episode 14

Any doubts I might have had about Siluca’s combat capabilities are gone. She was pretty impressive in this episode! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

You know, just the other day, I thought, “Huh. I wonder how strong Siluca really is?” We used to hear about how great she was in her studies — especially how she had excelled at several disciplines when most students could only master one. Well, in this episode, we got some evidence that Siluca is the real deal. Stinging from her defeat at the hands of the werewolf twins, sensing her own doom was near, Yana decides to launch an all of nothing attack on Siluca and Theo (16:03). Her magic turned her broom (um, she was flying on that, wasn’t she?) into a missile.

Without flinching or pondering what to do, Siluca performed her own incantation and turned her wand into a surface to air missile. It intercepted Yana’s attack (an example of an early form of the Patriot, no doubt!) in spectacular fashion. We got to see Siluca measured against a known powerful foe, and she came away victorious. Now, if she could only get some practical combat clothes and armor…

Thoughts about Record of Grancrest War Episode 14

So, Priscilla was just wandering around the battlefield and happened to stumble on the poisoned Irvin? That’s convenient! I supposed that I could explain it by saying that being a priestess, her deity clued her in, but wow, that seemed out of nowhere!

Priscilla ex machina?

As much as I honestly enjoy this show, I have to admit that its pacing can leave me feeling breathless. It’s like a 25 minute sprint keeping up with this show sometimes! In the past, that’s kept me from feeling any emotional connection with characters like Lord Solon back in episode 10. Before watching this episode, I have to admit I dreaded how quickly Theos was likely to take over Sistina. I mean, it’s been something he’s longed to do since episode 1, and it’s been a recurrent theme until now. I’d hate to see them rush it!

Then I watched it. This episode pleasantly surprised me! I think we all knew that Theo would prevail, and that he’d likely do it by fighting a lot and then talking a lot. That’s his MO — fight hard, then silver-tongue his way to complete victory. What surprised me was how well it worked this time! Starting as early as the previous episode, the show did a good job establishing that Salvador and Dorni were hot-headed, like their father.

But the other son, Juzel, showed signs of actual awareness and intelligence. He was the first to urge caution when engaging Theo and his friends. Juzel seemed to be aware that his family’s heavy-handed tactics were not sustainable in the long term. He was also the one who seemed to inflict the least pain on the population, though we really can’t be sure of that. We only saw that he was less arrogant and abusive than his father and brothers.

By the time we got to the Silver Tongue Incident in this episode, we were ready for it! Here’s Theo practicing his Commanding Lord stance while the twins look on. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

What this means is that the show took its time to setup Juzel as the Reasonable One so Theo would have a Silver Tongue Incident(tm) that we could believe in. There have been times when that kind of thing seemed to go too well for Theo. This time, though, Theo had to fight hard for his victory. Not only that, but Siluca, Irvin, Ema, and Luna all faced serious enemies. By the time he and many of the countryfolk faced Juzel, we were ready for some kind of negotiation.

This show is at its best when it takes the time to build interesting characters and dramatic situations. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but I get that this is the story of a war that just happens to have characters. I find that I enjoy it most when the characters are front and center. It’s hard to get emotionally attached to an overarching theme!

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

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4 thoughts on “Record of Grancrest War Episode 14: Death from On High and Public Negotiations”

  1. I really loved the “surprise” animation during the witch battle. I thought it was gorgeous and very interesting but it such an odd thing to pull out of the blue at ep 15 like that.
    As for Priscilla apparating – I’m gonna say one of the twins went to get her real fast and we just didn’t see it

    Reply

    1. Wasn’t that animation gorgeous? So vivid and immediate. Part of me objected that the style was so different; another part was so excited that I ignored the first part.

      It’s not the first time I’ve ignored me!

      I like your explanation for how Priscilla appeared! And did you catch one of the twins helpfully saying to Irvin, “Don’t die!”

      I’ll be he hadn’t thought of that!

      Reply

  2. I got a little excited when we found out the twins were gonna go at it with the witch. I wish this “Liberation” arc would have lasted a little longer, though, Even if just for another episode.

    Reply

    1. I thought Ema and Luna did well, don’t you? They’re so enthusiastic and upbeat it’s hard not to root for them!

      Gotta agree — I would have liked to have seem a some more action, but then I remind myself that I’m watching Grancrest Senki. We’re luck it lasted two whole episodes! Without eight or ten new character, too!

      Reply

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