(L) Hai to Gensou to Grimmgal

[Proto]

I would have thought Haru would have had the consideration to not bring up the Cyrene Mines like that. Maybe start with asking Mary for suggestions, since she's more experienced. (And her issues with the mines is pretty predictable.)

That's one thing that I'm not sure why the anime did what it did, given that in the source material it happened exactly how you described it there.

[hamazura]

the story literally isn't moving at all lol

[Haak]

The story's moved plenty. It's the plot that hasn't moved at all. But I'm fine with that because the characters development has moved a lot and that's what I think the story is all about.

[Proto]

Indeed, this is when you have to remember that this series isn't about the plot at all. A long, long time ago I made this post when talking about what are the elements that constitute a series.

Originally Posted by Proto

A literary work is composed by three elements. The plot, the characters, and the setting. Epic-like series put their priority on the first one (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the Gundam franchise, etc), other series are heavily character oriented (almost every romance title), some of them may have a balance between the plot and the characters (many seinen titles fit here, like Shakugan no Shana or Darker than Black.), the new wave of so-called slice of life comedies (which are more like school life series) make a balance between characters and setting, sometimes leaning more in the characters (like Lucky Star, Hidamari Sketch, etc), while the classic type of Slice of Life will heavily work on defining a setting and establishing a mood, and only use the plot and characters as a tool for this objective (eg: Piano, Someday Dreamers, ARIA).

Under this categorization Hai to Gensou to Grimmgal is a heavy character study. The story and the settings are tools used by the author in order for us to understand the trial and tribulations the characters go through to develop, both as a person and in their interactions. The plot will move and the setting will be studied when they are needed to to understand more about the characters.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Proto

That's one thing that I'm not sure why the anime did what it did, given that in the source material it happened exactly how you described it there.

My guess is that they wanted to have another Haru and Mary bonding moment, but they also wanted to change how it was done in the novel.

[HayashiTakara]

this anime is literally trying to pit Yume and Mary fans against eachother, seriously

anyway, looks like the show is going to end with the killing of Death Spots, I just feel it.

[Irenesharda]

A nice breather episode that felt quite relaxing.

After this and the last episode, I'm firmly in the HaruxMary camp, and Mary has definitely grown on me a lot from her introduction. I've also been a bit of a YumexRanta fan myself, so I like that little moment of him watching her as well.

So we all go to the mines now? I guess this series will end with them helping Mary overcome this part of her past, just as she helped them avenge Manato.

[aakun4]

I think this episode wasn't handled well enough. Basically they used too much time in scenes that could be shorter and the story could have advanced more if they wanted to. Or at least they could have added a few more scenes if they didn't want to move on with the story because yeah, it sure was obvious that they decided to end the episode before they got into exploring to put all of that into the next episode, but here is where you notice things are done wrong because most people feel the episode was lacking.

Ep 6 (and parts of 5) were similar to this. It kinda sucks that a show that's close to a 10/10 has a few episodes in between that just aren't as good as the rest. This time it does feel like next week will make up for it with some good action and possibly new trouble for our team so there's that, I guess.

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by Pen3

Nothing happening in Aria = Wow nice scenery!
Nothing happening in Non Non Biyori = Nice nostalgia of the country side!
Nothing happening in Mushishi = You can sense the metaphor in the scenery!
Nothing happening in Grimmgal = Boring waste of time.

That's how people see the pacing of Grimmgal compared to other shows.

Good statement. I actually watch Grimgar exactly for the same reason as the titles you mentioned here. But most of people hoped for another "trapped in MMORPG/RPG-like world series" so they just didn't get what they wanted and now whine about it.

[moridin84]

Originally Posted by Pen3

Nothing happening in Aria = Wow nice scenery!
Nothing happening in Non Non Biyori = Nice nostalgia of the country side!
Nothing happening in Mushishi = You can sense the metaphor in the scenery!
Nothing happening in Grimmgal = Boring waste of time.

That's how people see the pacing of Grimmgal compared to other shows.

I haven't seen any of those shows. However, it sounds like these of these shows offers something in that "nothing happens" that Grimmgal doesn't. For example "nothing happens" in most episodes of K-on but it's quite popular because it's focused on the characters and comedy.

Personally, I found this episode boring. Why? Because I don't think that anything of importance or interest happened. Haru wandering around, Ranta going fishing, Yume mountain climb, Mogzo cooking, Shihoru feeding birds and Mary reading. Does any of that stuff matter? Did it really add anything? Do we understand the characters more? Was there some character development? I, personally, don't think so. (Except for the part in the inn where they decided to go the mines obviously)


In any case, you seem to be bundling any remarks about this particular episode being boring with remarks about the entire anime being boring.

[Proto]

Personally, I found this episode boring. Why? Because I don't think that anything of importance or interest happened. Haru wandering around, Ranta going fishing, Yume mountain climb, Mogzo cooking, Shihoru feeding birds and Mary reading. Does any of that stuff matter? Did it really add anything? Do we understand the characters more? Was there some character development? I, personally, don't think so. (Except for the part in the inn where they decided to go the mines obviously)

Nothing of importance happened indeed. No plot progression, little character development, some character interaction, not a lot and tiny bit of setting development. And yet people like me liked the episode. If you asked me the reason why is because we had the chance to watch the characters get some much needed rest that I feel like I can now empathize more with the characters on a day to day human level. They feel less now like actors in a play, heroes in an adventure or sufferers in a tragedy.

Although I did say that Grimmgal is for the most part a character study type of series, this episode definitely has a classic slife of life feeling to it. Those are the kind of series Pen3 was mentining in ARIA and Mushishi (that are dramatically different from K-On that you mentioned). There is a very Zen purpose in watching how he characters act when 'nothing' happens that gives you a bigger insight into the characters as opposed to watching them under stress.

[Harbinger]

"Nothing happened". Well, it's true, we didn't have "action" scene. However, we had character development.

To be completely honest, action scenes in this anime are not the best out there. I watch it for the world they are trapped in. I watch it for the characters. Fighting is something that they have to do, but I don't think it's the primary focus of this anime.

[Tenzen12]

Grimmgal is obvious SoL, I think people who don't watch it as such obviously get disappointed.

[dark998]

Would have liked half episode for relaxation and the other half for the intro of the Cyrene Mine grind but oh well. I think they can wrap it up nicely in the remaining episodes.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

The ending confirms it...even the goblins love Yume

The goblins prove they are indeed intelligent!

Jokes aside, it's not hard to see why Mary has quickly jumped to the top of the charts. She presents a good mix of maturity and vulnerability — on one hand she's a person you can rely on and, on the other hand, you can't help but feel that she needs a hug.

Originally Posted by Proto

That's one thing that I'm not sure why the anime did what it did, given that in the source material it happened exactly how you described it there.

Personally, I like the change, because it dwells on two main issues that the anime has been developing:

(1) Haruhiro's progress as a party leader

While he grown considerably since Manato's death, this episode shows that he still has a lot to learn about considering the feelings and concerns of his comrades.

It's the same issue he realised he had to address a couple of episodes ago, thanks to Yume's reminder. To me, it feels more realistic he hasn't fully learnt how to do this yet, as it's only been a short time since he assumed a leadership role. Personal habits like this don't change so fast. And I think this is a point that's going to be carried into the next episode, if its ominous title is anything to go by.

(2) Mary's survivor guilt

In line with what I said above about Mary, I liked the way she's been presented in this episode, as it highlighted the fragility of her emotional state. It makes her easier to relate to, for one thing. And secondly, it reminds us, the viewers, that she has never been able to get past the guilt of being unable to save her friends.

All she's done till now has been to run away from the guilt, and to keep an emotional distance from other people. As she said in this episode, she's happy to have found a new group of people who accepted her as a friend, despite her initial coldness. And this, therefore, would be the beginning of her recovery.


In short, seen in the context of the anime, the "changes" make sense.

[justpassingby]

Eh! I still could not find myself liking Merry. The same amount of development could have been given to Yume or Shihoru, but the author decided to give them to the new girl.

Is Merry his ideal girl? Might as well make the other girls into guys.

Still hoping this will only get a season. I can not find myself enjoying the anime or the side radio programs/Nico Nama if Mikako-shi and Parunyasu can only talk how great and sob and yadda yadda yadda about the girl they're not voicing.

[Brother Coa]

Episode 8 was good, we got some character development and some interesting Mary traits.

I am glad that they finally decided to hunt something else beside goblins, time to get some serious upgrades. In both EXP and loot.

It seem that season finally will indeed be with group killing the big bad monster who killed Mery's friends. I just have a bad feeling that someone else is going to die before show ends.

[Craxuan]

Lol, No Life King. I guess there's a No Game Queen then? XD

Aw, and here I thought he has the MDEP.

[Marcus H.]

Lol, No Life King.

The twist is that the No Life King is Wiz from Konosuba.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I would have thought Haru would have had the consideration to not bring up the Cyrene Mines like that. Maybe start with asking Mary for suggestions, since she's more experienced. (And her issues with the mines is pretty predictable.)

Yep, that scene felt OOC for Haru and also for the point Mary and Haru just reached in their relationship. It didn't add up, if they had let introduce it to Ranta it would have flowed more naturally, but ...

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

My guess is that they wanted to have another Haru and Mary bonding moment ...

Yeah, I have to admit that the moment Mary started running away with Haru chasing after her I had already forgiven them, shame on me!