(CR) Grancrest Senki (Record of Grancrest War)

[HtwoN]

So Alexis is a genius. The problem is that he is a doormat, most of the time.

[Malicre]

Yeah Alexis is what you used to call a pacifist but in 2018 we call a cuck. Thank god we had Theo and Arab dude.

[Anh_Minh]

If he'd displayed that kind of resolve and talent for battle earlier, Marrine might have - correctly - chosen to marry him and to tell dissenters to bugger right off.

Also, those mercenaries' morale was incredibly high for how ridiculously outnumbered they were.

[FlareKnight]

If nothing else Alexis was one of the smarter leaders in that episode. You have the idiot traitor who said "yeah we can totally win by racing out of our defensive position and charging this force surrounding us." And then you have the guy who saw the battle going poorly. Then instead of falling back just decided to throw his life and his troops away for a glorious death. Sure enough he did more damage to Alexis' forces that way....but it was a pretty total waste of life and resources.

[Magewolf]

Why do they even build castles in that world? And I am not going to say anything about the strategy and tactics shown in this episode to save my blood pressure.

[MgMaster]

^ Castle warfare truly seems to be missing from this world. Everyone must be allergic to defending from a fortified position or something. I can just imagine something on the lines of:


"Soldier: My lord, we're being attacked!

Lord: Shit, well..let's go out there and show 'em what for!"

Soldier:But my lord, isn't it better to stay behind these fortified walls and defend,especially since no one brings any proper castle threatening siege weapons to these battles? I mean,do people even build those in our world?

Lord: That's BLASPHEMY soldier, one word out of you and you'll hang for insubordination!

Soldier: But sir, I just wanted to...

*soldier is hanged*



And sweet lord, Marine's thoughts at the end cracked me up:

"This could very well trigger another Great Hall Tragedy...no,it could be something even more gruesome." she say's, LOL! Woman, you've already triggered plenty of gruesome things already. Dunno if the ones who planned the tragedy can top her ~ she probably exceeded their expectations!

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by MgMaster

^ Castle warfare truly seems to be missing from this world. Everyone must be allergic to defending from a fortified position or something.

Not true, Milza was holed up in the castle for some time. Theo was defending one and Villar as well.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Kakurin

Not true, Milza was holed up in the castle for some time. Theo was defending one and Villar as well.

And Milza needed his arm twisted every second of the way to stay in his castle for as long as he did. And that was also necessary because he stupidly attacked into a forest his troops weren't suited for. I'm not even giving Theo credit for doing that since it doesn't appear the enemy troops got anywhere near the castle he was in. Not that I'd use that castle for defense since it does seem to be a castle just built for style value.

The only person I'd give some credit to using a darn castle as intended was Villar. I'd agree with the viewpoint that the people in this world are tactical idiots. Why are they building castles that they refuse to use? Sure there are magic users out there, but as a whole siege weapons are basically non-existent. Everyone seems to want to just toss away their advantages to fight it out head to head.

[MCAL]

Whoops! There goes the budget!

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

And Milza needed his arm twisted every second of the way to stay in his castle for as long as he did. And that was also necessary because he stupidly attacked into a forest his troops weren't suited for. I'm not even giving Theo credit for doing that since it doesn't appear the enemy troops got anywhere near the castle he was in. Not that I'd use that castle for defense since it does seem to be a castle just built for style value.

They went right to the castle before turning back when Theo refused to sortie thanks to his innovative tactical genius. (By the standards of that world, "not sortying" is exactly that.)

The only person I'd give some credit to using a darn castle as intended was Villar.

Eh, he sortied too in the end instead of properly holing up.

[Applehell]

T-that was a whole lot of blood, to a comical degree....

Are we sure that Erik wasn't actually a raid boss in disguise?
While I do get what the anime was trying to do with the Erik fight in the 2nd half, however the animation and overall direction is just too subpar to support what was supposed to be a highly intense driven battle. The blood lake didn't help matters and came off as trying too hard.

On other parts of the episode it turns out Alexis is actually highly capable as a commander. Even in a navy battle which probably more unfamiliar territory for him, he's shown pretty intuitive and sharp witted. So his weakness is really just low self-esteem and more of pacifist but the later isn't necessarily a bad thing as long realize the limits of it. I'm happy he didn't pull 180 either in terms of personality, he's fairly soft-hearted person underneath his more recent commanding persona, and gives his character more nuance then he had before.

On 2nd half as whole, I have to say sadly it been even more rushed than first half. We are now starting to get major plot points and development that came out of nowhere instead just rushing through scenes and characters. The whole holy grail bit in the last episode was just kind of "what?" with how it was just randomly inserted into and Priscilla is still barely character despite that. Now we suddenly learn what should be a major reveal for the cast, especially Siluca, with them learning that the Mage Academy was behind the Tragedy. But there is zero lead up for the characters in the show to learn this, only the audience should have a clue. While Siluca recently has only been a little warily with how eager the Mage Academy was to off the Black Witch, we don't see the process in how came to her conclusion. This show really quite a bit than it is if really had time to breath and ironed out animation issues.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

If nothing else Alexis was one of the smarter leaders in that episode. You have the idiot traitor who said "yeah we can totally win by racing out of our defensive position and charging this force surrounding us." And then you have the guy who saw the battle going poorly. Then instead of falling back just decided to throw his life and his troops away for a glorious death. Sure enough he did more damage to Alexis' forces that way....but it was a pretty total waste of life and resources.

TBF, Dawson wasn't ever made out to be a decent military leader anyway, just a turncoat lord who far too full of himself. In Erik's case it, his actions make more sense when consider he's like Milza in that he's better warrior than commander. Those two really more on brute strength intimation and numbers to win battles not tactics. They aren't kind of people you put in charge of your army and they got in their position more due to status and personal prowess.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Magewolf

Why do they even build castles in that world? And I am not going to say anything about the strategy and tactics shown in this episode to save my blood pressure.

Originally Posted by MgMaster

^ Castle warfare truly seems to be missing from this world. Everyone must be allergic to defending from a fortified position or something. I can just imagine something on the lines of:

Siege weapons aren't missing in general in that world, the anime staff just decided to cut them out for some weird reason.
They exist and are frequently used in the manga.

So yeah... Well apparently they couldn't change the castle sieges too much so they just cut the siege weapons.
Its an anime specific problem though.

Originally Posted by Malicre

Yeah Alexis is what you used to call a pacifist but in 2018 we call a cuck. Thank god we had Theo and Arab dude.

Which is kinda ironic and alarming, as the word 'cuck' is a fascist invention.

[Firefly00]

Originally Posted by Applehell

On other parts of the episode it turns out Alexis is actually highly capable as a commander. Even in a navy battle which probably more unfamiliar territory for him, he's shown pretty intuitive and sharp witted. So his weakness is really just low self-esteem and more of pacifist but the later isn't necessarily a bad thing as long realize the limits of it. I'm happy he didn't pull 180 either in terms of personality, he's fairly soft-hearted person underneath his more recent commanding persona, and gives his character more nuance then he had before.

Which is a good thing. After all, even Luke Skywalker had his share of weaknesses and failures to learn from and overcome on the way from Tattoine moisture farmer to Jedi Knight (and, later, Jedi Master).

On 2nd half as whole, I have to say sadly it been even more rushed than first half...

And why, I find myself again wondering, why the hurry? Especially with so many other examples out there proving the old saying 'haste makes waste' - such as the one you provide about the true provenance of the sparking incident (keeping in mind that it might not be so much the Academy as an institution as persons within it taking advantage of their position). In fact, the idea that there is a schism in the Academy can be an interesting plot point in itself, with the hypothetical conspirators occupying a role similar to Archer (Kill.Switch), Gimdo (Rolling Thunder 2), or Elliot Carver (Tomorrow Never Dies) in terms of having no problem inciting wide-scale warfare for their own benefit.

On this subject, the incident itself makes a good divergence point. Specifically, what if Alexis and Marrine had decided to give the incident and its yet-to-be-revealed perpetrators the proverbial middle finger and marry anyway? Quite aside from how they would have developed differently as characters, the conspirators would still be out there, and would certain try something else...

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

Siege weapons aren't missing in general in that world, the anime staff just decided to cut them out for some weird reason. :rolleyes:
They exist and are frequently used in the manga.

The 'weird reason' might be a mix of haste (as noted above) and a flawed interpretation of Rule of Cool.

Which is kinda ironic and alarming, as the word 'cuck' is a fascist invention.

And folks using it as a synonym for 'pacifist' are Doing it Wrong. Moving on...

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Firefly00

The 'weird reason' might be a mix of haste (as noted above) and a flawed interpretation of Rule of Cool.

The true joke is that this episode showed us ballistas, while they were absent during every other episode... Not only that it wasn't even one of those Magic-Gun-Bow Ballistas it was a regular one, that couldn't penetrate a ship's hull if its life depended on it.
Oh and apparently regular light crossbows can penetrate plate armor now *facepalm*

I also really hope that this ironclad doesn't have ballistas in the source material... cause those aren't strong enough to actually damage regular ships,making the Ironclad truly useless.

What remains kinda unclear is whether the Nord and Stark are one and the same... Id kinda looks like it, then again they specifically say 'Nord' and not Starck this time.

I'd also like to mention that Alexis mage is utterly useless in battle, even more than the one Marianne sent Milzar.

[Norn]

Originally Posted by HtwoN

So Alexis is a genius. The problem is that he is a doormat, most of the time.

I'd like to think that most of the greater lords send their heirs to learn on business and warfare. Similarly to the children of monarchs in our world, who get sent to prestigious universities to learn something business related, and later on being sent on military service.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

If he'd displayed that kind of resolve and talent for battle earlier, Marrine might have - correctly - chosen to marry him and to tell dissenters to bugger right off.

Also, those mercenaries' morale was incredibly high for how ridiculously outnumbered they were.

Imo, pacifists are usually able to commit to their pacifism because they're far removed from (the) conflict and/or there is someone else fighting their battles. They're not "Speak softly, but carry a big stick" types (like Theo?), because then they would be diplomats and not pacifists.

Because there were guys like Le Couleurs and Villar, Alexis never had to pay the price of war. It's because of other people enabling him that he can speak so lightly about peace in front of lords who have lost their subjects and subordinates. This is also why Villar never was able to get Alexis to truly lead the union: Villar was too nice, and far too willing to put up with Alexis' whims.

It's not so much that Marine has a doubt on Alexis' abilities: She knows how frightening he can become if driven. It's just that a lot has to happen to make him so driven

The mercenary life in these kinds of settings tend to be either heavily romanticized or heavy on drama. In this case, the promise to not only work for a lord, but to obtain a title and land is more than enough motivation for mercenaries to fight. Even if their side would lose the war, just by distinguishing themselves they can sell their services to their lord, or whoever expresses interest in their activities.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

If nothing else Alexis was one of the smarter leaders in that episode. You have the idiot traitor who said "yeah we can totally win by racing out of our defensive position and charging this force surrounding us." And then you have the guy who saw the battle going poorly. Then instead of falling back just decided to throw his life and his troops away for a glorious death. Sure enough he did more damage to Alexis' forces that way....but it was a pretty total waste of life and resources.

One underestimated their opponent, the other decided to die a warrior's death once he saw he was completely outwitted.

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

What remains kinda unclear is whether the Nord and Stark are one and the same... Id kinda looks like it, then again they specifically say 'Nord' and not Starck this time.

I'd also like to mention that Alexis mage is utterly useless in battle, even more than the one Marianne sent Milzar.

Isn't Erik that Axe Girl's father? If so, her Crest should be inexistent now.

Well, mages come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Villar employed several mages with different characteristics, Lassic's Mage is practically a Mage Knight, Marine's Mage is very knowledgeable and the mage she sent to Milzar is very talented in warfare, etc. Mages like Silluca, who are equally talented in both magecraft and tactics are probably more an exception than a norm.

[HtwoN]

Norm is right. The anime isn’t clear on the definition of mage. Mages are who have aptitude for controlling the chaos. They are generally hated by the public. The mage academy rounds them up and train them.

Of course, the magical abilities of mages vary a lot. Not every mage can shoot fire balls. Siluca is a really exceptional one. Aisha was trained as a mage and she sucked hard.

Again, I recommend reading the manga.

[wuhugm]

The animation for this episode was shitty

But that Viking King was terrifying

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Norn

I'd like to think that most of the greater lords send their heirs to learn on business and warfare. Similarly to the children of monarchs in our world, who get sent to prestigious universities to learn something business related, and later on being sent on military service.




Imo, pacifists are usually able to commit to their pacifism because they're far removed from (the) conflict and/or there is someone else fighting their battles. They're not "Speak softly, but carry a big stick" types (like Theo?), because then they would be diplomats and not pacifists.

Because there were guys like Le Couleurs and Villar, Alexis never had to pay the price of war. It's because of other people enabling him that he can speak so lightly about peace in front of lords who have lost their subjects and subordinates. This is also why Villar never was able to get Alexis to truly lead the union: Villar was too nice, and far too willing to put up with Alexis' whims.

It's not so much that Marine has a doubt on Alexis' abilities: She knows how frightening he can become if driven. It's just that a lot has to happen to make him so driven

The mercenary life in these kinds of settings tend to be either heavily romanticized or heavy on drama. In this case, the promise to not only work for a lord, but to obtain a title and land is more than enough motivation for mercenaries to fight. Even if their side would lose the war, just by distinguishing themselves they can sell their services to their lord, or whoever expresses interest in their activities.


One underestimated their opponent, the other decided to die a warrior's death once he saw he was completely outwitted.


Isn't Erik that Axe Girl's father? If so, her Crest should be inexistent now.

Ad Mages:
Yeah, but the one Alexis has seems to be particularly useless.
Even if he was an alchemist, he still didn't throw a single potion.

Ad Erik:
Yeah thats exactly the confusing part, she spoke about her brother Erik, yet that guy looks more like hes her father or even grandfather, rather than her brother.
Or she looks way younger than she actually is.

Originally Posted by HtwoN

Norm is right. The anime isn’t clear on the definition of mage. Mages are who have aptitude for controlling the chaos. They are generally hated by the public. The mage academy rounds them up and train them.

Of course, the magical abilities of mages vary a lot. Not every mage can shoot fire balls. Siluca is a really exceptional one. Aisha was trained as a mage and she sucked hard.

Again, I recommend reading the manga.

I already did before I even knew there was an anime :P
Reading the manga you should know that they have to have some minor fire control though.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

Ad Erik:
Yeah thats exactly the confusing part, she spoke about her brother Erik, yet that guy looks more like hes her father or even grandfather, rather than her brother.
Or she looks way younger than she actually is.

My mother has a half sister that's as old as me. And I know other people where they and their siblings are 10+ years apart. It happens.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

My mother has a half sister that's as old as me. And I know other people where they and their siblings are 10+ years apart. It happens.

Yes, and your mother likely has a life expectancy of 80 years +, depending where you live.
That guy and the girl actually look more than 20 years apart, given medieval life expectancy that is highly unlikely, even for a fantasy setting. Especially considering how he is a soldier.
Since there is a limit to how often a human being's cells can split, he'd have to be a super soldier that never even gets a scratch. (Not even Duke Nukem can say he never got a scratch)