Record of Grancrest War

I've loved Ryo Mizuno's previous works, Record of Lodoss War and Rune Soldier. So I expected that I was going to love this series and that it would be pretty much Lodoss War without elves and dwarfs. And it kind of is that in a way, but I don't know if I would say I loved it. I watched the whole thing, though. Ryo Mizuno's works seem to have several typical tropes, the protagonist who wants to protect everyone including the enemy and whose father paid the ultimate price for that goal, a desert-based tribe who are very skillful but also very violent and ruthless and a secret subplot in the background involving an ancient witch and a magical major player that will be revealed only nearing the end of the story.

That said, I didn't really enjoy the pace of the series nor did I much care for the way that the show treats its characters as pieces of convenience. Not only do characters who seem like they're critical die, but a lot of the times, they die with only a mundane line of dialogue to even let you know that they're dead. Characters get introduced as if we're deep into their story, and their stories end completely abruptly.

The final plot line of the show, which is introduced IMMEDIATELY before it is 'resolved' is so overused and in anime and video games, and once it happens you'll no longer need to wonder why it is that everything seems a bit off in this world.

"Simple" isn't intended to be derogatory, the anime is enjoyable, fairly well put together and there is enough character development to make it worth the watch, but the overarching story is not complex.

Unless this is the first anime you've ever watched there won't be any serious surprises, and as others have stated it watches like a JRPG which I think is one of its charms. There is good, evil, a hero and all of the challenges that could make for a boring trope filled series, but instead of being a cliched snoozefest "Grancrest" balances the flow of the series almost perfectly.

It's a great show to binge and what I find most satisfying is having closure, to many anime series are left unfinished.

Pro's:

• Good score / soundtrack.
• Simple but enjoyable story.
• Enough character development for engagement.
• Very little "filler".
• Closure.
• Solid English dubbing.

Con's:

• Predictable (I enjoyed it, but it could be a turn off).
• Lower quality / inconsistent animation at times.
• Dubbing / Subtitles don't always line up (Court ranks for example).

Almost the game of thrones of anime with a slew of interesting characters mixed with decent animation and touches of love and war.

Too long, too many characters, not enough depth to them, way too many battles with thousands of soldiers and plot "twists". Grancrest senki is as dull and forgettable as they come.

It plays too much as a videogame that intertwines dating sim and rts troop management, its biggest shortcoming isnt the weak plot but the lack of agency of its overly extended cast which seem to default to being the embodiment of a primary directive as the core of their identify.

There are more clashes between armies and fanservice than most can stomach. The only interesting part of the plot is the fight to keep society back to avoid technological progress and the use of nuclear weapons to destroy the world again. There is a big catch though, it is mentioned for two minutes toward the end and just as motivation for the antagonist faction. It is not the worst thing ever but it makes me question the usefulness of score averages seeing reviews praise this lint as a 10 out of 10 masterpiece.

It was a easy watch offering nothing good or bad, just a decent watch. It had a lot of potential with it's crest system of magic, but the same was not explored instead focusing on childish politics. The animation itself was decent but without a intriguing plot line I never got invested into the characters or the series.