In a magical land, just as two warring countries are about to come to a truce, Chaos, an evil that brings demons into the world, erupts and throws the continent back into war. To fight against chaos, nobles use personalized “crests,” and one young lord, Theo, intends to use his to bring peace, but he’ll need the help of the mage academy’s top graduate, Siluca, to defeat the enemy and humble the land’s elite.
I don’t know how I missed this one when I was prepping for the season, but when I heard that we were getting something new from Ryo Mizuno, creator of Record of Lodoss War, I had to try it out! And it certainly feels familiar—a young knight and mage grow in their powers as they try to bring peace to the land and defeat the powers that be. It’s appropriately fantasy, complete with music tipped directly from Zelda. There are some possibilities here—I love the idea of a Record of Lodoss War updated for the modern day, and I like the dynamics between the two leads, but on the other hand, I don’t find Theo interesting (or the crest system), nor would I think much of the plot if not for its pedigree. Here’s hoping this series goes somewhere special, though I’m not at all confident it will.
Stream Record of Grancrest War on Crunchyroll.
An accurate assessment I think. I’ve left it on the queue for now but it’s likely to drop fairly quickly if something more interesting appears.
I’m always interested by the ways that Tolkiens effect on fantasy literature has gone so far as to influence even Japanese anime. Lodoss War was one of the first Anime series I liked for the fact that it portrays a kind of D&D feel.
Definitely! If nothing else, it’s worth checking out for that!