First Impressions / Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

“In My Memories With You”


「君との思い出に」 (Kimi to no Omoide ni)

The Quietness of Winter:

Sorry for this post being a little later than usual. One of the reasons for that is I feel this episode mainly speaks for itself in what little words it has to say. Like the others before it, this episode is slow and sombre and a good chunk of it is without dialogue; and what dialogue there is feels cautious and careful and doesn’t serve to cover plot points A, B and C, but instead allows us to witness these characters grieve and interact in a way that feel natural to them. It’s funny to think that I considered the characters the weakest part of the show in the first few episodes, because it seems so obvious now that they are more than just walking, talking tropes. Sure, they’re all similar to other characters you’ve likely seen in many other anime before, but very few shows like Grimgar allow the characters to just live like they do here.

I’ll go backwards with my impressions and first discuss the B-part of the episode. I don’t know how much time has passed since these characters woke up in this foreign world, but it seems like several months by this point, perhaps closer to a year. I’ve not paid much attention to the changing seasons – if only because it always seemed like it was spring/summer until now – but now we have the snow falling and everyone wrapped up for winter. If anything, this episode felt like a finale. As the credits were rolling I caught myself thinking: “What if this was just an 8 episode series?”. If that were the case, I think this would be a good place to end – with all the characters visiting Manato’s grave, as Mary has now officially joined the gang and become one of their friends. And yet there’s still four more episodes left to go…

Humans vs Goblins Showdown:

This episode sure had its contrasts. The near silence of the second half only worked so well because of the adrenaline-filled action that preceded it. Damn, it was awesome. The artwork was pretty shoddy once you focus on the screencaps or are left lingering on a shot for too long, but it all worked well when in motion. Like every other important fight before, it felt dangerous, real, and difficult. There were more tactics used here, with characters having to go the extra mile to get their kills. Of course, Mary being shot down was the emotional highlight of the whole sequence, bringing the audience and the rest of the characters back to the exact same thing that happened with Manato. It could have gone horribly wrong, but they pushed through and achieved victory, hopefully putting an end to this goblin killing plot.

Now that they are no longer with us, I want to touch on the goblins one final time (unless they respawn and return next week). This episode more than ever, they felt like actual sentient beings. When Ranta first tried to desperately murder one in the second episode many of us were taken aback by how brutal Grimgar was portraying it; but since then our characters have gotten used to the killings and so have we, the viewers. But seeing the goblins sleeping, enjoying the view of the city, playing chess with each other, and desperately trying to fight for survival… they felt just as human as the humans themselves. In the end, I was rooting for our heroes to land their kills, but Grimgar’s approach to these fights has been refreshing, proving this isn’t an action show like every other out there.

Overview – What’s Next?:

As I said, this feels like the ending of the series. But now I’m wondering what’s to come for the season of March. The preview gives nothing away, mainly showing scenic shots of places we’ve already seen before. I assume this marks the end of the first light novel, so either we’ll be going into more material or will be going anime original. With four episodes left, we’re two-thirds of the way through, and there’s no long-term goal in sight. Though, I suspect that goal may simply be: “Let’s keep living in this strange, foreign world we’ve happened upon.”

Preview

63 Comments

    1. yep, it was rad.. probably why the second part of the episode dragged so much..

      I like the raid.. although the d&d in me was constantly chastising them for some of their kick in the door tactics….

      We’re led to understand that they had done their surveillance of this place.. they knew what they were taking on… should they have not been more aware of enemy numbers… The got a bit too casual too quickly in what was still a contested environment.. and but for a better crossbow shot.. nearly paid the repeat price for this naivete… (Mary probably should have died… sneak attack… flatfooted…) It was growth.. but massive room for improvement. And saying oh but they didn’t have the right situational awareness, doesn’t cut it for me..

      Haru was brilliantly intelligent enough to use a diversion instead of blasting straight out onto the roof.. and is progressing naturally into the party leader.. I am all about the HaruxYume ship.. Yume is such a dream….

      NB: That blue hobgob was a hardass… took a arrow to the side gut and got his hand stabbed through and didn’t scream at all.!

      defunkt_bots
      Reply

    1. also, if you wondering why their “tank” act now in the battles. They gain self awareness. They have trust in their actions, you also see that their Mage “lost” her Fear

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  3. What a great finale this wa- Oh right episode 8. I guess it’s only right that this show stay on its abnormal pace all the way to the end. XD

    Yume used her bow! Yume and Mary both got injured, defying the LN creed of only beat up the guys! The goblins are probably better at chess than I am! Haruhiko and Ranta reaaaaally need to trade casual clothes, it’s too weird seeing since the former in red and the latter in blue! Mary gives Haruhiko a nickname, lobbing a cannon volley at the HaruxYume ship! YOU WILL NOT SINK US, MARY!

    PurpleBomber
    Reply

    1. why Marry survived and did not had the same fate like Manato?

      – Marry still have Mana left. So she can heal herself
      – They have the Upper hand on this battlefield. No need to run away to save their life
      – They tend to her wound right at the Spot, and no bleeding out in running away like Manato done. Well if they stayed all would be dead at that time
      – She remains calm

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  4. The next episode is titled “休暇の過ごし方” or “How to spend your day off”. I suspect there won’t be much action happening next week.

    It was an excellent episode. I’m sad to see this show end so soon.

    Aegd
    Reply

  5. I can’t shake this peculiar feeling that Mary calling Haru ‘Hal’ goes beyond just her getting used to Haru.
    Remember in the beginning when they’d mention objects they couldn’t recall or didn’t know existed? What if Mary and Haru knew each other once upon a time?
    Also…I was all aboard the YumeXHaru boat until the MaryXHaru Battleship came through and blasted the other 10,000 leagues below the sea.
    Also, I really love this anime. Like, I L-O-V-E this anime. I live for shows that adequately touch on the human experience of the characters and serve to actually give us a realistic feel I’m getting Akatsuki No Yona, Shinsekai Yori, and etc. vibes.

    K
    Reply

    2. From my understanding, it was just to differentiate Yume and Mary.

      Yume calls Haruhiko ‘Haru-kun’, and they translated that as ‘Haru’ in the subtitles.

      Then Mary calls Haruhiko ‘Haru’, and in order to differentiate that from what they translated Yume’s ‘Haru-kun’ as, they used ‘Hal’.

      Ashifili
      Reply

    3. It was just a bad translation.

      L = RU
      So haL = haRU

      She just shortened his name is all.

      I don’t think their past lives matter anymore. She’s just more fond of Haruhiro then any other teammate because he’s the one who actively put in the effort to incorporate her into the group. When he was going to speak to her about her being considered a comrade in arms, she was cold and basically said, “oh so now you guys don’t need me anymore” while clenching her other arm showing worry. Haruhiro noticed and diffused the situation, and Mary then in turn started noticing that Haruhiro was being very considerate of her despite the fact that their team was in so much pain as well.

      TitanAnteus
      Reply

      1. Wow, you trust the translators to translate 22 minutes of japanese dialogue about anything and everything, but not with the ability to connect the dots between Haruhiko and Hal/Haru?

        She’s pronouncing it with a more L sound than usual, it’s actually pretty clear. Have you guys never heard of nicknames that was phonetically close to the real names? And removing the u makes sense if the transcriber choose to interpret it as a borrowed english name.

        Tadpole
        Reply

      2. @Tadpole : Actually Titan is right because the “L” sound doesn’t really exist in the Japanese Dialect. The closest they have to it is the “Ru” sound.

        So yeah basically it’s one of those things lost in translation because English doesn’t have the special meaning behind the different suffixes used in Japanese and also the difference between using a suffix or not and the usage of the first name (though not really applicable here)

        Juan
        Reply

  7. I figure the peeps have been less than a year in Grimgar world. At most they’ve been there since spring. Haruhiro said that they only knew Manato for a short time, and judging by the passage of time displayed in the show I’m guessing that Manato’s death occurred in less than a month and possibly just weeks after initial arrival. There have been clear timeskips in the narrative and I figure all the levelling up took months for the characters. Thinking about it some more, the characters most likely arrived in summer and we’re now coming up on winter, unless there was an early autumn snowfall.

    Sarapen
    Reply

  9. Goblins are smart enough to play chess? Are the human characters?

    A 105lb girl takes a crossbow bolt in the back and just says “it hurt more than I thought it would”?

    Not what I remember from the LN.

    Kling_Klang
    Reply

    1. In the Alicization Arc of sword art online, kirito encounters a group of goblins that are act as human as anyone else, and its later revealed that all inhabitants of the underworld both humans and monsters, all share the same human souls.

      So basically something like this has been done before. So seeing goblins playing chess, goofing off and generally acting like everyone else isn’t surprising….

      SageM
      Reply

    1. I’m not sure why Priests here don’t wear armor of any kind. Sure they can fight, but like any other healer class their primary objective is to stay alive. If they are always targeted because they can heal wounds, give them some armor over their vitals like a small breastplate or at least some lightweight chain mail.

      Everyone else makes sense: Ranta and Mogzo have armor because they fight in close quarter battles. Haru doesn’t wear armor because he relies on agility and speed as a thief. Yume and Shihoru are mainly ranged fighters so armor isn’t as important. But Mary has to be wherever the injured fighter is – long-range or close quarters, it doesn’t matter. Protect your peeps guys.

      7godeohs
      Reply

      2. The most logic reason is probably because priests can heal themselves, assuming they have enough MP leftover. The others need armor because they can’t heal themselves. The point of an armor is to protect its wearer from damage and death. Healing magic in a way is a form of body armor.

        Chaos
        Reply

      3. I recall that, in episode 4, Haruhiko goes on talking about Skills, and how Priests CAN’T use weapons other than their staves. Perhaps, in the same vein, Priests CAN’T wear armor? Something along the lines of how Priests invoke the power of a God (think it was Lumen or something?) in order to do their magical heals, and part of that invocation requires the ‘ceremonial robes’ that are their clothing.

        Just a more extreme version of Yume’s dreams of the wolf God and how Ranta has to make sacrifices to his edgy skull god and all.

        Ashifili
        Reply

      6. in mostly of my MMO’s that i played, the Priests or the healer Class could wear nearly the same Armor like the “Tank”. Because as the most her guessed right, Priest or Healer class are the most attacked class, and more furious when this Class can also Resurrect. In PvP the option to heal or resurrect your enemys is a no go, so they must Die!! 🙂

        Well, when i lead some PvP group, i said “first Healer, then Mages or other AOE Dmg Capable classes, then all others”. because all others can attack only singel targets, well Archers or Druids could do AOE Spells. But i running offtopic

        in old Pen and paper Roleplay, there where class that are only restricted to leather of just cloth armors. because metal or heavy armor would hinder them impossible to focus their Mana into their Body, they gain Mana from the surroundings like breathing air, and metal would be like an lightning conductor, the Mana would not enter the casters body. Perhaps here is it the same, or they really need their “Holy/Divine” cloths to breath Mana from the surroundings.. But seems like they need a full sleep to recharge it

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      7. extrem example using mind picture

        Imagine “Quiet” from MGS5 yes this female sniper), could be an Arch Mage (the highest Mage) here in Grimgar, because she has an insane Mana potential and perhaps an insane Mana regeneration 🙂

        Gome-ne, mr. Kojima-san 🙂

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      8. In many MMO’s and RPG’s your basic priest is a caster classes that is limited to cloth armor to counterbalance their healing abilities and place them in line with more traditional priest garb for storytelling purposes. They’re intended to largely stay out of the fighting and be protected by the other classes while keeping them alive.

        When you start adding mail and plate you’re moving into Cleric/Paladin territory; more of a warrior/healer hybrid who can fight with more traditional weapons and wade into the front line while healing. Those classes don’t appear to exist in this game/world as far as we’ve seen.

        dave_k
        Reply

      9. In Everquest i played an Raid Cleric. She had more Defense (+mana bost+Wis boost) then most of our tanks 🙂 i was even the top 2nd best Cleric on my Server (at my time of course.. now i am old and rusty)

        And i played a race that was more for Mages (INT max) then being an Cleric (female Erudin)

        So, Clerics that use the Armor like an tank, it exist

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  13. was he gonna say “i love you” in the end?

    not sure if this has a lightnovel but i’d be good to know if a reader would respond to this hehe tnx in advance ^^ (just mark it as spoiler)

    mike
    Reply

    3. It’s anime-original scene. However, I positively believe it’s from 1-1 talk between Haru and Mary in LN vol.2

      Show Spoiler ▼

      Balanar
      Reply

      2. @mike *major spoiler*

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Balanar
        Reply

      1. Haru isn’t exactly the most decisive tool in the shed so I don’t see him doing anything major. In fact, the Anime seems to portray all of them just that little bit more decisive and that little bit more amazing. In the LN it keeps going back to them being the lowest rung of the adventurers.

        Amazing how POV works. Watching this episode you might think that this group was more amazing until you realize that Goblins are pretty much the “slimes” of this world.

        Juan
        Reply

  14. I don’t think it has been a year. When Manato died, he stated prior that they have been there for 2 weeks. The first episode was 7 days in. So I am thinking it has been a month to 3 months at most. Basically, a season change. From Fall to Winter.

    Chaos
    Reply

    3. i’m with @ricz i mean if they don’t make a clear decision of who’s with whom then might as well make a love triangle like drama over it during the series. Its not gonna make me or a lot of people happy but i’m guessing that might happen. It would be nice if they just get to the point and make it clear to us. Yes i am bothered by something that is insignificant lol it would suck if the season 1 ended with a cliff hanger like this.

      mike
      Reply

  17. Goblins playing chess, never thought I’d see that in any media. Now the real question is, how did they learn that? It shows some real intelligence, especially the capability for strategic or tactical thinking in a species that is usually depicted as a lower life form.

    Nice to see that little smile on Mary. Even with all his faults, Haru’s doing a good job as the leader of the group. I’m sure breaking the ice isn’t something easy for him, but it looks like he’s on the right path.

    theirs
    Reply

    1. I did read one theory where perhaps those who are ‘born’ into this world either become humans or goblins. It would explain why they seem so human-like in their actions, and how they’re smart enough to play chess. Who knows…

      Samu
      Reply

    1. It’s an A-1 series, which almost guarantees another season. If you look at what they’ve produced over the years, you’ll see a LOT of sequels to recent shows there.

      Lyfe
      Reply

  22. Marathon till here. I like it definitely a change of pace for many.

    Missed in earlier comments, If I understand the first episode Brittany lectures the arrivals they really are not allowed any other work or to quit, as the lecturer said you can die here but if you quit you will defiantly die. He does sort of tell them they get the starting silver for joining but in saying there is no other jobs makes it clear not joining not a option. So Volunteer is a Orwilian name in that they are unpaid (except starting fund) draftees.

    In folk lore goblins are tricksters or just evil sometimes a lessor devil. In Tolkien and most works from him goblins are a evil creation not actually able to turn good. These goblins are fairly smart and yes probably could play chess but I would say only the leaders at the human level. But here in this story goblins are basically another tribe and no worse than the humans. But I’m ok with our hero’s fighting them as our hero’s are draftees and scenes the goblins clearly are on a attack first basis with humans our hero’s really don’t have the ability and probably the language skills to negotiate a understanding. So it is tragedy for both sides. Maybe some how an enlightened leader will run into someone who can speak goblin and negotiate a deal in the future (or goblin reverse do this) and then the Volunteers and the goblin veterans can get together and drink and remember how their leaders had them fight each other. Veterans after a short while hold no bad feeling for the enemy. (like real world veterans and probably just like real world veterans they might find themselves understanding each other better than those who were not in the fighting understand veterans)

    Agro abilities are not needed if the situation is 3d like in this anime and pen and paper role playing games. Something computer games have massive trouble doing is having characters actually occupy a space and influence the space around them with their weapon. I paper role playing games and anime you tank the enemy by getting in their way so it is hard to impossible to get by you. Thus in D&D the warrior and the Priest would block the corridor and if the line needed to be stretched the leather armor wearers would join the line of protection for the unarmored spell casters (light armor is a silly but fun MMO thing) In original D&D healing could not be done well if at all in a fight you healed after a fight but HP were correspondingly way higher than in games where battle healing is possible.

    I always want to know how infant and child mortality was brought down in a fantasy story so much that females are not needed to have as many babies as possible. Not to mention replacing battle field losses requires lots of babies. In history wether the rare female dominated society (one currently left in China does not even have a word for father) to the typical male dominated society females had to stay a home, with some exceptions, to have as many babies as possible. Infertile and the small number of women living to old to have children helped the women who were able to have children. Women did not need to be treated as inferior but staying home was not optional in history, in addition making food and clothes is full time work might as well have the person stuck at home do it. Yes some women fought in example the Gaulish women who fought with their men against the romans, the romans thought the women were just as good as the men thus easily able to beat one Roman solder, but a Caesar said 10 Romans could take 100 Gauls due to Roman fighting skill as a team. But the fighting Gaul and Viking women were always a small number compared to the men. Thus if really realistic the females would be coming in as additional breading stock. I’m glad it is not realistic.

    To bad these fantasies can’t actually bring in young people from non modern times, you don’t want these untrained modern kids, take typical warrior male from any time before, even by 16 they have 8 plus years of weapon training very frequently sometimes every day. Heck like one fantasy I read bring in some Roman cohorts. Even better some 3 Musketeers sword men, modern like fencing greatly superior to earlier hack and slash sword styles. Realistically it would take years to train without magic a modern person to be able to fight these goblins an the level the goblins as a warrior race would have let alone what warrior youth from the past could do.

    No problem with no armor on spell casters in traditional pen and paper games they normally lack the strength to deal with much armor and normally armor interferes with spells. Plus time spent working out to deal with armor weight is time not spent studying spell craft.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  23. I was a fool for not following this show earlier on. What an emotionally charged series. I thought it will be an upbeat and adventurous ala DanMachi and I was pleasantly surprised.

    I teared up quite a few times in watching it.

    First, when Yume and Haruhiro hugged each other while crying.

    Second, the scene at the tombstone. Haruhiro’s lines killed me. I am not ashamed to say that this is one of Winter 2016 highlights amidst the Erased hype and the left of center Rakugo.

    samui
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *