「兵は楽しむ所に非ざるなり」 (Hei wa Tanoshimu Tokoro ni Arazarunari)
“No Place of Joy Hath a Soldier”

Ahh yes, nothing like knowing we’re going out with a bang. Literally. Regardless of one’s opinions on how long Genjitsu has taken in getting to this point, it’s certainly welcome knowing all of that buildup is now set to start paying off. Dukes are rebelling, other dukes are scheming, and if you think you know exactly how all of it will turn out best think again because the one constant in war is that no one can ever predict the exact outcome.

While I have my issues with how Kazuya seemingly has the solution to every little issue confronting late-medieval state development, the stuff on tap now is something I can fully get behind. War after all is something won not on the battlefield but rather in the quartermaster’s office and meetings with the adjutants: all those armies and all those men are thoroughly worthless if tied up or distracted long enough to run around them and take care of the actual problem. Look no further than Carmine to see this in practice. Four to one odds ensures victory is more likely than not? Only if your opponent is willing to face you head on in a brazen – and moronic – show of bravery. The lion duke might have the upper hand in terms of numbers, but failing to account for the less glamorous side of war is what’s likely to seal his deal in the end.

As if to prove this point Castor then has the honour of showing how such ignorance plays out in practice. Although Castor is more levelheaded than Carmine (barring his opportunism), he too has failed to both read Kazuya correctly and take precautions against his possible strategies. Sure, the right move for Kazuya might be to seize control of Elfrieden’s air force, but there’s nothing which says he has to do so conventionally through uniformed force of arms. Much as Excel playfully highlights deception can go a long way towards correcting an unenviable position, especially when you’re dealing with an enemy who fails to consider the reasoning behind specific actions. It’s not so much that Kazuya cannot lose – he easily still can – however the chances of it go down significantly when faced with opponents like this.

There’s still everything to play for as Genjitsu enters its endgame, yet the outcome of this rebellion is something I think won’t prove too surprising.

12 Comments

  1. the battle animation very honestly suck for a 2021 anime. the only somewhat decent part was the dark elf shooting the cannon bullet with magic arrow but the other scene were atrocious.
    there was like no dense army movement formation, no attack animation, the horse cavalery charge was standstill images, the siege scene was a copy paste from siege day1 to siege day2. the wyvern cavalery attack was animated like jet fighter without any “animal” feel to it.
    the repeated bolt thrower was decent but once again we could had a scene were it shoot to the mass of the wyvern and show off there escape maneuver but we have only close up shot.
    really i felt like i was watching a anime from 2000 rather than an anime from 2021.

    Zeross
    1. Can’t say I can recall any 2000 anime that doesn’t have better animation. Haven’t really checked all my DVDs (!), but the few I saw never used stills for important shots.

      Might agree on 1990 anime, but someone else will probably disagree with me there. XD

      theirs
    2. IMO you shouldn’t be surprised about the animation, this is the sort of series where the budget for such things is minimal at best and the studio will stick with still shots for expediency (this adaptation is meant as advertisement after all).

      Can also second theirs, 2000s anime wasn’t really that different, plenty of shows used similar methods as Genjitsu for their animation, but there were lots of others that also splurged heavily on making it amazing.

  2. I don’t mind getting this war so late in the story it was never the definitive factor for me to like a Anime that that focuses more on the world than the characters. Even though I said that, I really do like seeing both Carmine and Castor being out maneuvered by Souma. With all this seriousness due to the tensions of war, I actually want to see more Kaede x Hal romantic scenes.

    RenaSayers
    1. Kaede is growing on me for all I want to deny it, but it was a little weird seeing the romance pop up in such a situation. I doubt for one that any enemy besieging a fort is going to let the fort’s occupants get a good night’s rest 😛

  3. The lesson of the day is the importance of scouting…
    For high and mighty generals they allowed a castle to be built and a battleship to be brought to their doorsteps are call it a surprise…

    Qubeley
    1. Not scouting in this instance. Castor’s forces for example quickly identified the battleship in time to mount a response and the fort opposing Carmine was assembled overnight in the apparent path of advance (hard to scout that if your scouts only encounter a blocking force the day before).

      In this case it’s purely down to strategic thinking. It’s great and all having a powerful force, but such a force is worthless if you cannot get into position or have its use headed off through political manoeuvring.

  4. Can’t say I can really follow this episode. Took a while till I realized they were showing three different theatres. Can’t say I know where the besieged fort is either. I get the gist of it, but that’s it.

    Have to say though, that cowering lord actually has balls of steel.

    theirs
    1. Agreed, the events here made sense to me, but the fort’s appearance in particular threw me for a loop. Relatively easy to piece together that it was assembled to block Carmine from advancing, yet I think a few more lines could’ve been spared to reinforce that point.

  5. Landships committee!
    Kazuya plan few moves ahead.
    So he had Excel onboard with him, so to say, before the hostilities even started. He used her excellent negotiating skills (even on level of her chief servant!) to delay invading forces in the south, while sending his army north to deal with Carmine.
    It is extremely possible a whole squadron of landships (he has Excels fleet at his disposals already for some time as we see) coming against any of his hapless foes. Pick your choice of where they arrive. My bet is he sent them to rescue Excel as her subordinates definitelty would go extra mile to save beloved Duchess.
    I also presume he has dealt with Castor already by the time his Lego castle was under assault, and the wyverns diving into battlefield might already be on his side.

    ewok40k
    1. Not sure on the landship part myself, earlier episodes indicated this battleship was the only one of its kind in Elfrieden’s arsenal, so more likely is Castor’s wyverns turning up to do the rescuing. Would certainly fit as well considering how much authors of these stories like including their own Flight of the Valkyries 😛

      1. That was only battleship in King’s personal Forbidden Army.
        Meanwhile Excel controls entire Navy of them.
        Considering she ahs been onboard with Kazuya already some time, at least part of her fleet could have been remade into landships.
        Probably with sizeable marines detachment onboard.
        Eat this, invading neighbours!

        ewok40k

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