Record of Grancrest War (Episode 8) - The Congress Dances

News of the attack that involved Alexis reached Marrine and brought back some painful memories. Meanwhile, Alexis is still determined to rekindle their love, even after the harrowing event that took their fathers from them.

What happened?

After orchestrating the attack on Theo, which indirectly put Alexis in danger, Pederico Rossini was expelled from the Fantasia Union. It’s almost as if Villar knew that was what Theo wanted and arranged for them to met just so something like this would happen. Of course, this now opens the way for Theo to reclaim his homeland.

In preparation for the coming Union meeting, Villar explains how Theo and Marrine first met. We’ve already seen how their attempted marriage went, but now it’s time to go back to the beginning. Marrine was in a carriage when they were forced to stop as there was someone sitting in the road. It turned out to be Alexis who was transfixed with the beauty of the cobblestones… However, when he saw Marrine, he instantly fell in love.

For some time, he pursued her and eventually, she fell in love with him and his ideals. It was set to be the marriage that would unite the Factory Alliance and the Fantasia Union, but we all know how that went.

Back in the meeting, Villar was forced to justify his attacks on the Factory Alliance territory on the way to the meeting, something that he managed to do. It looked like everyone was in agreeance that they should go to war, but then Alexis threw a spanner in the works. He attempted to step down and make Villar the new Archduke, but as Villar was related to Marrine, he could not accept. So instead, the Union pushed for peace.

Record of Grancrest War Episode 8 Marrine Kriesche and Alexis Douse

What did you think?

It’s funny how for the most part this season has flown through the action and politics, often not giving things enough attention. Now, the opposite appears to be the problem. I am enjoying the political side of things and can see the way that Alexis played Villar. He knew that Villar could not lead a war against his own family, but if he had, it would have given Alexis the chance to try to be with Marrine as he could defect to the Allaince.

The lack of action made this episode feel a bit longer than normal, even Marrine kicking some guy in the nuts wasn’t enough. I feel like there could have been some adjustments to what has gone on so far to get a better balance with the pacing. It’s still interesting, but it dragged a little.

Record of Grancrest War Episode 8 Milza Siluca and Theo

What have you learnt?

One of the issues that Record of Grancrest War faces is that it an epic fantasy and political drama. The very nature of these types of stories require more time to develop and in a medium like anime, it’s a struggle to allow that to happen naturally. I think this is why the first few episodes were much more action focused, skipping over some of the development. Trying to fit this into an episodic format is going to be difficult. I do wonder whether it would have been better if it had not worried so much about trying to fit the twenty-four minute format.