Record of Ragnarok (Episode 4) - Joy

Lu Bu charged into Thor’s ultimate attack and it broke him. However, he wasn’t ready to give up and the arrival of his horse, Red Hare gave him the chance to continue the fight, much to Thor’s delight!

Record of Ragnarok (Episode 4) – Joy

What happened?

Amazingly, Lu Bu’s halberd withstood Thor’s electrifying attack, however, his legs weren’t so lucky. One by one they snapped and left him kneeling on the floor. What more could he possibly do? Then, to the surprise of everyone watching, Lu Bu’s horse, Red Hare raced into the arena and stopped at his side. Fighting through extreme pain, Lu Bu climbed onto Red Hare’s back and prepared to fight. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Years of training had prepared Lu Bu for a moment just like this. He perfected an attack called Sky Breaker, but never found an opponent that he could use it on. Well, now he had. Thor charged up Mjolnir as Red Hare and Lu Bu charged toward him. They clashed amidst a flash of light and whirlwind of power. When the air had settled. It was over. Randgriz had broken and Lu Bu’s arms were gone. He charged toward Thor once more aware that it would be his last moment. For a brief moment, he felt joy for the first time.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 4 Thor and Lu Bu final strike

What did you think?

We spent a lot more time on the fight in this episode and it was far stronger for that. Brunhilde had some great reactions again, but I went with all screenshots of the fight because it came to a long-awaited conclusion. There can’t be any real surprise as to the outcome and it makes me wonder if Brunhilde played her strongest warrior card too soon.

I do wonder if they are setting things up to make the gods change their minds regardless of the outcome. I’m quite certain Thor has a new respect for humanity and being gods, they will likely wait several more thousand years to experience the joy of battle with another great warrior. I think my biggest concern with what’s happened so far is how disconnected everything feels.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 4 Thor and Lu Bu exchange blows

What have you learnt?

I’m a big believer in the characters being the most important part of a story. They are, after all, the thing that connects the audience to the story. So far, I don’t have any connection to any of the characters and as such the story. We’ve been told that they will eradicate humanity, but they haven’t done anything to show us at a level that will drive that home. It’s at a too high a level for us to bond with anything.

The same can be said for the characters. I didn’t care if Lu Bu won or not. It really didn’t make much difference and the same can be said for Thor. Their backstories were kind of bland and didn’t do anything to make me want either to win. We’re four episodes in and there’s been one fight. I feel like they should have gone all out on the fights or given us a character story to follow. So far, it’s failed to do either. It ended up being an all right fight, but it was slowed down too much with all the flashbacks.