Any series written by the legend Ryo Mizuno has my full attention. For those who are old enough to remember Record of Lodoss War, it was a series based on the Role Playing adventures Mizuno enjoyed with friends, and started life as light-novels before being adapted into an incredibly popular anime OAV, followed up years later by a TV series that passed the torch onto new heroes in a way that was both respectful and relevant (take note Star Wars...) Grancrest War has been turned into a Strategy RPG for the PS4 and a tabletop RPG with 2 rulebooks, a fitting tribute to the origins of the original series and bringing Mizuno full circle. The two series may not be related, but the inspiration remains a genuine love of Dungeons and Dragons.
Following the invasion of an element called Chaos into the normal world, the nobility fought back using Crests which grant them superhuman powers. However, humanity being what it is, wars broke out to obtain more crests and increased power, until a marriage was arranged between the main noble houses to restore peace. Unfortunately the ceremony comes to a tragic end, and conflict erupts once more.
We're introduced to Siluca Meletes, a headstrong young mage who despises the nobles petty squabbles, and a young warrior named Theo Cornaro who forged his own crest from fallen opponents, despit being a bit wet behind the ears. Upon meeting, Siluca senses strong potential for the boy, and sets him a challenge to defeat a Chaos beast - doing so will attain him the rank of Knight.
This is a sharp looking anime with a fairly standard animation budget - director Mamoru Hatakeyama (Sankarea, Rozen Maiden) brings an experienced hand to make the most of what he has. Beautiful, detailed backgrounds bring a feeling of real depth and quality, aided by a lovely soundtrack to keep things feeling tonally substantial.
This first episode gives us a good grounding on crests and their importance to the world, as well the politics of the realm and the idea of contracts between mages and their masters. It never feels heavy handed or rushed, though unlike a lot of anime it doesn't seem to be front-loading the combat and spectacle. I've heard the show is a bit of a slow burn, but I'm satisfied with what I've seen so far and keen to watch the story develop.
This article is based on the test copy Blu Ray supplied by MVM Entertainment
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