Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Episode 2: [Long Day of the Trainee Volunteer Soldier]

∼I guess today wasn’t bad∼

What can I say…

I’m really glad I’m the one reviewing this

This episode fulfilled my exceptions and even more

The episode has a slow start with Haruhiro talking to Manato while everybody is asleep. Apparently Manato was drinking in a Tavern to learn some informations for the rest of the crew. MMMMMHHH. I’m sorry, so far I like Manato but like I said before, I can’t trust him, he’s too fishy. He can be lying and being a spy, going to the Tavern to give informations to Rejii or to the people that are behind all this. I don’t know… I want to trust him buuuuttt… Oh well, we’ll see.

Later on, they decide to go in the forest to try killing a gobelin again. Haruhiro spots a lone gobelin and they prepare themselves to attack. However, Ranta blows things up by coming out his bush shouting like he’s in some kind of action movie. Shouting doesn’t make you stronger you know. Anyway, Haruhiro panics and falls next to the gobelin who starts attacking him. As expected they all sucks, their attacks aren’t coordinate at all but they do manage to hit and to hurt the gobelin a few times. However, the gobelin isn’t ready to give up on living and starts shouting the longest and the creepiest scream of agony that I’ve heard in a long time.

However, this is not the end. The gobelin jumps, attacks Haruhiro and manages to stab him with his sword. Haruhiro fights back by stabbing the gobelin in the neck. Ranta comes to help but that’s Moguzo that gives the last blow. Or at least, they think he was the one giving the last blow because the gobelin isn’t dead yet and after a bit he starts running away from them in order to escape. But Ranta catch up with him and stabs him multiples times to finally kill him while everybody is watching, horrified by what is happening in front of them.

This is … How can I say it… Amazing ? I absolutely love how they are treating the ennemies/monsters in this anime. I felt really bad for that gobelin that wasn’t ready to give up on living. YEAH, that’s right, he’s a living being too. In the last episode we saw that gobelins are hanging out together, dressing with some kind of clothes, using weapons and even cooking their meat. Almost like humans right? They aren’t something that you can just kill like that, without feeling anything.

  You know what? In my opinion this anime is succeeding where SAO failed at some point. With this show, I feel more pression that I’ve ever felt with the entire season of SAO. Of course this isn’t the same thing at all and I think they aren’t stuck in a game but rather in a Fantasy world, probably without any mastermind behind everything. But, maaaan, the feels. I remember being soo excited when I first read SAO’s plot, this was really promising. I was picturing survival, drama, killing or being killed. AHAHA, I was so disappointed. Hofefully, my wishes have been heard.

The strangest thing in this episode was the insert song that lasted for almost 4 minutes. But you know what ? I didn’t mind at all, and I was actually pleased with that choice. I mean, that kind of thing doesn’t happen too much in Anime. Most of the time that kind of insert song with no dialogues,when it happens, it’s near the end of the anime where the feels are at their pinnacle. But yeah, it worked for me. Plus, the backgrounds in this anime are so beautiful that I don’t mind looking at them. Furthermore, some stuff did happen during this no-dialogue moment.

With Haruhiro wandering around the city we got to see Ranta finally eating the meat that he was dreaming of but not looking as happy as he should be. Probably because he’s remembering that he had to kill to eat. That also proves us that Ranta, even if he’s a dick, isn’t a heartless dick. I like the fact that Ranta, nor anyone, is showing off after killing their first gobelin.

I mean, they did kill a living being, that’s something no one should be proud of. Because, even if gobelins are qualified as monsters, they’re aren’t doing anything wrong. I understand that our group of losers had to kill the gobelin if they wanted to eat and stuff and there’s nothing wrong with it, I’m just happy that the novel/anime chose to deal with the “killing to live” issue that way, it makes things way more realistic. People might find this anime boring because “nothing happens, the insert song is a waste of time, the fights are lame, they suck too much” but not me. I was almost crying during the insert song not because it was dramatic or sad but because it was what I was hoping for when I decided to check this anime out.

But don’t mind me and my bad crying habit. I cry all the time whenever I’m happy, excited or sad. If I cry watching something, that only means that I’m really enjoying it. Although that might be a little to early to say that this anime is amazing but if they keep on producing  episodes like that… that’s a HELL YEAH for me.

Also, during the insert song we see Yume and the boobs-mage girl reinforcing their friendship’s bounds with some shopping while Manato is enjoying the sun on a hill and Moguzo is sewing ( I told you he was great at it) and washing his weapon. But the juicy detail is that apparently there’s some kind of relationship development between Manato and the Boobs girl.Well at least that’s what is implied in the last part of the song. That’s probably what Yume thinks too since she decides to leave them alone with a sad look on her face.

As for their memories, this episode didn’t give us so much clues. Manato had the impression that he was yelled at even in his past, Haruhiro remembered that the moon wasn’t red in his previous world and Moguzo was crafting an airplane out of wood.

Oh also, I’m quite happy they decided to skip the bath scene, only showing Ranta getting kicked out by Yume. Expect Yume’s ass shot there was no Fan-service in this episode and that makes me really happy. See, you can make interesting episodes without boobs nor dialogues. If I had to choose between the boobs’s discussion from last episode and the 4 minutes of song in this one, I’ll choose the song without any hesitation.

Cuz like Hans Christian Andersen said:

” Where words fail, music speaks”