It was a chilling episode to say the least as we watched the soldiers fight in Coenenberg struggling time and time again, forcing to retreat and surrender further ground against the Germania seige. The depictions of the brutality and despair of the soldiers whom must fight in the trenches against the invading forces after the Tank made me sink to my stomach as I recall the stories I have been told of by my own grandfather who fought in World War II. Although we know nothing about the soldiers of Elystadt, and their stories with the exception of the young boy who constantly reminded himself of his family he is fighting for, it still had an emotional toll, leaving me with a heavy heart. The spark of hope when Izetta decided to disobey Finé’s orders and take the matters into her own hands made my heart a little lighter, especially watching the bewilderment on both the soldiers and the Germania’s forces faces. It was an understatement for the Elystadt’s men to not even question Izetta’s alliance nor what she was. They were in daze, and helped her by referring to where she could find the weapons to use against the Germania forces. The medieval weapons that would serve no benefit in the current modern warfare finally found a valuable use as she swords, lances to pierce the fighter planes and along with her magic, overturn and dismantle the tanks. Once Finé realizes that Izetta threw herself into the battlefield, she makes sure the men in Coenenberg receieve a comfirmation that Izetta is an ally, a personal friend of hers and most importantly, the legendary Weisse Hexe (White Witch).
Now Izetta is officially part of the Elystadt’s army. Her presence will be spread like wildfire all the way to the Emperor himself. They won’t have a whole lot of time before the Germania forces find a way to at least attempt to shut her down (and they will find a way, I am sure of it), so they will need to make use of the little time they have to utilize the surprise factor of a Witch who wields magic fighting on the battlefield.
With the way the current pace of the story-line for Shuumatsu no Izetta, it looks like my entries are probably going to be a little shorter than average due to the way they are delivering the story. Though this is only the third episode, I am starting to get the impression this show will be more about telling a story than building a story, (if that makes any sense). I don’t believe we are going to see a whole lot of character development due to the way Izetta and Finé have already been established as. Finé is a naturally born leader, one who can stand alongside her soldiers and has the intelligence to know when their efforts are futile. And Izetta is supposed to the the last witch, who despite her difficult past with the people of the Kingdom, she loves Finé enough to forgive and to forget. But if there is one thing that is sparking my suspicion, it’s that guy with long purple/black hair who works with the King (who has now passed by the way). I’m starting to wonder if he is a mole…
As much as I can understand people being wary of another anime-original work after the glass-half-full ending of Kabaneri, especially those who enthusiastically bolstered its sales in Japan, the lack of thoughtful comments towards this show in some places is saddening.
I all but entirely understand what you mean as far as telling a story rather than building a story. I think there’s definitely potential for building a story though. It helps that unlike Kabaneri there’s definitely more than one person on either side who sees things scientifically, which is helped by the time period. Still, the legends of old haven’t been lost to the extent where Izetta is a completely unfathomable existence to people once they think about it.
Izetta’s powerful and all the more so when she has the element of surprise, but we have a very clear precedent for her being outplayed and detained. That is an affair that has much to do with people who are waging the “cold war” side of things, who contrast the typical arm-chair commanders well. What remains to be seen on that front is just what the motives are for those behind the scenes players, which will either counter or support claims of the enemy state and Finé’s state being portrayed as black-and-white villains and heroes. As of this third episode we’ve also seen the frontline aspect of this war, which is being vastly underappreciated by some and belittled as an opportunity to show off Izetta. It is that, but 3 episode is we needed this before people inevitably began to complain about the show telling us about the horrors of war, rather than outright showing them.
So there’s tons to work with here (far beyond what I described) and I hope the creators can see that for themselves. As for me, I’m very much enjoying this alongside Brave Witches and Battlefield 1. Oh and I NEED a figma of her so I can turn my Gilgamesh into a Gilgadad :’)