Whelp, it looks like Saint-Germain is going to have the short end of the stick in this adaption – which sucks a lot because I love him so much. With that being said, I think I have an estimate now of what the production team probably have in mind in terms of pacing for the series, and the type of adjustments we will be seeing in the future.
If anyone had any doubts last week, this week pretty much verified we are definitely on Lupin’s Route, AKA the True Route. The rest of the group will eventually get their respective time to shine once it comes down to facing their past, and based on the preview, it looks like they will be starting with Van.
On that note, I would like to put a notice to SKIP the Ending Theme if you want to avoid Spoilers!
Much to my surprise, beside the credits, the feature a 2 minutes preview of the next episode, and my god – there’s so much spoilers!!!!!! While it’s a clever idea, it is quite a double-edge sword since some may like to stick around and not necessarily want to be spoiled, especially to this extent!
Van Helsing was introduced this week. He is a former member of Twilight, and is infamously known as the ‘Human Weapon’. The reason why he was after Cardia was because he had hoped to use her as bait to lure Finis out and kill him. Seeing how they are on the same page when it comes to opposing Twilight, he accepts the offer to join the team. They also made sure to touch on Victor’s circumstances as to why he is a wanted man. He insists he was framed, and formerly served as the government’s Head Royal Alchemist.
In short, not much happened this episode, in fact you could say it was quite boring. Honestly, I think I expected a bit more, and am a tad bummed out they left out some of the fun from the Trade Show, but perhaps that will be saved for next week’s episode – but given the time crunch, I somehow doubt it.
Cardia being the cutie she is, and Lupin with his fancy lines were pretty much the only things that kept my attention. (These two are getting all the alone time in the world~) However we were able to get something a bit more out of it by the introduction of Queen Victoria and the leader of the Twilight organization, Finis (who works under her), both who are after the Cardia. They also made sure to establish Cardia is not the only non-human being in this world. (Though I must say, they absolutely nailed Finis’ design of his uncanny similarities to Cardia.)
Speaking of Cardia, as mentioned, she was absolutely ADORABLE this episode. From melting her pillow, to lifting her skirt to enable herself to run more efficiently after it getting caught by her surroundings. However much to her horror, she learned she does not have a heart. The Horogium effectively serves as its substitute, so as long as its not damaged to removed, otherwise it will result her death. 
The news of course doesn’t quite help with the process of humanizing her, but Lupin honestly had a great way of turning it around by telling her how a heart doesn’t really start beating until you fall in love, and when you feel one’s warmth it starts to beat. This makes one does not need the actual organ to possess “a heart”, as it is something that is forged through the bond with others. Thanks to that exclamation, Cardia discovered her wish is: to experience touch and warmth. It is a simple wish, but it is understandably one that would be life-changing as she does not have that privilege to do it, so as long no one makes contact with her bare skin.
Luckily for her though, Victor managed to figure out how to create the special utensils! And he bought fabric this week when they went to town, so it’s safe to say she will be out of that dress that is not practical whatsoever when it comes to running around town!
Overall, when it comes down to the plot, I don’t think we will be seeing it kick into high-gear until sometime between Episode 6 and Episode 8. So for the next few episodes, I expect it to be fairly slow, but hopefully not too slow. Spicing it up with Cardia interacting with characters other than Lupin will help, a lot, so hopefully they can strike a balance for both!
In fairness, most adaptations of games/LNs/novels will usually end up trimming some stuff out to smoothen the pacing of events and fit the running time limit.
Even the anime of Grimoire of Zero, which only covered the 1st volume, still had to cut out some character monologues and minor worldbuilding for its TV run.
Athough, there’ll be those who always insist “the source was better” no matter what. I’ve seen those comments pop up in boards discussing this episodes.
Of course, but it is a shame they weren’t able to squeeze some of the fun bits, which could have in turn spiced up the episode. I think they could have made it work, but at the end of the day, it’s not the worst, in fact they are doing a pretty darn good job making the adjustments to suit the pace of the adaption better. I would much rather them put the time towards plot and characters than the extra bits of fun any day, so I’ll live 😉
But I’m still sad we will probably not be seeing much of Saint-Germain RIP ; v ;||| Hahahaha SOBS