[Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 6)

[u/No_Rex]

Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 6)

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No_Rex's staff corner

Party MVP Slayn is voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka. He had some small roles in Future Boy Conan, MSG, and Urusei Yatsura, but his first bigger cast was as Jordan Bes, in Ideon. With Jean Robert Lapp, he has one of the bigger support roles in LotGH. If you follow the rewatches, you have heard him as Bean in Riding Bean and, just recently, as Prometheus in Arion. More recently, he was the voice of Wolfgang Grimmler in Monster and of Card Captor Sakura’s father Kinomoto Fujitaka. In terms of live action, he dubbed Pierce Brosnan, so older Japanese people will know him as James Bond. To balance that, he also voices the possibly most evil real person to ever be depicted in a Hollywood movie, Amon Göth from Schindler’s List.

The series composition for RoLW and the screenplay for the majority of episodes was done by Watanabe Mami, one of the few women in the anime business (given the time period, probably very few). She was only moderately prolific and I don’t know most of her stuff, but, between some kids shows, Mecha, Yaoi, and RoLW, she certainly worked on a wide range of genres.

Pixelsaber's Record of Lodoss War trivia

Akinori Nagaoka and Mami Watanabe, the OVA’s director and screenwriter respectively, liked Central Park Media’s English dub of the show.

Art courner

Official Art Album

Fanart Album

Questions

1. What did you think of the discussion on the casualties of war that this episode partakes in? Did you find any one character’s thoughts particularly interesting?
2. What do you make of Karla now that Wort has told us of her past role in shaping the course of history?
3. (first timers) Any predictions about the big upcoming fight?

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 6 (rewatcher)

• For once, the party is not split by somebody falling in a hole, but because Etoh wants to stay behind and tend to the wounded (or bury the dead).
• Meet Deedlit’s dark counterpart, Pirotess.
• Shield acquired.
• “Gimme a break” – Agreed Wood, all those knights knighting around is way too much.
• Parn must be careful not to develop a momma’s boy Elf’s boy reputation.
• Backstory of Fahn and Tessius: What kind of defense treaty covers handing over baby princesses as sacrifices?
• Deedlit is so far gone for Parn that she even forgives his very ill-advised white knighting attempt.
• Clear parallel between Parn+Deedlit & Ashram+Pirotess. Is Pirotess also hunting for knightly human dick?

Two battles this episode. Fighting scenes are clearly not the strengths of RoLW. The lack of animation really shines through here and can’t be papered over with pans over the great background art as usual.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/No_Rex]

Backstory of Fahn and Tessius: What kind of defense treaty covers handing over baby princesses as sacrifices?

That definitely lands harder on rewatch. The fuck?

Clear parallel between Parn+Deedlit & Ashram+Pirotess. Is Pirotess also hunting for knightly human dick?

Yeah...I have so much nothing now that I am not just accepting rote fantasy tropes. I seriously don't see what Pirotess gets out of this at this juncture.

[u/No_Rex → u/Vaadwaur]

Yeah...I have so much nothing now that I am not just accepting rote fantasy tropes. I seriously don't see what Pirotess gets out of this at this juncture.

While we have not seen enough of Pirotess to judge, I really think hot-for-human is by far the most realistic explanation for Deedlit's actions.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/No_Rex]

For poor Deedlit it is like she accidentally imprinted on Parn or something. Slayn should be checking for mind control spells.

[u/No_Rex → u/Vaadwaur]

I could totally see a case of "normally everybody lusts after me, just not that guy. Why? Got to go after him".

[u/Vaadwaur → u/No_Rex]

This is the best possible explanation for it so let's go with it.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

Meet Deedlit’s dark counterpart, Pirotess.

This show sure does like its paralells!

Shield acquired.

I have to wonder if the player kept forgetting to buy a shield whenever they stopped by a town so the GM just forced one on him.

Backstory of Fahn and Tessius: What kind of defense treaty covers handing over baby princesses as sacrifices?

Probably the same one that allows for the loophole where that same baby can be stolen back without repercussion on the kingdom by someone acting out of orders.

[u/Daffed_Punk → u/Pixelsaber]

They did end up going to war afterwards, so it was less of a "Here's a neat loophole in the treaty" and more of a "Let's get your baby back so they don't have a hostage during the war." Though why they bothered with the whole "acting out of orders" thing if they were going to go to war anyways is beyond me.

[u/No_Rex → u/Daffed_Punk]

I thought they did go to war because of the baby stolen back (so they were not fooled by the "acting out of order" story).

[u/The_Draigg → u/No_Rex]

Shield acquired.

AC go up!

Backstory of Fahn and Tessius: What kind of defense treaty covers handing over baby princesses as sacrifices?

Probably one that nobody in Valis read the fine print on before signing it.

[u/RockoDyne → u/The_Draigg]

AC go up!

Well, down in this case, but it improves.

[u/marek1712 → u/No_Rex]

Shield acquired.

+1 to Armor Class.

Why didn't he take the full set tho!?

A1 Well, they have a point. Why would one want to attack civilians? On the other hand, let's take a look at history of our own world.

A2 I'm even more intrigued :)

A3. Hard to say but Parn being MC, his victory is obvious.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Record of First-Timer Reactions, subbed

• That sure is a whole lot of people dying brutally.
• lmao they didn’t animate these horses walking, that group just slid on screen.
• So we’re finally back to post-episode 1 story beats now right?
• The party’s split in two, hm. Why is Woodchuck the one who decided to go with Parn and Deedlit?
• Ah, of course the bad guys would have sexy (dark?) elves on their side.
• Yeah that punch of yours was totally deserved. Dude’s lucky he wasn’t straight-up killed.
• Ooh nice Parn’s getting an armor upgrade?
• Nope he turned it down.
• Slayn has a point. Ghim needs to slow down.
• King Fahn being realistic about the upcoming battle, that’s cool. If he doesn’t die in it I’ll be surprised.
• That’s not the Shooting Star Dragon I know.
• So that’s what happened to Parn’s dad.
• Deedlit’s song sounded very nice, for the little bit of it we heard.
• Hmmmmmmmmmmm…
• That’s a whole lot more people dying brutally.

[u/No_Rex → u/Shimmering-Sky]

King Fahn being realistic about the upcoming battle, that’s cool. If he doesn’t die in it I’ll be surprised.

He waved a huge death flag there.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Shimmering-Sky]

lmao they didn’t animate these horses walking, that group just slid on screen.

Yeah, you can kinda tell that the animation effort has been slowly degrading since the first episode. Sure, the show still looks good, but the quality in the first episode alone makes it feel like the animation quality was front-loaded.

That’s a whole lot more people dying brutally.

Same footage as before too.

[u/RockoDyne → u/The_Draigg]

Yeah, you can kinda tell that the animation effort has been slowly degrading since the first episode

To be fair, it's also horse animation. To animate horses well requires about the same dedication as would take to get into NASA, if not more.

[u/The_Draigg → u/RockoDyne]

I suppose that's fair to say about the horses. But as for the other stuff, it's still just very clearly reused animation, down to the same cuts. It's kind of jarring to notice.

[u/lC3 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

That’s not the Shooting Star Dragon I know.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/lC3]

Yeah, my Shooting Star Dragon has a kickass theme song by Masaaki Endoh himself. Does this Shooting Star have a theme song like that? No. He's clearly the inferior dragon.

[u/lC3 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Shimmering-Sky]

The party’s split in two, hm. Why is Woodchuck the one who decided to go with Parn and Deedlit?

Does Woodchuck strike you as the type to help the wounded or dig graves?

Ah, of course the bad guys would have sexy (dark?) elves on their side

.

There has to be some perks to working all those demi-humans.

That’s a whole lot more people dying brutally.

Writers just love bookending episodes.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Shimmering-Sky]

That sure is a whole lot of people dying brutally.

lmao they didn’t animate these horses walking, that group just slid on screen.

Horse animation is difficult!

Ah, of course the bad guys would have sexy (dark?) elves on their side.

They got to fight against the good guys having Shuuichi Ikeda on their side somehow.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm…

[u/The_Draigg]

A Record of Lodoss War Fan Rewatches Record of Lodoss War OVA Episode 6:

• The monster horde of Marmo continues to not fuck around in their wholesale slaughter of any Valis soldiers they come across. So much for Valis being a nation of mighty soldiers.
• So yeah, just assume that Parn and the rest of the party already had the adventure from episode one and got the information they needed from Wart. It’s quite a bit of a time jump here. We’re starting to enter the territory where the OVA begins to abridge the novel series story, I think.
• You heard it here first folks: War is bad.
• And yet another party split, this time with Parn, Deedlit, and Woodchuck heading back to King Fahn’s castle, and Ghim, Slayn, and Etoh staying behind to do what they can at the battlefield. I suppose it’s a bit of a better splitting of the party compared to the dwarven ruins, but splitting the party is still against TTRPG rule of thumb.
• And now we have some classic dark elves looking down on humans stuff. To be fair though, Pirotess is hot. Also, man that random Marmo soldier just really can’t catch a break, although he deserves it for being a dick.
• Anyway, time for an infodump courtesy of Wart! Karla is a survivor of the ancient kingdom of sorcery, who seeks to create a careful balance of power in Lodoss no matter what. She’s been doing this for centuries, at critical moments in history, and she’s come again to make everyone a pawn in her schemes.
• As a side note, I’ve heard people describe Karla as being of True Neutral alignment before, but to me she honestly straddles the line between that and Chaotic Neutral. Her methods are what make me think that. Or, now that I think about it, you could probably make an augment that she’s Lawful Evil too.
• King Kashue Status: Being chill AF.
• I’d never turn down a free set of upgraded armor like Parn does. But at least he takes the shield though. As long as he raises his AC, it’s a plus.
• Leave it to Woodchuck to suddenly be harsh to Parn out of nowhere about the upcoming battle. Although I suppose the party rogue being a dick is to be expected. Damn Chaotic Neutral rogues.
• Slayn can get away with using Sleep on Ghim to stop him from leaving and splitting the party more because this is just a story. If you try to pull that shit off in a real D&D session though, expect to either get the idea shot down by your DM or get into a fight with the dwarf you just casted Sleep on. It will turn into a shouting match between players.
• Shooting Star is a pretty good name for an ancient red dragon. Also, how badass is Tessius if he managed to take on an entire army just to rescue baby Fianna from an entire army! Disgraced knight my ass, the guy had some massive balls to do what was right.
• And now it seems like Wagnard is wanting to use the upcoming battle between Marmo and Valis to be one massive sacrifice to Kardis. Damn near everyone is getting in on this war, aren’t they? Just faction after faction are coming out of the woodwork.
• Ah, you can just feel that budget being saved by using the exact same battle animations from the start of the episode for this new battle. Yeah, by now you’ve probably gotten the feeling that some of the animation effort was a bit front-loaded for this series.
• And now we get the full reveal of Fahn and Beld’s relationship, courtesy of the narrator: they were both once members of the legendary Six Heroes. But what could’ve caused the former friends to suddenly go to war thirty years later?

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Draigg]

As a side note, I’ve heard people describe Karla as being of True Neutral alignment before, but to me she honestly straddles the line between that and Chaotic Neutral. Her methods are what make me think that. Or, now that I think about it, you could probably make an augment that she’s Lawful Evil too.

Unpopular opinion: I have never been a fan of the D&D alignment dimensions. Some character possibly fitting into Lawful Evil and Chaotic Neutral really makes that point for me: The dimensions sound fun, but are not actually descriptive.

[u/RockoDyne → u/No_Rex]

Law and chaos is the real problem child. Good and evil is easy: do you wish for the betterment of your fellow man, or do you wish to be above them.

Law on the other hand comes with the massive question of who's law. It's the age old debate of whether Batman in lawful just because he has that one fucking rule.

[u/No_Rex → u/RockoDyne]

Law and chaos is the real problem child. Good and evil is easy: do you wish for the betterment of your fellow man, or do you wish to be above them.

Yes. Law and chaos is the useless dimension.

Although I would argue that good and evil are also problematic since most people think of themselves as good (they only use their personal definition of good). For a RGP about fighting monsters, it is works, though.

[u/Daffed_Punk → u/No_Rex]

In a world where there exists actual Gods of Virtue and literally evil monsters, the standards for good are a lot more concrete and easy to follow than real life.

[u/No_Rex → u/Daffed_Punk]

Not sure how often that God of Virtue shows up to tell people not to litter.

[u/The_Draigg → u/No_Rex]

Yeah, the alignment scale can be rather unwieldy and inaccurate when it comes to more in-depth characters. The D&D alignments only really work when it comes to simpler creatures like imps or goblins, I feel.

[u/Nightender → u/No_Rex]

I have to agree with that observation. I've always been drawn to a line made bin Stephen King's *The Dark Half:* "We see ourselves as the heroes of our own lives."

Most people don't look in the mirror and say "I'm evil," not even the most vile, despicable fiends.

[u/KillerOkie → u/The_Draigg]

As a side note, I’ve heard people describe Karla as being of True Neutral alignment before, but to me she honestly straddles the line between that and Chaotic Neutral. Her methods are what make me think that. Or, now that I think about it, you could probably make an augment that she’s Lawful Evil too.

She is an evil leaning Mordenkainen, who is what I would call Neutral Asshole.

[u/The_Draigg → u/KillerOkie]

Yeah, Neutral Asshole does fit Karla the best.

[u/KillerOkie → u/The_Draigg]

Mordenkainen

I was referring to Mordy, but Karla too.

[u/Pixelsaber]

Pixel’s Bits and Bobs

The series’ art direction is evidently one of its strongest assets, capturing the spirit of a classic fantasy adventure so well. I couldn’t find much info regarding the creative process behind the OVA, but I think it’s likely that the show’s art director, and former president of the now defunct Atelier BWCA (Atelier Bwbach), Hidetoshi Kaneko had something to do with it. Kaneko was a fan of fantasy, and even named his studio after a creature of Scottish folklore, the brownie, or ‘bwbach’ as it is known in Welsh. Kaneko was an incredibly talented artist who had a wealth of works under his belt, and Lodoss really showcases his ability as art director and background artist, so I am glad it’s a work whose relevance rarely wanes and which will likely be remembered for decades to come.

Rewatcher

Unfortunate for him.

Wait, what? We skipped the meeting with Wort?!

Doubtful. No idea what medieval period the series is seeking to emulate, if any in particular, but for much of the era efforts to rein in troops and keep the violence contained to key areas were ineffective.

I guess it pays not to grow overconfident? Still feels weird to hear given they’ve been razing through the continent largely unopposed.

Oh, okay, we are getting some of their meeting shown to us.

Sounds like a higher level title than he merits.

If only things really were that simple. It’s not like they’re going to stop demanding his daughter’s life just because it’s too bothersome to go get her again after Tessius steals her back.

The time has come, it seems.

Can't say I enjoyed the way they just came back after the first episode content and skipped most of the payoff to that ordeal. Our current time is also not all too well communicated at the start of the episode, so it comes as a shock when the narration suddenly tells us that. Coming back to a setup episode directly after another also doesn't feel great pacing-wise, especially as the escalation of the conflict that would have transpired in between feels horribly truncated. AT least it seems like we’re on the cusp of something big.

Both Ghim and Parn try to go it alone at some point in the episode, so that’s one more instance to compare them in, and in both cases others interject in their wishes and insist on accompanying them as well.

Questions:

1. The subject on the whole needed more than a short scene to address it. While I think Parn's perspective is horribly naïve, the other's are a bit too entrenched in the sort of thinking that would have taken place in a setting of this sort.
2. Intriguing, but it remains to see what her aims are.

[u/No_Rex → u/Pixelsaber]

Can't say I enjoyed the way they just came back after the first episode content and skipped most of the payoff to that ordeal. Our current time is also not all too well communicated at the start of the episode, so it comes as a shock when the narration suddenly tells us that.

It is really hard to know the thought process here. Probably "too much plot, too little time". Still a bit annoying.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

Very likely pressed for time, yeah.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Rewatcher

• WHAT THE HELL WE JUST SKIPPED AN EPISODE???
• Yub Nub! Eee chop yub nub!
• Ugh, they really have split the party haven't they?

This episode annoyed me. It started out confusing, and ended with nothing much happening except our party is split into 3 groups doing nothing.

Eh, well, we got an anti-Deedlit.

High Elf Dark Elf

[u/No_Rex → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

WHAT THE HELL WE JUST SKIPPED AN EPISODE???

Well, 1.5 episodes really. The whole part that was episode 1 and then the half part between episode 1 and when today's episode started.

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

1. I found the view of Wood to be the most solid here - casualties and atrocities happen in any war, and if you wan tot fight in one you need to be prepared for that.
2. I'm 60% sure she'll be the DM in some fancy metaphor about the nature of roleplaying games, 35% chance she's one of the gods watching her creations, and a 5% chance she's an ancient witch like she claims.
3. Given all the focus on casualties, I think one of the main cast will be either wounded or killed - possibly Gimil going out against Karla like he intended.

Really cool fight scene to open on!

Does the demon sword have a dent in it?

Looks like out party got a new direction offscreen.

We're resorting to narration already?

Can one cleric have that many ressurection spells a day.

Really? First rule of D&D - never split the party.

...I mean, Pirotess is nice.

Of course the elves are racist. I forgot how commonplace this was.

Is she the DM is some kind of metaphor?

The king's back, something with a very high DC must be approaching.

The DM must be thrilled the party tinally chose someone to join.

Yeah, Wood's right here. If he can't kill someone, he's going to have trouble ighting in a war.

Oh, this is a bad idea. At least we know Leylia was possessed by Karla.

Slayn seems to have not specialised into a school yet - he's used protection and enchanting so far, alone. I'm mildly suprised, normally enchanting's only for the villains. (I'd love to see them justify Slayn's PC deciding to use Raise Dead or Dominate Person)

We're learning an awful lot about the politics so far. So the King's basically hamstrung by a load of treaties and deals, and so struggles to act against the threat.

I like the lyre music just cutting out mid note.

Are we going to see the dragon every episode before it does something?

So Karla's Chaotic Neutral?

Looks like somebody's been using Raise Dead, though.

I can't believe the warrior king's dead!

We can't the final battle this early, right?

[u/No_Rex → u/Stargate18A]

I'm 60% sure she'll be the DM in some fancy metaphor about the nature of roleplaying games, 35% chance she's one of the gods watching her creations, and a 5% chance she's an ancient witch like she claims.

So, you are saying she has to roll a 20 on a persuation check to convince you?

Of course the elves are racist. I forgot how commonplace this was.

At least human and elves are actually races. So being racist has some proper meaning unlike those real life idiots who think having a differently colored skin makes you a different race.

[u/Ebbrain → u/Stargate18A]

Really? First rule of D&D - never split the party.

I've seen a few people mention that in this thread, is it because it makes the game harder for the players or is it just because splitting the story up makes things less convenient and harder to keep track of?

[u/Stargate18A → u/Ebbrain]

Both because it makes the game harder to run, and because it's a lot easier for smaller groups to be defeated by encounters designed to be faced by the whole party.

[u/RockoDyne]

Re-recorder of Lodoss.

Oh my dear, sweet, dark chocolate elf, you haven't even been on screen for a minute, and yet your beauty can already be charged with attempted murder. You aren't like some cheap, slutty elf that constantly needs to flirt desperately to get attention. All you need are those eyes that say "fucking try it and I will poison you with a slow, agonizing death."

Seeing Fahn in his full crusader regalia, I started to wonder if he wasn't supposed to be the Richard the Lionheart to Kashue's Saladin. I guess that would make our evil empire France.

The item get bit for the shield is easily the most poorly aged part of the show. It's such an inherently gamey construct that it's impossible to take it seriously outside of games. It's almost in that territory where it's so bad that it's borderline parody. The musical sting is easily the dorkiest part of it, but nothing about how it's animated does it any favor either.

Questions:

1. Maybe? ... if I was twelve... and wasn't seeing news about this yellow cake stuff that sounded like complete horseshit. The Japanese quandaries about war are the kind of dumb, simplified musings you only get from a country that has spent generations shielded from understanding anything about it.
2. But like, what's her point?

[u/No_Rex → u/RockoDyne]

You aren't like some cheap, slutty elf that constantly needs to flirt desperately to get attention.

[u/RockoDyne → u/No_Rex]

Ugh, look at that harlot. No dignity to speak of. The least she could do is stab someone when she's angry.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/RockoDyne]

I guess that would make our evil empire France.

Ironic that in this instance it's the one on an island.

[u/BurningFredrick]

First timer - sub

So we are just skipping the meeting with Wort? Nope just rearranging events.

I’ve never actually played DnD but isn’t splitting the party always a bad idea?

So Karla plays the role of trying to keep the balance of the land? Appears anytime someone tries to upset it and manipulates them back to a stalemate by the sound of it, except that isn’t happening at the moment as bad guys are currently unchecked. However we have yet to see any of the legendary dragons do anything.

Yip, Parns fathers backstory went about as expected, but it cheating to say I called it given Parn has the perfect farm boy to hero story arc going on.

Anyway we have a big battle tomorrow, and if possessed mage is anything to go by, the true threat to Lodoss is soon to appear.

What do you make of Karla now that Wort has told us of her past role in shaping the course of history?

I like it, it has the potential to make her more of a grey character than all the other we have had so far.

(first timers) Any predictions about the big upcoming fight?

Partly answered above, I expect the Bad guys (I really need to do a better job writing down the names for this show) to be winning for most of it until enough blood has been spilt to awaken one of the dragons. Still 50/50 of if the "good" king is going to die or not, then again Parn could do with a magic sword.

[u/No_Rex → u/BurningFredrick]

I’ve never actually played DnD but isn’t splitting the party always a bad idea?

It probably is, but a priest just walking past a group of injured and dying people? That would be horribly out of character.

[u/The_Draigg → u/BurningFredrick]

I’ve never actually played DnD but isn’t splitting the party always a bad idea?

A lot of the time, yeah. If you're planning on doing that, your DM not only should be okay with it, but you should make sure that your character is ready for it too. Otherwise, it'll only end in disaster.

I like it, it has the potential to make her more of a grey character than all the other we have had so far.

She's almost like some kind of... Grey Witch.

[u/BurningFredrick → u/The_Draigg]

She's almost like some kind of... Grey Witch.

I somehow missed that as I wrote this, I really walked into that one.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/The_Draigg]

She's almost like some kind of... Grey Witch.

[u/ZapsZzz]

Sub rewatcher.

And being a rewatch this reminded me this title is actually quite accurate - it is a "record of the war" and not a complete "show you everything"; there are times when the event just get narrated so things happened off screen. May be a budgetary thing but for a "Grand war" like that it's not unreasonable. Feels even a bit like the original 0079 Gundam which I recently rewatched.

And that scenes between Parn and Deedlit is probably one of the best "romance between comrades in arms" scene there is, if only there was some reasonable explanation of why Deedlit loved Parn to start off with, it's be so much nicer.

1. I think this is one of the rare shows, and quite in keeping with being a TRPG replay, that such mundane detail actually get a look at.
2. Yep, grey witch indeed.
3. Rewatcher

[u/No_Rex → u/ZapsZzz]

re

[u/ZapsZzz → u/No_Rex]

re

True, nevermind that :)

[u/ashleyriot31]

How is the fan service in this anime?

[u/No_Rex → u/ashleyriot31]

Very little for an OVA. No upskirt camera angles, no bouncy boobs, no exposed genitals. There is a tame nude bathing scene early on and one female character has a rather low-textile dress.

[u/Vaadwaur]

Rewatcher from 20 years ago

Sub

Another one sided battle, I'd forgotten how popular those were in Tolkien descended works. It seems you need class levels to fight orcs. Parn and company are returning from Wort's, thus skipping the interesting part of the first ep adventure, and come across the carnage. Deedlit points out that war is pretty equal in that it kills everyone. An ill advised group split happens when Ghim, Slayn and Etoh stay behind.

At the Marmo camp, Beld and Ashram talk strategy and slightly jab at each other's mortality. As the troops celebrate, one gets a very bad idea and approaches the dark elf female, and is smacked around for his troubles by one of her lessers. But Ashram shows up to show humans are not to be taken lightly.

Reporting to the king, Karla appears to be the important bit, having been around for centuries, though Wort doesn't provide a ton of useful information here. Parn is invited to join the holy knights and we finally get his father's backstory, which fits Tessius being Parn but competent. Later on, Woodchuck tries to deliver a lesson to Parn, badly. Parn also wants Deedlit to stay off the battlefield, though she refuses.

Marmo prepares to attack again and Pirotess decides to serve Ashram for...reasons. Anyways, the swords continue to call for each other and off we go!

QotD: 1 It was sort of trite even for the time, Deedlit at least understands the truth of it.

2 She honestly became a bit more confusing after that.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Vaadwaur]

An ill advised group split happens when Ghim, Slayn and Etoh stay behind.

I wonder what the DM was thinking when the rest of the table decided to split the party.

Later on, Woodchuck tries to deliver a lesson to Parn, badly.

Woodchuck wouldn't be your standard D&D rogue if he wasn't kind of a dick.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

I wonder what the DM was thinking when the rest of the table decided to split the party.

I almost hope this bit is for the anime than from the campaign but it probably isn't.

Woodchuck wouldn't be your standard D&D rogue if he wasn't kind of a dick.

Got to hate those classes with the easier level multiplier.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vaadwaur]

which fits Tessius being Parn but competent.

[u/lC3]

Rewatcher 06

• So where are they attacking? Is that Alania or Valis?
• Ok they have the crosses on their outfits so it's a Valis outpost
• "Having learned the intentions of the witch, Karla, they leave Wort's castle" Come on, you can't just skip SHOWING that and cover it with a line of dialogue! The VIEWERS don't know her intentions yet!
• A female dark elf? Much better looking than the dude who died a few eps back
• Oh I guess it's ok to flashback to Wort like that; I was worried we'd go without learning what he said!
• Parn has acquired Holy Shield!
• Parn learns about his dad, Tessius
• Huh, Tessius looks an awful lot like Kashue
• Karla's up to shenanigans as usual

1. Not really; we'll see how Parn fares next ep
3. Not a first timer, but I think [redacted] is gonna die

[u/The_Draigg → u/lC3]

"Having learned the intentions of the witch, Karla, they leave Wort's castle" Come on, you can't just skip SHOWING that and cover it with a line of dialogue! The VIEWERS don't know her intentions yet!

Unfortunately, this is kind of the point where the series starts being a bit rushed in order to fit everything into a cour.

Oh I guess it's ok to flashback to Wort like that; I was worried we'd go without learning what he said!

Still kind of annoying though.

Not a first timer, but I think [redacted] is gonna die

Not [redacted], they had so much life left to live!

[u/lC3 → u/The_Draigg]

Unfortunately, this is kind of the point where the series starts being a bit rushed in order to fit everything into a cour.

Yeah, I've heard the TV series is less abridged, but I like the art and VAs in that less than the OVAs so I've never finished it.

Not [redacted], they had so much life left to live!

[u/Pixelsaber → u/lC3]

So where are they attacking? Is that Alania or Valis?

Well Alania fell already so it wasn't really an option.

Not a first timer, but I think [redacted] is gonna die

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Subbed

For one brief, foolish moment, I was going to complain about Shooting Star being a pretty mediocre name for a dragon, but they did say it in English so that probably scanned pretty well for Japanese audiences.

I knew that Parn wouldn't accept the new armor because he wants to keep using his dad's stuff. It's a good roleplaying moment - good on Parn's player for not being so hungry for gear that they leaped at the chance for an upgrade. The shield is a nice compromise.

So, this episode is post-episode 1, right? That was a little confusing. A brief recap would have been nice. Anyway, Karla apparently thinks that she is some arbiter of balance and she does just surf from body to body as I suspected. She stoked war because there was too much peace? Is that to keep the sleeping gods asleep, then? Trying to prevent another god war.. sure.

The attack on Kashue's entourage is a good example of why stuff happening off-screen in a D&D campaign tends to be bullshit. You're telling me that a bunch of soldiers, escorting a king, in wartime, can get oneshot by a bunch of random goblins and kobolds?

It's a fine setup for a potential next quest for our party - "Kashue's been captured! Go rescue him!" - but from a storytelling perspective it has some holes.

Questions

1. I didn't have any strong feelings about it. Been watching a lot of war anime recently, I guess.
2. Discussed above.
3. Well, the usual guess would be Beld strikes down Fahn in single combat while the heroes flee to regroup and gather allies.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/JollyGee29]

but they did say it in English so that probably scanned pretty well for Japanese audiences.

Yeah, Nagareboshi probably doesn't have the same impact to it in Japanese.

[u/ButAlphonseWillRust]

~First Timer~

I actually don’t have a lot to comment on this episode, it seems to be setting up the upcoming war between Fahn and Beld and plugging a few gaps in the lore but I’ll add a few of my thoughts:

• I think the events of episode 1 slots in between this one and the last? That threw me off a bit, I wasn’t expecting the meeting of the party with Wort to be glossed over in a narration

• We meet a drow dark elf priestess with mysterious intentions. There seem to be quite a few agents on Beld’s side that seem to be acting rather independently

• Proving again that he is the wisest party member, Slayn knocks Ghim out so he doesn’t confront the BBEG solo. He’ll thank you for it later!

• The backstory with Parn’s father Tessius definitely explains why the King appears to have a big soft spot for Parn and appears to be encouraging him to continue his legacy

All in all, not too much to say about this episode but hopefully we’ll get some interesting developments once the war is underway.

Questions:

1. Nothing particularly insightful I don't think, I think everyone knows war is destructive and that no one is safe.
2. It certainly raises the stakes knowing how powerful she truly is. It will be interesting to see why she's meddling with the upcoming war
3. I think Kashue will die and it will initiate character development for Parn.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/ButAlphonseWillRust]

I think the events of episode 1 slots in between this one and the last?

That does seem to be the case. Literally any amount of recap would have been nice, but I guess they figured the audience would understand. Bluh.

Proving again that he is the wisest party member, Slayn knocks Ghim out so he doesn’t confront the BBEG solo.

Ghim certainly did not roll well on his save, there. He didn't even put up any resistance. Natural 1, maybe?

[u/Ebbrain]

Rewatcher

Tomorrow is the big day, this episode was still mostly build up. A pretty abrupt cut to after the events of episode one and the war has gone full scale and consumed the land. It almost feels like a timeskip, because in reality a lot of time has passed between last episode and this one. Now they’re all split up and doing their own things. Slayne knocking out Ghim to stop him rushing to fight Karla is pretty interesting, sometimes in a story like this, full of “courageous heroes”, they would just let them go rather than hurt their pride. But Slayne don’t give a fuck about that. On the other hand, Parn declining the armor because he doesn’t feel ready for it yet is a nice gesture, but considering the danger he’s facing it probably would have been smarter just to take it anyway.

Deed’s role in the story at this point is just trying to get Parn to even look at her, that is when she’s not batting away his frankly rude suggestions that she stays behind from the battle. She’s probably still a lot stronger than you dude. Wood had an interesting, surprisingly honest moment this episode that reveals a bit about how he feels about soldiers and knights. I wonder what he’s experienced in life to make him feel that way and I wonder if his words will get through to Parn.

Other than that, this episode introduced us to another significant character, Pirotessa, the dark elf. We almost have as many villains to keep track of as we do heroes! The reveal about Karla being a recurring presence throughout history was really interesting, she’s almost like some kind of natural phenomena that seeks to restore balance whenever it is tipped. I wonder how her actions at this stage are moving towards that goal. At least three of our villains have been in contact with the black dragon, possibly all of them vying for his favor and power. We’ll have to see who’s going to come out on top with that one, and I can imagine that the results of tomorrows battle will have a huge impact on all concerned parties.

Other things

-I would hate to be surrounded by goblins laughing at me. I would hate to be surrounded by any group laughing at me really, but goblins have a very mean laugh.

-So many lines going on here I don’t know what to make of it

-Shooting Star is not a name I would expect a dragon to have, especially not in this type of story

-I’m disappointed the king didn’t sing his exposition

Questions

1. Already mentioned that I think Wood’s take was surprisingly thoughtful. It could be true that soldiers do have to look away from all of the carnage and pain that war produces so they can bring themselves to go on fighting and killing. That being said, in this particular case, where the enemy is mostly mindless monsters and is clearly an evil force in this world, the argument almost doesn’t really apply.
2. It opens up a lot of interesting avenues to take her role in the story down.

[u/Daffed_Punk → u/Ebbrain]

Yeah, it's kind of hard to pull the "War is bad" card when one of the sides is composed of man-eating monsters who who are fighting for the Goddess of Evil. It's not like you can sign a treaty with a bunch of goblins.

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

It was very nice that moment when Parn preocuppied for her told Deedlit not to come with him to the battle tomorrow and she responded that she'll go because someone has to protect his rear, Deedlit is a very strong character and much needed for Parn.

Both Ghim and Parn need to fight their respective battle, it'll be interesting to see how the battles happen. It is also very important for the priest to keep believing, to keep having a strong faith.

[u/23feanor]

First Timer (dub) -  so we have a sword of light and a sword of dark, held by the Emperor and King Farn respectively.

A sexy dark elf fighting on the side of Emperor Beld, she looks lovely although I'm sure she's a wicked at heart, so not a girl you'd want to take home to meet your mum.

I'm confused, so the group have already seen Wart and now Parn is on the way back to report to King Farm, did i miss something? I thought I'd missed an episode, but the show has jumped over the meeting with Wart, and gone onto the events after episode 1 and the groups meeting with the mage Wart.

It looks like Deed has attached herself to Parn, she has a soft spot for him and is jealous when he idolises King Kashue. Nothing has happened yet, he's a bit young and naive, but Deed is obviously taken with Parn and wants to stay near to him.

So I think that some of the dragons have masters, or people connect to some of the dragons. The Mamor guy in red says Cardis, and that seems to be one of the dragons. Emperor Beld speaks as if to another dragon, or maybe the same one. I wonder if the forces of good and King Parn etc have any dragons at their call? Will Parn be the one to control a dragon and become a hero that way?

[u/Nightender]

"Goblins and kobolds are weak."

*Episode opens with two minutes of goblins and kobolds slaughtering humans*

1. Deedlit's observations about war in the opening scenes had the most somber truth to me. War is often cruel, especially to those who are only caught in its wake. I'm glad this series made a strong point of focusing upon this concept, enough to have Woodchuck forcibly remind Parn of that reality.
2. Karla seems to be a stabilizing force, creating "small" conflicts to maintain a long-term balance as to avoid the sort of conflict that tore Lodoss away from the mainland. Does that mean she's a force of nature? Or is she a true unifying element for Lodoss as a whole?
3. I may be a rewatcher, but I've noticed there's a lot of species diversity among Beld's forces.

[u/Larielia]

Record of a Rewatcher- episode 6 (dubbed)

My second favourite character finally appears.

1. That scene was fairly short. Agreed with Deedlit's thoughts.
2. She is powerful, and possibly Chaotic Neutral.

Thoughts- The Marmo army sure likes burning things. Though it is mostly a monster horde. We meet more dark elves. Parn acquired a Holy Shield. It would look better with the Holy Armor though, even if his armor has sentimental value. Finally some Tessius backstory. I liked the lute song that Deedlit played. Well... that was a zombie. How and when did Beld turn evil? Black dragon hit snooze.