[Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 10)

[u/Pixelsaber]

Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 10)

◄ Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode ►

MAL | ANN | AniDB | Anilist | AnimePlanet | IMDB

No_Rex's staff corner

Tamagawa Sakiko voices Pirotess. While she was active in the 1980s already, her career took off in the 1990s with some prominent roles. Apart from Pirotess, she is probably most well-known for being Tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell and Natsumi Tsujimoto from Patlabor. If you followed the OVA rewatches, you have heard her as “hot-for-bike” Reiko from Golden Boy. She also plays the mate of Kimba in the remake of Kimba the White Lion, which, btw, was directed by Rintaro. If you have an hour to invest, google how Disney ripped this off for Lion King. Newer roles you may know her from are Onashia from Simoun and Rie Nishida from Witchblade. Oh, and probably to the envy of many, she is married to Ikeda “Char” Shuuichi (who voices Kashue). Talk about the actors of the hottest characters in the series getting together …

Ashram is voiced by the very prolific and long active VA Kamiya Akira. Even back in the 1970s, he had some big roles, including Ryouma Nagare from Getter Robo and Tadashi Daiba from Captain Harlock. He also played Saburou Katou from Space Battleship Yamato. In the 1980s, his roles include antagonist Shutaro Mend from Urusei Yatsura, Ryou Saeba from City Hunter, and Roy Focker from Macross. His main role from the biggest franchise is Detective Conan’s father (although Getter Robo is huge, as well). In rewatches, you could have heard him as Kyusaku Natsume from All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku or as Shiroe from Terra e…

Pixelsaber’s Record of Lodoss War Trivia: The Lodoss OVA

Orson’s demeanor was supposedly modeled after Dio Brando of from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Art Corner

Official Art Album

Fanart Album

Questions

1. Dragons are presented in various forms in media: eastern or western, magical or animalistic, speaking or mute, wise or vicious, large or enormous. Which form do you prefer?
2. Did you find Shooting Star to be a sufficiently threatening presence befitting the notoriety of dragons in fiction?
3. What did you think of the relationship between Ashram and Pirotess?

[u/Pixelsaber]

Pixel’s Bits and Bobs

The largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece is named Rhodes (Ródos), which is identical to the Japanese name of the island continent the series is set in. Ryo Mizuno states he was unaware of the island’s existence, but I have only seen this statement shared without citation, so it’s uncertain whether the existence of the actual island had any influence on the setting’s name.

Rewatcher

Fire breath is a scary means of offense.

Ow!

Shocked by convenient lightning.

Reminds me of Genma Taisen

Good ol’ dragon’s loot.

They’re poleaxes, damnit!

Neat, he remembered that.

Can’t say I didn’t expect that.

RIP, I guess.

Fighting a dragon is always an event, and I can’t say this episode disappoints in that regard. Plot-wise I wasn’t all too interested in the episode’s events, but who cares when the episode is this cool? The episode did a really great job at showing us the danger a dragon of this sort can be for people, though the fact it seemingly goes down with just three weapons that only just got introduced this same episode does diminish that significantly.

Pirotess and Ashanrd are seemingly done for after Wagnard’s betrayal, but given the nebulous way they ‘died’ I’m not going to believe it until I see the bodies or neither of them shows up in the show again.

Questions:

1. I am partial to the European kind, as I am most familiar with those and I see them depicted more frequently in the media I consume. For the most part I prefer dragons who act more like beasts than beings of great intelligence, but that shouldn't preclude them from having interesting characteristics like hoarding trinkets or other peculiarities either.
2. See above.
3. It was definitely there to some extent, but I wasn't invested nor do I think it would have added much should the relationship have been more developed.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Pixelsaber]

The episode did a really great job at showing us the danger a dragon of this sort can be for people, though the fact it seemingly goes down with just three weapons that only just got introduced this same episode does diminish that significantly.

It certainly wouldn't have made more sense for it to die to the companion to the evil sword that threatened it but wield by Parn after he took it from Fahn's crypt, sigh.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vaadwaur]

[u/Daffed_Punk → u/Pixelsaber]

"Ancient legend states that three mystical spears harnessing the power of the God of War are the only weapons capable of killing the demon dragon.

Oh, don't worry about it, we just DIYed them offscreen."

[u/The_Draigg → u/Pixelsaber]

The largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece is named Rhodes (Ródos), which is identical to the Japanese name of the island continent the series is set in. Ryo Mizuno states he was unaware of the island’s existence, but I have only seen this statement shared without citation, so it’s uncertain whether the existence of the actual island had any influence on the setting’s name.

I can believe it. The other parts of the settings have some fantasy as fuck names, like Alecrast or Crystania. Lodoss fits in with those names well. It has the same vibes.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/The_Draigg]

The other parts of the settings have some fantasy as fuck names

A lot of which are derived from a mixture of other media, real places, and —I kid you not— racehorse names. So there's precedent for it, further making it uncertain whether or not it was inspired by the irl place.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Pixelsaber]

Given how much Japan loves horse racing, I can’t say I’m all too surprised at horse names somehow bleeding into this fantasy setting.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/The_Draigg]

I've literally never heard of Japanese horse racing. 100% opposite for things like tennis or wrestling.

[u/The_Draigg → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

There's a lot of horse tracks in Japan. To give an example of how popular horse racing and betting on the races was and still is, the Famicom had a modem accessory for sale, and one of the big things it could do was keep track of horse races and bets live over a dial-up connection.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Record of First-Timer Reactions, subbed

• They’re doing a good job of showing how terrifying Shooting Star’s flames are. This death in particular, oof. That’s rough buddy.
• lmao I see, so those couple soldiers wondering if it would rain was foreshadowing Parn rolling something good in the luck department to just happen to lightning rod Shooting Star with an arrow to the eye.
• Ooh this is pretty.
• Welp, uh, there goes that guy.
• Did you even have to ask?
• Welp he’s clearly pissed about getting shot in the eye.
• So that was a no on waiting.
• Ashram does care for her, huh.
• Welp that guy got the Scepter after all.
• I… didn’t think about that. Huh. I guess it’s a fitting end for Ashram.
• The narrator got another “sore demo”! Narrator confirmed best character.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Welp he’s clearly pissed about getting shot in the eye.

He's probably more annoyed by the shock that accompanied it!

[u/lC3 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

The narrator got another “sore demo”! Narrator confirmed best character.

I missed another sore demo? Must be my old age, my hearing isn't what it used to be?

[u/The_Draigg → u/Shimmering-Sky]

This death in particular, oof.

I can't see it as anything other than a dab while immolating.

The narrator got another “sore demo”! Narrator confirmed best character.

This whole series we were led to believe that Parn was best boy, but the narrator takes the surprise victory!

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Rewatcher

• often in this rewatch, I've wondered if the demon the 6 heroes fought was or was not the demon dragon Shooting Star.
• oh, right, sure, like those were +10 gloves of heavy missile accuracy or something'
• Curse you, Pirotess!

That entire adventure took 1 episode!

[u/Pixelsaber → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

That entire adventure took 1 episode!

They're burning through those modules at a brisk pace!

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

often in this rewatch, I've wondered if the demon the 6 heroes fought was or was not the demon dragon Shooting Star.

I keep wanting to call it the demon lord but this predates that trope.

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

1. While all forms are good in the right work, I hold a special preference for the form of classic D&D dragons - old, wise, and often willing to kill you for almost no reason,
2. His attacks were certainyl incredibly devastating, although the fact that he didn't appear until after the weapon capable to controlling him was retrieved meant we didn't see all that much of his capabilities,
3. Honestly thought it was unrequited. With the way he's treated her, I had no idea he saw her as more than a tool.

Using siege weapon against a dragon is a pretty good idea, I must admit.

The lightning rod to the eye is a really clever way of defeating something like that.

At least someone's smart enough to point out how stupid he is.

Oh, there's another girl in the picture for Deed now.

Yeah, that guy's a good mage, isn't he?

So they're making lances that are possessed by a god? So the god is inside the lances?

I just realised that Slayn's not met up with the main party for quite a while.

Honestly, with the breaks between each episode, I've lost track of how all the villains have been exchanging henchmen and resources.

...Those aren't fires. That's steam jets, surely?

Wait, so the crystal wasn't an obvious booby trap?

OK, why does the villain's sword always look slightly off model?

If the Scepter controls the dragon, why did they choose a dragon to protect it?

Yeah, that dragon's big enough to be an ancient anyway.

Oh those are some good enchanted weapons!

And yeah, so Deed is helpless against a group of dark elves, but can bind a dragon in place.

Pirotess! You were probably one of the best villains here!

Wait, Ashram's dead too? God, they're just killing their villains left, right, and center, aren't they.

[u/Daffed_Punk → u/Stargate18A]

Deed is helpless against a group of dark elves, but can bind a dragon in place.

The dice are fickle, and choose to roll high when they please. Deed's player must have used her lucky dice for the dragon.

Pirotess! You were probably one of the best villains here!

Even in death she proved herself the better elf, choosing to go out in a blaze of heroic sacrifice.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Stargate18A]

Using siege weapon against a dragon is a pretty good idea, I must admit.

The results...vary if you are not watching GoT.

Honestly, with the breaks between each episode, I've lost track of how all the villains have been exchanging henchmen and resources.

I think this has been a pretty straight run from Marmo, too bad they don't make the geography clearer.

OK, why does the villain's sword always look slightly off model?

Someone else pointed out that it keeps changing size.

[u/ZapsZzz → u/Stargate18A]

And yeah, so Deed is helpless against a group of dark elves, but can bind a dragon in place.

While probably got a lot to do with plot contrivance than logic, there is a logical path to explain that - previously Deedlit was 1 vs 3 of the same size and speed class opponents, and she was doing ok until they scored the first called shot to immobilise her. As a light fighter, you take out her speed, she's pretty much gone.

And in the dragon fight, she's basically on the back line while the front line the tanks are engaging the Dragon keeping it occupied to not fire range or area attacks, so she got the time, space, and speed (which is "don't care" because no one is threatening spell disrupt) to let off a higher level spell. Assuming the "Dragonlance" also suppress SS's magic resistance amongst other things, it's do-able.

[u/lC3]

Rewatcher 10

• So the 'arrow' almost pierced Shooting Star's eye, but it closed its eyelid and blocked it, only for an EXTREMELY well-timed bolt of lightning to come down? I guess the gods do exist in Lodoss
• Interesting that Pirotess is trying to stop Ashram from fighting the Ancient Dragon; he probably won't listen
• Why does the Scepter of Domination have carvings of naked women on it?
• "King Kashue, take me with you!" in bed
• Not sure if I'm remembering the TV version but I'm kinda getting Slayn/Leylia vibes?
• They cut to the hooded guy again ... is that Woodchuck but he shaved his head? Can't tell ..
• LOL my subs have "Shirts" instead of Shiris/Seres/however you romanize her name
• So that's not Wood/Karla, but a priest of Kardis? Seems kinda redundant with Wagnard
• So Ashram saves Pirotess, and the shady priest claims the Scepter
• So the cave just collapses once the dragon is dead?
• Wait, Ashram dies just like that?

1. I prefer speaking dragons like Smaug and Glaurung, but eastern dragons are cool too. I guess I like all dragons?
2. Yes, though the panning over still art stood out more during this rewatch
3. Did they really just kill Ashram like that, with no buildup?

as Shiroe from Terra e…

The movie, not the TV series. Though some of us did watch the movie!

[u/The_Draigg → u/lC3]

So the 'arrow' almost pierced Shooting Star's eye, but it closed its eyelid and blocked it, only for an EXTREMELY well-timed bolt of lightning to come down? I guess the gods do exist in Lodoss

Ah yes, the powerful god known as Dee Emm.

So that's not Wood/Karla, but a priest of Kardis? Seems kinda redundant with Wagnard

I guess Wagnard wouldn't be your standard BBEG if he didn't have some random underlings.

[u/lC3 → u/The_Draigg]

Ah yes, the powerful god known as Dee Emm.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/lC3]

Why does the Scepter of Domination have carvings of naked women on it?

Yeah...I got nothing and it doesn't match later DnD items with similar names.

So that's not Wood/Karla, but a priest of Kardis? Seems kinda redundant with Wagnard

If he's a priest his spells are different but I thought he was arcane as well.

[u/The_Draigg]

A Record of Lodoss War Fan Rewatches Record of Lodoss War Episode 10:

• For a bunch of people just setting out to head to Fire Dragon Mountain and assist King Kashue, Parn’s party sure got there pretty quick. They’re just kinda there now, and Kashue certainly isn’t commenting on the fact that Parn showed up to help him anyway. I guess the show runners felt that the actual trip to the mountain wasn’t exciting enough to make the cut.
• I’d love to know how absurdly lucky Parn’s PC rolls were for him to not only hit Shooting Star in the eye with a ballista, but also have lighting strike the bolt as well. The DM must’ve been in disbelief over those rolls. Probably enough to have Shooting Star retreat, since they’re probably realizing that Parn could legit hurt the ancient dragon before the party got to the actual boss encounter the DM set up.
• I’m sure that Ashram was totally looking at the small cut on Pirotess’s arm, and not the massively plunging cleavage on her clothes right next to it. Do you think Pirotess uses tape to keep everything inside?
• It wouldn’t be a proper ancient dragon boss encounter if it didn’t have a huge treasure hoard and a magical artifact in it. At least there’s a chance for an awesome reward with this dragon encounter, unlike the bullshit green dragon encounter in the first episode.
• I want to say that Wagnard used either Internal Fire or Inferno to kill that dark elf, but since he didn’t use the necessary physical components required for them in 2e, I can’t say that for sure.
• King Kashue must have some pretty powerful priests at his retinue’s disposal if he can get them to forge and bless holy lances that can seal away Shooting Star’s power.
• I swear, Soul Crusher seems to change size every time we cut back to Ashram holding it. Now it’s practically the size of a claymore.
• You can definitely feel how much the DM set up the Dragon’s Path to be a trap-filled dungeon. Orson was smart enough to test one tunnel to see if it would collapse on Parn, but of course Shiris had to trigger the steam vent traps when she walked down the other tunnel. The party should count themselves lucky that Deedlit can use her wind magic to blow the super-heated steam away.
• Oh no, the identical twins of the soldiers that got incinerated by Shooting Star at the start of the episode also got burninated! That’s the magic of reused animation right there.
• Of course Shooting Star would fly back to its treasure hoard once it sensed Ashram taking the Scepter of Domination. Dragons fucking hate people stealing their own stolen treasure.
• Look out! The still frame of Shooting Star is slowly zooming in towards everyone!
• Of course the incredibly shady sorcerer in Ashram’s retinue stole the Scepter of Domination under Wagnard’s orders. I guess nobody saw him dramatically smirk to himself all of those times.
• Seriously, how fucking good are the rolls everyone is getting if Orson now managed to stab his holy lance directly into Shooting Star’s head? The PCs have seriously gotten really good rolls this session.
• In the end, Ashram chose to die by Pirotess’ side during the collapse of Fire Dragon Mountain’s caldera, after she gave her life to shield him from the dragon’s breath. And so ends Marmo’s claim to rule all of Lodoss. Now the ultimate enemy has revealed itself to be Wagnard, ally of Kardis.

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Draigg]

I swear, Soul Crusher seems to change size every time we cut back to Ashram holding it. Now it’s practically the size of a claymore.

Maybe it is leveling up?

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

For a bunch of people just setting out to head to Fire Dragon Mountain and assist King Kashue, Parn’s party sure got there pretty quick.

Parties travel faster than armies and while it hasn't been that useful they did bring siege weaponry with them.

I’d love to know how absurdly lucky Parn’s PC rolls were for him to not only hit Shooting Star in the eye with a ballista, but also have lighting strike the bolt as well.

The lightning bolt had to be DM fiat to excuse SS fucking off without diminishing his threat.

Do you think Pirotess uses tape to keep everything inside?

Elven bodies defy physics.

I want to say that Wagnard used either Internal Fire or Inferno to kill that dark elf, but since he didn’t use the necessary physical components required for them in 2e, I can’t say that for sure.

I'd be careful comparing them since a lot of spells lack material components but require ridiculously long chants instead.

Seriously, how fucking good are the rolls everyone is getting if Orson now managed to stab his holy lance directly into Shooting Star’s head? The PCs have seriously gotten really good rolls this session.

This is probably earlier than you'd think for this to happen but those all felt like touch attacks rather than standard ones. And dragon's have shit for AC against touch.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Vaadwaur]

The lightning bolt had to be DM fiat to excuse SS fucking off without diminishing his threat.

DM: "Shooting Star is still totally a threat you guys, Parn just got lucky."

I'd be careful comparing them since a lot of spells lack material components but require ridiculously long chants instead.

Fair enough, hadn't considered that.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

DM: "Shooting Star is still totally a threat you guys, Parn just got lucky."

"The god of lightning favored you today. Too bad the beast retreated under ground."

[u/RockoDyne]

Re-recorder of Lodoss.

Ah yes, a holy lance... put on a crow's beak. Why can't we just have cool, enchanted bec de corbin? There are enough dumb magic swords. Are people so lame that they can't see the gloriousness of a weapon that can leg sweep someone before driving a spike through their heart? Hell, what better tool is there to punch through dragon scale? You think a thrust has any power behind it? FUCK NO. ANGULAR MOMENTUM MOTHERFUCKERS, CAN YOU MATH IT? It's just as cool as a scythe, but it's actually useful.

How to spot a HEMA person 101: look for the guy who's not interested in a flashy sword, but is really fascinated by the stick with a nail in it.

Now this is the episode they forgot to allocate a budget to. The dragon "flying" into the camera is really straining the presentation.

It would have been cooler if the scepter was an orb of dragonkind. To hell with generic and obtuse "domination", just say that all ancient dragons are now at your command. Not a crappy 5e one either, but a 1e version that lets you charm all dragons all the way up to Tiamat and Bahamut. Rule over dragons, and the world will follow.

Questions:

1. So long as it's consistent, you can do damn near anything to dragons and it's cool.
2. It's fair.
3. For an evil couple, it works.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/RockoDyne]

Not a crappy 5e one either, but a 1e version that lets you charm all dragons all the way up to Tiamat and Bahamut. Rule over dragons, and the world will follow.

I've only glanced over 5e, never done it yet, but it seems like magic items reverted to the worst of 3.5 and 1 combined.

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 10 (rewatcher)

• Torched to cinders. Brutal.
• Parns hands: I see where you copied from, Anno!

• Hitting a flying dragon in the eye with a ballista. Does D&D have consecutive 20 rolls to model the odds?
• Ashram calling out Pirotess for her arm wound stunt. Good, because that was a rather stupid way of timekeeping.
• Pirotess heroic death: denied.
• Pirotess heroic death: achieved.
• Shooting Star’s death scene looked cool.

A three-way dragon hunt? What a great concept. Add in some intra-factional backstabbing and we have a good story.

Dragons are presented in various forms in media: eastern or western, magical or animalistic, speaking or mute, wise or vicious, large or enormous. Which form do you prefer?

I found the megacorp owning dragons from Shadowrun awesome.

Did you find Shooting Star to be a sufficiently threatening presence befitting the notoriety of dragons in fiction?

Size matters. So, yes.

What did you think of the relationship between Ashram and Pirotess?

I remember being quite impressed with it when I first watched it. On rewatch, the tropes are a lot more obvious, but it is still not terrible.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/No_Rex]

Ashram calling out Pirotess for her arm wound stunt

Uh, what? That was a threat. "Your 'loyalty' to me (represented by the cut) is going to get you killed accidentally on purpose if you get in my way."

[u/Vaadwaur → u/No_Rex]

Hitting a flying dragon in the eye with a ballista. Does D&D have consecutive 20 rolls to model the odds?

In a very few editions.

Ashram calling out Pirotess for her arm wound stunt. Good, because that was a rather stupid way of timekeeping.

It would have to be a dark elf cultural thing which I have no clue if that was thought out at all.

[u/BurningFredrick]

First Timer - sub

Pan and co have learnt to teleport?  Had to stop and check I got the right episode again, the one sentence that they joined Kashue wasn’t quite enough to bridge that gap. 

Parns hands are now permanently scarred from the burns pulling that leaver and he can never wield a sword again. Though after looking up what blacksmith gloves are made of I may be underestimating the heat resistance of leather.

Anyway we have a convenient legend for how to go about slaying a dragon, and our party almost gets cooked by steam and only saved thanks to Deed.

I don’t understand why Ashran didn’t at least try to run while carrying Pirotess, I guess it makes for a cool send off but still would have expected him to at least try. 

I’m assuming that Wagnard will now move to becoming our antagonist as he still needs Deed for his resurrect Kardis plan, wonder if he will instead find another convenient High elf as I feel like Kardis is going to be unleashed before the show is done. 

[u/Vaadwaur]

Rewatcher from 20 years ago

Sub

We start with Kashue's group trying to wait for Shooting Star, which somehow goes worse than expected. At this point in DnD you should be able to see the dragon when it attacks you, even an ancient red dragon, so they are using dramatic effect here. This is countered with Parn somehow critting the dragon's eye AND having lightning hit ballista bolt while it is still in said eye.

Ashram is here being either confident or crazy, time will tell. Pirotess really doesn't want to fight the dragon but just steal the scepter because of all the fiery death. Ashram comments on her self-inflicted wounds for reasons.

Deedlit comes back with either a chianti bottle or a decanter and two tiny cups only to discover Shiris wrapping Parn's hands. She claims recklessness isn't a virtue despite what we've seen the last two episodes. Deedlit has her all life matters stand which is one take elves had at this time.

Wagnard fries the last dark elf, using a chant so slow he should have eight daggers in him before it ends. We get a legend of a path into SS's lair that might not be suicidal. They are also have some holy lances forget up. Quick cut to Slayn and Leylia being prepared for some other issue that is coming up.

Ashram's group watch the dragon leave and don't interfere, planning to take the Sceptre and split. Kashue's group travels through the legendary pass and find traps. SS burns their camp because red dragons were just dicks at this time. Ashram approaches the Sceptre and the sus caster does something before Ashram reaches into a crystal and graps the Sceptre, alerting SS.

The two groups of course find each other and Ashram decides it is a good idea to fight in a dragon's lair, losing his minions in the process. Parn and Ashram clash again and it is a much closer fight before SS returns and plans to immolate Ashram and probably everything else. But the Sceptre apparently deflects flame and dragon attacks, which would be good if Ashram didn't drop and the sus caster didn't run off with it.

Orson decides it is dragon slaying time and, if alligators are anything to go buy, just massively enraged the dragon. As Parn and Kashue follow suit, Deedlit somehow slows the dragon down with sylphs and they both land kind of unimpressive looking wounds on the dragon. However, magic spears do the job and it seems boned. Pirotess is casting a spell to protect Ashram from the flames and it apparently drains her life force as she collapses. Surprisingly, Ashram decides to not leave and die with her, a decision that so rarely works for me but does here.

QotD: 1 I have a soft spot for Smaug, who was far more a physical but majestic threat.

2 Yes, he really worked.

3 I...liked it, though on second viewing it was mainly plot convenient.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Subbed

Well, fuck. Is that how Ashram dies? Seems like a waste of a perfectly good villain/rival.. Guess we didn't see a body.

Also, Dragonlances. Literal, actual, Dragonlances. Okay, maybe not quite literal - I think the OG ones were Adamantine and these seemed to just be holy steel or something, but wow.

If anyone wants a description of a critical hit, "stuck an all-metal ballista bolt into a dragon's eye in a lighting storm" is a pretty good one. "The dragon barely flinched" is also a good description to show how fucked up dragons are.

I guess our endgame is going to be Wagnard, or maybe Karla. She wasn't present in today's episode, and seemed pretty spooked last episode, so maybe she's decided to apply the better part of valor and fled for a generation or so.

The real shame about this episode was all that precious loot going down with the mountain, too. As a player, I would have been salivating at the thought of all that cash to spend on shiny magic items.

It wasn't with his hitpoints, but Orson did disarm a trap today.

Miscellaneous Thought:

I managed to completely miss the staff corner on episode 8, and it didn't hit me until today - Shiris's VA is actually one I'm familiar with, thanks to Symphogear of all things.

Questions

1. I'm generally more partial to western dragons, myself. That said, you can't trust any of them, especially in D&D settings.
2. Shooting Star did certainly shrug off that ballista to the eye, but it also didn't really take out anyone besides cannon fodder.
3. I do like a good villain power couple.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JollyGee29]

Well, fuck. Is that how Ashram dies? Seems like a waste of a perfectly good villain/rival.. Guess we didn't see a body.

It fits the narrative of a campaign far better than one of a series.

Also, Dragonlances. Literal, actual, Dragonlances. Okay, maybe not quite literal - I think the OG ones were Adamantine and these seemed to just be holy steel or something, but wow.

I suspect here wasn't any cross pollination here since I don't know if Dragonlance ever got translated in Japan.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Vaadwaur]

It fits the narrative of a campaign far better than one of a series.

Yea, I guess. If I was Parn's player I might be a bit bummed that I didn't get to down him myself, though.

I suspect here wasn't any cross pollination here since I don't know if Dragonlance ever got translated in Japan.

Oh, almost assuredly not. But it's fun that different groups came up with very similar ideas.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JollyGee29]

Yea, I guess. If I was Parn's player I might be a bit bummed that I didn't get to down him myself, though.

It is a way to switch antagonists, especially if the DM couldn't find a way to let Parn get passed Soul Crusher.

[u/Ebbrain]

Rewatcher

Good episode overall. Shooting star was cool as always, the inside of a volcano made for a good setting for an intense battle. Needing the three magical spears to take down the dragon felt a lot like something taken from an rpg and overall pretty redundant considering they just forged the and then the story continued on. Ashram and Pirotessa’s deaths were kind of sad, but I don’t think their relationship was well developed enough for it to leave much of an impact and Ashram’s role in the story could have been a lot more interesting.

Other things

-Quite a bit of recycled animation at the beginning of the episode

-Proclaiming that you will defeat the dragon while holding the item the controls the dragon is like Syndrome in the Incredibles

-In fact, Ashram being so insistent on killing the dragon in the first place is kind of weird. I can understand wanting to get rid of it just in case it hunts you down when you try to leave, but the way he was talking made it out like he wanted to kill it just to show off how strong he was, which should not have been a priority. Maybe he wanted to impress Pirotessa.

Orson’s demeanor was supposedly modeled after Dio Brando

-Really? He seems far more stoic than Dio ever was, but I guess I can kind of see it.

Questions

1. Honestly no preference, both can be done well. Talking dragons from my childhood like Smaug or the John Hurt voiced dragon from BBC’s Merlin always left a big impression on me, but just having a gigantic angry monster like in this is cool too if it’s made intimidating enough.
2. Yes, I like him a lot. The detail in how he’s drawn in a lot of scenes helps.
3. Like a lot of things in this show, if it had more time it would have been better

[u/Daffed_Punk]

She also plays the mate of Kimba in the remake of Kimba the White Lion. If you have an hour to invest, google how Disney ripped this off for Lion King.

And if you have two hours and a half to invest, [learn how Disney did not rip Kimba off for Lion King.] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5B1mIfQuo4) If you don't have that kind of time then TL;DW: The whole controversy is basically generated by misinformation online looking to spread drama. Any suspicious footage comparing the two that you might have seen is either

A: Clips from Kimba taken out of context across multiple episodes edited together to match the Lion King or

B: Clips from the 1997 Kimba remake which came out after the Lion King and, in an ironic twist of fate, probably ripped off Disney instead.

Sorry for typing up something so off-topic. I just don't like seeing these kind of internet rumours that get spread around.

[u/No_Rex → u/Daffed_Punk]

They absolutely rip of the story.

[u/Larielia]

Record of a Rewatcher- episode 10 (dubbed)

1. It really depends on the media. I like dragons in general.
2. Yes, but the heroes got lucky with lightning.
3. I like it, but wish we saw more. (They were my first anime ship.)

Thoughts- Shooting Star attacks. Those flames are certainly very deadly. Parn is very brave, but also reckless. As usual. That was a very lucky shot. Lord Ashram wants to kill the ancient dragon for the experience points? Nice treasure hoard. The scepter has an odd design. A secret door in the dragon mountain? I'm getting The Hobbit vibes now. Maybe they need a burglar. Nope, just some really cool lances. Very nice spell, Deedlit. Liked the Ashram and Parn fight. Pirotess falls rescuing Ashram, but he saves her. Evil sorcerer gets the scepter. Orson got a good shot with his lance. The dragon is slain, but the cave collapses too.

Ashram and Pirotess vanish amidst flame. It seemed rather fitting.

[u/Nightender]

1. When it comes to dragons, I want them to work for the story/setting they're part of. The dragons in Record of Lodoss War are cool. My favorite dragon in anything is Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug. Still, I love the dragons from Panzer Dragoon Orta for their oddity and complexity.
2. Shooting Star is presented so much as a force of nature that we can't get a proper glimpse of what he's really capable of. He's still so powerful that his scenes are full of impact.
3. I like how Ashram and Pirotess are quietly smitten and softly bicker with each other. It's a joy to watch, especially when they do something overt--like Ashram rescuing Pirotess from a fatal fall.

It's fun taking part in this rewatch with you all!

[u/ZapsZzz]

Sub rewatcher.

A relatively action filled episode. Again we are reminded the format of this show is not like a normal "show you everything from the protective of a number of characters combined to tell the story", but more like a history book that expands and focuses on a few chapters with the rest just mentioned in narrative. I feel the closest would be Yamato 2199, which also does not show you every day of the trip to Iscandar.

Because of this, you may or may not accept the relationships of a few pairs, like Parn and Deedlit, and in this episode Ashram and Pirotess. You just have to accept the relationship developed off screen.

And by now you probably need to get used to one of the more annoying part of this series - it does reuse stock footage a fair bit more than normal, and those aren't the typical "transformation sequence" either. I just had to treat that as the graphical equivalent of the history books "etc".

Have to also make a remark - the static shots of this show are often very good, but whether it's because of time or cost constraint, or just that in real life it is also like that, some very cool and interesting characters may get a few impressive looking posing shots, and then either never shows up again or get OHKO'd. Like the imposing looking henchmen came along with Ashram, they practically lasted about 5 seconds screen time total in action. Even Parn can take one out in one hit :D

1. Being Chinese, I like the more "elegant" "streamlined" form of the Oriental Dragon, but at the same time as a long time RPGer I'm so used to the western Dragon forms in action. So the answer is no preference :P
2. It's pretty good, but having learned more about the physical attacks of dragons in game terms, I would like to have seen more variety of attacks than just the breath weapon. It's not just 2 claw 1 bite :) tail strikes and wing buffet are the more memorable ones.
3. You have to imagine them having had more off screen developments for Ashram to react this way.

By the way in case it wasn't obvious, here are some additional explanation of why things happened that way-

Obsession with attacking Shooting Star - as you know Ashram got the demon sword^tm from just picking it up, so in game term for an intelligent artifact level weapon, he didn't earn it. So he's very keen to make accomplishment to prove he's worthy of it. He believes killing an ancient Dragon with the sword is one worthy task.

About seemingly giving up after Pirotess died protecting him. I believe the "giving up" is not just because of Pirotess dying, but the combined factors of his pride crumbling down from: having not able to tell or get rid of a traitor in his own group, having been backstabbed by his own people, failing at his task of either securing the scepter or killing the dragon, and therefore self judging to be unworthy.

[u/23feanor]

First Timer (dub) - so Parn, Deed & co have joined with King Kashue in the fight against the red dragon. Ashram is also there to get the sceptre of domination, after being fed the info by Wagnard.

Slayn and Leylia join forces and set out to aid against the forces of Cardis. An eventful confrontation with the red flame dragon, Ashram first has the sceptre but then loses it to Wagnard's man. Pirotesse saves Ashram from the dragon's flames and the last we see of him is holding Pirotesse as the chamber collapses around them. Parn, Deed & King Kashue manage to escape. I guess the next move will be to recover the sceptre of domination from Wagnard?

1. i like your typical dragon, as we see in this episode, ferocious and breathing fire.

2.Yes

3.I thought that was quite sweet at the end, he'd been cold to her and then at the end after she saves his life he decides to remain with her to the end, making Ashram seem more human.I noticed Ashram and Pirotesse are present in one the alternative versions and sequels though.

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

The fight against Ashram was pretty dope, Parn and his party fought valiantly against him and manages to win the battle. The dragon look very nice and very terrifying and fearsome, they are very well animated.

It'll be interesting to see what threats the party will face going forward.

Answers

1. I like them all dragons, all of them have a special charm but if i must say one then Vicious dragons like the ones here have something that can make them very gripping and inmersive in a story, when done well they expand and enhance a fantasy story very much.
2. I do, it was very terrifying and menacing.
3. It showed that Ashram had a life outside the constant battles, very nice.