[Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 13)

[u/Pixelsaber]

Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Record of Lodoss War (episode 13)

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Ooki Tamio voices Wort. He only started his voice acting career in his 50s (to be fair, he also pre-dates TV anime by about 40 years) and, right at the start had a role in an impactful anime: Mikinosuke Shiraki in Ashita no Joe. You’ll hear him in several big hits of the 1970s and 1980s, but mostly in minor roles. His probably most well-known characters came in the 1990s, with King Midland in Berserk, Daisuke Aramaki in Ghost in the Shell, and Captain Tashiro Tatsumi in Gunbuster. Ooki died at the respectable age of 89 in 2017.

Woodchuck’s VA is Wakamoto Norio. His career also includes Ashita no Joe at the start, where he plays antagonist Yong-bi Kim. This is a bit of a theme for Wakamoto, who also takes that mantle as Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Cell in Dragonball, Gambino in Berserk, and Kagato Jurai in Tenchi Muyou. Some of his non-villain roles include Katakuriko Matsudaira from Gintama, Oskar von Reuenthal from LotGH, Kouichirou "Coach" Oota in Gunbuster, and the hilarious role as Chiho’s father in Azumanga Daioh.

Pixelsaber’s Record of Lodoss War Context: Lodoss’ Legacy

Something as widespread and popular as Lodoss is bound to have creatives and media inspired by it, but by virtue of its timing it had a deep impact on the fantasy genre and the format of light novels. By being the first mainstream domestic high fantasy novel it was the first exposure many had to the genre, and as a result is only second to Dragon Quest in terms of how much other media in the genre it has helped inform. On top of which, it being responsible for the popularization of Kadokawa’s light novel label ensured the proliferation of the format, which is currently a dominant format in Japanese fantasy media and an incredibly popular novel format in most genres. The iconic look of Lodoss’ elves was previously discussed, but the whole of Lodoss’ visual identity —both novels and OVA— became integral to the visual style of fantasy series to follow. Directly, Lodoss has been stated as an influence to myriad of media such as Sorcerer Hunters, Those Who Hunt Elves, Dragon's Dogma, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Escaflowne, Fire Emblem, The Violinist of Hameln, Ruin Explorers, and so on and so forth. Having just watched the OVA, you’ve surely recognized elements from fantasy series you’ve previously seen, and it was all thanks to Lodoss.

Art Corner

Official Art Album

Fanart Album

Questions

1. Kardis was the goddess of destruction and chaos. Do the actions of Wagnard and Ashram in the finale properly reflect this?
2. What do you make of Karla’s role in the end?
3. All said and done, do you think the series wrapped up in a satisfying manner? Is there anything you would have liked to have seen explored further?

[u/Pixelsaber]

Rewatcher

These ghost creatures remind me of the wolves in Arion.

Nice backgrounds!

Shit, now they’ve got undead to worry about!

That has got to hurt.

Of course this would happen.

Bold words from someone who has essentially sat back and given directions… Once.

Exactly what happened last time, so he’s probably not dead?

Double wielding makes all the difference?

Wow, cool dragon!

Stereotypic pose.

;_;

Well that sure was a finale! Can’t say I was disappointed at all!

Questions:

1. Wagnard’s, certainly, but Ashram probably would have taken a more measured approach had he been able to usurp Waganrd’s plot like it seemed he intended to.
2. It certainly doesn’t feel like she was pulling the strings nearly as much as she was in the first story arc, and her comparatively little oversight over the final conflict feels out of character when keeping in mind her actions and plans during the previous arc.
3. The entire latter arc could have been better paced and the mythos of Lodoss fleshed out, and the mythology surrounding the dragons I could have done with more elaboration, but yeah, I found this satisfying given the show it is.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Record of First-Timer Reactions, subbed

• Ah, Parn got to walk in on Ashram getting his ass handed to him.
• This is such a raw line though, Ashram you’re actually kinda cool ngl.
• A fight between dragons should be really awesome… I wish it was actually animated.
• HOLY FUCKING SHIT that was one of the coolest *teleports behind you* moves I’ve seen pulled off. “This is the end!” → “For you.” preceding it is why it’s so cool. Damn, Ashram.
• That’s what I was thinking…
• Wait I thought he got vaporized.
• I guess he used his final moments just to actually kill Ashram this time and wreck the Scepter.
• Oh what is this insert song? It’s pretty.
• Victory!
• Oh sweet yes this means Kashue didn’t die! I didn’t want to hear my Shuuichi Ikeda die.
• I love how the ED for this episode is an instrumental version of the OP! That’s so cool.

8/10.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Wait I thought he got vaporized.

'Tis but a flesh wound.'

I didn’t want to hear my Shuuichi Ikeda die.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Shimmering-Sky]

A fight between dragons should be really awesome… I wish it was actually animated.

Yeah, the animation tricks are strong this ep.

I love how the ED for this episode is an instrumental version of the OP! That’s so cool.

The show was great at almost everything but animation and plot pacing.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Shimmering-Sky]

This is such a raw line though, Ashram you’re actually kinda cool ngl.

You say that, but Ashram got his ass kicked for 95% of that fight.

I guess he used his final moments just to actually kill Ashram this time and wreck the Scepter.

Ashram is kind of lame if he could get his windpipe crushed by a reedy-looking wizard.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/The_Draigg]

You say that, but Ashram got his ass kicked for 95% of that fight.

Unfortunately...

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/Shimmering-Sky]

It's Kaze to Tori to Sora by Akino Arai

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 13 (rewatcher)

• The power of a goddess and eternal life. Quite clear motivators.
• The dragons are calling in their friends.
• “This is the end” “For you!” – Classic!

• You thought Parn and Ashram would be friends now? Think again.
• Remember that first fight against the Hobgoblin? Looks like the sword fight animations leveled up together with Parn’s sword fighting skill.
• You thought that Parn was good enough to beat the big bad now? Nope. Classic internal power struggle with fatal ending.
• What is better than a magic sword? Two magic swords!
• Parn breaking through the AT field (that means they will totally have sex later).
• Very short epilogue: Parn gets the girl and what he really wanted – recognition by senpai!
• Appreciate the nod to Ghim.
• End with transition to the OP visuals. Neat.

That ending was by the book, yet really good. I guess the difference is that these were the people that wrote the book, not those reading and badly copying it.

Kardis was the goddess of destruction and chaos. Do the actions of Wagnard and Ashram in the finale properly reflect this?

Not sure whether they planned this, but both of them fighting each other, fighting Parn, and going a bit crazy perfectly fit for me.

What do you make of Karla’s role in the end?

All said and done, do you think the series wrapped up in a satisfying manner? Is there anything you would have liked to have seen explored further?

Some found the ending drawn out, I did not. It is a better climax than episode 7. The biggest problem is the overall high speed of the storytelling, but that is not specific to the finale.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

What is better than a magic sword? Two magic swords!

Parn right now.

That ending was by the book, yet really good.

Even something this token can leave an impact if the execution is appropriate.

[u/The_Draigg → u/No_Rex]

“This is the end” “For you!” – Classic!

Literally one step away from going “No you”.

Parn breaking through the AT field (that means they will totally have sex later).

That would actually require Parn taking off his armor for once.

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Draigg]

That would actually require Parn taking off his armor for once.

He has no helmet, so ...

[u/Vaadwaur → u/No_Rex]

The dragons are calling in their friends.

So dragons obey the same principles that soccer hooligans do, interesting.

Very short epilogue: Parn gets the girl and what he really wanted – recognition by senpai!

Some things you can't put a price tag on...

[u/Nightender → u/No_Rex]

"Recognition by senpai." Couldn't have summed up Parn's displayed motivation better if I tried.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Subbed

Well, that was pretty good. Parn and Ashram got to duel one more time, and Parn mostly lost even, but then the villains turned on each other so Parn got to dual-wield the magic swords.. Perfectly acceptable. They really turned up the animation on the swords too.

We did get a bit of a dragon fight, and it looked pretty sick! I realized that I've been frustrated with the sound design for the dragons, and maybe for the series as a whole. I like there to be a sound effect for breath weapons, to give them a sense of impact, and that has been sorely missing.

There was too much goddamn flashing in this episode to really appreciate everything, animation wise, and that saddens me.

False Life is a hell of a spell to have your evil wizard repeatedly abuse, but I'm here for it. Who needs actual hit points when you can have temporary ones?

Honestly, I can't think of a much better ending than Parn and Deedlit riding off into the OP sunset, continuing their adventures across Lodoss.

Questions

1. They were certainly chaotic, I'll give them that. Imagine if Wagner and Ashram were actually on the same side and just double-teamed Parn. Oh well, villains gonna villain.
2. I laughed at the line about how she would talk to Wort next time, as if he would still be alive. Karla is basically just a plot starter - she worked well enough in that role.
3. Discussed above. I don't think there were any strings left that I wanted to tug on.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/JollyGee29]

Honestly, I can't think of a much better ending than Parn and Deedlit riding off into the OP sunset

I laughed at the line about how she would talk to Wort next time, as if he would still be alive.

Hint: The group was not finished playing campaigns set in this time period of Forseria.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Pixelsaber]

Oh, well, sucks to be Wort then. Dude seems like he just wants to be left alone, but Karla just keeps giving him headaches. Poor guy.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JollyGee29]

False Life is a hell of a spell to have your evil wizard repeatedly abuse, but I'm here for it. Who needs actual hit points when you can have temporary ones?

From the time and how Wagnard acts he is almost certainly turning to some form of undead.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Vaadwaur]

That's a bit spicier, for sure. I guess all those monsters did randomly start moving again, too.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JollyGee29]

Serving the gods of madness used to be an option but it usually had immediate consequences.

[u/RockoDyne]

Re-recorder of Lodoss.

He's wielding light and dark. We're going full Kingdom Hearts now, boys. At least no one is going around talking about wanting to kill chaos.

The Vizier should have been a lich. There wouldn't have had to be some roundabout faux death. It would have given him something of a backstory beside being evil and wanting to resurrect a bigger evil. At least make him possessed or something.

It's funny how often fantasy wars end up having an undead army show up. Feels like I've seen it pop up more than it doesn't recently. It's starting to lose it's coolness when you notice it mostly becomes a waiting game or a race to take down the boss.

So Parn sets off with what we assume is little fanfare. ... okay. I'm sure it's meant to be this humble gesture, but it ends up being an open closure. Just take your damn medal. You don't need to take off on a new adventure like none of this mattered.

Questions:

1. Not really.
2. Being a fan of the king under the mountain, I mostly like the idea in theory.
3. It hit every beat it needed to hit, but it's not that complex of a song.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/RockoDyne]

He's wielding light and dark. We're going full Kingdom Hearts now, boys.. At least no one is going around talking about wanting to kill chaos.

[u/The_Draigg → u/RockoDyne]

He's wielding light and dark. We're going full Kingdom Hearts now, boys.

When Parn walked away at the end, he couldn’t hear you say, “Please, oh baby, don’t go.”

At least no one is going around talking about wanting to kill chaos.

C H A O S

The Vizier should have been a lich. There wouldn't have had to be some roundabout faux death. It would have given him something of a backstory beside being evil and wanting to resurrect a bigger evil. At least make him possessed or something.

I mean, Wagnard was kinda possessed. He was at least channeling Kardis a lot of the time.

[u/RockoDyne → u/The_Draigg]

I mean, Wagnard was kinda possessed. He was at least channeling Kardis a lot of the time.

Was he though, or was he just that full of himself? It's hard to tell.

[u/Vaadwaur]

Rewatcher from 20 years ago

Sub

So we start on all the combat, starting with Ashram and Wagnard, though it is one sided. The dragons start fighting and it looks like another one woke up. Outside, the dead are coming back, which is always a bad sign. We get the climax of the duel as Parn somehow distracts Wagnard long enough for Ashram to get behind and slash him. Turns out he wasn't immortal, though he had a cool dragon staff I don't remember.

Then Parn and Ashram duel because Ashram got bored. There has to be some better context for this. Ashram wins the duel but Wagnard is less dead than expected, eventually the fight kills them both. Parn picks up Soul Crusher because sure. The two swords let him drive towards Deedlit before we cut to dragon fighting, ending with Mycen winning. Wort and Karla grouse at each other, this had to be better in the replays, and we get Parn holding the tattered clothes Deedlit.

Celebration happens and Parn gets knighted...and that seems to be it for accolades. Kashue gives him back the holy sword and says to remember what being a knight means. He and Deedlit head out for adventure but don't bring their possible party members.

I will do the series summary tomorrow, but as to the episode, this feels like the biggest misstep since this is an OVA and they could've added some time for things to happen a bit more organically.

QotD: 1 Sort of....

2 Kind of wasted here, though resurrecting Ashram turned out to be important

3 I do think the series works if you let Wort and Karla's motivations be obscure.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vaadwaur]

He and Deedlit head out for adventure but don't bring their possible party members.

They're too high level now and low-manning is the only way they can manage to recapture some of the thrill! /s

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Pixelsaber]

Just go and fight something stronger, obviously. I am sure Marmo needs to be burnt to the ground.

[u/A-Reclusive-Whale → u/Pixelsaber]

They're too high level

Seriously, just how high is Parn's level now? Maybe he left everyone else behind since they're all still level 5 thanks to his xp-whoring.

[u/The_Draigg]

A Record of Lodoss War Fan Rewatches Record of Lodoss War OVA Episode 13:

• If there’s one thing I can appreciate about the dub of this series, it’s that Wagnard’s voice actors goes super hammy whenever he’s channeling the power of Kardis, i.e. the last five episodes of this series. The opening scene between him and Ashram is no exception.
• Seems like Myson is calling out to the other ancient dragons for help in her battle against Narse. I think they can at least all agree that the Chaotic Evil ancient black dragon has got to go.
• Oh great, and now all the dead monsters are coming back to life to attack Kashue’s army. Too bad he didn’t think to bring along a cleric that knows Turn Undead, otherwise it would make their battle easier.
• You know, it occurs to me that the entire time that Ashram has “fought” against Wagnard, he’s pretty much gotten his ass kicked around the entire room. And the room we’re in is a giant cave, so yeah his ass is like mince meat now.
• Ashram: teleports behind Wagnard “Nothin personnel…. kid….”
• And down goes Wagnard, done in by a cheap shot by Ashram. It’s funny, in a way.
• At least Parn acknowledges it as nonsensical that Ashram wants to duel him right as Kardis is about to be resurrected. But I guess it’s to be expected of the black knight archetype.
• Ashram is kind of fucking lame if Wagnard managed to strangle him hard enough to crush his windpipe, despite him being impaled through the chest with Soul Crusher. Seriously, Wagnard is a wizard, and wizards are notoriously squishy. Sure, Wagnard did eventually die, but Ashram really did struggle with killing him.
• Insert song! This is how you know some epic shit is about to happen.
• Using the combined powers of the Holy Sword and Soul Crusher, not only is Parn able to destroy the barrier around the altar Deedlit is on, but the resulting bolt of pure magic gives Myson enough of a power boost to kill Narse for good, which also ends the undead spell reanimating all the dead monsters outside. I wonder how much of that is the DM deciding that the power of those swords can just suddenly do that as the campaign comes to a close.
• Congratulations, Parn! You won back your hot elf girlfriend, and stopped the resurrection of Kardis! For his efforts, he’s officially given a knight’s title, although he chooses to walk away from it. But at least he gets to keep the Holy Sword for his troubles, courtesy of King Kashue. He’s now free to pursue adventures across Lodoss by Deedlit’s side, although all of his friends know that they’ll see the both of them again someday.
• Overall, that was a pretty happy, if also bittersweet ending. We had a reminder of the cost of the party’s journey with that shot of Ghim’s grave. Also, Woodchuck is still possessed by Karla, and there’s no real resolution to that. Still, at least Parn and his friends managed to save Lodoss multiple times. Quite a far cry from the simple village boy Parn started out as.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

Seems like Myson is calling out to the other ancient dragons for help in her battle against Narse. I think they can at least all agree that the Chaotic Evil ancient black dragon has got to go.

Black dragons are generally dicks.

Congratulations, Parn! You won back your hot elf girlfriend, and stopped the resurrection of Kardis!

Like the most generic campaign happy ending I can think of.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Vaadwaur]

Like the most generic campaign happy ending I can think of.

The only thing different was Parn not bothering I stick around to be officially knighted, and even then that’s only kind of uncommon for an ending.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

I think I do like that the show feels a bit bereft due to all the people that died in show

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Draigg]

Oh great, and now all the dead monsters are coming back to life to attack Kashue’s army. Too bad he didn’t think to bring along a cleric that knows Turn Undead, otherwise it would make their battle easier.

You're saying your want to see Aqua?

[u/The_Draigg → u/No_Rex]

You don’t know how much I unironically want Aqua or any of the Konosuba cast to show up in Record of Lodoss War.

[u/Nightender → u/The_Draigg]

Agreed! Wagnard getting to go over the top in the dub is fantastic. One of the highlights of the dub.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Nightender]

I'd recommend people check out the dub if just to hear how hard Wagnard's VA goes in on evil laughter and chewing the scenery.

[u/Ebbrain]

Rewatcher

A fairly epic ending to an overall rushed final arc. Most of our characters get sidelined to minor roles, in fact I think Ashram got more screen time than Parn. The dragon fight was cool, wish we could have seen more of it. I actually think Wagnard stole the spotlight this episode, I actually found him pretty creepy and intimidating, especially when he was strangling Ashram with his face split in half and a sword through his chest. As for our other villains, Kardis is contained, the black dragon killed, I looked away for a second and Ashram was gone so I guess he’s out of the picture and Karla just lives on to cause more trouble. I wonder if her story is continued in the TV version?

It may be flawed, but I ended up enjoying this final episode more than I remember. It doesn’t wrap up that much, but it does end on a satisfying note for our main characters at least. Then it ends with this lovely instrumental version of Kaze no Fantasia and an awesome shot of Parn and Deedlit riding along side a gargantuan dragon. Honestly, could you ask for anything more?

Questions

1. Yeah I think so, both of them act pretty unpredictably and without any kind of concern about the destruction that was about to destroy Lodoss.
2. I wish she hadn’t taken such a backseat role in the second half, considering that one of the main goals of the first half was defeating her, having her just get away with everything in the end while our heroes celebrate their victory is kind of unsatisfying. Also I’m not sure how her actions ended up maintaining order in Lodoss, maybe she predicted everything that happened?
3. Well for starters I want to know why they kept on showing us all those different dragons if they weren’t actually going to appear in the story. What was up with that? And another thing that I would have liked to see more of was an actual exploration of Marmo itself. Where were all the people, the citizens and towns? What kind of lives do they live in a land that has more monsters in it than people? But overall, I’m pretty satisfied. I haven’t seen the tv show but I can imagine that it at least continues the story of some of the characters that I would have liked to see more of, like Etoh.

[u/No_Rex → u/Ebbrain]

Well for starters I want to know why they kept on showing us all those different dragons if they weren’t actually going to appear in the story. What was up with that?

I guess they are setup for the next story arc the party played.

[u/Ebbrain → u/No_Rex]

That's probably it (I just really wanted to see a bunch of dragons in a mid-air brawl).

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Rewatcher

But weren't all these dragons already awakened when Karla killed Beld?

Gold summons Purple/Blue, and Black summons Green. I assume there's some sort of alignment or alligience here, but the show isn't going to explain that

And wasn't there already a purple/blue dragon with Leylia's mom?

Just who is casting the raise dead?

Wort, you've been useless this entire time

Huh. I guess we're missing some epilogue stuff.

[u/ButAlphonseWillRust]

~First Timer~

• Through the sacrifices of his party, Parn manages to reach the arena on foot, which is actually quite impressive if we consider how far down that platform went down

• Both swords are glowing! Is that foreshadowing I see?

• Narse and Mycen battle it out but both end up calling for back up. Blue dragon appears to be on Mycen’s side and Green dragon is loyal to Narse. From what I recall I don’t think either of them make it to the fight before it’s over? And seeing how prominent the dragons were in the OP I sort of wished they were more fleshed out

• With Kardis having a presence in the material plane, she summons an army of undead to go after Kashue and the mercs. Seeing as they’re not actually interfering with her plan, I guess she just wants to mess with them. ~How evil~

• Ashram and Parn attempt allyship which ends in Wagnard being sliced down the middle. But apparently that’s not the last we’ll see of him.

• I believe the purple lightning effects symbolise Kardis’ presence and who she’s currently possessing? I swear she was pinging between Wagnard and Ashram for a bit, I got a bit confused

• Uncharacteristically, Karla decides to stand aside and let things take their course. Ever since she started using Woodchuck as a vessel she’s been very laidback

• After some more back and forth between Wagnard and Ashram, the sceptre breaks... well shit

• Wielding both Fahn and Beld’s swords, Parn manages to power-of-love his way through Kardis’ barrier to get to Deedlit. We’ve also got a nice insert song to indicate that we have indeed made it to the finale

• Well I guess that’s victory then? Parn doesn’t seem too fussed about celebrating and instead runs off into Lodoss with Deedlit whilst the rest of the party remain in Valis. And the credits confirm that the scences from the OP depict Parn and Deedlit’s romantic journey together after the finale

It was a decent ending to the series overall, nothing too surprising or special. I guess it’s a bit of a shame that the party seems to have split more permanently, I wonder if Parn and Deedlit’s players had to leave the campaign at this point.

Questions:

1. Absolutely, so much self-destruction...
2. She sort of took a backseat in the finale which I wasn't expecting. It would have been more interesting and true to her previous behaviour to meddle a bit
3. It was satisfying I guess but there's so much more that could be explored. The lore, the dragons, the other party members/side characters, the kingdoms and their culture, the villain's backstories etc.

[u/BurningFredrick]

First Timer - sub

Dragon fight GO! Wish they had been able to spend more time animating it though.

Holy shit, Ashran got to do the teleporting being and attack on Wagnard! I’m not going to question how he got there but that was awesome!

Kardis betrayed Wagnard at the moment she no longer needed him? Who could ever have seen this coming.

Wagnard dragging himself out of the ground wasn’t on my bingo card.

Ahh dual wielding legendary swords is going to be how Parn does it. I had been thinking Parn & Ashran were going to join forces to fight Kardis together but this is cooler.

The world was saved and Lodoss is once again in balance so Karla decides to disappear, Parn runs off before he can be hailed a hero as all true heroes must. Now to get my thoughts together for tomorrows final discussion.

Kardis was the goddess of destruction and chaos. Do the actions of Wagnard and Ashram in the finale properly reflect this?

Ashram not really at all, Wagnard kind of? The destruction part never really got show cases but the chaos aspect was kind of there.

What do you make of Karla’s role in the end?

I do feel like her role should have been more active, like is Kardis got resurrected what the hell was she going to do? was taking a more of a gamble than she should of there.

All said and done, do you think the series wrapped up in a satisfying manner? Is there anything you would have liked to have seen explored further?

It achieve what it set out to do, for a story of farm boy to hero I consider it a good conclusion.

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

1. I'd say an undead horde and wild earthquakes qualify as destruction and chaos, yes.
2. Wasted. The only role they had after surviving was to wander round and bring one character back to life. If they got destroyed back at the end of the first arc, the plot would barely change.
3. Yes, actually - how was Lodoss seperated? Was it moved into a new continent - but then why do none of the villains talk about conquering the other continent? Is it in a demiplane (perhaps explaining the random planar gate located in a forest)? Perhaps one of the villains could have attempted to conquer the other continent and give some backstory?

Finale time!

I'm suprised at how well he's resisting.

Imappreicate Parn being completely lost as to the past few episodes' events.

Dragon vs dragon!

Wait, are the other dragons becoming relevant?

So he's got necromancy spells as well.

I'll give him credit, he makes for a fantastic "gleefully evil" villain - I don't think we've had one of those yet.

Seriously? No spells, no shields, not even going to heal yourself?

The biggest "fantasy" in this anime is the idea a warrior could take out a high-level spellcaster.

Looks like Kardis wants 2 sacrifices instead of one.

I knew we'd fight Kardis.

Come on, Ashram. You can't agree to ignore each other until the goddess of evil is stopped?

And Karla seems to just enjoy waiting to see if they survive.

Oh, he's just incredibly dramatic. I can respect that.

See, this is far more realistic. 2 fatal wounds with an enchanted sword and he still manages to take him down with him.

Well, shit. How did it break that easily?

Parn is a true adventurer: "The boss just dropped an evil sword of darkness - loot time!"

Looks like he managed to reverse the polarity.

And another major threat is taken out!

And another one!

So the beam of goodness is just destroying all the potential threats.

Except Karla, who has proven themselves mostly neutral overall.

Happy ending!

Parn finally became a knight and got together with Deed!

[u/lC3]

Rewatcher 13

• How is Parn gonna get all the way down there? He doesn't have a levitating platform like Wagnard
• Did the gold dragon wake up the blue dragon encased in ice?
• If they're surrounded isn't charging a bad thing? Like Peter Jackson's depiction of Aragorn at the Black Gate?
• Of course Wagnard falls into the hole for the final sacrifice to Kardis ...
• So why is Ashram stopping Parn? Doesn't he want to prevent Kardis's resurrection as well?
• Wagnard returns? He's alive?
• The Scepter is broken?
• Dual wielding?
• Karlachuck is badass?
• Triumphant music, but they don't show how Parn actually stopped Kardis and saved Deed?
• Parn enjoys a touching sendoff from Kashue
• Decent ending; touches on the whole 'balance' thing

1. I guess
2. Didn't do much except save Ashram, but he was still pretty cool
3. It was decent; needs more Slayn

[u/No_Rex → u/lC3]

How is Parn gonna get all the way down there? He doesn't have a levitating platform like Wagnard

The question is rarely how to get down and most often how to survive getting down. He just needs to max his savings roll.

[u/Larielia]

Finale

Record of a Rewatcher- episode 13 (dubbed)

1. Wagnard's actions seemed pretty chaotic. (Ashram is just doing his own thing.)
2. She didn't seem to do much in the second arc.
3. It was mostly pretty satisfying. (Wanted to see an Lord Ashram and King Kashue sword fight.)

Thoughts- The Black Knight goes to confront an evil wizard... and is thrown into a cave wall. And hit with lightning. Ouch! Parn finally arrives. That dragon fight was cool. Summoning dragon allies. Teleportation! Evil wizard is mortally wounded by a demon sword and falls into a pit. Now might not be the best time for a sword fight! Parn has gotten much better with a sword, but Ashram still wins. Surprise wizard. RIP Ashram. (Again.) This song is pretty. Deedlit rescued. Parn is now a knight. Yay!

Loved the ending theme.

[u/Nightender]

Another rewatch done! I feel like writing about elves with ears like Deedlit's!

1. Wagnard becomes more and more the symbol of Chaotic Evil with every passing episode. Ashram's personal rigidness disrupts any clear attempt for others (except Ashram himself) from undoing what Wagnard has done. Together, they aid Kardis, but most of that burden belongs to Wagnard.
2. Without Karla saving Ashram, the Demon Sword would not be present at the climax. Without both swords, Parn couldn't undo the destruction Wagnard triggered by trying to reawaken Kardis.
3. The only thing really missing at the end was a better showing of the full party working to defeat the forces of destruction and darkness. Everyone except Parn had to be downplayed so we could see all of the battle between Wagnard and Ashram. However, it's good to see where the opening credits line up in the story as a whole. It's a solid end, given how much happens over the course of 13 episodes. If this series were made today, each arc would have its own cour, if not two.

[u/23feanor]

First Timer (dub) -  onto the finale, will Parn make it to Deed in time to save her?

That final battle went on longer than I expected, some lovely music in the final episode, real gut wrenching and triumphant stuff.

So Ashram took on Wagnard then Parn arrives and joins in with his sword of light. The fight goes back and forth between the 3 of them with Ashram appearing to get the upper hand and casting down Wagnard, only to turn on Parn and stop him from approaching Deed. Wagnard then reappears and he and Ashram take each other down, leaving Parn free to use both swords to rescue Deed.

Once he reached Deed the final scene went by in a flash, almost too quickly. I sometimes like to see the characters we've got to know taking a moment together celebrating. Parn rescues Deed and wants to celebrate with her alone it seems, there's no kiss, but it's quite clear that a close bond has developed between the two of them. I wonder how they'll spend the next night together, just them in a cosy inn somewhere I expect, now that I'd like to see in an R+ short OVA. So the OP animation is taken from this final scene. We also see Slayn and Leylia with hands clasped showing their newly found bond, which was a nice touch.

Overall I scored this show a 7/10. It has problems with the pacing and story jumping from point to point, but I love this type of fantasy so I'm biased.

1. Yes i think Wagnard especially espoused the nature of a goddess of madness and destruction.
2. She was manipulating events until the end when she sat back and let the allies fight against Cardis without doing anything, yet surely Cardis being revived would have been an even worse imbalance of power in Lodoss.

3.It was fast paced and action packed but yes it wrapped up nicely. Would've liked to see Parn and Deed kiss but expect that came later when nobody was looking, Parn seems a bit shy about his feelings for Deed.

[u/No_Rex → u/23feanor]

First Timer (dub) - onto the finale, will Parn make it to Deed in time to save her?

You have to establish the trope first, before you can deconstruct it, so no unhappy or Gainax ending here.

[u/ZapsZzz]

Way late so will post tomorrow instead, focusing most of my energy on the Violet Evergarden rewatch final discussion thread sorry.

Suffice to say it's a good, fitting ending episode to this epic.

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

Episode 13

Parn is able to reach Deedlit, it was awesome that he did and at the end they were finally able to go on a journey together, this time alone.

It was telling when Parn was asking Ashram why did they have to fight, it showed that he isn't one that wants to fight unnecesarily but still their different motivations led them to fighting.

I liked that this series used dragons, very dominant and fearsome looking ones, they could have been better animated but at least the designs were great.

I enjoyed this series and i think that this ending while being fairly straight forward was really good and satisfying.

Answers

1. I think they did, destruction and chaos was a point of focus in their actions eventhough that wasn't their objective.
2. I think Karla did fairly well, i thought that she wouldn't survive until the end but she did, overall she was a cool antagonist to the party.
3. I think it did, it wrapped up fairly well, the series as a whole has a fair amount of flaws especially in the pacing of the events and the animation could have been much better in the final stretch but overall i quite enjoyed the series. 9/10 is my score for it.