I think the first five episodes of Granbelm are fine but I can understand if someone dropped the show at that point. They’re not the best material the show has to offer, with the biggest flaw being the juggling it has to do while setting everything up. This episode marks a turning point between me and this show. It’s the first episode that really grabbed my attention when I first watched the show and it’s where I feel the show starts to find its stride. I can’t say with confidence that’s a smooth road going forward but I do recall it being a lot less bumpy.
Following the last Granbelm, Mangetsu and Shingetsu discuss how the former managed to see Nene’s memories before Nene herself appears. Funny how Nene asks if Mangetsu thought she was dead. That’s totally not foreshadowing or anything! To be fair, I can see why Mangestu would jump to that conclusion. It’s not like she has seen Rosa running around after she kicked her butt.
Unlike Rosa, Nene actually sticks around after she’s defeated. Even though she’s lost and she won’t get to fulfill her wish, Nene still wants to know who will become the Princeps so she offers her assistance to Mangetsu and Shingetsu. I don’t think Nene is a perfectly executed character but I do like her transition from rival to ally. It’s a natural development given what we’ve previously seen with this character and it shows that Nene really is a lot older than she appears.
After chatting with Nene, Mangetsu and Shingetsu pay a visit to Kuon, who is apparently sick after exhausting her abilities in the last Granbelm (I don’t know if that was properly conveyed in the last episode but whatever). Kuon and Shingetsu are pretty much ready to cut ties though Mangetsu is still polite to Kuon, even going as far as to cook dinner for her. In the process, our main duo learns about Shisui. That’s already important simply in terms of logistics but this is also relevant for Mangetsu in a thematic sense. Once more, Mangetsu realizes that her rivals all have a goal of some kind and that only brings more light to the fact that she lacks one herself.
There’s a couple of interesting conversations between Mangetsu and Shingetsu in this episode. Mangetsu admits that she feels bad about participating in Granbelm when she doesn’t have a wish or goal of her own. Technically, Mangetsu could still call it quits but I guess we’d have no show if she does that. I once scoffed at Mangetsu for admitting that she feels happy when she fights in Granbelm. It kind of makes her sound like a psycho. That said, and I know I must sound like a broken record at this point, this does make more sense later on. What did elicit sympathy even on a first viewing is when Mangetsu tells Shingetsu that she doesn’t really dream. All she envisions is being enveloped in a pure white void. It’s a very haunting image that speaks to how empty Mangetsu feels about herself.
As for Shingetsu, there’s a curious line where she thinks very few people like themselves. Even though she’s speaking broadly, it’s clear that Shingetsu is referring to herself. That she loathes herself is really the only way she could come to that conclusion. Other than that, Shingetesu raise a couple of interesting points. Why does the Magiaconatus only want one winner in Granbelm? With how much power it stores, there’s enough to go around for everyone who is still in the game. Why then must there only be one? Another line that gives food for thought is a saying that the mages who participate in Granbelm, the ones who can control the Armanox, might actually be the ones being controlled. As for what is controlling them, it’s safe to assume the saying is referring to the Magiaconatus.
So at long last, the villainous spotlight finally shines on Anna. I once dreaded this moment because Anna frankly doesn’t make that great of a first impression. Her feud with Shingetsu is interesting and Yoko Hikasa does a great job selling the character’s lines but by Episode 5, Anna feels stagnant and you start to grow tired of her murderous grudge against her surrogate sister. To my surprise however, this episode and the next one is where my opinion of Anna turns around. There is one scene with the character that I’m not a fan of and that’s when Anna tries to kill Shingetsu with an axe. A freaking axe. I’m sorry to whoever came up with that scene but that’s ridiculous. I’d go as far as call it the most unintentionally funny scene in the entire show. Other than that, I think this episode and the next one provides us with Anna’s best material.
Having made no progress with defeating Shingetsu, Anna comes to the conclusion that she needs a better catalyst for her magic. I forgot to mention this but everyone in the main cast has a stone imbued with magical abilities and this is more or less their main power source. Anna wants the primary magical stone in her family’s possession, which is significantly larger than the shard she’s currently using, but her mother refuses to hand it over. Her mother is unconvinced that she can handled the stone’s power and even if she could, it’s pointless when Shingetsu can fight her with just a tiny shard of her own. Suffice to say, Anna doesn’t take this very well.
There’s a curious moment where Suisho tells Anna she quits serving as her lackey, after overhearing the latter’s conversation with her mother. This is presumably a ploy to add more fuel to the fire that is Anna’s unyielding rage but why Suisho wants to do that is a bit of a mystery. Regardless, it’s clear that the show is setting something up with this character. Also no spoilers but take note of the little nursery rhyme that Suisho recites in one scene. That may or may not be relevant to her character.
Concerned over her sister, Claire asks Shingetsu for help. At first, Shingetsu refuses, seeing as she could potentially make things worse, but she eventually decides that she has to do say something to Anna. Despite feeling indifferent or tired of Anna, the ending of this episode manages to make me feel sorry for this girl. Apparently, the Fugo family wanted to adopt Shingestu and make her their successor so that Anna could live her life as a normal girl. Anna is against it as she feels this means the family considers her to be a weak and unworthy mage. But as it turns out, Anna is actually that lacking in magical aptitude. We see this demonstrated when Anna attempts one of her family’s signature spells, something she managed to do once as a kid, only to discover that she actually can’t do it. In both instances, it’s actually Shingetsu who executes the technique. All this time, Anna just wants to prove herself as a mage and the reality is that she literally can’t. She was born with little potential and she can’t change that no matter how hard she tries. I may not have cared about Anna before but I really do sympathize with her situation. It’s that depressing.
At first, Anna appears to eventually accept reality. She acts cordial to Shingetsu for once. The ED then plays out but partway through, the show abruptly cuts to a post-credit scene and we see Anna taking her family’s primary magical stone for herself (after injuring her mother no less). The last shot before the ED kind of foreshadows this by having Anna’s axe positioned front and center, thereby implying that she internally stills wants to kill Shingetsu. Whether or not you catch that, the abrupt cut from the ED is still very chilling. It’s easily one of the best executed moments in the entire show. At first, I was shocked to see Anna sticking with her plan but I soon realize that this is the only path for her to take. She’s spent most of her life trying to kill Shingetsu and she’s gotten so far in Granbelm. It’s too late for her to quit now, she’s a lost cause.
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